Melina Nasab is among the most sought after personal trainers working today. Melina created her method to encourage people to try something different and to make fitness fun. Here Melina talks to us about how she got started, the importance of movement, and her physical and mental health nécessités during our current health crisis.
How long have you been into fitness and what motivated you to become a trainer?
I have been in the fitness world for about 7 years. It all started when I kind of hit a rock-bottom and wanted to start feeling healthy again. I started going to the gym with a bunch of my guy friends after work on a routine daily basis, and enjoyed mostly the social aspect of going. But then I found my sense of home while working out, as I begin to get creative in making up exercises that I knew worked best for me and my body, and I had never felt better and more empowered. I then found myself starting to plan my days around when I was able to go to the gym, Even if it was just for 30 minutes, even if it was just a little bit of treadmill and stretching, but I knew that pushing myself to go would leave me feeling better. I started going into work raving about how amazing I felt, super energetic, and I discovered what self-confidence was for the first time in my life. I then realized that I would be doing a disservice not to share those mental benefits with people. So I dropped everything and went through the certification process so that I could become a trainer, and share the light of what fun fitness can do for everyone.
Do you think the same weight loss exercises apply to everyone?
Absolutely not. Everyone’s body is composed differently, therefore needs a different recipe that will work best for their weight loss goals, which also could change from time to time! The same way that our bodies get used to the weather, or food, or time schedules, our bodies can get used to a certain exercise routine that we then need to switch up ever so often in order to optimize results. The best way to find what works best is just to try a bunch of different things, and stick to what you enjoy the most. Exercise is supposed to be fun, it is your YOU time, and if you don’t enjoy it, then that’s probably not the one for you. There’s something for everyone! There isn’t one specific way that is meant to work with every body.
How important is it for us to work out at home during this current health crisis, especially if we are used to going to a gym of some sort?
Think of adjusting to this new adventure as having a greater spiritual purpose, where we are forced to slow down, get rid of what we are used to having access to, and still taking the initiative to get that same exercise high but without the resources that we had in the past. There is an even greater sense of accomplishment in getting yourself together to do an at home workout, because you might already have a sour taste towards it in the beginning, But once you are in it and have got the ball rolling, you realize that you really don’t need all of the things that the gym has provided for us. If you have a body, you have a gym. You have the ability to move in an unlimited amount of ways to get your heart pumping and blood flowing. Your creative side is then forced to work a bit with using household items as resistance tools, and it is FUN to create a makeshift studio space with the resources that you have access to. It has also been lovely that so many amazing instructors in the fitness space have put out at home workout content to keep everybody motivated during this time!
What are some exercises we can do at home that are cost efficient and effective to getting our heart’s pumping and blood flowing?
Well, for starters, KANGABOOTS have been an incredible toy to have during this time, as they are mobile trampolines for your feet! There are so many amazing benefits to rebounding – including elevating your heart rate, improving lymphatic drainage, and burning even more calories! The Kangaboots are weighted jump shoes that take pressure off of your knees, hips, and joints, while being able to reap the benefits of plyometrics, which is one of the leasing methods to weight loss and lean muscle gain. They are usable anywhere and everywhere, at home or outdoors! In addition to providing a highly effective, cost efficient, and FUN workout, they inspire people to be confident.
If someone’s goal is to lose weight, is working out enough and not changing the diet beneficial? Or changing the diet and not working out beneficial or does the diet and workout have to typically go hand in hand to see real lasting results?
The golden question. Exercise and diet go HAND IN HAND to achieve weight loss goals. You can’t out-work a bad diet, nor can you diet your way into a healthy life without exercise. What I like to think is that if you have your workouts planned daily or every other day at least, you are more likely to eat more mindfully because you don’t want to feel lethargic during your workout, as well as want to eat better after you’ve just crushed a workout! It’s not about “dieting” or forcing yourself to exercise to punish yourself for something you ate. It’s a lifestyle elevation where you celebrate the wonderful things your body can do, and fuel it with the nourishment it deserves to keep you going.
What is your go to practice during this current health crisis for your mental and physical health that is a nécessité?
My go-to practice to balance my mental and physical health during this time would definitely be to schedule a big chunk of “ME TIME”, where I ask my body what it needs, whether that be a walk (bounce in my kangaboots) in the neighborhood, a drive to the beach, a candlelit meditation with my phone off, or a combo of all! Activity always makes me feel better, so it’s usually getting out for a quick bounce, which then turns into a long bounce because I’m having so much fun, which then turns into feeling amazing and accomplished!
Photo Credit: Melina Nasab
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