While most of us are still waiting on that Monday to start working out, 20-year-old Maulika Sharma (popularly known on Instagram as @girlwithabs) is already out there smashing fitness goals day after day. If that wasn’t enough, she helps other people with their fitness journey as a freelance trainer and online coach. All this, while she’s pursuing her BA from Jai Hind College, Communications from ISDI WPP School of Communications and Sport Nutrition from K11 Academy of Fitness Sciences. Oh, and she also interns at Flax It Up! We managed to steal her away from her whirlwind schedule to understand what keeps her powered up to do all that she does!
“I was in a boarding school in Nashik for three years. I returned to Bombay in November, after my 10thgrade exams. I had 8 months of free time before my academic year could begin,” says Maulika. Thus, began her life-changing journey into health and fitness. “The more time I spent working out, reading about nutrition and implementing what I learnt on my myself, the more inclined I grew towards fitness. It made me feel good about myself,” she explains. Maulika was all of sixteen when she started and never actually considered it as a career, but it soon became a passion.
Passion without discipline is like fire without warmth. She tells us, “I work out 6 days a week. For me, it’s a part of routine and as important as going to college is. Your body is the direct result of the efforts you put into it.”
With all that she’s achieved already, what’s next on her list? She grins, “For now, my plan is to gain as much knowledge about health and fitness as possible. That being said, I also want to see my Instagram grow, create better content, have a larger viewership and develop more brand associations.” We dive deeper into fitness and ask Maulika to bust a common fitness myth for us. Her reply is prompt, “People often think starving themselves will get them the body they want. Quite to the contrary, starving will not result in a healthy weight loss. There needs to be a balance. What you eat is just as important as how much you eat. Another misconception people have is that fat loss can be targeted. Training a muscle will NOT reduce the fat that’s on top. People over-train abdominals all the time hoping to get rid of belly fat.”
For Maulika, fitness and skin health go hand in hand. We ask her about her skincare routine. “I have combination skin. So, during the day I just make sure my skin is moisturized and I have my sunscreen on. Before going to bed I remove my makeup, cleanse my face and moisturize once more. I use blackhead removal masks, clay masks or scrubs twice a week,” she elaborates. Maulika’s favourite products include a Lotus scrub and clay mask, HealthVit blackhead removal scrub, Nivea moisturizer and Neutrogena sunscreen. But what she puts inside her body is just as important as what she puts on it. So, Vitamin C, fish oil and protein supplements are an integral part of her routine.
As an influencer and coach, Maulika is the kind of person everyone turns to for advice. So, what’s the one advice she’d give women? “It takes time to form a habit. The first few days are always tough. But don’t let that determine what the rest of the journey will look like. Set goals and then work towards them with discipline and dedication. It translates in every aspect of life!” she smiles.