​This morning as I braved the cold weather to make my way to the gym I asked and answered the question “What does a summer body look like?” Answer: Beach Body. Most will agree that a summer body is often thought of as a leaner, more aesthetic physique. The whole beach body at a pool party kind of thing - Well defined 6 pack, chiseled chest, toned arms filya, and for the ladies small waist, flat tummy with other more pronounced features. What do they all have in common? Fat loss. The follow up questions of 'How do I get it?' and 'What should I be doing?' is something I pondered upon and my conclusions are what I wish to share with others.

Alcohol
Cut (or reduce) this vice and watch your weight disappear. I’m serious 😐 most people will see big results if they just turn away from the bottle. Think about it. Late night drive throughs or drive bys for michopo, hotdogs 🌭 and/or chips 🍟 ? ⛔️ Hangover junk food? ⛔️ Excess sugar from mixers and cocktails? ⛔️ Missed morning gym sessions? ⛔️ Sloth 🦥 tendencies and reduced activity the morning after? ⛔️. Disrupted sleep because you need to pee as often as you snore? ⛔️. When all these things are eliminated and improved upon you’re easily a better, slimmer you.

Food
You can eat much of what you want but delay when you do so. Intermittent fasting is the least annoying way to ‘diet’. Another is one meal a day (OMAD). It's simple: open your mouth for solids once every 24 hours. If you can pull it off, you’ll see tremendous results and quickly. You'd be wise to make your one meal count by making it a nutritious feast akin to what you'd receive or be presented with at your chilanga mulilo. OMAD exempts water, so please drink as much as you need whenever you need to not wa bwela wagwa ati ba roadrunner said one cup a day🤨. Anyway, a lot of people eating multiple meals a day don't engage in enough activity to justify the piles of food they place on their plates. Sounds like you?  Give OMAD a try, or at least try to earn your plate through sweat. Thinking doesn't count so pretending to be an intellectual at the office doesn't qualify.

Tea 
Keep warm this winter 🥶 with multiple cups of green tea 🍵. No sugar, no honey 🍯 - just a green teabag and hot water over and over again. You’ll get used it 😌 and two things will happen; one is you'll loosen your bowels and poop more and the other is you'll give your metabolism and mental alertness a boost.

Increase activity
This means increasing activity outside a gym or sports facility. It’s simple: take the stairs every chance you get and take walks as often as you can. Those of you with office jobs must make a conscious effort to get up and move every so often. Simple ways to do this are: fetch your own documents from the printer, go and buy your own tumbuwas if you insist on having them in the morning and step out to grab your own lunch rather than waiting to be served. Many of us disguise laziness as productivity when we don’t want to leave our reclining leather office chairs. I want to assure you that those few extra steps add up to big results over time so move more.

Gym ➡️ Beast ➡️ Puppy Eyes ➡️ Elevate
First, find a gym. Second, identify a beast/alpha at the gym. Third, feed the beast’s ego. Usually, the whole ‘I want to be like you when I grow up…’ works reasonably well. The point is, compliments make people more accommodating and helpful in general, and YOU need help stripping the fat off. Fourth and final tip, is request to train with the beast. You’ll elevate your level of training and accelerate your fat loss by hanging with the big boys and girls at the gym.

"Nick, gym ipasa njala!" A friend of mine lamented. He went on to blame the gym for his rapid weight gain and every other physical feature he didn't like 😃. I was greatly amused by this but I felt his overall approach to things, not just gym, was off. Here's what I suggested to him:

Sleep deep, sleep long 😴
Deep & long = at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night in a room with similar features to a cave. I have an alarm for when I should be in bed and I try to be consistent with it. Alarm goes off, so does my phone and the lights. For nights when maganizo 💭 ya paka I opt for a melatonin supplement to help me shut down. It often works very well for me. Poor sleep throws your hormones (especially the ones controlling hunger) off balance and before you know it, your desire for sugary and junk products become insatiable. 
⚠️ bathroom breaks can be disruptive to trying to go deep and long with your sleep so you might want to drastically reduce fluid intake an hour or so before bed.

Water is your friend 💧
Hydrate early, preferably upon rising with a combination of water and coffee ☕️. 500 mls of water and a cup or two of black coffee is my morning fix soon after waking up. It literally picks me up and gets me going.  For the coffee protesters among us, I'd like to suggest you consider spending a bit more money on the coffee you buy before you write it off completely. I've found caffeine to be a cheat code in this game called life, and it might just help you level up as well in the gym and at work.

Get moving 🏃🏿‍♂️
Front-loading your exercise program is a great way to manage hunger. If you're hydrated and you push yourself first thing in the morning all that activity and dopamine will sustain you for several hours. Leave every gym session feeling like a lion or lioness and you're well on your way to dominating your appetite and managing what you devour.

Diet? Intermittently fast instead
It's common for people determined to look better to radically change their eating ways while they hit the gym. They'll both read and be told many things of how this diet works better for fat loss and that one for muscle gain. We'll stick to the most common goal; fat loss. Deprivation of the things you like, as is the case with fad diets, often yields short term results with mid to long term consequences. Whatever weight you lose is coming back with interest. Intermittent fasting, for those unaccustomed to it, can be uncomfortable but not as miserable as most 'get skinny quick' diets. Sleep well, hydrate and exercise early and you'll be able to stave off hunger until late morning. Do this often enough and you'll look and feel better in the long run.

Nshaba 🥜 
Plug any gaps between meals with a handful of nuts. Don't like nuts? Other salty cousins such as popcorn 🍿 or pieces of fruit (specifically apples and pears) are great fillers and appetite suppressors to consider. 

It’s my birthday again 🥳 and this time around I am my own superhero 🦸🏿‍♂️! I put the mask on and transformed into the Black Panther at 31! I’m going to share what I did in my final 6 weeks before stripping down for photos and putting up back bacon for viewing purposes.
​
Cardio 🏃🏿‍♂️
5 kms daily. I’d either run this distance (8 mins per kilometer - turtle gang 🐢) or walk it uphill on a treadmill (5 km/h @ 10-15% incline). All that mattered was covering the distance on a daily basis and keeping my body in motion.

Abs
100 reps minimum of sit-ups daily. No days off. It's amazing how after a couple weeks of this practice you start see your stomach compartmentalise itself starting with the top shelf 😅. The belly must go was the motivation behind this.

Gym work 🏋🏿‍♂️
Changed my lifting formula to sets of 15 - 30 repetitions at a time. I’d pick a weight that would allow me to complete a higher number reps per set till it burns 🔥. The only exercise I moved heavy weight on was deadlift (400lbs +), the rest was lightweight with high intensity and short rest periods not exceeding 1 min. I trained everyday without exception, sometimes twice a day.

Nutrition 🍱
I adopted an 16:8 intermittent fasting protocol so my first meal was an early lunch at 11 am and last meal was at 7 pm.

• Lunch - pretty standard x3 Chicken 🍗 (breast or thigh)/fish fillet 🐟/eggs 🥚/t-bone 🥩 with frozen vegetables 🥗, beans 🫘 and white rice 🍚/ pasta 🍝 /noodles. Every now and then I’d have a matebeto style lunch when I felt like it. Fitness & nutrition te punishment.
• Afternoon Snack - 2 small low fat fruit yoghurt + 3 pieces of fruits usually an apple 🍎 , banana 🍌 and chopped up watermelon chunks 🍉 + a handful of groundnuts bought off the street.
• Dinner - Popcorn 🍿, fruit based muesli taken with fat free milk 🥛 with extra toppings such as banana 🍌 and blueberries 🫐 . Alternative dinner was frozen pizza 🍕 from Woolworths topped off with slices of tbone and frozen veggies 🥗.

⚠️ I completely abstained from bread 🍞 and pastry related products and the preferred method of cooking was grilled for the protein options.

Supplements 💊

• Pro nutrition ‘pump & cut’ pre-workout. Used primarily for a pump, energy and focus 🦍
• Pro nutrition ‘six pack’ fat burner. Used to spike my metabolism and heat my body up🥵 so I could sweat more, cut water weight and stimulate my metabolism for more calories burnt per session and throughout the day.
• NPL water cuts post-workout. Used to cut water weight.

Everything worked like a treat and Supplement World Zambia was the plug 🔌. Call Patrick for the best deals on products 📞 0962-212157.

Hydration 💧
5 - 6 liters of fluid a day, which was 50 - 60 mls x my body weight in kilograms. I peed often but generally felt good and ready to go at a moment’s notice 🫡. I tried to, and sometimes failed to avoid juice 🥤 but I did try to limit my overall intake. I’d opt for sugar free cokes and sprite where possible. I’d drink alcohol 🥃 but only on weekends where I’d take a multivitamin before bed to prevent a hangover 😵 the next day. You should try it!

Apps 📲
I used the free Life app to track my fasting and eating windows and the free nutritionix app to log my food intake, hydration and daily weight. I believe that what gets measured gets improved so I’d track everything and make adjustments where required.

Photo credit 📸 Ryan J Banda 📞 0974-101553

Supplementary blogs
African King
Supplements for gym goers
Restarting your fitness journey
Weight-loss toolbox
4 kilos down and counting
Intermittent fasting 101
The belly must go!

I was at the gym 5 am sharp as per usual and a friend asked me “Nick. How’re you doing?” I cheekily responded with “The way you see me bro - I’m GOOD!” 😎. Wrapped up my session and proceeded to work 👨🏾‍💻 for another Q&A of how I am. 👉🏾 Same questions, same answers. When you’re in shape, in tailored fitting clothing that presents your body of work you’re high on confidence. Let’s explore what else you can gain from going to a gym.

Elevated self esteem & confidence 🦸🏿‍♂️
My brother Bongani said it best - “At the end of the day, you only feel as good as you look.”Engaging in gym activities will change your body composition and make you look better with and without clothes. You can ride that wave of confidence and achieve great things in other areas of your life.

Improved health 🫀, mental clarity 💭 & mood 😊
When you work out frequently you’ll unlock boundless energy, a better mood, fat loss and mental sharpness. Consistent exercise eradicates a spirit of laziness and gets you primed to dominate your day. If you have any ailments you’ll likely see improvements in your health markers at your next doctor’s appointment.

Better eating habits 🍱
Exercising often makes you a lot more conscious of your food choices. You’ll discover that you’re less willing to sabotage your efforts by bingeing on doughnuts 🍩 and cake 🎂. You’ll start wanting to feed yourself properly. In my case, I find that exercise is a fantastic appetite suppressant and cravings killer. It could be the same for you too.

Networking 🤝🏾
Professional opportunities aren’t reserved for the golf course ⛳️, the gym has big boys and girls too! You can leverage that and land yourself something big if you’re a focused and pleasant individual with something offer.

🗣 Go to the gym and stay sexy!

I was recently made aware of runners being mugged by people in cars that would pull up next to you and congratulate you for your efforts with slaps. I was disturbed by this and thought I might add a voice to the safety concerns of runners so here it is:

Ditch the headsets 🎧
You need to be aware of your environment and alert to threats so you can react accordingly. If you want to run with headsets do so on a treadmill and nowhere else.

Leave your phone 📱
Tell the people you live with your route and expected return time in case of anything. This advice applies for anything else of value such as jewelry, watches, and any other fancy gadgets and accessories. Run lean before you start looking like food to hungry people.

Carry something portable
You might want to consider carrying something portable that might help you defend yourself in scary situations. If attacked, respond in kind.

Wear a reflector jacket
If you’d rather not because it cramps your style opt for brightly colored clothing 🟨🟩🟧 instead to make yourself visible. I don’t understand runners that leave their house dressed like Batman. You’re effectively camouflaged with the tarmac. Don’t risk becoming roadkill for an outfit.

Run in groups 🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️🏃🏿‍♂️
Group sessions are a strong deterrent for theft so where possible you might want to consider partnering up with running groups like the Lusaka Fitness Squad or a couple of your buddies to discourage potential thieves.

Trust your instincts 🧐😶‍🌫️
If an individual or group of people make you uncomfortable out on your runs INCREASE the social distance. I share my experience trusting my gut here, and I believe it saved me from a trip back home naked.

Don’t run in isolated areas and during dark times (early morning, evening or late at night)
This makes you a mark and easy pickings for opportunistic theft. Try to identify well lit places to run in if you can’t run later in the morning when it’s brighter or earlier in evening before it gets dark due to time constraints. We have a couple places with solar street lights so that can help the situation. You should also identify places where there’s activity.

Don’t run in residential areas unless you know the area well
The reason for this is simple: dogs 🐕. Losing weight from your rear end doesn’t have to be a painful process. Read about my experience with dogs here.

I have an office mate that recently embarked on a fitness journey and she can’t believe how sore she is! Restarting her fitness journey is threatening to change how she walks in heels 👠 😄. Here’s how I advised her to deal with it all:

Massage aka ukuchina💆🏾‍♂️
Go and spend a little money on getting rubbed down, it’ll do you a world of good. M'kango golf view off Great East road has the best sport massage services in the city! Call 📞 0979897124 and ask for Ruth or Catherine. They’ll get you right back to default settings or better! If you’re a cheap skate you can foam roll or purchase a massage gun/machine and do it yourself. Game stores is the plug for these items. Either way you’ll relieve muscle tension and pain and increase blood flow to the affected area to jump start recovery.

Stretching 🙆🏾‍♂️
Basic stretching might be a little painful but trust me you’ll feel a whole lot better after you’re done. Thighs are sore? Get on your knees and sit on your heels to stretch. Back is aching? Lay on your back and hug your knees. Chest is on fire? Have a friend pull your arms back gently. Find whatever movement is convenient for the sore muscle group and stretch to a point of slight discomfort for 30-45 seconds. Repeat 🔁 2-3 times every couple of hours and you’re well on your way to feeling better.

Active recovery
This is about doing more of things that got you sore in the first place minus the overzealousness. Squats got your glutes on fire 🔥? Do more squats with a lighter load and lower intensity. You need to get blood flow to the affected area to facilitate recovery. Blood has all the nutrients and oxygen to bring life back to sore muscles so you want to get that going before you end up stiff as a board. ⚠️ When you’re sore from a gym session the worst thing you can do is nothing.

Eat 🍱 & hydrate 💧
A low carb diet on a high training volume program will sabotage your efforts. If you find yourself low on energy and motivation and high on pain you need to carb up with things like rice 🍚 or pasta 🍝 to replenish glycogen and elevate your mood while simultaneously increasing protein intake from sources like fish, chicken and eggs to help repair damaged muscle tissue. Fruits are an excellent top up to combat inflammation and give you a natural sugar boost. When it comes to fluids you need to drink up to flush waste from your body and remember to check your urine color to assess your hydration levels. Light yellow is the sweet spot. Urine the same color as the water you drink is a sign of over-hydrating while urine the color of tea is a sign of dehydration. Lastly, consider incorporating a daily multivitamin 💊 in your diet. Wellman & Wellwoman are decent options and are available locally. ⚠️ Note that multivitamins will turn your pee to a bright yellow, do not be alarmed 😱 . Your body is simply flushing excess water soluble vitamins i.e. B vitamins. It’s no cause for concern.

Hot 🥵 & cold 🥶 showers 🚿
Alternating between hot and cold water during shower time for a minute or two at a time will improve circulation and facilitate total body recovery by reducing inflammation. I’ve found this practice to be highly effective and simple to incorporate. It's a refreshing experience.

Hot 🥵 & cold 🥶 gel packs
Applying hot and cold gel packs to your body follows the same principle as hot and cold showers. It’ll combat inflammation and reduce pain. I personally use hot and cold packs on my joints as opposed to the muscles. It helps me deal with the pain and strain of moving heavy weight 🏋🏾‍♀️ and pounding the pavement 🏃🏿‍♂️. I mostly apply it to my elbows and knees for 20 mins at a time, alternating between hot and cold. Myprotein UK has really affordable, effective options for this. If you’re interested, follow this link.

As someone with a supernatural ability to gain weight by just looking at food I’ve had to make a determined effort to suppress my superpower. I’ve tried various crash diets in the past with varying degrees of success but ultimately I’ve realized that keeping my weight stable is anchored on consistent daily habits and not any extreme short term interventions. I’m going to share the habits that have been useful to me with you.

Lifting weights daily🏋🏾‍♂️
My current physique 🦍 is mainly attributable to gym sessions where I pick heavy stuff up and put it back down. Rinse, repeat 🔁 for an hour (see exhibit A 🎬). The gym is an absolute essential for anyone that wants a better physique and improved body composition, including women (ka shape shape 🍑 mwaishiba ka?)

Drinking water 💧 with a slice of lemon 🍋 first thing in the morning on an empty stomach
This practice keeps me pooping 💩 on a regular basis and addresses issues of bloating and constipation. If you’re not dropping bombs 💣 🚽 twice a day, you should consider adopting this to improve your situation. Don’t turn your body into a septic tank. Note that a hot cup of green tea 🍵 , moringa tea or coffee ☕️ will also loosen the bowels and get the job done if that’s your preference.

Going 50% on everything 🍽 ✂
It’s simple - whatever I feel like putting in my mouth is halved. Feeing like two lumps of nshima? I’ll have one. Feeling like four slices of bread? I’ll have two. I TRY to do it for everything and never eat to complete satisfaction.

Walking 🚶🏾‍♂️👣
I try to walk as much as I can as often as I can. I’ve even set up an hourly health walk at work where every hour I get up and take a stroll. This little activity adds up to big results over time and I’m sticking with it. It’s not as cool as telling my office mates how tired I am from my morning 15K as others like to do but it serves its purpose and keeps the weight controlled. It’ll likely make a difference for you too.

Sleep hygiene 🛌 😴
I sleep well and sleep long (+7 hours) every night to keep my hormones balanced. If you’re possessed by a spirit of entrepreneurship and neglecting sleep to hustle just know that your waistline will expand at the same rate as your business if you’re not careful. More on sleep here.

Daily weight and food tracking 𐄷
I make an effort to weigh myself everyday and track food intake. The scale makes me alive to my reality and food tracking exposes my eating habits. You cannot change what you don’t make an effort to know so all this is done to elevate my level of awareness so I can make adjustments where required. I track my food with an app called Nutrionix. It’s free, doesn’t contain any ads and it's very easy to use.

Alcohol 🍻🥃 🍷🍹
I only consume alcohol on weekends and this practice has saved me from a protruding tummy. If you drink often and outside of weekends it likely shows on your belly so you might want to limit your drinking sessions so you don’t jiggle as much. If you want step it up a little you can adjust what liquor you consume and what you mix it with. Lite beers and water as mixers are the way to go. More on this here.

Modeling myself after others aka Copy & Paste
Physically there’s always someone within our reach that has the body we want. I walk up to them with puppy eyes 🐶 and tell them I admire them and maybe a few extras if necessary. Once their ego is massaged I start to pick their brain on what they do (habits), what they eat, how they train - any and everything of interest that’ll help me learn more about how they manage their body. I simply adopt what I think is useful and discard what isn’t.

I'm four kilograms lighter from the last time I blogged about my clothes suffocating me and my decision to make full use of the weight loss toolbox to mitigate a disaster. I'm not where I want to be but I'm further than where I began this journey from. I'm building back up to African King status and this is how I'm going about it:

Physical 💪🏿

• 7 weight training sessions a week 🏋🏿‍♂️

Basically no days off. Some of you might have watched a fitness YouTube video and read somewhere on Uncle Google about the importance of recovery and the threats of overtraining. As far as I'm concerned only under-eating and sleep deficit exist as real threats to progress, otherwise you can go hard everyday. Well, those of you in your 30s and under anyway. I'm living proof of this. Don't allow a spirit of laziness to stop you from having the body you want; exploit your youthfulness. My training consists of an hour of heavy lifting daily. I'm pushing myself and at the end of my sessions I'm breathing hard and sweating profusely. It's all about intensity and constantly stretching and challenging myself. More of my sessions are available on my recently created Youtube Channel for those of you that want to do chimpwena.

• Running twice a week 🏃🏿‍♂️

I simply run twice weekly for a minimum of an hour and I do so at the slowest speed I can manage. 😌 I'm an OG member of the turtle gang 🐢 and it doesn't bother me one bit. You should be affiliated with us - we're slow runners purely interested in fat loss. The idea is to stay in a fat burning zone for a long(er) duration. Run or walk, doesn't matter, just keep moving for an hour to supplement your gym activities.

Mental 🧠 🙇🏿‍♂️
I've changed my mindset and mental approach to losing weight. It's no longer about hitting the scales at a certain number but about forming the right habits and behaviours that lead to the body I want. There's a lot less anxiety when I'm weighing in and regardless of what the scale says I know that it's only a matter of time before I reap from where I've sown. Take the pressure off yourself and simply strive to become the kind of person who has the body you want. Do what they would do in most situations and you'll have the same results.

Nutrition 🍛
I intermittently fast for 16-18 hours on most days by skipping breakfast and only eating lunch at 12 and dinner between 6 and 8pm.  I like junk food just as much as the next man but I’ve opted to limit take out to one meal per week, at most two, and that’s usually on weekends. I’ll even throw in ice cream 🍨 or a couple freezits if I feel like it. A hard training and hard dieting approach is unrealistic for most and usually quite damaging. I still cut weight and so will you, just stay active and ensure that most of what goes into your mouth is prepared in your kitchen. Aside from gym it’s the little things such as parking far from your office and taking a long walk, taking the stairs instead of the elevator at every opportunity, and choosing to walk instead of drive to places that you can see that make a BIG difference over time.
In addition to all this, I'm consuming 4+ liters of fluid a day to replenish what I lose at the gym and ensure I'm hydrated throughout the blazing hot weather. Multiply 40mls by your bodyweight in kilograms to determine a reasonable hydration target for someone your size.


🎬 🎥 🎞Subscribe to my YouTube channel for gym related content 💪🏿:

https://youtube.com/channel/UCnNrkUhPDip_LXnbgWCL04Q

"Nick. This fitness life isn't for me. Nili na pressure." I didn't understand at first but she went on to further explain what she meant. Women face a number of hurdles when it comes to getting back in shape and this is how she broke it down for me:

The petty stuff
Cosmetics

• What to do with my hair. Hair maintenance and sweat are huge concerns for female gym goers. Women should consider braids (wash them every other day) and a sweatband during sessions to prevent a cocktail of hair products and/or salty sweat getting into your eyes while you work out. When you’re done you can throw on your wig and go on with your stress free life.
• What to do with my nails. Lavish nails 💅 are a standout feature on the hands of many women but when it comes to extensions you have a decision to make - pretty hands or pretty body? Opt for manicures without extensions as having the best of both worlds is a dangerous game to play and you might end up with a very bad injury if you persist with glued on extensions while attending the gym.
• What to wear. The pressure to look cute ☺️ while you work out is real thing but function and comfort must be prioritized. Focus less on aesthetics and more on comfort and look to buy sports specific clothing ahead of wearing the same joggers you slept in last night to work out in the next morning. 

Mental barriers

• Not being in a social space. Many people want to work out without the excessive small talk and gossip overshadowing their sessions. How can you overcome this? Sign up for classes that simply involve working out without the interaction. Peak performance training with Thabo will tax your system so hard people often only open their mouths to breathe. It's high intensity interval circuit training that leaves very little room for small talk so you can get your workout in and leave in a hurry. 📞 0968896012.
• Intimidation of working out in a group. Everybody suffers from insecurities 😌 I don’t care what the exterior shows, there's a few insecurities underneath. Armed with that knowledge you can go on about your business unshackled from feeling 'less than' others. Words of affirmation, headphones 🎧 on with whatever music makes you channel your inner gangster and keeping the focus on yourself and your workout will get you through this mental barrier.

The real stuff
Responsibility

• Women with babies 👶🏽. The baby wants milk, attention and frequent diaper changes. Workaround: Pump for milk, and gents the last two are where you need to step up and share the responsibility of parenting your children. Mother’s can be the baby's entertainment by incorporating home workouts or HIIT while you care for your young. You don't have to sit and watch cartoons all day, break a sweat and become your baby's source of viewing pleasure.
• Women with husbands 👨. A typical married woman’s morning involves making your husband food (breakfast and lunch), waiting for and giving instructions to your house help and/or school runs. Workaround: Cook in advance and pre-pack your husbands meals. Whatever you ate for supper should be the next day's lunch. Wives married to difficult husbands that demand fresh and often complicated, time-consuming foods I don't know how to help you - mu limbe chabe. School runs should be shared equally so if you take the morning run then your husband should take the lunch/afternoon run. Can't share responsibility? Boarding school is calling.
• Women with demanding jobs 👩🏾‍💻. Ba boss lady, Miss When Women Lead, Miss Independent - I respect and admire your drive 🔥 🫡. But how can you manage things better? Incorporate more balance in your life and find time for other things. Stop being a hero ku nchito, be a hero in your life and save yourself before excessive responsibility starts to show itself on your hips. A lot of the stress we experience from work is self-imposed, you have to be able to intentionally connect and disconnect from work.
• Personal safety ⚠️. This is always a risk and the easiest, cheapest option of walking/jogging can be extremely dangerous. The alternative of working out in a gym full of men can make you uncomfortable because of predators and ichibeleshi. You might want to consider enrolling at Evolve gym. It's a women's only gym so there's no bearded chikwela.

Ultimately when it comes to responsibility for the married or committed among us, you need your partners support. Your husband needs to step up and share responsibility whether it’s with the kids, with the cooking, cleaning - EVERYTHING. Fitness should be a shared goal.

Supplementary reading:
Personal safety
Running and dogs
Chikwela mu gym
Restarting your fitness journey
Women and weights
Women's health
Gym etiquette
Summer bodies are made in winter

I was recently asked to blog about gym etiquette by a friend of mine and fellow gym mate that's irritated by unwritten rules not being followed by some. Common sense isn't common so let's discuss these matters before someone gets tagged with a dumbbell!

Mind your business
It’s perfectly fine to introduce yourself to new members or people you keep seeing at the gym but avoid ichibeleshi✋🏾. Don’t offer unsolicited advice and unless you have the physique that screams 'I know what I'm talking about' and/or you're familiar with the individuals you wish to correct stop policing people. Many gym goers are fairly self-conscious in the weight room, so don't shine a spotlight on them; mind your business.

Respect personal space ⛔
Gyms can get busy, but it’s polite to give other gym-goers as much space as you can. Try not to get on a bike or treadmill right next to someone if other machines are available. If you're forced to train next to another person, keep your eyes from wandering and on your own machine. As for weights stand far enough away from your fellow exercisers to give them room to train comfortably and just breathe without you suffocating them.

Lastly, be polite to other members, but be mindful of starting conversations that don't have an ending. While you might be lovely company and a funny guy many people just don't have the time for excessive small talk and mickey mouse conversations. It's distracting.

Clean up after yourself 🧽
During your workout, it’s best to keep your water bottle, towel, mat, and other items close to you instead of spreading them all over the place mungulu mungulu. This helps other gym-goers know which equipment you’re using and which spaces are available for them to exercise in.  And when you're done please wipe down 🧽 any and all machines you used! Use a towel to wipe down all surfaces your skin touches.

Proper gyms should have wipes or a spray bottle with disinfectant 🦠 throughout the gym that you can use to spray and wipe down a piece of equipment. If they don't you might want to consider changing gyms before you start catching bacterial infections and your skin starts changing color.

Keep it pushing and don't be a hoarder
​When you’re using the gym equipment, it’s important to remember that—like you—other people are working out on a tight schedule ⏰ . You need to train and keep it moving. Nobody swings by the gym to witness you sitting on equipment you’re not using to text or scroll social media. They don't show up to marvel at you doing your circuit either so please avoid circuits during peak hours. Come during off peak if that's your preferred way of training to prevent holding up everyone else.

Lekeni ichongo (Noise) 🗣 🦍 
Gents, when you're moving serious weight please spare us with the macho noise making and dropping of weights. Working hard, with a few grunts and groans is understandable but when it's excessive, it becomes a distraction for other gym members. Control yourself and be respectful of others by reducing your volume.

Sambani Please (Bath) 🛁  🧼
​More on this here. People should not be able to smell you coming. Keep things fresh!

Supplementary reading:
Body Odor
Chikwela Mu Gym