SINGAPORE: Even now, Ayo Canlas can still vividly recall the elite tennis athlete he was as a student, a time that saw him represent the Philippines in the 2006 Junior Davis Cup. Last year, however, the 37-year-old corporate executive found he was struggling to keep up with a four-year-old.
This wake-up call came during a family staycation in Singapore in December, when his daughter Arya challenged him to swim the length of the hotel pool with her.
“It was difficult for me to match her pace,” says Canlas, now a chief financial officer for a consumer appliances company in Singapore. “In my mind, I was still a top tennis player. In reality, I had no stamina.”
The pool incident solidified a journey that had begun a few weeks earlier. In October 2025, Canlas had hit his highest weight of 100kg (220lbs), and a medical check-up the following month had revealed he was on a dangerous health trajectory.
Choosing to make lifestyle changes over taking medication, he worked with a personal trainer for a highly monitored overhaul of his diet and strength training. The regime yielded dramatic results: by May 2026, he had shed 27kg to reach 73kg, cutting his body fat from 30 per cent to 13 per cent.
His fall from fitness will be familiar to many. After graduating from college, he kept eating whatever he liked while his physical activity level fell dramatically.
The arrival of two daughters – Arya in 2021 and Ciara in 2023 – left him sleeping less, and he put exercise on hold.
A medical exam in November returned the worst test results he had ever had, “with blood pressure and cholesterol numbers elevated significantly”, he says. He was not prescribed medication, but the warning signs were clear. He decided to take steps to avoid the need for drugs.
A local gym’s holistic fitness approach appealed to him, and he began strength training with personal trainer Shamus Sum at Ultimate Performance three times a week.
They started with full-body workouts, using large compound movements to build a strong foundation. As Canlas developed muscle mass and shed fat, they worked on smaller muscle groups to further enhance and define his physique.
The greatest impact, though, came from changing Canlas’ diet.
Sum introduced him to an app to track what he ate and monitor his calorie intake – a practice he had never imagined himself doing. It helped ensure he had the right balance of protein, carbs and fats in his calorie-deficit diet of 1,800 calories per day.
Before, he would start the day with a cup of black coffee and skip breakfast. Lunch and dinner had been fast food from somewhere near his office – burgers, chicken rice or Singaporean noodles such as Hokkien mee, char kway teow, wanton mee. He would wash it down later with bubble tea.
“Looking back, I was consuming too many carbs and fat, and significantly low amounts of protein,” he says.
Now he has a sandwich with low-fat peanut butter to fuel his early morning workout.
Breakfast follows, typically canned tuna, scrambled eggs, a protein shake and black coffee. For lunch and dinner, he has a mix of protein (tuna, salmon, beef or lamb) with veggies and carbs (rice or quinoa).
These days, he is keenly aware of “unnecessary calories”, and he cuts out sweets and alcohol.
“I don’t drink at all now; I find it easier that way,” he says.
To celebrate holidays with friends and family, he sets aside a “calorie budget” so he can enjoy a slice of cake. He treats himself to ice cream or bubble tea with his daughters on weekends and occasionally indulges in a Chinese hotpot meal or an Indian biryani.
On past business trips, Canlas found it hard to maintain discipline with exercise and eating. Now he is motivated to stick to his healthy routines no matter where he is – “a big change”.
When his brother suggested they sign up for the Hyrox challenge in Singapore in April this year, which coincided with his birthday, Canlas agreed. They set an audacious target: to finish the race in 70 minutes.
“I believe in setting big and ambitious targets and working towards them,” he says. “Preparing for Hyrox reminded me of my tennis days: no short cuts, intent in every workout, and reliance on a strong support system.” He supplemented his strength training with three cardio sessions a week, often running on his own.
He was drawn to Hyrox’s hybrid nature, which combines running with fitness challenges.
“It tests both your endurance and your strength. It reminded me a lot of tennis, where being the fastest runner is not enough to win. You need to be strong all around – physically, technically and mentally,” he says.
On Hyrox race day, nerves gave way to exhilaration.
“I was quite scared leading up to it. But on the day, I surprised myself with how good I felt during the race. I could still run fast and execute the stations quite well, all the way to the end.”
The brothers hit their target.
“Those 70 minutes represented months of waking up at 5.30am for training, skipping my favourite burgers and pastas, and making do with hotel gyms in every city I travelled to. It was about being a student again, sticking to the programme and trusting the process,” he says.
Most importantly, it was about joy. “Seeing my wife, Margarette, and Arya and Ciara cheering us on through the race – I felt invincible.”
One of his most memorable birthdays, Canlas views it as a “rebirth” that marked the emergence of his new, fitter identity.
His LinkedIn post about Hyrox drew messages from friends and family seeking health advice. Some even signed up for their own races. “Many of them have said how much better I look,” he says.
He tells those wanting to get fit themselves to find a system and habit that they can sustain. “If the exercise and diet programme feels way too extreme, you will likely not be able to sustain it.”
His wife is his rock. “Margarette has been incredibly supportive of my goals across work, education and fitness,” he says. He recalls pursuing his MBA three years earlier, while working full-time and welcoming their second daughter. “Her unwavering presence gave me the courage to push boundaries.”
He stayed motivated by remembering why he started on his fitness journey.
“I wanted to show my family that I could be at the top of my fitness game. I wanted to inspire them and ensure that I am able to enjoy moments with them with my renewed energy,” he says.
He adds that seeing friends and hearing that they cannot recognise him any more – that it seems like he has lost half my body weight – has been rewarding.
“It amazes me to look at some of the things I’m able to do now, both in the gym and in running, compared to where I was just six months ago.”
While he thought he had reached the pinnacle of his personal fitness while playing tennis in school, he feels he is fitter now.
“We recently went on a family trip – and guess what? I can comfortably swim with Arya. Maybe I’ll race her in the pool soon.” - South China Morning Post
