Miss India Fitness Physique 2012 Karuna Waghmare, who has been training for the last 16 years is a professional bodybuilder and has participated in several national level competitions. She is a Yoga expert and gymnast, besides a dancer and has organized over a hundred fitness and body building training camps for women over the last few years.
Namita Nayyar, President WomenFitness.Org catches up with Female Bodybuilder Karuna Waghmare.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You have been training for the last 16 years as a professional bodybuilder and have participated in several national level competitions becoming the Miss India Fitness Physique 2012. Walk us through your incredible fitness journey and tell us how it all began?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
I come from a family of wrestlers. So I believe sports and fitness has always been in my blood. However, I am from a small town called Sangali where you don’t find girls playing and pursuing sports, or even watching matches. But I was always drawn to it. In fact, I used to dress up as a guy just to go watch wrestling matches.
My passion for fitness was so high, I had to pursue it. I became a professional aerobics and Pilates trainer.
The actual story, however, began in 2008 when a client of mine gifted me a magazine called ‘Oxygen’ which had an article titled ‘Mother of 6 with a Six Pack’. I couldn’t get that article out of my mind. I remember when I showed my mother the article, she asked me why I didn’t have a six pack even though I was a fitness trainer! I started doing all this extensive research and realized that the trend of bodybuilding for even women was pretty popular abroad. I decided I wanted to give it a try. This is when I met Kaizad Kapadia, founder of K11 Fitness Academy. He’s the one who really guided me and encouraged me to give bodybuilding a go. An that’s when it all started.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Introduce us to a day in your life.
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
My day starts at 3.30AM. I like to cook all my meals for the day before anything else. Then I usually have my first training class with a client at 5.30AM, after which I do some empty stomach cardio for myself at 48 Fitness Club. I eat my post workout meal and then get back to my work as a personal physique transformation celebrity trainer at 48 Fitness Club itself. I finish with that bit of work by lunch time, and after lunch I’m back to my own weight training for about an hour and a half. Then I have personal and group training sessions till 9PM. And by 9.45PM, I’m usually done with the day and in bed.
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
If I’m in the process of training for a specific competition, it really depends on the competition and its requirements.
If I’m not competing, I like to focus on strength training. So I lift heavy weights for lesser counts and repetitions.
I ensure I get one hour of cardio everyday in the form of spinning, or on the cross trainer, stair climbing, etc. I like to bring in variations in my cardio routine to ensure my body doesn’t get too comfortable or used to one particular form of exercise, which can delay or hinder results.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Tell us about the diet that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit? Also, tell us your Top 3 favorite recipes.
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
I eat 6 solid meals in a day. My body has a tendency to gain muscle mass very easily, so my ratio of protein intake is lower compared to other athletes. My protein normally comprises of 3 egg whites plus 1 yolk, or 50 grams of chicken/ goat meat/ fish per meal.
If I’m training for a competition, my diet depends on the requirements of the competition and the proportions I need to maintain. However, during these times I’m usually on a low carb, high fibre diet. I tend to consume tons of dark green vegetables like zucchini and broccoli.
If I’m not in the midst of competing, I love to eat healthy carbs like purple rice, quinoa, brown rice, etc.
I consume a few essential fish oils everyday. The fatty acids keep my joints lubricated, my energy up, and help in losing stored fat.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You have represented India at the 46th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships in China. Share with us your training and diet schedule for the International Level Competition.
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
This was my first international competition and it was an eye opening experience for me. I reached there only to realise how inexperienced and clueless I was. I remember watching the other athletes, all a lot more ripped and prepared than I was, feeling extremely ill – prepared.
For my diet, I had maintained a low carb, high fibre diet with lots of lean meat and green vegetables.
The physical training is where I made mistakes. Although, at the time, I thought my 3 days of cardio and 3 days of strength training routine was working perfectly, I later realized I was lacking conditioning, which made my overall physique look incomplete for the competition.
Although it was very disappointing, it was a huge learning experience for me. India was still new to the world of female bodybuilding and I realized I’d have to do educate myself about the competitions to ensure I don’t make the same mistakes again.
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You also participated at the Amateur Olympia 2015 and bagged the 6th position. How was your experience participating at such a great stage?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
Representing India at Amateur Olympia was always my goal. However, it was a rocky path to reach there. I had suffered continuous bouts of typhoid, jaundice and malaria for 3-4 months before the competition. 18 days before the final competition, during the trial rounds, I was still on medication. I went up to the AFBF General Secretary, Sanjay More, and told him I didn’t think I could do it. He, however, told me to just close my eyes and go for it. My friend, Jaideep Ghosh was also a great support at this time. So with their blessings, I trained extremely hard for the next 18 days with my coach, Viraj Salmarkar. 18 days was a very short time to get back into contest conditioning. I worked out 3 times a day, all while still being on medication.
But everything proved to be worth it. I was the first Indian women’s physique athlete to win an Olympia medal for India. It was an extremely proud moment for me.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Would you like to tell us about the changing scenario of fitness in our country over the years?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
We’re definitely moving in the right direction. We’re more informed about different forms of fitness and we’re more inspired.
I can cite a short example. I was participating in Miss India Women’s Physique 2015 in Satara. Like I said earlier, its a conservative town, and there I was, striking various poses in a bikini on stage! I was extremely nervous about what the responses will be like. But I was so pleasantly surprised! After the competition, quite a few people came backstage to tell me how inspired they felt. In fact, I had some men tell me they now wanted to encourage the women in their families to pursue sports and fitness. So, yes, we’re definitely headed in the right direction. We just need to keep pushing and inspiring each other.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Who has been your greatest influence and motivator in your success in this field?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
The woman from ‘Mother of 6 with a Six Pack’ has and will continue be my number one inspiration. Her story started my journey, I am very grateful for it. I am also very thankful for Viraj Salmarkar, who trained me for Miss Asia 2015 and Amateur Olympia 2015. He kept the force of positivity flowing through me, and encouraged me to always walk with a winner’s spirit.
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding fitness trainers who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in this field?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
I hear a lot of people saying things like ‘beast mode on’ these days. I’d like to iterate that sporadic ‘beast modes’ will not receive results. The idols you look up to have been focused on gaining results for years. Change and success never happen over night. It takes time, patience and a whole lot of commitment. So remember to just keep at it.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
How do you think has social media helped bring multiple opportunities in the fitness industry?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
The influence of social media has become huge in our industry. Its instilling a sense of fitness in our everyday culture. Plus, its given lots of athletes an opportunity to earn revenue.
However, I will say that it is a little upsetting to see how easy it is to fake fitness and achievements online, and how its even easier to fall into a trap of being influenced by them.
Other than that, I think social media is doing wonders for our industry and has really added that extra push required to motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.org and message for our readers?
Ms. Karuna Waghmare:
I think Womenfitness.org is doing a wonderful job! They’ve had interviews with people who have achieved so much in their respective fields, and hearing about their stories is always interesting and so inspiring.
I’d like to remind the readers to always compete with yourself before competing with others. Stay healthy and always have a positive outlook, especially when its difficult to do so. Help lift those around you, and the universe will reward you with success.
Follow her on:
- https://www.instagram.com/karunawaghmare/
- https://www.facebook.com/karuna.swami.9
- https://twitter.com/karunapw1976
Women Fitness Org Team extends our heartfelt gratitude to Karuna Waghmare for taking out time from her busy schedule and doing this interview with us.
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President womenfitness.org and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness Org