New Study Reveals What Makes Women Go Wild

A ground breaking new study from the Frontiers in Public Health Journal shows that with the right sweeteners, suburban mums will get off the couch and into the wild.

The Griffith University Report, published last Thursday, analysed the effectiveness of Coastrek, a 30 to 60km team trekking challenge. The event, which takes women on a 12-week training journey before letting them loose on the wild coastal trails of Sydney, Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, is a model for inspiring busy women to get moving outdoors.

And it could be expanded and adapted for large scale public health initiatives. Experts say it could even become a way to reduce obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes.

What did the report tell us about getting into the wild?

The Report assessed the key factors associated with the event, namely communications, motivations, experiences, satisfaction, and intentions. Professor, Ralf Buckley, International Chair in Ecotourism Research, and Dr Paula Brough, Professor of Applied Psychology, found that when barriers are removed and incentives are added, women who don’t normally exercise can be enticed to get active.

The Coastrek program provides participants with incentives, personal rewards, peer support, and social justification to include outdoor activities in nature as part of their regular schedule, displacing a part of their previously higher priorities.

Researcher and CEO of Wild Women On Top, Di Westaway, said “The main barriers to getting women outdoors are guilt, time, a negative association with exercise and family commitments. Coastrek motivates women to go walking with their friends because it makes them feel exhilarated. Not only to they get fitter and stronger, but they also get that warm glow back,” she said.

Di Westaway wild women

This combination of factors creates multiple mechanisms to sign up; multiple social incentives to continue; multiple disincentives to drop out; and multiple individual rewards, including improved physical and mental health, social opportunities and social capital, and enhanced self-esteem.

Dr Buckley said, “Coastrek gets several thousand suburban mums into 3-month fitness programs every year because its founder, Di Westaway, really understands the psychology of suburban mums and she knows how remove all the obstacles and provide all the incentives, both at the same time.”

Teams of four (at least 50 per cent female) walk the stunning beaches, bays and clifftops to get fit while fundraising for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Dr Robert Grenfell, Public Health specialist and former Health Director of the Heart Foundation, says “Adventurous physical activities like the Coastrek challenge can create sustained behavioural change and lift people’s mood because they are doing an activity that’s intrinsically good for them. And it’s fun so they want more of it.”

“Motivation, or lack of it, stops us from exercising. An effective way of building and sustaining motivation to exercise is to set a goal and do it with a group … Walking in nature appears to be better for you than exercising in a gym. When you are outside you have the wind, sunshine, trees, birds and all those things that make you feel good inside. This is great for your mental wellbeing. Also, the irregular pathways assist in improving reflexes and muscle responses. Add some friends and you have an all-round great exercise experience. Walking daily for over 30 minutes outside in a park will improve your physical and mental health. It only costs your time.”

The report suggested that the Coastrek model, which motivates people to change their lives, could be scaled up, expanded internationally, extended into different outdoor activities, and adopted broadly in public health policy.

Check out these articles:

yohka sports fitness racing

Fitness Racing Continues to Thrive with YOHKA Sports at the Forefront

Obstacle, adventure or fitness racing – whatever you call it, there’s no doubt that people around the world love this dynamic sport. Aussie-born fitness racing brand, YOHKA Sports, recently announced the appointment of Todd Liubinskas as CEO and with the sport gaining serious momentum on a global level, he takes the reigns moving into an

Read More »
healthy lifestyle 2025

Pantry Staples For Transitioning To A Healthier Lifestyle In 2025

With crisp, new planners and journals being purchased and new year’s resolutions being pondered, there are a lot of us setting the intention to eat better and exercise more. WNiF’s resident nutritionist and dietitian, Talia Sparks shares some tips for setting yourself up for success in 2025… Having a well stocked pantry complete with nutritious

Read More »
gifts for fitness professionals

Our 2024 Guide To Christmas Gifts For Fitness Trainers

It’s that time of year when the shops are getting busier and you have to check the expected delivery dates for the things you order online. With only weeks to go before the fat man in the red suit comes to town, you need to get your butt into gear when it comes to your

Read More »
training your foot core

Weightlifting Feet: How Strong Is Your Foot Core?

When I’m at the gym I’m always baffled by all of the trainers/gym goers ‘pumping iron’ and doing cardio. I can safely say that most or all gym goers have forgotten their crucial core muscles; the ones that help stabilise the body to conduct certain movements from deadlifts, to squats, to running. Are you training

Read More »
nustep recumbent cross trainer

Accessible Exercise With The NuStep Recumbent Cross Trainer

People with limited mobility are often overlooked by the fitness industry as a whole, yet this portion of society are often the ones with the greatest need to be able to optimise their health and fitness in order to maximise their independence and combat physical impairment. Seniors, in particular have so much to gain by

Read More »
change your goal setting language around new mums

Changing Your New Mum Goal Setting Language

Your new-mum client walks into the gym. You congratulate her on her recent arrival, move through her pre-exercise questionnaire and then it’s time for goal setting! An often overlooked aspect of working with clients is helping them to reframe their view of what health and fitness means. Jen Dugard, founder of MumSafe, shares some advice

Read More »
versatility of sandbag training

The Underestimated Versatility of Sandbag Training

When we think of functional fitness and strength training, barbells, dumbbells, and high intensity cardio machines like the Technogym SkillMill might come to mind first. There are also some simple, yet highly effective tools that can be absolute powerhouses for functional fitness workouts such as BOSU, battle ropes and the humble, often overlooked sandbag. Sandbags

Read More »
guide to sponsorship for athletes

An Insider’s Guide To Securing Sponsorship For Athletes

Sponsorship is abundant, and it’s available to athletes of all levels from elites to beginners as well as clubs, sporting organisations, businesses and individual professionals. Now more than ever before, sponsorship is about the benefits you can give to your sponsors off the sporting field. Media, social media, social networking and brand ambassador activities are

Read More »
a sports bra for bigger boobs

Finding The Right Sports Bra For Bigger Boobs

Anecdotally, we know that women often use their breasts as a barrier to activity, or as a reason to avoid doing certain activities or drills. However, this was demonstrated more scientifically during a study in the UK, which found that a whopping 17 per cent of women opted out of an activity due to their

Read More »
Scroll to Top