5 minutes with JJ Pullinger, our Active Farmers trainer @Hagley
This week we caught up with JJ Pullinger, our Active Farmers trainer @Hagley! JJ
Can you tell us a bit about you and where you grew up?
I grew up in Hampshire, England in the New Forest and then moved to a small village, Upper Wield. It was a lovely area to grow up in the outdoors. We always had horses and I spent weekends showjumping and riding around the countryside. I also danced since I could walk, and when I wasn't on a horse I was prancing around the dance floor either doing ballet, tap or jazz.
When I was 19 I came travelling to Australia and New Zealand for 3 months and in that time I was offered a job on an Angus stud in Western Victoria, and now 7 years later I have never looked back. After 5 years in Victoria I moved to Tasmania with my partner Charlie, to his farm near Hagley where they have a Hereford stud, Corriedale stud and grow a variety of crops from poppies, peas and beans to canola and wheat.
When I am not being a trainer for Active Farmers I am a Remedial Massage Therapist working at Physiofit, I play netball for Meander Valley Suns which keeps me fit and is my social outing for the week! And I enjoy spending time with all my animals, pigs, chickens, dogs and cats :)
Coming from a rural background, how does providing a service aimed at the rural community resonate with you?
Having always lived in rural areas in both England, Victoria and Tasmania I know how important it is to have these kind of services available to the community to not only enable them to keep active but to socialise and build a stronger community. I have loved getting to know all the local farmers and community members by offering them Active Farmers.
Can you tell us how you keep motivated?
This time of year it is easy to keep motivated with the warmer weather and beautiful mornings to get me up and out of bed for a morning stroll or run. During the winter months though it is not this easy but exercising with a friend and scheduling it in the day before makes keeps me motivated, as I don't like to let them down, so I have to turn up! If you set a plan for the week, and write it down, then you have to stick to it and you will feel great once you have done so.
Have you got some tips about getting yourself to class when its early in the morning or after a long day of work?
The initial thought of it is exhausting, either you do not want to drag yourself out of bed or you get home from work and just want to sit down and chill out, but once you get to class it is totally worth it. You will feel more energized and ready to take on the day!
What advice would you give someone considering coming to your Active Farmers classes?
Just give it a go! You will meet lots of new friends, have lots of fun as a group and the bonus is you're getting fit at the same time, improving your health and well-being.
Can you talk a little about what to expect at your classes?
We have 2 classes at Hagley, Mondays at 6pm, and Thursdays at 6.15am both of which are a mixture of strength training and cardio. It is mainly all circuit based with lots of group/pair work to get you laughing with other Active Farmers. It is aimed at any fitness level and all based on time, so if you get 10 reps done in the allocated time, great, but if you only get 5 done you've still done a top job, it's all about pushing yourself to your limit not the persons standing next to you.
All classes are fun, family friendly, will improve your fitness and to top it off you get to listen to my great taste in music at the same time!
What are your favourite quotes or mottos'?
A few quotes that I feel answer this question...
'You're only 1 workout away from a good mood'
'The only bad workout is the one you didn't do'
'If you don't use it, you lose it'
Thank you very much JJ for sharing some insights into your life and the services you offer! To hear more about JJ or to get in touch with her click here.