Tell us a little bit about you
Hello! My name is Gerald and I’m the Head Coach at Anarchy Club in Singapore. I have been coaching for close to 3 years, with a background in CrossFit, Group Classes and Personal Training.
What made you pursue the career path you are now on? What was the main catalyst?
Like many young males in Singapore, I didn’t know what to pursue when I got out of National Service. One thing I knew was that I loved sports and I loved working out. Because of that, I found myself constantly researching and reading up on sports science to pursue and acquire knowledge that would help improve my physical performance. Needless to say, I naturally fell into a Bachelor’s track for Exercise and Sports Science. The decision to then become a coach occurred when I realised that the specialisation I was most interested in was Strength and Conditioning. Coincidentally, a coaching opportunity opened up at a CrossFit Box and I never looked back.
What does your typical day look like for you? Is it as fun and smooth as it often looks?
A typical day at Anarchy could start as early as 7am and end as late as 9pm as we have classes running throughout the day. Outside of coaching group classes, the hours in-between are usually filled up by my own training, carrying out PT sessions, managing my fellow coaches. It’s a fun job, you get to interact with people and you get the liberty to bring into fruition whatever you have in mind. But with every job, it requires commitment and dedication. The days can get long because classes are usually held outside of office hours hence our work hours are stretched and not your typical nine-to-five. But what I can say is that nothing beats the feeling of building this place from the ground up, looking at the community of members grow day by day and more importantly, looking at each of them progress their fitness in a safe and sustainable way.
Do you recommend getting a fitness qualification/certification over gaining actual experience first, and why?
I always tell my coaches that one is not better than the other. It’s always good to do both at the same time because it gives you the opportunity to gain both the technical knowledge and visualise how that is applied in a coaching scenario. If anything, one thing I realised is that the theory is far from the application because we face so many different personalities, so many different needs every single day. Doing both of these things helped me develop my style of coaching and gave me a head start in identifying what’s lacking in a class and how I can implement it to improve the overall experience of our members.
How do you define success, and what are some of the challenges you had to overcome?
From a Head Coach’s perspective, success to me is defined by how happy people are with the programs. We need to remember that not everyone is training with an objective of progression, some people are training without an objective and they’re looking at fitness as a form of leisure. Other than that, it’s also the positive impact that Anarchy has brought to the members, it could be giving them a safe space to grow, a place to unwind, a place to make friends and meet people, a place to get stronger. Some examples of challenges I had to overcome is to standardise the way our classes are executed because the coaches on our roster are all highly experienced and they’re used to how they do things at their previous gyms.
Who do you look up to in terms of learning from and who’s your ‘idol’?
I’m extremely grateful to the Head Coach at my previous gym for mentoring and teaching me so much about what it means and what it takes to be a coach. Now that I’m the Head Coach at Anarchy, I can say with absolute certainty that I would not have been able to do the job if not for all the lessons and knowledge that was imparted to me by my mentor.
What are your biggest challenges to overcome with your clients?
I think the biggest challenge in fitness is education. It’s very obvious that Group Fitness Classes are extremely saturated in Singapore and you have multiple modes of fitness with big brand franchise names. That said, members tend to come in with an impression that they know what needs to be done and how to do it. Sometimes members would be less receptive to the coaching we do at Anarchy because it runs contrary to what they’re used to.
What do you enjoy most about your career?
Helping members find joy and purpose in their fitness journey. Having the opportunity to train and impart my knowledge to the next batch of coaches.
What do you do on your spare time? How do you invest your time?
Rest and recharge! Coaching can be extremely draining especially when you’re taking group classes. You’ve got to communicate consistently with a large group of people and you’ve got continuously put your best foot forward to bring positive energy to the class. Aside from that, I also continue to educate myself through certifications and learning from different people in the industry.
What does your training regimen look like?
I mainly train from Monday to Friday as I like to keep my weekends free from training. I test the programs that I put out for Anarchy as the main form of training while complementing that with an outdoor run/swim! My fitness specialty is functional fitness, and I believe in a holistic approach to fitness that covers as many bases as possible.
How relevant are fitness qualifications/certification today?
They are still very relevant. The best professionals learn through theory application as well as experience.
What is your mission, and what are your values and aspirations?
My mission is to help everyone from all walks of life to find a purpose in their fitness journey. I think we need to be aware that every member is unique. They have their own goals, commitments and needs and naturally there shouldn’t be cookie cutter solution to fitness. I aspire to meet that need with the programs I put out and to train a team of coaches who are able to do that too.
What is your preferred method of encouragement towards clients?
I like to take a soft approach when it comes to our clients. They need to know that they are capable and that everyone starts off somewhere. No one can just walk to a bar and perform at 100% without any experience. If you fail, try again!
What are some of your top tips to pass to current and/or emerging Exercise Professionals?
Keep learning and don’t stay confined in your own space. You never know what you will learn from others/different forms of fitness and how you could apply those to your own clients. There are a ton of fitness options here in Singapore, nothing is stopping you from taking a class at all the gyms and learning from the best!