Read the scoresheet for the fifth station and it’s hard to keep a straight face. Carry two loaded FRAKTA bags 120m down a marked lane. Then load six MALM flatpacks into the boot of a Volvo, close the boot without forcing it, and take every one of them back out again. That is a timed, judged event in an actual fitness competition, and the judges will stop the clock only when the last flatpack is back in the drop zone.
Welcome to the HEJ-FIT Challenge, IKEA Singapore’s first, and the reason a few hundred people in Tampines are about to find out how a squat feels while holding a BLÅHAJ shark.
The challenge runs at IKEA Tampines on 19 and 20 September 2026, the centrepiece of IKEA’s new “Make space for what you love” campaign. Competitors enter in teams of two. The grand prize is a fully electric Volvo EX30. Registration is open to IKEA Family members, in store and online, until Wednesday, 9 September 2026, which is the part worth acting on.
5 Events, 2 People, 1 Volvo
Teams start at an assigned station and rotate until all five are done. The full circuit, per IKEA’s own movement standards book:
- Event 1: 1,000m on the ski erg, then 100 reps of 20kg KUGGIS box rows
- Event 2: 1,000m on the rower, then 50 reps of 20kg LOHALS synchronised reverse lunges, where both partners have to hit the bottom of the rep together
- Event 3: a 1,000m run, then 50 reps of 10kg HUGAD thrusters using a curtain rod
- Event 4: 50 burpees over the line, then 100 reps of throwing a BLÅHAJ shark over a BROR shelf to your partner, squatting each time
- Event 5: the 120m FRAKTA carry, then the 100kg Volvo load
The rules are stricter than the props suggest. A no rep costs no time, but it doesn’t count either, so you redo it. A single unfinished event means a DNF, which means no prize, even if the other four went perfectly. Once a judge and one team representative sign the scoresheet, the timing is final and appeals are closed. There are no demonstrations on the day, so teams are expected to have read the standards themselves before they walk into the arena.
A Car Is a Big Jump for IKEA
IKEA Singapore’s activations have generally topped out at store credit. The hide-and-seek competition at IKEA Alexandra in June 2026 handed the winning pair 1,000,000 IKEA Family points, worth roughly S$10,000 in store, with S$1,000 gift cards for runners-up. IKEA Jurong’s fifth birthday in April and May 2026 gave IKEA Family members a gift pack worth S$50 for a S$5 spend, capped at the first 100 members per store per day. Generous, but nobody drove home.
A car puts IKEA in different company. Gain City’s Go Green Sale, which opened on 31 October 2025, offered shoppers a chance at a BYD M6 with every S$100 spent. Car-scale grand prizes are becoming the way Singapore home retailers signal that they’re serious, and the EV framing does double duty with younger shoppers who read a petrol prize as slightly out of step.
Not every team that registers gets to compete. IKEA selects participants, and members who sign up in person at any store earn extra chances for every S$50 spent. Up to 200 selected participants who complete the circuit take home a HEJ-FIT finisher medal. If you miss the cut, the store still has something for you: walk-ins on 19 and 20 September, from 11am to 6pm, can attempt a few Endurance Challenges on a first come, first served basis for S$50 IKEA Gift Cards. IKEA ran a shortened three-station version for media on 31 August, where the fastest pair won a S$500 gift card, so the format has already had a rehearsal.
Pillow Forts, but Competitive
The gentler event is the one likely to fill your feed. From 18 to 20 September, 1pm to 3pm at all IKEA stores, parent-child teams build pillow forts out of IKEA products and compete for prizes. Secret hideaways, castles, whatever holds up. No registration deadline gates this one, which makes it the easiest thing on the list to say yes to on a Saturday afternoon.
For the BTO Crowd, Jurong
Anyone holding keys to a new Build-To-Order (BTO) flat, Singapore’s subsidised new-build housing, gets the practical session. On 12 and 13 September, 1pm to 8pm, the Home Design studio on level 2 of IKEA Jurong opens for one-on-one consultations, with deals on the paid Home Design Service for people who want to go further. Free advice on squeezing a home office into a 3-room flat is a fair reason to be in Jurong on a Saturday.
The Meatball Ice Cream Is Real
IKEA’s seasonal menus have long been half the reason to visit, as anyone who queued for the Chinese New Year spread in 2025 can confirm. September’s line-up: a hearty chicken curry in a bread bowl at S$7.90 for IKEA Family members (regular price S$8.90) from 14 to 27 September, 11am to 9pm, dine-in only. A 160g roasted beef striploin with mushroom cream sauce goes for S$14.90 every Wednesday in September, 6pm to 8.30pm.
Then there’s the Swedish Meatball Ice Cream, five scoops with caramel sauce and lingonberry jam at S$4.90, available 18 to 20 September while stocks last. Kids also eat free from 7 to 11 September on weekdays with one main meal purchased, choosing from four options that normally cost S$4.50 each, juice and ice cream included.
🗓️ Date: HEJ-FIT Challenge on 19 and 20 September 2026
⏰ Time: Endurance Challenges from 11am to 6pm on both days
📍 Location: IKEA Tampines, 60 Tampines North Drive 2, Singapore 528764
✍️ Registration: Open to IKEA Family members, in store or online, until 9 September 2026
🏆 Grand prize: A fully electric Volvo EX30
🎖️ Finishers: Up to 200 selected participants who complete all five events receive a HEJ-FIT medal
🎁 Walk-ins: S$50 IKEA Gift Cards for Endurance Challenge attempts
🛏️ Pillow-Fort competition: 18 to 20 September, 1pm to 3pm, all IKEA stores
🛋️ Home Design Showcase: 12 and 13 September, 1pm to 8pm, IKEA Jurong, level 2
Registration for the HEJ-FIT Challenge shuts on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, so grab a partner and sign up online before the day is out, or head to any IKEA store to register in person. If the circuit isn’t your thing, set a reminder for the weekend of 18 to 20 September instead: the pillow forts, the endurance stations, and the meatball ice cream all land together, no deadline attached. Full details on the September line-up are at IKEA.sg/make-space.
Visuals courtesy of IKEA Singapore.
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