Personal Training Private Gym in Chinatown Singapore?

With my new home gym setup in Chinatown, I sometimes wonder if it is appropriate to call myself a personal trainer. I clearly do not have the stereotypical physique of a personal trainer. But at the same time I do have the skills and knowledge base to perform the job of a personal trainer. I also did study Certificate III and IV in Fitness, which is a one year personal training course, when I was still in Australia. Today, we discuss what is personal training and whether personal training is something that is suitable for you.

What is personal training?

I supposed with my conundrum, it is a good moment to revisit what is personal training. There is limited resources to this because personal training is an unregulated profession around the world. While there are certification programmes, you don’t need one to be a personal trainer. In other words, anyone can call themselves a personal trainer!

According to the Department of Health (Victoria, Australia), a personal trainer helps people with health and fitness goals setting, designs exercise programmes, and educates and motivates people to get to their health and fitness goals. Well, that certainly sounds like something I do on a daily basis!

I think the only difference between what I do as a chiropractor and personal trainer, is that I specialise more in chronic pain and/or injury. Training wise, the chiropractic programme is a lot more extensive. I spent five years studying to be a chiropractor!

I supposed when it comes to chronic pain management, I wear a chiropractor hat. But for clients I train with no pain or injury, I wear more of a personal trainer hat.

Why is personal training beneficial?

I think this is an important question everyone should ask themselves before deciding on a PT: How does PT benefit me? If you cannot answer this question, then perhaps you should hold off hiring a personal training for now.

The biggest benefit of working with a personal trainer is that you get a big picture professional opinion to how you can get to your fitness or health goals. It is true that everyone can exercise on their own. However, whether you can exercise well and if your exercises can get you to your goals two different stories. This is where seeking help from someone with subject matter expertise helps.

Subject matter expertise matters

I just renovated my home so I’d used this as an example. I did hire an interior designer even th0ugh I was going for a boring, plan, minimalist design. Think white walls, grey flooring and black fittings – yes, that’s me. It is genuinely so basic that it doesn’t take a lot of design work.

On the outside, it looks obvious but there were a lot of details that I failed to consider. It took me weeks to decide on a skirting because I wanted one that is identical to the cement flooring vinyl I chose, but it wasn’t available. I then wanted to get white ones to paint over it so it matches the colour of my walls. But my ID suggested going with black skirting. I was initially worried that it will be too contrasting since my walls are white and my floors are grey. Would black skirting be too “loud”?

Well, turns out black skirting was absolutely stunning.

There were a lot of other such instances. Such as having a side-face opening for the cement support for my natural stone sink, running water pipes in and out of the toilet so it doesn’t have to run down the kitchen wall, having a cement plaster base at the entrance so it can better withstand weather elements. These are things that are “obvious” when you see them but not so obvious when you are in the process of renovating.

Renovating was so overwhelming there was no way I could have considered everything, even if I already “knew” them.

This is why paying someone with subject matter expertise matters. They work as a guide to help you more efficiently and more effectively get to your end goals.

Is it better to train with a personal trainer?

The short answer is yes. Working with a personal training means less injuries, better results, specific training, expert guidance, having a professional second opinion, etc. The truth of the matter is you don’t know what you don’t know and having another (qualified) person to help you is always better.

Injury prevention

When you are new to exercising, a personal trainer can help you with the correct technique so you can train safely. This may sound like something that you can do by yourself by looking at the mirror or watching videos playback. However, what you learn from the internet may not be suitable for you.

All of our bodies are different and all of us move differently. When you have some time, take a look at how different people walk. You will realise they are never identical. The pace is different, the stride length is different, the foot flare is different, the hip rotation is different. Everyone moves differently!

Similarly, you can’t learn exercise technique online by following their cues or instructions. There is a very high chance that the technique taught, while good for the person, is not suitable for you.

Technique correction

Did you also know that looking at the mirror is not a good strategy to check technique? Movement occurs at a primitive part of the brain called the cerebellum while cognitive thought processing occurs at the frontal lobe, which is a much more complex and advanced part of the brain. Their locations are also different, the former is at the back of your brain while the front lobe is at the front.

The relaying of information between this two regions therefore has a lag time. Using a mirror and correcting yourself feels like it is real time technique work when in reality there is actually a lag time between when the movement occur and processing of cognitive thoughts.

This is where a good personal trainer can make a world of difference. A personal trainer observe you to study how you move. If there is something to be corrected, they look for antecedents cues. In other words, they watch for movements that occur BEFORE the movement that needs to be corrected. This is so they can give you verbal or even tactile cues earlier, and before you reach the problem area.

In doing so, the personal trainer gives you enough time to process the cues, what you are doing, and correct for them. Over time, learning occurs and your technique improve! This is something that you cannot do on your own.

Specific training

The truth of the matter is that not everything can be corrected. This is where accessory exercises or prehab can be very useful. A good personal trainer is able to look at the limitations of your current training and add new exercises to help you find your next breakthrough.

When you first start training, it is very easy to make progress. Everyone, however, will hit a plateau or bottleneck.

When happens then?

Do you push yourself through? Do you try alternative exercises first? Do you change your training routine?

There are so many options available and variables that you can change. It is hard to evaluate and make a decision on your own. This is when having professional help can be, well, helpful.

Most personal trainers will also try to predict when your training may hit a bottleneck. It is not uncommon for personal trainers to ask you to do an exercise for 2-3 weeks before shifting to another ones for a couple of weeks then coming back again. The reason for this is so you can have a seamless training progression without feeling stuck.

When you are training on your own, it’s almost impossible to anticipate when you will get stuck next. You only realise you are stuck when you stop making progress for weeks or months. This is an inefficiency and it holds back your progress. Worse, you may even get injured trying to push through the plateau!

Longevity of training

One of the biggest challenge in exercising is being able to do so continuously for the foreseeable future. These are the things that people generally don’t think about because of optimism bias. Optimism bias is cognitive bias where we tend to overestimate our chance of success and underestimate our risk of an adverse outcome. As such, people don’t anticipate or plan for their own training downfall.

A personal trainer can help with this through injury prevention, which we have discussed earlier. Beyond that, personal trainers often also discuss your current health and well-being. This could be anything from stress levels to sleep that could indirectly affect your training in the future.

When festive seasons are coming up, a personal trainer can also preempt you to start planning for it so you can eat meaningful without derailing yourself from your fitness goals.

Personal trainers can also work around your travel schedule, be it work or holiday, and programme your workout accordingly to maximise outcomes and minimise loss. For example, you may be given some exercises to do yourself while away. Training schedule may be adjusted so you train right before your trip and come back straight after to reduce the duration of time not training.

These are little things that your trainer can look into so you can keep training for the longer term. The last thing we want a is a yo-yo exercise routine!

Is it worth taking a personal trainer?

Whether a hiring a personal trainer is worth it will depend on your goals and what you are trying to get out of it. It comes down to value it brings to you, and if that is at or below the price you are willing to pay for.

For some people, hiring a personal trainer is about the technical advice and training they can get from their PTs. For others, it may be accountability. They want to have someone who can keep their training in check and train with week in and week out. There are even people who hire a trainer simply because they want someone to talk to.

At the end of the day, you will have your own personal reasons for thinking about working with a trainer. Whatever these reasons may be, that is okay. Have a open conversation with the PTs you have shortlisted and see how it goes from there.

Everyone exercise for their own reasons. It’s not only for physical health. It could be for aesthetics (e.g., self-esteem, confidence, emotional well-being) or for the company (e.g., social well-being). There is no right or wrong reason.

Does ActiveSG have personal trainers?

It does not seem like ActiveSG gyms have their own personal trainers. There are staff on duty that can provide basic help on how to use the equipment if you need it. From online reviews, it seems like staff cannot provide personal workout or training advice. As such, you may be better off hiring your own trainer should you need extra help.

Some private trainers do conduct training out of ActiveSG gyms. This is a grey area as ActiveSG gyms do not allow private personal trainers to conduct training out of their premises. Some gyms have been known to interrupt 

How do I know if my personal trainer is qualified?

There is a National Registry of Exercise Professionals (NREP) that has been launched since 2023. On its website, you can perform a search by sports such as aqua fitness, dance fitness, HIIT, martial arts, mind and body, strength and conditioning, and static cycling. While targeted at exercise professionals, the registry does not seem to recognise personal training as in independent discipline.

On each profile, you get a picture of the person as well as information such as the full name, contact information (i.e., email address), and preferred training location of the person you are interested in.

NREP provides basic information but not enough for you to find a good trainer

Interestingly enough, there is no bio or qualification list of the exercise professional. According to Mr Roy Teo, chief of industry developments technology and innovation at Sport Singapore (SportSG), the NREP will give the public “greater assurance when engaging accredited exercise professionals who are listed on the registry.”

It seems, however, the public has to decide which trainer to reach out to based on looks, type of “sports”, and training areas alone. I appreciate the intention and value such a registry can bring. At its current development, it does not seem to provide enough value for both trainers or the public.

No trainers whom I trust and would personally pay money to work with have listed themselves on the registry.

How do you know if your personal trainer is good?

Unfortunately, you will have to do your own due diligence when looking for a personal trainer. There are tons of fitness courses available and some certifications are only a one or two days training course. The amount of learning they get from such courses alone are insufficient for them to adequately help anyone with their personal training journey.

There are gyms that offer discounted trials with their PTs. While these sessions tend to be heavily structured and not as personalised as I would prefer, they do give insights to what interacting with a personal trainer is like. This is a good way to do some “market research” and have an understanding of the personal training scene.

Once you have attended a couple of trials, it will be easier to list down what you like or do not like about each trainer. From there, you should be able to develop a criteria of what you are looking for in a trainer.

If you do not mind, Carousell is surprisingly a great platform to find new or freelance trainers. These trainers may lack the experience of someone who works full time in a gym, their fees are also relatively lower. In my opinion, they can be good value for money but please be discerning should you decide to give this a shot.

Qualifications can matter

I personally feel someone with a diploma or bachelor in sports science is definitely at a better position to train others. It is a formal training that is at least three to four years and they cover anatomy and physiology more thoroughly than the more generic personal training certificates. Biomechanics, coaching are also part of the curriculum so they are better equipped with the skills necessary to be a personal trainer.

For my case, being able to conduct exercise sessions for population who are injured or in pain is part of my chiropractic programme. Beyond that, you also have to write papers on exercise programme and provide citations on every decision you make. While extremely arbitrary, this academic process does develop critical thinking skills that goes beyond “I think this will be good for you” or “let’s try something I saw on social media”.

Beyond the theoretical side of training, I have to also log hours and have every exercise session signed off by a supervisor during my clinical year. I can’t remember what was the exactly breakdown anymore but, in totality, the minimum requirement is that you clock 1000 hours working with real clients!

The rigour of a formal academic programme can be a bit of an overkill. It sounds unnecessary but they are designed so the graduate have the knowledge and skills necessary to help people from different backgrounds and with different needs.

Should you decide to hire someone with formal training in sports and/or fitness for your training, please be mindful that they do tend to charge more.

Looking fit and being sporty does not make a good trainer

A lot of fitness professionals are in the industry because they love sports or are generally good at it. In my opinion, these individuals do not make good trainers because what work for them most likely would not work for you. The struggles you have are likely going to be completely different from theirs.

Instead, it is better to work with trainers with experience working with someone who is in the same circumstances as you. You can share with them about your current situation and goals, and asked if they have worked with similar clients before. You can also ask them what were the challenges that the client had in their fitness journey, and the role the trainer played to help them overcome that.

What you want is not someone who is already good at being fit.

What you want is someone who is good at helping you help yourself reach your own fitness goals!

Experience can be a slippery slope

It is common for people to seek out PTs who are experienced. The assumption is that more experienced trainers tend to be better. But what if I tell you this is not necessary so?

I would agree working with a trainer with zero experience can be awkward. They could be nervous, it could be their first time meeting someone from your culture or background, they may not have the soft skills to make your training fun. All of this is true. However, inexperienced trainers tend to charge a lot less so, to an extremely large extent, these “inconveniences” have already been accounted for.

The problem with experience is that it doesn’t make someone actually better at their job. It makes them even more of who they are. So, if they are a broscience, dogmatic trainer, experience is going to make them even more of a broscience, dogmatic trainer. If they are a fad diet advocate, you bet they are gonna push for extreme diets “if you want results”.

What you want is to find someone whom you are comfortable working with and also make sure your values and theirs are aligned. Ideally, you also want someone who is science based because fad diet and fad training doesn’t work for MOST people.

Is it better to go to a personal trainer 2 or 3 times a week?

Let’s be honest. We live in Singapore and most people don’t have the time to meet anyone outside of work and/or family three times a week.

In my opinion, thrice weekly trainings are great because you can definitely get better results that way, but it is also not sustainable for most of us. If you can afford the time and finances, then I do highly recommend it. Otherwise, twice is good enough.

Sometimes people start of training 3x/week to get started. I think this is fine to do a intense high frequency training with your PT for the first 6 weeks or so. Once that is done and out of the way, 2x/week is way more reasonable.

Focus on the long game

You will only get to enjoy results for as long as you keep training. Getting results fast is not the goal cos once you stop, the results goes with it. Being able to find a frequency that you can show up for over an extended period of time is more important.

In my opinion, 1x/week training is also too little especially at the start. If the frequency (think dosage) is too low, then you may not see results at all. This may lead you to lose motivation and eventually stop training altogether.

Unfortunately training does require time commitment. In my opinion, the golden number is twice a week at the start. Once you have gotten a hang of it and got the basics out of the way, it is 100% possible to taper down to 1x/week while you do your own training outside.

The most cost effective approach is to start with twice weekly sessions to learn everything you can. After 6-12 weeks, depending on your progress, you can start to train on your own then cut down on your PT. My suggestion is to always do your own training FIRST before tapering down to 1x/week.

How much does a PT cost in Singapore?

Personal training rates in Singapore can range from $50 for a freelance trainer off Carousell to $200+ for experienced personal trainers. There are trainers in Singapore who focus on training C Suite executives, naturally their fees will also be on the higher side. Freelance trainers on Carousell on the other hand tend to be newer to the industry and charge significantly less.

When to stop using a personal trainer?

You can stop working with a trainer whenever you feel like. This could be due to goals attainment, wanting to try training on your own, relocation, personal finances, etc.

If you are looking to stop using a personal trainer but still want to keep the progress you have made, the best thing to do is to make sure you can train on your own. Once you are confident in your workout know-how, you write your own programmes and execute them yourself.

Budget constraints and scheduling conflicts are other reasons why someone may decide to stop personal training. Personal training is a financial commitment. If your budget no longer allows for it, you can consider group training or even DIY your own workouts.

Lastly, if you find that your trainer is no longer aligned to your needs and/or goals, it’s perfectly okay to end the working relationship and look elsewhere for more suitable options.

Bespoke home-based personal training at Chinatown with a chiropractor

If you are looking to get started with personal training but has multiple physical ailments or is prone to injuries, you may want to consider working with a chiropractor. Working with us at Square One Active Recovery not only allows you to work towards your fitness goals, it also ensures that your physical health needs are well taken care of. From chronic pain to repetitive stress injuries, we are able to help with them.

We are currently offering home-based personal training right in Chinatown. It is less than five minutes walk from Chinatown MRT and is a short walk away from CBD. We focus a lot of functional training so free weights and bodyweight training is our usual preference. We also do have a reformer for those who require  or prefer gentler exercises.