THE Q&A ALIF SATAR

1 WHAT IS YOUR FITNESS AIM? BASICALLY, I JUST WANT TO SWEAT IT OUT AND COMPLETE MY TRAINING. I DON’T HAVE A SPECIFIC AIM SUCH AS A NUMBER OF CALORIES TO BURN OR A DISTANCE TO COMPLETE. I JUST TRAIN UNTIL I REACH MY LIMIT. FOR INSTANCE, I CAN LAST AN HOUR OR 1 ½ HOURS WHEN I SWIM AND I’LL ONLY STOP WHEN I KNOW I CAN’T GO ON FOR ANOTHER STROKE. THEN I KNOW I’VE FINISHED MY TRAINING AND AM DONE FOR THE DAY.

2 WHAT IS YOUR WEEKLY EXERCISE ROUTINE? I SWIM FROM 7AM TO 8AM EVERY DAY. I CYCLE TO AND FRO FROM DAMANSARA HEIGHTS TO BUKIT TUNKU EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT. I CYCLE AND RUN EVERY THURSDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS TOO. ON SATURDAY MORNING, FOR INSTANCE, I EXERCISE IN PUTRAJAYA WHERE I CYCLE FOR 80KM AND FINISH WITH A 5KM RUN.

3 ARE YOU A GYM JUNKIE OR OUTDOOR EXERCISER?

I’M AN OUTDOOR EXERCISER. I FIND IT BORING TO EXERCISE IN A GYM. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME WORK OUT THERE FOR EVEN FIVE MINUTES.

4 WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WORKOUT?

EVEN THOUGH SWIMMING COMES NATURALLY TO ME BECAUSE I DO IT EVERY DAY, MY FAVOURITE NOW IS CYCLING. I ENJOY CYCLING VERY MUCH BECAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT “MY LEGS AND ME” TO FINISH THE JOURNEY — NO SOUND, NO ENGINES WHATSOEVER.

5 HOW DO YOU GET OVER BEING TOO LAZY TO EXERCISE? I DO HAVE MY LAZY DAYS WHEN I’LL WATCH VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE OF WORLD-CLASS ATHLETES TRAINING TO GET INSPIRED.

I’LL GET PUMPED UP AND I’LL JUST SAY “I HAVE TO DO THIS”.

6 WHAT IS THE MOST DRASTIC THING YOU’VE DONE WHEN IT COMES TO EXERCISE?

PARTICIPATING IN IRONMAN 70.3 LANGKAWI LAST NOVEMBER BECAUSE THE PREPARATION AND THE RACE PUSHED MY PHYSICAL STRENGTH TO THE MAXIMUM. MY LEGS TURNED TO JELLY IN THE LAST PART OF THE RACE AND I HAD TO ENDURE PAIN UNTIL THE FINISHING LINE.

7 HOW LONG DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?

I NEED AT LEAST SIX HOURS OF SLEEP. I ALWAYS MAKE SURE I GO TO SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT EVERY DAY AND WAKE UP AT 6AM, REGARDLESS OF MY SCHEDULE.

EVEN THOUGH YOU GET EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP, THE QUALITY IS NOT THE SAME IF YOU SLEEP AT 1AM AND WAKE UP AT 9AM.

8 WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FITNESS APP? I DON’T USE FITNESS APPS AT ALL.

9 WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU DO AFTER YOU WAKE UP? HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE.

10 WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL BREAKFAST? RICE AND MEAT.

11 DO YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC WHILEEXERCISING? NO.

12 HOW DO YOU PREVENT INJURY? I FREQUENTLY GO FOR MASSAGES BY PHYSIOTHERAPISTS, ESPECIALLY FOR RECOVERY.

13 WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO GET PEOPLE TO EXERCISE? FIRST, YOU HAVE TO START — NO EXCUSE.

14 WHAT HAS EXERCISE TAUGHT YOU? IN SPORTS OR EXERCISE, YOU HAVE TO TRY NEW THINGS. THAT WAY, YOU WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR BODY OR LEARN THE RIGHT TECHNIQUES FOR TRAINING. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT EXERCISE HAS TAUGHT ME IS DISCIPLINE.