Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Farhanna Farid

Life goes beyond the digits on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to inspirational men and women in Singapore leading healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl up on Instagram or Facebook!

Name: Farhanna Farid (@farhannafariddd)

Age: 29

Height: 1.57m

Weight: 53kg

Occupation: Pharmacist

Status: Attached

Food: I practise mindful eating so that I am able to maintain a competition-ready body (weight-wise, since I compete in the under-52kg weight class, and strength-wise) while enjoying life's pleasures like burgers and pizzas. I love my salad greens as well and I'm a huge advocate for drinking water.

Exercise: I train about four times a week. My training centres around the three main lifts for powerlifting; squat, bench press and deadlift. I also have accessory work on the side to complement the three lifts and work on any weaknesses. Each session lasts about two hours long, depending on how many sets I have and the rest I need. If I need to cut weight, I will incorporate two sessions of Light Intensity Steady State cardio that includes incline walking or the Stairmaster.

Q: When you were younger, were you active in any sports?

A: For as long as I can remember, I was not one to keep still for long. I dabbled in a bit of track and field in primary school and played netball in secondary school. I enjoyed them but I was not particularly great at them.

At some point you got into running right?

Yes, I caught the running bug after taking part in the Nike Goddess Run back in 2012. It was such an incredible experience running with fellow ladies in Sentosa at sunset, I had to chase that high again. Thereafter, my uncle who is a marathon fanatic caught wind of my new hobby and got me a new pair of running shoes.

Those shoes motivated me to run faster and further in my subsequent races. After each run, the runner gets a medal, picture and completion certificate. It may not seem like much but they made each 5am practice run - literal blood, sweat and tears - feel worth it.

How did you start lifting weights?

Some time in 2015, I followed my boyfriend to the gym and many things led to that moment. For starters, I kept getting injured and noticed imbalances from my running. What started out as a healthy hobby turned unhealthy, as I started getting obsessed with clocking in my mileage and ensuring my diet was lean. Eventually, my period stopped coming for a year, and my gynaecologist told me to stop running (since I was injured anyway) and eat more.

Aside from that, all of my dates with my boyfriend were centred around his gym sessions. I became increasingly curious about the gym, wanted to know what was so great about this place and decided to check it out myself. It has been a point of no return since then.

When did you realise you could do more with powerlifting?

Not only did lifting allow me to rehab my lower body, but it also made my overall imbalances and asymmetries even more strikingly obvious. It allowed me to address them and let my weaknesses catch up to my strengths.

Powerlifting in particular, made me feel even more balanced; both mentally and physically. I learnt when to push and when to hold back; it definitely taught me to listen to my body more. I felt like I was constantly learning and progressing with powerlifting; be it an increase in the weight that I'm lifting, or an improvement in my technique. It was when I unknowingly pulled a national record at the gym (without a proper coach or programme) that we realised there was more to my powerlifting abilities than we knew.

What was your first competition and how did it go?

My first competition was back in April 2018. It was honestly the best but most nerve-wracking thing I had gone through thus far. I'm not one to have stage fright, but as soon as I stepped onto the platform for my first lift, the energy from the crowd hit me super hard.

My mind completely blanked out and my body froze. I forgot my cues and jumped the referee's commands, which resulted in me getting red-lighted for my first lift. I was so furious with myself.

I remember telling my coach I needed to go to the bathroom; I locked myself in the cubicle for a few minutes and gave myself a pep talk. I told myself I had a choice to make now; to let my bad lift affect the rest of my competition or turn the narrative around and redeem myself. I did the latter and won the competition.

What are some highlights of your powerlifting career so far?

Hearing the Singapore national anthem blaring through the speakers in Mongolia when I won my first international competition felt like an extremely surreal moment. I won Singapore's first gold medal in the Opens age category and bagged the Asian champion title. Truth be told, it did not just feel like a personal achievement, it extended far and beyond that. It felt like I had elevated our little red dot and brought glory to its name. I had never felt so proud and patriotic until that very moment.

What are some of the lows?

Every competition prep, even up till now, I always ask myself. “Why am I putting myself through this madness?” Usually that happens when fatigue is through the roof and I'm feeling extra unmotivated. But then I remind myself of the highs I get from every competition (regardless of the outcome) and the incredible people I meet during the process.

I also always promise myself one thing – just show up. I believe it's a chance for me to turn my day around and even if it does not pan out as planned, I'll take it as a win because I tried and did my best.

I heard you’re also helping to build the powerlifting community.

I've always believed in paying it forward. I never thought my achievements were my own and I felt the immense need to share my knowledge and passion with others who could benefit from powerlifting like I did, or in their own way.

It took me a while to observe and learn the ropes of a good coach but I wanted to make sure I was a worthy source of guidance before I took anyone on.

Fast forward one year later, I have 10 incredible ladies under my care. I've always dreamt of 'building my own league of strong and capable women' but taking on strictly female clients and athletes was never the plan, they just happened to come my way. I suppose manifestations do come true!

These ladies are amazing people to begin with. My job was just to push them in the right direction to maximise their fullest potential, both in the physical and mental realms.

Have you experienced any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?

For some reason, I stopped doing sports and indulged in a chocolate peanut butter waffle diet during my junior college days. I knew I had gained some weight but I was completely fine with it until one PE session. It was NAPFA season and my PE teacher was taking our height and weight measurements. I remembered her telling me that I was very close to earning all-access privileges to her highly exclusive TAF club if my weight kept increasing.

I have never been told I was overweight so that was quite a glass-shattering moment which led me to realise how unhealthy I really was. My fitness was at an all-time low, my skin was terrible and I would fall sick very often but up till that moment, I simply pegged it to stress that was causing all those issues. I felt like I should have known better and seeing old pictures of myself made me realise how much I had let myself go.

When do you feel the least confident about yourself?

Usually after a failed deadlift attempt. Deadlift is supposedly my strongest lift, my pride and glory. So when my grip gives way for whatever reason, I'll feel extremely defeated. This has happened several times but the most crucial one was when I was pulling 196kg for a world record in Kazakhstan back in 2019.

The bar left the ground but before I could lockout, a chunk of my thumb tore and I instinctively let go of the bar. I didn't even realise my thumb tore until a good while later. I was just fuming because I almost had it. That moment set the stage for redemption. I still get PTSD from that moment and it still rattles me but the hunger to get that world record which literally slipped through my hands, is stronger.

Did you ever struggle with your body?

Besides my junior college period when I was at my heaviest and unhealthiest point of my life, the initial transition from a lean runner to a muscled lifter was disconcerting. I gained about 4-5kg over two years and for a small frame, that was as good as growing an extra limb. There were clothes I couldn't fit into or looked weird when I wore them.

But I got comfortable in my own skin soon enough because the satisfaction I got from getting stronger superseded how much bigger I was getting. After a while, I really wasn't concerned if I was getting bigger whatsoever.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

I have days when I am extra bloated and puffy. But I can confidently say, regardless of those days, I am still fully satisfied with my body. Not particularly with how it looks, but more of how strong and capable it is. How it looks comes as a secondary bonus to me.

I believe in balance and listening to the body. So long as I respect it, be it with my training or the food I feed it, I believe the body will give me back what I deserve. It's only natural for us to be critical with how we look and compare ourselves to the next person. But if we keep doing that, we will never be happy with ourselves. There will always be someone to compare ourselves to.

That's why I believe it is not until you appreciate your body for how it serves you, will you learn to appreciate it for how it looks. Also, the definition of "good looks" will constantly change over time. But strong and capable in their essence, do not.

Have you ever received any comments about your body?

Definitely! Some stem from a good place, out of concern but for the most parts, the critical ones came from those who just didn't know better. Things like "you look like a man", "your thighs are damn big" (like that is a bad thing to me), "your back doesn't look feminine" or "omg you're so veiny".

In the beginning, especially during the transition period, such un-constructive 'criticism' got to me and I started questioning if these people were right and something was 'wrong' with how I looked. Thankfully for me, I was surrounded by a superb support system that constantly proved and assured me otherwise.

It also helps that I have thick skin and I like proving people wrong... No, women won't look like men as soon as they start lifting. No, thick thighs aren't a bad thing. How will a "feminine back" serve me well?

If you could change anything about yourself, would you?

I believe there is always room for improvement and that I am still in a constant state of learning. I don't think there is one thing in particular that I would like to change; I just hope to be a better version of myself every chance I get.