Fitness classes tailored for farmers now in Tasmania

Active Farmers is at its core a fitness program – but it’s hard to say exactly what gets the biggest workout.

All ages connecting, farm life and families discussed, social calendars planned, kids playing on the periphery, partners letting off steam all intertwine for the ultimate mental and physical health boost.

The classes are held every Monday at 6pm and Thursday at 6.15am at Hagley Farm School, Hagley, and they’re led by local remedial massage therapist and Quamby Plains Corriedale Stud farmer Jennifer Archer, better known as JJ.

Since JJ took on the Active Farmer trainer/manager role eight years ago, she’d had three children and enjoyed having an outlet away from everyday life just as much as the many participants who have come and gone or stuck around.

“There’s a wide range of people from the rural community who attend to work on improving their health and fitness in what is essentially a boot camp-style program where we do a circuit of exercises using minimal equipment,” JJ said.

“Some farm people don’t see many other people so it’s great for social connection and we’re pretty casual here - so if someone needs to bring their children to take part that’s okay and we’ve even had some younger kids grow up and join in as time goes on.

“We do cardio and strength work, and the results are obvious over time, not because of measurements or numbers, but because someone might say ‘I can’t believe how much easier I handled lamb marking this year’.

Josie is an Angus beef farmer at Enfield, near Bishopsbourne, who first decided to join Active Farmers several years ago after her husband died.

“I’m there by myself a lot so it’s nice to come out and see people I know from the district,” she said.

One of those people is Judy Kilby, who was Josie’s grade five teacher at Hagley Farm School in the late 1960s.

The well-known equestrienne and farmer, now 78, is loving having more strength and movement in her back through the regular exercise.

Richard Bell, farm manager on McCray’s Hills beef and sheep farm at Blackwood Creek, admits his new fiancée Hannah Cummins, an agronomist who grew up on a mixed farm at Hagley, dragged him along at the start.

However he quickly realised how much better it was than using a home gym and he’s also finding his aches and pains have disappeared.

“It’s good socially and the exercise is great too, you don’t think it’s that much but it certainly helps.”

JJ said that many of the people who participate don’t have the time or feel comfortable going into the city to a big gym and because its pay-as-you-go there’s plenty of flexibility around jobs and farm life.

“No-one is locked in, they just come along when they can,” JJ said.

“Last winter I had a whole eventing team join in for six weeks as fitness preparation ahead of the eventing season,” she said.

Active Farmers has now joined forces with Fat Farmers Rural Health Initiative – the two organisations combining their shared passion and purpose to improve the health and wellbeing of farmers and rural communities across Australia.

The aim is to reach more towns - so far more than 80 rural communities are being supported - with plans in place that will see that number grow to more than 200 around the country.

It will also mean that a dedicated health check bus will make its way to Tasmania.

To join Active Farmers download the Active Farmers App and book a class online (Hagley is the only one currently in Tasmania), the first class is free.