Ivana Atanasovska is a Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist and a personal fitness trainer.
She is certified by the International Sport Science Association in Fitness Nutrition and holds a Certificate in Exercise Physiology (The Athlete’s Body in Motion) from the International Olympic Committees’ Athlete Learning Gateway. She also holds several certifications in the field of Anti-Doping – Coach True Certification (WADA – World Anti-Doping Agency), UKAD (United Kingdom Anti-doping) Accredited Advisor, Certificate in Doping: Sports, Organizations and Sciences – University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Ivana is a personal trainer at Fitness Park.
You can follow Ivana’s story and the tips she shared with us.
1. When did you actively started getting involved in sports?
I have an older brother and together as young children our parents enrolled us in sports activities. One of our grandfathers was a professional boxer at the time, while the other one – a football player, so we might have inherited some characteristics from them. In general, we played sports from basketball, tennis, volleyball, to swimming, and generally we were energetic kids who had always been physically active. Unfortunately, we may not have had the proper conditions to continue professionally with sports but sports and that passion for sport, or energy, whatever you may call it, has always been and remains a part of our everyday life.
2. When did the desire of getting professionally involved in fitness occur?
I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. I have always admired the top athletes when watching the Olympic Games on TV, for the hard work and time invested, for the discipline which is developed as a trait in the athlete and their character.
While in most sports, there is practically an age limit to when you should start practicing the latest so as to achieve enviable results, with fitness it’s a little different. In my opinion, although fitness also requires long years of dedication and discipline, time and sacrifice, at the same time – it represents eternal learning, upgrading, perfecting and overcoming every achievement with each training. It is a directed effort towards improving the body composition, it is a representative of the word “Patience” towards a materialization of an image already visualized.
This especially attracted me to fitness.
My beginnings were quite spontaneous and I could as well say quite expected. Like most girls in high school, I wanted to improve my physical appearance, I wanted to lose some weight and tone up, so I enrolled in a fitness club. In that time, I lacked continuity, but the belief that I could achieve everything I believe in and want from myself, was never lacking – it was always there.
All of this, in a way culminated after the completion of my Master’s Degree in Sports Management.
I was given the opportunity to work as an intern at the European Olympic Committees EU Office in Brussels, where after such an incredible experience I realized that I am a person who was created for much more than just an office work. I want movement, I realized that I wanted to move devotedly by myself along the fitness path, thus giving an example and motivation for other people to believe in themselves, to help them make progress and change their lives by practicing a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and healthy eating.
3. What is your greatest motivation and how do you motivate the rest?
What motivates me the most, and in a way – is my way of thinking – is the fact that life is so short and unpredictable, none of us can be sure of what is waiting for us tomorrow, and knowing that it would be sad not living/doing /being the things we love in this life. That thought pushes me every day.
It’s never too late. All we really need is an awareness of who we really are inside, to be honest in front of ourselves, and when we have that, the courage and the motivation to chase after our dreams comes by itself. And it does not let you go 🙂
4. What is your food regimen?
To be honest, in this aspect I have done many experiments on myself.
I tried and have been on various diet regimens, as there were periods when I had different goals related to my physique, whether it was to lose weight, increase my muscle mass, and improve my body composition in general. All the above mentioned goals themselves imposed different dietary practices in accordance with the goal I had. However, these practices of nutritional manipulation and restrictions could easily turn into developing unhealthy habits and behaviors which also reflect on the quality of life and health in general. Having faced that myself as well, I decided that I no longer want to perceive fitness that way, and that I no longer wish having a restrictive approach towards food and dieting. Balance is the most important thing for me, both in life and nutrition. I have always given off the impression of a strict person, although I have always been most rigorous and tough towards myself, but with time and experience, this has changed a lot. I let it change. I learned to let me and the things around me be more as they are, and I got in a place where I realized that the line between discipline and imperfection is precisely the place where I want to be.
So, I tend not to have a precise regimen. I just consider nurturing my body everyday with a good balance of all the macro and micronutrients that feels good and works for me. That’s it.
5. How does one of your individual trainings look like?
Training always starts with a short warm-up and stimulation of the blood circulation with a focus on the muscle groups that will be the subject of the specific training.
I practice 5-6 times a week, however, I prefer weight training which I distribute for days to different muscle groups, and I complement the same with a cardio training.
A warm recommendation from me is also stretching the muscles after the end of a workout.
6. How does your ordinary day look?
I am a huge nature enthusiast, and mornings are my favorite part of the day. I start the day with a cup of coffee in the yard early in the morning, when all is still peaceful and you can feel the freshness of the new day, I think about what I want to do and achieve during the day. After breakfast, the daily professional duties begin, and after the end of the working day, my training follows.
I spend all my free time with my loved ones.
7. What is the best advice you have received?
Live now and here at this moment.
8. What advice would you give to people who want to take care of the shape of their body and those who are starting now?
It’s never too late. No matter how far you are from your goal and how far that which you want to achieve looks, do not give up. Do not let yourself be a victim of the circumstances, accept and love yourself completely and take responsibility for your own life. Honesty, time, and dedication always pay off and come to light.
