Published on Thursday, 10 July 2025 at 11:29:14 AM
Matthew and Col are no strangers to a BODYBALANCE class!
We talked to the pair about how they got into it... and why more men should give it a go!
Tell us about your exercise routines?
Matthew
At the moment, BODYBALANCE primarily. I'm returning to a gym exercise routine from a long absence because I've been travelling. And I've always done this sort of a class, a yoga based routine. I really like the fact that it's such a mixed age group, men and women, and set to music and open to a lot of mistakes.
I don't do any other classes at the moment because I'm recovering from surgery. But I'm going to, I want to get back into my swimming. I want to do Vinyasa Yoga and maybe some of the others. I might do Pilates, but it depends on my recovery. So recovery first with BODYBALANCE because I can tailor it more to how my body feels.
With BODYBALANCE, there's always options – you can return to this from having surgery. I had prostate cancer. I think it's important for men to a) get tested but b) when they're actually recovering, to feel that they can come back to BODYBALANCE. When I wasn't able to come to the class I really noticed the mental health attitude changing. It's good for not just the exercise but for the social side as well, interacting and meeting with people.
Col
I come up pretty much most days except Sundays. I swim three times a week; I joined the Beatty Park Masters. One of the girls I met in BODYBALANCE, Heather, is the President of the Masters. Heather got me involved in Masters. She runs a course called Couch-2-2Ks. It's fabulous. And then I think the only criteria is you've got to be able to swim 50 metres. At some point, at some time you should be able to get to the end.
Today I've trained with a couple of girls from the Masters. I can't keep up with these young girls, but what it does, it keeps you accountable. They’re not there to mess around – they’re there to swim.
In terms of classes, as well BODYBALANCE I do Les Mills CORE four times a week.
What got you into BODYBALANCE?
Matthew
I used to go to a gym in the CBD years ago, and I did something very similar there. I've always been interested in yoga and meditation, that kind of thing. So I did a sort of a spinning class, and at the end of it there was a sort of yoga and meditation. It was always wrapped into this same class.
I was amazed at that time that I would almost drift off amongst other people.
I just fell in love with it. And I like the fact that, you know, if you feel like you're having an off day, nobody's watching, nobody's going to judge you. It's yourself, you’re your own worst enemy. It's your experience. It's your expectations.
Col
Well, for me it’s more about what made me start up exercise again. You know, getting older, retirement was looming. And so I thought, you know, it's a great opportunity to do things you haven't done before at the same time.
So then I looked around at what I wanted to do. I like that BODYBALANCE provides a great combination of pilates, yoga, strength, balance, all that stuff. It's a cross-section of things that are really important.
And so I started to do that. And I loved it. Another great benefit is the community. People go for coffee after and, you know, it's just fun.
Why should more men attend group fitness classes, specifically BODYBALANCE?
Matthew
I think men of all ages should at least give it a shot. I think the presumption for a person, certainly for younger men, is that coming to a gym equals weights, body building. The expectation of all that seems to go hand in hand. And the idea of going to a yoga-based class is not going to equate to the body what you expect to come out of a gym. However, I think that as a sort of core level of exercise, certainly for somebody that hasn't done much exercise in the past, it's a great entry level to get into.
And certainly for older men, I think that it's a really good way of just maintaining that strength in everyday mobility and literally balance. I think it's really important that men do address that.
I think there is this perception, there seems to be, that it's a women's activity; women seem to be more drawn to it. I imagine that men could come and look in the door and think, “bloody hell, it's full of women in there, I'm not going to go in there and feel like the only man.”
Col
I've been the token male a number of times, and I just don't care. I just don't see why.
It’s really interesting; many women tend to work out in groups. There’s often a sisterhood system; you'll see two or three girls come to a class. Whereas guys tend to be solo.
I think more males should do BODYBALANCE because it's just such a great way of getting strength and flexibility, in one package, in a really easy environment.
Why is exercise so important for you?
Matthew
Mental health.
Obviously for me, as you get older, I think it's important to keep at least fit. BALANCE is a good class to do as an overall workout to get you started.
Col
I think it's important to exercise because as you get older, things, you know – if you don’t use it you lose it. And I think for a lot of people who haven’t exercised for a while, it's intimidating, the thought of getting back in the exercise room. The hardest thing is to get through the door. Once you get through the door, it's all easy for me.
The biggest anxiety is thinking everyone's judging your downward dog, but they’re not – they’ve got their own dog to worry about!
Why did you choose Beatty Park – and why have you stuck around?
Matthew
I left Australia, went traveling for a long time. When I came back, I was nervous about heading back into another gym, didn't want to go back into the centre of the city, didn't know where else to go that was close to me.
And gyms often seem to represent sort of weights and all this kind of thing that is just not my thing. But coming to Beatty Park, it was just so much bigger than I remembered. It’s got so much going on here that you can really pick and choose what suits you.
I do tend to rave about because it offers so many different permutations of getting fit. And if, as I did today, I arrive early and I come and sit in the café it’s great. The staff and attendees – everyone is friendly. There’s just a good vibe everywhere – from reception to instructors, and that helps lift your spirits as much as the exercise.
Col
It’s really well done, lots of different demographics come here. There’s so many classes. I’m retired and a lot of blokes when they retire don’t know what they’re going to do. So I’ve made ‘lifestyle’ my job. But I only ‘work’ between 9:30am and 1:00pm, and that’s coming here and doing stuff. A lot of blokes don’t have hobbies and pastimes because work has been their life. Coming here is just a great way to get fit, fill in your time, meet people and experience things you haven’t experienced before.
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