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Cecelia has created a women-only gym in Papua New Guinea — and it's a hit

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Cecelia has created a women-only gym in Papua New Guinea — and it's a hit

After losing her mother to liver cancer in 2019, Cecelia Kanawi knew that to break the cycle and avoid succumbing to lifestyle diseases, she had to make some life-altering decisions.

But little did she know her personal journey would have a ripple effect, attracting more than 100 Papua New Guinean women to her fitness program, called Break a Sweat.

“When I started Break a Sweat it was because personally I was self-conscious with my body,” Cecelia said.

Cecelia wants to see more women’s only gym spaces.(WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

“I was too ashamed to go to the gym and every time I walked into the gym I would wait until all the men or all the women who were already fitness freaks and they look super good in their outfits leave the gym, then I’d go into my little exercise in the corner.

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“So when the COVID-19 pandemic happened, that was when all the main gyms shut down so I saw that little gap where I was going to tap into.”

Building a community

During the pandemic, Cecelia took an online course to become a certified fitness trainer and formally registered her business.

Break a Sweat started with just five members, but three years later Cecelia has more than 100 participants and provides services including personal training, group sessions, and online training to clients overseas.

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A group of Papua New Guinean women in active wear smile and pose for the camera.

Break a Sweat attracts a large number of women from across Port Moresby.(WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

But what makes Break a Sweat special is the community formed by the women, which extends to more than just fitness buddies.

“I have participants who are members of the disciplined forces (police and defence), health workers, law practitioners like lawyers and magistrates,” Cecelia said.

“And the support each of these women provide for each other when a need arises where a someone needs medical assistance or a protection order (for cases of domestic violence), they step in to assist each other.

“Break a Sweat not only impacted lives of the women that came to me but they also helped me in in return, that’s why I like to refer to it as empowering women through fitness where they support me and I support them back.”

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A Papua New Guinean woman wearing a pink singlet and black shorts lifts a huge hammer to hit a tyre.

Participants help each other outside of the gym too.(WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

Last year, Cecelia’s fitness program attracted PNG’s Pacific Games gold medallist powerlifter Linda Pulsan to join — later prompting Cecelia to become an athlete.

“She (Pulsan) realised that I had natural strength and the ability to lift weight, so through her recommendation, I was able to train with the Team PNG powerlifters and made my debut at the Pacific Games and won silver,” Cecelia said.

“When I went to compete, my shoes, my belt and my lifting accessories were all paid for by the women that I trained, so it was a community of women that supported me.”

Safe space for women

One of the participants, Matilda Pasum, joined BAS two years ago with the aim to bulk up.

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“The environment here is welcoming and joining this has helped me mentally, especially being a full-time mum — it can be stressful,” she said.

A Papua New Guinean woman wearing a pink singlet has her arms crossed and smiles at the camera.

Matilda enjoys the sense of community.(WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

“So I made an arrangement with my husband and even though he’s a soldier, he makes time to come home and take of our kids while I attend my sessions.

“He’s been really supportive of my journey and I am very grateful to him for his understanding and support.”

Tahina Booth is a former elite rugby league player, and founder of the Grass Skirt Project, a leading organisation tackling gender-based violence in PNG through innovative sports and wellness initiatives.

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She says it’s important to have facilities like Break a Sweat accessible to everyday women in PNG’s capital, and wants the government to help create more spaces like it.

A Papua New Guinean woman is working out lifting hand weights.

Women from a range of backgrounds participate in the program. (WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

“It is incredibly important to have facilities like Cecelia’s for women’s economic participation and women’s access to physical activity, as it is very low,” Tahina said.

“Cecelia is doing an incredible job in creating a safe space for women in her community who can come and find a sense of belonging as she caters to their physical and mental wellbeing as well as providing nutrition education and dieting advice.

“From what I know, she doesn’t have a huge investment backing her but she’s doing all these with whatever resources and little funding she has.”

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Fitness movement

Another gym in Port Moresby, East Street Fitness, owned by couple Florence Daple and William Darius Moaina, has also been striving to produce a successful and safe space for both men and women to have access to a high quality gym setting.

A Papua New Guinean woman and a man, wearing black polo shirts, stand next to each other and smile at the camera.

Florence and Darius own a gym in Port Moresby. (WINS/ABC Sport: Patricia Keamo)

Florence comes from a background of playing local softball and running track in her youth, while her husband Darius played rugby.

The pair understands what it was like as a young athlete trying to find affordable and accessible gym facilities in Port Moresby.

“When you go into a gym setting, you want to be assisted,” Florence said.

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“As a female, you get intimidated by all the male counterparts that are actually working out and they know what they’re doing.

“I wanted the help and we weren’t getting that.

“So we just thought to ourselves, why don’t we find a gym or come up with something that will be also available, affordable and will help not just us, but our communities?”

Meanwhile, Cecelia believes that while men can part of the solution in ensuring that women are empowered through fitness in accessing various gym spaces, she wants to see her brand of an all-women fitness grow across PNG.

Patricia Keamo is a sports reporter at The National in Papua New Guinea.

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She is part of ABC International Development’s Women in News and Sport Initiative, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Team Up program.

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Fitness

Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you

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Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you

Did you know that some popular exercises that we all do at the gym to stay fit and healthy may be doing more harm than good? Dr Venkatesh Movva, an orthopaedic doctor trained in Sports Medicine, sat down with Ranveer Allahbadia for The Ranveer Podcast, where he talked about the exercise one should avoid at the gym. The answers will surprise you.

Dr Venkatesh Movva, an orthopaedic doctor, in a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia.

(Also Read | Ranbir Kapoor ‘decides to clap’ in between his pullups. Guess how Alia Bhatt reacted?)

Avoid doing these gym exercises now!

In the clip shared on The Ranveer Show Podcast Instagram page, with the caption, “Dr Venkatesh on Which Exercises you should Avoid in Gym?”, Ranveer asks Dr Movva which exercises he would recommend gymgoers to avoid as an orthopaedic doctor. He suggested three exercises which are quite popular among gymgoers aiming to get fit, lose weight or stay healthy. According to him, one should not do overhead exercises, deadlifts, and crunches.

Dr Movva stated in the clip, “Overhead, heavy [exercise]. I mean, you can go stretch, but no military press, number one. Number two crunches; avoid them. Number three, deadlifts. (sic)” To this, Ranveer replied, “So, I’d replace the military press because it’s for the anterior delts with just front raises.” As an alternative, Dr Movva suggested people to ‘bend down’ during such exercises. “You can go bend down, raise it [weights], rather than overhead (sic),” he said.

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While Ranveer, a fitness enthusiast himself, said that he would replace crunches with planks, Dr Movva suggested ‘planks and bridges’.

Lastly, for why one should avoid deadlifts, an exercise you must have seen many celebrities doing at the gym and fitness influencers pushing their followers to include in their routine, the orthopaedic doctor said, “I see more injuries than benefits with the deadlifts. If you are really well-trained and have a good muscle balance, do it. But if you are trying to get better, that’s one thing you may want to avoid. Because the risk of injury is very high. There are so many other exercises that you can compensate without doing these things.”

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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Woman who shed 54 kg shares 7 back and bicep exercises that helped transform her body

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Woman who shed 54 kg shares 7 back and bicep exercises that helped transform her body

Carrying excess fat in your back and arms can cause health concerns for many. Sorting out this issue is important, not just for how you look, but also for your general health and ability to move around easily. If you are on a weight loss journey and looking for exercises to help you target these areas, worry not. We have found seven exercises to help you develop and tone your back and bicep muscles. The routine was shared on Instagram by Meredith Hutson, who shed 120 lbs (approximately 54 kg) naturally. Check out the exercise that helped her transform her body.

Woman, who lost 54 kg, shares back and bicep workout that helped her in her transformation.

(Also Read | Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you)

Back and bicep workouts to try

In the video, Meredith suggested exercises like the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, outer curl into Zottman curl, cable rear delt fly, straight arm pulldowns, reverse seated rows, cable hammer curls, and cable lat pulldowns. She also demonstrated how to do each exercise in the clip and showcased modifications she added to make the routine effective.

The fitness influencer also had an inspiring message for those trying to lose weight or tone their muscles. She said, “Nobody saw my potential the way that I did…” Check out the exercises.

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According to Meredith’s video, each exercise targets different areas in your back and biceps. Talking about the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, she said that the exercise targets your ‘middle back for a balanced development’. For the Zottman curl, she modified the exercise by adding an outer curl, which helped her target the long head of her biceps and forearms.

While the cable rear delt fly exercise (a personal favourite of the fitness coach) targets the real delts, upper back muscles, traps and rhomboid, the straight arm pulldown helps work out the rhomboid and ‘big muscles’ on the back, thus helping create the V shape.

As per Meredith, the reverse seated rows also target the rhomboid along with the traps, biceps, rear delts, and the ‘main muscle in our backs that helps us in doing pulling movements’. Lastly, the cable hammer curls work the entire upper arms ‘focusing on the front of the arms and the outside of the forearm’, while the cable lat pulldowns target ‘lats, rhomboid, traps, and biceps’.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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Manayunk gym aims to provide source of physical and mental wellness

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Manayunk gym aims to provide source of physical and mental wellness

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — GoalsFit, nestled in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood, has been a community staple for 16 years.

Kasey Manwaring-Loos, who is at the helm, has created an environment that gets people coming back for their fitness fix.

“Kasey has a superpower, she has a lot of them,” said Dan Leinhauser, who’s been a client at Goals for eight years. “But one of them is she can take old guys like me, and young, very fit people, and somehow everybody gets an incredible workout out of it. No one is made to feel less than the other person.”

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Manwaring-Loos realized the impact her gym had on her clients. It was an outlet for their physical and mental wellness. So, she felt the push. She decided to enroll in a master’s program at her alma mater, Saint Joseph’s University, to pursue a degree in mental health counseling. Her hope was to provide her clients with more tools in the future.

“I happen to have a client who was in eighth grade, and after six sessions I just saw how good she was feeling,” Manwaring-Loos reflected. “I remember one session saying, ‘You look so strong.’ And she was like, ‘I just feel so good.’ So, I thought it was the perfect spot to start with because I think it will be so impactful.”

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So “Generation Move” was born. It’s a program launching in the New Year for 7th and 8th graders who may experience anxiety surrounding sports, exercise, and movement.

Manwaring-Loos said it will be a combination of exercise and “chit-chat.”

“One week will be called ‘Lifting to Feel Empowered,’ one week will be ‘Moving for a Clearer Mind,’ one week will be ‘Teamwork Makes Dreamwork.’”

At a time when professional athletes like Eagles tackle Lane Johnson have spoken out about the intersection between sports and mental health, people like Manwaring-Loos are doing the work in our communities.

“When it comes down to it, I want to do this because at least they will leave feeling in a good mood,” Manwaring-Loos shared. “Sure, there will always be struggles, sadness, problems, but at least they will find a tool that will put them in a better mood.”

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Generation Move is set to begin its six-week program on January 15. You can learn more about the various offerings at GoalsFit at goalsfit.com.

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