Transcription
In the first round, whatever exercise I assign you, there will be 10 of them, okay? In the second round, you will have to do 12 of them. And in the third round, you will have to do 15 of them. In three, two, and one. Let's go for it, guys. Yes, guys! Beautiful! Looking so good, you guys. Prove to yourself again and again that you can do hard stuff. Not just today, but tomorrow, the day after that. And when you keep showing up, you will be amazed at how far it can take you. We're in our metabolic conditioning right now, so everybody's working their butts off. Nice work, guys. Excellent. Good. In just about five seconds. And time, guys, equipment down, take a breather.
I'm Amanda Lim. I am 41, almost 42 years old, and I work as the director of LIFT Clinic, which is Singapore's first metabolic health clinic. So, when I was born until I was 15, I lived in a suburb of Chicago. And then, when I was 15, I moved to California. I lived in Los Angeles for 16 years after that, and then that's when I made the move to Singapore.
Every month, every two weeks, do something like this, but like, not every day, man. Like, this is not everyday exercise. And you can weight-bear on a single leg, which is already great progress. I think I first came here in 2006. And I remember walking through the jet bridge and just getting that blast of humid air, just really feeling like, wow, this is different from where I come from, which is a dry desert, you know? But then, obviously, getting off the plane into the city, smelling the smells and the flowers, the food, it was so different. It was my first time in Asia. So, it was a completely around-the-world experience from anything I had ever done before.
Yes, hi guys! Hi, love! Did you enjoy watching the exercises? Can you guys give some high fives? Good morning. High fives! That's so good! Awesome work!
My husband and I met through mutual friends at one of these kind of social event parties. I caught his eye, and he caught mine, and we really did talk the whole night, but I didn't think anything of it per se until after that point when he was like, "Oh, we should get together. We should do some of that fitness stuff you were talking about."
I think when you come here as an expatriate, you're very much on the surface, right? You work here, but you don't feel like you have roots here. And then, after obviously marrying a Singaporean husband, having my three Singaporean babies, moving in with my Singaporean in-laws, I think it made me feel like this is what I have built in this country, and my roots run deep here now.
Hello! Hey, hi! Thank you so much for coming in. Good to see you. How have you been? Very well. You? Good. Feeling healthy? Good. Feeling healthy? Feel stronger. Yes, feeling stronger! That's what we always want to hear. No, I've been good too.
So, I got involved with a company that was running outdoor boot camps, and I thought, "Hey, this is a twofer." I will start my business, and then I will also acclimate to this weather by teaching outside every single day, which I did. And then moved here to the West in Pasir Panjang and started LIFT Clinic. It was October of '22 when we started here. And what we do now is fully focused on full patient support. So, my husband and I co-operate the facility. We co-manage patients and clients so that we can really help Singaporeans get healthy. So, what should I be aiming for at the end of these three months? The frequency will not have to change, but you will still have to progress to heavier weights. Could be more.
When I arrived in Singapore, the fitness scene was a lot more in its infancy. For example, there was a spin studio, but there weren't dozens like there are now. There were a couple of CrossFit gyms, but there weren't all over the island. So, I think the offerings have become more diverse and broader nowadays. But I think what is the bigger shift is kind of how Singaporeans view fitness as important. And so, I think Singaporeans are finally connecting. And lower. Very, very nice. So, that's going to be really great. This superset here is going to be really great for the development of the deltoids, which is going to add to that upper body mass.
Oh, so we're going to eat some pratas today. Hello, hi! Hello. Can we order two plain, two egg, and then two tissue pratas? Can I get two dosa with the dal on the side? Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, this is for auntie. There's obviously still a lot to learn not being a native Singaporean, but embracing Singapore through the food, I honestly believe is instrumental to living here. The diversity of food is endless. And this is for someone coming from Los Angeles, but I think the uniqueness of the food here, you can't get stuff like this even in Los Angeles.
Do you remember when my mom made you the chicken leg? Oh my god. Did you? It was really early in our dating life, I think. It was. And out came the plate, and it was an entire plate of chicken feet. And I was like, oh, here we go. Multi-generational living is very much an Asian thing, and I think it seems really foreign and different to people from America. And I think what's cool about my specific in-laws is how welcoming they have been from day one. The first time that my husband brought me home to HDB (public housing) was like, "Hey, this is the ang mo (Caucasian) I'm dating." It was absolutely with open arms. Wow. Wow. Do you like it? Yes. Do you like it?
Hey guys! Hey! You're already nice and warmed up, I see. We are warmed up, ready to go. Yes, amazing. Whoa! Now we are playing padel. It was a little bit difficult in the beginning, but I made friends with my clients, and then I made friends with their friends. My first real friend here was Reshani, and she's someone that I met through a friend that was like a Facebook friend. And then Tini, I actually met when I was looking for makeup artists for my wedding. She and I hit it off over the topic of makeup, but then obviously have so much more in common than that. I think what's the coolest thing is that I've learned more about what their cultures are like. So, for example, you know, I know that Tini observes Ramadan every year. So, I learned about what it's like to actually do the fasting month. And, you know, Reshani is Sri Lankan. So, I learned a little bit about cricket. Okay, a little bit about cricket, as much as I could, but things that I had never encountered before, even after living in Singapore, I didn't know about until I met my friends. Nice.
I think finding sporting facilities in Singapore is actually super easy. When we found this table, it was because we were just doing a Google search for ones in our neighborhood, and there were multiple. It wasn't even like just this one. You know, there were ones in Tampines and ones in, you know, all over the island.
So, you guys know each other from? The wedding. Yes, from the wedding. No, we know each other from the wedding. So, we technically had met once before. One time before. I didn't know if you knew this. I've known you for eight years. That's the, yes, because we met. That's the, yes, because we met. Have we known each other for eight years? Yes. You've known each other for eight years. I was committed from the start. That's what I meant.
Are you excited to fly a kite? It's a good thing. Wow! Does it have a crazy face? Wow! Are you ready? Go, run! Run! Go! I think it was Louise's birthday. Yes. We got her the kite, and it's like a design-your-own kite thing, right? So, Louise and Tyler designed the kite together. And Archie also chipped in on the kite. This was before Birdie was even alive. And we came down here and flew the kite, and the kids actually loved it. Honestly, we go to West Coast a lot to fly the kite, and Marina Barrage is also beautiful. I love the green spaces in Singapore, and you always have a place to play. And with our kids, I think that's paramount. They have space to run around, and then we have space to actually do something as a family. Archie, stop! Archie, pull back, pull back. We don't want him to fall. It's still flying.
The first and foremost thing that keeps me here is my family. There's no way that I would take my Singaporean children out of their homeland unless I had to. And that's really the truth. Singapore for me is about potential. You know, when I came here, I didn't know what the next steps were. And I think because Singapore is always evolving, it inspires me to evolve alongside it. If I were to sum up my experience in Singapore, it would be transformative. I never thought that the life I lead now would have been what is possible when I landed here in 2006.