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Great Singapore Workout

The Great Singapore Workout, a fitness routine under the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme, was launched on 3 October 1993 by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the National Stadium. The Workout is a specially designed aerobic programme of 15 steps with five basic steps. It aims to promote the message that exercise is necessary for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Its launch, featuring a crowd of 26,107 doing the 15-minute Workout at the Padang, went into the Guinness Book of World Records for the "largest mass aerobic session held at one location".

Description
The launch
The Great Singapore Workout was launched when the Prime Minister Goh flagged off and led a three kilometre walk-and-jog session from the National Stadium to the Padang on 3 October 1993. This was followed by a 15-minute exercise session done by a crowd of 26,107, which entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the "largest mass aerobic session held at one location". The Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr Kwa Soon Bee, received the certificate from Guinness World of Records Singapore at the launch of the Healthy Lifestyle Unit on 18 December 1993.

Simultaneous to PM Goh's launch of thewalk-and-jog session, ministers and Members of Parliament led mass walks at various other locations; Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong led the walk at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium; Minister for Defence, Yeo Ning Hong, at the Queenstown Stadium; Minister for Labour, Lee Boon Yang, at the Jurong Stadium; and Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Yatiman Yusof, at the Tampines Stadium. In all, more than 60,000 Singaporeans participated in the Workout in the five different venues. The Workout was beamed live all over the island and many Singaporeans are believed to have joined in from their homes. The event also featured other games and a swimming carnival. Admissions to swimming complexes of the Singapore Sports Council were made free for that day. Closing time at the stadiums at Bedok, Bukit Gombak, Jurong, Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Yishun and Hougang were changed to stay open until 8:30 pm everyday from 3 October 1993 onwards.

The Workout
The Ministry of Health who drives the National Healthy Lifestyle Programme, came up with a S$500,000 video-cum-audio-cassette and advertisement package for the Great Singapore Workout. To a catchy tune composed by Davis Miller, the video shows the basic steps of the Workout. The music incorporates local ethnic beats such as the Malay joget and the demonstration features local celebrities.

The workout is a low impact aerobic routine made up of 15 exercises, including five basic exercises, which is specially designed to be safe for any healthy person from seven to 70. The campaign also included school children, under the project "ACES"(All Children Exercise Simultaneously). On 30 September 1993, primary schools performed the Workout for the first time, followed by secondary schools and junior colleges the next day.

The Campaign
The Great Singapore Workout also promoted other healthy family activities such as cycling, nature walk and folk dancing. These were held every Sunday throughout the month of October 1993. A Feet To Walk project was also launched to urge people to take up walking regularly.

The subsequent run of the campaign, in 1994, had variations of the Great Singapore Workout -- inmates of the Changi Prison performed the Great Taiji Workout, the taiji version of the Great Singapore Workout. The campaign also had companies endorsing the message behind it, the importance of exercise for good health, giving rise to corporate branding of the workout, like The Great Motorola Workout, and appointments of staff health facilitators . Hewlett Packard Singapore began serving food without monosodium glutamate and Laksa without coconut milk. In 1995, exercises were designed for the wheelchair-bound to get them to join in the Workout.



Author
Naidu Ratnala Thulaja



References 
A great Singapore workout for thousands. (1994, September 12). The Straits Times, p. 22.

Great S'pore Workout breaks Guinness record. (1993, December 19). The Straits Times, p. 2.

Great S'pore Workout held in schools. (1994, October 1). The Straits Times, p. 25.

Lum, M. (1993, September 26). The making of a great workout. The Straits Times, p. 9.

Pereira, B. (1993, July 26). The Great S'pore Workout. The Straits Times, p. 1.

PM Goh to ick off healthy lifestyle drive on Sunday. (1994, September 6). The Straits Times, p. 3.

PM Goh to lead Great Singapore Workout today. (1993, October 3). The Straits Times, p. 3.

60 companies now have health facilitators for staff. (1994, October 13). The Straits Times, p. 23.

60,000 huge turnout at great workout. (1993, October 4). The Straits Times, p. 1.

Special focus on the National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign '93 - Great Singapore Workout. (1993, October 1). The Straits Times, p. 4.


Further Readings
Easy exercises for the wheelchair-bound. (1995, February 20). The Straits Times, p. 20. 

Health Promotion Board, Singapore. (2001-2002). Great Singapore Workout. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from
www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/haz/haz03060.asp 

The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>Health
Events>>National Campaigns
Aerobic exercises--Singapore
Health promotion--Singapore
Singapore--History--1990-
Health and medicine>>Healthy living>>Fitness and exercise

Librarian Recommendations
>> National Healthy Lifestyle Programme


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