A FEW years ago, Cheah Kai Yang thought playing online games was a good way to de-stress himself while pursuing a marketing and finance course at tertiary level.
By and by, he indulged in it for hours on end and also consumed junk food daily.
It soon began to take a toll on his health, resulting in frequent bouts of vomiting.
Fortunately for him, he realised he had gotten himself into a predicament and took action.
“I was having an unhealthy lifestyle back then. I was too obsessed with playing online games to release the pressure from my studies. Life as a university student can sometimes be stressful because of the hectic schedules.
“Because I took junk food daily when I was stressed out, my condition deteriorated.
“To be frank, I couldn’t even complete a run and I had even frequently vomited after that!
“Since then, I told myself that I needed to do something to restore my health.
“I decided to change my lifestyle and eating habits. Most importantly is to have enough sleep. And the key to all this better overall wellness is discipline,” he said.
Change he did and now Cheah, 27, has a muscular looking physique.
As he embraced healthy eating and exercise habits, Cheah began to have a strong desire to educate and serve the community by sharing his experiences.
So, instead of taking up marketing and finance as his career, he told a bold step to venture into the fitness industry and founded a fitness platform ‘Sifufit’.
Cheah keeps encouraging people to maintain a healthy lifestyle to achieve his aim.
“Taking myself as an example, my weight was over 80kg previously before I trimmed it down to around 66kg. How I did it is by practising a healthy diet and hitting the gym daily.
“Everything is achievable and I believe that the others can achieve their dream ‘body physique’ too provided with a strict diet and regular exercise.
“The destiny is in your hands,” the youthful and cheerful Cheah said.
Despite facing the hardship when ‘Sifufit’ was started in March this year during the imposition of the movement control order (MCO), it did not deter Cheah from carrying out his workout sessions.
He continued to share tips on keeping fit through virtual sessions and even contributed his effort to the society.
In addition, Cheah, who is active in JCI ELITE, also actively participates in community activities, such as teaching seniors to exercise. This is one way he gives back to the society by promoting healthy lifestyle.
Besides his ‘Sifufit’ platform, Cheah conducts fitness training at various centres including at his uncle’s centre in Paya Terubong.
In collaboration with the state government, Cheah pointed out that he has been working hand in hand with some state assemblymen to promote a healthy lifestyle.
One of them is Air Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng, who attends some gym workouts at the Kampung Melayu Village Community Management Councils (MPKK) mini gym.
“The mini gym also includes an armwrestling group, who can use the facility there on weekdays from 8pm to 10pm,” Cheah said.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix courtesy of ‘Sifufit’