Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Janna Tay
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: Janna Tay (@jannnnnaaaa)
Age: 22
Height: 1.63m
Weight: 50kg
Occupation: Marketing executive
Status: Single
Diet: I don't have a specific diet that I follow, but I do consume A LOT of Milo on a daily basis.
Training: I used to be a competitive athlete back when I was schooling, so trainings used to be three to four times a week. Since graduating last year, I’ve been trying to keep my fitness up by going to the gym about two to three times a week.
Q: You’ve been training for sports from a young age.
A: My family is relatively active, so my parents exposed my brother and I to many different sports from swimming to cycling, golf and trekking. It was only natural that we grew to love sports.
I was selected for track and field events when I was in Primary 3 and subsequently also trained for basketball and gymnastics at the national school level till the end of primary school.
Thereafter, I focused a lot more on track in secondary school and held a few records at the school level. I had the exposure of competing in a few overseas athletic meets too.
I continued with track and field when I was in polytechnic and picked up ultimate frisbee as well. Those were the last few years of my competitive sports life which shaped and built my foundation and love for sports.
You're mostly doing high intensity interval training (HIIT) now – what do you like about it?
My coaches used to mention this term during training, so it is something I am familiar with. Now I do HIIT at Grityard and I enjoy it because it is very similar to how my structured trainings were in the past. Instead of a three-hour-long training session, HIIT is basically a time-effective and efficient 30-45 minute workout that we can do on a daily basis.
As busy working adults, the less time it takes for our workouts to achieve the desired results, it means we have more time to do other things. Effectively, HIIT helps us to become not just healthier and fitter, but also more efficient people.
Why should people make an effort to lead a healthy lifestyle?
Health is wealth! However, personally, I don’t think that I live a very healthy lifestyle especially in terms of diet. At the minimum at least, I try to observe three basic things: hit the gym at least three times a week, try not to eat so much fatty food, and just be happy I guess.
What are your fitness goals now?
Simply, just to keep fit and healthy – maybe to add some muscles and reduce fats. Also as important, is to have fun, so I am in the midst of picking up a new sport, which is tennis. If you watch my Instagram stories, I’m most likely to be playing (or trying to play) tennis over the weekends.
When did you feel the least confident about yourself?
I guess everyone goes through ups and downs in life. When we encounter failure or rejection, we tend to feel less confident. That’s human nature and I believe I am no exception although I have not really encountered an extreme situation so far.
I am very thankful to have a supportive family and close friends whom I can confide in. They are my pillars of strength whenever I need help. Above all, I am grateful that I have a God who is all-knowing and all-loving, and He is the ultimate source of confidence.
Do you get any comments about your body?
Nobody is perfect. I believe that no matter how we look or no matter what others say, we are who we are. Contentment brings confidence, and confidence makes us more beautiful. Ultimately, being beautiful from the inside out is far more substantial and valuable.
