Last time in our search for the fittest East Africans, we found ourselves in the underground Kenyan bodybuilding scene. Kenya, known for producing the best marathon runners in the world, also happens to have some budding bodybuilders too. Kenya isn't as well-known for the art of bodily aesthetics, and it's still very much a work in progress. Still, it has a very promising future with young Kenyan bodybuilders receiving mentorship from industry veterans like Gachau Njoroge. With that said, where could our search for the fittest East African possibly take us next?

If you've been keeping up with our content, you'll see that we are sponsoring a young Ugandan up and coming boxer aptly named, Brenda "Ring Beast" Muduwa. Brenda is an absolute force to be reckoned with, her tenacity in the ring is unmatched, and that's because of the considerable amount of time she puts in the gym. This isn't just about the time she allocates towards honing her craft, but also honing her level of fitness. Boxers without good cardiovascular fitness won't make it far in any league. It won't matter how strong you are, if your goal isn't to always KO your opponent seconds into a match after the bell rings, then you better not gas as the round/match drags on. Something we also like about Brenda is that her time and work honing her physical strength has also allowed her to overcome an issue that plague many women worldwide, and that's developing upper body strength. She can pump out unassisted pushups and pull-ups without issue, a feat that we've noticed is uncommon among females.

Boxers need to have a unique set of physical strengths and attributes to make them as fit as they need to be for their profession, but what about other fighters? We've come across another impressive Ugandan fighter named Annet "Rose" Kiiza, representing Africa Top Team Uganda. Annet isn't just an ordinary fighter, she's a multi-disciplinary athlete who has a background in Muay Thai, Taekwondo, BJJ, wrestling, and so on. She's already had professional fights in four sided, and eight sided rings, and is highly decorated at a very young age. Annet exemplifies having the physical tools necessary for being a multi-discipline fighter. Strength isn't the only component for the aforementioned styles (though it's certainly helpful), but having a combination of agility, mobility, and flexibility is the only way to reach the next level in those martial arts. An immobile mixed martial arts fighter is an ineffective one, whether they're throwing high kicks, or being contorted while in guard position, MMA fighters must be capable of moving quickly and explosively without the fear of causing themselves injury.

So not only do we have two incredibly impressive well-rounded top contenders for fittest East African, but also incredible role models for women, worldwide. We congratulate both Brenda and Annet on their accomplishments, and can't wait to see what the future holds for them (obviously more gold)!