Tag Archive for: Motivation

Move Through Menopause – The Home Workout Workshop

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We receive so much advice telling us how to exercise to stay healthy during our menopausal and post-menopausal years.  If we were to follow it all then we could

  • avoid cognitive decline
  • manage our body composition
  • increase our strength
  • support our bone health
  • strengthen our hearts
  • boost our mental health
  • reduce inflammation
  • raise our metabolism
  • dampen our stress levels

A long list of benefits, and one that leaves you wondering how much time is needed to remain healthy, active and independent into your older years. It’s no wonder so many of us are at a loss as to where to start, what to prioritise and how much to include in our lives.

We’re told we should be doing cardio, strength and flexibility training, work on our balance, our mobility, our speed and agility. There should be heavy loads, high impact, intensity, active recovery and mindful practice.

Linking actions with benefits and identifying were the many overlaps lie, this workshop will show you how in just 3 or 4 hours a week you will put yourself on a path towards optimal health and long-lasting physical independence. Read on to find out more about this workout workshop…

Getting ready to HIIT it

Where: Movéo Fitness Studio, 2 Touraine Close, Constantia, Cape Town

In this space dedicated to women’s health, you’ll find energy, motivation and inspiration to do something amazing for your physical and mental well-being.

The Studio is a private, peaceful sanctuary and the ideal space in which to take time to move; to move in the moment and to move forward with intention.

When: Thursday 15 January 2026

Doors will open at 08:30 and we start at 09:00.

For whom: women

Specifically, women seeking to optimise their health and well-being as they move towards and transition through their menopause, and age with grace.

What you will do: move with purpose

The Home Workout Workshop outlines the three pillars that make up an exercise programme designed to support you and your body as you journey through menopause and beyond.

And by “outlines” what do we mean?  There will be a little bit of theory, but it’s absolutely going to involve movement, energy, physical experience and a whole lot of fun, and at the same time provide you with your home workout plan, a plan that meets your needs, fits into your life and sets you up for success.

There will be practical advice about the equipment you might want to have to hand, guidance around nutrition and fuelling for your workout, and the importance of adequate recovery in order that you reap the benefits of all that you do.

Leave with: the best feeling

  • energy, a sense of achievement and an eagerness to put all you’ve learnt and experienced into practice
  • the power to support your health, to manage your menopausal symptoms, to remain vital as you age
  • two opportunities to follow-up with us after the workshop, enabling you to progress your training based on how you feel and the positive changes you’ve experienced so far
  • the awareness that while as a woman you are unique in your hormonal journey, you are not alone in making it

The investment: time and energy

  • 3 hours
  • energy, curiosity and drive
  • R950

Come with curiosity, questions and a willingness to try new things in a space that is safe and supportive.

Take your place

Movéo Fitness’s Studio really is small and private, and spaces on the workshop are limited to six. Contact us today to reserve your space and look forward to moving with purpose.

Terms & Conditions

  1. Payment in full is required to secure your place on The Home Workout Workshop. Payment instructions will be provided at the time of booking.
  2. Once confirmed, we require 48 hours’ notice if you can no longer attend the workshop, at which point you will be fully refunded.
  3. Cancellation after 9am on Tuesday 13 January 2026 will incur a 100% cancellation fee.
  4. The Home Workout Workshop will go ahead with three or more participants booked to attend.
  5. Should Movéo Fitness need to cancel, postpone or reschedule the workshop, for whatever reason, all registered participants will receive a 100% refund and a 25% discount to attend the next or similar event.

Deborah Savin-Curnier: personal trainer

founder of Movéo Fitness

Deborah is an internationally qualified Personal Training with a Masters in Exercise & Nutrition Science and specialist certifications in corrective exercise and women’s fitness. She is passionate about the therapeutic benefits of exercise in the management of menopausal symptoms and the safeguarding of health and wellness in older age.

Deborah has created the Movéo Fitness Studio, a small private space in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town devoted to the health and wellness of women.

Step Aerobics 2.0

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How it all began

Step aerobics emerged in the late 80s and peaked in popularity in the mid-90s with an estimated 11 million people participating in classes regularly. Gin Miller, an aerobics instructor looking to rehab her knee injury, is credited with its invention. True or not, her partnership with Reebok Step was the platform (pardon the pun) that created the buzz around this cardio craze.

But like all crazes, it had its day and was pushed into the background as the next “big thing” in fitness took centre-stage. After all, why would the fitness industry be different to any other industry in that respect?

Back in the day I was teaching 4 or 5 classes a week and attending more besides – the size of my calves testimony to this! Instructor or participant, I loved the atmosphere, the synchronicity of the group, the smiles on everyone’s faces, and the music with its perfect tempo. But it was the creativity in the movement and the endless possibilities when it came to building a routine that got me hooked.

Back in the limelight

Fast forward to today, and step classes are making a comeback—minus the thong leotards! But my excitement isn’t just about reliving my twenties, it’s what we’ve learnt over the last 30 years that makes Step’s return so welcome.

Step is a cardio-strength workout that can be low or high impact, medium or vigorous intensity. It will move you in all three planes of motion and demand some mental focus too. It’s a “multi-vitamin” when it comes to delivering health benefits.

Heart health at its core

As a cardio workout, Step can be modified to meet you at your current fitness level and challenge you in a way that builds on this. It will improve your heart health and lower your risk of heart disease, especially important during and post menopause when we lose the heart-protective benefits of oestrogen.

Brain boosting

Research suggests a strong connection between leg strength and cognitive health. Well-choreographed step routines will engage every major muscle in the lower body, enhancing both physical and mental health.

Bone protective

In time you can add impact and intensity to your workout, positive stress that will strengthen your bones. You’ll be training you balance and agility too, lowering your risk of a fall.

Muscle, the organ of longevity

When fashions return, they often do so with a twist, and this is certainly true for the Step revival. The twist is that classes are now including strength-specific training to create an even more rounded workout.

Movéo Fitness’s “twist” happens around minute 60 when the pace slows, the Step becomes a workout bench and the focus shifts to muscle strength.

There is strong (oops!) evidence linking muscle mass/strength with longevity. But it’s not just about living longer, it’s about living better for longer. Your muscles support your body in so many ways, helping it to remain in optimal health or get back there as quickly as possible.

The feel-good factor

Step comes with a healthy dose of endorphins, improving your mood and reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. Plus, moving with people you can connect with and feel supported by will enhance your emotional well-being and add to your sense community.

Join us

Movéo Fitness runs a 90-minute Step n Strength class every Saturday at 8.30am. Join this group of wonderful women, move in sync with them and know that you’re doing something truly amazing for your body, your mind and your soul.

Ocean Bottle

Movéo Fitness x Ocean Bottle

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With exercise comes the need for hydration and too often that means a plastic water bottle.  One that, without us knowing, could end up at the bottom of our oceans.

Many of us are now making the conscious decision to avoid single-use plastics, choosing instead to use a water bottle that is made from recycled materials and might come with a warranty that is measured in years.  But we need a bottle that does its job, keeps its contents at the temperature we want, is hygienic and easy to clean, doesn’t leak and is properly portable.

Ocean BottleIn partnership

Movéo Fitness is partnering with Ocean Bottle to bring you all of this and to take things one step further.  Committed to tackling the ocean-pollution crisis and contributing to ocean health, Ocean Bottle funds the collection of ocean-bound plastic in coastal areas where plastic pollution is at its worst.

  • Every Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 11.4kg of plastic, equivalent to 1,000 plastic bottles.
  • Collectors exchange plastic for money and get access to social resources such as healthcare and education.
  • Ocean-bound plastic is organised and recycled into new products or co-processed into cement.
  • Every Ocean Bottle is tech-enabled with a NFC chip, allowing consumers to see where they’ve made a difference.

And here’s the seriously cool bit…

Ongoing conservation

Using the Ocean Bottle app and the NFC chip in the base of your Ocean Bottle, you can log every time you refill.  This will keep track of your hydration and will probably encourage you to drink more water since it practically high-fives you every time you do!  But that high-five is for another important reason.  Ocean Bottle will fund on your behalf the collection of a further five plastic bottles (0.057kg) before they reach the ocean at no charge to you.  The app will even tell you where in the world you are making an impact.

All of this enables us, as individuals, to turn hydration into a habit that has an impact on more than just our health, preventing further plastic reaching our oceans one refill at a time.

The Movéo Fitness x Ocean Bottle is lightweight, leak-proof, BPA-free, made from 90% recycled insulated stainless steel and recycled ocean-bound plastic.

Join our team

Own a Movéo Fitness x Ocean Bottle and show the world you are part of a small team of women big on making a change.  At R800, it’s a small investment that will be continuously leveraged simply by staying hydrated throughout your day.

 

“Ocean Bottle is the first tangible ocean impact we have.”

“Fighting plastic pollution at a grassroots level.”

“If Apple designed a drinks container for life, this would be it.”

Motivation to exercise

Finding the motivation to exercise

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“I may regret not doing a workout, but I’ll never regret having done it.”

This phrase came to me at the end of a workout that for some reason I’d struggled to get to.  I don’t remember what obstacles had got in my way, or what I might have had to give up to be there, but I do remember feeling really pleased that I’d pushed myself to make it.  The phrase would become a mantra that I’d call on when motivation was lacking.  And it has never been more valuable than one Sunday morning – Cape Town in June.

Several weeks earlier I’d come across the K-Way Table Mountain 16km race (https://kwayvob.co.za/our-races/table-mountain), a stunning run from Constantia Nek up the Jeep Track to the top of the mountain, round Woodhead Reservoir and back.  I’d hiked it several times and was curious to know if I could run it.  There was only one way to find out… my entry form was sent off immediately and I was in!

Constantia Nek Jeep TrailI decided the best approach would be to run the course at least once a week and I stuck to this plan, always managing to pick the perfect weather conditions and calling on my mantra to get me up onto the trail – the stunning views my reward for getting to the top.

Then I woke on the morning of the race to gusty winds, heavy rain and Table Mountain barely visible.  Suddenly it didn’t feel like such a good idea.  Would the race be cancelled?  Would the trail be closed?

Wrapped up warm and waterproof I went to collect my number at 7.15am, still dark, still raining, still very unappealing. “We don’t have you on the list of runners” the marshal declared having checked her list a second and third time.  Here was my way out…  “Never mind, there’s always next year” was ready to come out of my mouth when she passed me a clipboard and suggested I complete another form.

It was in that moment I heard my mantra over and over in my head, pushing me to fill out the form for a second time.  I knew I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t run.   But then no matter how challenging and uncomfortable the race was going to be, I wouldn’t regret taking part.  Thirty minutes later I was standing at the start line really not knowing what to expect as announcements were made about how to reduce the risk of hypothermia!

It was a tough ascent.  The wind at times so strong I was running to stay still, the rain turning to sleet at the top.  To my surprise I wasn’t cold and as the sleet prickled my face I found myself enjoying the sensation, smiling at the complete contrast this was to all my training runs.

With layers on my watch was buried, and in any case I’d decided early on in the race to ignore it.  This wasn’t going to be a performance run.  It was going to be the sort of run you survive, a run that proves you’re tough and ever so slightly crazy!

Gradually I passed all my personal landmarks and suddenly I was on my way down, the wind behind me making it wonderfully easy.  The end was in sight – metaphorically speaking!

As the trail flattened out towards the bottom I pushed hard for the last kilometre.  Imagine my surprise when I crossed the line three seconds inside my personal best, incredibly happy to have run it and totally oblivious to how wet I actually was.

As well as giving me a real sense of achievement, this experience served as a powerful reminder of how effective my mantra is – to me at least.  It has taught me something about myself I can use to find motivation; motivation to exercise, to get out there and make the transition from doubting I can do it to knowing I have it in me.  Once that first step has been made, I can look forward to the wonderful feeling exercising brings me, a feeling that stays with me for the rest of the day.

Deborah Savin-Curnier