Gym therapy with Habida Moloney

Whenever devastating, traumatic and debilitating events have hit, Habida has responded with unconventional remedy; hitting the gym.

It is no different this time when the BDLife meets her at a gym in Nairobi's Lavington working out her therapeutic relief.

The singer and actor recently underwent a throat surgery in India. She is on track to make a full recovery, but the process saps her energy, leaving the 42-year-old life feeling like a captive.

To give her the boost she needs, she has hired a personal trainer.

“The reason I am using a trainer is because I want someone who can push me to my limits. Since the surgery, my energy has really dipped and so it doesn’t make it any easier for me to train solo,” Habida explains.

The mother of two has always had an active life.

“When I lived in South Africa I used to compete as a powerlifter, lifting heavy loads until I was involved in a nasty accident when I traveled to the US to work with Nigerian-American singer Jedinna, then perform with Charlie Wilison. I had also been cast on the ‘New Beginnings’ TV series and so they had to write me out of the show. My life stopped, it was devastating,” she recalls of the accident that left her in a vegetative state.

Habida had to be put on heavy medications after fracturing her limbs and getting a head injury as well.

Before the traumatic event that turned her life upside down, Habida says she would easily squat 80 kilogrammes, bench chest press 50 kilogramme and deadlift 100 kilos.

By the end of 2015, on her way to full recovery, she conceived her first child.

“I had to go off the medication to see through the pregnancy of my son, which meant my recovery would slow,” she says.

Added benefit

The sunshine singer did not resume workouts until 2017 and by then she had put on excess weight.

“I am size 10 now, back then I was size 16. My wardrobe had to change, I packed my slim fit clothes and purchased new ones ,” she chuckles.

Habida says for her working out is all about her mental well being. She points out that while others opt for alcohol and sex to destress, the gym has always been a safe space to let off steam.

And then there is the added benefit of retaining her youthful looks.

“I honestly don’t know if it’s the genes or workouts or a mixture of both but you can’t rule out exercises you know,” she flatters.

But even as an exercise freak, Habida has been unable to tame her sweet tooth, inevitably leading to her spotting some good amount of fat around belly fat.

“This has everything to do with the India trip. I am such a foodie and because of that, when not active, my body tends to store fat around my tummy, inner thighs and my back; those are my problem areas,” she says.

Habida continues, “I have this sweet tooth because when my energy is low, I eat a brownie, a chocolate bar, a cake and all that.”

Simple pleasures

She is, however adamant that she is not about to stop indulging in life's simple pleasures such as cookies and chocolate bars.

“I used to worry a lot about what I should and shouldn’t do and what happens is that you start getting mental issues and start doing stupid things like starving yourself. You have to understand that life can stop at any moment,”

Nonetheless Habida is proud to be a size 10 because a majority of her extended family members are big bodied.

“I have the genes to be big, my whole family are chubby,” she says.

But even though Habida is not very strict when it comes to food, she underlines the importance of working out.

Breast surgery

When she had breast reduction, working out helped to speed up her healing process.

“After I had my son, I developed back issues because my breast got extremely bigger. Exercising helped to ease the discomfort but finally I had to do a breast reduction surgery where one kilo of tissues was removed from each breast. After that I carried on with exercises during the healing period, it's much better now. The beauty about working out is that it fixes a whole lot of things in your body,” she says.

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