As I look back at the past year, notwithstanding the ups and downs of managing my medical practice and my duties with the SMA, I am grateful that I have at least achieved one of my personal goals. And that was to improve my physical fitness.
I am not a natural sportsman, being "blessed" with flat feet and a small body frame. However, I have always enjoyed exercising to maintain my physical fitness and keep my stress levels down. To me, there is nothing more enjoyable than going for a run after a busy day of work. During the period when I was having foot problems that prevented me from running, I searched for alternative forms of exercise. I had recalled that as one gets older, muscle mass and strength would diminish unless something was done about it. That was when I started going to the gym for weight training. After the initial learning curve, I was glad to see that the resistance training really worked to improve muscle mass and strength, and was pleasantly surprised that it also increased my stamina for runs and allowed me to cope better with household chores such as mowing the lawn.
I usually go to the gym on weekends together with my family. Doing it together with my family motivates all of us to keep going regularly, and it also gives us a reason to spend time together.
Exercise is popular among doctors. I know of colleagues who engage in various sporting activities such as long-distance running, cycling, triathlons, body building and football. My efforts in the gym pale in comparison, but I am happy with what I have achieved so far.
This issue of SMA News deals with the related topic of sports and medicine. It is timely as 2024 was the year of the Paris Olympics, and most of us would have at some point or another watched the spectacle of the world's greatest sporting event on television and cheered on our Singapore athletes as they competed valiantly.
Sports and medicine are a good mix – as doctors, our understanding of the physiology and anatomy of the human body helps us to know how to train better. Perhaps I will also see you at the gym sometime soon?