Fernwood – Lift the Nation

Fernwood is on a mission. They want women to lift; lift weights that is.

All this week, Fernwood are opening their gyms across Australia and they’re giving every woman access to their clubs for free. According to the gals at Fernwood, only 1% of women in Australia lift weights or participate in strength training, which is unfortunate, because there are many benefits to lifting weights.

I headed out to Fernwood in Camberwell where they were hosting a yummy, and of course healthy, cooking class plus a Body Pump workout. Guiding us through the cooking workshop was a representative from Isowhey.

First up, we made a yogurt and berry snack (see recipe above). After I scoffed this down, we then got to make protein balls! Well sort of… we got to roll the mixture, which was made for us, into a ball shape and then coat it in cocoa or coconut. After a couple (or more) protein balls later, we moved into the workout room where we stripped off our layers and prepared ourselves for a Body Pump class.

It had been a while since I had attended a Pump class. Thankfully I have learnt from my past mistakes. The last Pump class I attended, I found myself having to pull off some weights mid-workout. Those skinny bars and ‘smaller’ weights are deceiving! With nothing to prove, I looked at my instructor and basically thought, I will not do the weight she is doing, as I loaded on a few kilos less to my bar.

The great thing about Body Pump classes, is that they are an all over body workout. Plus, they are choreographed to up-beat music. From working out our legs, butt, chest to shoulders, I knew these high repetitions were going to make me sore the following day, (and I was).

Feeling a bit jelly, we headed back to the kitchen to find that our yogurt berry snack and protein balls had been our pre-workout meal. Our post-workout meal was yet to come!

Lot’s of veggies, salads, quinoa and chicken, Fernwood topped the morning off by showcasing some of their delicious online recipes.

Lifting weights benefits:

1. Increases muscle growth, which in turn helps with weight loss. Muscles burn more energy that fat. The more muscle you have, the more energy you are burning (even when you are not working out).
2. Leans and tones your physique, in conjunction with a healthy diet.
3. Makes you strong and improves your posture. This is great for those of you who have desk jobs!
4. Increases bone density, which helps prevent osteoporosis. 20% of Australians have poor bone health or osteoporosis.
5. Increases and elevates your mood. Who doesn’t want to feel happy!?

If you’d like to be a part of Fernwood’s Lift the Nation or try out any of their 69 gyms throughout Australia, click here.

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