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Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Giulia Bossi is a yoga teacher, as well as a triathlon enthusiast. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

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: Giulia Bossi (@giuliabossi_alive)

Age: 28

Height: 1.74m

Weight: 58kg

Occupation: Digital strategist, yoga teacher and retreats organiser

Status: In love with life

Diet: I hate rules and following diets. I eat 90 per cent plant-based food, following my body and what makes me feel good. The only animal product that I sometimes eat is fish or seafood because I still enjoy it (but I don't cook it).

Foods I can't live without are: pineapple (people who live around me know it well!), dark chocolate, sweet potato fries, pecans and Italian focaccia with rosemary and olive oil. And yes, I'm obsessed with acai bowls.

Training: I do triathlon and yoga, and I’m always happy to join friends for other activities. The volume of my training depends if I'm training for a race or just for fun. In general I try to be active everyday, even if it's just 30 minutes of yoga flow or a walk.

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Giulia has played all kinds of sports since young, but picked up triathlon only in 2016. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Q: What are your backgrounds in sports?

A: I’ve been into sport since I was born: skiing and swimming at a competitive level (I grew up in the Alps in Turin surrounded by snow and trails). Then I picked up running, one of my favourite sports and tried more or less every other existing sport.

When you started working, how did your fitness regime change?

At the beginning of my corporate career, I started going to the gym because I thought it would have been the most efficient and less time consuming activity. But not for long, and sincerely I've never been into gym since, because I like having (and need to have) a purpose that is beyond the physical image. I like activities that I can do as a team, sports were I can improve my performances and see results while racing, where you train to challenge yourself and have fun. Hence, I moved to triathlon and yoga – my kind of Yin and Yang.

Right now, you are active in triathlon and in yoga. How and when did you get started in triathlon?

I picked up triathlon quite recently. When I was living in Italy, the bicycle was my only means of transport and I used it for my daily commuting. It's only in 2016, when I moved to Singapore, that I started exploring cycling and triathlon as a sport.

After signing up for fun to my first sprint triathlon and getting on the podium despite a borrowed bike (three sizes too big), no clip shoes and no race preparation, I then decided to join a team and start training.

Last year my goal was to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France, because it's a city close to my hometown and it would have been the only occasion to have my family and loved ones at the finish line. So I picked a race (Ironman 70.3 in Davao, Philippines) and aimed for first place in my age group. Managed to tick that off the list and the World Championship experience was incredible and super exciting.

What I love about triathlon is the combination of three sports that I love and the fact that you can't get bored. Also it allows me to be in touch with nature – that is something fundamental for my happiness. I love racing in beautiful and wild areas, swimming in the ocean, cycling among palm trees and monkeys... bliss!

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Giulia picked up yoga in 2015, and began teaching yoga a year later. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

When did you pick yoga up and why did you decide to start teaching yoga?

I did my first ever yoga class in Koh Samui in 2015 and a friend forced me to go because it was part of the pre-wedding activities of a friend of mine. Before the class I kept on thinking, “This thing is not for me, I am hyperactive and yoga is boring”. And then...I loved it.

Since then I started practising yoga weekly and gradually felt the need to share this passion and make more and more people aware of the benefit of yoga. I wanted to make the yoga community bigger and helping people being more in touch with themselves and their bodies. Taking time to connect with ourselves, getting out of our comfort zone, challenging both our bodies and minds and experiencing energy from a different angle. The feeling that I have after a Power Yoga Flow is something I can't find anywhere else.

In 2016 I did my first teaching training in Baptiste Power Yoga and started teaching straight away. I am forever grateful to have added this "label" to my person and being a yoga teacher.

What are your fitness goals now?

Keeping active, feeling good in my body and enjoy training and racing with my friends. I always prefer outdoor activities because I love being in touch with nature. I'm currently recovering from a bike accident (a car hit me while cycling) and going back to trail running as well.

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Giulia's current fitness goals are to keep herself active, to feel good and to enjoy training and racing with her friends. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

When did you feel the least confident about yourself?

Luckily I am not super competitive, so I can't recall a moment where I didn't feel confident in relation to my fitness level. Of course there are moments where my mood is down or I don't feel great, mainly related to accidents and impossibility of moving or being active.

I think we all need to find contentment in who we are and what we do and make sure that we enjoy any kind of activities we decide to practise. Having fun and feeling alive are key factors to happiness. And if we are not happy, we have always the power to take actions and change the situation.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

Yes, I am. As mentioned earlier I would love to heal my hip problem soon and be able to run pain-free again.

Have you ever received any comments about your body?

Yes, lots. My body type is quite androgynous, I am tall, lean and muscular so I don't match with the image of the typical “Mediterranean curvy woman”. When I was younger I used to receive negative comments on that but never cared too much and, to be sincere, I don't mind not having bigger breasts as it makes life easier for running and triathlon.

On a positive side, the comments I receive are usually around my legs and toned body. Two sides of the same coin, we can't have everything and we can't tick all the boxes – love your body and it will love you back.

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)
Singapore #Fitspo of the Week: Giulia Bossi. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)