‘Aim is to empower girls through sports’
Sports and fitness go hand in hand and Xtraliving is a fitness company that provides comprehensive wellness solutions based on the three pillars of — exercise, nutrition, and recovery. It also trains people using its certification programs and has trained the top fitness coaches in India. Fitness entrepreneur Rishikesh Kumar is the visionary behind the company and helping sportspersons in providing fitness solution. In a chat with this paper, Rishikesh shared his journey, targets in the coming year and various campaigns he is associated with. Excerpts:
What are your achievements till date in terms of initiating sports in India?
We have helped around 5000 people improve their fitness level. We have also been training a few Olympians. Apart from that, Xtraliving is also a knowledge partner for Govt Project Go Girl Go. It is an initiative to strengthen and empower girls across the state through sports. The campaign aims to improve the health and fitness of 11 million girls.
What inspired you to get associated with the Go Girl Go Campaign?
A campaign like “Go Girl Go” is the need of the hour. Its primary aim is to improve the fitness level of girls, increase their participation in sports and get them placed for national and international level competitions. GO Campaign is dedicated to bringing these girls the strength, the education, and the opportunity they need to break the cycle of poverty and gender discrimination, thus creating an immense impact on the global level.
What made you a part of Go Girl Go Campaign and how are you training the sports enthusiasts through this campaign for Olympics? How many people have trained till date? The aim of Go Girl Go Campaign is to improve the fitness level of millions of girls and empowering them inspired me to get associated with it. Our collaborative focus is to attain sustainable fitness level through our expertise in nutrition, strength and conditioning. We have trained around 5000 people in the last three years and have improved their fitness level.
What is the present state women athletes in India? The present state of health of Indian women is not as good as they showed higher deficiencies and health risks when compared to their counterparts worldwide.
Their journey towards success is riddled with a lot of obstacles where diet preferences and fitness plays a crucial part in it. Moreover, a lack
of of training, workshops, and resources makes it tough for women to pursue a sport of their choice.
There are too many gaps to be filled and needs a massive scope of improvement, but we can start with basic health, nutrition and mental support for athletes as a healthy woman can have a far higher impact around her.
What are the other sports initiatives you are planning to take in the upcoming years for the aspiring sports enthusiasts of India?
We are planning to help athletes train for the Olympics followed by strength training and prepping for competition. We are also aiming to support all athletes irrespective of their sports. Nutrition and strength and conditioning is an essential factor which we find missing in most of the sports enthusiast in India where we are striving to fill the void.