Surveys indicate that more and more women are adopting an active lifestyle and East London based fitness group 'Train to Slay' is certainly contributing to the growth.

Founded by Gina Obeng, a qualified personal trainer, and owner of fitness brand 'Just Geen', Train to Slay is a training group specifically for women that champions inclusivity. 

Gina describes Train to Slay as a "sisterhood" that aims to bridge the gap between working out and looking your best, encouraging women to not only focus on slaying but also understand the process to get there.

Every Saturday, Train to Slay offers a full-body workout class intended to sculpt the body and increase one's confidence and a Bootcamp class every Monday - both priced at £10. Alongside this, clients can choose between a 60-day or 6-week challenge for those hoping to maintain consistency in their fitness journey.

Outlining the benefits of fitness in a campaign partnered with Sports Direct and Reebok last year, Gina stated: "Training makes me feel confident and it's one of the things that I think I'm most confident in. 

"When I'm in the gym and I've smashed a good workout, I feel positive, and I feel liberated, and I'm ready to conquer the rest of the day," she added.

Origins
Early on in her journey, Gina found herself immersed in the fitness world after going for a run as a stress reliever which later, inspired her to create an inclusive space for women to workout.

Speaking to One Borough Live, Gina explained: "I got into fitness as a result of depression. I was kind of lost in life and I found fitness to be my form of therapy."

Gina went on to recall her previous attitudes towards fitness and avoidance of sport in school to the point where she found ways to opt-out of compulsory Physical Education lessons.

"I'm not someone who's come from a very active background so I hated P.E when I was in school, I used to forge my mum's signature to say I can't do P.E," she said.  

After noticing the struggles of maintaining a balanced diet to support her new active lifestyle, Gina acted on the idea of building a food-focused business, "Alongside that, I've also created something called Just Geen's kitchen."

As an extension to her fitness platform, Gina offers meal prep services, particularly healthy Afro-Caribbean foods to fuel the body.


A project for 14-year-old girls

Statistically, 14-year-old girls drop out of sport at two times the rate of boys - a figure that is higher for girls from an ethnic minority background, according to the Women's Sports Foundation.

In collaboration with gal-dem zine and Nike, Gina co-ordinated a Train to Slay session as part of their 'Fourteen' project. Hosted in Nike's 1948 Lab, the project was designed to help shift the statistic by bringing together 14, 14-year-old girls from the borough of Hackney for sports, self-confidence and well-being project.

Gina expressed her gratitude in an Instagram post by writing: "It felt so rewarding to see these young girls take part and actually have fun whilst doing it."

Taking into account the barriers faced by 14-year-old girls when accessing sport such as money, clothing and body image, Gina was able to lead a session to empower them - something her younger self dropping out of P.E would highly appreciate.