Can you train the mind to be tough?
If you ask me to train someone to pass their IPPT, it’s simple. But how to make someone mentally stronger is a tough feat. Make the training hard, man! The training must be severe. To master kungfu, you must first master pain!

If someone gives up during your class, what would you do?
CrossFit is like a very strong medicine. Strong medicine comes with a lot of side effects. You can only bring a horse to the well. You cannot force it to drink. I can show you what my strong medicine can do. If you follow my prescribed instructions clearly, you’ll become very strong, very fast and very healthy. But it doesn’t come like that overnight. This is what I offer and it’s up to the individual to stay on the program.

Do people often get over-trained?
It’s a misconception. People think that when their muscles ache or are swollen, they’re over-trained. Competitive athletes train 9 to 5 and only a couple of them will get overtraining symptoms.

How would you feel if you were away from the gym for two weeks?
That has never happened. I’ve always been the first guy to open the door and the last one to leave. Day in and day out for 365 days without fail. Even when I am down with a cold I still come in to supervise. The times when I’m not here are the times when I need to train new trainers around the region, but it’s normally just for the weekend.

Have you trained people from other countries? Are they any different from Singaporeans?
I’ve trained some people outside Singapore who are pretty high profile. I’ve had the honor of working with the Australian SAS, US Marines and Navy SEALS. But wherever they come from, the Crossfit bond is universal. We all understand and speak the same language. It could be in the US, India or a small garage in the UK, we all go through the same pain together.

Any thoughts on nutrition?
Nutrition is the foundation to all training. You can’t build fitness on a rubbish diet. Very often I hear people say you can eat anything you want because you work out a lot. It doesn’t work that way.

So you go on a fixed diet?
Man is not wired to eat like a monk. So I’m a big fan of rewarding myself once a week with whatever I like to eat. The thing is, when I’ve been on a specific diet for so long, my body rejects the foods I’ve been avoiding so I get an allergic reaction to it. Even if I want to enjoy a big piece of cake, I can’t. For me I get carb crash and I don’t get to enjoy it as much as I want to. Actually, the Paleolithic diet is pretty savory. It tastes good and it works for me.

Wavesecure

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GadgetTrak

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Webroot SecureWeb Browser

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Free from iTunes.

DroidDream Killer

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Free from Android.

You’ve played Elphaba in productions since 2006. Does it take a kind of mental stamina to play one role for so long?
I’ve thought about this myself. How can I do a show for this long? But I honestly think its because the show is so wonderful and the character I play has so much detail. I get to sing the most amazing music that I still love and it’s still a challenge for me. I’m learning from the role every day. I honestly don’t think, if I was doing any other show, that I’d be able to do it for this long.

Do Elphaba’s awkward movements come naturally to you?
I’m a dag! I’m just that type of person who’s a little bit kooky. One of my favorite things is when I do something quirky on stage and I hear the audience laugh. I get a buzz from that. It comes very naturally.

What’s the most demanding part of your role?
The most difficult part—and my most favorite—is performing the number “Defying Gravity.” It’s the bit where I actually get to fly so it’s a big spectacle in itself. The song just soars, so that means it’s quite difficult to sing. I first sang it in 2003, before I’d joined the cast. Wicked had just opened on Broadway and I bought the CD. I started singing it because I loved the music so much and I remember thinking ‘I could never do that!’

How do you feel once you pull off that scene?
When I punch my broom in the air right at the end and I hear the audience respond, it hits me. It’s pretty amazing and sometimes my breath gets taken away.

Wicked runs through February 26, 2012 at Marina Bay Sands’ Grand Theatre  $55-250 from Sistic.