Five 40 Over 40 Women In Fitness Who Are Changing The Game

For years, females have been forced to conform to the limited exercise programs – zumba or aerobics – with little to no ability to choose weightlifting or gym training. Many women felt intimidated by the male-dominated weight room and felt that any form of strength training was not meant for them; after all, the typical stereotype of a weightlifter was a muscular male. 

Hence, it is assumed that only men can run and cover a certain distance, lift dumbles, and be a gym trainer. However, the landscape of fitness is now changing. Women are not only training themselves but also others. SheThePeople’s 40 Over 40 Awards witnessed women rule-breakers in the fitness sector who are challenging every stereotype and setting new standards. It’s impossible to deny the sheer athleticism of the women on this list. These women are trailblazers who are making fitness accessible, inclusive and setting new standards in an industry long dominated by men. 

Manisha Khungar 

Manisha Khungar is a wellness promoter and a key member of the Corporate Partnerships Office at Plaksha University. She is a fitness consultant and certified coach. With so many feathers to her hat, Khungar calls herself a “crusader for women.” 

Khungar, who is also an activist advocating gender equality, environmental sustainability and political accountability, believes that women must cross every boundary to chase their dreams. There should be no fear or apprehension. 

In her winning speech at SheThePeople’s 40 Over 40 awards, Khungar said, “I’m a swim coach, a fitness instructor, an endurance athlete, and so on and so forth. So to live well, to chase your dreams, to not be limited by boundaries, to not be scared—don’t live in fear”

Khungar’s only advice to women out there is, “Don’t be scared of the outcome; just go for it.” Read her bio here. 

Simi Chadha

Simi Chadha has garnered a lot of fame as a model, content creator, and fitness trainer. But do you know what makes her most special? She started her career as a fitness trainer in her 40s and worked under callisthenics training in her 50s. Since then there has been no looking back. 

Not just by defying age barriers, Simi Chadha is breaking stereotypes of how women look at their bodies. At SheThePeople’s 40 Over 40 awards, Chadha said that many women are insecure about their image. Chadha believes that this insecurity is rooted in the trauma of body shaming which needs to be healed. She advocated that the lack of self-acceptance and discomfort with one’s own body is a generational pattern which needs to be broken. For this, forgiveness and empathy need to be fostered. 

Chadha doesn’t identify people by their genders but by the energy they possess. She said, “I don’t see you guys as just women or men. I see you as energy.” With such vibrant life and thoughts, Chadha proudly responded to her mother’s question of what impact she was making and said, “Ma, I reinvented myself. Is that not enough?”

Meenal Kotak 

This is a name that will be remembered forever in India’s history. Earlier this month in July, Meenal Kotak – one of India’s top ultrarunners – set a new record for India in the six-day race in the US covering a massive 680-plus km run for about 144 hours. She is also the first Indian woman to do a 6-day run.

Gurgaon-based Kotak realised her stamina and strength to run in 2014 during a treadmill run and she participated in a marathon in Delhi. Since then she moved her ‘track’ from being a CA to ultra runner. 

However, she noticed that there are very few women ultra runners. In an interview with SheThePeople, she said, “Learning that there were very few female ultra runners piqued my interest. I wanted to tap that and create a space where women, too, could represent India for longer marathons. I started working on my pace and strategy. I worked on running longer rather than running faster.” 

An advice that she has for every budding sportsperson is, “Being persistent is the key to getting there, and discipline makes you achieve that, so it’s integral to keep that in mind while attempting any sport.”

Priyanka Sehgal Mehta 

Priyanka Sehgal Mehta is a long-distance runner and coach. Her interest in fitness ignited when she started running for her own fitness. A former private banker, Mehta is now part of a running group called Runbugs and constantly accepts challenges regarding fitness and athletics. However, women runners or any other women athletes are always at the edge of being safe. It is undeniable that women aren’t safe in our country. But women athletes have to practice to excel.

Speaking about this, Mehta said, “Being a woman running in the wee hours of the morning in a city like Gurgaon, isn’t exactly safe” So to tackle this issue and not let it come her way to success, Mehta practices a few things while running. 

“The one thing I strictly follow is NEVER to run alone in the dark. I always try to ensure that there is another runner around me. While I know it’s not always possible to run together, knowing that you have support in case of an emergency definitely helps! I also keep my mobile phone with me always when I go to run outdoors so that I can make that call in case it’s needed”

Sumaya Dalmia 

Sumaya Dalmia too has many feathers on her cap. She is a sports scientist and a celebrity fitness influencer. She completed her MSc in Sports Science and garnered many certificates from The American College of Sports Medicine— including Pilates, pre and postnatal fitness, sports performance, kettlebell training, and exercise mechanics. 

Dalmia in her Instagram highlights talked about her journey and said that it has been only a few years that women are embracing fitness as their career. 18 years ago when she was trying to convince her family to change her career path from economics graduate to sport/fitness was tough. Today she is a renowned personality who was awarded ‘Celebrity Trainer of the Year’ by Vogue in 2016 and ‘The Entrepreneur of the Decade’ in the Health and Fitness sector by the Women’s Economic Forum in 2017.