Summer calls for pool parties and swimsuits. However, not everyone is confident about their body. We speak to an expert for tips on staying fit all year round.
Sheezell Ali has been an athlete all her life. The 26-year-old, however, has channelled her love for sports by dedicating her life to the fitness industry. Working as a gym instructor in addition to taking up roles of a personal and group trainer at Oxygen Gym in Budaiya, she has spent the last six years helping people reach their fitness goals.
Once having dreamt of being a surgeon, Sheezell had to divert her interests after facing certain health issues in her own life. Today, she helps people achieve maximum fitness results by optimising exercises for each individual body.
Listen up!
“There are a big number of women hitting the gym; their fitness level can get better if they are active outside the gym as well. For instance, do house chores, walk more often and use stairs where necessary,” Sheezell explains.
“Women think if they lift heavy weights, they’ll get huge and if you lift light weights with high reps, you’ll just tone. Muscles only know how to grow one way; how big they get depends on gender and genetics.”
According to the expert, women need to focus on strengthening legs. Do wall sits, squats, calf raises, and lunges. Give at least 15 minutes of attention to your legs every day before you run or cycle.
Stay-at-home mums can use aerobics or pilates DVDs when the babies are napping or playing. They can add resistance in everything they do, like squats and lunges while doing laundry and putting dishes in dishwasher.
The important things
People can set goals by focusing on the main principles: be specific; set an achievable goal; be realistic and have a time frame. Small, manageable steps are better than one big drastic change.
“An ideal weight loss plan involves eating healthy, having plenty of water, fruits and vegetables, 45 minutes of exercise at least four times a week and appropriate amount of sleep,” Sheezell advises.
For the perfect beach body this season, she recommends removing the biggest exercise myth: ‘Train hard and you can eat whatever you want’.
“Eat little and often, with more protein. Cut out diuretics, like caffeine and alcohol, and have six to eight glasses of water a day. Not only will you appear slimmer, you’ll seem more toned, because your body will create a reserve of water below your muscles, pressing them out and adding definition,” she explains.
It is never too late to begin exercising, she believes. Adults who begin to work out in their later years still appear to live longer, have lower risk of disabilities and cardiovascular diseases.
Apart from having qualified trainers like Sheezell, Oxygen Gym has a very friendly and comfortable environment in addition to classes for every gender and age. They even organise classes for mums and babies, which is rarely found in gyms. It’s all about family health here.
Call 17 616-165.
