With thousands of Instagram followers, Nairobi-based fitness consultant Gabriella Waugh (@gabriellafitness100 ), has made working out an integral part of her life, posting numerous videos and pictures of her fitness journey.
However, it was not always this way, as Gabi has not always been a typical gym addict.
She said: “I used to be an all-drinking, all-smoking, all-partying kind of girl until I met my boyfriend while I was at university, who was very, very sporty. He used to go to the gym and I reluctantly said I would come along and slowly started trying different things out.”
From there, she was hooked and quickly became a regular. “You start seeing changes in your body. Suddenly you’re more cinched in, or you find a new muscle, then start to realise you’re progressing. I could lift more, run further and it just became more fun. I was addicted to the evolution of my body,”
I sat down with her to find out what it takes to not only get to that level of fitness but also to maintain the lifestyle.
“My week is always set in how and what I’m doing each day. So, Monday is always legs and Tuesday would be upper body, and so on. I work out in the morning and always start strength training first then cardio. The reason for this is that you use up all your energy if you do cardio first, so when you get to weights you’re weak. Also, physiologically, you burn fat and use your sugar stores to do strength training, so when you get to cardio there’s nothing left but fat to burn.”
And strength training is very important and something she says more people should concentrate on.
“If you want to get that definition, the chiselled abs, then you have to be lifting weights. You can’t fear them. A lot of girls would stay away from weights because they think it would make them look manly, but that’s not true at all. It would take years of aggressive strength training to do that.”
But it’s not only about fitness and health for the 27-year-old, it has also become a way to meet new people and make connections.
“The gym is my happy place. I have friends there and it’s also my one time where I don’t have to think. You don’t think about work, you don’t check your emails, it’s just you and the mirror, which is also you! It’s a wonderful stress reliever.”
For those wanting to begin their fitness journey, the first thing you should do is look at what you are eating. She said: “There is no point slugging along every day, if you’re just going to go home and have junk food. Your portions could be wrong, for example, if you’re having a tiny breakfast then very large dinner, or skipping meals.
“Document what you are eating over a week and you will see exactly what you are missing. You might not be getting enough iron or eating too much fat.”
She adds: “You need to work out your goals. What’s the point of your journey? Do you want to lose weight or gain muscle? Because then, your fitness plan changes drastically.
“You need to make it a lifestyle and not a punishment or chore that just adds stress to your life. Figure out how many times you can exercise a week.”
Making it fun is key to ensuring you don’t give up, and Gabi suggests finding something you like. It might be group fitness, hiking; it doesn’t have to be spending hours on the treadmill.
“You might be the type of person who needs a friend to work out, or you might just need an awesome playlist to lose yourself in.”