July 21 - Ballito Umhl

Text: Leah Shone | Photographs: Adam Christoforos, True North Creative
Getting fit … in the garden!
Raise your hand if you’re
a busy, exhausted, unfit
mom who is a little (or
maybe a lot?) intimidated
by the traditional gym
environment? If your hand
is up, then you are exactly
the kind of woman South
African champion athlete
Lauren Cannon wants in
her garden gym.
Mount Edgecombe mother of two
Lauren has gone from being a highperformance
athlete, doing hours
of training every day, to teaching
women who hate exercise just how
amazing the feeling of endorphins
really is and just how much it lifts
your spirit and mental state. And she’s
doing it from her garden!
Lauren was first featured in the Get
It magazine in 2019 when, just six
months after undergoing major foot
surgery and being told that she may
never compete again, she not only
finished first in the KZN Olympic
distance champs, but won the 70.3
Durban Ironman as well.
Lauren loves a challenge and has
learned to weather them well. She
gave birth to her two daughters,
Scarlett and Stella, just 19 months
apart (in 2015 and 2016) and, despite
being told by her doctor that she
would never be able to run more than
5km after her foot surgery, she set
her sights on achieving her goals and
reached them.
But now (like for many of us) her life
has taken a slightly different turn.
Lauren has given up competitive
racing for the time being and has
started a small, intimate personal gym
called Fitness Garden in her garden.
And she absolutely loves it. “It has
been the most incredible transition
and my cup has never been this full.”
22 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga July 2021
Lauren’s aim was to create a gym that offers not only a Covid-friendly
environment, but also a more ‘chilled’ approach to gym. “I believe in working hard
at the gym, but didn’t want to create an environment where people would be
embarrassed about their bodies, fitness abilities or strength.”
During her classes, Lauren says she does absolutely everything with her clients.
She has six identical stations and everyone does the same exercises but with
different weights. “My biggest goal is to show unfit, busy moms the power of
endorphins. There is no better feeling than setting goals and achieving them
– whether they be weight loss, fitness and strength or just enjoying the rush of
endorphins you get after a good one-hour workout.”
Lauren has learned a number of lessons on her journey from professional,
competitive athlete to a females-only gym trainer and has also seen changes in
her own body. “I’ve learnt that looking thin and lean doesn’t mean you are strong
and fit. When I am my strongest and winning events my body is very different to
what it is today. It is very ‘block like’ and, in fact I look much bigger than I look at