Best personal training gyms in Singapore

I don’t think you can live in Singapore but not know some of the benefits of exercising. The Singapore government has been fairly proactive at getting Singaporeans to exercise more. There are 28 ActiveSG gyms in Singapore and their fees are as low as $2.50 or $30 per month! For SG60, Singapore citizens and permanent residents are also getting a $100 ActiveSG credit top up.

Even though we know exercise is good for us, getting started can still be an intimidating feat. PE (i.e., physical education) classes may have been compulsory but it’s not taken seriously enough for some of us to start working out on our own. In today’s blog post, we will share some of the personal training gyms in Singapore you can go to for one-on-one training help.

Square One Active Recovery

It surprise a lot of people but we do offer personal training at Square One Active Recovery. While my primary work as a chiropractor still largely cater to people with pain and injury, I do also help people with weight loss and muscle building.

Since COVID, I definitely see more people taking a proactive approach when it comes to their health and well-being. Singaporeans are less likely to wait until they become sick or in pain to seek help.

Exercise participation alone can help with our health, even if we don’t specifically speak to lose weight or grow stronger. Personal training works as long as you show up! There are no matrix that you must chase after in order to benefit from it.

Health benefits from exercise

Exercise helps with at least 40 health conditions and new research is suggesting there is more. The forty areas that can benefit from exercise are:

As a chiropractor, the benefits in pain, tendon stiffness, arthritis, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, obesity, risk of falling are what I am interested in. As quality of life and standard of living improves, people no longer just want to be pain-free.

In Singapore, conversations around health and well-being has moved towards self-actualisation. It’s no longer so much about how I can climb stairs without knee pain but rather how can I safely train for a marathon or how I can achieve a competitive timing for my next HYROX race.

These goals are only possible if you have good global health. It’s not just the pain and soreness. It’s also about your tendon and ligament health. It’s also about optimising sports performance. For the older adults, it could be having enough cardiorespiratory fitness and strength to keep up with your growing grandchildren!

Body transformation personal training gyms in Singapore

Of course personal training is not just about our physical health or our muscles and joints. Personal training can also be about aesthetic, and I don’t have an issue with that.

I get that body dissatisfaction and self consciousness can lead to poor body image in Singapore, which can contribute to poor mental well-being. This is not what I am encouraging. I am suggesting that the desire to physically look good can be a great motivator to get people to eat better and exercise more.

If you have a specific hairdresser you go to for a haircut, you probably do care how you look. If you have specific skin care products or cosmetic brands that you use, you probably do care how you look. Let’s not even get started on fashion and shopping. The truth is we all, to some extent, care about our looks!

Hercules Fitness Gym

A boutique gym at Joo Chiat, Hercules Fitness is founded by husband and wife Desmond Lee and Gladys Leong. They are one of the most supportive people when I first started Square One Active Recovery. Not only did they promote my chiropractic services, they even introduced MediaCorp actor Zheng Ge Ping (Edmund Tay) to us.

Both Gladys and Desmond are award winning bodybuilders. Outside of bodybuilding, Desmond also competes in triathlons, both track and road cycling, as well as powerlifting. He has also won podium finishes in all of them. If you are looking to work on both your physique and athletic performance, Hercules Fitness is definitely the place for you.

As a husband and wife team, Hercules Fitness is perfect for couples looking to do buddy training. They are also family orientated and have three kids of their own.

Unstoppable Fitness

A commitment-free gym that is built for bodybuilding on Shenton Way, Unstoppable Fitness the perfect place for muscle hypertrophy training. Despite being in the CBD, their rates are very affordable. One month membership is only $120 with no contract! If you prefer pay-per-session, their off peak (before 5pm) entry fee is only $15 while peak period will cost you $25.

In comparison, Anytime Fitness membership pricing is $158 for a month before their key fob and joining fees. In my opinion,  Unstoppable Fitness offers better training equipment and a better training experience. For the times I have been there (i.e., weekday evenings), it is fairly quiet and most equipment are available for use. The trainers there are indeed super jacked but they seem friendly. Big plus!

Unstoppable Fitness also have an unlimited personal training plan. I am not sure how it works but according to their Instagram post, you can train up to 20 times per week at a fixed fee of $999 per month! For personal training packages, fees start from $140 per session.

META Performance

First on the list, we have META Performance. They are a boutique personal training gym in the CBD that specialises in body transformation at weight loss.

Their space is huge and very well thought out. From what I can see online, they have multiple benches and racks. For those who prefer machines, they also have a wide selection of equipment. They have a Animal Chest Supported T-Bar Row from Watson Gym Equipment, which allows you to train your lats and mid back with minimal exertion on your low back. Their Atlantis Pendulum Squat machine will let you squat into full knee flexion without compromising on your form. 100% guaranteed to give your quads a good workout.

Equipment aside, their space is also super sleek. They invested in their design and branding by working with Singapore-based designer Jay Liu, the cofounder of Right Angle Studio. Jay is an award-winning creative and his works have been featured all around the world from United States and United Kingdom to Hong Kong!

Fitness Factory

Augustine Lee and Joan Liew are probably one of the OGs of bodybuilding in Singapore. Together, they founded the Fitness Factory at Boat Quay (located right below FITLUC). Joan is a professional female bodybuilder had been featured multiple times on the media. In 2017, Joan became the first Singaporean to be awarded the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro Card. This came after her success at the at the 2014 Arnold Classic Sports Festival and 2016 Arnold Classic Asia.

Joan has also been featured in the ActiveSG Circle. She also has a self-published book The Skinny Sumo Wrestler.

Equipment-lite personal training gyms

I get that big gyms with heavy weights and machines can be intimidating. Some of us may see the value in exercising, strength training but perhaps not subscribe to the value or the culture of a traditional gym. If that is the case, personal training gyms that are equipment-lite may be suitable for you.

Out of the Common

Conveniently located at Boat Quay, Out of the Common is a short five-minute walk away from Raffles Place MRT. The founders are Bronwen Appel and Alex Salihin. OOTC is a movement and longevity focused studio. They are very much about using movements and play to achieve health and wellness.

Their PLAY approach is about presence, longevity, agility, and yielding joy.

The co-founders have lots of experience between them. Bronwen was a personal trainer at Level before over four years before she started OOTC. She is also the sister of Ashleigh Appel, the Regional Franchise Manager for BFT as well as owner/coach of BFT Orchard, Tanjong Pagar & Bukit Timah.

Alex was a owner of UFIT and Level before starting OOTC. He has over two decades of experience in the fitness industry. He is also the guy behind bringing OPEX to asia.

Levitise

Levitise is definitely one of the more unique personal training studios in Singapore. Like OOTC, they are also equipment-lite. Rather than focused solely on health-related dimensions, Levitise is unique in adding executive and lifestyle coaching to their offering. They also offer a full spectrum infrared sauna available.

Levitise works with C-suite executives in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.

Alex Mearns founded Levitise after 20 years in finance. According to his Linkedin profile, he was a heavy drink and smoker and started transforming his health after a wakeup call from his doctor.