A well-known celebrity trainer in Hollywood, Braganza’s A-List clients have included Halle Berry, Kate Beckinsale, Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Zac Efron, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Welling, and Michael Weatherly among many others.
Ramona Braganza, global fitness expert and celebrity trainer, never planned on taking up this line of work, infact it chose her. Beginning with her very first love of a sport, gymnastics, she always preferred spending her spare time being active. This active lifestyle attracted her to unique opportunities in her teens that allowed her to have fun and brought in income as well.
In her 20s, it led her to a 10-year dance career as a professional cheerleader for the Los Angeles Raiders, followed with a three-year choreography position with NFL Europe League introducing the sport of cheerleading to Scotland and London. “For five years I competed in Ms. Fitness Contests and booked jobs as a fitness model but it wasn’t until I was working in a health club that the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to me and I was introduced to a TV show producer who was looking for a gymnastics coach for his young leading lady,” adds Braganza.
The TV show was Dark Angel, and the actress was Jessica Alba. “I became certified and she was my first client. Since that day personal training has become my business. It’s a career I love, it is ever evolving and it allows me to help others by bringing a level of fitness into their lives,” shares Braganza.
A well-known celebrity trainer in Hollywood, Braganza’s A-List clients have included Halle Berry, Kate Beckinsale, Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Zac Efron, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Welling, and Michael Weatherly among many others. She recently trained actors Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan for the film Fifty
Shades Darker. Sharing her experience with the pair, she says, “It was great as it filmed in Vancouver and we used my mobile trailer on the job [a first-class, travelling fitness facility]. Work with them was easy, they both wanted to train hard. The job lasted for five months as they also filmed the third instalment for next’s year release.”
Braganza is popularly known for developing the 3-2-1 Training Method. It consists of 3 segments of cardio, 2 segments of circuit strength training and 1 segment of core for a fat burning, muscle toning workout. Lack of workout time on sets or equipment motivated this fitness expert to come up with the exercise program. “During my first years with Jessica Alba while filming the Dark Angel and on location for various movies such as Honey and Into the Blue, I often found we did not have much time to workout. Filming in remote locations was equally challenging, as equipment was limited, so I needed to find ways to use what we had around naturally,” explains Braganza. “I needed to make our workouts more effective so I decided to take all the elements I found important to an exercise program – cardio, strength training and core – and combine them in a time efficient program whether we had only 20 minutes to train or the luxury of an hour.”
She also found ways to do a full program using only hand weights and a bench. “This has been my preferred method of training, sticking to the basics, using compound exercises, alternating upper and lower body, and natural alternatives to cardio machines such as climbing stairs, jump rope or jogging.”
Braganza’s 3-2-1 method has spread worldwide, especially in India where she has multiple fitness collaborations. “I have released a book called Feel Fit, Look Fantastic in 321 by Harper Collins India [2014], and am currently getting ready to launch my franchise business, MyHomeFitness, with my partner in India, Sanghvi Brands,” mentions Vogue India’s 2014 Fitness Expert of the Year Award winner.
A prominent one among these collaborations is her partnership with the non-governmental organization, Prerana, to help victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking in India build a better life. Through a unique train-the-trainer model, Braganza brings her 3-2-1 Philosophy, Training and Nutrition Program to the young women living in the Naunihal center under Prerana’s protection with the goals of achieving their group class and PT certification, developing the relevant business skills to become entrepreneurs in the field of health and wellness and improving on personal wellness for the mind, spirit and body.
Q & A with Ramona Braganza
What are the latest fitness trends according to you?
The latest trends continue to be strength training, body weight training, small group training, and using technology to help monitor progress.
What is your biggest achievement so far?
Returning to India as an adult and entering the market of my genes is my biggest achievement so far.
What do you define fitness? How has it helped you grow?
Fitness to me means being healthy not only to look good but to be healthy for the future. Fitness has helped me tremendously, if it was not for being active as a child I would not have had the self confidence I have today as an adult. Having a love for a sport of gymnastics and excelling at it gave me faith in myself and what I could achieve. I learned at an early age to trust in God and his plans and I also was able to leave home at 18 and pursue my dreams because I continued to use my physical self in a way that advanced my career. So physical activity has been a large part of my journey.