MANSFIELD personal trainer Lou Hopwood is excited.

With the launch of Fat Farmers at the annual men’s health night at the Delatite Hotel last Thursday, the first step in bringing this important rural health initiative to the shire has been achieved.

Now she just needs the farmers.

Delatite Station cattle farmer Mark Ritchie and branch president of the Mansfield chapter of the Victorian Farmers Federation has thrown his support behind the program, coming on board as a community champion.

It’s his job to hustle, to make the calls and get boots (or more specifically runners) on the ground, because once you’re there and have made the commitment, the hardest part of your day is already over.

Once you’ve mustered the motivation, Fat Farmers itself is a lot of fun, an exercise session with an emphasis on camaraderie and connection.

Mark can attest to this having broken a sweat at his first Fat Farmers with Lou.

Should you have been up bright and early on Tuesday morning, you may have just seen him and a bunch of local primary producers going through the motions, committed to improving their health and well-being.

The reward for their early morning endeavours was a well-earned bacon and egg roll, before heading home with a pep in their step for a day on the tractor, out in the paddock or in the yards.

Tuesday was an introductory session with the first four-week block taking participants through to Christmas.

The program then kicks off again in February with weekly fitness classes taking place at the Mansfield Recreation Reserve, with a 6am start for a 45 minute session.

Lou has confirmed that the group welcomes all ages and levels of fitness, with exercises designed to be manageable for all, steering away from high intensity training.

She acknowledges that farmers (by nature of the industry) are often very physically active, however the benefits of more structured exercise are an improvement in mobility and flexibility with targeted work building core strength and cardiovascular fitness.

“And perhaps the biggest benefit is the positive impact exercise has on mental health and wellbeing,” she said.

“It's about bringing together those who might once have enjoyed a game of cricket or footy with their mates and had foregone that outlet and release, caught up in the daily grind, forgetting to make time for themselves.”

Lou reiterated that it's not about out being fit enough to come

"It's about coming along and building that fitness and the assorted spin-off of benefits from better sleep to improved mood, renewed energy, connection and that vital time off the land," she said.

Mansfield is just the third Fat Farmers in the state (after Lismore and Moama), with 22 in total across the country predominantly in South Australia, where the concept was first launched in 2012 by three farmers in Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula, who literally just started going to the gym.

Michael Williams from Fat Farmers said the original three were all over 40 and joked about becoming "Fat Farmers" now they were no longer playing footy.

The name stuck (and so did the concept) and as the Maitland group grew, other farming communities also got involved.

The initial goal was to inspire and encourage farmers and those living in rural communities to improve their health and wellbeing through physical activity, and with the idea resonating the initiative is looking to expand Australia-wide.

Michael said going into a dry summer with areas already in drought, initiatives like Fat Farmers are invaluable providing additional support and combatting issues like isolation when farming becomes challenging.

The sessions represent an opportunity to reset and clear your head, and with the initiative only growing in popularity with weekly classes becoming two in some areas to meet demand, Michael would love to see Fat Farmers in every country town.

“The beauty of the initiative is that is driven by the community and what that community wants or needs,” he said.

“How a group is structured really depends on what works best within that region, if there is a gym, or a personal trainer or walking trails available.

“And then it is about who comes along.

“We have gym groups that are mainly attended by male farmers, while other groups are attended by male and females of all ages.

“We even have a group of parents and children at Owen in South Australia that meet for a Tuesday morning session before school.”

With the Mansfield team new and evolving, Lou is looking forward to meeting our local farmers and creating a Fat Farmers that suits the region and supports primary producers across the shire and beyond.