It is 5.36am when I get to FirstPower Fitness gym at Galleria Mall.
The sky is inked with the hollow greys of the breaking dawn. I’m cold and hungry.
Roselyne Omanga and her squad of eight are 36 minutes into today’s session with Coach Collins.
The session is ‘[CrossFit] Burn’ – included in the programme is overhead lunges, a 600m run, one-arm ring dips, kettle bell squats and plenty more.
Roselyne and I chat after her session over protein smoothies. She says about her push factors, “I was in management with a local bank when I quit in December 2015. I was delivering my numbers but my position had too much politics – I was stressed and kept getting migraines.
My family is predisposed to high blood pressure; the doctor had suggested I take medication. I quit my job because my health was at risk.”
“I was also 78 kilos and overweight,” Roselyne adds. “My friends told me I was bursting the seams of my clothes. That I looked like I was three months pregnant.” She laughs.
“I was offended; I didn’t speak to them for a month. But that’s when I decided to take revenge.”
I look at Roselyne’s pre-gym and post-gym photos. You can’t tell it’s the same girl.
Roselyne from 2015 seems timid and bloated; she does look like she’s just eaten an entire roast chicken on her own with six chapatis and a loaf of bread. (This is her confession about her previously mindless eating habits.)
Roselyne from 2019 exudes physical and personal strength; she eats clean. “I had seven years of banking experience,” Roselyne continues.
“I was confident I’d get another job in a month, three months at most. First bank I worked with for four and half years. I left at senior level because I wanted a bigger salary. I was in management with the second bank for two and a half years. I knew what I wanted in my next workplace – job satisfaction, personal growth and a positive work culture.”
Roselyne’s squad at the gym here is fascinating to watch. Everyone is going through the programme at their own pace – while Roselyne is rowing, someone is on dumb bells and another one is out running.
Coach Collins plays a music mix with an intro song I’m unfamiliar with. I Shazam it. It’s Jor’dan Armstrong’s “So Much Luv”.
The music turns the squad’s tempo a notch up. There’s audible panting and sweat breaking. The atmosphere reeks of grit.
The jobs didn’t line up awaiting Roselyne’s cherry picking. She was invited to more than 20 interviews and drew naught.
She became apprehensive – her meagre savings were running out. She had a car loan to service. It was frightening when auctioneers began calling her off the hook.
She’d yoyo in and out of depression. The gym became her solace. Her first session was in February 2016.
“I graduated with my MBA that June then started consulting as a financial broker. Some of my old bank contacts became my new clients. The income wasn’t consistent but it kept me going; I survived. I could pay my rent and pay for gym membership. I’ve been consulting since and I’m in a better financial state now.”
I follow Roselyne on Instagram. She frequently posts videos and photos of her gym sessions.
She includes hash tags such as #progressnotperfection, #itsalifestylething, #fitnessmotivation, #teachability, #keepclimbinghigher, #competewithyourself.
These hash tags are not just catchy clichéd phrases. Reread them and you’ll discover her personal mantras are accountability and inspiration.
Someone recently commented on one of her videos saying she’s “becoming too broad”. I ask, “How do you feel when you get such negative comments?”
Roselyne scoffs. “Actually, my biggest issue on social media isn’t the negativity, it’s the so-called ‘trainers’. People are always telling me I’m not doing this or that right. You can’t be obese then tell me how to lift a dead weight! We have different bodies. I know the range of my body’s movement; I know what it can safely do.”
Roselyne lost 15kgs in the first 10 months to December 2016. No loose skin; no stretch marks.
She’d fixed her eyes on bettering her performance as a long-time athlete, not on the pressure of the weighing scale.
Even now, she focuses on being lean, strong and healthy – overall virtuosity. Gyming has also increased her levels of positivity and mental toughness.
“Squats are my favourite exercise, I hate running. I’m in a running group and we run 10km in Karura Forest on Saturday mornings. I’m always the last to finish, some of my group mates run as though they’re being chased.” Roselyne chortles.
“Running increases my cardiovascular capacity, though, and helps with breathing and mobility. I bring that efficiency back to the gym.”
Time now is 5.50am. Coach Collins speaks above the music: “Good job, guys! Ten more minutes!”
Roselyne became a certified CrossFit Level One (CF-L1) trainer in 2018. CrossFit is an intense fitness regimen.
It prescribes for the body’s natural and functional movements, and limits the use of machines.
Roselyne did self-study then flew to Dubai for the written and practical assessment.
“There are only 19 certified trainers in Kenya – three women in L1 and only one in L2. No one is Kenya is L3. Collins is L1. Like him, I aspire to be an impactful coach.”
Coach Collins wraps the session up at 6am. Some of the squad stretch against the wooden plyo boxes.
They’re silhouetted against the breaking dawn. There’s something beautiful about seeing their silhouettes release steam.
