“There have been no days off since the beginning of the year”: a 52-year-old Yamal bodybuilder-dacha resident told how to alternate the beds and the gym

Recently, a resident of Noyabrsk, Irina Khanova entered the top 6 athletes at the Cup of Russia in bodybuilding in the category of fitness bikini masters over 40 years old. The northerner is now 52 years old, we asked her to tell about herself. It turned out that the northerner rushes between the beds in the country, the gym and her own cosmetology business. The interview took place on 28 April.

Irina went to the hall four years ago with a noble thought – to tone herself up, “remove her tummy”, prepare for her daughter’s wedding – the marriage was in the summer of 2018.

“March 2018 is my starting point. But even after the wedding, my daughter remained in the hall, because I really liked all this. I was drawn there, I worked out to continue a healthy lifestyle. In August 2020, I learned that in our Noyabrsk for the first time the bodybuilding championship and championship of the YNAO will be held. I told the coach that I wanted to participate and asked “is it okay that I’m a little old?”. He silently looked at me from the side for 10-15 minutes … And he gave the go-ahead. From August of that year, we began to prepare for the spring of 2021. I entered competitions in the spring of 2021 in the YaNAO, in the Sverdlovsk region in the Ural Federal District, in the fall of 2021 at the championship of Russia and the Ural Federal District, in the spring of 2022 – the championship and championship of the YaNAO and the Siberian Power Show international tournament in Krasnoyarsk. I missed the fall of 2022 – I went to the so-called mass recruitment. Now – my fourth start, the fourth season, ”the northerner briefly described her entry into the sport.

We asked to describe all the hardships and hardships associated with leaving for bodybuilding. After all, when the stakes are higher than just “going to the gym for yourself, your beloved,” then they are higher and within limits.

“We have a strict diet – no alcohol, sweets, carbohydrates. Fast carbohydrates are undesirable – if they are, then in small quantities. But if I fit into the KBZhU norm (calorie content, proteins, fats, carbohydrates), then I can eat ice cream. Let’s say once a month. But it also depends on what stage I’m at. Before the competition – definitely not. On a mass recruitment – you can sometimes. In general, I eat very well. I have not only one buckwheat and chicken breast. Fish, caviar, cheeses, nuts – yes, everything is in the diet. Of course, I don’t eat pies, bread, mayonnaise, etc., ”Khanova shared.

But the biggest sacrifice is time. Does Irina have free time, weekends?

“Preparation this season is going in such a mode that since January 2 this year I have not had a single day off from the gym. I’m in the gym every day from 9 to 12 – strength training, honing posing, cardio … ”the athlete shared.

If there is still a day off, the athlete spends it with her husband in a country house 20 kilometers from Noyabrsk. There is a bath and fresh air. And in the summer she lives in the country completely. As it turned out, Irina Khanova is from a rare breed of summer resident bodybuilders. Likes to dig in the ground to the gym.

“Summer in Yamal is short, but everything grows in my dacha during this period – potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries. This is also my hobby – in the summer on the street, in the fresh air, digging into the ground. Usually, in May, my husband and I go on vacation “on the ground” – to our parents or children, and since June we are completely at the dacha – we sleep, live, work. I get up at 6 in the morning, before 8-9 I quickly put the beds in order, go to the gym, after it I have lunch and immediately go to work in my own beauty parlor until 20-21. Then I go to the dacha, ”Irina described her usual day.

In her cosmetology, Saturday and Sunday should be days off, but it turns out that these are also working days most often – there are a lot of clients, everyone needs help. And Irina is often sent personal messages on social networks like “I want to be like you” and asked to be a personal trainer. The athlete likes kind words, she thanks for them, responds to such messages, but when it comes to coaching, she explains that she doesn’t train anyone, because coaching is a separate profession and a big responsibility, and Irina already has a profession and has her own business about which we also asked her to tell us more.

“I was born in the Perm Region, graduated from the Perm Medical Academy, worked for 10 years in the Oktyabrsky District of the Perm Territory, I am a general practitioner and my husband is an anesthesiologist. And in 2003, my husband was looking for a better place to live, and went to Yamal, and in 2004 I moved in with him. I worked for 10 years in the Ozerny sanatorium as a therapist. I have a second education – dermatovenereology and cosmetology, I simultaneously worked as a dermatologist-cosmetologist. Since the end of 2014, I left the sanatorium (it was closed) and completely switched to cosmetology. Now I have my own beauty parlor, ”the athlete told her short biography.

Irina has an adult son and daughter, they are 30 and 26 years old respectively. And one grandson who is 10 months old. The children are adults and have families of their own. So Khanova can devote herself to a career, business and summer cottage. MK Yamal will follow her progress.

Recently we reportedthat a motorsport center with a drift track will be built in Novy Urengoy.