“Being strong and healthy is the most amazing feeling any woman can have.”

Amal Baatia hasn’t had the typical experience of a CrossFit enthusiast. Rather than spending half her life in a specialised gym with a crew of new friends, Baatia has had to make her own way. Three years ago the Saudi woman was an investment manager. Now she’s a full-time fitness coach in a country where women’s involvement in sports is still quite limited.

It’s been a journey of self-discovery as much as fitness, Baatia says. She heard about CrossFit from friends in Dubai in early 2014, and was hooked from her first class.

READ:
Saudi just allowed women into this stadium for the first time ever
Saudi Arabia is training up its women to rule the skies…

“I came back to Saudi with a lot of determination to start training and work hard, but unfortunately with the lack of gyms… in my country I decided to depend on online training to master the moves,” she says. “I was always grabbing any opportunity to pack my bags and travel just to train and learn the right techniques.”

Once she got up to speed herself, Baatia started coaching CrossFit. The mum of two has been involved with sports since she was a 10-year-old gymnast, and she wants to share that passion with other women and young girls.

“[At first] I wasn’t sure if girls would enjoy it. It was new, unknown, tough and needs a lot of strength,” she says. “I started with them gradually, focusing on functional movements and technique. Now I have clients who have been coming every day for over two years.”

Baatia hopes to show other women, both in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, that fitness and strength can change your life.

Reverse your age and start investing in yourself !! By eating healthy food and exercising !! Altho I have been always active and healthy , but never thought that I would actually look at my pictures 15 years ago and say , damn I used to look older than I look now !! I didn’t even have my kids yet at this time !! It’s amazing how healthy eating habits and steady fitness routine can lead to after many years of practicing , When I was young I used to save my allowance just to buy expensive organic products ,joining gyms and buy books about health and wellbeing , everyone around me at that time thought that I’m not enjoying my life and I’m wasting my money ,But I never gave up my healthy eating habits , reading and searching about healthy living and my regular workout routine 🏋🏽🏋🏽. Healthy steady life style will not only makes u look and feel good , u will actually build stronger muscles, and it will help u stave off chronic illnesses . Of course, you can’t change your chronological age, but exercise and good diet can improve your health to the point where you look and feel younger than you are, says Frank Frisch, PhD, director of kinesiology at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Start now , and u won’t regret it … Being healthy and strong is the most amazing feeling a person can experience ✨✨✨✨✨ #healthyliving #wellbeing #40yearsold #motivation #crossfit #calisthenics #health #fitness #fitfam #gymnastics #fitmom #strongsaudiwomen #womenempowerment #jeddahfitness #dubaifitness #amalbfitness #jeddah #dubai #saudiarabia #beltonpoint😂

A post shared by Amal Baatia | أمل باعطية (@amalb.fitness) on

“Being strong and healthy is the most amazing feeling that any woman can have,” she says. “That feeling comes every time you can rely on yourself, when you can carry all your heavy shopping bags from the supermarket or lift your own overloaded luggage at the airport.”

“As a working mum, it’s the feeling of coming home at the end of a long day and being able to lift both your boys and wrestle with them…  a strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life.”

We can’t argue with that. Excuse us while we book a workout for later.

– For more about Dubai’s lifestyle, news and fashion scene straight to your newsfeed, follow us on Facebook

Images: Amal Baatia/Instagram