With her blonde hair, ripped physique and busy career in fitness, Westville’s Rene Fourie has mastered the art of balancing mind, body and spirit.
Having been a mentor and master trainer across Durban for more than two decades, Rene lives to do what she’s most passionate about … helping others embrace change.
With its outdoorsy appeal, her Westville Country Club-based studio, Uprooted, is the perfect fit for Rene and her balanced approach to fitness training with its special focus on mind, body and soul.
“It’s never easy to be uncomfortable, Rene says, “but with the right mind-set, hard work, faith and surrounding yourself with people that support your journey, there’s only one way to go and that’s forward, to better yourself as a whole.”
She uses this same approach when helping others on their own fitness journeys.
“We can’t just focus on one aspect of the body, because we are created to function as a whole being in harmony and balance. The physical body cannot perform or appear at its best without the mind and soul being in a happy, healthy and peaceful place.”
Rene comes from a busy background in sport. Both her parents were physically active so it was a natural course for her to follow. She started her fitness career in 1999 as a group exercise instructor before qualifying as a personal trainer, seizing every opportunity to learn and become more knowledgeable about health and wellness.
“I’m still learning all the time because this industry is ever evolving.”
Rene has worked in private gym set ups, corporate at management level, as well as in the capacity of full time personal trainer and group instructor. She is also a mentor for Physical IQ in Durban and still teaches part time for the Virgin Active in Westville – as she says, they are family for life.
“Uprooted Personal Training was established in a time where I literally needed to become uprooted from my comfort zone as lockdown forced us to become uncomfortable for a while. I had to change my way of thinking, so I started my own personal training business dedicated to helping clients of all ages – my youngest is nine and my oldest 82 – to become the best versions of themselves with a happy, healthy and balanced approach.”
Due to her love and passion for sport, she also specialises in sport specific training and thrives on working as a conditioning coach for a local tennis academy.
It’s hard to believe, looking at her, that Rene is in her late forties and has two daughters aged 19 – Zoe, and 17 – Kady. She also enjoys modelling and serves as a vocalist at her local church, CRC Durban.
“I look forward to getting to work every day; to being a small part of the journey of those people who inspire me to continuously bring my best. I’m eternally grateful for the platform I have to fulfil what I believe is my purpose in life.”
When it comes to nutrition and exercise, Rene has an easy and balanced approach. She follows a diet that includes as much fresh fruits, veggies and protein as she’s allowed to indulge in, and limits her intake of sugar, gluten and dairy as these are linked to a variety of health conditions.
Her fridge is always stocked with homemade Mason jar grab-and-go salads … she says simply put balsamic vinegar at the bottom, top with chopped cucumber, tomatoes, red onions, cooked chick peas, chopped red and green peppers, green lettuce leaves and baby spinach, finish off with a drizzle of olive oil before sealing the jar. Refrigerated, these stay fresh for up to five days.
“As imperfect human beings we never get wellness a 100 per cent right and it’s ok, as long as we try to be consistent with our good habits most of the time. After all, we only see and experience the results of consistency over time.”
Rene encourages everyone to dedicate a little time to cardio vascular and strength training, and to incorporate mobility and flexibility into weekly movement routines.
Rene’s weekly exercise advice
Cardio
Approach your cardio training by doing something you enjoy. This is different from person to person, but can be as simple as taking your dog for a walk, a SUP session, dancing or a boxing class … anything that elevates the heart rate.
Strength and weight training
A strong body plays a massive role in being a healthy body and is also less prone to injury. I try and do weight training three to four days a week. Weight training goes hand in hand with strength training, a key element for a strong, lean and sexy body. To lower our fat percentage, we need to increase our lean muscle percentage.
Recovery, balance, mobility and flexibility
As important as it is to keep the heart fit and muscles strong, it is equally important to work on maximum mobility and recovery routines.
At the end of the day, it’s important to keep moving and stay active for longevity and good health. Keep it simple but effective. One of my favourite sayings is ‘No challenge no change’. In order for us to change and keep bettering ourselves, we need to continuously challenge ourselves.
Rene is offering readers a free group training trial session on presentation of the code GetitPT.
EFFECTIVE, QUICK WORKOUTS
“Talk is easy, but doing often comes with its own challenges. Finding time is one of those. Try to incorporate a few moves when you wake up, during your lunch break, or before bed to keep your body strong, healthy and pain-free. I believe that we will find time for the things we value the most and I hope that you find yourself worthy enough to give yourself that time to move and release some feel good hormones.”
This is what she advises:
Good ankle mobility contributes to better balance, fewer falls, and better performance during activities like squats and deadlifts or sport specific movement.
How to: Stand tall next to a wall. Place one hand on the wall for support. Slowly rock forward onto your toes, coming into a tip-toe position. Slowly rock back onto your heels, lifting your toes off the ground. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
The Y T W exercise is divided into three parts. Each part strengthens different muscles. Do 10 each.
The Y strengthens lower trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and erector spinae muscles in the back.
How to: In a prone position or seated if you are at work. Raise your arms towards the ceiling, thumbs up, slightly wider than your shoulders as if your body is making a “Y” shape. Bring your arms up as high as you can, squeezing those lower shoulder blade muscles.
The T strengthens middle trapezius and rhomboids.
How to: Retract your shoulder blades and lift your arms up and out to the sides, in line with your shoulders, thumbs up. This will bring your body into a “T” position.
The W strengthens infraspinatus and teres minor.
How to: Hold your arms in a “bicep curl” position with your palms facing in, elbows bent at 90 degrees and in line with your shoulder sockets. Retract your shoulder blades and open your chest, bringing your upper body into a “W” position. Hold this position for a few seconds at the top. When you are fully in the “W” position, both arms should be back, elbows bent, palms of your hands facing the floor. Imagine an orange between your shoulder blades and you are squeezing its juice as you retract.
Glute bridge Between sitting at a desk, curling up on the couch, and driving in a car, you probably spend most of your day with your hips in a flexed position. As a result, your hip flexors start to feel like a rubber band about to snap. Glute muscles are power muscles, so everyone benefits from strengthening these.
How to: Lie face-up on the floor with knees bent, feet flat and hip-width apart, toes touching the wall. Arms at sides, palms facedown. Keeping the core engaged and tailbone tucked, exhale and slowly push through both heels and toes into the wall, activate the glute muscles and lift hips off the floor. Lift hips as high as possible without allowing the lower back to arch. Inhale and gently lower hips back to the floor one vertebrae at a time. Repeat 10 to 12 times.
V-sit Hip internal and external rotation A dynamic hip mobilization exercise for abduction, moving carefully through internal and external rotation.
How to: Sitting on the floor in a v-position, knees bent: have one hip fall outwards (external rotation) and one knee fall inwards (internal rotation). Place your hand on the side of the hip that is in internal rotation. Gently rotate your trunk and pelvis to one side, inducing internal rotation of one hip and external rotation of the other. Do the same in the opposite direction. Continue moving back and forth through a comfortable range. Repeat 20 times.
Superman targets your lower back muscles, glutes, hamstrings and abs.
How to: Start on all fours. Align knees with hips and shoulders with hands. Extend your right arm forward and left leg back while leaving your other arm and leg on the floor for support. Imagine someone is pulling your leg and arm. Elongate as much as possible, hold for 3 seconds and then switch sides. Perform 10 to 12 reps on each side.
Repeat all these exercises from the top, up to four rounds depending on your time and fitness levels.
Details: You can follow Rene on IG and FB: @uprootedpersonaltraining, email her on [email protected], call 072 117 6044 or visit www.uprooted.co.za
