Benito Muriu loves his woman petite, so when his wife Carey Priscilla put on some extra kilos when she was pregnant with their first son, he was heavy with worry.
With every trimester, the trim figure he had fallen in love with disappeared as she ballooned from 55 to 64 kilos. After delivery, his worry turned to panic when she was slow to shed the weight.
The lanky 29-year-old, after raising his concerns with his wife, rushed to the nearest gym, made inquiries and paid a subscription for both of them.
“I had never worked out in my entire life because I had never seen the need to. The only reason I paid for a gym subscription was to offer her moral support, to help her get back to her pre-childbirth body physique,” the father of two confesses.
The plan, he says, was to have his wife snap back to the desired shape, then quit the gym.
Unlike her husband, Carey, a model and a makeup artiste popularly known as ‘Akorino makeup artist’, had always been a fitness enthusiast.
“I have been working out since my primary school days. I always jogged and ran for a simple reason. I realised my mother’s kin, everyone apart from her was overweight, and I didn’t like that. So, I began to jog or run because I wanted to have my mother’s body,” says the influencer in her late 20s.
Celebrity Couple Benito Muriu and his wife Carey Priscilla doing Partner Planks work out at Bornfit Gym in Nairobi on February 17, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
Carey attributes her mother’s lean body frame to the intense manual labour in the village.
“She would toil on the farm, feed livestock, and walk several kilometres to the market to trade. Because I couldn’t have such a similar life, the only option I had was the gym,” she points out.
The couple has been married for five years and has been working out for three of the last years.
At first, Benito says he nearly reconsidered his decision to hit the gym.
“Those first months felt like a nightmare, they were the hardest. But I eventually began to fall in love with the workouts. I enjoy the sessions whenever we have them,” he chuckles.
And today, whenever he hits the gym, it is not just to offer Carey moral support. His body and marriage have been the biggest beneficiaries of the workouts.
“There are now two reasons that keep me going. First, my wife’s body is back to the desired shape even after our second son. If you didn’t know her, you wouldn’t easily tell she is a mother of two. Besides that, I have improved my immunity; I no longer catch colds, tonsils and all these airborne infections since I began working out. My strength has also greatly improved, and my stamina as well,” Benito chuckles.
Bonding sessions
During the second pregnancy, the couple exercised until the last week.
Celebrity Couple Benito Muriu and his wife Carey Priscilla doing wall sit work out at Bornfit Gym in Nairobi on February 17, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
“I wanted to keep going until the last minute because my goal has always been to have a normal delivery,” explains Carey.
“As we drew closer to the delivery date, we would do less impactful exercises to ensure she doesn’t mess up the pregnancy. We would also work out at home,” adds Benito.
How has this couple made workouts a routine?
Benito says the trick is to keep the fitness regime as simple as possible.
“We have the same routine; we do the same exercises for that session together, unlike many couples who, when they get to the gym, everybody does their own stuff. For us, working out is also our bonding session after spending the better part of the day apart chasing the coin,” he adds.
As an influencer, Carey has also been creating workout content for her over 350,000 social media followers on Instagram and TikTok.
“Based on the reaction and comments, I think I have been a source of motivation to many of them,” she notes.
It is said that working out only contributes to 30 percent of the effort needed to mould a perfect body, with the remaining 70 percent influenced by the kitchen. Carey and Ben understand this all too well.
“We are not fond of junk food; you hardly find that in our household, and should you find some soda, then know we got visitors coming over. We both prefer doing traditional meals, you know, the mukimos, njahi, minji, and tumbukiza, among other local cuisines. For our breakfast, we tend to feast on the night leftovers, no bacons, breads, sausages or other processed foods,” Carey points out.
Benito Muriu and Carey Priscilla do the ball ab workout at Bornfit Gym in Nairobi on February 17, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG
Meals plan
They have three meals a day whenever they work out, but cut the intake to two when on a break.
“I rarely take lunch whenever I have a proper breakfast. On those days, my next meal is always at 4pm, and in most cases it is tea. Ben sometimes takes three meals,” says Carey.
But then she confesses.
“My guilty pleasure is ice cream. I don’t want to see it as junk, but yes, when I have cravings, I consume lots of it. However, I always strive to strike a balance,” she says.
