‘I’m still a bit chubby lah’: Taufik Batisah shows off toned physique in fitness race, adds inspirational message

“You need to pick yourself back up, learn from your failures and do better.”

These are the inspirational and wise words from Singapore Idol winner Taufik Batisah in his Instagram post on Oct 8.

The 42-year-old said that after he underperformed at the Spartan race in Sentosa in August, which placed him in fourth position, he was “extremely disappointed” with himself.

In May, he finished first place in the 10km, 25-obstacle Spartan trail race, which was held in Sarawak, Miri.

“I went binge-eating on my break in Australia and stopped training for three weeks,” Taufik wrote.

He added that his attempt to “comfort” himself and suppress his disappointment ended up with him gaining almost six kilograms in two weeks.

But the singer-property agent did not let himself wallow in misery, he picked himself up and moved on.

Taufik said: “Here’s the thing, being disappointed is okay. Failing to achieve your goals is okay. But being stuck and feeling sorry for yourself is a waste of time!”

And the result? He did rather well in the Hyrox Singapore fitness race, which was held on Oct 7 at the National Stadium.

Although he didn’t win in his age group, he said that he was proud of how he picked himself up, lost as much weight as he could and trained for the competition in just a month.

He finished the race — which consisted of multiple fitness segments including sled push, burpees broad jump, lunges, wall balls and a eight kilometre run — in 88 minutes.

“I’m still a bit chubby lah,” he added self-deprecatingly, sharing that his score is “not bad for a 42-year-old man”.

Besides thanking his teammates, coach and his friends, he posted some photos and videos of himself doing the segments during the race.

He also shows off his toned physique in a shirtless photo of himself.

Netizens congratulated him in the comments section of his post, with one of them calling him “the Singapore Idol”, to which Taufik replied: “That title means nothing if I don’t set an example.”

Taufik ended his post announcing that he would be challenging his first-ever 21km, 30-obstacle Spartan race, called Beast, which would be held in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 28.

“Say hi when you see me,” he wrote.