When a woman’s place is the gym
Fitness becomes a lifestyle
IN the past going to the gym was associated with being bulky and muscular as it was seen as a preserve mostly for men.
Things have, however, changed with a lot of women now training just to stay fit. Gyms in Bulawayo are frequented by women who are also trying to stay fit nowadays. This has played a huge part in demystifying going to the gym as being for purposes of bulking up as women can stay fit without necessarily developing muscles.
Former Ms Zimbabwe bodybuilding, Charity Juma has been going to the gym for over a decade, having started off just doing aerobics before turning to weights.
“I have been involved for 12 to 13 years. I landed in the gym by mistake I think, a friend of mine invited me just to try out and see what gym is all about, that’s how I started. From there I started with aerobics then after a while Tendai Chaipa introduced me to bodybuilding, he saw the potential in me, from there I started competing,’’ said Juma.
She believes that people have options since there is training for whatever an individual is trying to achieve.
“The choice is yours, you choose what to do, there is training for everything, for losing weight, for gaining weight, for muscling up, for toning up, for fitness, for sports, so it’s all up to you what you want to achieve at the end of the day so you set the limit as to how far you want to go with gym and weights,’’ said Juma.
She is employed as a trainer by Body Works Gym in Belmont and still finds time to work on her own fitness five times a week. Her intention is to continue hitting the gym for as long as her body allows. Juma encouraged other women to take to the gym as there is no excuse for staying out of shape.
“I train every day, five days a week, at most two hours a day. As long as I can, so long as God gives me the blessing of life and I breathe I will continue training. To other women I say it’s time they got up, come to the gym like every other man who is doing it. Why should they (women) stay out of shape, what reason do they have for staying out of shape or being unfit, it’s all up to them, it’s their choice, the gyms are there, the question is do you bring yourself to the gym,’’ she said.
Looking at Sipho Selemani, it is hard to believe that she has lived for five decades as she only looks like a 30 year-old. Selemani has been going to the gym for 20 years.
“I have been doing it for 20 years, started in my early 30s, now I am 50 so I am encouraging those ladies out there, the older ones actually, they think the gym is for the little ones. It’s good to train until you’ve got white hair, it’s good for you because your body is going to pay back when you are really older when you can’t even lift yourself,’’ said Selemani.
Her inspiration is Queen Elizabeth, who at 91 is still mentally sharp and is an advocate for physical activity.
“Going to the gym is about your fitness, wellbeing, looking after yourself, even if you go to the gym it doesn’t mean that you will build up muscles. I want to continue training for as long as I live, training is good and you can be an old body until a late age. Look at Queen Elizabeth, she is strong, if you ask her secret, it’s the gym because training really makes you good, you don’t even wear and tear quickly,’’ said Selemani.
One of the most decorated female bodybuilders in the city, Shantel Greenland started training on her own at home before she decided to go to the gym in 2015. Greenland has been competing in body building since 2015.
“I used to exercise at home and train at home. I got lazy to train on my own and I thought I better find some motivation. I don’t think for women it is possible to get to a stage where you look like a man without taking supplements because we don’t have the testosterone in our bodies that develop like that. I don’t take things like mass gains and supplements that are for growth,’’ she said.
According to Greenland, there are so many benefits of being fit such as staying alert during the day and mental sharpness.
“Everything gets healthy, from inside, outside, mentally you are more active during the day, you run away from things like being lethargic or tired or feeling run down. I found out that since I’ve been training. I hardly even get as much as a cold, it’s very rare. There is lot of things involved, it takes discipline in a lot of your life because of training. As long as my body is willing and able I will keep training,’’ Greenland said.
The inspirational stories of the three women are certain to inspire even more to hit the gym to stay fit, healthy and strong.