Here’s a timeline of my fitness journey: key milestones, personal bests, and small experiments across different sports over the years.
Early Sports - Karate and Badminton
My fitness journey started when I was 5, when my parents wanted me to practice a martial art. I was on board since growing up in a Cantonese household, I watched a lot of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films and wanted to be like them, and chose Karate.
The foundation of my self discipline and enjoyment for physical training comes from those early martial arts years. To this day I still remember pushing myself with countless push ups, reps of katas, and drills - building not just physical conditioning but mental resilience.
I stopped enjoying karate after a several years and wanted to quit. I made a deal with my parents that I could stop once I reached Black Belt (Shodan 1st, CMAA). Which I achieved when I was 14.
I’m grateful for my parents, not just for the time taking me to and from the many training sessions, but for teaching me perseverance of showing up every week and delayed gratification.
I then switched sports to badminton during my early teens. I became school captain, competed for my borough in the London Youth Games several times, and became University captain. Badminton provided intensity, competition, and accountability.
Strength
At university, I made the decision to start strength training on 14/10/2014, as I knew future me would be thankful for the long term health benefits and due to the fact I’d never have as much free time as I did then.
Since then, I’ve logged every gym session and tracked my bodyweight daily. As I was curious how my body would respond to different training stimuli - a personal experiment that I could appreciate decades from now, when I’m older and less able.
At a broader level, this reflects how I like to approach life: making steady progress across multiple domains, fitness included. Tracking made that progress visible.
Like many lifters of my generation, my strength journey started with recommendations from /r/fitness. I progressed through StrongLifts 5×5, then PPL (Push–Pull–Legs), and eventually nSuns 5/3/1.
Below are my main strength milestones.
| Date | Lift | Rep Max | Weight (kg) | Bodyweight (kg) | kg:bw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/01/18 | Squat | 1 | 175 | 91.5 | 1.91 |
| 25/01/18 | Overhead Press | 1 | 83.75 | 91.7 | 0.91 |
| 13/02/18 | Bench | 1 | 135 | 90.5 | 1.49 |
| 26/02/18 | Deadlift | 2 | 212.5 | 87.9 | 2.42 |
| 18/04/18 | Pendlay Row | 1 | 107.5 | 86.6 | 1.24 |
| 22/05/21 | Pull Up | 1 | 56.25 | 78.7 |
and notable lifts.
| Date | Lift | Rep Max | Weight (kg) | Bodyweight (kg) | kg:bw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27/01/17 | DB Bench | 5 | 42.5 | 84.7 | |
| 25/02/17 | Incline DB Bench | 7 | 40 | 86.7 | |
| 07/04/17 | Dips | 5 | 50 | 87.5 | |
| 06/06/17 | Barbell Curl | 3 | 40 | 79.5 | |
| 20/12/17 | Overhead Press | 3 | 77.5 | 91 | |
| 25/01/18 | Overhead Press | 5 | 70 | 91.7 | |
| 29/01/18 | Deadlift | 3 | 207.5 | 92.3 | |
| 02/02/18 | Squat | 3 | 167.5 | 91.9 | |
| 04/02/18 | Close Grip Bench | 7 | 92.5 | 90.7 | |
| 04/02/18 | Bench | 5 | 120 | 91.3 | |
| 04/02/18 | Bench | 3 | 127.5 | 91.3 | |
| 14/03/18 | Sumo Deadlift | 1 | 210 | 87.0 | 2.41 |
| 23/04/18 | Incline Bench | 6 | 90 | 85.9 | |
| 16/05/18 | Seated DB Press | 3 | 35 | 84.8 | |
| 26/07/18 | Front Squat | 3 | 100 | 82.7 | 1.21 |
| 06/01/19 | Deadlift | 5 | 200 | 79.1 | |
| 26/01/19 | Power Snatch | 3 | 50 | 80.5 | |
| 26/01/19 | Power Clean | 1 | 60 | 80.5 | |
| 26/01/19 | Clean and Jerk | 1 | 60 | 80.5 | |
| 22/05/21 | Pull Up | 1 | 56.25 | 78.7 | |
| 06/06/21 | Muscle Up | 5 | 80.0 |
I got close to hitting my lifetime lifting goals of advanced powerlifting benchmarks: 3/4/5 plates for bench (140kg), squat (180kg), and deadlift (220kg), before my priorities shifted. Time will tell whether I shift my priority back to strength training (less likely for deadlifts due to higher risks).
It may be the case that I no longer make absolute strength PRs but I know I can still make relative strength gains at a lighter bodyweight.
I gave Olympic weightlifting a try for in Jan 2019 with a few group classes, which I’ve included above.
Boxing
By mid 2018, pure strength stopped feeling like enough. I wanted better cardio, a new skill, and discomfort. Boxing gave me all three. Boxing sparring is the best cardio I’ve ever done, there’s nothing like the threat of someone hitting in you in the face to force you to keep moving even when your body wants to stop. Plus its always good to know 1) you can take a punch and 2) you can handle yourself in a fight.
However, after a few months of accumulating a few injuries from sparring, I decided that the long term health risks were not worth the fun. I shifted my focus on climbing.
Climbing
I’ve been climbing since 16/12/2013, when my sister and brother-in-law introduced me to bouldering at the Arch Biscuit Factory (RIP). Climbing was my main sport from late 2018 until early 2025.
It’s my favourite sport for many reasons, which I’ll explain in a future post. I’ll pick it back up after I’ve achieved my fitness racing goals.
Below are my notable climbing achievements.
| Date | Discipline | Grade | Notes | Bodyweight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/11/19 | Bouldering | Came joint first at Reach bouldering competition (non-elite) | 77.1 | |
| 17/07/21 | Bouldering | 7A/V6 | Lost Decade in Portland (flash) | 79.45 |
| 19/10/21 | Lead | 7a | The Accelerator in Portland (2 sessions, 6 attempts) | 78.55 |
| 26/06/24 | Bouldering | 7B/V8 | First of the grade on the Kilter, Hammer drop by KilterStudio @ 40° | 75.8 |
| 18/09/24 | Multi-pitch | 5b | First big multi-pitch climb (10 pitches, 440m and 6 hours of climbing) - Speroni in Ticino, Switzerland | 77.0 |
I applied the same principles of progressive overload from the gym to improve my finger strength.
Some grip training PRs:
- 02/12/22 - Two arm hang on 20mm lattice edge (5 second hang): 61.25kg at 75.45kg BW = 181.2% load
- 28/06/24 - One arm hang on middle Beastmaker edge: Right hand 7.3 secs, left hand 2.4 secs
- 21/09/24 - MX Edge (22mm) 4 finger crimp lifts: 65kg x 3 reps and 55kg x 8
Running
I started running on 31/12/2018 to improve my boxing cardio and began tracking everything with Strava.
During Covid, running became a regular habit. I aim to run at least one 5 km every month (ideally also a 10 km). Strava’s virtual badges turned out to be a surprisingly effective accountability tool. Over the 70 months since January 2020, I’ve only missed a 5 km run 7 times and a 10 km run 13 times.
My highest volume weekly volume is 41.9km (08/04/20 to 14/04/20) and monthly volume is 125.6km (09/01/21 to 08/02/21).
Below are my time trials and officially ticketed races.
| Date | Event | Time | Pace | Bodyweight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/03/20 | 10K time trial (Virtual Race due to Covid) 🏆 | 00:43:41 | 04:21/km | 74.95 |
| 09/04/20 | 5K time trial 🏆 | 00:19:56 | 04:00/km | 74.95 |
| 20/02/22 | Richmond Half Marathon 🏆 | 01:48:56 | 05:10/km | 76.79 |
| 22/05/22 | Hackney Half Marathon | 01:52:46 | 05:22/km | 77.13 |
| 03/11/24 | Singapore Doraemon 10K | 00:52:34 | 05:15/km | 78.86 |
| 27/04/25 | Singapore 2XU 2025 Half Marathon | 02:01:09 | 05:48/km | 78.34 |
| 05/04/26 | Singapore 2XU 2026 Half Marathon | tbc |
HYROX
I signed up for my first HYROX race on 22/03/2025 after listening to the co-founder on the Business of Sport podcast. I was curious whether the format really could make the average gym-goer feel like an Olympic athlete.
The answer is yes and now I’m hooked on fitness racing, climbing is taking a backseat for now.
| Date | Event | Venue | Time | Bodyweight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28/06/25 | Open Singles | Singapore National Stadium | 01:23:54 | 78.3 |
| 29/11/25 | Open Singles | Singapore Expo | 01:15:22** | 79.8 |
| 22/03/26 | Open Doubles | Bangkok | tbc |
Moving Forward
This log started as a way to track progress, but it became something else over time. It’s a record of how my body and mindset has changed, as my priorities changed.
Today, my goals are more balanced but no less intentional. I optimise for staying injury-free, maintaining good strength and cardio, and investing in flexibility. Training sessions are shorter and more focused, and success is measured by consistency rather than exhaustion or single-day peaks.
That said, I’m still goal-driven and race-focused. Having events on the calendar keeps me accountable and gives my training direction—something tangible to work towards and progress against.
In the near future, that means stepping up to HYROX Pro, both solo and doubles, and in 2026, running my first marathon. Fitness is no longer about proving capability in one narrow domain, but about building a body that can train, compete, and keep improving for the long term.