INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’ve interviewed 4 of our female ambassadors to discuss how the fitness world and community has transformed their lives, made them more confident and how they have overcome certain challenges being a women.

INTRODUCTION

Zara Coull is a UK doctor and in her spare time she participates and competes in CrossFit. Zara started Olympic weightlifting at university, she was looking to turn her hobby of going to gym into a sporting pursuit. Through weightlifting, Zara found CrossFit when she was trying to keep fit during lockdown. Zara’s favourite PhD product is the salted caramel Diet Whey; ‘it is so good. I have it in my oats and as a shake every single day, it’s my biggest non-negotiable.’

Sam Saadet is a mum, pre and postnatal fitness instructor and owner of The Mummy Movement app. Sam got into fitness when she became a mum as she found it a way to give herself a mental boost. Sam’s favourite PhD product is the Smart Plant Bar, specifically the peanut butter and jelly; ‘I am obsessed. I got through boxes of these and it’s really handy for me as a mum to have on you as a snack. It’s really easy and delicious.’

Saba Basharat is a power-builder, combination of powerlifting and bodybuilding. She started strength training around Covid because she was newly diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), a chronic illness that affects women. Saba’s favourite PhD product is the Dark Chocolate Mocha PhD Smart Bar; ‘with PCOS you get a lot of sweet cravings. It’s the best and healthiest way to get your protein in and your sweet tooth fixed. I just love it. It tastes amazing and good for your body.’

Yazmin Zammit Stevens is an Olympic weightlifter for Malta and has recently focused her attention toward CrossFit. She started weightlifting around 8 years ago when she was 22 years old. Yazmin’s favourite PhD product is the cookies and cream Smart Bar; ‘I love having it as a go to snack in between my training session, when I’m on the go and don’t have time to prepare a meal. It’s the perfect way to get my daily dose of protein.’

WHAT ARE THE MAIN BARRIERS FOR TRAINING AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM?

Being a novice – ‘I was so bad at everything. Seeing other people who are really good obviously motivates you but can also be quite disheartening. My advice would be to stick at it.’ (Zara)

Diet – ‘I didn’t have anywhere near the amount of calories that I needed to sustain the performance that you need in CrossFit. So, working on my nutrition, putting on healthy weight has really helped my sporting performance.’ (Zara)

Pregnancy – ‘Knowing the safest way to workout. You can’t workout as normal, your body completely changes. When you have your baby, you consider the side effects and how your body is different. That’s why I decided to take a qualification and do the appropriate training so that I really knew how to properly train myself and train other mums.’ (Sam)

Internal insecurities – ‘I faced more internal insecurities with the way I looked. I was quite overweight at that point because of my PCOS, weight management becomes really difficult and it’s very easy to overeat. The rapid weight gain and then the way I looked was the main barrier, especially in the gym and the weights section. I overcame these barriers by doing a lot of internal work, a lot about self love, accepting the way the look, accepting my body.’ (Saba)

Women as a minority – ‘At the time that I started weightlifting, not many women were doing the sport locally, it wasn’t a thing, so I found myself mostly training around men. I overcame these barriers because of all the support I had, not just from people in the gym but also the weightlifting community around the world.’ (Yazmin)

Male tailored training programmes – ‘Most of the training programmes and environment are made for men and not created for women. When I started following programmes which were designed for men didn’t cater for my needs as a woman, such as hormonal changes each month. Having to deal with this and make it more suitable for myself has been the biggest challenge.’ (Yazmin)

HOW THE GYM/TRAINING HELPS WITH CONFIDENCE

Mental health – ‘I don’t train as a woman to get a six pack or have big muscles, but I really always say I train for the mental health goals and the physical results just come from that’ (Sam). ‘It has helped me with not just the physical aspects but the mental aspect aswell. This includes the mental discipline and mental resilience you build by just building a solid, consistent routine.’ (Saba)

Sense of achievement – ‘Going to the gym and being consistent with it has massively helped my self-confidence just by showing me my ability. When you hit a new PR, do something that wasn’t possible a few weeks ago, build stamina and when you see those physical results on your body, that within itself is a huge confidence booster because you see your own achievements and that you are capable of pushing past your limitations.’ (Saba)

Pushed beyond your comfort zone – ‘Weightlifting has contributed so much to my confidence, to get up on stage and lift a very heavy weight means you have to be the most confidence version of yourself.’ (Yazmin)

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO IS AFRAID OF GOING TO THE GYM?

If men can do it, women can do it too – ‘Just do it. So many women have done this in the past ten years. It’s great to see how many women there are in the fitness industry, and if men can do it, women can do it too. You will meet like-minded females and you’ll never look back.’

Everyone’s in the same boat – ‘Even if you’re a beginner, you may think you might not have the confidence but trust me they probably are feeling the same way. So never feel afraid. Everyone’s in the same place in the gym, whether you’re a beginner or advanced, don’t ever feel afraid to get stuck in, get started and try a new machine. I think you would be surprised because everyone’s in the same boat.’ (Sam)

Find a gym buddy – ‘My advice would be to go with someone that maybe knows their way around the gym and so you’re not on your own, this can make you feel more comfortable. (Saba)

Familiarise yourself – ‘Familiarise yourself with the machines and equipment and have a plan of what exercises you want to do and where everything is for each exercise.’ (Saba)

Many women are getting involved – ‘Nowadays we have so many women doing it aswell, it should encourage all of us to have the confidence to go the gym and get our workout in.’ (Yazmin)