By Mariam Nihal
Saudi Gazette
This week we caught up with Saudi fitness trainer Amal Baatia in Jeddah. Always up for a challenge, Baatia runs a successful fitness camp in Jeddah, where she lives and encourages local women to engage in fitness and make it a lifestyle.
"I believe it’s about time to get exposed and to show our abilities as Saudi women to our community. We have always been accused of the fact that we are just lazy spoiled brats comparing to women from different societies, but let me clear up something, I get inspired by my clients everyday who work demanding jobs and most of them don’t even have helpers at home. They bring their kids with them and manage to attend every class during the month, if that is not dedication I don’t know what is it then," she told Saudi Gazette.
Baatia got into Crossfit training when she discovered it in Dubai around four years ago.
"I have always been a very active person since I was a little girl, trying different sports, enrolling in many activities and fitness has been my passion because it takes the anxiety out of me and makes me feel happier and better. In 2013, I found out about Crossfit through a couple of friends in Dubai and it was very interesting and challenging. I couldn’t understand the training method at the beginning, so I started to dig and search about anything related to it. It was not easy I must say, considering the fact that it was still new and was not yet introduced to our Saudi community. I booked my first ticket to Dubai to attend the Crossfit level one workshop, it was the most amazing experience I have ever had, encouraging a fit community with a lot of support sharing the same passion. After passing my exam, my journey began, so between practicing, reading and applying the methods, I went for online training and traveled to practice and train more. I started getting a lot of requests from my family members and friends to give classes and even though I wasn’t sure at the beginning because of time given my day job, kids and training myself, but once I started it I immediately fell in love with the process," she said.
Baatia is a Crossfit level 2 calisthenics certified trainer and hosts classes between 5:30 to 7:30 pm everyday. “My main goal is to focus on the right technique and the perfect form for any functional movement before jumping to any move. I never change the moves in my classes, I just scale them to each one needs as I believe that mixing beginners members with advanced ones will always gives more motivation and create a great challenging environment.”
Talking about her clientele, she said most are aged between 25-35 years of age. “Most of them are so active and already involved in other sports and activities such as running, boxing or tennis and Crossfit is helping them to increase their stamina, endurance and overall body strength to achieve their fitness goals. I’m also involved in training a group of runners who are struggling to reach their first 5k , but now after two month of working together they are showing amazing progress in their performance and stamina."
For Saudi women, Baatia hopes to see more of them out there representing strength, health and promoting a better life.
“As the saying goes, a strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life. So, all you women out there, go ahead and slip into that Hervé Léger dress, but also know by being fit you can take on the world! The greatest advantage of using social media is its ability to deliver your message to a wide audience while being smart and aware in how to present your image while doing so. Always be yourself, passionate and determined about who you are and what you stand for.”
She said she is still waiting for the day Saudi women can make their own decisions. "I am waiting for the day when we have complete control of our lives and get equal opportunity in every aspect in life, and I am sure that this day will come with our continuous persistence and determination." Having said that, she admitted society has been nothing but supporting and enabled her to successfully pursue her dream. "People have been so supportive and encouraging, which I hadn’t expected at all considering the fact that we are living in conservative society, but the continuous support that I’m getting is what keeps me moving forward."
This week Baatia has prepared a short and effective Ramadan Tabata full body workout routine for you.
20 seconds on followed by 10 seconds off and then repeat each set four times. Each set is four minutes.
Jumping rope
Burpees
Squat pulses
Lunges
Dips
Push-ups
Hollow rocks
V-ups
Instagram: @amalb.fitness
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amalb.fitness
Snapchat : amalbfitness
