Central to making people healthy and fit is a simple question; how do you evaluate fitness? While developing Global Fast Fit, I noticed there were very few good benchmarks for fitness. This was a surprise to me, as there seems to be an obvious use for such benchmarks in evaluating fitness routines, as well as small or large scale health care programs, private and public.  How do you know what is working, or not, if you don’t have an effective measurement tool? 

I’m referring to a benchmark that works for the academic and professional health care community.  Of course, there are many informal ways of assessing fitness on an individual or small-scale basis. Appearance is the most common way – of course that’s very subjective and not quantifiable.  In gyms, guys will use single rep max as a proxy for strength, most often with the bench press exercise.  Runners will use marathons or 10K times.  Weight, body mass index, and various biomarkers like cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and others are common as well.  There are many obvious problems with all of these; typically, they measure only one part of fitness or health, such as cardiovascular endurance or upper body strength.   Biomarkers are not good predictors of functional health.  

As I found when Global Fast Fit started trying to develop reliable benchmarks, there is a lot of available data; most of it is of very poor quality, self-reported and subject to all sorts of inconsistencies. In most cases, websites and apps don’t indicate where they found the data they use for benchmarking.  Return to resting heart rate is a useful metric, and that data is collected on millions of wearable devices like watches, but standard protocols for academic use have never been developed.   

In the academic community, VO2Max has long been considered the gold standard for cardiovascular fitness.  Unfortunately, it's really more of a bronze standard, if that. In addition to the basic fact that VO2Max is only designed to measure cardiovascular endurance; ignoring strength, balance, agility, speed, flexibility, it has many other problems. 

Variability in Measurement
Age and Gender Bias
Insensitivity to Training Adaptations
Overemphasis on Aerobic Fitness
Expense and Accessibility
Mismatch with Real-World Endurance
Cardiorespiratory Fitness Beyond VO2max
Non-Linear Decline with Aging
Adaptation of left ventricular morphology to long-term training in sprint- and endurance-trained elite runners
Enhancement of nitroglycerin induced blood vessel relaxation in chronic renal failure model rats
 

For a company like Global Fast Fit interested in providing fitness and health solutions to those in challenged parts of the world, the fact that VO2Max is very expensive, inconvenient, and requires expensive training and equipment to operate is important.   

But this article is not so much about the particular issues with VO2Max as a standard; what’s more interesting from a big picture point of view is the fact that a system first developed in the 1960s is still being used today.    

According to Wikipedia, the concept of VO2max — the maximal rate of oxygen consumption during exercise — was introduced in the early 1920s by Archibald Vivian Hill and his colleague Hartley Lupton. In the 1950s–1960s, Scandinavian scientists (notably Per-Olof Åstrand and Bengt Saltin) made important contributions to turn VO2Max into a protocol that could be used by the academic community.  By the late 1970s to early 1980s it was accepted as the leading standard of fitness by the academic community.  And little has changed in the following decades.  

In 1968, Dr. Kenneth Cooper published a field test with participants running as far as possible in 12 minutes in the JAMA medical journal to estimate VO2Max.  This is often used as a benchmark field protocol correlating with VO2Max, even though in practical terms it has very little to do with the actual VO2Max test.  

For better or worse, the Cooper Test was, and still is, widely known, taught, and used as an academic reference.  So, let’s say we pick 1968 as the starting point for widespread adoption of VO2Max, in part because the Cooper test was also widely used to measure fitness in US schools, the military and elsewhere.  (Like the VO2Max test, but for different reasons, the Cooper test is also very flawed; not only does it only measure cardiovascular fitness, but its application to wide population is also very limited for the simple reason that the vast majority of people can’t run for 12 minutes.  This has become markedly more true over time as populations around the world have become more sedentary.  And the Cooper test is really more a test of motivation than fitness – even for very fit people, running at a high level of intensity for 12 minutes is extremely challenging. Very, very few people are able and willing to endure 12 minutes of maximum stress. 

So, let's use1968 as a starting point for VO2Max and related applications like the Cooper Test. Think about that; in the world at large how much has changed since 1968?  

In the US, obesity has risen from 13% in 1968 to about 40% now.  In spite of this, or because of it, regular exercise, at least as a concept, is much more popular now.  Good statistics going back to 1968 are sketchy, but it appears that the number of Americans who claim to exercise regularly has more than doubled. Smoking has dramatically decreased among the US population, less than a third of those who smoked in the late 60s smoke now.   

Interestingly enough, 1968 happened to be the year in which digital technology really took off. In March Hewlett Packard introduced the first programmable desktop computer. In June Robert Dennard received a patent for a new and important method of data storage, DRAM. In July Intel was founded. In December Douglas Engelbart presented his original versions of a mouse, a word processor, email, and hypertext. So 1968, 57 years ago, marks both the beginning of the digital revolution and the birth of VO2Max in fitness.  

In the digital world, everything has changed. In the fitness world, almost nothing has changed. Computing and processing power has risen almost inconceivably; thousands to millions of times more power for many tasks. The Apollo 7 space mission in 1968 – the first successful crewed Apollo mission - used the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC).  The modern smartphone has about 4 million times more ram than the Apollo system, and instructions per second are about a million times as fast on your smartphone than AGC.   

So, things have changed quite a bit since VO2max and the Cooper test were developed. Yet, in the health and fitness community very little has changed.  Sure, lots of apps and wearables have been developed. But if I go into a gym in 2025 is it really any different from a gym I went into as a 13 year old in 1974? Very high end gyms like Equinox might appear superficially different, but for the vast majority of people using gyms the basic setup has changed very little; basic barbells and dumbbells, a room for group exercises, some simple exercise machines.   

Treadmills gained widespread use in commercial gyms in the late 1970s in the US and haven’t changed much since then.  In fact, in my personal case, the very large LA Fitness gym that I use in Manassas, VA has not changed at all in basic functionality over the years. If anything, gym equipment has become less technologically advanced; the Fun n Fitness gym I used in 1974 had Nautilus equipment, which was the apex of equipment sophistication. 

So, the world of exercise has changed very little, even in a world that has changed dramatically since 1968. More to the point, VO2max is still being used as a fitness benchmark.  Why?  

Is it because VO2Max is such a good benchmark it doesn’t need to change? No, see above. The real reason is the inherent conservatism of the professional health community and the fact that there are no incentives for early adoption of other systems that might lead to the kind of protocols and widespread data availability that would make new systems more attractive.   

One obvious reason things haven’t changed is that everyone in the healthcare community knows what VO2Max is, they accept it as the industry standard, and there is a formalized universal test protocol, as well as lots of reference data that has accumulated over time.  So, it is used simply because others have been using it for a long time.   

Academics in the health field are expected to crank out a very high volume of papers; who has time or energy to fight the system or try to introduce better benchmarks? If you’re just using benchmarks to measure progress in some kind of health study, the type of benchmark you’re using is probably a very secondary consideration to the main point of your research.  

A less attractive, but equally viable explanation – and one that applies across all of academia – is that academics see the fact that VO2Max is difficult and expensive to implement not as a negative, but a positive.  Since it requires sophisticated training and expensive equipment, those using VO2max, or anything equally complex, have a veneer of sophistication. A stationary bike is what I have used for VO2max test, but treadmills are also used (Incidentally, that’s another problem, non-comparable testing methods).  The equipment gives the testing environment a “lab like” air, and in fact many places where VO2Max is available are called “performance labs” or something similar. But looking like a lab doesn’t solve any of the inherent measurement problems; it just provides a veneer of the “scientific” process.   

At Global Fast Fit, we created what we think is a better solution.  There are several benchmarking routines; Pro, Standard, and Shuttle, but they all provide the same basic ingredients; pushups, plank leg lifts, squats, and a run. For Standard, 15 pushups, 15 squats, 15 plank leg lifts, and a 250 meter run.    

The focus of Global Fast Fit is balance; the biggest mistake most people make in exercise, other than simply not doing enough, is that they do the same exercises focusing on only part of their body. Big beefy guys in gyms do too much bench press and too little running; Lithe running types don’t do enough strength work. Almost no one outside of sports training does enough speed work.  Outside of very gentle elder training programs, very few people work on balance, almost none on agility.   

The Global Fast Fit routine meets our inclusiveness goals because:   

• It is safe; we’ve done thousands of these routines all over the world without a serious injury.   

• Importantly, it tests upper body strength, core strength, leg strength, speed, and general cardio capacity, with a single elapsed time. In a minor way, it also tests agility as you quickly move from one exercise to another.  (This is the “global” part of global fast fit, meaning full body). We also believe the central nervous system demands of doing different exercises sequentially are greater than doing a single exercise for the same duration.   

• It's fast – we've had a couple people break a minute, but most people can do the standard routine in a few minutes.  So, motivation is less of an issue than in a test like Cooper.  

• It can be used as a fitness assessment as well as a benchmark. It’s a very simple and fast way to identify imbalances, both for individuals and across wide groups.  For example, we’ve found, even among fit women, a real deficiency in upper body strength.  This is simply because they’re typically not doing any upper body work.  

• Doing these movements at a relaxed pace, GFF routines become a good starting point for identifying structural issues by a therapist or doctor in a clinical setting.   

• Because we video participants, we’re able to judge form and make sure that datasets include truly comparable routines.  A certified routine from a 20-year-old Chinese man doing standard is going to be comparable to a 60-year-old woman in Kenya.  We currently manually review all entries for conformance to form standards; eventually we hope to use Ai to automate this process.  

• The routines require no equipment; just a space to do bodyweight exercises and a space to run. If desired, a treadmill can be used, but the vast majority of our routines have been performed outside.  We created the GFF Shuttle for those situations where a treadmill is not available, and running space is limited. The lack of required equipment is important in countries like Kenya, Uganda, and India, which are some of our main focus areas.     

• GFF routines can be done anywhere, unlike VO2Max testing; you don’t have to find a lab, which are typically only located in affluent urban areas. How hard and expensive it is to find a place to do VO2Max?  We had our trainers around the world investigate this.
  
         

Johns Experience USA

Adhi’s Experience Bali

• Our trainers are, well, trained, to judge correct form but implementing a GFF benchmark routine is simple, which is helpful in environments where access to advanced fitness education is limited.   

In summary, Global Fast Fit provides much better functional fitness benchmarks than those currently used by the professional and academic health communities.  But given the conservative nature of health research, we realize it will be years before our benchmarks replace VO2Max in the healthcare community. 

Visit to George Mason University Fitness and Aquatics Center

Our team recently visited the George Mason University (GMU) Fitness and Aquatics Center to undergo VO₂max testing and evaluate their procedures. The facility is generally accessible to university athletes and research participants, though members of the public can also book sessions by scheduling approximately two weeks in advance. GMU is recognized as one of the top institutions offering VO₂max testing on the U.S. East Coast and is conveniently located about 30–45 minutes from the Global Fast Fit (GFF) headquarters.

Upon arrival, we found the main office closed—even at our scheduled appointment time—which resulted in roughly a 30-minute wait before staff arrived. We were eventually greeted by two technicians, likely graduate assistants completing practicum hours, who facilitated the testing process. No doctor or supervising professor was present during the session, and the technicians were unable to answer several technical questions regarding the methodology and interpretation of the test.

The base cost for VO₂max testing at GMU is approximately $175, though our total was around $300 after adding complementary assessments such as BodPod body composition analysis and Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) testing. The entire visit lasted about two hours. Following the session, the test results were analyzed by a supervising professor and delivered within roughly a week and a half. To discuss the findings in more detail, we were required to schedule a separate consultation call.

Procedures aside, we did learn that John (Founder of GFF) has an excellent VO₂max at 39.5 with a % VO2 max @ ventilatory threshold at 55%. 

A few noteworthy observations emerged from the final report:

• No comparative VO₂max grading was provided for individuals aged 70 and above, leaving a data gap in higher-age categories.
  
  

• Ethnicity was recorded simply as “general population,” suggesting that potentially valuable demographic variables are not being captured for future trend or population analysis.
  
  

Overall, while the GMU Fitness and Aquatics Center offers legitimate and scientifically valid VO₂max testing, the experience highlights opportunities for improved professionalism, accessibility, and data precision—particularly for those seeking deeper insights into fitness performance analytics.

With more boxers and MMA fighters finding their way to Global Fast Fit, we'd like to take the opportunity to cover an important topic related to combat sports. We admire all athletes, period. However, there's a prevalence of acute and chronic injuries that occur with those involved in sports that incur frequent head trauma. Our global health initiative promotes living a fit and healthy lifestyle to combat problems such as type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, but we aren't limited to issues caused only from poor dietary habits and sedentary behavior. Global Fast Fit is about longevity. It's about living the most fulfilling and active life that you can possibly have, void of avoidable pain as you move onward into your twilight years. So here are a few things that we'd like to help both up and coming, as well as veteran fighters avoid.

Concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy (CTE)

What may immediately come to mind when discussing sports where concussions are common and frequent is chronic traumatic encephelopathy (CTE). The brain is encased within the most protective structure within your body, but it doesn't mean that it's impervious to physical trauma. Your brain is suspended within your skull in cerebrospinal fluid, floating there as it manages the various processes that go on in your body. When you receive a physical blow to the head, the brain collides with the skull as it's shaken from its suspension. Those blows are what lead to concussions as the nerves and blood vessels in the brain become damaged from the trauma. While concussions may not be life-threatening, frequent concussions can lead to something far more debilitating like CTE. 

Acute brain injuries resolve themselves over time. A person dealing with a concussion will display symptoms like brain fog, headaches, confusion, nausea, tinnitus, etc. These problems can eventually lessen and dissipate with the right treatment and rest as the brain devotes energy into healing itself. However, with constant head injuries, some of these symptoms may persist, along with a slew of others issues like behavioral changes, executive function loss, issues with movement, etc. If these types of problems become chronic and persistent over time then it's possible that CTE has already begun to develop and differing types of therapies are required to address the various issues that come with it.

We've witnessed multiple boxers and MMA fighters who have dealt with acute and chronic brain injuries like CTE. The most famous being Muhammad Ali and his development of young onset Parkinson's Disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1984. While specialists treating Muhammad Ali's Parkinson's Disease believe that his development of the disease was idiopathic (meaning the cause of it is unknown), it certainly couldn't have helped that his career involved being constantly punched in the head. Other notable boxers and MMA fighters who deal with CTE are:

Wilfred Benitez: A former boxing world champion that lost his ability to speak and is confined to a bed due to CTE

Spencer Fischer: An MMA fighter that was diagnosed with dementia after his brain scans showed significant brain damage

Nam Phan: An MMA fighter who is now facing speech degradation after retiring

While boxers and fighters may not be able to avoid the frequent blows to the head, they can keep in mind that problems like this exist and take the necessary precautions during training as well as after their fights. Both vigilance and awareness go a long way in ensuring that if there are any potential problems from these types of contact injuries, that they get the immediate care and treatment as needed. So please protect yourself both inside and outside the ring so you can live the fulfilling life that we know you deserve to have.

As someone who doesn’t exercise regularly, this was an extraordinary experience for me. Taking the VO₂ Max and RMR tests for the first time made me truly understand my own physical capacity, where I currently stand, and what I can improve. It also gave me valuable insight into how I can work toward a better Global Fast Fit (GFF) score in the future.

On October 7th, 2025, Ety and I visited Performance Lab, a Bali-based team known for bringing professional-level fitness assessments directly to clients. What we found was both inspiring and educational, a model that aligns beautifully with GFF’s mission to make accurate, data-driven fitness accessible to everyone.

Watch the full video of my VO₂ Max and RMR testing experience at the following link: https://youtu.be/9H8CHw4CtJQ?si=9QvyzApzhgNBos2t

A Lab on Wheels

Unlike most fitness testing facilities that operate from a fixed location, Performance Lab is entirely mobile. Their setup can travel anywhere a motorized treadmill is available, from gyms to hospitals or even private studios. This flexibility allows them to reach clients across Bali without requiring a permanent lab. It’s an innovative approach that reflects today’s on-demand fitness culture.

During our visit, we documented several photos showing how compact and professional their setup is. The equipment runs wirelessly through tablet-connected software, creating a clutter-free and efficient environment. Filters are replaced after every client, underscoring their attention to hygiene and safety.

The Team Behind the Operation

The lab runs with a lean but effective four-person team:

Paul (Founder, Indonesia)
Joe (Co-founder, UK)
Lily (Support staff, Indonesia)
Novi (Administration, Indonesia)

Most of their coordination happens remotely. They only gather in person when a client session is scheduled. This streamlined model allows them to stay mobile, efficient, and responsive, a true startup mindset applied to sports science.

Partner Gyms and Locations

Performance Lab doesn’t operate a single main office. Instead, they collaborate with several partner locations:

LPD Gym (Denpasar)
Threshold Gym (Canggu)
3 Fit Kertalangu (Gianyar)
Kasih Ibu Hospital
Siloam Hospital

Our test took place at LPD Gym in Denpasar, a two-story facility that accommodates their treadmill and testing gear perfectly. When clients have specific medical conditions or cardiac concerns, tests are performed at one of their partner hospitals with additional doctor supervision and EKG monitoring, available as an optional service.

Professionalism in Motion

The workflow we observed was disciplined and smooth. On that day alone, four clients were tested, each handled with care and precision. Every stage of the process was clearly explained, ensuring the participant understood the purpose and benefit of the test. Mr. Joe, the co-founder from the UK, personally guided the sessions and provided technical explanations in fluent English. His professionalism and communication style made the process approachable, even for first-time clients like me.

Who They Serve

Performance Lab’s clients come from a mix of backgrounds: Indonesian nationals, expatriates, and even visitors from Jakarta who fly in specifically for their services. Surprisingly, local Balinese participants are still relatively few. To reach a broader audience, the lab promotes through community events, gym collaborations, and social media engagement, a strategy that has earned them a strong reputation among endurance athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.

Data, Consent, and Follow-up

Before testing, clients complete a basic health screening form. For this visit, we used our own GFF consent form, which Performance Lab kindly accepted. Ety observed that while they don’t keep full hospital-style medical records, they conduct all essential pre-test checks (like blood pressure) and deliver the final analysis report by email within 5–8 working days.

In our case, we received our full RMR and VO₂ Max reports exactly seven days after testing. All results were sent directly to my email in a complete and detailed format. Beyond that, Performance Lab offers an additional benefit, a 1-on-1 discussion session via video call to review and interpret the results. Clients can freely choose a convenient 30-minute slot for this follow-up session, making the experience even more personalized and educational.

If the session involves EKG monitoring at a hospital, the report takes slightly longer, around 10–12 days.

A Doorway for Collaboration

When we discussed potential cooperation between GFF and Performance Lab, their team was enthusiastic. They even suggested developing a digital version of the GFF consent form, co-branded with both logos, for use during joint programs. This kind of collaboration could pave the way for integrating real-world performance data into GFF’s benchmarking initiatives, something we’ve been working toward for a long time.

Final Thoughts

Performance Lab represents exactly the kind of innovation Bali needs in its growing fitness ecosystem, mobile, professional, and scientifically grounded. Their attention to detail, modern workflow, and client-focused approach position them as a valuable potential partner for GFF.

As we continue building the GFF network across Indonesia, this experience reminded me that fitness data shouldn’t be confined to elite laboratories, it should be accessible to everyone, anywhere. And with partners like Performance Lab, that vision feels closer than ever.

Written by Adhi Apriana, Global Fast Fit Bali

As a child, life was full of excitement and adventure. But beneath the surface, I knew something wasn't quite right. I felt trapped in a world that wasn't mine, with boundaries that seemed suffocating. Suicidal thoughts crept in during my darkest moments, and at 11 years old, I attempted to take my own life. I know now that I wasn't alone in this struggle.

As I grew older, my desire for freedom led me down a path of experimentation. I started smoking opium at 13 and soon found myself addicted. The next 10 years were a blur of substance abuse and living on the streets. I felt lost and alone, with no clear direction or purpose.

But something inside me refused to give up. I stumbled upon fitness in my early 20s, and it changed everything. Exercise became my coping mechanism, my escape from the darkness. It took discipline and hard work, but I was determined to overcome my addiction.

Twenty years later, I'm proud to say that I've been able to replace my addiction with a passion for fitness. It's not just about physical health; it's about mental well-being too. Exercise has given me a sense of purpose and direction. I've been able to channel my energy into helping others, working with children in street situations for the past 15 years.

If you're struggling with addiction or feeling lost, know that there's hope. Fitness can be a powerful tool in your journey towards recovery. It's not about erasing the past but about building a better future.

Global Fast Fit is committed to empowering individuals to take control of their health and well-being. Join our community today and start your journey towards a stronger, healthier you.

Everyone who knows me today—especially through Global Fast Fit—assumes I earned the nickname Instructor because of my energy during workouts or the way I lead GFF routines. Even Sean, our GFF social media manager, is convinced it’s a gym-born title. Truth be told, the story behind it is completely different—and a little mischievous. This is how it all began.

The year was February 2019, and I was a third-year student at Multimedia University of Kenya. It was campaign season, and my friend Stanley was running for the position of Finance Secretary. I wasn’t on the ballot, but I played a key role behind the scenes—running the social media wing of his campaign.

I had a small but effective team of seven, and together, we made noise online. My role was to strategize, post, and sometimes do what I like to call “the dirty work”—bringing down opponents, criticizing their manifestos, and controlling the narrative. We were a well-coordinated digital squad, and I was the one giving instructions.

That’s when it started.

“Yes, Instructor! What’s the plan today?”
“Instructor, we’ve got new intel on the other camp.”

And just like that, the name stuck.

Stanley went on to win the election in a landslide—partly because of his strong campaign, and partly due to the power of propaganda. Meanwhile, I earned a new identity: The Instructor.

Ironically, at that time I didn’t even work out. The only exercise I got was typing fast and scrolling endlessly through campaign pages. Yet that nickname somehow followed me far beyond campus politics.

Fast-forward to today, and the nickname has taken on a new meaning. Most people associate it with fitness—seeing me lead GFF routines, motivate teams, and push through tough workouts. In fact, if you didn’t know the real story, you’d swear it came from the gym.

And honestly, I don’t mind. It fits perfectly now.

Looking back, that season taught me more than just how to manage a campaign. It shaped my leadership, discipline, and accountability—traits that now guide me in GFF and beyond. The same “Instructor” who once commanded bloggers now leads fitness routines, encourages others to push harder, and stands as proof that growth can take any form.

“Instructor” was born in university not through exercise, but through influence—the kind that starts behind a keyboard and evolves into leading people by example.

So yes, the name Instructor wasn’t born in a gym. It was born in a digital battlefield, during long nights of strategy and laughter with a small, determined team.
But as life would have it, the name found a new home in fitness—because whether online or offline, leadership remains the same: showing up, guiding others, and never shying away from responsibility.

And that’s how a social media strategist became the Instructor you know today.

From politics to pushups, the Instructor lives on.

Last time in our search for the fittest East Africans, we found ourselves in the underground Kenyan bodybuilding scene. Kenya, known for producing the best marathon runners in the world, also happens to have some budding bodybuilders too. Kenya isn't as well-known for the art of bodily aesthetics, and it's still very much a work in progress. Still, it has a very promising future with young Kenyan bodybuilders receiving mentorship from industry veterans like Gachau Njoroge. With that said, where could our search for the fittest East African possibly take us next?

If you've been keeping up with our content, you'll see that we are sponsoring a young Ugandan up and coming boxer aptly named, Brenda "Ring Beast" Muduwa. Brenda is an absolute force to be reckoned with, her tenacity in the ring is unmatched, and that's because of the considerable amount of time she puts in the gym. This isn't just about the time she allocates towards honing her craft, but also honing her level of fitness. Boxers without good cardiovascular fitness won't make it far in any league. It won't matter how strong you are, if your goal isn't to always KO your opponent seconds into a match after the bell rings, then you better not gas as the round/match drags on. Something we also like about Brenda is that her time and work honing her physical strength has also allowed her to overcome an issue that plague many women worldwide, and that's developing upper body strength. She can pump out unassisted pushups and pull-ups without issue, a feat that we've noticed is uncommon among females.

Boxers need to have a unique set of physical strengths and attributes to make them as fit as they need to be for their profession, but what about other fighters? We've come across another impressive Ugandan fighter named Annet "Rose" Kiiza, representing Africa Top Team Uganda. Annet isn't just an ordinary fighter, she's a multi-disciplinary athlete who has a background in Muay Thai, Taekwondo, BJJ, wrestling, and so on. She's already had professional fights in four sided, and eight sided rings, and is highly decorated at a very young age. Annet exemplifies having the physical tools necessary for being a multi-discipline fighter. Strength isn't the only component for the aforementioned styles (though it's certainly helpful), but having a combination of agility, mobility, and flexibility is the only way to reach the next level in those martial arts. An immobile mixed martial arts fighter is an ineffective one, whether they're throwing high kicks, or being contorted while in guard position, MMA fighters must be capable of moving quickly and explosively without the fear of causing themselves injury.

So not only do we have two incredibly impressive well-rounded top contenders for fittest East African, but also incredible role models for women, worldwide. We congratulate both Brenda and Annet on their accomplishments, and can't wait to see what the future holds for them (obviously more gold)!

Someone asked me the other day what my most valued trait is. Without hesitation, I said gratitude. That answer wasn’t born on a poster or inside a self-help book; it came out of a season that felt like a long, badly told joke.

I was a medical superintendent with an impressive title but no salary. For twelve months I worked without pay because I’d found myself on the wrong side of a tumbocratic county administration — and apparently, I needed to be “taught some manners.” My wallet had a Do Not Resuscitate order, yet my phone still lit up with wedding, funeral, and graduation committee requests. They weren’t bad people or greedy groups; those committees were part of the fabric of the community. It was only the timing that was off — their optimism about my contribution collided head-on with my empty bank account. I’d laugh when the messages came in because there was nothing they could extract from me. On their spreadsheets, my contribution must have read “thoughts and prayers.” That was my dark comedy channel at the time, and somehow it kept me sane.

Looking back now, I can see what was happening. My psychiatry teacher, Dr. Atwoli, used to tell us that depression is when life literally loses its colour and turns black and white. At the time I didn’t realise that was exactly what I was slipping into. It didn’t happen suddenly; it was gradual. Days that had once felt normal became dull. Food tasted flat. Music turned into noise. I still went to work, still signed charts, still cracked the odd joke — but I wasn’t really there.

It’s very much like the old frog fable: if you put a frog in boiling water it jumps straight out. But if you put it in cool water and slowly heat it up, it stays until it’s cooked because it doesn’t notice the danger. Depression works the same way. The “water” warms so gently you hardly notice. You just keep functioning while losing more and more of yourself. Sometimes you get out early. Other times you get out just in time. Looking back, that was me — still doing my job, still appearing “fine” on the outside, but quietly shrinking inside without realising it.

To cope, I withdrew. Isolation became my shield. The weight crept on and I slowly lost touch with who I was. My world shrank to work and walls. Solitude is tricky: at first it feels like safety, a quiet place where no one can demand anything from you. But over time it starts to bend you. With no outside voices, you lose perspective; you start replaying the same thoughts over and over until they harden into truths. Days blur into each other. Small problems feel huge. Your confidence shrinks because there’s no feedback except your own self-criticism. Yet there’s another side to it too. In the middle of all that stillness, once the noise dies down, uncomfortable truths get loud. You start to see patterns — in yourself, in others, in your environment — that you were too busy to notice before. Solitude can damage you if you stay in it too long, but it can also act like a mirror if you use it carefully. That’s what happened to me. My brain, which had felt dulled for months, started to feel like a tool again — rusty, yes, but still capable of being sharpened if I could just start using it differently.

One morning, I made a decision: “I must be more generous.” I had no money to give, but I still had knowledge. So I posted a simple WhatsApp status: “Free health consultations.”

The sheer volume of calls that streamed in was unbelievable. Each story was a rollercoaster — some heartbreaking, some hilarious, some unexpectedly beautiful. By evening I was tired in a clean way — the kind of fatigue that feels earned. And it hit me: even at my “rock bottom,” there were people living beneath it. That’s when I made the second resolution: be more grateful.

I kept going, then scaled to once a week before compassion burnout could sneak in wearing a friendly face. The strange alchemy of giving took hold: I offered what I knew, and it returned as something I had forgotten — relevance, connection, the sensation of being placed correctly on the map. Gratitude changed my posture. It didn’t fix the arrears; it fixed my angle toward the light.

At around that time, I reconnected with John Groom — the founder of Global Fast Fit. John is young for his age, a bundle of bright contradictions: methodical yet with a streak of stubbornness, a perfectionist, stylish, intelligent, relentless. He’s blunt enough to spare you confusion, precise enough to save you time. He dresses like calendars are watching and speaks with the tensile clarity of someone who has argued with first principles and won. He could take an ordinary conversation and turn it into a strategy session, then pivot and make you laugh in the same breath.

Years earlier, while I was still on campus, he had given me a job. That moment felt like a direct payoff from my childhood. As a young boy my father and I would sit with Brighter Grammar books, line by line. He emphasised the importance of good communication and clarity of thought, even when I was barely tall enough to see over the table. Those sessions built habits that later helped me write, speak and present myself — and those same skills opened the door to that first job with John Groom.

I looked up to John — not in the worshipful way that melts accountability, but in the respectful way that sharpens it. He travelled widely, lived boldly, and carried himself as though life itself was a canvas to be painted on his terms. Being around him made you want to step into a bigger version of yourself.

The journey with him has been transformative, not because it erased my struggles, but because it reframed them and showed me what could be built from them.

I’m exercising more. I’m learning table tennis. I’m working in a challenging but stimulating role as a medical consultant and regional manager for Global Fast Fit. I’m eating healthier. These small changes are building a very different daily rhythm from the one I had at rock bottom. They’re not dramatic, but they’re steady, and together they’re giving me back energy, confidence and purpose.

I’m still human. Some mornings I’m trying to be a functional adult and forgetting how. Some afternoons old habits win. But more often the direction is forward. The work is making sense. The coat is lighter. Becoming the Doctor of Free isn’t draining me; it’s giving me back purpose.

I’m still recommending rest, water, movement and a short list of medicines. But I’m also quietly prescribing the things saving me: clarity, gratitude and usefulness. They’re free, non-addictive and the refills are unlimited.

The brain is remarkable. It can break in complicated ways, but it can also repair itself while still working. That’s the gift I’m learning to appreciate. Mine isn’t perfect, but it’s sharper now and it’s remembering what it’s for.

Have a gratitude-filled October! Won’t you?

The Nickname That Stuck

I did not pick the name "Rookie"-the boys gave it to me. I was the first guy in my year to break into the main squad, and that made stand out. From then on, it stuck. Even when I'd be playing for seasons, I was still a "Rookie". At first it felt like a joke, but after a while, it became who I was. Rookie was not just a name, it was a story.

Wearing Jersey 7

I donned jersey number 7-If you know rugby, you know what that means-pure chaos (Ask Dr James Muchiri, He also wore jersey 7 but for a different team way earlier).Flankers don't get the glory of tries or fancy kicks. We live in the breakdown, in the rucks and in the dirt. My job was simple: tackle, contest, slow the opponents down and make life  easier for my teammate. It was not pretty, but that's why i loved it.

Tackler First, Ball Carrier Second

I will be honest- I wasn't much of a ball carrier. If you wanted to smash through defenders, I wasn't your man. But tackling? That was my bread and butter. I made myself as the guy you would hit get up. clean and hard tackles was my contribution.

My Debut: JKUAT Cougars

I will never forget my first game for Wasps. It was against JKUAT Cougars, and man, my nerves were all over the place. But once the whistle went, instinct took over. It was a close one - We edged it 21-20 in their home turf. Walking off the field, sweaty and bruised, I felt I belonged there.

Six Seasons In The Championship And One Varsity League

I played a six full seasons in the championship and one varsity league. On paper, my record does not look like much: one try. Just one. But the real story is in the countless tackles and turnovers. That's what being a flanker is about- Dirty work nobody notices but everybody needs.

The Toughest Rivals: MMUST Rugby

If there is one team that owned us, it was MMUST. I never beat them- not once. They were physical, fast and just ruthless. Every game against them felt like going to war. Both home and away, it was the same old story. To this day, when I hear "MMUST", I just shake my head. The best results against them was 20-17 in their favour at the Wasps Nest  and the worst was 43-0 in their home ground. Those matches hurt, but they made me tougher

Discipline And Control

One thing I am proud of is never getting a yellow card. Not one sin bin in my whole career. For a guy who lived in the thick of tackles, that's no small thing. I always tried to stay disciplined.

The One Try vs Kitale RFC

That one try I scored came against Kitale RFC. I still remember it because it felt like all the years of sweat  had finally paid off in a moment of glory. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't long range- but it was mine.

The Final Whistle: Mean Machines

My last game was against Mean Machines. It was ugly, low scoring and physical-just the way rugby can be. We lost 5-3, and the results cut deep. Not just because of the clavicle injury that  I got when a mole collapsed on me and ended my 15s career, but because that meant Egerton Wasps were relegated to the nationwide league. It was so heartbreaking.

Lessons From The Game

Looking back, rugby game me everything. It toughened me up, taught me teamwork and showed me the value of discipline. I started as "Rookie", but that name became more than just a laugh. It was my journey-From the first nervous game to the last painful one, with all the hits , tackles, heartbreaks and memories in between. 

Do I Still Enjoy Rugby?

Yes i do. Rugby is addictive. I am a big fan of the mighty Springboks

Anyone who's been following Global Fast Fit will have at least caught wind of the GFF Standard Routine. 

15x Pushups

15x Plank Leg Lifts

15x Bodyweight Squats

250m Run

The Standard Routine consists of the above exercises being done in succession with as little break in between in order to achieve the fastest time possible. A noble measuring stick of the the upper and lower body, core strength, cardiovascular health, and overall agility.

The organization's tagline is the Universal Fitness Standard, in order to showcase its ability to quickly gauge one's physical fitness through the above routine.

The other tagline is Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere, because literally anyone can do the routine, whether you've never exercised in your life, or if you're a career athlete. It can also be done whenever and wherever you feel like doing the routine since you don't need any equipment, and all the physical resistance you need is created through your own bodyweight.

Is this all Global Fast Fit is? Not even close.

As a growing global health initiative, Global Fast Fit certainly pushes for physical development. One of the stated missions is to combat and work towards eradicating lifestyle diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. However, it isn't limited to only physical development.

Human development is as much a goal as anything else within Global Fast Fit. Physical fitness is just one aspect of that goal. The owner of Global Fast Fit, John F. Groom started this venture as "a way to leave the world a better place than when he entered it".  This isn't his only philanthropic venture, but it certainly will be his biggest.

His focus for human development entails creating opportunity, especially in places where there's a deficit. The growing East Africa team consists of a vibrant and eclectic mixture of medical professionals, sports athletes, gym owners, students, trainers, and much much more. Each member has done their part to not just improve the physical well-being of those around them, but to improve the overall quality of their lives.

There are many examples of this:

• Classrooms have been remodelled and revamped
• A general store has been opened to service a community in need
• Students have been provided with the necessary nutrition
• Community workouts and hikes have been organized
• Children were given instruments and training on how to play them

So before you judge Global Fast Fit as just a fitness routine, then think again. There certainly is movement involved for anyone that's participated in or has been affected by this organization and it isn't just 250m forward, but forward in life.