Strong Women To Watch

Women Watch STRONG

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At STRONG Australia, we believe inspirational women aren’t a certain size, shape, age or anything else. Women we aspire to are STRONG – be it in their body, mind or willingness to give it all. This issue, we introduce you to a sample of the experts who have aligned to the STRONG Australia vision, and who will be helping you to kick your health and fitness goals.

LEANNE WARD Nutritionist, Dietitian and Sports Dietitian STRONG Australia Dietitian leanneward.com.au // @the_fitness_dietitian

Leanne Ward developed a passion for health and fitness from a very young age, eventually gravitating towards nutrition for its potential to prevent and fight disease. After graduating as a dietitian in 2013, she secured a job in a Brisbane-based hospital, working across the surgical and acute medical wards, ICU, gastroenterology out patients and the specialist pelvic health clinics. In 2015, Ward completed a Sports Nutrition course, which fuelled her passion for helping clients nourish their bodies for peak performance.

A DAY IN MY SHOES I now coach women on conquering emotional eating, getting lean using sustainable methods and healing their gut symptoms. I also run a popular group-based program called Love Living Lean, where I show women how to optimally fuel their body, and the benefits of lifting heavy.

MY DEFINITION OF STRONG When I think of strength I think of mental strength and having the ability to put yourself first. To be a woman in this day requires a lot of juggling – careers, relationships, children, ‘upkeep’ of appearances, running a household and the monthly struggles of PMS! There is so much expectation from society, particularly in terms of social media, that we often try to do everything perfectly. To me, a strong woman has her own self-care as a priority and has the ability to say “no”.

BODY IMAGE ADVICE Focus on how you feel. Stop looking in the mirror for acceptance and start setting goals that have nothing to do with your weight or appearance. Focus on having more energy, sleeping better, improved digestion, and a more positive mood. When we focus on how our bodies feel, everything else just comes together.

DAY ON A PLATE I focus on whole foods – the sort of foods our great grandparents ate. You won’t find me subscribing to any diet trends or labelling the way I eat. I eat food – real food. My diet is fuelled with a diversity of plants to feed and nourish my gut bacteria. My favourite quote is from Michael Pollan: “eat food, not too much, mostly plants”.

WARD’S DAY ON A PLATE PRE-WORKOUT: Few sips of coffee, and one to two medjool dates or a banana. BREAKFAST: Post-workout meal. Rolled oats with chia seeds, milk, mixed berries, cinnamon and natural whey protein powder. MORNING TEA: Soy cappuccino, 30g roasted nuts/seeds and veggie sticks. LUNCH: Huge salad with tuna, cheese, olives, kimchi, lettuce leaves, tomato, carrot, cucumber, sprouts and chickpeas. I love to make a dressing from tahini, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and salt/pepper. AFTERNOON TEA: Piece of fruit with Greek yoghurt. DINNER: Stir-fry using marinated tofu, pulse pasta (chickpea- or lentilbased pasta) and as many colourful vegetables that I can fit into my wok! SUPPER: Occasionally a few pieces of chocolate, a mini Magnum or a glass of sauvignon blanc.

MY TRAINING I focus on weights and walking. The weights help me to feel mentally and physically strong, and I love knowing that I can carry a fully grown man out of a burning building if I ever needed to. I do five days of weight training a week, using a split program from my exercise physiologist. I don’t focus on cardio from a weight-loss perspective, but I do like to walk for my own mental health. I pop on some soothing tunes or a podcast, and walk around my neighbourhood for an hour, a few times a week. It’s a great de-stressor!

DAILY MENTAL HEALTH TIP I tend to dwell on things that have happened in the past or that may happen in the future rather than focusing on the present. Journaling helps me get these thoughts out of my head and onto paper, making it easier for me to rationalise. I also like to pretend I’m giving advice to a good friend; this helps me be rational and kind to myself.

ALICIA BEVERIDGE Founding Instructor – Barry’s Bootcamp Australia STRONG Australia Associate Style Editor aliciabeveridge.com // @alicia_beveridge

Comms professional and writer, Alicia Beveridge found the fitness industry while feeling lost professionally and personally back in 2010, and has gone from strength to strength ever since. In 2018, she became one of eight founding Australian instructors for global fitness brand Barry’s Bootcamp as it launched here in Australia. Beveridge also runs her own website, Unleashed, which she uses to motivate women into movement for the ‘feels’, rather than fat loss, and to feel connected in an increasingly disconnected world.

A DAY IN MY SHOES My days are now made up of instructing Barry’s group classes in one of our three new Sydney studios, and helping facilitate our expansion into Melbourne and more of Asia, training clients privately, working on my website and regularly writing content for various publications.

MY DEFINITION OF STRONG To me, being a strong woman is about understanding the importance of being healthy, in both mind and body; it’s a lifestyle, not just a body type. Strength comes from inspiring, supporting and celebrating others, especially women, and always remaining true to yourself.

BODY IMAGE ADVICE Focus on what your body can do rather than what you look like. Can you lift heavy? Run fast? Downward dog? Find movement that feels good, and spend time thinking, ‘What do I love about my body?’.

DAY ON A PLATE Nutrition can be confusing, so always circling back to simple whole foods is a good rule of thumb. I aim to eat the rainbow as much as I can, but I also enjoy indulging in pizza, wine and chocolate. Food guilt is everywhere, and I think labelling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ can be psychologically damaging. From personal experience, the more I restrict food, the more I have eventually binged.

MY TRAINING You don’t want fitness to feel like a chore. When it comes to training, I’m all about fun, variety and connection – either to myself or to others. It’s not about doing the most; it’s about doing your most each week. I believe training should ease stress, rather than create it. My average week includes a mix of high intensity as I chase that endorphin high, and low intensity to combat my naturally anxious personality. I love Barry’s classes, while yoga, Pilates and regular long walks help ease stress.

DAILY MENTAL HEALTH TIP I learnt Transcendental Meditation in 2015. I completely respect that there are endless free meditation options, but for me the financial investment helps to keep me consistent. I’m not letting that money go to waste! That said, any technique and any amount of time practising is better than none. You are giving so much back to yourself by taking time out from the world and recharging your batteries.

DENAE BROWN Four-time CrossFit Games Athlete and business owner STRONG Australia Performance Coach nutritionbox.co // @denaebrown

If you want strong and fit, Denae Brown is definitely the woman to watch. Although she grew up playing a lot of sport, Brown never really considered the fitness industry as a career until the 2011 CrossFit regionals. Here, a fire ignited and she began to work towards a new goal of competing at the CrossFit Games. Brown traded in her corporate job, took up lifting full-time, and the rest is history. After four CrossFit Games appearances and a return to the competition floor post-baby in 2014, she hung up her metcons and now runs her own business, NutritionBox.

A DAY IN MY SHOES Today, I really enjoy putting the energy, passion and focus I once had for competing into helping my clients and staff. I’m also growing my nutrition business, and showing people how they can combine healthy eating, fitness and a balanced lifestyle. The thing I love the most in my day is spending time with my very energetic six-year-old daughter Sarah.

DAY ON A PLATE I stay away from extreme diets and focus on eating as much home-cooked food as I can, with an emphasis on fresh fruit and veggies, plenty of protein and slow-digesting carbs. Eating this way 80 per cent of the time allows me to truly enjoy special occasions when they come up.

MY DEFINITION OF STRONG To me, strength means proving to yourself that you are much stronger mentally than you think you are. It’s about having the ability to overcome setbacks even though the odds are heavily stacked against you. It’s about having faith in yourself and your ability to overcome your fears. It’s about finding the spirit and courage to not give up, and having the belief you will always find a way.

BODY IMAGE ADVICE Measure progress, not kilograms. This means shifting your focus from what you measure on the scales to what your body can actually do – how fast can you run, how quickly can you complete a workout, and how much weight can you lift? I think when you concentrate on what your body can achieve and your long-term health goals, rather than how you look, it facilitates a much healthier mindset.

MY TRAINING Training for me has changed considerably since I stopped competing. Now, it’s about maintaining a balanced lifestyle, feeling good, moving well and staying healthy. My training consists of four sessions per week ranging from 20 minutes to one hour. I do a combination of pure strength training – including Olympic lifting, powerlifting or bodybuildingstyle workouts – to cardiovascular conditioning sessions, which include a mixture of high-intensity and lowintensity work.

DAILY MENTAL HEALTH TIP The reality is that exercise is my way of staying mentally sane! Between juggling mum life and two businesses, plus managing my own social media, there’s not a lot of downtime. So, on the days I get to train, I aim to stay completely present and enjoy every single second of it.

The gym was the first place I felt safe and in control. It gave me a sense of empowerment and an understanding of the connection between feeling physically strong and feeling mentally tough.

PHOTO CREDIT: JASON LEE

ALEXA TOWERSEY Trainer and mental health advocate STRONG Australia Head Trainer alexatowersey.com // @actionalexa

Alexa Towersey is a STRONG woman with a tough story. Her fitness journey began when she was just 15 years old and bullied for being too skinny. On a mission for muscles, she took to the weights room and never looked back (read more about her story on p. 69). With a host of qualifications under her belt – from a Bachelor of Science and PostGraduate Diploma in Sports Management and Kinesiology, to mental health first aid – Towersey now spends her days empowering her personal training clients, facilitating training and mental health workshops, and helping some of the nation’s top celebrities fulfil their aesthetic and health goals.

A DAY IN MY SHOES I’m training clients in the gym from 5am–11am, followed by my own training, and in the afternoon I write and create content. I’m currently training to compete in the Mongol Derby in August 2020 – a 1,000km race across the Mongolian Desert on semi-wild horses. I’m aiming to raise $100,000 for Livin – the mental health charity I’m an ambassador and facilitator for. When I’m not training clients in the gym, I’m travelling the country delivering mental health presentations to schools, sports clubs and corporate entities.

MY DEFINITION OF STRONG Psychological strength is just as important – if not more so – than physical strength. I truly believe that when you develop physical strength, you develop mental toughness. When you’re mentally tough, you’re more resilient. When you’re more resilient, you’re more likely to cultivate a positive mindset. And when you have a more positive mindset, you’re better equipped to deal with anything life throws at you.

BODY IMAGE ADVICE I like reframing negative thoughts as they come up. Next time you find yourself standing in front of a mirror and tearing yourself apart, close your eyes and imagine someone you love standing in front of you saying those things about themselves. Now, imagine the advice you would give them. Say it out loud or write it down. This is the advice you should apply to yourself, too!

DAY ON A PLATE I’m actually fairly relaxed when it comes to nutrition – counting calories makes food a stressor for me. My biggest piece of advice is to learn to listen to your body. Eat when you’re hungry and until you’re almost full. Eat mindfully and with gratitude. And most importantly, if a food doesn’t make you feel good, don’t eat it.

MY TRAINING Two years ago, I was diagnosed with degenerative osteoarthritis in my left hip, and left with no alternative but to get a full hip replacement. Having a significant injury forced me to reassess the way I train. When I was younger, my body responded really well to high-volume and high-intensity training; now, I get better results both aesthetically and performancewise when I focus more on stress management and recovery. I perform two weight training sessions (I love functional bodybuilding Marcus Filly style and gymnastics strength) and three Pilates sessions per week, and boxing wherever I can fit in. I walk outside every day to reach my 10,000 steps, recover and meditate.

DAILY MENTAL HEALTH TIP I have a gratitude journal, and every night before bed I write down five to 10 things I’m grateful for – even if they haven’t happened yet. I also write down one kind thing I did for somebody, one kind thing somebody did for me, and one thing I learnt that day. Not only does it help clear your mind, but it also allows you to reframe your world in a more positive light, especially if you’ve had a rough day. S