Anna Stupak is leading Russian model. She is 38-years-old and looks amazing. She is a former bodybuilding (bikini fitness level) competitor. She is presently a Bikini and Fitness Model.
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar had a candid interview with Anna Stupak, leading Russian Fitness model where she talks about her workout, diet, hair & skin care and her success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You were a former bodybuilding (bikini fitness level) competitor. What propelled you into the world of modeling career to the height where you have been a leading fashion and glamour modeling. Tell us more about this fairy tale journey?
Anna Stupak:
Although I have always been conscious about the way I look, I didn’t step into the gym until I was 29-years-old. It looked boring to me and I wasn’t a very sporty person, so working out in a gym was not appealing at all.
However, when I moved to Miami, I met a guy who was a fitness trainer and he said he was the best in Miami. He said “train with me for two weeks and you will see a change in your body.
I didn’t believe him, but since I really liked him, I agreed.
We started training and, to my surprise, I really enjoyed it even though during some of the tough workout sessions I felt like throwing up! After just two weeks I could already see results and the trainer then asked me what kind of body I wanted to achieve. As a joke I showed him a photo of a bikini fitness pro woman and he said I could achieve those results, but it would take six months of dedication. I was 29 and wasn’t convinced, but the trainer challenged me and I couldn’t refuse!
One year later I was competing professionally and won first place in my class (tall class bikini NPC). It was an absolutely incredible journey for me, especially because I once thought it was impossible. I was bad at sports growing up, I was terrible at running and anything else active, I also had flat feet and a fear of being on stage and being stared at! So to go on and win first place in a fitness competition later on in my life was amazing. The experience made me realise everything in life is possible, it’s only a question of motivation!
If you really want to do something, you can achieve it – just be positive and believe in yourself.”
Namita Nayyar:
You are an extremely talented bikini glamour model. Walk us through your journey and share an exciting moment from modeling?
Anna Stupak:
After competing in, and winning, a few fitness competitions, I became more confident posing on stage and in front of cameras. I felt so beautiful on stage and being physically strong and in such good shape boosted my confidence, my self-esteem skyrocketed and even my mental attitude became more positive. However, I never planned to pursue a long term career in bodybuilding, it just happened by chance and I rolled with it! Once I grew more confident physically, I started posing for sexy swimwear/bikini modeling shoots and found I enjoyed that too.
I couldn’t pick out one exciting moment from my modeling and bodybuilding career, because it’s all been highly enjoyable!
I don’t do bodybuilding right now and my body has softened and looks more curvy, but I’m still toned and make sure I exercise regularly to stay in shape and keep healthy. It’s vital to keep active, even if it’s just for one hour each day! Our bodies need to move, they are not designed to sit on the couch all day.
Namita Nayyar:
You had issues with your body in your twenties when you followed fad diets and took fat burning diet pills so that you could be extremely skinny. What advice do you wish to give the young girls in the world of modeling?
Anna Stupak:
“My advice would be never starve yourself or take diet pills!
Most importantly, try not to change yourself and your body too much. Just try to be the best, most healthy version of YOU.
Nowadays everything is in fashion for bodies: skinny, curvy, tall, short, big butts, small butts. I think what’s most appealing is personality, confidence and how you carry yourself.
Yes, it’s great to better yourself, but it’s so wrong to want to be the exact opposite of what you are naturally. I mean, some people are just born to be skinny and it’s extremely difficult for them to gain weight, and they often feel insecure because they wish they would be able to gain some weight and look more curvy sometimes.
Others may be born with a different body type, and for them to be skinny means they would have to starve themselves all day long and do endless cardio, etc… and maybe some of us might be born (or raised ) totally differently, might look overweight and no matter what they do their body will never be skinny enough. It’s all genetics, plus the way we were raised in our childhood. People have different cultures, family eating habits, customs and so on…
Look at Italians: most eat pasta with bread and wine three times a day and they all look fit. Yet when I spent a year in Italy eating just the half of that I gained 10kg very quickly.
We cannot change who we are and we should not try to because everyone is beautiful and is perfect the way he/she is. It’s like girls with beautiful curly hair always want to have straight hair, when the girls with the straight hair always curl it 🙂
Just try to be the best version of YOU!
Eat healthy and try to do some activity daily, but don’t go to the extreme. Growing up I was extremely insecure of my appearance. From my childhood I thought I was ugly, because I wore wear glasses and was not that tall and skinny like some girls that ended-up joining modeling agencies in Moscow. I even was always conscious of my calves thinking they were too big. I wanted to be very skinny because it was the fashion at that time so I downed fat burning bills and ate very little. It was so unhealthy and silly because my body is not naturally super skinny.
When I moved to Miami though, everything changed and my mental state altered, I met absolutely different examples of beauty and body shapes, i saw that some people were jealous of my big calves and appreciated my “real shape” which is more womanly and curvy yet toned. I soon realised I did not have to be a size XXS to be considered attractive and started to love my natural body shape.”
Full Interview is Continued on Next Page
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2020 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
In the present scenario, how are you managing your exercise workouts?
Anna Stupak:
Right now I train three times a week which is good enough to keep me healthy, strong and toned. I can so my workouts anywhere. I do my legs, butt exercises, abs and back during each workout session. The back workout is an absolutely must to me, because we sit a lot and, to not to have any back pain and problems with the spine, we need to have strong core muscles.
Namita Nayyar:
Share exercises that comprise your fitness regime or workout routine? How essential is a regular training routine, according to you?
Anna Stupak:
A regular training routine is very important to maintain a healthy body but I don’t go to the extreme during my workouts, I do some basic leg exercises: squats, lunges, Glute Bridge and exercises for my back and abs.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you train your abs? One secret to your toned body.
Anna Stupak:
For my abs I love to do a plank four times for 15 sec each with 3 sec interval, so one min in total. I repeat this three times throughout each training session.
It’s really unnecessary to be in a plank consecutively for a full one minute because our abs muscles focus only for 15 seconds max, therefore after the first 15 seconds the abs stop working and all that weight goes to our shoulders, back etc. it’s much better to keep the plank for 15 seconds, take a short three-seconds break and repeat…
Besides the plank, I do sit-ups and leg raises. I never ever do exercises for oblique’s – that will make the waist wider instead of giving it a nipped-in look.
Namita Nayyar:
Share the diet that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit? Five foods you absolutely love and five you keep it to a minimum.
Anna Stupak:
I would not call it a diet, I like to think that i am allowed to eat everything, but I am smart about it and opt for the more-healthy options.
For example, I choose not to eat bread, sugar or any sodas because I just know how bad those products make me look and make my stomach feel, so I don’t want it. Of course I can have a Croissant in the morning or have a glass of champagne here and there, but I would never choose Sprite or a cappuccino, or juices (unless they are 100% freshly squeezed) over the water knowing how much sugar and calories they contain.
I allow fat in my diet, but I only eat healthy fats (such as avocado, olive oil, oily fish, eggs, peanut butter), protein (both animal and plant) and complex carbs. I love to use Almond milk (I think it is more healthy than cow’s milk), almond flour (if i want to bake), and Stevia as a sweetener.
5 foods I love:
- Bananas
- Eggs
- Avocados
- Fish and seafood
- Buckwheat and quinoa
5 foods I try to keep to a minimum:
- Bread and bakery (anything that has white flour)
- Sugar (absolutely hate it, it literally kills us)
- – Milk (doesn’t digest well by adults and can make us unwell/tired. Milk is made by cows just to feed their calves for a short amount of time only; it is not made for human bodies!)
- Red meat (just feels very heavy to digest)
- Fast carbs (makes our sugar and insulin level jump up and down)
Namita Nayyar:
Your daily hair care and skincare routine? Five skincare myths.
Anna Stupak:
For my hair, the thing that plays the biggest role is the shampoo, as silly as it sounds… Since started dying my hair blond, I could not figure out what (besides the bleaching) was killing my hair making it so dry. I was doing endless masks, applying oils but nothing would help make my hair soft until I started using a very good gentle moisturizing shampoo – to be specific TSUBAKI Shiseido Extra Moist Shampoo – it literally saved my hair and I swear by it! I realised the wrong shampoo can dry out your hair worse than a dye itself, so using the right one is very important.
For skincare, I just wash my face with a gentle face cleaning gel/soap, and use a moisturizing cream in the morning and Vitamin C serum at night. I used to have a very bad skin years ago, i literally tried all the existing skincare brands in the World and, to my surprise, I discovered the Obagi brand makes absolutely outstanding products. I use two of them always: OBAGI Professional – C serum (it’s an oily serum with added vitamin C that makes skin smooth and glowing), and OBAGI salicylic acid toner (it cleans the skin and makes the pores smaller). I also only use water-based make up – not anything oil based.
5 skincare myths:
- You don’t need a sunscreen if you are not under the hot sun
- You don’t need moisturizer if you have oily skin
- Eating chocolate and oily food causes bad skin and acne
- Tanning is good for you and increases the level of vitamin D
- you don’t need sunscreen if you are wearing make-up with SPF”
Namita Nayyar:
Five athletic leisure brands you love to wear.
Anna Stupak:
Terez, Alo yoga, La Bella Mafia, Fonzie and Nike. Terez are definitely be my favourite leggings!
Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and upcoming models that all are your fans? Five tips to work upon their skills.
Anna Stupak:
As I said before, just be the best version of YOU. Work with what you have naturally and take care of your body and mind in a healthy, positive way – don’t go to extremes or starve yourself like I did when I was young! Learn to love the real you.
Avoid gimmick diets, diet pills and just choose healthy, sensible food options instead. And make some time to be active, whether it’s walking, dancing, riding a bike, swimming or going to the gym! Just find something you enjoy and make it a regular part of your life, this will keep you healthy and energised.
Namita Nayyar:
Today social media plays a vital role in putting your message across to your followers and fans. What is your message for the 85k followers on Instagram?
Anna Stupak:
Thank you so much to all of my followers for supporting me and liking my IG page @Bananna305 – I appreciate the love! And I hope you enjoy my future photos and uploads.
Namita Nayyar:
Share a few words about the website Womenfitness.net and message for our visitors?
Anna Stupak:
I think the website is wonderful, it has many excellent articles, tips and advice about health, beauty, wellbeing and exercise, etc. We can all learn something good from it and, as well as being helpful, inspirational and educational, it’s a fantastic motivational tool.
I am really happy to share my own personal tips and experiences with WomenFitness.net, and I hope they will inspire the readers.
Anna Stupak social media presence
- Instagram: @anna3.0.5
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2020 Women Fitness