👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Hi! My name is Olivia Eze. Originally born in Nigeria but I live in London, United Kingdom.
My current day jobs include personal training, content creation on youtube where I share fitness and nutrition tips, workout videos and clothing hauls. I also document some motivational and vlog videos.
Alongside this, I am a primary school teacher and a Criminology graduate, with a level 3 Personal Training certificate.
Having never been into fitness and healthy eating, I never believed that one could lose fat and look great just by training and having a better diet.
I was a huge fan of junk food such as fried chicken, biscuits, and of-course high carbohydrates Nigerian food, but as time went on, I started having minor pains with my knees especially when walking or climbing stairs, and being overweight which was when I decided to do something about it!
I eventually saw myself actually falling in love with the feeling I got after training, even though I didn’t see much of a difference in weight loss.
So, I decided to do a little research about health and fitness, and also proceeded in studying to become a level 3 Personal Trainer, and documenting my fitness journey on YouTube.
This helped me expand my knowledge on how to train to get better results! Fitness has not only helped me change my look and feel better about myself, but it’s also being a stress reliever for me.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
Firstly, I love to train alone! I honestly prefer it that way. I honestly believe that I am the only one who can push myself so hard. So, I enjoy training alone with good music.
My favorite genre of music is usually anything upbeat that I can dance to whilst training. I typically enjoy the upbeat gospel, afro beats, and R n B music.
A typical day of training, I focus on full-body cardio training which consists of training with no weights usually for about 45 minutes; which I usually do a lot of HIIT training, from sprints on the treadmill to jumping jacks, jump squats, etc.
And 1 hour 15 minutes on days when I do weight training, this usually focuses on all muscle groups, especially my legs and glutes, which are my favorite parts of muscles to train.
When training my legs and glutes, I usually tend to do a lot of muscle isolation and I focus more on my form than the amount of weight I lift; as I believe it prevents injuries and produces effective results.
I also follow a specific programme, which I designed myself. Although it has helped me to achieve my fitness goals, I still continue to use it to maintain my physique.
After training, I love to have a hot shower straight away, then I feast on my favorite meal, which is sweet potatoes, roasted plantain (cooking bananas) and vegetables.
I usually tend to take Sundays off as a rest day, which I hate doing, however, I just do it because I know how important it is.
And also use my rest days to catch up with close friends and family; which I believe is very important. Even though they do tend to complain about my excessive training lifestyle.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced during my fitness journey was saying no to junk foods.
I’ve fallen in love with fitness, and I’ve become so passionate about it, so, I typically don’t need anyone to motivate me to train. I simply can’t see myself going a week without training, I just wouldn’t feel comfortable.
However, one of the very few ways that keep me motivated, is knowing that people depend on me for fitness advice and workout routines. So, I do feel that I always have to challenge myself and be more creative in my workout routines.
Although one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced during my fitness journey was saying no to junk foods.
I honestly feel like training is part of me, and I believe that I am 100% responsible for my health and appearance. So, I need to always make sure that I try to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
Bearing in mind that I’ve trained for about 3 years now, I’ll like to believe that I’ve mastered a few fitness hacks for improvement in the gym, which includes, limiting conversation with people, having a workout plan, and of course an amazing playlist.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
If I had to start my fitness journey all over again, I would try and get more knowledge about fitness before going into it.
Training today is fantastic! I’ve actually managed to achieve my fitness goal, and I feel absolutely proud of myself. I’ve also managed to help a few people start off their fitness journey which is amazing that I’ve been able to make a positive difference in their lives.
In terms of future plans with fitness, I plan on working hard to stay focused and make the right connections in the fitness industry and one day maybe compete in women’s physique.
I also plan on creating my own workout equipment in the future and possibly opening up my own gym.
If I had to start my fitness journey all over again, I would try and get more knowledge about fitness before going into it.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
During recovery, what works best for me is a hot shower and long hours of sleep. I usually sleep for about 7-8 hours.
And in order to avoid injuries during training, I make sure I perform every exercise correctly from before adding weights, and I usually stretch for about 7 minutes before training and 10-15 minutes after training.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
When it comes to diet, I am very strict about what I eat. I don’t drink alcohol and water is my favorite drink.
I usually eat a well-balanced meal, and on my cheat days, I would enjoy some cookies but I still control how much I eat.
As I’m usually very busy during the day, my typical meal for the day would include oats for breakfast, sweet potatoes, and mixed vegetables for lunch and roasted plantain with more vegetables for dinner.
For a snack: I’ll usually have oatcakes. My meals are pretty basic! And no I do not take any supplements, I usually just train with a bottle of water by my side.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Be patient with yourself, make sure you put in work and never try to be like anyone else.
If you’re struggling or simply need help, make sure you reach out to people and ask for advice or help.
Make sure you always have a workout plan before you start training, master the correct form before picking up weights And enjoy the journey.
The most common training question I get is-‘How can I get my body to look like yours?’ And my answer is -you have to train as hard as I do!’ 🙂
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
When it comes to taking on clients, I am very picky, as I tend to go for people who are actually ready to make a change, both with their diet and their lifestyle.
I am open to taking on clients both in real-life and online. I believe that I have what it takes to be the best personal trainer because I tend to push my clients to accomplish every fitness challenge I set for them.
I also make training fun and educative and of course, I can guarantee one to see results when they train with me.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
An easier way to connect with me is through my social media platforms:
Youtube channel – Olivia Eze (Where you can follow my journey for workout videos and fitness tips).
Instagram – @only_oliviaeze
Twitter – @oliviaezee
Website – Oliviaeze.com (Where you can find my workout programme)
