How my mother and I ended up bending and bonding together

I nagged my mum to become fitter and healthier - and then realised I needed to do the same.

- Ho Ai Li

"One last time," says the skinny young trainer. From a corner of the basketball court, I watch as one of the students raises her right leg off the ground before slowly lowering it. Good job, I cheer her on quietly like a proud parent, except that it is my 68-year-old mother whom I am keeping an eye on.

For the past month or two, I have been trying to get my mother to maintain a regular exercise routine by accompanying her to a fitness workout near her home.

My mother, who retired from her cashier job two years ago, was never into sports or even walks. She now spends her days doing household chores, watching TV and scrolling through TikTok or Facebook.

In the first year of her retirement, I thought, "Just let her be". After all, she had worked at her job for more than 30 years and should decide what she wants to do with her newfound free time.

But in the second year, I noticed that she had put on some weight. I started to nag her as much as she would nag me about sundry things like how I needed to drink more water and dry my hair after showering, or even about how I shouldn't wash my hair too frequently when I have my period so I wouldn't get dark eye circles. (My eyes naturally widened when she told me this.) I would ask her: "Did you do the exercises that the physio recommended? Did you exercise this week?"

She would nod and reply that she has been following exercises on TikTok. But I suspect it is a case of like mother, like daughter: Both of us lack the discipline to exercise diligently on our own and can do with someone to push us and some peer pressure to keep us on our toes.

So a few months ago, I decided to sign her up on the Health Promotion Board's wonderful Healthy 365 app, which offers all kinds of free workouts, from zumba to rock climbing to boxing.

I helped her register on the app for a weekly workout aimed at seniors.