Malaysia CrossFit champion Valerie Toh on beauty with muscles – ‘there’s always going to be people who judge you, so do what you love’

Valerie Toh can thank her mum for getting her into CrossFit. Back in 2017, Toh travelled to Phuket, Thailand with her mom Khoo, who was getting into Muay Thai along with regularly training for marathons. The two were training out of the Tiger Muay Thai & Martial Arts gym, which also happened to be running CrossFit classes as well, and had CrossFit Games athlete Joy Somers teaching. “My mom was there doing her Muay Thai classes and I was just this kid there,” said the 20-year-old. “So Joy was the coach and she just came up to me as this 16-year-old kid and said, ‘Oh my god, you are perfect, try this.’” Somers noticed Toh not only had a good cardio base from playing lots of sports as a child, but that she could also lift, and lift heavy. “I really got hooked. I did my first dead lift there, she taught me how to do it.” Toh said it wasn’t love at first sight, but it was pretty close to it. “It’s kind of hard at the start because you go in and you really have no idea what it is, and you see people doing all these moves, and you think, ‘Oh my gosh I have no idea what I’m doing’. But I was just this kid, so I thought, ‘Hey, that guy can walk on his hands, that is so cool, I want to do that’.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Valerie Toh (@vilocirapter) As the country champion for Malaysia, Toh left her mark on the 2021 CrossFit Games season by making it to the quarter-finals for all of Asia, finishing 73rd. However as one of the youngest competitors, the sky could be the limit for the Malaysian, who is now studying exercise and nutrition science at the Deakin University in Burwood, Australia. Toh, who trains out of CrossFit Knoxfield in Australia, is also getting set for her first weightlifting competition. She has a posted snatch of 57-kilograms, and a clean and jerk of 73kg, and she said she wasn’t sure when she realised she had natural talent when it comes to functional fitness, but she’s definitely noticed now. “You are your harshest critic, so it didn’t hit me at any specific point, and when I got national champion I was like, ‘What, really?’ It’s been so gradual in how well I’ve been doing, but when I reflect on it, I’m like, ‘Huh, OK I’m actually doing pretty well at this’.” CrossFit’s female competitors are blazing a new trail when it comes to redefining beauty with athletes such as Sara Sigmundsdottir and Tia-Clair Toomey, who growing up, found a lot of roadblocks when it came to acceptance for girls with muscles who could lift. Now, part of the next generation of athletes, Toh said she’s thankful for the trailblazers before her and is ready to continue the fight. “No matter what you look like, there are always people who are going to judge you. So why not do what you love and look however you want to, and accept yourself. There’s always going to be haters.” CrossFit is slowly seeping its way into Asian culture, however is getting resistance from traditional norms that believe girls shouldn’t be sporty and shouldn’t have muscles. Back in 2012 a study found that South Asian women don’t get the recommended amount of daily exercises and don’t exercise as much as their male counterparts. However the trend is changing as a 2018 World Health Organization study found that Chinese women do exercise more than their male counterparts. Toh said she’s happy to carry the torch when it comes to putting fitness first and traditional norms of feminine beauty second, and wants other girls to know if they want to lift, they have to follow their hearts. “You shouldn’t worry about what other people think of you. If you’re going to have a great time and enjoy it, and if it’s going to make you stronger and make you feel better, go and do it. Don’t let anyone else’s opinions get to you, because you are the main character in your own life.” Toh said her goal is to make the CrossFit Games, but she loves the sport and knows the time will come. Until then she’s just going to continue doing what she loves. “The feeling of lifting a barbell over your head, it’s just really fun, so I’m going to keep doing that. Why not be happy and then just let people judge you if they want.”

Malaysia CrossFit champion Valerie Toh on beauty with muscles – ‘there’s always going to be people who judge you, so do what you love’

The 20-year-old made the quarter-finals of the 2021 CrossFit Games season and was named country champion for Malaysia Toh says it’s important young girls understand ‘that you are the main character in your own life’

The 20-year-old made the quarter-finals of the 2021 CrossFit Games season and was named country champion for Malaysia

Toh says it’s important young girls understand ‘that you are the main character in your own life’