A lot of end-of-year parties across Samoa often usher in Christmas with food and alcohol but members of the MY Fitness Studio in Togafu’afu’a have taken another path.

They participated in a competition that pit 16 teams of three against each other in fitness tests to close out 2020.

The event called “The Trio” is to showcase the progress and development of their gym members, says the owner of MY Fitness Studio, Tuiloma Walter Imo.

“So at the end of the year, this is pretty much our break up kind of party…instead of having a full-on alcohol party, we do this,” he said. “Everyone comes together for our end of the year Christmas party in fitness form. It fits because this is a gym and people have been working out throughout the year.”

There have been instances where members have progressed with some of them losing a lot of weight, according to Tuiloma.

“People have progressed and some people have lost a lot of weight and they have ticked off a lot of boxes so this competition sums that up. It shows them what they have done and it shows their family what they have done because I know a lot of people take time off from their families to come to the gym.”

Family members often give gym members a rough time, Tuiloma added, through their frequent questions.

“They ask why do you keep doing that? Why do you keep training? That’s enough. This is their time to showcase what they have done the whole year and be like ‘look at me now.

“It’s in game form. You can always come in and just workout but to know where you are at individually and as a team we put it into a competition.”

A similar competition was run last year but Tuiloma says it wasn’t as big as it is now with a total of 48 athletes taking on the challenge.

“We did something similar last year but it wasn’t as big as it is now. There are 48 athletes competing today…the whole point of this tournament which we will be doing annually is pretty much our end of the year wrap-up and it’s in-house,” he said.

“So we have people who have trained with us throughout the year: this is when they show up and showcase their development and how much they have progressed over the year."

Coaches don’t get paid much but their reward is seeing the individuals that they worked with show off their fitness skills, added Tuiloma.

“Individuals and coaches who trained them throughout the year to see and this is where we get our reward because we don’t get paid much but this our reward – seeing our athletes for coming to form to show their families and maybe this might drive their families to join us next year in their fitness journey.”

MY Fitness Studio has been officially open for about one year for Tuiloma who is a high school teacher by profession. 

He was born in New Zealand, raised in Australia and moved to Samoa eight years ago.

“I have a passion for health, especially chronic diseases that you can get rid of. A lot of people in Samoa just think – oh if they are sick they are sick,” he said.

The gym got its start when family began asking him for help with their diet and training.

“I have always done personal training. I have a Level IV in Fitness but my background is I am a high school teacher in geography and health and physical education,” Tuiloma said.

“I started teaching five years prior to coming here so I have been teaching for 15 or 16 years. I have always done personal training...I used to play rugby but I did it as a side job. 

“So when I came here with my family and friends, they would say can you help me with my diet and then it grew, their friends wanted to do it with their friends and I trained some girls for netball.”

The gym initially started at home then moved to an office space at the Pay Ah Him building. But their operation grew and a larger space was needed which led to building the gym in Togafu’afua.

“I started at home, then an office space at Pat Ah Him then I got too big so we just built something here for the gym and here we are,” Tuiloma said.

“So it was not my intention to run a gym or do a gym, it just happened. I think God just planned it that way. Instead of being a teacher I am helping other people who are in much need of this.”

Tuiloma is of the view that Samoans neglect their health too much and don’t realize that just 15 minutes of their time could keep them away from a hospital bed. That is 15 minutes for three days a week.

“I think the biggest thing is that people neglect their health. People neglect and they think that is just how it is – like if it happens, it happens when they can just come into the gym for 15 minutes and it keeps them away from the hospital bed,” Tuiloma said.

“Samoan people seem to think they can only do something when they are on the hospital bed, but they can prevent themselves from being on the hospital bed, by just coming in with family and friends and just getting a workout for 15 minutes. 

“I am not even saying everyday, three times a week is all that will keep you away from the hospital bed. It makes you happy mentally so it’s not just physically but also mentally.”

And the gym owner and high school teacher also encourages family workouts.

“I am a big believer in training with your family. If you are married, train with your husband or your wife,” he said. “I have seen couples come individually and as soon as they bring in their other half they seem to be happier and they seem to be stronger together so I encourage that.” 

Tuiloma revealed that his wife trains with him as well as a number of prenatal women.

MY Fitness Studio or “Mine and Yours” is linked with Les Mils New Zealand, which is a big gym company located in New Zealand. With Les Mils, the Togafuafua gym offers a variety of workout options: pump which is light weights and body movements which uses light weights and the full body. They also offer Spin class which is centered on exercise bicycles and Zoo which uses body weight movements and animal movements.

Tuiloma said in zoo, “we do bear crawls and that kind of stuff – animal movements. So you don’t use any weights, it's just body weights.” The fee is $10 tala per session but new enrollments are invited to join for the new year 2021.

Before COVID-19, MY Fitness used to run children’s classes twice a week for ages 4–12, which Tuiloma said was very popular, but was discontinued due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

A total of eight women’s teams and eight men’s teams took part in The Trio competition on Wednesday.