Haifa Almusawi is a few of her kind; a Middle Eastern female bodybuilder. Originally Bahraini, Almusawi moved to the UAE in pursuit of better opportunities for the sport. Though she now works as a personal trainer and weight training specialist in a sports centre in Dubai, she’s hoping to compete and represent Bahrain on an international level.

Yet, while there’s no law that prohibits female Bahrainis from participating in bodybuilding, conservative social restrictions have limited Almusawi. As a result, she has turned to Portugal for a residency and a chance to contend.

Now 32 years old, Almusawi talks to Arabian Business about her end goal, why body building is a lifestyle, and how it taught her to be a successful individual.

What exactly do you do?

I am a personal trainer and weight training prescription specialist holding a diploma from the International Federation of Fitness and Bodybuilding (IFBB), International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), and the Emirates Federation of Bodybuilding (EFBB).

When and why did you decide to start bodybuilding?

I started weight training when I was 17 years old. At first, it was for weight loss purposes, but I was so interested in bodybuilding and reading more about it made me fall in love with it. It’s my passion.

Bodybuilders inspire me in so many ways. They are hardworking, strong mentally physically, determined, focused, and resulted-driven people.

I have learned how to be successful from bodybuilding; how to be consistent with work. [It] made me set reasonable goals for myself in general, especially for my career.

What do you hope to accomplish in bodybuilding?

I hope to compete in the physique category in IFBB contests, which is my plan for the end of this year. My goal is to be able to earn an IFBB pro-card which will allow me to compete with professional athletes and Inshallah be a top athlete worldwide.

Why do you practice the sport in Dubai and not in Bahrain, your home country?

I started training in Bahrain and my personal training career started there as well. Then I moved to Dubai because it has more opportunities for me as an athlete and a trainer.

Considering that Bahrain is a conservative country, how did your Bahraini family feel about your athletic pursuit in the activity?

My family is just like other conservative families in the GCC, yet they supported my decision to be a personal trainer and a physique athlete, especially that they know how hard I worked for it.

It’s a very difficult sport, maybe one of the most difficult sports actually. There were a few concerns about my health, my nutrition, and my supplement consumption, as it was not very popular or common in this region.

Did you come across a lot of people who were unsupportive or judgemental of what you do? If yes, how did you deal with it?

Yes, I do on daily basis sometimes. People say the rudest things. I had many disrespectful comments on my social media accounts for example. I choose not to reply to any negative comments because I choose not to waste my energy on narrow-minded superficial people. I stay positive all the time and that’s a big part of being an athlete. Negativity affects performance.

In 99% of the time, those comments were out of lack of understanding and ignorance. People need more awareness campaigns when it comes to fitness in general. Many people think it’s a bad thing and I honestly get shocked every time I hear that. Education is the key.

Some people may argue that bodybuilding is not for women, because it takes away from their femininity. What do you think about that or rather what do you have to say to it?

Bodybuilding is just a sport just like any other sport. Muscular female tennis players and basketball players are more accepted while their muscle mass is equal to women fitness athletes. Why is that? Is it because weight training is being looked at as a man’s thing. Most men don’t have muscles, does that make them less masculine?

What measures femininity exactly? Sports doesn’t, a woman is simply a woman if she is a weightlifter, a bodybuilder, a doctor or an engineer. Unfortunately, we lack a lot of understanding when it comes to women and sports.

What were you doing before you embraced bodybuilding?

I worked in the PR marketing industry. But I was still an athlete before being a personal trainer.

Do you have any advice for girls who want to pursue the same path as you?

Yes. It’s a very difficult path and it needs a lot of understanding of this sport. It has a lot of aspects and the most important part is nutrition. This sport is not about lifting weights only, it’s about having a proportionate and balanced physique.

Weight training will only make you fit, not big nor muscular if you don’t want to. It all depends on the training program and diet design.

Weight training is very important for women as it increases metabolism, decreases body fat, reduces risk of injury, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and much more.