{"id":25434,"date":"2025-04-30T21:53:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=25434"},"modified":"2025-04-30T21:57:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:57:08","slug":"gym-class-after-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2025\/04\/gym-class-after-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Gym Class after School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dedicated secondary school students share their inspiring story of bodybuilding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Justin Tai<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rejection from a crush may lead to a broken heart. But to Huang Wang Yu, it can be a source of power in the gym. The teenager started bodybuilding to mend his broken heart when he was 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing rejected turns out to be a good thing that makes me embark on my fitness journey,\u201d the Form Six secondary school student recalls with a smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Huang Wang Yu (left) during the interview.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the leader of the Bodybuilding and Fitness Society of Salem-Immanuel Lutheran College, Huang, now 18, has a six-day workout routine, in which he starts off with training his chest, followed by back on the second day and legs on the third. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach exercise is repeated for four sets until I reach my limits, a cardio-session is also added in each workout, which lasts around one-and-a-half to two hours,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cycle repeats twice a week with just one rest day in between.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
    \n
  • \"\"
    Huang is doing bicep curls.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"\"
    Huang is doing dumbbell chest presses.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
  • \"\"
    Huang is doing barbell bench presses.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Apart from Huang\u2019s daily workout routine, he does not let his guard down on his diet as the goal is to keep fit and lower his body fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMy diet is bland and boring, I\u2019ve been consuming as little rice and oil as I can, and my diet is mainly composed of meat and vegetables,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \n
      \n
    • \"\"
      Huang\u2019s daily meal during the pre-competition period. (Photo courtesy of Huang)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Huang\u2019s daily meal during the pre-competition period. (Photo courtesy of Huang)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
    • \"\"
      Huang\u2019s daily meal during the pre-competition period. (Photo courtesy of Huang)<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In July 2024, his school held an inter-school bodybuilding competition. The 18-year-old won second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe feeling was so crazy, because I have never thought the show would stir up this much attention from the bodybuilding community and the media,\u201d Huang shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Behind the stage was not all sunshine and rainbows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cFour months before the competition were the most tiresome and difficult periods,\u201d Huang recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      With strict diet discipline, he only ate boiled chicken breast and blanched broccoli, and the amount of carbohydrates could be counted on the fingers of one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI kept eating the same thing three times a day for three months straight, let alone the six-day weightlifting and cardio routine. It was a living death,\u201d the bodybuilder sighs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Besides Huang\u2019s daily routine, he also had to keep up with his studies and prepare for exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cIt was pretty hard for me. But I decided to focus more on the competition and put away my studies for a while,\u201d Huang recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To recover muscle and release stress, Huang cut the workout routine down to three days a week just before the competition, ensuring he was in peak condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Having fulfilled one of his bodybuilding ambitions through the competition, Huang sees it as the beginning of his bodybuilding journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI will participate in bodybuilding competitions when I am in university and win as many awards as I can. I want to be a fitness coach or a personal trainer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While Huang started bodybuilding for a romantic reason, his gym buddy Law Tsz Shing, who just wanted to kill time by doing workout, has evolved from a shy boy to a confident young man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI had so much spare time that I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I thought working out would be great, I might as well improve myself,\u201d the 18-year-old student, who started bodybuilding when he was in Form Four, says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019ve been sticking to a five-day workout routine. A week starts off with chest, followed by arms, back, shoulders, and legs, I usually do four sets of twelve reps for each exercise,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n

      \n
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      \n
        \n
      • \"\"
        Law Tsz Shing (left) is doing cable-flys.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
      • \"\"
        Law is doing barbell bench presses.\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n
      • \"\"
        Law is doing dumbbell chest presses.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

         <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Like most beginners, Law did not have any clue of what to do at the gym. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cWhen I first stepped in the gym, I felt uneasy because I didn\u2019t know anything about fitness and weightlifting,\u201d Law recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The shy teenager in the first three months of lifting was guided by Huang, who encouraged him to join the bodybuilding competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cI was so nervous about this, especially during the two weeks before the competition. It gave me so much pressure knowing that I would be half-naked and posing in front of a big crowd,\u201d the secondary student, who came fourth in the contest, says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Law has evolved from once a timid and skinny boy to a man standing up on the stage showcasing his muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cI wasn\u2019t as sporty as I am today. I was more academic-oriented and I played sports just to kill time, but now going to the gym has become a hobby,\u201d Law shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cI never thought of becoming a professional bodybuilder anytime soon; lifting weights is simply an interest for me now,\u201d the 18-year-old adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The transformation of these young men would not have been possible without Wong Chun Man, one of the masterminds behind the school\u2019s bodybuilding society and competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Also, as a gym-goer himself, Wong believes the results of working out are much harder to achieve than solving a math problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cI believe students who are in the bodybuilding society are very persistent and aren\u2019t afraid of hardships. Even if you keep working out tirelessly, you may not see changes instantly. Because it takes so much perseverance and time. But for studying, as long as you revise, you can quickly see improvements,\u201d Wong shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cStudents can learn this important life lesson of being determined, that you must put in great effort in order to have great results,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        He points out that encouraging students to work out also helps solve their sleeping problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Wong, the vice-principal, also believes it is challenging for the young generations to find a particular hobby or interest due to the era of smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cUsing one to two hours of your day working out at the gym is far better than two hours of mindless scrolling on smartphones,\u201d Wong shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cSeeing the way students enjoy a specific hobby other than playing smartphones and getting results from it is already a great success to me,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        As the bodybuilding competition has gained traction from the public, the vice-principal decides to organize the competition again this year on 9th July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cWe have invited all secondary schools in Tai Po District to take part in the event this time, including the alumni. We hope to promote this event on a bigger scale,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Edited by James Cheang <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Subedited by Daniel Koong<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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