By Victoria Stone-Meadows
A free fitness service for men in the Berwick and surrounding areas has been kicking goals since its inception four years ago.
Fitness 4 Blokes is being run through the Berwick Anglican, and helps men improve both their physical and spiritual fitness.
The group is run by university-qualified fitness professional Martin Turner who grew the group out of another community service program he was involved in through the church.
“We have a group called backyard blitz and where we help needy women such as widows and single mums with gardening work,” Mr Turner said.
“We would meet at the end and have lunch after, and a few of the guys asked ‘who wanted to start working out’; it was as simple as that.”
Fitness 4 Blokes started out with a core group of six, and has grown to include just under 20 regular members from the church congregation and wider afield.
Most of the members of the group are fathers who find themselves with no time to care for their health and spiritual wellbeing.
“We meet on a Saturday morning during school terms at 7am, and the reason we meet so early is a lot of us are dads and wanted to come up with a time we can still take kids to sport afterwards,” Mr Turner said.
“No one really says it, but we found once you have kids and you are a dad, you lose contact with a lot of old mates and the group gives guys a chance to share their lives and get out of the home with other blokes in a healthy and positive way.”
“It works out really well.”
As well as the regular fitness classes, the group attends high level obstacle courses such as tough mudder and Spartan as a way to keep members challenged.
Minister of the Berwick Anglican Church, Wayne Schuller, is a keen CrossFitter and gets involved in the group as well.
“We are very proud of the church to have the group,” he said.
“To do something for men spiritually and physically, and help them and help people get to the God that made them.”
To find out more about the group or to get involved, visit the church’s website www.berwickanglicanchurch.org.au.
