Most of us in Singapore may feel like Covid-19 is long over, but to those in the sport and fitness industry, the impact is still very much felt.

When studios had to be shut down due to public health movement restrictions in parts of 2020 and 2021, even the most avid of fitness class attendees would have been forced to find alternatives.

Of course, some fitness class attendees simply stopped working out regularly.

For those who kept active, outdoor running and cycling were good options. These went entirely unrestricted throughout Covid-19, as long as one complied with prevailing group size limits.

Home gyms also sprouted up, and those who invested in their own equipment are now reaping the returns.

All of this explains why it seems that people have been “very slow” to return to the classes they’d frequent pre-Covid, says Faiz Aman, a freelance fitness instructor with over 10 years of experience.

Another reason for the slow pickup could be that people are “busy travelling” after the lifting of travel restrictions in full, since last year.

Faiz is seeing that attendance at his classes — he teaches Zumba, Fight Do, and Oxigeno fitness programmes — is slowly picking up.

Kickboxing trainer and entrepreneur Valencia Yip echoed Faiz’s observations.

“Consumer mindset has changed a lot,” Yip said, and post-Covid recovery is still on the way for Active Zone, the kickboxing studio Yip co-founded.

Yip observed that this phenomenon is happening even for kickboxing, where the studio setup — including equipment like punching bags — can't be easily replicated at home.

“A lot of people would think that, ‘Oh, it’s been quite a while since Covid happened. All businesses should be booming by now.’ But it really varies from industry to industry.”

Ironically, this is happening at a time where the Singapore fitness industry has more to offer than ever.

Fitness industry

The fitness industry here is very different today from how it was 10 years ago when Yip started out.

Once a track athlete and ballet dancer, she saw herself losing touch with sport and gaining weight after starting work in the fashion industry.

After seeing success in going back to exercise, Yip felt keen to be able to help others, and made the career switch from fashion to fitness in 2012, working as a personal trainer before picking up kickboxing.

She’s not looked back, and over the past 10 years, has watched her industry grow.

“The landscape has changed a lot,” she shared, recalling that 10 years ago, personal training and group classes were the bulk of what was available to consumers.

Now, there’s greater diversity in the classes and sports offered, along with greater depth of knowledge and expertise available.

Even in the kickboxing space, instructors are now equipped to teach nutrition and mental skills. “Not just the sport itself,” said Yip.

This has been the silver lining of the slowdown caused by Covid-19 — “I think everybody had the time to do skills upgrading".

From her perspective, many individuals, coaches, and trainers took the mindset of “I have time now. So let's do it,” she said.

Rising tide

Faiz and Yip see that the industry’s maturation has also meant that there are more opportunities for instructors like themselves.

They see room for further growth in the industry — something that the government recognises as well.

Earlier this year, in April 2023, fitness instructors were invited to register themselves in a new National Registry of Exercise Professionals (NREP).

The NREP is part of a longer-term strategy by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) to professionalise and build capabilities in the fitness industry, especially in the area of safety and knowledge.

Faiz and Yip are among the early joiners who got registered soon after the NREP launched in April 2023.

As of September 2023, more than 1,000 exercise professionals have registered, according to Sport Singapore (Sport SG).

As part of the next phase of the NREP's rollout from April 2024, government agencies that hire a sizable number of exercise professionals — including SportSG, the People’s Association, Health Promotion Board, and the Ministry of Home Affairs — will only hire exercise professionals registered under the NREP.

Faiz conducts classes under Sport SG and ActiveSG, and was therefore keen to register earlier than later.

“I'm always someone who wants to just get it done over with,” explained Faiz breezily.

With future opportunities in mind

Even those not currently active in the industry have registered.

Ariel Ng was a full-time freelance trainer for over 10 years, but took a step back from the industry during the pandemic years.

While freelance training is no longer her full-time occupation, Ng got herself registered under five different NREP categories, including Aqua Fitness, Dance, as well as Martial Arts and Combat.

She explained that she wants to keep her options open for future opportunities.

Ng points out that trainers who are registered under the NREP "can indeed add credibility to their expertise".

"It shows that trainers have met certain standards of qualifications set by NREP," she explains, adding that this helps trainers assure potential clients that they have the required skills and knowledge.

A platform for members of the public

Members of the public can search for exercise professionals on the ActiveSG Circle website.

Here's how Ng's profile can be found by keying in her name and choosing one of the NREP categories she's registered for:

Ng says this provides a platform where interested parties can directly connect with trainers.

Three new enquiries since registration

She shares that since April, she's received three enquiries from potential customers who found her profile on the NREP website.

One of them has led to her securing an engagement — an event hosted by the management of Hillbrooks condominium in Hillview, and the Hillview Connections Neighbourhood Committee.

The event, a "Water Carnival", saw more than 150 residents and their children in attendance. Besides inflatables and other activities, Ng also led some of the participants in Aqua Zumba.

Professionalising the industry

Ng sees the benefits of the NREP beyond her own business opportunities — it will benefit the industry as well.

She points to "transparency and accountability" as a potential benefit as well, given that codes of conduct or other professional standards can "contribute to the overall quality of services provided".

In fact, as part of the NREP rollout, there will be clear safety standards and capability requirements to help the fitness sector raise its professional standards, said Roy Teo, who heads SportSG’s Industry Development, Technology and Innovation Group.

Teo explained that the Registry will also provide the authorities with "a better indication of the support needed" for these professionals.

Meanwhile, Faiz has come to see the value of NREP as a centralised platform for instructors to be seen as “one team”.

Over his 10 years of experience, he’s heard of rogue “non-qualified instructors” who claim to be conducting Zumba classes without any licence to do so. With the rollout of NREP, such practices would be more difficult to pull off.

Faiz hopes the NREP could become something that members of the public come to see as a guarantee of quality and competence in the fitness industry — to the extent that if someone engages an NREP-registered instructor, they’ll know they are “in good hands”.

Yip shared similar sentiments from a different perspective. On top of her work in the Active Zone kickboxing studio, Yip is also the Secretary General of the Kickboxing Federation of Singapore.

From that point of view, Yip shared that kickboxing straddles both sports and fitness.

The federation is the national sports association for the competitive sport of kickboxing in Singapore, and oversees athletes and coaches as their governing body.

Since the federation’s affiliate clubs conduct kickboxing lessons, the federation can come in to educate them on NREP.

Yip sees NREP registration as being a “no-brainer”, pointing out that it helps people recognise that registered trainers are reputable and trustworthy.

May not be for everyone

Faiz noted that there are certain fitness professionals who may not see the value of going through NREP registration.

For example, there are some who mainly conduct personal training on a one-to-one basis, and may already have an existing client base. These individual trainers may not see the benefit of registering.

There are also instructors who only work at specific boutique fitness studios, or standalone studios. Again, if the studios have their own client base, their instructors may not see the need for registration.

To this, Yip urges fitness professionals to look at “the bigger picture” of how more structure in the industry can be helpful.

“Everybody should be helping each other. Not just fending for yourself, which is what's happening in the fitness industry. It’s like everybody for themselves.”

She sees that getting professionals onto the common platform would be an important first step toward further development of the entire fitness ecosystem.

NREP rolling out in three phases

The NREP is currently in the first of three phases.

First phase

In the first phase, from April 2023 to March 2024, those registered on the NREP are required to have "valid Standard First Aid certifications or equivalent".

However, they can attain a temporary "provisional" status while working toward the requirements for full membership.

Teo shared that "fitness professionals are important contributors to our sports ecosystem" and that SportSG "would like to have as many professionals as possible registered on NREP to promote an active lifestyle for all".

As an added benefit, exercise professionals who register on NREP will receive free membership with the National Instructors and Coaches Association (NICA), which comes with benefits like mediation support for workplace disputes, as well as training funding to defray essential course fees.

Second phase

In the second phase, from April 2024, those on the NREP will also need to attain the Safe Sport Certification in addition to the required certifications in the first phase, shared Teo.

And, from April 2024, government agencies — like SportSG, the People’s Association, Health Promotion Board, and the Ministry of Home Affairs — will only hire exercise professionals registered under the NREP.

Third phase

In the NREP's third phase, SportSG will introduce an accreditation framework for exercise professionals.

Under the framework, exercise professionals must "attain and maintain" the required certifications to remain active in NREP, Teo said.

The starting date for the third phase has yet to be announced.

However, Teo said "SportSG will ensure that exercise professionals will be given sufficient time to attain the relevant required certifications" when the framework is released.

Top photo via Faiz Aman on Instagram and Kickboxing Federation of Singapore on Facebook