Angelina Hue

I don’t exercise to be thin. I work out so that my future self will be healthy and independent. It’s a gift to 88-year-old me.

People around me sometimes lament that their metabolism is slower or that they have become weaker as they get older. While aging is a given, it doesn’t mean we have to surrender to physical or mental decline. It’s never too late to take action to become stronger and have a healthier lifestyle. Every small step we take now contributes towards an improved healthspan as we age.

Quality Over Quantity

Healthspan refers to the period of our lives filled with good health and free from chronic diseases. Living a long life doesn’t automatically equate to a long healthspan.

In Singapore, the average life expectancy at birth is 83.5 years as of 2024 (source: SingStat). This means that I’ve passed the halfway mark. At this stage of my life, I am being more intentional with my health goals than ever before. This includes having a balanced mix of strength, cardio, and mobility training. I also try to learn new moves instead of just repeating familiar ones, which helps grow new synapses (good for brain health!)

Never Say Never

I was 40 when I managed my first pull-up. I never thought I could do it, as I lacked upper-body strength. While it was a surprise to achieve this feat, it wasn’t because of some miraculous transformation. I achieved this through persistent effort and experimentation.

While I used to play recreational sports in school, I became super sedentary after I took on a desk-bound job in my mid-twenties. It wasn’t a conscious choice. Just as you are what you eat, you are what you pay attention to. In the early years of my career, I had not prioritised my well-being and was a workaholic. It didn’t help that I wasn’t a fan of the gym and had no interest in social sports. I also found running to be boring and was hopeless at swimming.

Fast forward to my late thirties. I began experiencing an inexplicable numbness in my right arm, along with unilateral migraines. After a series of tests that gave no obvious answers, the doctor recommended swimming despite knowing that I couldn’t swim. His dismissive attitude was frustrating, but it also ignited a spark in me to prove him wrong.

So I took matters into my own hands and signed up for ClassPass. My first class was Muay Thai boxing, which in hindsight was a reckless choice, considering my arm issues. I wanted to try different things to see what I would enjoy so that I could sustain the momentum on my new fitness journey.

Adrenaline rush aside, I found the learning process surprisingly stimulating. Be it learning proper weightlifting form to avoid injury or discovering in Pilates class how tiny movements could make me tremble and sweat buckets. It was empowering and energising to experiment and see what my body could do, as well as the power of the mind to overcome challenges.

Movement as Meditation

When the pandemic hit in 2020, in-person classes petered out. I took to live-streamed workouts where there was a sense of camaraderie exercising alongside strangers through a screen. Confined to our tiny apartment in Hong Kong, I got creative, using household items like my Staub cast-iron pot, an unused curtain rod, and bags of rice for workouts. Animal flow classes, where movements mimic those of creatures such as gorillas, crabs, and frogs, were liberating and reminded me of the uninhibited, joyful way children move.

Working out at home during those uncertain times was good for my mental health too. Strength workouts with slow, deliberate movements were like mini meditations as I focused on my breathing and posture. I used to think that strength training was for men, bodybuilders, and weightlifters, not for someone like me. Today, resistance training is at the core of my fitness routine. I only later found out that this helps keep joints healthy and counteracts sarcopenia, the progressive muscle loss that starts in our 30s and 40s. How fortuitous!

I continued to exercise in the small area between the kitchen island and bookshelf even after the pandemic ended. On days when I worked from home, I made it a priority to exercise every morning before checking my phone, eating breakfast, and diving into work. This ritual was my way of putting myself first, no matter how busy life got.

Then came the layoffs in late 2025. During those initial months, my consistent workouts served as my anchor, giving me a sense of control amidst the uncertainty. Freed from urgent deadlines, endless meetings, and night calls, my sleep also improved. As a new tempo emerged, I began to feel more energetic and joyful.

Better Late Than Never

From time to time, I’d make videos of my home workouts. It started as a way for me to check my posture. I then shared snippets on social media to hold myself accountable, and hopefully inspire my friends and family. There’s also a bit of narcissism – I look cool pivoting swiftly on all-fours and twisting my torso like a wheel!

Friends remark how fit I seem, wishing they could achieve the same. I tell them I wasn’t always like this and encourage them to start now – better late than never!

My #1 tip: If you’ve not worked out in ages, start with something super easy that you can definitely do. This could be a relaxing 20-minute walk or five slanted push-ups against the kitchen counter. Don’t set yourself up to fail by dashing into a 10-kilometre run or a high-intensity group class. This way, you won’t feel discouraged and can build on your efforts.

It’s easy to think getting older means things go downhill, but it doesn’t have to. If we train smart and with purpose, we can stay strong for the many years to come. After all, a long life is far more fulfilling when it’s also a good-quality one.

Bonus videos: Thank you for reading all the way. Wait for the unexpected!