If there’s a unicorn who is into fitness purely because of enjoyment, it’s Lufuno Matodzi. The 21-year-old fitness fanatic is simply in it out of love while trying to do as many things as she can. The energy she gives says, “I can, and so I will.” But before it comes naturally, it requires some practice.
Lufuno’s introduction to fitness was ballet at 6 years old, followed by other sports such as tennis, soccer, netball and softball. Hockey and gymnastics are the ones that stuck. Hockey was the sport that she has played the longest, but her true love: gymnastics.
“I started gymnastics around age 10 when my mom decided to sign me up after years of backbends on her couches and handstands against her walls, but I stopped after 5 years and started again in 2021,” she explains. Gymnastics and other sports activities have given her a foundation of strength for her fitness journey, so she has built on that with a plan to maintain it. Now balancing regular gym and gymnastics Lufuno is also learning to be an aerialist, which involves movements high above the ground on trapezes or tightropes.
Regarding her career in fitness, she says that it is still a work in progress. Instead, she views it as a lifestyle more than anything. “The benefits of turning health and fitness into a lifestyle is that it becomes so natural. I don’t have to be so strict because it’s already a part of my life, which includes the obvious training regularly and eating well.”
Lufuno always tries to remember the next goal that she has set for herself, whether it’s a new skill to learn, to improve her flexibility, or to squat a little bit heavier. She also keeps in mind what her body goal is and how she wants to look, or maintain what she has achieved already. Her trick is making sure that she does exercises that she enjoys so that it never feels like a burden. In terms of the food she enjoys, Lufuno has learnt that it’s all about making healthy food delicious! Junk food is not completely thrown out the window, though. Ultimately, it’s all about having a balanced lifestyle.
Being a student Lufuno has had to adjust her training times slightly since starting her classes. In life you to have to shift things sometimes, so she makes sure to get her workouts in the little time that she has. Typically, she will make time for the gym at least twice a week, while doing some at-home exercises and handstand practices or stretching for as many days in the week as she can. Generally, she tries to keep a balance between her studies and fitness. “It’s certainly not the same as being able to lift weights most days in the week but it’s going to have to make do for the time being.”
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Sharing more insight into her typical week, every week day Lufuno wakes up and takes a shower. Then she makes lunch, eats breakfast and catches the bus to campus. After attending all her classes, she has her lunch and heads to the library to study.
“Afterwards I usually head back to my residence. If I finish early that day - usually Thursdays and Fridays - I’ll head to the gym. If i finish late I just head back to the residence and spend time with my friends,” she explains. Then she has her dinner and plans for the next day, does school work until she’s tired, watches an episode of a show, and then it’s time to sleep.
“Weekends are more relaxed,” she adds. “I wake up, eat breakfast and head to the gym, then I walk back, take a shower, and eat and relax for a few hours. I also spend time with my friends and do some studying.”
Even though she has been active for the majority of her life, she still tries to remind herself of a few things. For starters, she remembers that she has put in so much work and has come this far, so why stop now? She reminds herself to keep pushing, keep grinding, and keep making herself proud! The hard work is always worth it in the end.
Lufuno’s next big goal is to find the courage to enter the Biogen Face of Fitness Competition, roughly in the next 2 years. Generally, she works more efficiently by setting short-term goals, achieving one small skill at a time, step by step. Her motivation is remembering the happiness she feels and how proud she is of herself every time she discovers something new that her body can do, or when she learns or teaches herself a new skill.
Her advice to anyone trying to achieve their fitness goals is don’t be someone who only realises how much you love something when it’s gone. “It took me loosing gymnastics as a child to realize how much I actually loved the sport,” she affirms. Her push is to make the most of the moments and enjoy them as much as you can.