Singapore #Fitspo of the Week Erin Ong: 'I wanted to combine the two things I'm passionate about – yoga and teaching'
Be inspired by the success stories of fitness influencers, celebrities, models and trainers in Singapore
Cheryl Tay
·Contributor
Mon, 1 January 2024 at 7:00 am GMT+7
Singapore #Fitspo of the Week Erin Ong is the co-founder of Push Pull Give, a strength and movement social enterprise gym. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook!
Name: Erin Ong (@erinongwc)
Age: 34
Height: 1.53m
Weight: 46kg
Occupation: Co-owner of Push Pull Give; fitness, yoga and calisthenics coach
Status: Married
Food: I don't follow a specific diet but my priority is to maintain a balanced diet that fuels both my coaching sessions and my own strength training. I make sure to meet my daily macronutrient requirements, with an emphasis on incorporating sufficient protein. I avoid fried and processed foods, while opting for wholegrain alternatives whenever possible.
My daily lunches often consist of "cai fan". For dinner, I engage in meal prep three times a week to maintain control over my nutrition. On days when I dine out, I make mindful selections to align with my nutritional goals. I have a sweet tooth and am a bread lover, so I allow myself the occasional indulgence in buns and sweet treats every other day.
Exercise: I aim to clock four strength-and-mobility training sessions, and two runs a week. But due to the nature of my work, sometimes I may not be able to stick to this regime. When that happens, I just try to work out whenever I have some down time in between my sessions, even if it's just for 30 minutes.
Erin was not a sporty person during her younger days, but got into yoga and calisthenics later on in her life. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Q: When you were younger, were you active in sports?
A: I was never a sporty or active person. I joined the choir in high school and in junior college. I even got to join the international choir competition in Italy with my JC choir. I also started dancing when I was staying on university campus and performed in hall productions.
What did you get into as you got older?
I signed up for a gym membership and started attending fitness and yoga classes to stay fit. I was attending yoga classes to increase my flexibility because I was very inflexible (couldn't touch my toes).
After a few yoga classes, I began to enjoy it and started to practise on a daily basis. I was only exposed to calisthenics in 2019 but did not start training in it until 2021.
What made you want to start teaching yoga?
After practising for five years, I started to notice some progress in my practice and wanted to share my knowledge about yoga and its benefits. Also, I've always enjoyed teaching, so I wanted to combine the two things I'm passionate about – yoga and teaching.
Erin left her corporate job at a recruitment company to become a full-time yoga instructor. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Why did you decide to leave your corporate job to teach yoga?
I was working in a recruitment company for three years. Although it's financially rewarding, I was in a highly stressful environment. So once I completed my yoga teacher training, I decided to take the leap of faith and left the corporate life to become a full-time yoga instructor.
When did you decide to invest in Push Pull Give?
I met the co-founder of Push Pull Give, a strength and movement social enterprise gym, when I was teaching yoga in 2019 and had the opportunity to start teaching part-time yoga there.
After a couple of years, there was an opportunity for me to expand the business. One of my life goals all along was to be an entrepreneur, so when this opportunity came, I decided to give this journey a go.
When you were younger, did you experience any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?
When I was young, I had crooked teeth and wasn't able to smile confidently because I felt very insecure. At 13, I got my braces, which fixed my teeth. Since then, I became a lot more confident when I meet and speak to people.
Erin feels the tough environment as an entrepreneur had made her more hardy and confident. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
When did you feel the least confident about yourself?
I felt the least confident in the first few months of my corporate job because it's something that was totally unfamiliar to me and I had no experience in recruitment. It was a very stressful environment, but thankfully I had a good mentor to guide me. The tough environment has made me a more hardy person and I became a more confident person inside out.
Do you get any comments about your body?
I used to get comments about my big thighs and bum when I was in high school. Now I get comments about my big arms LOL. But I am not affected by them at all because the most important thing is that I am happy with how I look.
If you could change anything about yourself, would you?
Nope. I won't change anything about myself. I am proud of my body and I think everyone should be proud of his or her body too.
Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Erin Ong. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
