Meet Ola Tsev

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ola Tsev a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ola , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Making Fitness Work for Your Confidence, Not Against It

My journey to confidence began back in 2015 when I first set foot in a gym.

It was an old-school, mid-sized place packed with weights and cardio machines. I had signed up for a Zumba class that day, but for some reason, I ended up on a treadmill instead. I carefully selected an incline walk setting, eventually transitioning into a jog, only to find myself completely gassed after two minutes. “Screw it,” I thought, “let me try lifting some weights.”

The only exercises I knew at the time were dumbbell squats and the lat pulldown machine, so I did sets of 20—completely confused as to what they were actually doing for me. 15 minutes later, I stepped into the locker room, packed up my stuff, and left without making eye contact with the front desk lady.

Why did I even step on that treadmill or venture into the weights section? On the surface, I wanted to lose weight and build glutes that, well, I never inherited. But deep down, what I really wanted was to build the kind of internal confidence I had always lacked.

I genuinely believed that changing how my body looked would automatically lead to higher confidence. I was inspired by the airbrushed, dehydrated bikini models I saw in magazines—their leanness screamed “I have word-class self-esteem”.

A year into trying to figure it out on my own, I hired a personal trainer who had competed in bikini competitions herself.

She pushed me to work harder, squat more, and restrict my diet to the point of misery. I hated the process, but I loved the results. As the newbie gains from a half-decent training plan kicked in, I started seeing muscles appear and fat decrease. I was constantly chasing the next “ideal body” I had created in my mind, and felt somewhat more confident 4 months into the plan.

 THE FIRST TWO ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ATTACHED: 2017, at my leanest ever

Until I didn’t.

There’s a price to pay when you make drastic, quick changes to your body, especially when sustained for longer than a few weeks. I found myself constantly hungry, developing amenorrhea, and, eventually, regaining some weight in what felt like an uncontrollable process. Scientifically, it wasn’t the often misinterpreted “starvation mode” but a combination of factors: unconsciously moving less, burning less energy, and a spike in hunger, all of which make it harder to lose weight or maintain results that were, in truth, unsustainable.

And so, my confidence plummeted. Again.

This yo-yo journey of confidence lasted half a decade as I fought against my body. I’d have bursts of high self-esteem, mostly followed by lows. The smaller I got, the more compliments I received from others, and the higher my confidence would soar. But ironically, even at my smallest, leanest figure, those feelings of confidence never lasted. To top things off, I developed a severe binge eating disorder — I would sneak an inhuman amount of food into my pockets (since I was living with my family at the time) and gorge on it in my room. I’d cry myself to sleep, not just from the pain in my stomach, but from the overwhelming guilt.

Two things remained constant:

1. MY CONFIDENCE WAS ALWAYS DIRECTLY TIED TO HOW MY BODY LOOKED
2. FITNESS WAS SOLELY A MEANS TO CHANGE MY BODY, NOTHING MORE

We live in a society that favours smaller bodies. Certain figures are praised, while others are diminished. Confidence is often tied to specific body types. One study reports that by age thirteen, 53% of American girls are ‘unhappy with their bodies,’ and this number grows to 78% by the time they reach seventeen. This is the world that has shaped both women and men to feel less worthy when they don’t fit certain body ideals.

The turning point in my confidence journey was moving to Canada in 2019. I was lucky enough to I become part of a strength-training-based gym community where “fat loss” wasn’t even in the vocabulary — another extreme, perhaps, but it was exactly what was needed at the time.

For the first time, my confidence stabilized, and I could feel it steadily climbing.

My body would fluctuate quite a bit in the next 5 years — trying to figure out the balance. I let it be and instead focused on getting strong af, and learning new gym skills.

 THE FOURTH AND THE FIFTH ADDITIONAL PHOTO ATTACHED: 2019

Ironically, my confidence was at its highest when I was at my largest (still at a healthy body fat percentage for a woman) While I had some body composition goals later on, I didn’t let them become the sole purpose of my training or a measure of my worth.

 THE THIRD ADDITIONAL PHOTO ATTACHED: 2020, at my heaviest

Fast forward to the end of 2024, and as I write this, I can confidently say I’ve found my confidence. It feels like it’s settled in my heart, and it’s here to stay.

 THE LAST TWO ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ATTACHED: present

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Ola Tsev is an evidence-based personal trainer and strength coach based in the heart of Toronto.

Her specialty lies in empathetic, science-based training, designed to help women navigate the often confusing, and intimidating world of fitness. With the emphasis on strength and joint mobility, she helps her clients build confidence, strength, stay pain-free & hit their fitness goals in a sustainable way.

She is currently building her fitness brand, INTENT TRAINING, and pursuing her newly founded passion for road cycling.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Here are five things I would tell my younger self about using fitness to build her confidence, not undermine it:

1. You are worthy.

Your worth as a human being isn’t defined by how big that thigh gap is. Your kindness, strength, and determination are what make you someone I want to spend ime with. Your dreams inspire me. I love you, and I see you.

2. You have the potential to develop incredible strength.

If I told you how much weight you can lift now, you’d think I was crazy. You’d also wonder why it matters if it doesn’t make your stomach flatter. But trust me, you’ll understand soon enough. It will be a healthier addiction than chasing a new body ideal. It will make you feel empowered, not deprived. And the best part? You’ll make amazing friends while lifting those heavy circles.

3. What you’re going through now will one day help you guide dozens of women toward their happiest, most confident selves.

Spoiler alert: your hobby will soon evolve into a fulfilling career. Everything you’re struggling with right now will help you empathize with other women facing the same challenges. Don’t stress about figuring it all out at this moment; it will all come together. Just be patient.

4. You will never achieve that “ideal body”—and that’s completely OK.

The girls you’re idolizing are 5’8″, with legs twice as long as yours and completely different body shapes. And you know what? That’s OK. We don’t judge trees for looking different, so why should there be one ideal body type for humans? Remember when you almost reached the body of that bikini model you thought was your ultimate goal, and then you immediately moved on to a new inspiration? It’s a never-ending cycle.

5. Cut them off

Remember that “friend” who made fun of you for not having a butt? A few more spoilers for ya: A) You’re going to have an incredible, thick booty from lifting weights and nourishing your body. B) She’s no friend to you, and you’ll figure that out soon enough. Also, those bikini accounts you scroll through and save? You know deep down that they make you feel worse about yourself. Let them go.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

Having worked with many clients who have body composition goals, my number one priority has been to guide them on a sustainable path that doesn’t involve extremes or have a negative impact on body image.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to change the way your body looks; the issue arises when our appearance starts affecting our sense of worth, and when the sole purpose of training becomes body composition.

Recently, I’ve focused on researching communication skills and evidence-based practices for improving body image, which has been one of the biggest areas of my professional development lately.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/olatsev
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ola.tsev

Image Credits

LAST 2 PHOTOGRAPHS – Photographer: Victoria Blokhin