Where the gym is their playground

IT seems that wherever you go these days - be it to the downtown shopping malls, the Central Business District (CBD) or the heartlands - you will come across a fitness studio offering all kinds of high-interval intensity training (HIIT) workouts.

Even in a small market that's becoming increasingly saturated, that hasn't stopped 3 current and former Team Singapore athletes from adding their homegrown brand, Grityard, to the list.

Earlier this month, the trio opened Grityard's second branch, a nearly 2,000 square-foot gym along Cecil Street.

This comes 3 years after their first outlet, a larger studio of about 3,000 sq ft, opened at College Road, a stone's throw from the Singapore General Hospital.

The founders are Lim Yao Xiang, a former SEA Games medallist in water polo and fin swimming; his brother Yao Peng, an ex-national sprinter; and former water polo player Teh Chong Nyen.

The 40-year-old Yao Xiang recently made the news as he was named among 146 Singaporeans given the go-ahead by the Singapore National Olympic Council to compete at next month's SEA Games in Hanoi.

BT Weekend met up with Yao Xiang, a master trainer at Grityard, after a class at the Cecil Street gym and the following is an excerpt of the conversation.

What made you decide to go into the fitness industry?

I was a teacher before I set up my own business. It was a good and stable job, but there was an opportunity to do this and we went for it.

To cut a long story short, we wanted to fill the gap in the industry by using our actual high performance background and apply some of these concepts and knowledge into a mainstream workout, to benefit more people.

The best explanation I can give is a Michelin-starred chef who leaves his or her high-paying job and opens a cafe or a hawker stall, so they can share their dishes and cuisine with a wider population.

That's an interesting way to describe it.

Collectively, the 3 of us have 50 years of training under our belt. We see ourselves as the Michelin stars of fitness. We've been to multiple SEA Games in the past - my brother has represented twice, and the next Games in Vietnam will be my fifth. I've been a national athlete since I was a kid.

I would say our lives revolve around fitness, and we've learned how to balance life, studies, work and training, and still figure out a way to perform at the highest levels in whatever sport or activity we do.

The Raffles Place area is chock full of gyms and studios already, so why open there when it's already so competitive?

We've built up a following over the past 3 years at our Outram branch. And we've come to realise that location is extremely important.

Some people see Covid-19 as a disaster, but we see plenty of opportunities. The rentals in the CBD were rather low (when we signed the lease some months ago), and we know the government is pushing for the economy to open up. There will be many more people returning to the office, and we feel we are ready to meet the demand for a high quality workout.

What makes your HIIT workouts different from others?

Our workouts are based on the 5 basic pillars of the human body's functional output - strength, power, agility, core and endurance.

It's suitable whether you're just starting out on your fitness journey, or you're a high-performance athlete.

It's a high-touch programme designed and approved by the founders, and we lead the sessions together with a group of trainers. You get a level of guidance similar to what you might experience in a personal training session, even in a group class setting.

How did you come up with the name Grityard?

We wanted something that all of us could identify with. Grit - it's a very short word but it represents consistency, determination and motivation. Yard - it's a venue, a backyard where you can play. This is your playground to get fit.