How Back-in-Air Crew Stay Fit, Healthy
IMaraia Vula
n our final segment in this series, Sun Biz learns how our national airline’s Cabin Crew deal with the requirements of being fit and healthy.
As one of the key frontliners of our tourism and travel sector, Cabin Crew administer assistance in any way they can onboard to passengers.
A major requirement of and healthy themselves.
This is even more important now in a COVID world.
As Cabin Crew also spend an inordinate amount of time in quarantine after every flight that brings passengers in to Fiji, spending time away from their own families just so incoming passengers to Fiji can be reunited with theirs.
Today we get a rare insight of how the Cabin Crew deal with numerous spells in quarantine and look after their mental wellbeing. the job is to be fit
There are a lot of requirements now from crew with the new way of travel. How do you stay fit and healthy?
Miriama Bole: The farm work keeps me fit. When I am in Nadi I do morning and afternoon walks and a little bit of weight training at home. Apart from physical exercise, I also do intermittent fasting every first 10 to 15 days of the month - vegetables only fasting.
Jade Wong: I try to be active every day and stay hydrated. I often watch & listen to motivational content - to be healthy, to be positive and to remember that I mustn’t take things for granted.
Benito Waqavou: As they say, “Better in Numbers”. I’m thankful for crew taking the initiative to form training groups even in Quarantine - we have some very exquisite fitness instructors in-house.
The word BMI alone rings crew ears.
Crew, myself included, have been watching what we eat and drink. Some crew even follow diet and fitness plans.
Quarantine will only feel like quarantine if you treat it as such (just don’t leave your rooms). I still dance in the shower! differently in
Desmond Chand: To be honest it’s expected given what’s happening around the world. A key of the job now as a cabin crew is to protect ourselves from this deadly virus. We are front line workers for our beautiful nation and I’m proud to do this for my country. How to stay fit and healthy? Simple – I eat healthy and take time out to some workout. Cardio is the best because it can be done anywhere.
Loyola Nawalu: I’ve started being conscious when it comes to the food I eat. I also try to work out at least three times a week.
Limit snacking. Nothing fancy or regimental but it has helped a lot for me personally and I’ve noticed the difference.
Andrew Evening: For me personally I have always been into fitness. One of the requirements now is we get a weight check every 6 months to a year.
Having been a cabin crew for 5 years before May 25th has taught me that it is not healthy to have so much fast food on overnights and eating at odd times of the night or morning. Working out five to six times a week and doing simple body weight exercises or a 10-minute light jog while in quarantine has been a norm for me. On odd occasions, I still have a burger or pizza at times... healthy mind, healthy body.
Maria Vani: I don’t join circuit training but I like to eat good food (home cooked healthy meal). I drink lots of water and stay active. I like to walk and hike as well.
How do you retain fitness and stay mentally focused during quarantine? Miriama Bole:
I continue to do morning and afternoon walks at the beach or around the hotel compound. There is always organised training program like aerobics with our own bubble and I usually attend that as well, or even my own indoor exercises.
As for being mentally focused, I do a lot of reading. I have a bible yearly reading plan and I am consistently committed to that. I do journals and I also read novels - Christian novels especially.
I also consider SQ (self-quarantine) time as my SP time (solitary place). The whole idea is to keep me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually focussed.
I used the whole of quarantine time to read the Bible, pray, fast, rest and relax. The whole set up is just perfect for ‘SP’ purposes. I don’t have to cook, wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the house.
I believe that in this way we shift the focus from ourselves, from the busy-ness and pleasures of life, the negativity that surrounds us, and focus on God. This keeps me grounded, positive and focussed.
I do get in touch with my family on a daily basis - three times or even more a day.
Jade Wong: During quarantine, away from all the distractions I use this time to relax, recharge and reflect.
It’s a good opportunity to set up a routine for oneself to be physically active and productive too so personally I ensure I exercise from day 3 (day 1 & 2 is to recover from my flight, haha), read a book after breakfast time and attend to emails or any form of work during the day. That way when I leave quarantine, I’m satisfied that I was productive, I’m rejuvenated for work and also to spend quality time with family.
Desmond Chand: First time doing quarantine was challenging but now it’s more peaceful. I enjoy quarantine time it’s like self-meditation, finding your inner peace and inner self.
Maria Vani: For quarantine, patience is the key to maintaining the balance between the physical, mental and spiritual. I do my prayers, walks on the beach and listening to tempo music. I call my family so I don’t feel homesick.
I read up on books and gather other information pertaining to being Travel Ready and on the task ahead.
Hanging out with the crew in the afternoon and having a good laughs. If you treat quarantine with a positive mindset, you won’t get bored and homesick.
Loyola Nawalu: During quarantine we’re stuck in the room. We’re provided superb meal selections from Sofitel.
So, for when I’m in quarantine there’s a need for me to work out at least every second day. If I don’t join PT outside, I try to do 500 jumps with my skipping rope and lately I’ve added in ab workouts.
Funny you should ask how we manage mentally .... that is actually something I reckon will be the toughest to manage after a few quarantines.
The first SQ is as sweet as people make it’s out to be.
The endless movies you can watch sleeping in etc. etc. But after your 5th quarantine .... that’s exactly what’s matters, your mental capabilities in isolation.
I’ve tried reading motivational books.
Set up a schedule for what I do throughout the day and make sure I follow through. Don’t get me wrong yes, I have counted the tiles in my room too! (*laughs)