MALAYSIANS SPARTAN UP
IN A MASS WORKOUT WITH SPARTAN RACE FOUNDER JOE DE SENA
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, 23 August 2015 – Over 500 Spartans-in-training
were put through their paces in an exhilarating mass workout with Spartan Race CEO
and Founder Joe De Sena in Setia Alam. The session gave Malaysians a firsthand
experience of the Spartan lifestyle and training methods in the lead up to
participating in the inaugural Malaysian Reebok Spartan Race. The iconic race,
deemed the world’s leading obstacle race, is one of the flagship events of the
inaugural National Sports Day on 10th October.
The
workout was comprised of several challenging exercises, including Spartan Race’s
most notorious move- the burpee. This full body movement exercise was popularized
by the military and has become the ‘currency’ of all Spartan Races around the
globe. Any participant unable to complete an obstacle during the race ‘pays’ 30
burpees in penalties. CEO and Founder Joe De Sena provided the greatest
inspiration for this, having accepted a ‘Burpee Challenge’ in the past of 4,100
burpees in 8 hours during a “live-streamed” event in commemoration of
successfully reaching 3,000,000 million “likes” on their Facebook page.
“I’m
super impressed with the fitness levels of Malaysians in general. I think they
are natural-born Spartans,” said De Sena. “I usually have a large number of
people drop-out and not complete the workout session but that definitely was not
the case here,” he added.
Malaysians
found out pretty quickly that Spartan and pain go hand-in-hand as De Sena
pushed them hard during the 90-minute session. However, in true Spartan spirit,
by the end of the workout, everyone, not just the self-proclaimed ‘fitness
junkies’ wanted more.
“I
always thought my current fitness level was pretty good for my age. However it
is only after this workout I discovered my fitness shortcomings,” said Raj
Aria, TV Host, fashion-preneur and fitness enthusiast. “After that eye-opening
session with Joe, I now plan to train religiously and race in the competitive
Elite Masters category to test my physical limits and inspire others that it is
not all downhill once you hit the big 4-0,” he added.
Come this October, over 15,000 competitors
and spectators from across Malaysia and beyond, representing every walk of
life, age and athletic ability are expected to tackle the 6+km/22+ obstacle Reebok
Spartan Sprint. The Sprint is an excellent starting point to becoming a Spartan
as it is fun for beginners while still giving seasoned racers plenty to test
themselves against.
The Reebok Spartan Race certainly
seems to have struck a chord with Malaysians as they have registered for the
race in droves, leading organizers to announce a newly opened second day of
racing on Sunday, October 11.
“Due to the strong demand from
race enthusiasts, we are opening up race registrations for Sunday, 11 October
as well,” said Marcus Luer, Founder and Group CEO of TSA. “We are extremely
pleased with the response to the Reebok Spartan Race here in Malaysia, a clear
testament to how much Malaysians value fitness and adventure emphasized through
obstacle racing in particular,” he added. “I encourage more organizations to
participate by sending teams to race as this is a great way to motivate and
build morale. The biggest participating team on each race day will enjoy their
own private tent and the exclusive Spartan Biggest Team trophy”.
Registration for the
Reebok Spartan Race Malaysia 2015 in Kuala Lumpur is still open. For more
information about the Reebok Spartan Race, please visit www.spartanrace.my
