With closed eyes and whatever savings I had left , scribbled an illegible signature. Such an expensive gamble with no guarantees in the clause , I paid for membership and PT at Pure Fitness - the swanky new gym across the street at Knights Bridge.

It was just weeks before that it happened, a daily duty lead to this health fiasco. I remember reaching out for a pump of shampoo, twisting at the hip simultaneously to assist made my legs disconnect from my torso. As if the signal was abruptly cut. What saved me from collapsing were the towel shelves behind me, these stoic pieces of furniture are indispensable, never complaining about the wet hands that touch them throughout the day. Anyway, they house the towels used to dry and wrap the heads of our dear clients. Even the best hair salons and hair cutters cannot function without clean towels and water.

An hour later, a throbbing pain pulsated in my hip without ceasing. The pain persisted for 3 hours until a doctor administered a relaxant via injection. And when i was discharged, everything in life felt like a zero sum game bent on failure, more financial losses as well as career prospects. How was I going to sustain my job washing heads at the basin with a body in this current state? A kind colleague brought his swivel chair to the basin in hopes of alleviating labor but the mechanics worked further against me, i was now further from the basin and had to bend even lower,. Never to say , I ditched it.

I worked out 3x a week with Dave , an ex-commando from the Singapore Armed Forces Plus on a social level , I was even showered with compliments from colleagues at work and friends.

Within a month , we completed the 15 sessions and I was finally separated from the womb, with all workouts spoon fed to me being on my own in this iron jungle. But such is the transitory nature of life and many times I did arrive in the gym with excitement only to be clueless as to what my workout should be.

L)28th Sep'12 - 1st week of training , note the imbalance in the left shoulder, rotation of ribcage evident in the abs/obliques , as well as the lesser developed left pec relative to the right (from your view) , something I tried… — L)28th Sep'12 - 1st week of training , note the imbalance in the left shoulder, rotation of ribcage evident in the abs/obliques , as well as the lesser developed left pec relative to the right (from your view) , something I tried to correct through Jungian depth psychology.
M)5th Oct'12 - 2nd week
R)27th Oct'12 - 5th week

1)5th Oct'12 - 2nd week , rubber band snake fed with whey protein , given to me by Adrian , he hoped for me to getting better from all the weight I lost in hospital. At this point I was still eating trashy mass cooked food so protein shakes were a "… — 1)5th Oct'12 - 2nd week , rubber band snake fed with whey protein , given to me by Adrian , he hoped for me to getting better from all the weight I lost in hospital. At this point I was still eating trashy mass cooked food so protein shakes were a "healthier" addition.
2)14th Oct'12 - 3rd week
3)20th Oct'12 - 4th week,
4)27th Oct'12 - 5th week

Then one day it all came crashing down ,I benched pressed several times a week , and left the gym with a treacle like sensation in the neck. Foam rolling - check , dry needling - check , trigger point therapy - check , all good but at best provided only hours of provisional relief . Shortly after, I developed gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and gastritis from the consumption of pain-killers prescribed by a GP for a bone spur in my palm.

On the bed with napalm in my gut, I found tarry stools in the loo . With nothing left to lose, I cancelled my gym membership. A client from the salon later recommended a friend that could help me, Nelson Chong, from the Functional Training Institute. At this point, my trapezius and scapular muscles felt a dull ache for almost the whole day, except when i was asleep. what followed was an episode of buzzing that radiated down my arm 24/7. FTI’s system of trigger point therapy and functional strength training greatly accelerated my progress in pain management. Another colleague of theirs did a session of gentle neck traction that solved the buzzing in my arm, on hindsight, it was a pinched nerve. I was keen on learning about fascial lines and anatomy, David ( the functional strength trainer I was under ) always took the time to explain whatever anatomy was involved whenever we did the exercises. It was him and FTI that introduced me to Anatomy Trains by Tom Myers, a manual that would eventually contribute to my career as a trainer in no small way.

In the next and final chapter , I meet my heroes. Stay with me.