Who began associating muscles with men? Here’s a woman who is really strong and can lift more weights than a lot of men can. What’s a better way to break gender stereotypes? Jiya Dewan, a fourth-year student at Ashoka breaks gender stereotypes by hitting the gym and setting next level fitness goals for all of us. Her fitness goals are nothing like the cliche goals we expect women to have. Her purpose is to hit the gym to get stronger. We are awed looking at her Instagram fitness routines. She flexes her biceps proudly in most pictures.
Q: Since when have you been gymming? How did you get introduced to the fitness lifestyle?
A: I have been working out for the last three years now and honestly, it has been one hell of a journey! I began working out with only one motive and that was to lose weight. I’ve been a fat kid all my life and after entering college, there was a point when I started to feel sick about myself. I wanted to change the way I looked, I wanted to be fitter but I was very scared and intimidated. I don’t know where to start from. I always dreamt of having muscles and six pack abs but I never had the determination or will power to actually go and start working towards it. I was convinced that i looked the way that I did because of certain medical issues and it was solely the reason why I couldn’t ever lose weight. To cut a long story short, my insecurities took over the best of me for years until the summer of 2014 when I finally gathered the courage to the hit the gym. And now you know where I am!
Q: What is your fitness motto?
A: Quite honestly my motto changes every month with respect to my own body (laughs). But in the larger perspective, my main motto is to reach out to as many women as possible and empower them to feel beautiful and strong in their own skin. Having tackled self-confidence and low self-esteem issues for the larger part of my life, I realised how important it is to just love yourself the way you are. Everybody has imperfections and flaws, but one needs to embrace them and work on them. Women, in more than one way, look at themselves from the lens of this patriarchal society we live in and hence are constantly bogged by external pressures and expectations to look a certain way, behave a certain way, dress a certain way. That needs to go away. Yes, everyone should lead a healthy, fit lifestyle but without having to meet certain benchmarks set by our society. We need to do it for ourselves, for our mind and soul, for our peace and tranquility, for our very beautiful bodies.
Q: How did you get inspired to hit the gym first? What are your long-term fitness goals?
A: Well I wouldn’t say my journey was borne out of an inspiration; it actually ignited out of a particularly bad experience. I was in love for the greater part of my high school life with someone I absolutely adored and was head over heels for. One moment I was living the fairytale and the next I was left utterly shattered. I experienced an ugly fall-out in that relationship that, in turn, left me in a miserable situation, completely shattered. I was drowning in the abyss of that depression until one day I realised that no one can help except me. I ventured into what pop culture terms as a “Revenge Body”, but little did I know that it would completely change my life! From that time onwards, I continued to push further. Today, being a fitness enthusiast is my sole identity and I cannot be prouder!
I’ve always set short-term goals for myself, I just feel it makes attainment of your long-term aspirations so much easier! So as of this moment, I’m aiming to graduate from Ashoka with four pack abs! I’m also planning to pursue my Masters in Sports Management this year, so that’s on the calendar!
Q: Does being a woman hinder you from lifting weights in any way? Any advice to other women who want to lift weights?
A: (Laughs) Nothing hinders me from lifting weights. Iron is my best friend and the gym my temple. Being a woman inspires me to lift harder and heavier every day! I secretly also know that we have so much more strength and potential not just with respect to lifting weights but in every walk of life! We are so much stronger and braver! I think I lift with more finesse and grace than the men! I add my elements of femininity to lifting and absolutely love the process.
I have only one advice: Hit the gym, lift them weights and don’t be scared or intimidated. Just start once. You will surprise yourself every day and thereon be proud of yourself. Lifting weights does NOT only make you bulky or muscular. It plays a very significant role in losing body fat and toning. You’ll experience a world of a difference in your routine and shape once you start lifting. So go, befriend that iron!
Q: What diet do you maintain? What do you think about the mess food in terms of nutrition levels?
A: I do maintain a very strict regime and diet since I have started practicing bodybuilding professionally now. To say the least, I eat every two hours and keep myself hydrated throughout the day. Protein’s my best friend but I do eat everything and yes I have cheat days too! I precook my meals and carry them around all day. I always have a protein bar and a banana in my bag (laughs) Regarding the mess food, I think they serve fairly good food to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you’re working out regularly and keeping your carbs in control, you’re good. Eat whatever you wish to, but eat clean and timely.
Q: What routine do you advice new gym goers to follow?
A: Firstly, it’s important to do some form of exercise. You could exercise in your own room or in the gardens but it’s vital you sweat it out a little. To people who prefer gymming, I’d just like to recommend you to stop beating yourself over on treadmills and cross trainers. Your body weight is enough to make you lose and move. Incorporate high-intensity exercises in the middle of your workouts, use weights to train major muscle groups; it will show 80% more changes than your usual 30-40 minutes strenuous cardio on the treadmill. Focus on each body part separately and train them regularly. I see so many people just focusing on cardio and core strength, that’s not enough. You’ve gotta move your entire body and put in some squats, push ups, burpees or jumps.It’s more fun and gives brilliant results. Moving on, rest is extremely important so get some good sleep. Keep yourself hydrated, quit the fries on campus and you’ll be good.
Q: How does your family react to your idea of a fit body? How do strangers react?
A: Well, it was quite a ride for my family to finally accept the fact that I want to pursue fitness and bodybuilding as a career. I come from a conventional north Indian Punjabi family and such career options are considered absurd and uncultured– no one wants to marry a girl with muscles you know! I’ve literally fought my father for all of last year, trying to prove to him that I’m determined to continue doing this and today I can proudly say that I have managed to get rid of the stereotypes in their heads. They are very supportive now but that’s happened after a lot of hard work and stubbornness to some extent!
Strangers, well they talk and comment and shun and I don’t give a damn (laughs). The reason I started this was because I wanted to break out of how the society looked at me and now that I’ve managed to do that, I really don’t pay heed to how they react to me. Yes, I’ve received many lewd comments on how I am too muscular and I may turn into a man soon but then on the flip side, I’ve also encountered a lot of support and motivation from my peers! And honestly, that’s proved to be a very strong contribution to my journey.
Q: What are some of the challenges you faced in overcoming your fitness goals? How did you meet them?
A: I have a condition called PCOD (polycystic ovaries disorder) which happens to be a very common ailment in women today. It brings with it some very serious issues that are difficult to overcome and stay with you, in many cases for years. In my case, I had major PCOD that proved to be a serious barrier to my body’s progress because of low metabolism, insulin and water resistance, irregular periods, hormonal disorders and so on. My gynecologist told me multiple times that no matter what I do I’ll never be thin and in fact, in a few years, I might be about 200 pounds considering how severe it was. However after I started exercising intensely, practicing yoga regularly and monitored my diet and lifestyle, I overcame all of these issues. I’ve been off medication for a year now and have successfully defeated my biggest enemy.
Q: What are some other things you do on campus?
A: I’m a trained Hindustani classical singer so that’s one thing I do. I’m extremely passionate about music and in fact, if fitness hadn’t taken over my life, you would have found me auditioning for Indian Idol (laughs).
Q: How has Ashoka contributed to your fitness lifestyle and towards your long-term goals?
A: Ashoka has inspired me to become a better version of myself. Ashokans, in fact, have recognized my achievements and progress in such a supportive manner; they identify me with fit and healthy and that proves to be a reminder for me every day that I have to get better and strive for better. Every day I feel challenged in the gym because I know that there are a few eyes on me, waiting up to see my next move and that really motivates me.
I’d like to use this platform to thank everyone here at Ashoka for empowering me and honoring me by calling me an inspiration, I truly feel blessed. Thank you so much! I promise to make you guys prouder and fitter (laughs). Cheers!
Edited by Devashree Somani
All the images are courtesy of Jiya Dewan