DEB Cronin says doing home exercises can be convenient, especially without having to travel into central Ballarat to get to a gym amid a busy lifestyle. But she misses making a connection with other women.
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For other women, Ms Cronin knows it can be incredibly intimidating to first set foot in the gym.
This was why Ms Cronin was keen to try a special holistic health day at QuickFit gym as part of the state's This Girl Can campaign, encouraging females to feel comfortable getting back into sport and exercise without fear or judgement.
The free session featured a workout, including boxing, and a quick healthy snacks morning tea with gym personal trainer and nutritionist Danni Hibberd.
"It's tying it all together. It's close to where I live...that's important to me," Ms Cronin said. "It's also important to have a program to suit your body. There are women-specific gyms but if all gyms could incorporate things maybe like women-only classes or programs like this, that can help women get exercising more."
This Girl Can, under VicHealth, is built on the highly successful Sport England campaign and inspired more than 185,000 Victoria women to get active in its first year.
Ballarat women are moving less than the average Victorian woman, with about seven in 10 Ballarat women failing to move for 30 minutes at least five days a week.
Fear of judgement or shame, mum guilt, sexualisation, gossip and cliques are key barriers for women, who withdrew from exercise or did not start, according to VicHealth.
QuickFit Delacombe co-owners Nick Prince and Ian Coutts say they aim to empower gym-goers and they were conscious of concerns about body image and expectations entering a gym.
The gym features a fruit and vegetable exchange as part of its health promotion model. Mr Prince said part of empowering people to make healthy decisions was education, but instead of telling people what they should do, it was showing what was possible. Like quick, healthy snacks.
Mr Prince said Ballarat had known high rates of obesity and related chronic illness and gyms could only be most effective if accessible and helping people take control of their health outcomes. This included being a safe space for people who might be struggling with mental health and were encouraged to exercise more.
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