Interviews with the top names in the Malaysian Fitness Industry - Ben Yeoh
Today, we interview Ben Yeoh, a man of many talents. Ben has a degree in Human Kinetics and has an established fitness business here in Malaysia.
We are privileged to have Ben share his insights with us here at FitnessIdeas.
FitnessIdeas (FI): Hi Ben, thank you for taking some time off your busy schedule. Can you tell our readers your educational or previous training background?
Ben: Hi there, thank you for having me here at FitnessIdeas. My name is Ben Yeoh, founder of Freedom Kinetics – Core Performance Studio and BodyRelaunch.com. Where do I start? I was involved in weight training for over 13 years. During the course, I decided to understand more in depth on our body, and it’s movement in relation to health and fitness. I went on to pursue my degree in Human Kinetics in University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. I’ve travelled to some of the most beautiful places in Thailand and India to learn the art of Thai massage and Hatha yoga. I’m also a Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach (CSCS-NSCA), Personal Trainer (CPT-ACE), ITM Level IV Instructor, Certified Yoga Instructor and Golf Conditioning Specialist. Health & fitness is a huge field, it’s a never-ending learning process for me. Currently, I’m pursuing a few interesting courses in this field.
FI: In a nutshell - What is your training philosophy?
Ben: My philosophy is simple – “Train the way we move and play”. This means that it should be functional and fun, and translates into our everyday life. You have to learn to enjoy what you’re doing; the same goes with exercise & training. I’m an advocate in bodyweight training, with the use of some tools such as resistance bands, TRX, medicine balls, balance boards, etc when necessary to achieve certain goals and add variety to the workouts.
FI: What are your goals as a Personal Trainer/Coach?
Ben: My priority is to empower my clients and educate the general public on the right health & fitness information. With so much content available today, who should you listen to? Most people are misguided and misinformed. For my clients, I’m there to streamline that process - I’m determined to help them reach their goals all the way, challenge their bodies, while coaching them on the ‘why’s and how’s’ regarding their workout routines and exercise program. Most of all, my goal is to make their whole experience enjoyable and incorporate an active lifestyle. This will empower them with life-time exercise tools & fitness knowledge to continue on their fitness quest and carry on their own even when I’m not around.
FI: Who else in the field has influenced or helped you?
Ben: Pretty much everyone. My strength coaches, university lecturers, peers and definitely my clients. They have all inspired and assisted me to become a better trainer and coach myself.
FI: What are the three best general training tips?
Ben: There are so many I would like share with you, but I’ll go with the first three. And if time allows, I’ll add in a couple more if you wouldn’t mind.
1. Learn to enjoy – As mentioned before, you need to enjoy your exercises or else you’ll be dreading and dragging yourself to each workout session. Find a workout buddy to motivate and cheer you while keeping you accountable. Feel the benefits of being active.
2. Stay Consistent – You want to be performing your workouts regularly to achieve respectable results from your training efforts. Even if you are on a busy schedule, don’t skip your workout sessions. Sweating it out for 10-15mins would be more beneficial than not doing anything at all for extended periods.
3. Keep a journal – If you’re not keeping an exercise journal & food diary, start now! It really helps keep track on your current routine, and serves as an important platform to determine your workout progressions, such as exercise loads, sets & reps, intensity, etc. By recording your logs, you’ll be able to determine the key variables and adjust your workout program from time-to-time to maximize your training efforts and achieve your goals far more quickly. In terms of food log, you’ll get a better idea and more conscious of what you’re consuming throughout the day (bad foods to avoid, portion size, what you should be eating more, etc), making required changes towards your health & fitness goals.
FI: Do you train or rehabilitate females any differently from males?
Ben: I train individuals differently and customize their programs based on their goals. In other words, there are no gender specific workouts unless bounded by physical limitations. There’s always a concern in the female’s mind that if they perform a ‘men’s workout’ or engage in resistance training, their bodies will become like them – huge muscles, etc. In fact, muscles are higher density tissue, which means they take up less space as compared to fat of the same weight. You will only look lean and achieve the ‘toned’ look with muscle building exercises. Fat is the actual culprit. So, for ladies out there, if you look any bulkier as you go on your training regime, either 1) you have way more adipose tissue (fat beneath your skin) to lose, or 2) you’re taking steroids.
FI: Can you describe what a typical training session consist of for your clients?
Ben: I always start my clients with a 5-10 min dynamic warm-up to get their body ready for the session. We’ll then proceed to the actual workout – functional strength building exercises and cardio intervals. Depending on their goals and fitness levels, I would structure the exercises to challenge my clients and tweak their workout duration / intensity accordingly. Training usually ends with static stretch routine and simple breathing exercises, or I would assist in stretching up my clients if they’re totally wasted from the workout (but feeling happy & satisfied)!
FI: Who are your typical clients?
Ben: Most come to me for fat loss, to lose weight and get into their best shape ever. I also work with clients who want to elevate their performance and take their game/sports to the next level.
FI: Do you use any supplements?
Ben: Yes, I do take a multivitamin and flax seed oil every morning. And I strongly recommend that to all my clients. Some may disagree that it’s unnecessary and a complete waste of money if you eat a balanced diet. But I believe that supplements are necessary in society today. This ensures we supply our bodies the vitamins & minerals to function optimally - especially when you engage in regular exercise and physical activity. Unless you’re scrutinizing your food intake, there are bound to be some deficiencies in certain nutrients. We’re just making sure we don’t miss them out!
FI: Ben, thank you for your time and knowledge. Do you have any comments you would like to add to our readership?
Ben: Yes, I want to emphasize that exercise is indeed a lifestyle, not a chore. You should enjoy doing it. Share your goals with your friends and family. Begin your journal. It really cements on your conscious what you write down. Besides tracking the exercises and food intake, journal about how you feel too. This gives you more clarity and understanding on your path, which leads to better results in less time. It’s amazing! If you need help on how to go about it, or simple strategies you could implement right away to accelerate your training results, grab your free complete workout & nutrition journal at bodyrelaunch.com.
By the way, if you’re interested in indoor boot camps, I’ll be launching a program in Jan 2010 - previously only available to my private clients. Visit my site www.bootcampkl.com for more info.
Again, FitnessIdeas.org has excellent resources, so look no further! Feel free to blast me with any more questions which I’ll be glad to answer. I can be reached via email. Thanks for having me here.
To contact Ben or to know more about his services as a Personal Trainer, you can email him at ben@bodyrelaunch.com.
FitnessIdeas would like to thank Ben Yeoh for his time and having contributed to this interview. Stay tuned for more interviews with the big names in the Malaysian Fitness Industry - only at FitnessIdeas.org! Subscribe for free updates at the top of the page.
Do you know someone who deserves to be ranked among Malaysia’s best trainers? If you do, drop us an email at info@fitnessideas.org with details of your nominated trainer, and WHY he/she deserves to featured on FitnessIdeas - and we will do the rest!
