My favourite thing about Real Girls Sweat sessions is being able to exercise in an accepting environment with a trainer who is caring & skilled in her ability to alter every exercise to anyone who has an injury as well as their current ability. 

I highly recommend real Girls Sweat and the best way to overcome your fears of main stream ‘gym environments’ is to give Real Girls a go & see that we are all just that, ‘real girls’ just wanting to do something positive for our health & well being.

Before I joined Real Girls Sweat I was worried that I was going to be way behind everyone else and not able to keep up. I was so glad to get there and find that my fitness level didn’t matter – Jo goes above and beyond to make the exercises doable for everyone, and makes sure there just that bit of a challenge.

My favourite part is the variety, each session is different, you are pushed to work harder and there is never an “easy” session- which is just great!

The group size is also great, having no more than 10 in a class means you don’t get missed, Jo makes an effort to assist and push us individually, which is often not possible in a bigger class.

Real Girls Sweat, it is such a welcoming group of women and Jo’s training is great. All the exercises can be as difficult and push you as much as you want them. You won’t regret Real Girls Sweat it’s the perfect way to start the morning, particularly on a Monday!

In August 2015 I had my first session with Jo from Real Girls Sweat. It was my very first fitness test I couldn’t run 500 meters, I planked on my knees for 30 seconds, did 12 very bad push ups on my knees and did a squat hold for 45 seconds. In that first session I pushed myself hard to get those results…..

My latest fitness test was 12 weeks ago I ran a kilometre in under 6 minutes, I planked for 2 minutes 30 seconds, I did 17 fairly decent push ups on my toes and did a squat hold for 2 minutes and 45 seconds. My next fitness test is next week and I have no doubt I’ll improve these stats yet again. My total weight loss over the last 12 months is 16.5kgs.

I still have a long way to go to reach my desired fitness level and my goal weight but I have no doubt that I’ll get there. The reason for this confidence is the support and encouragement I get from Jo. She pushes me to improve my fitness level and offers practical advice about nutrition and life in general.

Jo couldn’t be more helpful and considerate. Never once has she made me or anyone else do a burpee and if I have doubts about doing an exercise she’ll either work with me so I can do it.

Jo is genuinely excited when I reach a goal, nail a new exercise or do something really cool like carry a slab and two ten packs at once   !

All in all, the last twelve months working with Jo have been hard but fun. I am so grateful for the help and support she has given me to reach my goals and change my habits to improve my lifestyle.

The photo on the left was taken just after I had completed my “Ditch the junk” challenge, had lost a couple of kilos & feeling pretty happy with myself….

when I looked at this photo I was devastated, because the message it gave to me was that even though I thought I had made a good start, there was absolutely no visible evidence of it at all.

My usual reaction to feeling like this would be to say.. bugger it, I will give up because it’s not working.

But this time was different.

The photo on the left motivated me to keep going with the changes I had been making to my lifestyle. It motivated me to continue to remove the junk from my diet & instead nourish myself with wholesome real food & it motivated me to continue the exercising that I was enjoying more with each session.

The photo on the right is today. When I put them side by side I shocked myself.

To say I have a long way to go is an understatement, but I have started & I have continued & I feel amazingly healthy & fitter than I have ever felt before!

Thankyou to Jo @ Real Girls for the guidance, motivation & the resources to keep me going on this journey.

It’s about education and gradual steps. I’ve learned much about myself through the process. Learning about habit development can also be applied to other areas in life, too. I thought I knew how to eat healthy (or healthy enough), but I’d never assume I know enough in my work – why do I not give my life (me) the same attention and consideration? It has helped me value and prioritise my time. (Recommending to a friend, I’d have to be careful I’m not too evangelistic!)