Fitness blogger Tatyana Fedorishcheva: “Sport is not only about health and beauty, it’s about personal strength”

Today Woman invites its readers to sunny Montenegro. This is where the heroine of our interview, fitness blogger Tatiana Fedorishcheva, lives. She is the author and host of the youtube channel about TGYM sports. Every day, this vivacious girl inspires nearly 1.5 million people from around the world to pick up dumbbells, squat and create the body of their dreams. We talked to Tatiana about her path to sports, author’s marathons and, of course, the secrets of effective training. And also about Montenegrins’ sports preferences, motivation and plans for the future.

Tatiana, I always enjoy watching all your videos. I love your sincerity, smile and the joy that is conveyed with each clip. Very interested in learning more about you and how the idea for a youtube channel came about TGYM. What is its history and how do you see it growing and evolving?

It’s really nice that my videos convey exactly the positive energy. The idea of creating the channel appeared back in 2012. Back then, I was a chubby, complex girl who had recently graduated from high school, failed to get into university, and went to work as a waitress. At the time, I had just met my future husband, and he was the one who inspired me to improve myself. I started working out at home, going to dance classes, watching my diet and learning proper exercise technique. I was so captivated by the idea that I was just bursting with the urge to share it. That’s how TGYM came to be – a YouTube channel that now has 1.5 million subscribers, just like me, striving to become a better person. You’d think that in 8 years of running a fitness channel there would be fewer and fewer ideas for videos, but I’d say the opposite. There are tons of options for effective workouts, delicious and healthy recipes. The main thing for me as a blogger is to make videos regularly and try to keep an eye on quality. And that’s not hard at all when you’re doing what you love to do. So I’m sure TGYM will be more than one million more.

You are now running online weight loss marathons. What is the uniqueness of your author program?

Just recently we launched our 12th recruitment for our marathon. When my husband and I decided to create it, we couldn’t have imagined the excitement.  The fact is that we take the quality of what we do very seriously. We always make the menu as accessible as possible, with easy-to-prepare recipes, time-saving preparations and a handy grocery list for each week. All recipes are tested by me personally, and subsequently become favorites of marathon runners. I always test all workouts on myself so that after doing them I have that “Yea! I felt every muscle!” feeling. We always have limited seats as it is very important for us to make time for everyone in the chat room where we provide full support, motivation and answers to all questions. All the components of a marathon, when fully followed, lead to amazing results. And the fact that we have all the places taken in 12 minutes is an indication that the TGYM Marathon is truly a quality product.

What parts of their body are people who come to your program most dissatisfied with?

Every girl, as they say, has her quirks. Some people don’t like fat on their knees, some want to get “space between their thighs”, and some want “cubes on their stomach”. It is important not to emphasize flaws (sometimes fictitious), but to look at the figure as a whole. Strive, first and foremost, for a healthy, fit body. If you work on the whole body, all these flaws will go away by themselves and you will not remember their existence.

The first training session is usually not easy. After the first time, how not to quit and continue practicing? What do you do to motivate your charges?

The first thing you need to do is find an activity that you will really enjoy. Not everyone enjoys pulling iron in the gym. Depending on their personality, some girls may be suited to a more relaxed type of workout, for example yoga, Pilates, swimming. If you are not plodding, you can try functional training, boxing, dancing. Once you’ve chosen “your own,” it’s important to create a proper lesson plan. There is a 21 day rule – when you do an activity regularly, it eventually becomes a habit. So it is with training. And motivation, as far as I’m concerned, is first and foremost your health and youth.

They say that working out after which nothing hurts is a waste of time, is this true?

No. At first exercise from your muscles being out of tone and getting a new, unfamiliar load can really make you feel crepatic. But with time, our body and muscles adapt to the load, the pain of tearing muscle tissues becomes less and less. We get stronger and this load becomes habitual for the muscles. If there is no crepature after a workout, it doesn’t mean the workout wasn’t effective at all. It’s just that you’re working on endurance and tone. Still, I advise to surprise the muscles at some intervals (every 1-2 months) and change the program a bit: add weight or change exercises.

Do I need to restrict my diet? How do you eat? 

I’m in favor of the principle of 80% and 20%. Where 80% are “clean” foods that my body gets the most benefit from and 20% are favorite goodies “for the soul”. If you have a goal to lose weight, the most important thing is to create a calorie deficit. And you don’t have to give up your favorite pizza or ice cream at all. Just factor such goodies into your daily calorie intake and you’ll have a slim figure without any fiddling in your head.

What has been the most impressive weight loss result in your coaching practice?  

In 8 years of running a fitness channel, I get thank you emails every day. From both girls and guys. Some have established their personal life, some have cured serious illnesses related to being overweight, and some are motivated by watching my videos and getting up from a wheelchair. Posts like this give me goosebumps! I still have a hard time realizing that my YouTube workouts can have such a profound impact on people.

Leafing through your Instagram and I saw that you’ve competed in bikini fitness competitions before. Can you tell us about that experience?

Beautiful girls with chiseled figures in shiny swimsuits have always caught my eye. So, of course, I wanted to be on stage too and feel the whole atmosphere. My training took place when we lived in America and I got into pretty good shape in 6 months. I was fascinated by the process: hard training, a precise diet plan, choosing a swimsuit, posing…. But when I got on stage, I suddenly realized that the contest implies that other people are judging you and your physical data. I was working for myself, and I got my grade by looking in the mirror. So, it was a great experience and I’m glad that going on stage gave me the realization that everyone is their own judge.

What qualities have you cultivated in yourself through sports?

That’s a very good question. After all, many people think that fitness is only about physical development. But no. When you push every exercise to the end every time through “I’m lazy”, when you can strictly stick to your workout plan and not quit halfway through starting on “Monday” – it all develops a hard core and willpower. Sports isn’t just about health and beauty – it’s about personal strength.

Tanya, you are Ukrainian, but now you live in Montenegro, namely in Budva. What was the reason for moving to live in this country? 

My subscribers know that my husband and I are travel frogs. We lived in Thailand, Russia, America, came back to Ukraine, and now we decided to live in Montenegro. For how long? We don’t. We really liked it here when we were here on vacation: the cleanest sea, mountains, greenery, what else do you need?

In your opinion, what is the situation with sports in Montenegro and Budva in particular?

Surprisingly the people in Montenegro are very athletic and generally very powerful in physique. And the height! Sometimes there is a feeling of walking amongst avatars! There are quite a few nice gyms, basketball courts (the national sport), and of course you can go hiking in the mountains – now that’s the coolest activity for locals and tourists alike.

Do you take live personal training sessions in Budva? Where do you hold them? Is there a demand for them? How much does one personalized training session cost?

I have never done personalized training and have no plans to do so. A couple times my subscribers and I have had a meetup and that’s when we did group workouts. It was very cool and we will definitely do it again. As far as I’m concerned, I can do a lot more good by filming free workouts on TGYM, and that way a lot more people can replicate them.

Do you have a future development plan? Maybe some projects or courses you’d like to create or finish?

Oooh, there’s always a lot of planning, but not much time or energy. My problem is that I have a hard time delegating work. It is important to me that everything is done well and on time. At the moment, my husband and I are working on updating the information for the TGYM Marathon, because it’s important not to stand still. We are constantly keeping up with new research in the world of fitness and nutrition, and all of this information, in clear language, needs to be brought to our subscribers. There’s another project that I’ve been dreaming about in great detail for about six months now. And hopefully we’ll soon get to work on realizing it as well.

You follow sports accounts on Instagram? Who inspires you?

I’m subscribed to many overseas fitness bloggers. Very inspired by the quality of their footage, it encourages me to improve my videos as well. Yeah, I’m obsessed with it. I love that many gals in the fitness industry are now broadcasting an adequate attitude towards their bodies, nutrition. But, as with anything, you have to remember the golden mean. I always follow only those who radiate positivity: Whitney Simmons, Natacha Oceane, Linn Lowes.

What is your mission in sports, what do you think?  

Prove that working out at home can be effective. In most cases, girls and guys think that working out at home, you can’t get in good shape: lose weight, tighten your buttocks, pump your abs…you’re bound to get bored. You can only do squats and abs at home. Also, definitely need inventory and generally have little space at home and everyone gets in the way! On my channel, the emphasis is specifically on exercising at home and the endless number of effective workouts prove that it’s all about your desire.

At the end of our conversation, please give some advice to those who still do not dare to “make friends” with sports?

It’s as simple as that. Just get started! You can talk endlessly about the benefits of fitness, how important proper nutrition is to health, you can endlessly study the proper squatting technique…. But. If it’s all just talk without action, you’ll stay that way. And time goes on. Each “Monday” will make it harder and harder to make friends with sports. You can make a choice right now by reading this interview: to continue mindlessly flipping through Instagram for an hour, or even three. Or put on your sneakers and take a step forward to your dream figure. What will you choose?

Eugenia Vlasenko