Christchurch has scooped the two most coveted New Zealand exercise industry awards.

Jessee James has won the top New Zealand personal trainer prize and exercise facility Adapted Yoga and Pilates has won the hotly contested categories supreme facility of the year award.

ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie says Adapted Yoga and Pilates showed a unique ability to excel in multiple areas offering traditional yoga and pilates, while also serving a more traditional exercise audience at the same time as being highly community focused.

“They are the first yoga studio to take out the supreme award,” he says.

Judges says James, the personal trainer winner of the year, demonstrated 100 percent desire for her clients to be successful and embrace the philosophy of wellbeing, or te whare tapawha, for everyone that attended her facility.

Last year’s personal trainer of the year winner was Ngarama Milner-Olsen of Wellington.

The awards at the weekend co-timed with the Hauora yoga conference and the FitEx fitness and exercise conference.

The Exercise NZ awards recognise exercise professionals and facilities for helping many of the 500,000 Kiwis stay active.

Academic research studies have found that exercise increases life expectancy regardless of the size of people, proving exercise is critical to longevity. The awards and the efforts of New Zealand registered exercise professionals go a long way to addressing the health of all New Zealanders, Beddie says.

A British Medical Journal report says physical activity increased life expectancy on all of those that took part in the study, regardless of their body mass index (BMI), which is often used as an indicator for people’s health, Beddie says.

“The New Zealand exercise industry is ready and willing to play its part here and today we call on the government to work with us it to help get more Kiwis active.”

He says New Zealanders need to do more and this needs leadership and direction from government, local authorities, organisations and workplaces, supporting people to get more active.

“Something needs to change given that we are the worst of all the developed countries and 13th worst in the world in meeting WHO exercise guidelines.’’

© Scoop Media