2007/10/01

STAYING FIT AND FABULOUS: Secrets to a youthful look
By : KARINA FOO

Tom always works out no matter where and when!

Name: Tom Curtis
Occupation: CEO of Golds Gym Kuala Lumpur (GGKL) and businessman
Age: 52 (No way!!)

HAVE you ever felt that you are bursting with energy?
That feeling is probably rather rare for quite a few over 50 but with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, most can experience it too.
Tom Curtis, CEO of Golds Gym Kuala Lumpur (GGKL) is the epitome of one who defies his age and is fitter than many younger to him. When he talks, his eyes light up; he speaks with vibrancy and his actions are sprightly.
“Nah, age doesn’t matter, I’m geared for anything,” says the Englishman who has been living in Malaysia for over 20 years and has travelled extensively.
He recently scaled Mount Everest and will probably do it again. He tells us what keeps him on his feet and how you, too, can be fit and fabulous.

How do you maintain your physique and fitness?
I work out in Gold’s Gym every day when I’m in Kuala Lumpur, which is about three-four days a week, and I try to take a few minutes to exercise in the evenings when I’m travelling.
What’s your exercise regime like and how do you squeeze it into your hectic schedule?
I tend to focus on strength training, though more recently while preparing for an expedition to Mt Everest, I added some stepping and treadmill exercises a couple of times a week. I tend to limit my workouts to three or four muscle groups per day, working each major muscle group twice a week at least.
Throw in some use of functional training equipment such as the BOSU and TRX system, popularised by the US Navy Seals, and that just about completes my training regimen.
I’m fortunate that I’m able to work out of an office I’ve set up in GGKL. I handle all my business interests from there, so when things go quiet, which will generally be around 6.30 to 7pm, I just duck into the gym. No fighting with traffic, no time-wasting journey to antagonise me and no excuses to miss my daily workout!

Many people hate the idea of exercising, so tell them what’s the best thing about it?
Breaking out! Unless you’re truly and seriously stretched in your daily life, you wouldn’t understand that, but after a mentally challenging day, there’s nothing like some serious physical action.
The best thing about working out is the direct contrast it provides to the rest of the day. Throwing pieces of iron around is hugely therapeutic after the minutiae of contracts and calculators for the working day!

But are there any obstacles that deter you from working out?
None. I will not be kept from the gym. Once regular exercise becomes an integral part of your daily life, it remains so. That is the key to the successful adoption of a healthy lifestyle.

Aren’t there times when you can’t follow schedule?
Travel can keep me from the gym for three to five days at a time. After three days of not working out, your muscles start to lose their strength. I solve that problem by getting back into the gym as fast as possible after trips, at least for a short workout.

Is there any pressure to keep up or maintain your image in front of others?
Frankly, no. I’m not really an image-conscious person, though obviously, as the public face of the Malaysian franchise of one of the global fitness colossuses, it is important that I make some effort at keeping up a healthy lifestyle and work out regularly.
I do try to make a point of maintaining a strong body and avoid all-night beer binges.

I see you love your food though?
Oh yes, here’s the entire list — nasi lemak... and beef or chicken rendang, nasi dagang, laksa of all varieties, nasi lemak, endless kuih, sotong, goreng pisang, murtabak pisang, fried kuey teow, nasi kandar, nasi campur, nasi padang, nasi kerabu, ayam percik, banana leaf curry, sambal... frankly anything from Malaysia and Thailand. And, oh, did I mention nasi lemak? (Yes, you did, Tom)

How very healthy indeed! But have you always maintained the healthy part of your lifestyle?
Assuming you still want to associate me with a healthy lifestyle after my repetitive references to nasi lemak, I think my healthy lifestyle goes all the way back to my public school days in England.
During those formative years, one was rarely 30 minutes away from some form of exercise. Sports and competition, we were taught relentlessly, was a ‘good thing’, to be maintained throughout one’s life and it has been a cornerstone of my lifestyle since then.
Today, if I’m not working or exercising, I’m watching sports on TV at any and every opportunity.

What is your motivation to working out?
Advancing years and the inability to maintain the same fast and furious pace of yesteryear. It’s heartening that something as simple as regular exercise can help roll back the years and delay significantly the onset of the ageing process.
I want to retain as much freedom and functionality as possible well into my mature years

How do you de-stress?
I don’t suffer from stress. Stress is the result of exposing oneself to various pressures that are beyond your capability and capacity to handle, resulting in under-performance and consequent mental stress.
I like to ensure that I approach life in a light-hearted and relaxed, yet professional manner so as to avoid inducing stress. If I am stressed, I’d relieve it by knocking a speed ball or combination bags around a while and maxing out on some weights.

What would you suggest to someone who wants to get in shape?
Don’t waste another day. Start now and make fitness a part of your lifestyle. If I have a dollar for everyone who told me that they’re too busy to go to a gym three times a week for an hour a time, I’d be a multi-millionaire.
That’s just excuses. Absolutely no-one is too busy to make regular exercise part of their life and the simplest way of making sure you do that is to carve out three dedicated sessions of 90 minutes each at a gym.
Next, don’t give up when it becomes routine or hard! That’s just weakness. Stay with it and make it as much a part of your life routine as Sunday lunch with the family or visits to the supermarket.
It’s a mental hurdle you have to get over, but once you understand just how vital it is to exercise three times a week, then you have a chance of keeping the commitment going.
Fitness doesn’t come in three-month spells, you have to start now and keep going till late into your life. So, if you value your health, life, long-term functionality and love your family, get into the gym.

Then, should we use the media’s portrayal of ‘beautiful bodies’ for inspiration?
I think that the focus on the body beautiful is generally being overdone somewhat, though I’m firmly of the belief that the media focus on a shapely, toned or buffed body is both good for the public and for the fitness industry.
The world is fast-paced, abounding in pollutants, free radicals and pressures of all forms and varieties. Our wellbeing is being attacked from every angle and the most effective single preventive, antidote or solution to those negatives is regular exercise and a healthy, fit and well-prepared body.
The visual element is perhaps somewhat superfluous, but the message conveyed by the media image of the well-kept body serves to influence the public on the need to engage in regular physical exercise for long-term wellbeing.