Online fitness classes for NZ women (including busy mums!)

The internet has enabled all sorts of innovation - for both business owners and consumers accessing those emerging products and services.

Today we’re interviewing Renee Norman, one of the founders of kiwi startup She Moves, who are bringing their fitness expertise into the homes of New Zealand women in the form of live online fitness classes.

This is the first interview in our new series dedicated to kiwis who are doing interesting innovative things - and naturally we here at Voyager have a keen interest in internet-enabled ventures!

So, without further ado, let’s get into the interview and find out what She Moves is all about!

What is She Moves?

She Moves is an innovative online womens fitness collective.

We offer a membership programme where 10 live workouts are streamed into members’ living rooms every week.

She Moves membership is all done using Facebook as it’s platform with all the workouts taking place inside a closed Facebook group.

We have 9 different workout styles in our membership programme; including Yoga, Stretch, High Intensity Interval Training, Low Impact, Weighted workouts, Barre style, Core & Mobility - and have 5 trainers to choose from, all streaming in from various locations around NZ.

Becoming part of the She Moves Collective is super cheap at just $10 per month.

She Moves also offers a range of standalone online exercise programmes and local fitness classes in the Waikato region.

We’re about helping women move forward – towards better physical and mental health, more confidence and the best version of themselves.

Who is it for?

She Moves is specifically designed for women. Majority of our users are Mums. Not having to leave home to get guidance and support to exercise is a huge benefit to mums who struggle to find childcare.

We provide a progressive pathway for women no matter where they are on their fitness journey be it just returning to exercise after having a baby or just getting back into exercise after many years off.

Who created the company, and why?

She Moves was founded by Renee Norman and Jenna Smith in 2016 after seeing friends, family and colleagues struggling to maintain a healthy relationship with fitness and health – reaching for quick fixes, failing at fitness programmes that demanded too much time and losing their confidence in the process.

We realised we could combine our passion, frustration and expertise to lead the change we wanted to see in the fitness world.

More real talk, simplified messages, achievable goals – and more fun.

We’re both full-time mothers, each with two young children, and value sharing our motherhood journey with our community. More than ever, we understand the power of movement to improve physical wellness and mental health.

How has the internet enabled the business, allowing you to help more people?

She Moves wouldn’t exist without the internet!

Majority of all She Moves advertising is done on social media and all platforms that we use are thanks to the net!

Building the business also saw us spending a lot of time on google searching “how to” as well as hours watching instructional videos on Youtube in the early days!

How has customer feedback helped your collective’s offerings to evolve?

So much of the business growth has been down to word of mouth. When someone loves the service provided they tell their friends and the She Moves movement keeps growing.

What are the most popular workout classes you offer?

The most popular sessions most weeks are the low impact workouts. These workouts are just 20 minutes and use only body weight. They are super speedy, fun and get incredible results without the strain on participants joints or pelvic floor. Perfect for women who want to challenge their limits without the impact.

What is something which took you by surprise when bringing on more customers?

The amount of administration that would come along with it! Some days it’s hard to keep up with all the comments on workouts and emails hitting the inbox! It’s a great problem to have and the trainers love hearing from the women completing the workouts.

What has been one of the biggest challenges to overcome, relating to starting and growing She Moves?

Realising and accepting that you can’t do it all yourself!

Initially to keep costs down we (Renee and Jenna) literally did everything ourselves - Website, design, copy, filming, photography, editing, marketing… the list could go on.

Now we are in a position to outsource some of our behind the scenes work, as well as having an incredible team of trainers alongside us.

Can you share one or two of the successes you have chalked up along your journey so far? (Big or small!)

In 2018 Renee & Jenna won the Sport Waikato Regional Sports Awards award for Innovation in Sport and Recreation.

“That was a pretty special moment for us both and our families” - Jenna.

Successes aside, there must be plenty of feel-good moments helping people achieve their fitness goals – what’s an interaction you’ve had which stands out for you?

It’s the daily emails that we receive from women doing their workouts.

“Women telling us they feel more confident, have more energy and have found their love for exercise again” those are the emails and the messages that keep us going. Our members and clients are our why 100%” - Renee

If someone reading this feels despondent about their own health and fitness, and thinks they’re beyond help, what would you say to them?

No one is ever beyond help! When it comes to starting an exercise regime our biggest tip is to ditch the all or nothing attitude and embrace that something is always better than nothing.

We believe that often women have this idea in their heads that exercise needs to be exhausting, has to take hours and involve fancy equipment to get results, which is totally not the case.

We have seen it time and time again where women set themselves up for failure by jumping into strict exercise programs that demand too much time.

The majority of us don’t have the time to spend hours exercising, yet we consistently see women trying to do this, even when deep down they know it’s not sustainable.

“Sustainable and consistent healthy habits is what gets long term results.” - Jenna

“Rather than jumping head first into a strict programme we always say keep it simple, think about making small sustainable changes to begin with, set small realistic goals and then slowly move the benchmark out. The more you are able to experience success the more momentum and motivation you’ll gain.” - Renee

Where should people start if they’re wanting to learn more about your online workouts?

Head to www.she-moves.co.nz , use the code MOVEIT at the checkout, and you’ll get to try all our workouts free for one month - then it’s just $10 per month, cancel anytime.

Stay tuned for more interviews with innovative kiwi companies from Voyager!

Thanks to Renee and Jenna for this insightful look into what She Moves is all about.

This is the first of many interviews with kiwi organisations that are doing interesting innovative things that are enabled by the internet, so stay tuned!