Muscle & Fitness Hers South Africa – July-August 2019

USE YOUR BRAIN

“Almost all your physical

success comes from your

thought process”, Graff says.

Mental focus is also key

when it comes to completing

new challenges. “Analyse the

situation and approach the

best way to get the job done”,

she adds. “I have to take time

to analyze an obstacle so I

can jump at the correct angle.

It helps to step back and

consider what you are doing

and how to do it.”

BEST YOURSELF

“I’m obsessed with beating

records”, Graff says. “My

goal is to find a baseline of

something I want to do

and then surpass it.” The key,

she adds, is consistency.

Recently, Graff decided to

take on fingertip push-ups. “I

couldn’t do a single one, not

even on my knees”, she says.

“I broke it down to the most

basic part — a crawling

position — and did as many

reps as I could. Then I’d take

a couple of days off and try

again.” After three months,

she can now crank out more

than 20 fingertip push-ups.

GET A GREAT

TRAINING PARTNER

Graff finds amazing camara-

derie in the stunt community.

“Almost everyone in the field

is exceptional at something,

whether it’s gymnastics,

martial arts, or free running,

and it’s inspiring to see

what they can do and

discover new things from

them.” But perhaps her

favourite training partner is

Sammo Hog, her 50kg

Juliana pig. (Follow her on

Instagram @SammoHog.)

Although Graff incorporates

Sammo Hog into moves like

pull-ups and backflips, she

says her pet is best for her

rest days. “She’s such a

cuddler — you can’t help just

wanting to take a break and

hang out with her.”

The obstacles on American

Ninja Warrior are as

mentally straining as they

are physically taxing. For

this reason, Graff

approaches every obstacle

with a strategy.

what you’re capable of”.

One of Graff’s strategies

is to set small attainable

goals leading up to the big

goal. After completing the

smaller, more reasonable

tasks, true belief will

eventually set in.

SET NEW GOALS

Graff is all about taking on

new challenges, even if

they take her in a totally

unexpected direction. “I

blew out my knee and

couldn’t do any lower-

body training, so

I had to come up with

something new to work

on.” Graff’s pull-up game

was weak, so she started

doing six pullups at a

time. Within a few

months, she was doing

more than 20 at a time.

(Today she can do 40.)

TURN YOUR DIET

INTO A GAME

“I’m always trying to get

more vegetables into my

diet, but I also have a

sweet tooth, so I give

myself a challenge: I get

one point for every

serving of vegetables that

I eat”, says Graff, who

rewards herself with

something sweet when

she reaches 10 points. “If I

only have four points in

the day and I find myself

reaching for a bowl of

dark chocolate chips, I’ll

switch to something like a

smoothie with kale and

spinach, which will give

me another six points in

one glass! Then, if I still

want it, I have the

chocolate.”

to pay attention to that

little twinge and not just

push through it”, she says.

Regular stretching,

massage therapy, and

foam rolling help, she

notes, as does incorporat-

ing off days.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

— EVENTUALLY

When it comes to

achieving big goals, like

running a marathon,

Graff stresses that it’s OK

to not believe in yourself

— at least at first.

“I find many people are

discouraged by the

concept that you have to

believe”, she says. “My

message is that even if you

don’t believe, all you need

is the courage to try. More

often than not, you’ll

surprise yourself with

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(^) 2019 JUL/AUG | M&F HERS | 11