Kigali, Rwanda

December 17, 2013

“Waiting for the Big One to Come”

For the past two weeks, I have been pushing myself to get in the “best shape for life”. What does this mean? We’ve all committed hours, days and weeks to prepare for that big reunion or a beach vacation – to quickly flatten our stomachs, bulk up our muscles and reduce our pant sizes. I am moving past those brief moments of victory to real success. I plan to be committed to WAKA Fitness for a long time, so a few weeks of crash dieting or intense training is not enough for me. I’ve got ambition. And so, I’m embarking on a life-long journey where I want to prove that: (1) a normal person, with no unique athletic disposition, formal training or genetic advantage, can work towards being a role model for others and (b) a healthy lifestyle is sustainable and manageable for anyone. 

 What I am finding is that I can push my physical strength to superhuman levels but that my mental strength is willfully human. Further, the success of a fitness journey lies in the ability to have great reserves of mental discipline. It is this strength that you rely on when transforming your daily lifestyle to match the commitment you show every day in the gym. 

How do I choose the right food at my favorite restaurant? How do I decide if I should go to one more bar before going home? Why do I commit to getting up at 6 am on a cloudy morning to go to the gym? In my brain, I have a bedrock/foundation I go to every time: “There are no ‘off days’ when you want to be the best, and this is one small, but important, decision towards my achievement of my goals”. 

 We often hear there is no magic pill or no miracle exercise that will give you the results that you want. I disagree. Having the strongest mental constitution possible is your secret weapon. I am amazed at how much I have relied on my mind and not my muscles to get the results I want. 

But I must warn you, the effects of this magic pill are painfully slow. Despite the feats of your mind, long-term transformation is not a two-week or even six-month exercise. Bring yourself to appreciate patience when achieving goals. This has been especially hard for me. Somehow, I’ve been taught my whole life how to set goals, but not how to wait for them. So I go back to my bedrock and realize, tomorrow, yes its another day with possibly good, bad or ugly results, but its more than that, it's just one more day towards the fulfillment of a great happy ending. 

Test yourself next time you feel weighted with temptation, discouragement or lack of motivation. Redirect your thoughts to your end goal and let those thoughts raise you above the meager and unfulfilling waves of such thoughts. You are simply waiting for the big one to come.

Truthfully yours,

Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham

Marketing Director

Waka Fitness

Kigali, Rwanda

December 3, 2013

“Rent Your Equipment Elsewhere”

The build out of WAKA Fitness is happening, and we look good under construction.

Dennis Dybdal, Miruka Martin, Jon Wagner and I envisioned from the beginning that we would build a gym that’s smart enough to have met design and function.  This means we hope our design will reinvent the concrete fitness palaces of your past. Likewise, we hope that the function of our space moves you beyond running on a treadmill for 30 min/3-5 a week or bench-pressing more than your own weight. 

We also wanted the gym to reflect our core philosophy: “Live with Ambition”.  Ambition is not about being the best or the strongest, it is about taking control and ownership over your health and fitness in the way that works best for you. We strongly believe that our space should reflect and accommodate this philosophy. And at WAKA there will be plenty of places for you to push yourself further. You can maximize your body movements and agility in the play area.  You can expand your fitness knowledge from socializing with fellow members or reading from the fitness library in the lounge area.  You can discuss goals and improvements with your personal trainer in the consultancy room.  You can relax and de-stress in our spacious locker rooms.

In other words, we are trying to prove that a gym is more than just the bikes, the dumbbells and the weight machines. The best gyms form a strong bond between their gym environment, their members and their fitness philosophy.  The worst “rent out” bought equipment to visitors for small or exorbitant fees.

Rent your equipment elsewhere, WAKA is looking for long-term tenants only.

Truthfully yours,

Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham

Marketing Director

Waka Fitness

Kigali, Rwanda

November 23, 2013

Reasons Why I am Excited About the Waka Fitness Opening

Someone asked me today if I was in the fitness industry.  For them this had to be the most conclusive reason why I was opening a gym in Kigali.  I have answered many variations of that question many times on this journey  - “no, I’m a fitness enthusiast, my business partner Dennis has worked in the industry and is a certified personal trainer. I’ve just always had a passion for fitness and health so it made sense.”  

It’s a pretty half-hearted response that I’ve grown to be more critical of each day.  What is a fitness enthusiast? Is it necessary for me to attend a health/fitness institute or get certified as a trainer for me to be a good owner of Waka Fitness? Am I representative of my business, or more specifically, does my body or fitness level compare to other fitness professionals?

There is probably no one answer to any of these questions.  But here is my good faith effort:

What is a fitness enthusiast?

I think a simple answer would be someone that is excited about fitness and enjoys integrating fitness into their lifestyle.  This excitement is also enough to make a lawyer from New York so hopeful about changing the fitness scene in Kigali that she decides to open a gym with her best friend in Kigali, Rwanda.  I’ve been a football player, a high jumper, a competitive swimmer, a marathoner, and most recently, a gym buff.  When I moved to Kigali I found it hard to find a gym that was as excited about health and fitness as I was – that cared about helping me achieve my fitness goals or really tried to create a sense of community among members.

It just so happened that my partner Dennis felt the same way we were crazy enough to believe that building our own gym might be the only way to nurture our enthusiasm for health and fitness while sharing/learning from others who felt the same.

Is it necessary for me to attend a health/fitness institute or get certified as a trainer for me to be a good owner of Waka Fitness?

Maybe.  But if I think about any gym or class I have ever disliked there is one common theme – the facility or instructor was promoting an unattainable ideal for an average person like me.  I am no professional athlete – I am a lawyer by day who has been through every fad diet and exercise program you have (juicing, Paleo, no-carb, P90X, Insanity, etc. etc) and I want a gym and instructor that understands someone like me.  I experience enough guilt trips on a normal day watching supermodels prance through my TV screen and avoiding the bread aisle at the grocery store – what I want when I go to a gym is a honest fitness experience that tries to meet me where I am in life.  If I can’t workout everyday – fine, if I hate running on a treadmill or running period – fine, we will make it work.

Fundamentally Dennis and I want to change both how your typical gym operates and how most people react to gyms.  We want to make sure that we create an environment and experience that is designed with you in mind – whoever you might be reading out there.

Am I representative of my business, or more specifically, does my body or fitness level compare to other fitness professionals?

In many ways, yes, and in many ways, no.  I am fitness conscious as I am sure many of my friends and family can attest to.  Those same people will also tell you I love a good party and with that goes a few good drinks.  What I have learned from the start of the Waka journey is that fitness is not a New Years resolution or a campaign to get ready for a beach vacation, it's a lifestyle.  There are the hard decisions – like choosing to stay in on Friday to wake up on Saturday to train for your marathon, and then there are the easy decisions, like attending a yoga workshop instead of engaging in binge viewing with your favorite TV show.  

This is all to say that I try harder each day to be representative of the business I want Waka to be.  Waka is, and will likely always be, a work in progress – just like myself. Sometimes I am the person that goes home early to rest for an early morning workout and sometimes I am with the group that closes down the bar. Either way, one of the reasons why I wanted to build Waka Fitness is because I got inspired – by what Dennis and I could accomplish and by what we might inspire others to do.

These thoughts have all helped me reach a very important conclusion. The answer to that question is: “it doesn’t really matter.” There are too many other better and honest reasons why we are opening Waka Fitness.

Truthfully yours,

Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham

Marketing Director

Waka Fitness