Singapore #Fitspo of the Week Shin Won Tae: 'As I grew older, I became more focused on achieving fitness goals'

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: Shin Won Tae (@wontaeeatnow)

Age: 31

Height: 1.77m

Weight: 75kg

Occupation: Fire and Rescue Officer at Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)

Status: Married

Food: I used to practise Intermittent Fasting (IF) for an extended period until two years ago when I started got into running. I found IF beneficial as it enhanced my mental clarity and focus on an empty stomach with stable glucose levels. However, the nutritional demands before and after running made it challenging for me to continue with IF.

Currently, I strive to maintain a simple diet consisting of three meals a day (with a protein shake in between) to support my workouts and prioritise recovery.

Exercise: Before I got into running, I was doing a typical bro split - push, pull and leg workouts - in the gym. Since I started running two years ago, I will alternate my resistance training and running with a rest day per week.

The intensity of my workouts shifts depending on the goal at the time. If I am preparing for a race or marathon, I will focus more on running while trying to maintain as much strength and size as possible. During the off-race season, I will focus more on gaining back the strength and size that I have lost.

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

A: I played soccer since primary school. I was very skinny when I was competing during my junior college days and I would often "fly away" with any physical contact.

That was when I realised that I had to gain some size to get better and play at a higher level.

What did you get into as you got older?

I started lifting weights to become a better soccer player, but I fell in love with working out as it made me a more confident and disciplined person.

Also, playing soccer regularly became difficult once I started working, as it requires a larger group of people, so I stuck to exercises that could be done alone or in smaller groups. Right now, I am mostly into lifting weights and running, with occasional soccer sessions.

How did your career in SCDF start?

I began my journey in the SCDF when I served my national service (NS) with them. I was fortunate to be awarded with a scholarship and I am glad to be back in the lifesaving force after completing my university studies.

How important is fitness for your line of work?

I will always maintain my fitness as it is our primary duty as emergency responders to protect and serve our community to the best of our abilities.

Additionally, all frontliners have to undergo various physical and skills proficiency tests every year to ensure we are operationally fit to carry out our lifesaving duties.

When you were younger, did you experience any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?

When I first moved to Singapore from South Korea at the age of 11 without my parents, I felt lonely and scared as I did not speak the local language and had very few friends.

Fortunately, I managed to adapt relatively quickly, and now after about two decades I am very proud to call Singapore my home.

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

I was always very skinny growing up because I didn't like to eat very much. I would often faint during morning assembly at school because I was anaemic. Only after I started working out did I start eating properly, and my health improved as well.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

While I continue to strive to improve my fitness as I grew older, I became more focused on achieving fitness goals such as improving my running timings and completing marathons, while minimising training injuries.

It is much more satisfying to achieve these than just working out for aesthetic reasons.