Youtube fitness sensation, Cassey Ho (probably better known as Blogilates), was in town last weekend to headline Singapore’s very first FitnessFest 2017 by AIA.
Held at Marina Bay’s Bayfront Event Space, the Blogilates founder kickstarted the event with a Pilates Intense Interval Training (PIIT28) workout for attendees, before a long string of fitness personalities, including Anabel Chew (WeBarre), Lisa Clayton (UFIT Bootcamps), and Jasmine Chong (YogaLab), took over from her to lead Singaporean fitness aficionados in a whole host of different workouts.
Healthy breakfast to start the day!
But before all the sweating began, I sat down for breakfast with Cassey and took the chance to find out more about her life, workout wisdom, and how she makes sure she never ever procrastinates when it comes to her workouts.
Keeping things positive
On the topic of body positivity, Cassey says she started on YouTube because it was an “even playing ground” for everyone. This was important to her because she didn’t, and still doesn’t, look like a typical fitness instructor.
In fact, her Asian roots and body shape put her in stark contrast to a majority of ultra-ripped, Caucasian fitness trainers. But this wasn’t a disadvantage to her. Cassey explained that her background gave her a unique point of view and allowed her to build an audience, then speak to them about building and maintaining a positive image of their bodies, whatever their shapes and sizes are.
Fitness habits for life!
If you want to know how Cassey approaches her everyday workout routine, one piece of advice stood out to me during our chat: she always tries to keep her “muscles in shock” by switching up her workouts every day.
While the key benefit of switching up workouts are physical in nature, Cassey mentions that constantly changing workouts helped her avoid mental boredom.
Cassey takes a minute to speak with us!
The other impact habit suggests: wake up early. Cassey’s day starts at 6am with whatever workout she chooses to do that day. The reason behind this is intriguing: She believes that a morning workout helps to set the tone for the rest of the day, allowing her to “go hard” for the rest of the day and get things done.
Procrastinating? Here’s what to do
Cassey has some insight into why people procrastinate on their workouts: “I think procrastinate on their workouts because they don’t like what they’re doing!“
Instead of simply going through the drudgery of that next run, her advice is for workout procrastinators to find that one workout activity that they truly enjoy. Pick that one activity you feel that you have to do every day, she proposes. In fact, she says that if you don’t feel like you don’t enjoy, even if it’s just a bit, “you gotta go try something else!”
If you’d like to check out Cassey’s workouts and see if they’re any good, just give this video a spin. Or check out her Instagram for bite-sized workout tips!
Fitness for all
After dispensing these nuggets of wisdom, Cassey bounded off to lead a 700-strong crowd in a PIIT28 workout, just as the festival grounds came to life.
The 2-day long Fitness Fest 2017 by AIA concluded with a turn-out of more than 4,500 participants and over 80 classes conducted.
