Just the word ‘fitness’ conjures up images of dimly lit high intensity training rooms run by instructors with loud voices and even louder muscles, long lines of cardio equipment, heavy weights racks, calorie counting and protein shakes. And sure, there’s a lot to love about all of those things, but are they really what creates long-term change and happiness for most women?
With almost ten years of experience working purely with the female form, girl power training trio the BUF Girls, founded by best-selling author and “Biggest Loser: Transformed” trainer Libby Babet, alongside fitness influencer Cassey Maynard and theatre performer turned health coach Sian Johnson, are about to shake up the Sydney fitness scene, launching their first studio experience tailored exclusively to women and what they really want from a wellness experience—body, mind and soul.
“Women really want results, but most are so busy and overwhelmed with their everyday lives that strict diets and exercise plans that are exhausting or difficult to stick to just add to their anxiety and stress load,” Libby says.
“A Recent research paper I reviewed showed that 40% of women have been professionally diagnosed with depression or anxiety, with those aged 18 to 35 being the most anxious age group among women in Australia, and even those who hadn’t sought out medical help admitted to experiencing at least ‘mild’ levels of anxiety daily.”
That’s a lot of stressed-out sisters! “Yes!” says Libby.
“Women are so busy and overwhelmed these days, the last thing they need is more rules, more expectations to live up to, and they certainly don’t need to look at streams of ‘before and after’ photos that make them feel less worthy.”
Cassey adds: “Women want daily experiences and rituals that make us feel great about ourselves, and ultimately about life!”
“We all want something fun we can look forward to, an environment that has an overall impact on our wellness, mindfulness and social interactions. Most often, the core issue isn’t that a woman needs to lose weight, that’s just an outcome of how they’re really feeling about their life.
“The core issues we see are that women feel anxious or tired, stressed, emotional, under pressure, or so overwhelmed that they’re simply making the wrong choices, or completely overdoing things. Or it may be something a little simpler, like feeling disconnected and not having enough of a support system in place to help them through tough times.”
Libby adds that the acronym “BUF” stands for what it is the team believes women really want from a wellness experience.
“BUF stands for Beautiful Friendships, Unstoppable Bodies, Fearless Mindsets—the three elements of health we believe help women feel truly strong, confident and just a little bit happier every single day,” she says.
“When it comes to training women, fitness certainly isn’t just about training hard, eating less and adding more pressure to your week. It’s not calories and extreme exercise that’s the answer for long-term results, it’s mental health and community support, it’s finding something fun they want to return to time and again, and it’s embracing new information and creating a curiosity around learning. Women really crave credible information about how to achieve balance and eat well.”
These are the reasons the BUF Girls say they’ve created a fun, welcoming fitness studio in their all-new “Pink Palace” opening in Bondi on August 4th, which aims to bring women together without the ego of fear that the words ‘fitness’ or ‘gym’ often conjure up.
What you can expect:
They’ve created a timetable designed around research that found women will often feel and look better when they respect their hormones and don’t overdo the high intensity training, so you’ll find a mix of challenging cardio and strength classes, as well as low impact mat work and half-hour sessions designed to tone, shape, lengthen and lean out the body, while maintaining balance.
And the best part? Two sessions on the timetable, BUF Girls and ABCC (which stands for Abs, Booty and CardioCrave) are choreographed to the beat, so you’ll squat, lift and lunge to fresh DJ mixes that will lift your mood and increase the burn!
“It’s just a whole lot of fun really!” says Sian.
“And the thing is, when we become more mindful around our emotions and what it is that really generates moments of happiness for us, when we find a fun, supportive environment that lifts our spirits and helps us deal with everyday stressors, and when we connect with a community that’s focused on creating positive habits, it’s a lot easier to create permanent change and make better decisions when it comes to food, movement and mindfulness practices.
“And there’s something about a girls-only environment that encourages a genuine openness and connectedness. It’s a community spirit and level of support that women really do crave”.
Visit https://bufgirls.com/bondi/ for more!
