Maya and Nina Makhlouf- Members of the Month May 2023

May 2023

Get to know Maya and Nina’s Success Story at Fit2Live Below!

This month’s spotlight is on the dynamic duo SwoleXsister Maya and Nina Makhlouf!

Maya and Nina have been kicking butt at Fit2Live since June of 2021.

These engineering sisters are fun, hard working and bring just the right amount of competitive support each time they are at Fit2Live.

Since starting their fitness journey nearly 2 years ago they have been staples in the Fit2Live community. They have both increased every aspect of their fitness and have knocked out some impressive fitness accomplishments.

When Maya and/or Nina are in class you know they will crack a joke or two, bring plenty of encouragement, and get down to work.

For these reasons and many more, Maya and Nina have been chosen as our members of the month for May. 

Tell us about yourselves, where you’re from, what you do for work, school, hobbies, what do you do outside of work and Fit2Live?

Maya:
I grew up in Ann Arbor and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BSE in Mechanical Engineering in 2019 and a Masters of Automotive Engineering in 2021. I currently work as a Crash Safety Engineer at Ford Motor Company. Outside of work and the gym most of my time lately is filled by trying to tire out my 6 month old puppy Emma. When I do have some free time I enjoy crafting (sewing, quilting, embroidery, you name it I’ve tried it), DIY projects, playing sports, watching sports, making and eating tasty food.

Nina:
Shocker but my life story is pretty similar/exactly the same as Maya’s. Born and raised in Ann Arbor. I just graduated from the University of Michigan with my BSE in Mechanical Engineering this past Saturday so that’s pretty fun. I’m interning as a Systems Engineering Intern at Boeing out in Seattle this summer and then I’ll be back in Ann Arbor for a one-year Masters in Systems Engineering. Outside of the gym, I love playing any and all intramural sports (beach volleyball, flag football, basketball and even IM minigolf). I’m a big Michigan sports enthusiast and a fan of eating any and all sweet treats.

When and why did you get started at Fit2Live? (I think this could be a joint answer?)

MaNina:

We both played sports year around in high school and struggled to find a way to consistently get in the gym and exercise when we graduated. After watching a “I tried CrossFit for 2 months and here’s what happened” buzzfeed video we decided to give it a try. We Googled “CrossFit near me” and Fit2Live was a top rated search result. The game plan was to have Brandon teach us everything we needed to know about lifting and fitness in 2 weeks and then go to planet fitness with our newfound learnings. Needless to say that didn’t go to plan and here we are two years later incredibly grateful that it didn’t!

What do you love most about Fit2Live, what keeps you coming back consistently?

Maya:
The people and the culture at Fit2Live are what I love the most. It is a unique space where no matter where you are in life or your fitness journey you feel supported and challenged day in and day out. I feel that the combination of the two has helped me improve my fitness and made me a better person over the last two years. The other thing that keeps me consistent are the wins outside of the gym. Before starting at Fit2Live I used to dread taking 1 laundry basket down the stairs or the call from a friend asking to help them move. After consistent work in the gym I now tackle these things and more with ease!

Nina:
There’s a lot to love about Fit2live, but my favorite is definitely the people. This gym has the absolute best people and I’m constantly bragging about how much I love this gym and everyone here. Other gyms really can’t even compare. I love the competitive atmosphere but also how friendly it can be. I love that Dave and JT never fail to push me, and Stephanie never fails to remind me to look up and push myself to get a PR, but I’m also never afraid to fail and always feel supported. Getting to see such amazing people everyday is certainly what keeps me coming back, and of course, the committed club list is a great motivator.

Maya, describe Nina in 1 sentence to someone who hasn’t met her. Nina describe Maya in 1 sentence to someone who has never met her.

Maya:

Nina is the person you want in your corner in life. She is incredibly loyal and will always push you to be a better version of yourself.

Nina:

Maya is a compassionate, caring person that always puts others before herself and is far too humble (especially when it comes to how strong she is).

How are you two alike and how are you two not alike?

We are both hyper organized and love lists so here ya go!

Alike:
*Driven
*Compassionate
*Quirky
*Nerdy
*We both love Fit2Live!

Not Alike
*Maya is more creative and more outwardly affectionate (hugs)
*Nina is affectionate through her actions and supportive nature
*Nina likes burpees and Maya does not (it’s a work in progress)
*Nina is more impatient than Maya hence why she finishes the workouts faster

Share your favorite childhood or young adult memory of your sister.

Maya (memory of Nina):  
One of our favorite things to do as kids was tag along with our dad on a golf outing. When we got old enough he would let us drive the cart. This usually meant that I drove, my dad rode shotgun and Nina would strap into the empty cart spot in the back. The best memory on the golf course was when we had to retrieve a ball my dad left on the previous hole. Being kids we took the shortest point from A to B and drove right through the fairway of an active hole. I remember hearing some guy yell “four”, giving Nina a panicked look and her rolling out of the golf cart like a scene from a James Bond movie to retrieve the ball. As all good sisters do, we made a pact to not tell dad and returned the ball with a lot of giggles.

Nina (memory of Maya):
Growing up, I played travel soccer. My dad was at almost every single game, but there was one game in particular where he couldn’t make it, and Maya had just gotten her drivers license so naturally she volunteered to take me. After the game, Maya was doing typical Maya things and making fun of me and told me “you didn’t play good enough so you can’t get in the car” (granted I was 12 so don’t imagine Maya scolding a 5 year old). Some random mom in the parking lot overhead us and went “don’t be so harsh on her MOM” and we both just looked at each other and absolutely lost it and explained to the lady through our laughs that she was just my older sister giving me a hard time.

What is your favorite trip that you have taken together? What future trip would you like to make together?

Summer of 2021, we took a hiking trip with our dad to West Virginia and it was epic! We did some pretty long, scenic hikes and also got to go via ferrata (which is essentially a climbing route with steel cables, rungs, and ladders on the side of a mountain). This was a few months into coming to Fit2Live and all that functional fitness really paid off!

Next summer, we are hoping to go on a Post Grad Europe SwoleXsisters trip! We haven’t decided exactly where we are going so if you have recommendations, do let us know!

Make THE SWOLEXSISTERS workout. What movements, repetitions, format, etc are involved?

Burpee buy in: 26 Burpees

For Time:

4-6-8-12-8-6-4 of:

-Deadlifts

-Power Cleans (115/160)

In between each round

*400 m row/1000 m bike AND 30 handstand hold

Cash out: 22 Burpees

Favorites!

Maya:

Song: Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles

Book: Harry Potter

Movie: Princess Diaries

TV Show: This is hard… I really like tv… Game of Thrones

Quote: It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop – Confucious

Nina

Song: Good as Hell, Lizzo

Book: Twilight

Movie: Remember the Titans

TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy

Quote: “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” -Dr. Seuss

You have an awesome Instagram handle @swolexsisters where you post all the awesome things you two have accomplished and your daily happenings.

What is your biggest fitness accomplishment to-date together and individually and what fitness goal are you most pursuing/working towards currently?

Together: Getting third place at Rookie Rumble this year and also having an absolute blast together with Mike and John at Spring Fling!

Maya:

Individually: Barbell classic sneaky deadlift PR (shoutout Stephanie) and finally stringing some T2B together at the Rookie Rumble (shoutout Sharon)

Goal: All things gymnastics always, hoping for 1 strict pull up at the end of this cycle 🙂

Nina:

Individually: Running a half marathon senior year of high school with minimal training and getting my 3 kipping pull ups!

Goal: Another half marathon? 150# C&J? A muscle up? World domination? Who knows, just trying to get better everyday and see what magical things happen.

THANKS FOR BEING AWESOME MAYA AND NINA! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

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