Good news, Circlers! We are pleased to announce the launch of Circle of Life – Asia’s newest health & wellness show. Featuring CircleDNA’s community of Circle ChangeMakers, you will find bite-sized health tips, ChangeMaker stories and the latest genetic findings, all brought to you by the World’s Most Comprehensive DNA Test.
In this debut episode, our Head of Community and Change Florence Tsai has brought two very special guests onto the show: martial actress Juju Chan, who starred in Netflix’s Wu Assasins kicking asses; and Utah Lee, Hong Kong’s top fitness influencer and Nike Master Trainer. Sitting comfortably on yoga mats overlooking gorgeous greenery, these uber-fit ladies bond and talk about everything from fitness to beauty.
Are you ready to steal some saucy secrets from the fitness gurus and stay in shape? Let’s hear it first from the two celebrities! From sleeping habits to diets, fitness routines to cheat meals, here is a little glimpse into the life of these stars.
You may be wondering how these ladies stay so fit all the time. Juju enjoys High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and combines it with circuit training and her martial arts drills. As a morning person, she prefers to wake up, get her groove on, and get it all out of the way.
However, it is common knowledge that Hongkongers are extremely busy people. Do you struggle with fitting workouts into your schedule? Utah faces the same problem, but she considers herself lucky as she trains people for a living. As a result, not only does she train people at the allotted time, she trains WITH them, hence, getting her workout of the day done and dusted. Two birds, one stone! Utah describes her dance workouts as a blend of cardio, occasional high impact moves, and a whole lot of fun.
Some women may shy away from weights, but these two ladies embrace it into their workout routine. Juju’s secret to getting toned arms is to do the right amount for you and to do more reps. She emphasizes that the weights don’t have to be “super heavy”. Besides that, she also holds weights and does air punches and different air combinations. Give it a whirl the next time you’re in the gym!
How Has COVID Affected Utah & Juju’s Fitness Routine?
With all the lockdowns and quarantines, gyms are no longer accessible. However, government mandates did not stop these two from their active lifestyle. While watching a movie, this martial art star will still constantly stretching and doing bodyweight movements such as squats. Besides that, she tries to switch things up by working out with her husband.
Interestingly, Utah acknowledged that she has clients who sought her out for motivation during the lockdown period. Furthermore, with more people cooped at home, there has been a trend of people wanting to change and lead healthier and more active lifestyles. However, in terms of the number of clients, this fitness trainer noted that she had lesser clients during the lockdown period as her clients are students and office staff.
When asked about how the the pandemic affects the mental health of these celebrity trainers, Utah said that she has no time to think as she is “always on the go”, however, this time has given her a chance to slow down. She realized that this time is hard and trying to the whole community and advised people to be more considerate and caring. Juju acknowledged that she faces depression in these times. She draws a bubble bath to cope with her negative emotions.
Diets
Juju is more of a pescatarian, while Utah angles her diet according to the wants of her kids. The local fitness trainer emphasizes the importance of enjoying life and admits that while she encourages her clients to eat healthily, she doesn’t really put her clients on diets.
What is Utah & Juju’s Go-To Beauty Routine?
Take some tips from the movie star! Keeping her skin moist and hydrated is very important to Juju, as it ensures her complexion to be smooth on camera. She shares that she recently started deploying new digital health gadgets like LED light mask treatments, or as Florence calls them, “the robot mask”. Juju reports that she felt a lot of changes on her face such as her pores getting smaller just by using it. She is most definitely sticking to this new routine, and cannot wait to see further improvements.
On the other hand, Utah loves to keep it simple. She shares the importance of using sunblock, especially because she trains outdoors quite often. Besides that, she prioritises cleaning and moisturising her face.
Get to Know Utah & Juju
If you could go anywhere in the world right now where would you go?
“New Zealand!”, Juju exclaims without hesitation. The Netflix star fell in love with the country after shooting a film there 6 years ago. As an avid hiker, she specifically wants to go to Queenstown for the fresh air and nature scene.
For Utah, as her beautiful tan may have suggested, the sporty lady picks Phuket, Thailand. The fitness star says she would love to go back to a specific resort and just soak up the sun, eat good food, and have a wonderful weekend in Thailand.
What is one thing not everyone knows about you?
“I am binary challenged.” – JuJu Chan
She can’t tell left and right and he/she, or anything with two things beside each other, hence her husband came up with this term for her.
“I am very quiet.” – Utah Lee
Contrary to popular belief, Utah was described by her mother as a shy, quiet child with an introverted personality. She credits her change in personality with her drastic move from the fashion industry to the fitness industry. She had to talk to “a million different people” and described the process to “totally change” her.
Utah & Juju on our “Speak or Sprint”
Next, Florence starts a game of “Speak or Sprint”, where she shoots off a series of rapid-fire questions at the fitness stars. These questions cover a range of topics from fitness, health, life advice and personal trivia. If the stars can’t answer the questions, they’ll have to run. Watch on to find out the worst health advice given to Juju, and Utah’s ultimate cheat meal.
Now, How Do You Stay Fit This Summer?
We have been talking about slaying your summer for quite a while now. From bringing you different ways of kickstarting your workout routines – be it toning workouts, yoga or running – to sharing diet tips to burn more fat and burn it faster. But have you really acted on it? Or do you need extra help?
We think you might – especially when it comes to knowing yourself better. Unlock your personal genetic code with CircleDNA today – with up to 500+ lifelong actionable insights to work on, and health counsellors to digest the huge amount of information and tailor a health programme according to your daily routine.
Enjoy 25% off any kit now with our readers’ exclusive promo code “CIRCLE25” – because you’re one of us now! Hurry and head over to CircleDNA.com to embark on your journey of health!
