Ankita Sharma, a strong CEO turned fitness enthusiast shares her story
“I have had medical issues and faced frequent weight fluctuations ever since I can remember. While growing up, my hormones were all over the place, so gaining up to 5 kgs a month was well within the norm. The hectic lifestyle that I lead as a CEO along with everyone in our day and age currently did nothing but add in further stress to the whole situation.
Since I’ve always been really conscious of my weight and overall fitness and health, I knew early on that I’d have to compensate somewhere. I went to the gym as much as I could diligently and tried out several exercises, including a good mixture of Cardio and Mixed Martial Arts. I started eating in moderation and even practised portion control. But after the COVID-19 pandemic became the sole conversation topic for the year 2020, my confidence plummeted because gyms were a goner, right? What followed later was a slew of diet routines ranging from keto and intermittent fasting to whatnots.
I was far from my ideal body and knew I could do better. All I needed was to find a fool-proof way to work towards becoming a better version of myself, and that’s when I discovered Lean Culture.
Brainchild of Omkar Sapate — a certified fitness trainer and sports nutritionist and Niketa Sharma — a sports club owner and nutrition consultant, Lean Culture is a fully customized, at-home fitness and nutrition program for people of all ages, body shapes and sizes. It aims to leverage the best nutritional, health and fitness knowledge to build a community of fit people across the globe and train regularly but smart.
Their primary 6-week program that I opted for is designed to challenge your physical and mental self, thereby increasing your strength and holistic capacity. While other such programs are available a dime a dozen, all those stress on stretching, cardio, and normal workout routines which might be great for weight loss, but also end up leading to muscle loss. To combat this very issue, the Lean Culture’s inimitable routine focuses on building lean body mass structure and losing unnecessary fat while retaining the good aspects.
My entire program was tailored after understanding my body and workout history, and what I would need to become fitter. I was assigned the intermediate category since my body was already used to exercising but don’t worry if you’re just starting out, there’s a beginner’s course too! The workout includes Bodyweight Exercises, Banded Exercises and Dumbbell, and the equipment gets delivered at home since I can’t go to the gym. Each week made me work as hard as possible and burn those excess calories to achieve my goal.
Along with this, Lean Culture also provided a complete nutrition consultation and a customized plan as well as a recipe book, sample diets, do’s and dont’s and the full grocery list! I have a repository of 150+ YouTube videos to ensure I maintain correct form while working out. What’s more, they are even launching personalized training to give one on one attention to everyone along with a 12-week transformation program too! What more does one need?
I have slowly shed the extra weight with Lean Culture and built body mass over time, but it’s been encouraging to have the support from such a great community and to know that it is fine to make mistakes. We only have one body and one lifetime, and I’m proud of my resolve to take control and stick to the good habits for my own. There’s no better reward to yourself than that, trust me! If someone tells you that you can’t stay fit during a pandemic, I’m here to prove them wrong!”