5 MINS WITH JANE AMUTA

For Jane Amuta, her journey to success in the fitness industry is as a result of her life-long passion for fitness and healthy living which has translated into a thriving business, a challenge in entrepreneurship and a fulfilling preoccupation. Jane thinks fitness should be a fun way of life. She speaks to Funke Babs-Kufeji on why she believes so and shares tips of how to stay fit.

You are founder and owner of Fit Gym, Salons and Spa, a fitness brand you describe as a one station superstore for fitness, health and life style. Can you tell us how you got started in this industry?

I have had a life long passion for fitness and health as far back as my NYSC days in Okene, Kogi state. I graduated from Abia State University where I used to take long solo jogs on a daily basis. Along the line, my co-corps members joined me and I set up a fitness group in the process. That is the early beginnings of my fitness journey.

After the NYSC, I returned to Lagos. I continued with my fitness habits. In addition to daily long walks and jogs in my neighbourhood, I later joined a small neighbourhood gym. Most of the members were young men and they used to marvel at my energy level and passion.

I later became a banker, a career that did not quite give me enough time to keep a good fitness routine, but I was still able to squeeze in my routines especially on weekends.

In addition to my fitness passion, I have always had interest in entrepreneurship. So when I decided to quit banking, it was natural that I go into business in an area that will engage my passion. They are all related. If you are fit, your health improves. When you are healthy and fit, you want to celebrate your beauty and sustain your wellness. That is why I set up an integrated facility to give my clients all the options in one place.

What services do you offer that makes your fitness Centre and health Centre unique from others around?

Understandably, the awareness of the value of fitness has increased in the last couple of years which has reflected in the number of outlets and ventures. I looked at what is available in the market and designed a facility that fits into our environment while measuring up to the best international standards. Because of the seriousness I attach to the fitness and health industry, one of the preliminary steps I took when starting up, was to get the relevant training and certifications. It is not an area for all comers if you want to do it properly. There is no guesswork. Human physiology is a very scientific discipline. You cannot train the body without understanding its mechanics and biology.

We have one of the best-equipped gyms in Lagos. So, clients who want assisted workouts can get a good workout with little personal assistance. We, of course, have certified gym trainers to help ensure that our clients are doing the right workouts and safely too.

Our other departments are similarly well equipped. Our Spa not only has the necessary equipment and the correct treatment oils and products, we also have experienced and well trained therapists whose knowledge is constantly updated.

Our overall ambience is tailored to giving clients the necessary privacy and satisfaction. We have created an ambience that makes clients feel at home either in our salons or nail studios or spa.

A lot of people run from exercise and healthy eating because they find it stressful and boring. With this in mind, how do you make exercise and eating healthy a more enjoyable activity?

Regular physical exercise is not exactly a pleasant life style choice for so many people. It requires a lot of discipline, willpower and determination to make it a habit. But once one cultivates the habit, it is hard to quit. The biggest incentive is the proven fact that there is a direct connection between physical fitness and health. Nearly every one wants to live a long and healthy life. So, that love for life is at the core of the incentive to embark on regular physical exercise.

Exercise can be fun once you cultivate the habit. Moreover, the gym becomes a community, a club of friends who love the same things. That sense of community can help relieve the dread of exercise.

Healthy eating is another life style change issue that is often misrepresented. People believe that healthy eating is synonymous with punishing diets and boring food. That is not true.

In our cultural environment, the problem is that we eat too much of the wrong things and too little of the right things. When we eat eba, pounded yam or wheat flour with soup, the soup and its protein content is usually the smaller component while people fill up with the carbohydrate as the main item. You know the usual big bowl of white rice with the tiny piece of meat perching on top.

The first problem of our diets is portion. Our portions are just too large. The first task in adopting a healthy diet is to drastically cut down on the portion size. Portion control is key.

The second part is to ensure that the diet contains the essential nutrients and the balance of proteins and carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables are a must in any healthy diet. So if you have a diet that has proteins, carbohydrates with fruits and vegetables, it cannot be boring or difficult. Once adopted, a healthy diet is like regular exercise. It becomes part of a life style change and you hardly notice it because it is now a part of you.

It is claimed that some women run from exercise because of certain perceptions. What is the strangest you have heard of such cases?

The most popular myth is that strength training will make a woman bulk up like a man. That is false. Actually, women do not have as much testeteroneas men. On the average, women have about 15-20% less testeterone than men. Because of that genetic make up, women cannot build as much muscle mass as men. For a woman to become a body builder or bulky, she needs to be on anabolic androgenic steroids and testeterone enhancement supplements. Actually, weight training is good for you because it helps you to tone up.

A lot of women after a certain age feel it almost impossible or a struggle to keep fit or lose weight because they feel like genetics and their 50-plus metabolisms make it impossible to get fit. What do you say to people like that to get their mind and body right?

As we get older, we start to lose our lean muscle mass which slows down our metabolism. We tend to slow down our activities and therefore burn fewer calories. It requires a different exercise routine which includes weight training and not just cardio. That way, you can build back muscle mass to fire back your metabolism and burn more calories at rest. Then do a diet tweak which reduces the daily calorie intake and rebalances your nutrition. It is a matter of management.

What’s the most important piece of advice you can give to someone that wants to lose weight and stay fit, especially new mums?

You can do it as long as you keep going. It is a journey

and not a sprint. Therefore it requires a whole load of patience and commitment. Consistency and discipline. For new mums, the body has gone through a bit of trauma. Give yourself a bit of time and don’t beat yourself up. With the right exercise and the correct diet, you can definitely get your body back if not even better.

As a new mum, you can help yourself by eating right while breast-feeding. What you need is the right balanced diet, not necessarily loading up on empty calories in huge portions. Quality and portion control are the key words.

You have to work your way back to full exercise routine in slow measured stages with time. Listen to your body and obey your maternal instincts. No hurry.

Keto, paleo, intermittent fasting - it feels like everywhere we look, someone is proposing a new way to eat to lose weight. How can women figure what is right for them?

Fad diets have become a thriving industry. My caution is that people have to be careful in the choices they make. Look at dieting as a life style change rather than a momentary flight of fantasy. It is best to adopt a homegrown diet that you can sustain on a life long basis. Sustainability is the word. If you quickly adopt a fad diet, which you are likely to drop in weeks or months, the gains will evaporate soon after the diet marketer has cashed his cheque. And you will be left with your original weight problem and a little less money in your account!

With this pandemic in play, a lot of people are worried about going to the gym. What are the best ways for people to stay fit without stepping out of their houses?

We now live in a virtual world. Those who cannot physically access a gym have the option of our online daily fitness workouts. Actually, the Covid-19 emergency helped us develop this arm of our business. Once gyms were shut down by the lockdown, we felt an obligation to society and our clients to sustain their fitness routines. So, we offered online fitness classes for six weeks free of charge. It is now a subscription-based service with a free weekly session on Saturdays. Through it, we are able to reach clients from across the nation and even internationally. We have online clients who join our sessions from Australia, Canada, the United States and Europe. So, distance is no longer a limitation.

With online fitness sessions, you work from the privacy of your home and your personal space.

You can even adapt your workout schedule to your personal schedule as our sessions are recorded and retained for subsequent replay by clients. Also, the online platform enables our clients maintain constant contact with us. We are able to take their questions and offer solutions by phone, email, whatsapp or instagram promptly. We also monitor their progress by video.

What is your honest opinion on the way forward for fitness enthusiasts and going back to the gym?

As for returning to the gym, we should all take it one step at a time. Once the economy fully reopens and gyms resume, I believe that life will return to its original shape over time. But the Covid-19 has helped us devise an alternative format for fitness enthusiasts.