Zainab was one of our most important guests during the Bloggers and Influencers Meet as she is not only a blogger or an influencer but also a mother.
Her fitness, how she manages her family and career together made us very curious and we hit a conversation with Zainab. We have put down a few questions that we asked her.
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What pushed you to become fit?
Zainab: “To be honest, nothing has pushed me toward fitness, but fitness like a magnet has always pulled me. I enjoy the energy and the rush that comes with being fit and it calls me back for more. I have noticed the weeks I have not trained I feel dull and drained of all energy.”
2. How do you keep yourself motivated?
Zainab: “I find motivation intrinsically and extrinsically. Let me deep dive into this one:
Intrinsically
- For me, it is important to have small achievable goals than goals that are beyond my reach. That way I set myself up to be motivated rather than getting demotivated.
- I like to believe I have a good willpower to push myself and reach my targets come what way
- I always reflect back (some time over reflect and that backfires)
Extrinsically.
- Being in the 21st Century – I use products, apps and social media to keep me motivated
- Fitbit
- HealthifyMe
- Instagram Health and Fitness Bloggers
- Public figures who use their platforms to set examples and motivate
- My Husband who is a fitness enthusiast – It is amazing we are on this journey together
- My trainer – he is always there to guide and motivate me
- Leia – I want to be an example to her rather than giving her examples of others.”
3. How do you balance work and your passion?
Zainab: “I swear by my motivational quotes, so, here is another one from my kitty “NOTHING WITH JOY” – Loris Malaguzzi. He is the father of the Reggio Philosophy. Being in the Early Learning Education Field his philosophy has a huge impact on who I am. Hence, joy is the centre of my life.”
My work is my Passion.
With that, I can best explain the answer with another quote “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Marc Anthony
4. Is warm-up important?
Zainab: “WARM UP is extremely important, it keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to support the range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Then, when you call on the muscles for activity, they are weak and unable to extend all the way.”
5. What is one of your favourite workouts?
Zainab: “To be super honest “Legs” ☺ So bring on the squats, sumo squats, walking lunges, side lunges, leg extension, leg press, calf raises, they get me super excited… in short LEGS WORKOUT… legs down!!! Hands Down ;)”
6. How difficult was it to lose weight after pregnancy?
Zainab: “A short summary: I was active during my pregnancy right till I delivered, hence I had a smooth delivery without any complications. I did land up gaining 10 kilos and I would say it was moderately difficult to lose the weight. It required a lot of dedication on my part and being a huge foodie does not play to my advantage. I know how important diet and workout are to be healthy and fit. Both go hand in hand.”
7. What do you tell Leia when you are out for a shoot?
Zainab: “I make sure I leave Leia behind with my husband or my in-laws and have fun activities lined up for her or I leave Leia at my parents place (I am blessed to have my parents and in-laws in the same city as me) – They have a huge play area and Leia is more than happy to Play while I step out. WIN –WIN!”
As of now, I do not tell Leia when I am leaving because she is still young and cries when I leave. As she grows older I will let her know where and why I am stepping out.
8. What would be that one fitness myth that people believe?
Zainab: If you weight train/ Train with weights: then the FAT in the body turns to Muscle!!!!
- If you eat less you will lose weight
9. Does being an influencer-mom create any kind of pressure?
Zainab: “Yes, sometimes it does. There is a lot that goes it creating meaningful content that will hopefully have an impact, motivate others and grow as a community. It is very important to keep a check of one is an influencer for.
There is so much about being a mom and every day is a journey with its ups and downs. It does sometimes become overwhelming and I try to take everything as it comes to learn and grow of course cut myself some slack!!!”
10. Do you think, today’s youth should get into sports and fitness?
Zainab: “Motivating and providing youth with the opportunity to participate in sports and fitness is a fantastic way to explore and develop lifelong skills. Youth sports not only play an important role in exercise but promotes mental and psychological advances as well and makes one a lifelong learner with skills and attributes for the 21st Century.”
We found Zainab to have very positive views on how she manages to deal with things every day and yet keeps learning new things despite the hurdles.
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