Sweating away the winter chill

RESIDENTS in the Shire’s north can stay active this winter with a range of Fitness in July classes.

The program, organised by Jaymee Ellis, owner of GenkiFIT, aims to provide an affordable way for the community to get moving.

Classes start at $5 and training styles include circuit, Pilates, boxing, CIRCL mobility classes and fast-paced cardio workouts based at Woady Yaloak Recreation Facility.

“I thought, how can we take Christmas in July and make that a bit funny?” said Ms Ellis.

“I am Father Christmas or Santa and I give people the gift of fitmas.”

Attendees receive a ticket for each session they go to and there are a range of prizes on offer including free classes, spa vouchers and fitness equipment.

This is the sixth year of the program and Ms Ellis has a goal to encourage more people to try a class for the first time.

“At the end of the month we draw out a whole bunch prizes and they are donated by local businesses or community groups, and I also put in my own money to incentivise people to come along,” said Ms Ellis.

“It’s to try and get as many people into classes as we can, getting fit, particularly when it’s disgustingly cold.”

Ms Ellis aims to make the classes inclusive for people of all abilities and life stages.

“The price has not changed in the 15 years we’ve been running it,” she said.

“The reason why GenkiFIT was created originally was to create fun, affordable and accessible fitness classes and we’ve kept that going.

“Accessibility isn’t just price point, it’s also being family friendly so if you have kids or you’re a single parent and you need to bring them to get to a fitness class, bring them.”

To book a class visit the GenkiFIT website.