AMMAN — Personal trainer and
Nike brand ambassador, Maya Abdullah has turned her passion for fitness and nod as
the top personal trainer in Jordan into a mission to spread awareness about
health with her almost 200,000 followers on Instagram.
اضافة اعلان
"I
began to have this passion for training and motivating people, to help them
change so that they can become the best versions of themselves and be happy,”
Abdullah said in an interview with
Jordan News.
“This
is my passion, and I will see this path until its completion.”
Abdullah
started playing rugby at age 16.
She
then attended university in Ukraine, where she obtained a degree in business
management and several certificates in fitness and nutrition, including sports
nutrition, pregnancy nutrition, obesity management, sports psychology, and an
International Sports Sciences Association certificate in personal training.
“I
studied business, but I decided to take certificates in fitness because this is
what I love,” she said.
Upon
her return to Amman, Abdullah said she was always asked: “Why don’t you become
a fitness trainer?”
So,
in 2016 she opened her first
gym, where she has “trained hundreds of women”.
“Now,
I have my gym, my healthy restaurant, my own named spa — everything concerning
women. … this passion started with the love I had for myself and my health,"
she added.
Abdullah
traces her love for sports back to her mother, who was a gymnastics champion in
Kuwait and earned several gold medals.
“She (my mother) loves swimming and horse riding, and she gave
me a lot of encouragement to engage in sports,” she said.
“My
family is proud that there is a woman that gives awareness to a whole generation
about sports and self-confidence," Abdullah said.
To
spread that awareness, Abdullah looked to social media.
“There
was a state of enthusiasm in the (Instagram) community that there is a woman
that encourages and helps people, and leads them to their goal in such a way,”
she said.
In
2018, Abdullah was recognized as the top personal trainer in Jordan by Living
Well Magazine.
However,
after COVID-19 hit the fitness sector in Jordan especially hard, Abdullah
turned to online classes and led an international challenge with participants from all over the
world.
“We
challenged the conditions that we were going through, and we trained online; I
had over 3,000 women globally training through Zoom,” she said.
During
her classes and throughout her career, Abdullah said she tries to emphasize the
importance of paying more attention to health.
“Health
is the most crucial thing in life, and there are many Jordanians who do not
play sports and do not like to exercise,” she said. “After all, (gyms) strengthen
our immune system, and I hope that my country would better support the fitness
sector.”
"I
advise everybody to pay keen attention to their health. … I want them to love themselves
more and have more confidence in themselves and encourage each other to
practice any kind of sports," she added.
Looking
ahead, Abdullah concluded that her goal is to spread health awareness.
“I
care more about women, and I would love them to be more confident in themselves
and have a strong personality."
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