Anthony Mburu’s journey to fitness overcame health concerns

I’m served pineapple and apples before I join Anthony Mburu at the gym at his home in Nairobi.

This is the new norm that the 40-year-old businessman and his wife are trying to adapt to. Previously, I ate fruit sparingly until my doctor warned me.

“It’s been six months since I started dieting and eating clean. It hasn’t been easy to give up the junk I’m used to, but considering the progress I’ve made, it’s been worth it,” says Mbulu. To tell.

It all started in January this year, when the father of three and his wife went for a full-body checkup.

“My doctor advised me to exercise because my BMI (Body Mass Index) is a little high and my blood pressure is borderline,” he says.

His wife’s situation was quite different. She had developed hyperkyphosis, which arches her back and puts her in a hunched position.

“My wife worked before joining our business. Her job involved sitting for long periods of time, which ended up affecting her posture. She suffered from back deformities and certain I developed postural issues and was in severe discomfort,” Mbulu says.

Following the doctor’s advice, the couple decided to register there, even though they already had a gym set up on the top floor of their home.

“We established a home gym in 2016. In terms of health, I was already unwell, and during a trip to China, I noticed that gym equipment was cheaper there, so I bought this multi-functional machine and “I bought dumbbell weights, a treadmill, and a bench. It cost me about 400,000 yen. I’m sure it would cost more here,” he said. BD life.

The reason Mburu and her spouse abandoned their home gym was simple.

“I thought it would be easier to work out alone at home, but it was a nightmare. For eight years after getting the equipment, we tried working out on our own, but with discipline and pushing ourselves… I didn’t have enough people to give it to me. This is why after my doctor’s appointment, I decided to sign up for another gym to get some motivation,” he says.

This move did not last long as the Mburu family realized that they would not get anything of value.

“There were always one or two instructors in charge of a few people, so I found it wasn’t very effective. It wasn’t until a friend introduced me to my current personal trainer, Mrya Denousse, that I We backed off for a while and got back on track,” he says.

With Mriya on board, the couple returned to their home gym, which has now expanded to a beautiful patio.

“My weight in February was 98 kg. Currently, my scale reads 87. In my wife’s case, the doctor recommended a physical therapist to treat her lower back, but Mriya recommended strength training. Now my back is straight and the pain is gone,” he says.

Two things that never leave Mburu’s mind when he talks about his fitness journey are how highly he speaks of personal trainers, and how many times he mentions that he “eats a lot of vegetables.” That’s what I’m doing.

Many people underestimate the benefits of having a personal trainer. However, they can help you set realistic fitness goals, support a plan to stay healthy, and prescribe exercises to achieve your goals.

You can also do many exercises in a limited amount of time or train according to your schedule.

“Before we found Misterya, there were many things we couldn’t do: walk long distances, run, exercise with endurance, and get quality sleep. It was hard. It may sound like a simple and basic task, but it was difficult to perform.”

One of the many changes Mriya brought to the couple’s new lifestyle was adjusting their diet.

“We could eat anything. As much as high blood pressure was hereditary in our family, it was also about lifestyle. You know, uncontrolled eating, junk food, processed foods. When you consume a lot of food and don’t exercise, your body reacts to it. When Mr. Ya joined the company, the first thing he did was ask us to change our eating habits. Now we only eat two meals a day. “I have brunch around 10 or 11 a.m. and my second meal around 4 p.m. The rest of the time I snack on fruit, lots of vegetables, and water before bed,” he says. say.

Mbulu says the idea of ​​having an unconventional breakfast allows for a cumulative 16 hours of intermittent fasting.

The issue of eating at Mbrus was so delicate that we had to buy a kitchen scale.

“We needed to make sure we had the right amount of different types of food. Previously, we could eat whatever we wanted as long as we were satisfied, and vegetables were the bare minimum. Now we calculate portions in grams. “When it comes to starches, I have a certain amount that I should consume depending on my weight, and the same goes for protein, but when it comes to vegetables, I was advised to eat as much as possible,” he says. Masu.

Previously, Mburu had bacon, sausage, chips or bread, or two chapattis and a cup of sugary tea for breakfast, but now he eats two 200g beans, two eggs and vegetables. I am.

“I stopped drinking tea and replaced it with lots of water. My wife still has a bit of a hard time with tea. At first she was making tea by herself in a flask, but now she has sugar I started having two drinks without it.”

Mbulu trains four days a week, Monday through Thursday.

“On Monday we do a lot of cardio. We do 12 lap sprints up this hill (a 150 meter coal-paved driveway point). Then we do different types of cardio burpees, jumping. We did jerks, jump rope, farmhouse carries, etc.,” he says.

The rest of the day, my husband and I do strength training, but we still keep sprinting.

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