Finding faith in fitness: When gyms offer more than just a workout

SINGAPORE: "Camaraderie" and "community" were foremost on Tan Yi Ren'smind when he set about opening a gym in 2020. 

Hence the appropriately named CrossFit Kampung, which the owner and head coach described to CNA as "more than a fitness gym".

Mr Tan wants to improve his members’ “emotional sense" of well-being as well as their self-esteem. 

When they come to his gym and together, do things they never thought they could – such as lift a certain weight – it goes beyond just a feel-good, morale-boosting factor, he said.

What it also does, he suggested, is to give his gym devotees "a little bit more faith to believe"; and an experience that carries over into spirituality as well.

Mr Tan is part of an industry that has long borrowed and incorporated such language and sentiment, as the scholar Cody Musselman pointed out in an article for The Conversation platform.

"The notion that fitness is a religion – a place where people find community, ritual and ecstatic experience – has become a common refrain."

A boom in the boutique gym scene, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, led to potential owners rushing to make their entry. 

Popular franchise brands from Australia like Body Fit Training (BFT) and F45 took the lead, with over 60 branches in Singapore combined, while local contenders also emerged. 

Growing enthusiasm for competitive fitness experiences also saw the two Hyrox races this year drawing around 6,000 participants, up from 3,500 at a previous outing in October.

Yet it hasn't been all rosy for the industry, with several gyms also shuttering last year as owners cited rising costs, increased competition and the fleeting nature of fitness fads.

The CrossFit Kampung gym, however, believes that its cornerstone of community is also what