Moving away from typical unisex gyms, HIIT FIT Stellies strives to provide a safe environment for some girls to exercise and for other girls to advance their career prospects. HIIT FIT Stellies currently only allows girls to join the program under the supervision of 15 female coaches out of its staff of 17.
The brain behind this business is Lloyd Smith (25), who is currently working on his masters in Sports Science.
As a coach at a local gym, Smith’s background in Sports Science helped him to notice that “a lot of the girls that came into the gym did not know anything about training or how to lift weights or how to even move in a gym environment.
“It’s no fault of theirs, it’s just that society doesn’t really teach girls how to gym and when you do gym you’re expected to go to a spinning class.”
Smith recognised that as students, time is important and fitting in a long workout is not always possible.
Lloyd Smith trains girls in a HIIT FIT Stellies session. PHOTO: Alundrah Sibanda
“Girls are spending an hour, an hour and a half in the gym where you can get the same hour and a half’s results in half an hour with us and as a student you want that time back. You don’t want to have to spend that much time focusing on your fitness.”
All of the HIIT FIT coaches study Sports Science, with the exception of one pilates instructor, and out of a team of seventeen coaches, only two are male.
“The fact that HIIT FIT is a girls only training facility at the moment enables us to provide a safe space for girls in terms of not going to the gym and worrying about being objectified.
“The classes are very difficult but afterwards you feel like a hundred bucks, it’s an amazing workout. I’ve never felt unsafe or judged, it’s a really amazing safe environment,” says Monique Klaver (19), a Chemical Engineering student and HIIT FIT member.
When it comes to form, Smith is fanatical.
“You have to move properly. I’m really particular about the way that people move, its something that I drew from my previous experience with CrossFit, I believe in consistency over intensity. You need to move well, and once you’re moving well you can up the intensity.”
A HIIT FIT Stellies workout session in progress. PHOTO: Alundrah Sibanda
The workouts last half an hour, and start every fifteen minutes from 16:30 onwards at various locations in Stellenbosch. All members are welcome to any and all of the scheduled weekday sessions.
Girls of any fitness level can join HIIT FIT, from beginners to national athletes.
“We want to become the pinnacle of women’s training on campus. We want to be the experts there,” says Smith.
One of the HIIT FIT coaches, Angelique de Klerk (19), says she not only coaches for the experience but also for the challenge.
The cool down phase of a HIIT FIT Stellies session. PHOTO: Alundrah Sibanda
“It’s honestly so much fun to be around the girls, to motivate them, to support them, it’s like this whole girl group and it’s empowering coming together, I love it. I’m all about body positivity, working on your own limitations, it’s really great being part of the team.”
With 140 members, HIIT FIT aims to be as student friendly as possible. Members only pay for the months when they have class and have access to every HIIT FIT session. Every Friday training is free for those who would like to try a class or only participate once a week.
As extra incentive, members stand a chance to win Nike fitness gear every month in the HIIT FIT giveaway.
Watch the video below to get an idea of what a HIIT FIT class is really like:
– Alundrah Sibanda and Lauren Dold