Jeff Lo gives locked-down Filipinos the low-down on exercise-at-home through his online community – Pinoy Fitness
Before Pinoy Fitness became the multi-tab-worthy site it is thanks to articles such as “Sports and Nutrition in Your 40s,” “The Pros and Cons of Running in the Rain,” and “5 Types of Alcohol you Should be Drinking,” it was merely a glimmer of sweat (or tears), in a certain weekend warrior’s eye. “I was looking for fitness events I could join back then,” shares Jeff. Lamenting the lack of a ready resource…he built one. “I decided to create a website where I can consolidate all fitness-related events for (weekenders) like me.” Fortuitously, he started in 2009…just one year before marathons boomed. “Running became the ‘in’ thing in 2010 to 2012,” recalls the athletic Lo, “I also started my running journey then, and eventually, somehow… Pinoy Fitness became one of the top sources for running events and discussions.”
And even with social media platforms such as Facebook dominating the space for event notifications nowadays, Pinoy Fitness intends to stay ahead of the game by redefining its purpose.
Within years, the online platform of runners and fitness enthusiasts, forged through the power of running and how fitness changes lives, galvanized into a community whose mission was to motivate people to keep on moving.
“From the consolidation of events, we started to organize our own races,” says Jeff, proudly, “the website transformed into a portal for running and fitness tips and our most recent product started back in 2018.”
Virtual races, for those unfamiliar, consist of courses that runners take at their leisure, and whose times are tracked via specialized apps. That translates to enhanced focus, maximum social distancing, and accurate times that one can compare with anyone who joins…but mostly to oneself.
Download the Pinoy Fitness App and connect with the community IOS and Android.
“What I learned over the last 10 years is that fitness is a never-ending journey,” ruminates Jeff, “there will be days or months where you’re totally into it, breaking all PRs and achieving all of your fitness goals…but there will always be a time when other things like work, family, pandemic, etc., can derail you on your fitness journey.” He declares that Pinoy Fitness exists to help, inspire and motivate anyone into fitness – whether jumping back into their journey or want to further their progress on it— regardless of time, age, gender, or profession. “Anyone can get fit.”
And with that mantra, Pinoy Fitness has accrued a community composed not just of runners but of triathletes, OCR, weight lifters, yoga, and Pilates aficionados— much to their relief when the pandemic hit.
“The lockdowns really crippled the fitness and running industry,” rues Lo, “we had to cancel all of our road races in 2020.” And besides the impact on business owners, runners felt repercussions on their stride. “With no events lined up, runners started to lose motivation to train, especially during the early stages, when even running outside was prohibited.” Jeff also shares that new safety protocols allowed runners to slowly find safe roads to run— but only just. ”Running without a goal can be boring,” he admits, “that’s why we developed our virtual run series.”
It’s a first step in the right direction, and one Jeff Lo hopes people can follow up on.
“One thing I learned is that you can never force someone to workout, the commitment needs to start from within, what we can do as people around them is to show them how great it is to be fit and healthy.” Pinoy Fitness is just one such community where people can see how other people are doing— and follow them. “Hopefully this will bring about a spark from within for them to pursue a life of health and wellness.”
And while the pandemic’s finish line is nowhere in sight, Jeff Lo hopes Pinoy Fitness and its active community is enough to keep the roads clear for runners, even if they are (for now), just in cyberspace.
Get active & connect with Jeff & Pinoy Fitness through @iamjefflo and @pinoyfitness.
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