Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Elise Poh

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: Elise Poh (@lissy25)

Age: 38

Height: 1.60m

Weight: 51kg

Occupation: Anti-bribery and corruption compliance executive at a bank

Status: Married with three kids

Food: I don't follow any specific diet but I usually try to be on low carbs (although I love bread), have less fried food, and have clean and wholesome food instead. I am trying to incorporate more protein-rich food as I am trying to build more lean muscles in hopes of looking more toned. I snack and indulge occasionally too.

Exercise: I have quite an active lifestyle while trying to balance work and family. After sending my kids to school in the morning, I will go for functional training class before work at least four times a week. It provides a mix of cardio and strength classes.

I also go for social netball training once a week for two hours in the evening after work, lunch time yoga and boxing once a week as well. If time and weather permits, I will usually do a short run from home to my kid’s enrichment class while my husband sends them there. That’s approximately 4km weekly.

Q: When you were younger, were you active in sports?

A: Yes, I have always been outdoor-loving and active since young. Throughout my youth, I have also tried various sports such as running, hiking, trekking, wakeboarding, golf, stand-up paddling. I was also part of my secondary school netball team for four years, and trained for the zone and national level.

What did you get into as you got older?

I had a gym membership when I started working in CBD as the gym was in the same building and I would go for daily lunch classes. During the pandemic, I cancelled my gym membership and started home workouts. I also did occasional sessions of rhythm cycling, pilates and hot yoga.

Recently, I have been into Body Fit Training (BFT) that provides a variety of cardio and strength classes for 50 minutes. It is near my office and home, hence it fits into my schedule which is very important as it is more sustainable to keep working out. As a working mum juggling various demands of life, this is the most practical form of exercise as I get to maximise my heart-rate in the shortest time.

You used to run a lot and take part in marathons.

I used to run 10km almost every week to train for half and full marathons. I especially enjoyed participating in mass run events as I enjoy the atmosphere of people from all walks of life running together.

I would always take part in these runs, which eventually led me to ticking off my bucket list of completing a marathon. I always take part in such runs alone as I feel that running is quite individual and there’s no need to wait for anyone to join together.

How did your running journey change after childbirth?

My pregnancy and childbirth journey altered my running journey a lot as I was first pregnant with twins – which was considered high risk – and I had to stop running completely but I did go to the gym occasionally to keep fit.

After giving birth, I did not have much time to train or resume my running routine as my hands were tied – being a first-time mum and caring for two babies at once – but I did mostly 30-minute home workouts or gym classes to stay active and not feel sluggish. It was tough as I remember back then, I was pumping every three hours in order to have sufficient milk for both.

My second pregnancy had some complications that prevented me from even going to the gym. Since then, I stopped running long distance – which for me is anything more than 8km.

You're slowly picking running up again, and also involving your children.

I enjoy the peace of running alone as it helps to clear my mind especially after a long day of work. During my run, I listen to work-related or life-enriching podcasts. It helps to take my mind off everyday stressors and I felt good that I wasn’t wasting time running as something good comes out of it (learning something new or latest trend).

As an active mum, I like to expose my children to various outdoor activities and sports as I think it is important for their upbringing and bonding.

I happen to chance upon the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2km Mummy + Me category which I thought would be a meaningful and fun event for me to participate with my daughter as this will be our first time running together and it is also an exclusive time for the both of us to bond without her other siblings (as they are all boys).

I’m looking forward and excited to spending alone time with her as we participate in the race, and I am sure she is also equally excited to take part as she feels exclusive that only females can run in this race.

How do you balance work, fitness, family and your personal life?

I believe this is all about the mindset. Sometimes you just have to tell yourself to be there and show up for your kids and work, and naturally, somehow, it will be balanced.

Finding time to work out that fits in my current schedule (location and time) is so important, as it ensures that the routine is sustainable as I upkeep an active lifestyle.

I also keep fit and active so that I have the energy and stamina to keep up and balance with the various aspects of my life. Keeping up with three kids is exhausting.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

I’ve always had an ideal body type in mind and growing up, I was constantly chasing that ideal type and felt a need to keep in shape or slim down, which was easier when I was younger

After going through childbirth, my body changed, especially since I carried twins. Like many other mothers, I have loose skin and stretch marks till now and I became conscious of my body as these are things that cannot go away no matter how much I work out or try to tone my body.

But my priorities shifted after being a mum and I slowly learned to accept the way my body looked. Family happiness is the most important to me now and I’ve become kinder with my expectations. As long as I am fit and healthy, I think that’s all that matters.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I guess this is a constant battle. Personally, I do feel more satisfied and confident after incorporating weight and strength training and having more toned and defined muscles, but my loose skin after pregnancy does bother me occasionally.

Do you get any comments about your body?

People are usually kind in their comments to me. Recently I get mostly good comments that I looked more toned, but I’m still on a journey to accepting these compliments as I work through my expectations.

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

I am pretty satisfied with my life now, but if I could go back in time where I was younger and perhaps more adventurous, I would like to pursue a career related to outdoor or sports – be it a wildlife photographer or something related to sports.

It must be cool if you can marry both your passion and money in a career but it is too late to be wondering about these now, so I’m contented with where I am.