Rapper Jay Park prepped for AIA Hyrox Singapore race by squeezing in workouts at 11pm

SINGAPORE – After the US and South Korea, Singapore is the country most frequented by Jay Park. The K-pop rapper has been to the Lion City some 20 to 30 times, mostly for performances and press events.

But this weekend, the American star came for something else – to participate in AIA Hyrox Singapore. It was the first time he was taking part in a Hyrox race.

The 38-year-old competed in the men’s doubles category with his trainer Park Chan-so, also known as Eddy.

Hyrox combines both running and functional workout stations, where participants run 1km, followed by one functional workout station, repeated eight times. The eight stations include a 50m sled push, 50m sled pull, 80m burpee broad jump, 1,000m of rowing and 200m farmer’s carry exercise.

Ahead of the event, Jay Park told local media at the National Stadium’s Bank Of Singapore lounge that he hoped to complete the event in an hour and five minutes.

This, he felt, was a very ambitious goal, but added: “I like to push myself.”

On April 5, Park and his trainer completed their race at 3.50pm with a timing of 1 hour, 8 minutes and 52 seconds.

Dressed in a black singlet and shorts at the media event, he said he had never worked out for more than an hour in hot and humid weather. However, “I am used to difficult things, so when the opportunity came up, I was like why not”.

He is not concerned with his final placing. “I am not competing with others. I am competing with myself. Whatever I set, even if everyone says I can’t do it, I want to prove myself right.”

On the evening of April 4, he held an hour-long closed-door performance at the same venue for selected Hyrox participants and AIA Altitude members. AIA Singapore has been the official title partner of Hyrox since 2025.

Although he has a punishing schedule, he makes it a point to train. “You have got to slot it in,” he said. “No excuses. After a 12- or 13-hour day, I work out at 11pm. Even if I feel exhausted and I want to rest, I do not like to give up.”

In the past few days, he has been uploading Instagram Stories of himself working out in gyms and taking ice baths.

Park Chan-so has also uploaded clips of the two of them doing push-ups and broad jumps, using a rowing machine and going on runs. The 35-year-old is the founder of Gymtown, a gym in Seoul.

Even so, Jay Park said his preparation for Hyrox was “not a lot”.

For a concert, he might diet and focus on getting visible abs. However, for Hyrox, the training is very different. He considers himself weakest at the lunges, anything that involves weight and legs. He tore his ligament in October 2025, and had just started running again in February.

“But I am good at burpees and farmer’s carry because I have a very strong grip.”

If he could choose another celebrity partner, it would be Minho from K-pop boy band Shinee. Minho took part in the event’s doubles men’s open division with Physical: 100 (2023 to present) star Hong Beom-seok on April 3, and took home a first-place group finish. He clocked a time of 56 minutes and 21 seconds to rank fifth overall.

Park said: “He might piggyback me.”