Fea Levae, Dubai-based freelance personal trainer and former professional rugby player. His words:
My mission is to try to get people to move more every day, expend more energy and burn more calories.
I was born in Samoa in the South Pacific and moved to Auckland, New Zealand, at an early age with my parents, four brothers and a sister.
Travel has always been a big part of my life. In 2001, I moved to the UK, playing for the Bedford Rugby Club, then worked as a personal trainer in London. I used the UK as a base to see a lot of Europe. I have travelled to many countries, including Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Syria, Egypt, the US and Bali, Indonesia.
In September, 2004, I moved to Dubai and worked at U Concept fitness studio at The Village, Jumeirah, then became a freelance personal trainer at various gyms.
For two years running, I've played rugby in the Dubai Sevens with the Dubai-based team, the V-Blacks.
Living in Dubai has been inspiring and difficult in equal measure. I love the lifestyle it offers and the people that I have met have been extremely friendly, helpful and supportive.
The facilities in Dubai are second to none. However, living away from my family is hard. If I weren't living here, I would be in London or New Zealand.
Playing professional rugby and meeting …
… top athletes taught me to understand how important mental preparation is when you are training for sports.
I got involved in rugby when I went to school at Manurewa College in Auckland. Rugby is an integral part of school in New Zealand. It taught me commitment. My older brother, Tony, and I played in the same team and he taught me a lot with regard to fitness and mental toughness.
In New Zealand, I played for Manurewa, Takapuna and North Harbour as a centre, fullback and winger. I played with rugby legends Jonah Lomu, Eric Rush and Glen Osborne.
Injuries often act as a catalyst to change …
… and living with an injury is very tough. I snapped my ACL [a ligament in the knee] while playing rugby in 2001, which, in effect, ended my professional rugby career. In 2000, I suffered from a recurring dislocated right shoulder. I still get severe pain from both my injuries, especially if I have had a busy week with clients.
Incurring an injury while training often forces you to look at your body for the first time and analyse your options. It made me find a good physiotherapist, one who I could trust and could see me through the rehabilitation. It taught me to take things one step at a time and made me realise there is no need to rush your recovery, as you may hurt yourself again.
With an inexperienced client …
… my initial goal is to train his body to move and build strength in new ways.
As fitness improves and the training becomes more challenging, then the focus becomes more 'mind over matter'. To achieve the results that you want, you must be committed and mentally tough.
Every client has a different body type and you need to make every session fun. As a trainer, I have to try different things, such as boxing, beach training, bosu ball, jumping lunges etc.
Nevertheless, I also need to keep myself motivated. Every week, I try to do a cardio session – either a run, touch rugby or intervals of boxing – and maybe two weight sessions.
I like to experiment with a new technique, to get it completely right before I ask a client to do it.
When I see someone not caring about his fitness levels, I ask him not to train with me. I take fitness and exercise very seriously and if, as a client, you feel you need someone to do your work for you, then you are not being true to yourself and will never achieve your goal.
I encourage clients to become more active in their day-to-day lives …
… such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, carrying their own groceries, playing with the kids as well as going to the gym.
It's these small things we do every day that allow us to balance our body and mind. I take into account factors inside and outside the gym. I'll consider the client's lifestyle, nutrition and [level of] motivation.
It's also important to know your client's strength base so that you know where to [start] work. I believe in encouraging them and making every session different and fun, so that they can train hard and feel proud of what they have achieved.
Celebrities or non-celebrities …
… for me, all clients are equally important. People have goals and worries regardless of their status in life. I've had the good fortune to work with many singers, actors and high-profile people and I believe confidentiality and discretion is of utmost importance for every client. For me, seeing my clients work hard and achieving their goals is more important than who the client is.
