Life goes beyond the numbers on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is full of inspiration from Singapore leading a healthy and active lifestyle. Dedicated to men and women. Anyone have a recommendation?strike over it again !
name: Shazrina Shamsuddin
Year: 27
height: 1.65m
weight: 56kg
Profession: senior digital writer
Status: single
food: I have no strict dietary restrictions. It also doesn’t help that I feel guilty for having a sweet tooth and always crave sweet treats. My job also requires me to go to multiple food tastings each week, so I also struggle to keep track of my meals.
On non-event days, I try to eat as simple and nutritious a meal as possible. I avoid fast food and eat a good amount of vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains to maintain a healthy, balanced diet.
Ultimately, my main focus is to eat slowly and in moderation.
exercise: I go to the gym at least three times a week and have been doing standard push-pull leg splits for the past four years. In addition to that, I try to vary my routine by going for a run, attending HIIT and Pilates classes.
Like most of us, cardio is one of my weaknesses, especially when it comes to running. That said, I do enjoy challenging myself once in a while. I do it not only to always look my best, but also when I’m in a fitness rut. During lockdown, I also started focusing on improving my mobility and flexibility to improve my range of motion and posture.
Apart from that, my job also gives me a lot of opportunities to participate in various fitness events that take place every few weeks. I dabble in a variety of sports and other wellness activities, including yoga, bouldering, boxing, and MMA, just to name a few. It’s really fun to do.
Q: Did you play sports when you were younger?
A: My fitness journey started when I was in elementary school. Joined the swimming club in junior high school and switched to volleyball. At Polytechnic, I wanted to challenge myself a little more and decided to join the women’s soccer team. I was never good at it, but I definitely enjoyed the sport.
But while playing football, I injured both ACLs (anterior cruciate ligament) separately twice during training, so I wasn’t at my best for a few years and it took me some time to get back in and again what or try something new. To this day, I’m still pretty cautious when it comes to doing exercises that require a lot of pressure on my knees, like squats, as my ACL has not yet been corrected.
What are you into as you get older?
Growing up, I found myself back in the gym. I like that it’s simple and you can do it alone or with friends. I got his Anytime fitness membership 4 years before him. I think my motivation to work out also comes from wanting to visit every Anytime Fitness gym in Singapore. Oddly enough, I keep a list of every Anytime Fitness gym I’ve been to on my phone, and I’ve been to a total of 37 gyms so far. In fact, I’ve been to several Anytime Fitness overseas. Not normal at all, but I think it motivates me to exercise more regularly.
What’s more, even with an irregular work schedule, you can get in a quick workout without attending classes, and there’s no excuse for not exercising. I think it’s essential to find a training system that works.
Working out can also be an outlet for stress relief, especially after a long day at work. I think many of us tend to neglect our mental health because we get so caught up in our busy lifestyles that we often lose sight of what’s going on around us. Serotonin and endorphins are put into your body, making you feel much better and more relaxed after a good exercise session. should be given the same priority as
What are your current fitness goals?
My fitness goals vary from time to time, but my current focus is on doing more pull-ups. This is one of the few things I’ve struggled with for quite some time, but I’m still working on it. That said, I’ve always wanted to sign up for a gymnastics class, but it’s been put on hold for quite some time because I have too much on my plate at the moment.
Besides that, some other goals I have include going for more runs. But it’s just one of the few things I haven’t ticked off my bucket list yet, so I’d like to work towards a marathon.
I also recently attended a personal training course. I am working on getting certified in the near future. All that’s left is to study for the exam, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Did something happen when you were younger that made you lack self-confidence?
Growing up, I think, like most of us, I struggled with my own insecurities. Needless to say, I struggled to cope with my crippling anxiety.
From an early age, my mother always made sure that I was an exemplary student at school. I didn’t have a problem. I was the principal and a member of the student council. I realized that perfectionism had been ingrained since childhood and that it wreaked havoc on my life. Adhering to unrealistic standards was quickly debilitating and affected my mental health.
On top of that, my adolescent years were plagued with family issues, so I didn’t know how to deal with the stress. But as I grew up, I learned that I can’t change my past, but I can change my outlook on life. I realized that pondering what was already done was a waste of time, and prioritizing physical and mental health took precedence over everything else.
I started working more on myself and working out seemed like a great outlet to release most of my stress and aggravation. I really appreciate it because it was in order.
When were you the least confident in yourself?
When I was in Poly, I was the least confident. Not only did I struggle to keep up with my grades, I was particularly depressed when I injured both knees around the same time. I didn’t like the feeling of not being able to push myself harder and felt particularly vulnerable with injuries.
But I was pretty stubborn and didn’t want to give up, so I kept playing soccer and kept pushing forward. I felt hesitant.
To combat this, I started training my lower body to regain strength and movement without further damaging my ACL. Strengthening the quadriceps and hamstrings were some of the areas I tried to focus on to improve strength and range of motion.
Have you ever fought with your body?
When I returned to college, I stopped working out. I didn’t participate in sports, but I started noticing that I was getting a little chubby. Maybe I was having too much fun at school and was too preoccupied with other things to pay too much attention to my body.
It wasn’t until after I graduated that I realized I had put on quite a bit of weight. When I looked back at my graduation photo, my cheeks were chubby, and I was pretty chubby. But that all changed in 2018 when I met the guy I was dating at the time. He started fitness. I consciously decided to work on myself because I wanted to feel better about myself.My fitness journey began again thanks to our shared interest in fitness.
Are you happy with your body now?
I can say that I am pretty happy with my body right now, but I definitely feel there are other areas that could be improved. is absolutely unhealthy. But I think there’s always something to work on and it’s perfectly normal for us to crave perfection. Right now I’m trying to get leaner and stronger, but of course it’s never an easy process. not.
Have you ever received any comments about your body?
Back then, when thigh gaps were an issue, some of my friends commented on my thigh size and it made me very conscious of myself. It wasn’t. But since I started working out, I’ve come to appreciate my leg muscles more. With more training and practice, my legs got stronger and my confidence increased when doing exercises like squats.
Nevertheless, I think for most of us we are all a work in progress and will never be happy with our bodies. I believe that as long as it feels good, it’s all there is to it.
