Chairperson, to go for a run, all you need is a pair of shoes. You step outside and go. There is no membership, no queue, no need to travel to a gym.
Strength training has no equivalent. And I want to make the case today that it should.
The science is clear. Strength training is not just for the muscle-bound bodybuilder, it is for everyone. Bone density peaks around age 30 and declines steadily thereafter. Aerobic exercise slows that decline. Strength training can reverse it—building bone, building muscle, reducing the risk of falls and fractures in ways that cardio alone cannot. The World Health Organisation recommends two full-body strength sessions per week for all adults. Most Singaporeans are not meeting that target.
I will speak personally. Before my daughter was born six months ago, I went to the gym two or three times a week. Since she arrived, fewer than ten times in total—not because I do not want to go, but because fifteen minutes there, fifteen minutes back is thirty minutes a young father cannot find. If there were a resistance station at my void deck, I would use it every other day. I am sure of that.
And I am not alone. The elderly resident maintaining muscle and bone density. The beginner who would not know where to start in a gym. The time-pressed parent. The barrier looks different for each—but it is the same barrier.
ActiveSG gyms deserve credit—affordable, well-distributed, well-equipped. But they require a trip, a check on capacity, and often at peak times a queue for equipment. And for many who have never set foot in a gym, the sign-up and the unfamiliar environment are barriers they never overcome.
Our fitness corners could help bridge that gap. Over 3,400 of them, free and accessible across our estates and parks. Many already include strength-oriented equipment. But effective strength training requires progressive overload—the ability to increase resistance as you get stronger. A beginner starts at 5kg and works up to 20, 30, 40kg over time. Variable resistance machines make that possible. Our fitness corners largely do not have them. Instead they largely feature equipment focused on encouraging mobility and fixed resistance equipment. In their current guise, they served a limited demographic. We should increase their utility.
Companies like KOMPAN and The Great Outdoor Gym Company manufacture outdoor-rated variable resistance machines, built for unsupervised public use in all weather. Both have existing equipment installed in our fitness corners. They are proven and validated vendors
I have three suggestions for the Ministry.
One: lead by example. SportSG directly manages ten Sport-in-Precinct facilities. Upgrade these first. For upcoming planned builds, incorporate variable resistance equipment from day one.
Two: work with NParks to incorporate variable resistance equipment into park fitness corners as they come up for renewal or upgrading.
Three: for HDB fitness corners under town council management, develop a national framework—pre-qualified standards, recommended suppliers, co-funding pathways through SportSG—so town councils can upgrade without running full procurement exercises from scratch.
Chairman, aerobic fitness is inherently accessible. It is time strength training was too.
