Personal trainer Kate Cairnduff has a t-shirt that says ‘Eat the damn brownie’. She doesn’t weigh and measure people and says you shouldn’t have guilt about living your life.

Kate does believe that moving your body is one of the most important things you can do to increase your life quality and mental health – and that age and ability levels hold no barriers to being able to find a way to get moving.

After ten years working in the fitness industry, Kate has taken the brave step of opening Fitness Manouvers - her own personal training studio on Dawson Street. The grand opening is this Saturday and she invites people to come in, meet her and have cupcake and a chat.

Kate said she was inspired to open her own studio after her job working in a gym came to an end earlier this year.

“Covid-19 meant I was unemployed,” Kate said. “One morning I found myself at home with a glass of wine in my hand and thought I can’t keep having a pity party.”

So, Kate had a ‘Fitness with Kate’ website made and created an online six week training program for her clients for $10 a week. With a strong base of 70 clients on her books already, Kate said opening the new studio value adds to the personal training experience and she is ready to take on some new clients.

“My online program had a recording of me talking and coaching my clients, as if I was actually with them doing the exercises,” she said.

Kate knows how important it is to have someone to inspire and motivate you.

Kate, now 49, says age and bad past experiences of gyms shouldn’t stop you moving.

Why don't you exercise?

“We need to get past any underlying reasons why you don’t exercise,” she said.

“I joined a gym about 11 years ago, to lose weight and get fit and healthy. I met a personal trainer who showed me the magic of exercise - not just the aesthetics, but how it made you feel.

“I lost weight and enjoyed the knowledge I gained, so I started a Cert 3 course to learn about personal training. Then a friend gave me a scholarship to do Cert 4 in Lismore and I started working with clients from home, then worked in gyms.

Age is an advantage

“Now, my business has evolved and I realise that being a bit older in this industry is actually an advantage - there are people just like me, who might be older, or hate going to gyms and haven’t found someone in the industry they connect with.

“I’m help to help you. You can come in and train one on one with me and also have the online classes.

“My clients are not social media people – they don’t take selfies. I have clients that want privacy and don’t want to go to a gym and what they learn and do with me is about real life.”

What do you get?

Unlike gyms, there are no memberships – you just need to book a 30 minute appointment for $40 with Kate if you want a personal training session and the best thing is – there will be no one else watching.

In the studio, there is an exercise bike, a rowing machine, weights, punching gloves, and a pilates reformer.

“I do a lot of stretching with my clients,” Kate said. “The way I train I don’t use a lot of machines.

“People who have been injured will get gentle movement – they need to build their foundations up so they can train properly and find a way to move better.

“It’s important to educate people and give them control, so they are not co-dependent on a personal trainer to get moving.

Strength

“I have an 80 year old client with Parkinson’s Disease and we use the TRX equipment and stand up and hold the straps and get the whole body engaged – and get the core strong.

“Some ladies come in with a goal, like wanting to learn how to lift weights.

“I have a client who is a road bike rider who is training for a competition. Training is about him being able to ride further on the weekends and live his life a little better.

“My point of difference is that my training is private. It’s about moving so you feel better and get better mental health – then life will feel lighter. You measure your success when you live your life."

Fitness Manouvers is located at 139 Dawson Street and will be open Monday to Thursday, 6am to 6.30pm and Saturday, 8am to 12pm for small group training.

The grand opening, drop-in day is on this Saturday, October 31 from 12 to 3pm, so drop-in and say hi.

For more information, visit the website http:/www.fitnessmanouvers.com