Singapore #Fitspo This Week: Jimena Muchsel

Singapore #Fitspo of the Week Jimena Muchsel is a graphic designer and content creator. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Life is beyond the number on the scale and your body is capable of so much more! Yahoo’s #Fitspo of the Week series is dedicated to the inspiring men and women in Singapore who lead healthy and active lifestyles. Have someone to recommend? Hit Cheryl on Instagram or Facebook!

Name: Jimena Yu Qing Muchsel (@jimenamuchsel)

Age: 30

Tall: 1.74m

Heavy: 52kg

Work: Graphic designer and content creator at Aftershock PC

Status: Attached

Food: I usually eat what I want, but I don’t drink coffee or have cravings for cakes and pastries because my stomach can’t take it. But I love ramen!

Exercise: I go to the gym after work whenever I can, unless I have something going on that night, so I’d say twice a week. Usually I start my workout with pull-ups (four to five pull-ups, two minute rest, repeat 10 times).

I will divide each training session into back and biceps, chest and triceps, legs and sometimes I will practice gymnastic moves like planche, muscleup or handstand.

Jimena tries to hit the gym after work whenever she can. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Q: When you were young, did you actively play sports?

A: Yes! I was quite sporty as a child. I would even say I was the sportiest in my class in Austria at that time. Even though I don’t really do sports myself, I do really enjoy PE at school.

What do you experience when you get older?

I did more weight training at first because I wanted to prove other people wrong. I was thin my whole life, to the point where people even believed I was anorexic (because of my metabolism, I couldn’t gain weight).

So to prove them wrong I started taking weight gainers and building muscle.

What does fitness mean to you?

Fitness has always been a part of my life, without realizing how much I enjoyed it. Only later did I realize how important fitness is in my life.

Jimena took up weight training because she wanted to prove others wrong. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

I love how beneficial this lifestyle can be, not only for training your body to do new things but also for meeting lots of inspiring people on your journey and being part of a community that supports one another.

What are your fitness goals now?

Originally I wanted to have a bigger belly and butt, but now I find it more enjoyable to set goals like muscle gain, handstands, or planche.

I also want to improve my body awareness and balance, hoping to do more gymnastics in the future.

You are a content creator not only for work, but also in your personal capacity. Are you up for a challenge?

I love creating content because I love editing and making videos or taking photos, and I think the hardest part is not pushing too hard into making everything into content.

I tend to see the beauty in many things, so I get overwhelmed with my own ideas.

Jimena finds it more fun to set fitness goals such as achieving muscle gains, handstands, or planche. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Is there pressure to maintain a certain image because you are quite prominent in the social media space?

To be honest, I like to treat my social media like a diary and post things I want to see.

I don’t feel too much pressure, because I think as long as people enjoy my content, I’m pretty happy.

When you were young, did you have any incidents that made you feel insecure about yourself?

I once felt insecure about my calves and nose (not straight), but my dad asked if anyone had ever said anything about this, and then I realized it was just me overthinking.

I think that a person’s beauty is more than appearance, and how I portray myself to others will always have a bigger impact.

Not caring about these things makes me more confident and happier, and I feel like people can relate to that.

When have you felt the most insecure about yourself?

When I was in Austria, I was bullied at school for being the “skinny Asian girl” in class and was very shy.

I didn’t dare to talk much until I started working part time and had to talk a lot with customers. It was then that I realized that I could have good conversations with people of all ages and nationalities and that my kindness and smile could create friendship.

Now I find it easy to talk to people because there is nothing to be afraid of as long as you are nice to this person.

Jimena believes that kindness goes a long way in being able to interact with people with confidence. (PHOTO: Cheryl Tay)

Have you ever struggled with your body?

All my life I was considered “too thin” (perhaps my height emphasized it even more). It must be genetics but now that I’m in shape and still getting these comments, I know it’s just a subjective perception and it doesn’t bother me anymore.

Are you satisfied with your body now?

Yes, of course! I am happy with how my body looks and can function the way I want. I was confident that with the accomplishments I would live by learning certain moves, my body would show signs of improvement so I wasn’t too worried about that.

Do you get comments about your body?

I often see some comments that I’m starting to “look manly”, and some have even asked if I’m transgender. But I honestly don’t care if they don’t like my body because the only person who sees my body is my boyfriend and as long as he loves me I’m happy.

If you could change anything about yourself, right?

I hope to be less afraid of heights or falls, and maybe less afraid of the cold (one of the reasons I’m in Singapore). But it’s all a learning process and a challenge, so come on!