Meet Lucy. Her Passion is to Make People Happier Through Exercise.
For many of us, making the time for a daily exercise regime is easier said than done. However, ‘exercise’ does not necessarily mean visiting your gym for extended periods of time or heading out for a daily run - in fact, a lot can be done in small sessions from the comfort of your home. A few simple recommendations include walking to work or in between meetings, skipping the elevator when stairs are an option, or standing at your desk rather than sitting for long hours.
We spoke with Lucia Kurcikova, a Personal Trainer based in Malta, for some inspiration:
Q: Could you describe what you do with our readers?
A: I am a personal trainer. I have an ISSA personal trainer certificate, which gave me knowledge and the required qualifications to be able to train clients. I specify in body weight training as well as some light weight training, and in the future I would love to pay more attention to the new mums and postpartum coaching.
Q: What led you to become a personal trainer?
A: I pretty much worked out ever since I remember, ever since I started feeling a little ‘more developed physically’ than other girls, which made me feel self conscious. I started doing aerobics, playing tennis, and eventually became a snowboarder spending all my free time at the slopes, which also led me to do it professionally for a while. When I moved to Malta I used to visit local gyms, which wasn’t really my thing to be honest, until I found a personal trainer who helped me transform my body in ways I never knew was possible.
I became pretty obsessed with exercising and it became something I simply couldn’t live without even during my pregnancy with my first child. After having my first baby, due to hard work and consistency, I dare to say my body looked better than before. Exercise gives me energy, it makes me feel strong and empowered. And I love this feeling. I have played around with the thought of becoming a personal trainer myself, however, I wasn’t really sure if I am good enough until my personal trainer suggested it himself. He guided me as to which course is best and gave me courage by saying you already know so much you need to know as a trainer, it basically is in you. Now I simply cannot imagine not being a trainer and it hasn’t really been that long. I love giving people a good workout and I love pushing and guiding them. Making people happier is pretty much the most amazing feeling that one can feel and I did miss that in my previous jobs. So I feel like this is just perfect for me!
Q: How do you incorporate balance into your daily life?
A: I am currently pregnant with my second baby so incorporating balance into my life right now is absolutely necessary. It is not only for myself but for my baby too, which makes things sort of easier, as I obviously put the baby first. There needs to be time for everything in your day - work, food, family, movement, relaxing. If you lose balance it will catch up with you eventually. Nowadays it is very hard especially if your job requires your attention for long hours, however, at one point one needs to realise what is more important in life - health and happiness or money and power.
Q: Finding the time to exercise can be tricky, especially at times like these. What tips could you provide to fit exercise into one’s routine?
A: It is actually quite simple - get out of your comfort zone, put exercise first and find the time. Once exercise becomes your routine, nobody will be able to tell you to stop, it will just become part of you and people will respect that especially if you stand up for yourself. No one can tell you to stop, it all depends on you. So one day you just have to stop making excuses, find what kind of exercise works best for you, start and never look back.
Q: We have seen that you like to workout outdoors a lot, are there any particular areas you would recommend here in Malta?
A: Training outdoors obviously became popular mainly because of Covid. Before that personal trainers would not take it outside as much. However, I love what it brings to clients and myself too. You are outdoors breathing the sea air and especially when I have clients who have busy 9-5 jobs and spend most of their days behind the computer, this is the best way to relax their minds as well as exercise. We love training in Pembroke by the sea, in green parks, Exiles, Ta Qali, Top of the World, etc.
Follow Lucy on Instagram and reach out to her if you're interested in personal training.
