63-year-old couple participates in Hyrox at National Stadium
Glistening, toned muscles and scrunched-up faces filled screens across Singapore this past weekend as athletes and ‘fitspos’ came down from the post-Hyrox high.
This was especially true for Lau Siew Heh and Angeline Teo — both 63 years old — who participated in the Hyrox event, held on 28 June at the Singapore National Stadium.
Ms Teo, especially, has stolen the limelight after a video posted by her daughter amassed more than 21,000 views on TikTok.
Titled “Get Ready with Mum, Hyrox edition”, the video featured her in moments leading up to, during, and after the Hyrox event — a fitness race consisting of eight vigorous exercises, with a 1km run in between each exercise.
Ms Teo and her husband proved that age is indeed just a number, as they crossed the finishing line and completed the race in under two hours.
One of their daughters, Cassandra, 33, shared with MS News details of her parents’ journey in preparing for Hyrox and how they got through it as a family.
Image courtesy of Cassandra Lau
Couple initially ‘averse’ to the idea of Hyrox
“It took quite a bit of coaxing to get them to start,” said Cassandra, who first broached the idea of Hyrox to her parents in December last year.
While they were initially “averse” to it, Mr Lau, a project manager, and Ms Teo, a banker, warmed up to the idea over time.
As it turns out, the two started their fitness journey in November 2023 when Cassandra helped open Rx Performance, a gym and fitness centre at Outram, and became a part-time coach there.
Before, Mr Lau and Ms Teo would simply go for walks on the weekends, but they eventually joined the gym — starting with personal training before joining classes once a week in February this year.
“They made many friends with the community and coaches here and now look forward to the weekday 6.30pm classes,” said Cassandra.
As more people in the gym encouraged them to try for Hyrox, the couple’s aversion slowly turned into curiosity and cautious interest.
Eventually, they bit the bullet and agreed to participate in the event when sign-ups opened in March.
Couple trained 3 to 4 times a week
Along with many others at their gym training for Hyrox as well, Mr Lau and Ms Teo took ownership of their own training.
They even made it a point to train three to four times a week.
At Rx Performance, the trainings combine strength and conditioning, metabolic conditioning, and skill work such as gymnastics and Olympic weightlifting.
By attending these sessions regularly, the couple built a solid foundation for Hyrox.
However, it was only around February that they began incorporating run-specific training into their workouts.
Image courtesy of Cassandra Lau
“They bring so much energy to class that we sometimes forget they’re among the older members in the group,” Cassandra told MS News.
Hyrox as ‘something to work towards’ in their fitness journey
The goal, Cassandra shared, was to give her parents something to work towards in their newfound fitness journey.
She therefore figured that the team relay would be a good goalpost for them.
For Hyrox’s mixed relay, two males and two females are required, so Cassandra stepped aside and had a friend, John, 31, to be her male counterpart.
Their team included Mr Lau, Ms Teo, Cassandra’s sister Kyna, and John.
They split the eight stations among the four of them, with each running 2km and completing two stations.
Image courtesy of Cassandra Lau
“Everyone did very well at their stations,” Cassandra gushed.
Despite being the most worried about her stations, Ms Teo pressed on and stuck to her pace.
Image courtesy of Cassandra Lau
Their goal was to stick to the plan and finish happy.
“I think it’s so important for our athletes, no matter what age, to enjoy their fitness journey and to look forward to progress,” said Cassandra.
Couple completes Hyrox in under 2 hours & have plans for next one
The couple found that their hard work had paid off, completing their very first Hyrox in an hour and 46 minutes.
Source: @casslauu on TikTok
“They were so happy and satisfied that their hard work paid off,” said Cassandra, who added that her parents could not stop talking about it.
Mr Lau and Ms Teo credited the trainings at Rx Performance for preparing them well for Hyrox, and are now inspired to do more.
“Sports bring a community together through shared suffering, and I could see my parents get more excited about training to become better after the race,” Cassandra said.
She noted that her parents will likely be joining Hyrox next year and are already making plans for it.
In the meantime, they will also be participating in their gym’s internal competition this August.
Training as a family & staying fit during retirement keep them going
An Instagram video posted by Rx Performance featured the Lau family as a the family that trains together.
“I started fitness very late in life,” shared Ms Teo. When Cassandra started her fitness journey, Ms Teo became curious.
She began to wonder: “I can imagine if one day I fell down, who’s going to pick me up?”
“At the start, I didn’t understand what fitness was, beyond just losing a lot of weight,” she said.
Mr Lau recalled going on a trek during a holiday in Hong Kong.
“We were almost half dead, and we decided that that’s not going to happen again in our lives,” he said.
Seeing himself improve and having fun with his family and the community at the gym is what keeps them going.
“I’m really looking forward to being healthier and fitter for my retirement years,” Ms Teo said.
Speaking with MS News, Cassandra also took the opportunity to reflect on a deeper note.
Image courtesy of Cassandra Lau
She believes it’s important that people remember that not only the younger generation has dreams.
“So many times our parents make our dreams theirs, and they bury their dreams and drive the energy needed to push us forward as their children,” she said.
“It’s in the little moments where we observe their actions that we can identify their dreams and be that support for them to rise to the occasion as well.”
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Featured image courtesy of Cassandra Lau.
