5 minutes with Anna Hirsch, our Active Farmers @Blackall trainer!

This week we caught up with Anna Hirsch, our Active Farmers trainer at Blackall who has shared with us some information about herself and the service she offers. A is extremely enthusiastic and passionate about her community and we couldn't be happier to welcome Anna to the team!!!

Can you tell us a bit about you and where you grew up? 

I grew up in a little town near Dusseldorf in Germany. Apart from going to school and catching up with friends I also danced for 16 years. When I was around 15 years old I had the chance to broaden my dance education. So I started teaching Hip Hop and elementary dance to children (aged 4-16 years), as well as organising and running children’s birthday parties in our dance school. In 2009 our little dance group had the chance to participate in the West-German Championship, where we placed 2nd in our category. This qualified us to travel to Berlin for the National Championship, where we also placed 2nd. After finishing school in 2010 I booked my ticket to Australia to do my gap year. I enrolled in a course called Outbackpackers, where they taught me the basics to able to work on farms. I had this idea in my head that I only wanted to travel around rural Australia, which was mainly due to watching too much McLeod’s Daughters back in Germany. So off I went for my little adventure. But it wasn’t until I came to a property just out of Blackall that I set roots. This was in February 2011 and the rest is history. 

Coming from a rural background, how does providing a service aimed at the rural community resonate with you? 

Well, my background was always semi-rural, but it was nowhere near as isolated as where I am now – BUT I love every second of it. I have always loved the fact that you can walk down the main street and can chat to so many people, without that it seems forced or inconvenient. I love the fact that the people in rural communities all know and need each other. When training clients I am not just training a client, I am training a person that I might have a coffee with on another day or who is my nurse or any other service provider. 

Can you tell us how you keep motivated? 

My family and my work are my motivation. It can be hard for everyone to find the right fitness routine. But we all seem to never miss an appointment for work or for children’s sports, school, doctor, kindy, etc. So I started making an appointment for myself. During this time I try to work out. If I have a busy week and don’t seem to get time to myself, I try to make a point of working out with my kids. I find they are an amazing motivation and will join in while I exercise. 

Have you got some tips about getting yourself to class when its early in the morning or after a long day of work? 

Remember why you want to get fitter and healthier. Everyone has something that motivates them. Visualise this when you feel unmotivated to exercise. Every session will get you one step closer to that goal. Goals are never achieved just by simply wishing for them. 

What advice would you give someone considering coming to your Active Farmers classes? 

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great! We all have to start somewhere and what a better way to start when you can train with your friends or even meet new people in your community. 

Can you talk a little about what to expect at your classes? 

 Lots of fun and sweat. Plenty of options for everyone: regressions for people with injuries and beginners as well as progressions for more advanced people. 

How important do you think exercise and socialising is for the rural community? 

I really can’t stress this importance enough! 

Exercising and fitness is not just about losing a certain amount of weight or fitting into certain clothes. It is also about your mental wellbeing, regardless of your current mental health status. But we all have some baggage to carry and group exercising does help with your mental wellbeing, but you are also able to chat to others that might be in a similar position, find new connections and make a difference. For example: bad seasons or good season do affect the entire community, not just farmers or town people; we are all in the same boat, so lets bring us all closer together to be able to face the good and bad as one!

Thank you very much for sharing your story Anna! For more information about Anna and Active Farmers @Blackall click here.