The Citizen (KZN)

Get a gym buddy

KEEPING IN SHAPE: THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A MOTIVATOR

- Letshego Zulu

You need someone who will help you when you fall off the horse.

It’s only human nature that we all, at some point, need motivation to keep us on the health and fitness bandwagon. Life takes over with work, family, friends and so on, that our health and fitness often take a back seat.

This is why motivation is often required to get us up and moving again and following healthier diets.

That motivation can come in a variety of ways. From a new set of pots, or a new fridge, to motivating oneself to eat clean and healthy, or new gym gear and equipment.

For me, motivation comes in the form of people that I look up to.

Such people motivate others through what they do and in how they look after their health.

More importantl­y, they can keep me accountabl­e when I fall off the horse.

One such person is my cofounder of PopUpGym, Khethiwe Mlangeni. She is a wife and a mom raising three children, as well as a businesspe­rson.

Despite juggling roles, she keeps her health and fitness in check and in doing so, motivates not just people like me, but our whole fitness circle. Many of us watched her effortless­ly keep up her fitness lifestyle throughout her pregnancy a year and six months ago, and saw how she worked hard post-pregnancy to get her pre-pregnancy body back.

Yes, I did a similar thing four years ago when I had my daughter, but this time round I just watched in awe. The focus, the determinat­ion, her commitment, it all kept me on my toes.

Whenever I got lazy, Khethiwe would say: “Letshego, I’m going to look better than you when I turn 40 in 2020!” And that was enough to get me moving.

Now, I think we all need a friend like this in our back pockets. Nothing like someone to constantly keep you accountabl­e, and constantly remind you of your goals.

Because Khethiwe is someone that motivates me, I thought it would be a great idea to rope her in every now and then, to allow her to share some of her health and fitness knowledge with our Fitness At Large community.

So, this is a formal introducti­on to this incredible woman who will every now and then motivate us in some way or other.

She runs, cycles, swims and absolutely loves functional training and weights in the gym, or outdoors.

She loves eating clean for her the body she wants. She’s always researchin­g the next best thing to help stall the effects of aging or searching for something that can help one’s skin glow.

She loves her sports gadgets and is a big advocate of knowing your health numbers, whether it’s centimetre­s around your body or your blood pressure, cholestero­l and glucose numbers.

Welcome to the co-pilot of Fitness At Large, Khethiwe Mlangeni.

Letshego, I’m going to look better than you when I turn 40 in 2020!

Khethiwe Mlangeni Fitness guru and businesspe­rson

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 ?? Pictures: Supplied ?? Zulu is a qualified biokinetic­ist and cofounder of PopUpGym. Follow her on Instagram: @
letshego.zulu; Twitter: @letshegom; Facebook: Letshego Zulu
Pictures: Supplied Zulu is a qualified biokinetic­ist and cofounder of PopUpGym. Follow her on Instagram: @ letshego.zulu; Twitter: @letshegom; Facebook: Letshego Zulu
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