Abu Dhabi: Women in Crossfit! Isn’t that a sport for the meatheads and bodybuilders? Well, that’s the notion that most of us have.
Nevertheless, had you been to the Abu Dhabi Throwdown CrossFit event organised by Peak Fitness during the Ramadan Sports Festival in the capital that impression would have been erased in a flash.
Physiques do vary and not everyone who does CrossFit builds muscle mass. Even skinny girls can be strong without losing their feminine grace and that realisation has drawn a lot of Emirati women to take up the sport. These ladies want to give themselves a constantly varied highly effective mix of cardio, weightlifting and gymnastic programmes not just so they can leda happy and healthy lives but also win laurels for the country.
Nuha Al Merri, who is currently the No 1 in the UAE among Emirati women in the sport, recollects that she had started CrossFit as a means of recreation in 2013 and immediately got hooked to the sport.
“I had been hitting the gym even before but Crossfit has changed my life completely. I like the challenge it provides and that’s what made me to take up the sport full-time,” says Al Merri, who is also a CrossFit coach based in Dubai.
Al Merri, however, recalls that her choice to take up the sport as a profession was met with strong opposition from her parents, especially her mother.
“Initially, it was really tough to convince her [mother] but over a period of time she realised that my heart and soul is in CrossFit. When your family starts backing you in what you do, then things become a lot easier,” recalls Al Merri, whose efforts started paying high dividends at the GCC meetings within a year or two. She has also competed in Open events at Madrid and Denmark.
“There were very few Arab girls initially. I clearly remember in 2014 there were only seven Arab girls competing in Kuwait at the Battle of the East. That number went to 10 the following year. So the interest is growing and more Arab girls are being drawn to the sport and taking it as a profession,” says Al Merri, who won gold in Qatar last year and back-to-back silvers in Kuwait in 2014 and 2015 banking on her strengths – gymnastics and weightlifting.
“I want to qualify for all the major CrossFit tournaments globally and try and win medals there. My goal is to put UAE on the map and show that UAE women are not behind in anything. This year I have set my sights on Emirate Fitness Championship, Dubai Fitness Championship and also want to qualify for the Madrid event,” revealed Al Merri, who is not the only one in her family to be drawn to the sport. Her sister Latifa Al Merri and brother-in-law Waleed Karam are also into CrossFit.
“I was into Muay Thai before but found that CrossFit was more fun to do. My husband also is a regular; so we share the same passion, you can say. We train together and egg each other on to excel. So it has made my journey so far easier, you can say, unlike other Emirati girls. However, things are slowly changing and many Emirati youngsters are drawn to the sport,” said Latifa, who is also keen on doing well at the regional CrossFit tournaments.
For those who are still not convinced that they could be skinny yet strong with CrossFit, Sofia Bin Salem, another Emirati, can vouch for its benefits.
“If you don’t want a muscular physique, then all you need to do is focus on your diet. I never wanted to put on muscle. You will be surprised to see skinny women like me handling so much weight. It is about technique and endurance. Girls who have more mass seldom struggle when it comes to endurance,” says Bin Salem, who also revealed that ladies with a lot of bulk who have taken to CrossFit have made that choice on their own.
“These women athletes make a conscious effort on building the body as normally women don’t have the strength like the men to lift these heavy weights. So a lot of effort is put on the upper body and they increase their food intake. If we have food four times a day, the girls who want to put on mass may eat six times a day,” revealed Bin Salem, adding that, focus however in either case is the same – eating healthy with the meals comprising of lots of carbohydrates and protein.
Dunia Khaleel, MD of Peak Fitness, who organised the tournament in the capital on behalf of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, was overwhelmed by the response to the event.
“The sport is making giant strides within the UAE and region over the past couple of years. The good thing is around 15 Emirati women athletes participated in the event and few of them are already creating waves at the international level. We didn’t do any advertising for the event and still so many ladies came. We had competitors from Qatar and Oman as well, which is a sign that the sport is prospering within the region,” said Khaleel.
