Chinese New Year just wouldn’t be Chinese New Year without the feasting. It’s a time of gathering together over a simmering steamboat and roasted duck, and getting your fingers slick with oil from a tasty slice of bakkwa. Unfortunately, it’s also the occasion where we pile on the calories.
Which means it’s time to bring out our running shoes to undo the damage.
But exercise is not something that comes easily to busy urbanites like us, who work twelve hours a day and are not kinesthetically-inclined.
That’s a problem entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia are trying to solve. Exercise can be a chore, but it can also be fun, with the right approach. Here are a few startups that are trying to bring us one step closer towards fitness nirvana:
Fitness Buffet
No, Fitness Buffet has nothing to do with food. Rather, it’s a website that offers customers a smorgasbord of sporting activities at one fixed price. So, once you pay S$128 (US$99), you will receive a set of coupons that allows you to try 28 activities within two months, at no extra cost.
There’s a wide variety available in Singapore, which ranges from a standard one-week gym pass and an introductory golf class to more eclectic stuff like a Kettleball class and boot camp, which are essentially Army-esque training sessions (without the nasty drill sergeants).
There’s something for the kids too — a Kung Fu Kids Program and a Kids Fit and Play Group Session will get them into the exercise groove at an early age.
While most people won’t finish all the activities within 60 days, they can sign up for another package to sample other activities. Since the list of offerings is fluid, they can expect something different every time they join the program.
The Singapore-based startup, founded last year by New Zealander Callum Laing, is now serving customers in Bangkok, Chicago, and Singapore.
Callum got the inspiration for Fitness Buffet while sweating out on a treadmill after Christmas in 2010. He noticed how his daughter, who was accompanying him, was having fun.
“Getting fit has become a chore for many people. They find exercise mundane and are turned off by it. Wouldn’t it be great if we could make it fun again?” he said.
Fitness Buffet is slated to open in 25 more cities in the United States this year, as well as in several cities in Asia and Europe.
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