Challenge ends, not the hunger for fitness
Even as month-long initiative concludes in Dubai, residents look to keep up the good work
The month-long Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC), which ended yesterday with more than a million participants over 30 days, has inspired residents to change their lifestyles.
Participants in the DFC Closing Weekend Challenge at Burj Park told Gulf News yesterday that they had become more active during the DFC and would continue to exercise even after it.
The first edition of DFC was launched in October 2017 as a community health and fitness initiative by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
This year’s challenge, which ran from October 26 to November 24, invited people to commit to at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily for 30 days.
Kenyan expat Faith Mumbua said because of DFC, exercising had become “like an addiction” for her. “I can’t let a day go without exercising. DFC has made me so self-disciplined. I’m up at 4am for my daily jog. I’ve joined a gym ... and later in the day, I do my cardio, weights and yoga. I challenge myself to exercise for three hours on the weekends. I wanted to feel and look fit and DFC inspired me to accomplish that,” she said.
Seeing his health gains during DFC, Ugandan expat Devid Muganga, 22, wants to become a bodybuilder and fitness coach.
“During DFC, I increased my workout sessions at home. Even at work, we did an hour of fitness every day. I want to add to my gains after DFC,” said Muganga, who works in Dubai Mall.
For 30-year-old Polish expatriate Karol Nowicki, it was the variety of DFC activities that kept him going. “There were some exercise events near my building and I went there every day or every other day to try something new. I think once people see others doing it, they are not that shy to exercise — that’s what DFC did for them.”
Egyptian personal trainer Manal Rostom, 39, was chosen as one of the DFC Ambassadors. She spent DFC sharing daily fitness tips with people on the ground as well as on her Instagram account @manirostom. “It was a great honour for me to be a DFC Ambassador,” she said.