KEEPING FIT AT ANY AGE

For 2nd Warrant Officer (2WO) (Rtd) Ker Cheng Lik, a passion for fitness led to the publication of his life's work - an illustrated guide to passing the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).

Few can claim to be a fitness guru like 2WO (Rtd) Ker.

After all, the author of the book How to pass your IPPT was the Chief Physical Training Instructor (PTI) of various Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) formations during the 35 years he spent in the military before moving on to assume a similar role with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in 1996.

And as a firm believer in the importance of cultivating a fit and healthy lifestyle from young, he is not taking any chances with his two grandchildren.

They might be only one and two years old respectively, but 2WO (Rtd) Ker is already giving them swimming lessons every Sunday.

"I want to inculcate swimming skills in them at a young age so that they know how to swim and grow up healthy and fit," he explained.

The journey to physical fitness

2WO (Rtd) Ker's own road to physical fitness began during his primary school days, when he was a short and thin child constantly bullied by gang members. Determined to become stronger and fitter, he took up various activities like gymnastics and swimming.

After enlisting in 1970, he was posted to the School of Infantry Specialists at Pasir Laba camp as a specialist cadet. While practising gymnastics at the Physical Training Institute, he caught the attention of the institute's commanding officer, Lieutenant Shak Adam, who invited him to take up a position as a PTI.

What followed in the next 35 years was an illustrious career with the SAF as Chief PTI of various formations in the Army such as the Infantry, Commandos, and in the Air Force and Navy.

His secret to getting servicemen interested in exercises? Coming up with numerous variations for any form of exercise. For push-ups alone, 2WO (Rtd) Ker revealed that he had come up with no fewer than 20 variations.

During those years in the SAF, 2WO (Rtd) Ker gained much insight in fitness training, most of which were meticulously documented with sketched illustrations and stored in a blue file that he has kept even till now.

"As a PTI, I wanted to make sure that I knew how to solve all the fitness problems of others," he explained.

A record of his expertise

All that knowledge came in handy one day during the early 90s. He was encouraged by the Operationally Ready National Servicemen under his charge to write a book on fitness. Some of them even offered to help 2WO (Rtd) Ker with the production of the book.

"Without their encouragement, I would not have written this book," said 2WO (Rtd) Ker. "I am also very fortunate that they helped me in the areas of financal support and publishing."

With the support of his men as well as his family, he made the decision to leave the SAF in 1996 to focus on writing his book on physical fitness.

The first edition of the book, then known as Surviving IPPT, was self-published by 2WO (Rtd) Ker in 1996.

Since then, the book has been picked up by publishing house Marshall Cavendish and is now in its fourth edition.

Making a comeback

All seemed to be going well for 2WO (Rtd) Ker, but tragedy struck when he suffered a stroke in 2004 while serving as the Chief PTI for SCDF. Although the stroke was not life-threatening, it drained all his fitness during the recovery stage. He could no longer run, swim or do even one chin-up.

Determined to practise what he preached in his book, 2WO (Rtd) Ker decided to train himself back into shape.

"I followed the training principles in my book step by step, and I slowly regained my strength," said 2WO (Rtd) Ker, who has since fully recovered from the stroke.

Besides tips on training for IPPT, the fourth edition of the book - titled How to Pass your IPPT - is an informative guide that emphasises various components of fitness training, from weights training and aerobic endurance to training principles. There is even a chapter dedicated to explaining how one could slim down his or her pot-belly.

Training the young

Now a semi-retiree and a swimming coach with the Institute of Technical Education Simei, 2WO (Rtd) Ker remains fit and active even at the age of 58. Although he can no longer pride himself on doing 25 pull-ups like he did in his 40s, he still manages to rack up a respectable eight to nine pull-ups.

While he no longer has to train servicemen in his new job, 2WO (Rtd) Ker continues to keep himself busy with the challenging task of training the younger generation.

"There is no short cut to achieving fitness excellence. You need to train from the start as early as possible," he said.

A fit and confident 2WO (Rtd) Ker (back row, far right) with his army buddies during his National Service days.

"It is my dream to see others investing in safe and regular exercise and reaping the rewards of a sound body and mind."
- 2WO (Rtd) Ker