SINGAPORE: Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam broke a personal fitness record by deadlifting 65kg an impressive 102 times at the Chong Pang Fitness Fiesta on Nov 2 (Saturday).
Mr Shanmugam had first participated in the event in 2022, announcing ahead of time in a Facebook post that he would try to lift heavier weights than he had ever done.
While his personal best had been lifting 105kg, at the Chong Pang Fitness Fiesta 2022, he deadlifted 125kg. For this year, the number of repetitions was his goal.
Posting a video about the event over TikTok on Oct 26, the Minister explained that after 2022’s weight challenge, last year had been all about High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and other exercises.
@k_shanmugam [Chong Pang Day & Fitness Day 2024] As usual, I will be joining residents and others in this year’s Chong Pang Fitness Fiesta 2024 on 2 November 2024. Two years ago, the challenge was to see what weight we can carry. Last year was a form of HIIT and other exercises. This year the challenge will be interesting. It is to try and carry our body weight, several times. The requirement is to have 6 repetitions within one minute (meaning you carry your body weight once every 10 seconds), and after each minute there will be a 90 sec break. So if your weight is 70 kg, then you carry 70 kg, 6 times a minute, and try and do it as many times as possible. And we try and see how many reps we can do. The aim is to try and do 50/75/100 reps, depending on the person. This is a good way to build muscular endurance. There is another group who will be doing the dumbbell clean and jerk challenge. If you are keen to join us, you can sign up for the event here, allocation will be on the basis of availability: https://www.onepa.gov.sg/events/chong-pang-day-fitness-fiesta-2024-34606290
He called this year’s challenge to carry one’s body weight several times “interesting” and explained it this way:
Each participant was required to carry the equivalent of their body weight six times within one minute, followed by a 90-second break.
“So if your weight is 70 kg, then you carry 70 kg, 6 times a minute, and try and do it as many times as possible.
And we try and see how many reps we can do. The aim is to try and do 50/75/100 reps, depending on the person,” he wrote.
Mr Shanmugam added that this is a good way to build muscular endurance.
News reports say that there were around 100 people who participated in the challenge.
The minister told 8world he had a cough and hadn’t been in the best shape that day, which made him doubt whether he could do 100 repetitions.
Nevertheless, he said, “I’m pretty happy that I was able to do [it], which shows I’m in pretty good shape.”
Shin Min Daily News said it took Mr Shanmugam just 40 minutes to break his personal best record.
The minister is providing Singaporeans with some inspiration for staying in shape, a number of netizens commenting on news reports have said.
This is especially true for seniors, as Mr Shanmugam is 65.
Health experts have said that muscular endurance exercises help seniors stay strong and improve their cardiorespiratory function.
It also improves general muscle function and movement as muscles, cardiovascular systems, bones, joints, and lungs grow stronger through these exercises.
Balance and coordination also improve due to strength training. /TISG
Read also: K Shanmugam to beat his own ‘personal best’ 105kg deadlift at Chong Pang Fitness Fiesta 2022