Health Update: Health Update: Hong Kong fitness charity founder lost 13kg in 4 months. Now she helps others get in shape – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
As a professional counsellor and founder of The Alice House, a Hong Kong practice specialising in grief and bereavement support, Eugenie Fung found herself overwhelmed working long hours and having little time for exercise. That changed when her friend Karen Chau, an investment and philanthropy adviser from Taiwan who has called Hong Kong home for the past decade, offered to work as her fitness trainer.
Chau is the founder of Fit to Give Ministries (Fit2Give), a charity that provides free fitness training for church ministers and NGO workers.
“I realised I had taken my health for granted,” says Fung, 44. “Although I was not concerned with my weight, I was far from fit. As a counsellor, sitting had become the norm for me. In addition, mental exhaustion led to physical fatigue.”
Chau set up a routine for Fung with exercises focusing on the major muscle groups, including dead lifts, lunges and bent-over single-arm rows. Fung began strength training with Chau twice a week, with the goal of improving her stability and increasing her strength.
The effects were transformational. After six months, Fung felt a renewed sense of strength and energy.
“The biggest benefit was reconnecting with my body and learning to take better care of it,” says Fung, who, inspired by her transformation, earned a group-training coaching certification and joined Fit2Give in 2023.