Sports at HBS: wee30

1. Gaming style: Participants can earn more than 12 different types of badges based on their exercise streak, and the leaderboard is on display in the homepage. There are two types of streaks, days in a row participants exercise and cumulative exercise days.

2. Accountability: Participants tend to be ok disappointing themselves but not others, so those committing to wee30 are held accountable by the community.This sounds like something catering to participants with a monastic level of discipline. How do you find the will to wake up every day at 7 AM (plus studying at HBS)? Well, Wee certainly seems to fit the profile, with him being the former number one tennis player in Singapore (at 15 years old) and his brother being the number two (talk about accountability).  Wee played the Davis cup and qualified for the Australian Open, training alongside Nishikori (ranked five in 2016) and being among the top prospects in Asian tennis. His usual day included waking up at 5 AM every morning and getting in four to five hours of training. Even though tennis was a huge part of Wee's life, academics were also very important. Singapore focuses highly on developing human capital, which is the country’s most important asset, since the country does not have an abundance of natural resources. After lengthy reflections and support from his parents, he decided on another path: he wanted to make an impact on his community, and he needed the tools for it.  His next move was the Military, sensing that he needed to hone his leadership skills. The bad news was that he had to  drop the racket for two years. He had to face many challenges, including surviving in the jungle for ten days with only two days’ supply of food. But eventually, he got positive results: he was commissioned and had 200 men under his charge, which allowed him to outgrow his peers as a leader. Afterwards, he decided to go to college, getting a scholarship from the Singaporean sovereign fund, which required him to go back for four years. He had six months to prepare for college tennis, but it was enough, since he reignited his training ethic and ended up playing for four years at division one for the University of Pennsylvania while also trying to excel in academics as a student. After graduating from Penn, he worked for four years in Private Equity back in his hometown before deciding to come to HBS. HBS is another step towards his dream to make an impact.  At HBS, he kept his sports life busy by working out consistently at Shad. He worked out alone, until eventually Sadib (MBA ’21), a good friend of Wee joined him, with the goal of regaining his health and shedding some weight. After a few months with Wee, he dropped 20 pounds. Inspired by Sadib’s results and looking for more structure in her exercise routine, Rachel (MBA ’21) joined. They started going to parks as well as the gym, and they garnered a following of eight to ten people. The breakthrough came after Covid-19, as they wondered how they could maintain the community’s wellness in such a challenging scenario, and they thought about sharing their healthy habits with the rest of their classmates. It had to be outdoors, engaging and efficient. They added more structure and locked down a schedule and a place. Word of mouth started spreading and the results have been notable. They usually have between 30 and 40 people participating in person or through Zoom. Here are a few additional details on wee30 for people looking to join to get back in shape:

3. HIIT format (45 seconds of high-intensity exercise, followed by 15 seconds of rest)

4. Only body weight

5. No masks, people stay six feet apart

6. Remote or in-person

7. Participants have the option to fill a personalized survey to share their goals with the community (and be held accountable by the community)Wee also remains excited about future developments. In particular, SA reached out and wants to roll out wee30 HBS-wide, helping find indoor venues, hopefully in Shad basketball courts. Also, to motivate participants to stick to their exercise routine, participants will have a virtual tree which grows or dehydrates based on the number of days in a row that they exercise. Everybody will be able to see each other's trees. So how do you wake up at 7 AM?   “Don't give your brain time to think, just jump out of bed. Stand up and go. Wash face. Brush teeth with your opposite hand. Drink a glass of water and come join us.” Join wee30 at www.wee30.com.