Fitness is the way of life for dragon boat racing mother in UAE

Dubai - Pelayo and her husband are out from 9am to 5pm and usually compete in about four races in one day.

For Filipino expat Jhonnette Pelayo, the Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) is just an excuse to lead an even more active lifestyle.  "I went full throttle with the initiative last year and I've been doing the same again this year," the mother-of-one told Khaleej Times.
For the past four years, Pelayo and her husband have been a part of a dragon boat race team in Dubai, and most weekday evenings and weekends are spent in a boat, on the water.
"We train four times a week, which means getting up at 4.30am and going out for one hour. Then I hit the gym again in the afternoon for an hour and do strength training to build up my stamina. Being part of a dragon boat race team is all about cardio and weights; that's the best combination for us," she said.
When it comes to race days at the weekend, it's not just a case of competing in one heat then going home. Pelayo and her husband are out from 9am to 5pm and usually compete in about four races in one day.
"Racing is very intense. There's usually around 30 teams competing and we can do anything from a 200m race to 500m, then long distance. It's a whole-day event and most of it is spent in the boat."
On an average race day, Pelayo burns anything between 800 and 1,200 calories and makes the equivalent of about 12,000 steps.
"It's really a lifestyle for us. I have a three-year-old and I don't have a nanny so I take her to the gym with me, she comes to all the race days and training sessions, and even at home, when I do home workouts, she gets involved. I really want to pass that passion for fitness on to her. It's so important for health."
Pelayo said that with the DFC, the age-old excuses about not being able to exercise are now wearing thin.
"The weather is a big challenge here when it comes to working out, and so people tend to hit the air-conditioned malls on their days off.  Gym memberships are also expensive, but the fitness challenge bypasses those obstacles by making everything accessible, for free. The fitness villages are great for families and are in really accessible locations, too."
Hoping the DFC comes back just a strong for a third year in 2019, Pelayo said a government cultivating a "fitness movement" is a big step in the right direction when it comes to tackling lifestyle diseases like diabetes.
"Thirty minutes of exercise or activity a day is nothing. Even if you work out for an hour a day, that's just four per cent of your day, so everyone can do it."
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai