A day in the life of 24-year-old Instagram star and personal trainer Zanna van Dijk
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.At only 24, Zanna van Dijk has Instagram largely to thank for her success.
The London-based fitness blogger and personal trainer, who has over 150,000 followers, started fitness events company Girl Gains with two friends she met through the image sharing app. Now, the company has ambassadors all over the world, and hosts events with the goal of empowering women in countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US.
With her first book under her belt — released last year, titled "Strong" — van Dijk has managed to grace the covers of numerous fitness magazines, and was recently appointed as the UK's first global ambassador for Adidas.
We spoke to her to find out her secrets to success at such a young age.
Scroll down to see a day in the life of the Instagram fitness star, including what she eats, how often she works out, how she stays healthy on the go, and her secret to standing out in the world of fitness blogging.
This is 24-year-old Zanna van Dijk, the London-based fitness blogger and personal trainer who has over 150,000 followers on Instagram.
She is also the co-founder of women's fitness community event company Girl Gains.
She was born in Yorkshire, and started her fitness blog during her time at Sheffield University, where she did a four-year degree in Speech and Language Therapy.
"I didn't think anything would come of it until I actually left university," she told Business Insider. "I had 30,000 followers at that point. Cool opportunities started to come up, and I thought maybe I wouldn't need to a work a nine to five job."
She wasn't interested in fitness until she went to university.
"I gained the 'Freshers 15' and thought, 'This isn't cool, why has this happened?' I took a moment and realised I was eating really bad food, never moving, and drinking a lot of alcohol. I took a bit of time to reflect and thought it was time to make some positive changes. It was a slow process, but over the course of a few years I found my balance."
After graduating, she took a personal training course and moved to London, where she was a full-time trainer.
But the success of her blog kept growing, and she found herself launching a YouTube channel and being offered some exciting opportunities.
"It spiralled and snowballed," she said. "By the end of the first year [in London] I had done some really exciting things."
Now, she is a fitness blogger "almost full time," but occasionally personal trains "because I love it."
It was thanks to her Instagram following that Girl Gains came about.
Van Dijk co-launched the company, which aims to "educate, empower, and inspire women into fitness," with her two best friends, who she met through the social media channel.
"We thought we'd try and make a community online, so we started the hash tag Girl Gains," she said. "Before we knew it, we had 50,000 posts on it."
The trio made social media accounts and a website for the company, and started running events in London. Now, the company has global ambassadors and runs events in other countries including Australia, Canada, and the US.
"It's incredible what social media can do," she said.
Last year, she released her first book, titled 'Strong.'
She said the book is full of mental and physical tips on how to be strong, including how to lift weights, how to find balance, and recipes.
"I've ready every book in the industry, and I felt like there wasn't one which spoke about balance," she said. "Nobody is actually telling you how to live your life."
Van Dijk has graced the covers of fitness magazines...
The Sunday Times Style magazine, Women’s Fitness, and Healthy have all hosted her.
...And is even a global ambassador for Adidas.
"I've been working with them for over 18 months on photoshoots and events, and the relationship evolved and grew," she said. "A few months ago they signed me at the first UK ambassador."
She has also worked with Fitness First, Tommy Hilfiger, and a number of food brands.
She's also headlining the Balance Festival in May.
The event, which will take place at London's Truman Brewery, will be a multi-floor fitness expo with workouts, talks, and a cookery stage. "It will be all about food, fitness, wellness, and travel," van Dijk said.
So what does a typical day look like for this 24-year-old star? Well, it usually starts with a 6 a.m. weight-lifting session.
She trains for an hour first thing in the morning.
A post-workout shake looks something like this.
After her workout, she'll make breakfast at home. She's usually fed and showered by 8 a.m.
One of her favourite breakfasts is "zoats" — oats with grated courgette, protein powder, peanut butter, fruit, and chocolate chips.
She starts working after that, but what the day holds always changes.
"Every single day is different," she said. "It’s usually pretty mad. I might be out on a photoshoot, at home working on blog posts, or travelling."
She mixes it up with her lunches.
"I might have an omelette with eggs, veggies, feta, a piece of toast — I like polish bread, which is a combo of rye and sourdough," she said.
She snacks throughout the day.
"I have three main meals, and am constantly snacking," she said. Snacks include fruit, rice cakes, and yogurt, most of which she eats with peanut butter.
Nut butters are her obsession.
She loves almond and cashew.
She does two to three weightlifting sessions a week, two sessions of cardio, and a gymnastics lesson.
Her cardio usually takes place at a fitness class at Unit 1 or F45.
"That would be an ambitious week," she added.
Needless to say, she has a lot of workout clothing.
She even released an activewear collection with Sports Philosophy last summer, which sold out.
One of her favourite dinners involves black beans with veggies, paprika, and rice.
She also loves baked eggs.
She tries to give herself one day a week off.
She's often spotted travelling, or spending time with her boyfriend, Antony — or both.
She treats herself with chocolate...
"This morning I had a Galaxy Cookie Crumble chocolate bar," she said. "My favourite is Doisy & Dam Poppyseed White Chocolate."
She'll also indulge in "mountains of granola."
...And occasionally digs into pizza and wine.
However, if she knows she's eating out, she'll be more careful with what she eats the rest of the day.
"I consider the day as a whole," she said. "If I’m going out for a huge brunch and going to be eating poached eggs, avocados, toast, and pancakes, I make sure for the rest of the day, the meals are more balanced — loads of veggies and greens — and that whatever else I’m eating is nutritious, so I get a balance of macros throughout the day."
And her favourite spots for a healthy bite in London?
"Beany Green is a great spot for brunch and dinner, or Redemption for a healthy dinner and cocktails," she said. "I'm also obsessed with brunch — I love Friends of Ours in Shoreditch." She also stops by Raw Press for juice.
While countless people try to make it in the fitness blogging industry, van Dijk said that consistency is what has made her successful.
"I've been quite savvy the whole way through," she said. "I've made wise decisions."
"I’m very lucky in that I was early to the game, but I've been doing it for 4.5 years and I've been consistently right from the beginning," she added. "I've always had a positive message — self love, and a balanced lifestyle. It's never been about weight loss or restriction."
• 21 psychological tricks that will help you ace a job interview
• Saudi Arabia's billionaire king is on a lavish Asian adventure — here's what he's spending his money on
• If a nuclear bomb is dropped on your city, here's where you should run and hide
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments