Aquila da Silva | Train to Benefit Your Goals
What got you into dance, fitness and working out?
I got into dancing quite young when I was three years old. I started out in ballet, but my mom could see that I didn't really like ballet that much because I felt it was too slow for me. I still had a lot of energy and I really enjoyed dancing so wanted to continue to dance. My cousin was a highland dancer, so my aunt recommended that I start doing that. It is probably my favorite style of dance, but I like doing everything because I feel different styles express difference parts of myself. I think Highland is my favorite because its highly competitive and has a good balance of athleticism and art. Some other dance styles don't satisfy my craving for athleticism the same way highland dancing does.
How do you find time to balance work, the gym, meal prep, etc?
When I was in college I lived in Boston and I found it difficult because I was a dance major (I have a degree in dance performance). My day from 8am - 4pm was all dance classes. They didn't offer highland dancing there and I was the only highland dancer. I would have to get up early in the morning and try to find an open studio to practice before I would start classes. That was hard for me because I am not a morning person at all. On top of all of that, in the evenings I would take academic classes and worked at a restaurant on the days I didn't. At that point in my life, I needed to make time to put in the training. Now I have recently relocated to Brazil to live with my husband. I don't have papers to legally work yet. I fortunately have a lot of time because on days where I am motivated, I can practice 3-4 hours a day. I have gotten a lot better at my nutrition and cooking because I have a lot of time on my hands. Previously, when I worked at a restaurant I would spend all day around food so the last thing I wanted to do was cook. Being here away from the restaurant industry has helped me get committed to putting more thought into what I am eating.
What has been the highlight of your dance journey?
It's hard to pick just one because there has been a lot of influential moments for me. I have performed a couple times in Switzerland, Scotland and Russia. I have also competed in national championships in Canada and the United States. I think one of the highlights for me was in the Canadian Highland Championships in 2013 held in Montreal. I came in the top 10 in my age category.
Short and long term goals?
My short term goals have definitely shifted due to the coronavirus. I was scheduled to attend a competition and a performance at the end of April in Virginia, but it was cancelled. That was a really big blow for me. I put a lot of time and work into my application and audition for that show. That's going to get cancelled for this year, but at the same event next year they are bringing back the same dancers. It's just a year long postponement for that trip. Another thing I had coming up was the regional championship for the area I danced in the US. That was a qualifier for the National Championships held in Colorado which haven't been cancelled as of yet, but my guess is that will also be cancelled. It's been hard for me right now watching all my hard work going down the drain. I've tried to keep in my mind that I did have some momentum going and want to keep that momentum because it will be harder to motivate myself later.
My long term goal is to come in the top ten of a national championship again, because the last time I did that was pre-injury. After I had broken my femur, I thought I was going to retire from competition. Since I've come back, I started out doing smaller competitions and then wanted to compete at more championships. Now I want to start competing at the national level again because I really miss it.
What defines health and healthy to you? For me health has always been about ability not about aesthetics. When I teach, that is something I try to portray to my students. I think there is so much in the media that tells us what health is supposed to look like when in actuality it's about feeling. I had a lot of trouble growing up realizing that looking healthy and being healthy are different. It even still is hard to differentiate for me. Being healthy is completely about how you feel, not about which diet you are doing or the form of training you are doing. It is a state of physical and mental satisfaction that is different for every person. Some people do weight training, some people run and some people dance. It is about what makes you feel your best.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to get into dance?
Make sure you stretch a lot! If you don't start stretching at the beginning, it gets way harder to do later. That doesn't mean you have to start young, just get a head start on the stretching because it's hard to get the flexibility in tandem with the strength.
Most women shy away from working upper body because they don’t want to bulk, what advice would you give them?
For women who are shying away from bulking I can relate to this. For the purpose of my training, I am mainly training for highland dancing. Highland dancing is a lot of intense jumping. For me personally less weight I have on my upper body the easier it is to get myself of the ground. I focus my training on gaining muscle in my lower body rather than my upper body. Like I said earlier, however its about ability not aesthetic and depends on what you are training for. If you were a gymnast, you have to be able to hold up your entire body. That type of training doesn't align with my training. I wouldn't mind if I had bulkier arms, but for the purpose of training it doesn't benefit what I'm trying to achieve. I think you should train for what you are trying to achieve. Take a look at your goals are and train in a way to benefit your goals, your body is going to look how it's supposed to look.
What do you think is harder gaining muscle or losing weight?
I have always had a hard time losing weight. When I was younger dancing, I had issues with my body. It later became detrimental to my body. For me it has always been a huge challenge to lose weight. I build muscle quite easily, especially in my quads. I brought it upon myself in a way because I did some heavy damage to my metabolism when I was getting into ballet. I think that's one of the reasons I fell so much more in love with highland dancing. When you go to a competition for highland dancing, it is never about the way you look for a movement. It's not about the look, but rather the strength behind it. I feel like highland dancing helped me with my mental health when I was having body image issues. It reframes my idea of what a dancer should look like. In highland dancing you don't have super skinny dancers that look like they don't eat. You have dancers with massive calves, and that is how I want to dance with that power.
What does your diet consist of, and if you had the power to make one junk food healthy which would it be?
I am a vegan and my diet largely consists of vegetables, I eat a lot of lentils and potatoes. I've experimented with several different diets, and have been a vegetarian for seven years now. For me personally, I find that I have a lot of energy without any meat, but everyone's bodies react differently. You have some nutritionists say you need meat and animal products to build muscle. For me, I'm not looking to build muscle, I'm looking to be in good cardiovascular shape. I need to have stamina and high cardio and I find meat makes me feel sluggish. I by no means am a nutritionist and don't think every athlete should be on a vegan diet. I'm still very much learning what the ideal diet for an athlete is. I go by eating a meal and seeing how I feel after a practice session. I do a lot of experimentation with my diet. If I could make any junk food healthy it would be carrot cake. My stepdad used to make it and I could eat the entire thing. It is definitely not vegan though so haven't eaten it in a while. If I could make it with it not giving me a stomach ache and work for my diet, I would.