In December last year, Cassandra Lau, 33, joked that her 63-year-old parents should participate in Hyrox, a popular fitness competition that tests both your strength and endurance.
Little did she expect that this would actually happen just a few months later when the event took place at the end of June.
And her parents did well too, completing the entire competition in one hour and 46 minutes.
But they had not always been into fitness — especially Cassandra’s mother, Angeline Teo.
Angeline shared with AsiaOne that while she had done sports when she was a child and after giving birth, it had been “nothing very serious or consistent”.
A few years ago, Cassandra, a Singaporean competitive weightlifter who has represented Singapore, did try to train her mother in a gym she used to own, Actualize CrossFit.
But Angeline found the environment too intimidating.
“She wanted to start out smaller, so we started out with personal training,” explained Cassandra, adding that back then, Angeline would only attend classes once a week.
Angeline warmed up more to fitness classes after Cassandra helped open a new gym at Outram, Rx Performance, in 2023, where she is also a part-time coach.
As the classes were “more approachable”, Angeline found herself attending sessions more frequently, starting with two sessions a week to three. Now, the maximum times she attends classes a week is four.
“That’s when she increased the number of times she attended classes, from one personal training session to more class plus personal training sessions. And that’s when she really started to train,” Cassandra recounted.
Angeline, who works in a local bank, usually goes for fitness classes in the evening after work.
And though it sounds like a tiring routine, she has found that she enjoys it.
“You know, it’s really weird, because the days that I don’t go to the gym, I’m really tired. I just want to come home and sit down, watch television and relax. But if I go to the gym, I just find the energy,” Angeline shared.
“I don’t need to drag myself to the gym. If I decide that Monday, Tuesday, I’m going there, then I’m going there. It’s very mental,” she told us with smile.
Angeline’s husband, Lau Siew Heh, has generally always been more “sporty” than his wife.
And after seeing his wife show more interest in fitness, he was motivated to exercise more too.
Together, they not only attend classes at Rx Performance, but also take part in in-house gym competitions.
Though this switch in her lifestyle was challenging, Angeline always found a way to make it work.
“At every training, I say: ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that, this is too heavy, there are too many reps’, but I just do it,” she shared with a chuckle.
“And then at the end, I feel really good that I’ve achieved something in that 45 minutes to one hour. I’ve pushed my limits.”
Angeline also pointed out that her new lifestyle has helped her with day-to-day activities, as well as when she is overseas.
“When I travel and carry the luggage, I’m not moaning, groaning or struggling. So, it’s functional fitness,” she said.
“Even squatting, standing up or reaching for something high up. I mean, that’s what I’m doing it for, right? It is not to be the next fastest runner or the most muscular person. It’s really to be fit in just my daily life.
In fact, when Angeline goes for work trips with her younger colleagues, she finds herself having more energy than them to move around and carry things.
“She gets a bit surprised by it and realises that if she doesn’t work out, it does affect how she will be. She just doesn’t see it until she sees herself compared to someone else,” Cassandra pointed out.
Understandably, there are days where Angeline feels demotivated. But the people around her have helped with that.
“The community at the gym is really one of my key motivators. Even if I’m the last person, they’ll be cheering me on, they’ll wait for me. So having that community is very, very important,” she said.
“And of course, having my husband, who is equally keen [on fitness], and my two daughters, who are also very active, that helps a lot.”
Competing in Hyrox
At the end of Hyrox last year, around November, Cassandra jokingly told her parents that she would be signing them up for the next edition of the event, which was happening in June.
When applications for Hyrox opened earlier this year, she once again teased that she was going to put their names on the list.
After some consideration, Siew Heh and Angeline finally applied to participate in the event and did so in March.
As Hyrox only allows participants within a group of four to be paired up with the same sex, the couple were not allowed to compete together. So, Angeline participated in the event with her second daughter while Siew Heh got paired with one of their daughter’s male friends.
After all that was settled, they were left with just three months to prepare for the big day in June.
“That’s when my mum said that she needed to run more, so she made it a point to add running to her [workouts],” recounted Cassandra.
“I detest running,” Angeline chimed in. “I ran 200m first and then increased it to 400m, then 600m, 800m, and then 1km, sometimes going to 1.2km.”
“I still don’t like running, but because it is part of the Hyrox games, I had to do it,” she said with a laugh.
Apart from running, Angeline and Siew Heh prepared for Hyrox by attending their usual training sessions at Rx Performance, which involved a mix of strength, endurance and cardio exercises like kettle bell swings and thrusters.
During the big day, participants had to complete a total of eight stations and at every station, they had to run 1km.
“Because there were four players, each of us took two stations and two 1km runs,” Angeline elaborated.
Despite it being their first time at Hyrox, the couple were not intimidated by all the athletic people around them.
“When you go there, nobody judges you. Everybody is so encouraging. Even strangers are cheering you on,” Angeline recounted.
“I was running so slowly, but yet, they were cheering me on from the sides — I don’t even know who they are! The vibe is really very healthy.”
They also were happy to see that there were others their age, of varying fitness levels, who were also participating in the event.
“I found the overall experience very exhilarating. Because you know, I’m just a normal woman who is not even very fit,” Angeline shared candidly.
“But I got to hang around with people who love fitness, who love taking care of themselves, and that gave me a lot of encouragement to be in the same arena as they are.”
So it isn’t surprising that we may be seeing her and Siew Heh at future Hyrox events.
Inspired by Angeline but don’t know where to start? She advises you to “own your body”.
“You need to be the master of your own destiny. And to do that, you should find a place and facilities that help you fulfil that ambition. So finding a gym that you can be comfortable in is extremely important,” said Angeline.
“And I always remind myself that I’m investing in my future. Just as one can invest their money for future returns, investing in your body is investing in your future mental and physical health. And that will help you to be strong, mobile and independent.”
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melissateo@asiaone.com
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