Tell us a little bit about yourself and your story?
I’ve been a Fitness coach for the last 7 years. The entire journey began with me losing around 36 kgs myself. That was what got me really passionate and convinced me to make the switch from business administration to fitness. So my reason to get into fitness stemmed from my personal reason, my weight loss journey, that’s what motivated me.
Any challenges you’ve faced or sacrifices you’ve had to make?
I, of course, have made some sacrifices and some challenges over this period of time. The first and the most obvious would be cutting out a whole lot of junk. And since I started my weight loss journey in the last year of college, it meant cutting out a lot of alcohol, skipping out on a lot of weekend plans. Or going out and avoiding eating or drinking anything that was high in calories or anything that would limit my personal progress at that time. That was one of the challenges I faced.
The same with occasions or celebrations which largely as one knows has a lot to do with food.I had to just stay away or make do with a minimal amount. Apart from that I had to put in a lot of hours at the gym, so I had to sacrifice most social occasions and the times when I had to go to some social events, I’d sacrifice sleep.
How do you keep clients motivated and engaged?
I keep my clients motivated and engaged by sharing the benefits of working out with them. That is motivation enough because you should care about your own health, your own fitness and all the benefits that go along with it. Apart from that most of the time I’m available for my clients and I’m always there to help in case any of them needs anything in terms of their fitness journey, be it weight loss, weight gain or muscle gain or any other doubts or queries they have.
I try to explain it to them in simple relatable terms in which they can understand and comprehend. This way they get an idea of how things are going to benefit them and why they should do it. Every time I come across motivational posts or tips that I feel will help individual clients, I do send those across as well.
What do you see as your greatest strength? Weakness?
My greatest strength I feel is the fact that I am very persistent and just would not give up. From being 96 kg and not being able to do 1 pull-up ( not even an assisted pull-up ) to now being able to do 20 pull-ups ( and even being able to do weighted pull-ups ). The one thing about me is I will continue pursuing to do a thing if I am interested in it.
Currently I am working on a handstand and getting better at it. Hopefully soon I will be able to hold it for a good 10 seconds. Weakness, I’d say, would be punctuality. I worked on it though and am much better now ( that’s the only one I can think of right now ).
How often do you update yourself on new trends?
Where it comes to updating myself on fitness trends, I’d say I watch a lot of videos and other content related to fitness on Instagram and other social media platforms. I follow people who are backed by proper knowledge and science and mostly those who put up content related stuff, so yes, I do look up stuff everyday so I do keep myself well updated.
What is your personal fitness philosophy?
My personal fitness philosophy is that everyone should do something for their body. There should be something that each of us do that makes our body better each day. Whether it’s working out, whether it’s playing a sport, yoga, dancing, It should be some form of physical activity that you do consistently at least 3 – 5 times in a week.
I would recommend strength training thrice a week because it keeps your muscles and bones strong. That’s the thing personally recommend but the most important thing would be to do something you like and enjoy and is going to keep you physically active to maintain your long term health.
An advice you live by?
The advice I live by would be consistency over weights. Or consistency over the amount of time you spend. Even if you have just 15 minutes in a day to spend, do a 15 minute workout rather than skipping a workout and making it turn into a month or so after a while.
What advice do you give to clients?
The best advice I give clients is to stay consistent right now, you are a lot more likely to maintain your weight loss also if you stay consistent. A lot of people lose their weight and then gain it back and then lose it again. They worry about a couple of kgs but if you just workout routinely and are consistent over a period of time with your workout and you maintain the same diet, you will most likely never gain any weight. So even if you go on holiday, one week of bad eating won’t make a lot of difference.
I just recently returned from a 6 day holiday where I didn’t do any dieting or any workout and I probably lost a kg or so. Just mostly maintain your consistency.
What would a day in your life look like?
A day in my life would not be structured because it varies depending on when I have sessions with my clients. So I’d have a few clients in the morning, I workout somewhere in the middle, then again a few clients in the evening.
I have a group class or two in the middle. During the day I’m also looking up things related to fitness. I also listen to things related to either bettering myself personally in terms of books related to philosophy or self help or looking up stuff on investments for myself personally.
What workouts do you enjoy?
The kind of workouts I enjoy, I would say are a mix of everything. Recently I’ve really started liking rock climbing or bouldering. I’m also really into calisthenics, gymnastics, animal flow. I do traditional and conventional workouts as well. So I pretty much enjoy everything.
Name a few essential exercises suited for almost anyone.
A few essential exercises suited for everyone, I would say are squats, deadlifts and if a person has enough strength a pull-up, a push-up. These a re basic body weight exercise where you don’t need any equipment, so everyone should be able to do the easier version or the variation
How do you ensure that a fitness program is effective?
For a fitness program to be effective, it should be something that fits into that person’s lifestyle, that would be the most important thing for optimal results. If it is a program that fits into a person’s lifestyle then they will be able to follow it in perpetuity.
So that would vary from one individual to another. But the most important thing is consistency and for consistency to be achieved, it should fit into the person’s schedule correctly.
What is your personal experience with fitness and nutrition?
I am a specialist in Fitness Nutrition and have learnt a lot by trial and error, over a period of time how protein is not the single most important thing when it comes to your workouts and fitness despite a lot of people promoting that. So I have gathered a lot of knowledge about nutrition over a period of time.
What is your favourite experience with a fitness enthusiast/client that has motivated you to be better in your field?
So when someone reaches their goal it’s really satisfying and motivational to reach out a do a lot more for your clients. So other than the weight loss successes, a client of mine recently had a fall and she told me she was able to get up and walk, while if the same thing had happened a year ago, she would have been injured.
That’s something that motivated me and made me realise how much stronger she’s become and how your health is not only determined by the kilos you lose.
A quote that would describe you the best?
A quote that would describe me ( laughs ) : I have a tattoo that says ‘ Happiness is a state of mind’, that maybe.
