There’s a new gym in the Duxton hood and we’re absolutely stoked!
(Picture of the trainers at Elevate by Elevate Performance Gym)
Nestled along Neil Road just a turn away from Duxton Road where we are located, Elevate Performance Gym is a cosy and upbeat space for an invigorating workout.
They run a variety of dynamic and inclusive programmes so there's something for everyone in the Duxton neighbourhood, whether you're looking to work on mobility, functional fitness, strength training or metabolic conditioning. They also hold regular classes for the elderly and for youth with special needs, and place emphasis on education and proficiency in various movement patterns to help members build a solid foundation towards making steady progress. To support members in remaining injury-free, on-site sports therapy and physiotherapy with their partner, Amp Lab, are available.
We at the Co. became fast friends with the cheery faces of Elevate after dropping by for a lunchtime workout. Naturally, we invited the wonderful people over to our space for coffee to find out more about who they are and what they do. We were happy to host Nigel, Lusi and James at the Co. where we jested about all sorts of topics from fitness to ageing gracefully to the delectable food choices in the neighbourhood.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
(Picture of Nigel, Lusi and James at the Co.)
Tell us a little bit about yourselves and what you do!
Nigel: I'm Nigel, I'm one of the co-founders of the gym. Outside the gym, I have a full-time job. I do corporate training and specialise in leadership development. I've always enjoyed fitness and I've always wanted to open my own gym.
Lusi: Hi, I'm Lusina but most of my friends call me Lusi! I'm in my final year at NUS doing law and business and I do personal fitness coaching on the side. I entered the fitness industry sometime around the time I was a secondary school student. At the time, I did shooting as a CCA but I felt that I was pretty unfit. I was like, what's wrong with me! So I entered the fitness industry and I've been a trainer for 2 years.
James: I'm James! What was the question again?
Nigel: Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do!
James: Oh I'm James!
Nigel: And he's forgetful.
James: I'm a full-time dreamer, part-time joker. I'm a coach at Elevate and I also do freelance personal training elsewhere. I always want to help people achieve their goals and because I personally have a lot of injuries, I'm interested in rehabilitation. I have a background in Material Sciences and was previously working full-time as a lab technologist while doing personal training part-time. I also did swim coaching for infants from 6 months old, teaching them water confidence. You might have seen those videos where babies are thrown in the water and they start to flip over and face upwards?
Lusi and Nigel: You throw babies in the water?!
James: No no we don't do that! That's just the possibility of what might happen—a child or baby falling into the water—what their muscle memory tells them to do. After they learn water confidence, we can eventually introduce swimming to them. Their parents will be in the pool with them. Anyway, I'm definitely having a lot more fun now as a personal trainer.
(Picture of Lusi at Ola Beach Club by Elevate Performance Gym)
Who and/or what inspires you?
Nigel: I want to age gracefully with as little problems as possible such as mobility issues, but it's not really going according to plan with my back and knee pains. I am the oldest person in the gym—and by a few years. Lusi calls me Uncle Nigel. Uncle Nigel still lifts the heaviest, okay?
Lusi: I don't mean to cliché but everyone inspires me. I want to live life without regrets and that means getting out of my comfort zone to explore all sorts of things, meeting new people, making bad decisions and learning from them. It's not really an inspiration per se but it's a way of life that I try to have. For example, Nigel is an inspiration to me—he opened his own gym! And has a full-time job and just bought a convertible! He also wakes up at 5 in the morning for clients, which is something I struggle with. I sleep at 5!
James: My mentor Dexter Tay inspires me. He's been in the industry for 16 to 17 years. He's very good at his craft of rehab, and is a highly empathetic person. The people I meet—especially my clients—also inspire me. For instance, a client might struggle with squats—perhaps they experience pain—but after a while when they improve and make progress, I believe both the client and I are happy to align ourselves with the same goal and achieve it together.
(Picture of Nigel, Lusi and James at the Co.)
What does a day in your life look like?
Nigel: Most weekdays I'm at the gym by 7.30am. I usually teach the morning classes because I need that early workout to start my day with. I find that I don't work as optimally as I can if I hadn't worked out in the morning. That is my breakfast. Calories for breakfast. Sweat for breakfast. Most of the day I'm running a training session. In the evenings, I occasionally go for a drink with people from the gym or with friends in the neighbourhood. Wash rinse repeat.
Lusi: It's the holidays now so my schedule is a little different from the school term. I usually try to get a workout in before lunch. In the afternoon, I may have classes or I hang out with friends, before heading back to the gym to coach in the evening.
Nigel: Where's the studying part?
Lusi: Wah, that's a good question. Actually don't have leh.
James: Smart people is like that one.
Lusi: Well, if I'm not coaching I study at night.
James: A day in my life! I wake up at 5.30am. From Mondays to Fridays I coach at 7am. I do 2 to 3 sessions of PT a day. I might then go home to take a nap from 11 to 12 or go to the gym. Afterwards I'll study—because there's so much i want to learn about PT. I'm taking courses on Precision Nutrition while also brushing up on human anatomy. I think these are important things to know as a personal trainer. If I'm not hanging out with friends, I'll be at Elevate Gym for classes.
An interesting insight I've gained from my learning is that it's okay to put your body in awkward angles as long as your body is conditioned for these positions. For example, it's not enough to just do front lunges, but also side lunges. We need to challenge ourselves to attempt different planes and different angles.
(Picture of Nigel, Lusi and James at the Co.)
What is your favourite thing about the Duxton neighbourhood?
Lusi: There are a lot of bars!
James: Alcohol!
Nigel: As Lusi and James pointed out, the bars are great, like Jeffo's and KREAMS just down the road. KREAMS does this amazing somaek (a beer cocktail made with soju and beer), where the foam is frozen and creamy. It's so good. I grew up with Jeffo's and have been frequenting them since the time they were at Cuscaden, especially for the wings. Oh and there's Lululemon—the detriment of my wallet.
Lusi: He even has more Lulus than me!
Nigel: I have more Lulus than the entire gym combined!
It's also the proximity to almost everything that I love about Duxton. The buses and MRTs are nearby and there's plenty of parking. Duxton is pretty much in the centre of Singapore and food is easy to find. There's plenty of things to like.
James: I love that Duxton is close to Amoy Food Centre. I love the yuen yang peng (an iced drink that mixes tea and coffee) there. It's the only thing I order and I always get it before heading to the gym. The full-timers know me and they know my order, even if I'm not ordering it personally. They think, yuen yang peng—must be James' order.
Lusi: There's so much food. It doesn't feel like the CBD area despite its location. It almost feels like an escape, in a sense. Walking around here, it doesn't feel like we have to go back to the office. The shophouses here are beautiful, as opposed to high skyscrapers and shopping malls. It's very chill. I especially like Maxwell. The porridge is nice. There's even curry chee cheong fun (steamed rice rolls) and laksa (with its spicy coconutty flavour) chee cheong fun.. I also like Champion Bolo Bun and Supulae Korean BBQ.
Nigel: K Noodle Star is nice too!
Lusi: Eh you want to eat after this?
(Picture of the #elevatefam at Ola Beach Club by Elevate Performance Gym)
How can people find out more about you and what you do?
Lusi and James: Follow Nigel on Instagram @elevatewithbbt!
Lusi: And our gym @elevateperformancegym!
Nigel: People can also check our website out at https://www.elevateperformancegym.com/ and of course join us for our events, especially our outside events because that's where we really get to interact with our members. We call them the #elevatefam! Every last Wednesday of the month we are at Hard Rock and every first Sunday of the month we are at Sentosa for our Ola Beach Club bootcamp.
(Picture of the #elevatefam at Ola Beach Club by Elevate Performance Gym)
Bonus: This or that with the Elevate team
Coffee or tea?
Nigel: Coffee.
Lusi: Coffee.
James: Tea.
Cardio or strength forever?
Nigel: Strength.
Lusi: Strength.
James: Cardio—because it makes more sense during a zombie apocalypse to run away from zombies than to wrestle with them.
Cooking or being cooked for?
Nigel: Being cooked for.
Lusi: Being cooked for.
James: Cooking.
Ability to control time or see the future?
Nigel: Control time—what's the point of seeing the future if you can't do anything about it?
Lusi: Control time.
James: Control time.
Morning or night workout?
Nigel: Morning workout.
Lusi: Night workout.
James: Morning workout.
Fully furnished home gym or lifetime gym membership?
Nigel: Fully furnished home gym.
Lusi: Lifetime gym membership—I like going to the gym for the community #elevatefam, to meet people, and to work out together.
James: Lifetime gym membership.
(Video of Elevate's Grand Opening by Elevate Performance Gym)
More about Elevate Performance Gym
Gym Hours
Mondays to Fridays: 6am to 10pm
Saturdays & Sundays: 7am to 11am
Address
3 Neil Road
Singapore 088805
Socials
Instagram: @elevateperformancegym
Website: www.elevateperformancegym.com/
(Picture of Nigel, Lusi and James at the Co.)
All the other establishments in the Duxton enclave mentioned in this article
(Picture by JEFFO'S)
JEFFO'S
18 Duxton Road
Singapore 089484
Maxwell Food Centre
1 Kadayanallur Street
Singapore 069184
Lululemon
79 Duxton Road
Singapore 089538
Supulae Korean BBQ
80 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088501
(Picture by Kreams)
KREAMS DUXTON
60 Duxton Rd
Singapore 089524
(Temporarily closed)
CAFE KREAMS
32 Maxwell Road
Maxwell Chambers #01-07
Singapore 069115