Driving into Bishop Lavis at night, you might be confused to see several “galley” fires ablaze on the side of the road. You might even think, Eskom is doing its lights on, lights off dance. However, continue down Lavis Drive after dark on any Monday, or Wednesday night at around 7pm and you will be drawn to a high-voltage power surge at the sports field in the hall.
That’s where the Powerfitties are working up a sweat and spinning the turbines, so to speak, to generate a hot, positive-charged energy, strong enough to keep the community warm this winter.
No, I have not been smoking my socks.
Nadine Dias, the brain-child behind Powerfit, a community-based Bootcamp and Stepclass initiative, invited me to come and observe these energy dynamos in action. The step class, which has a distinct community dance flavour, is held on a Tuesday night at John Ramsay high school, across the road from the sports field.
The point I’m trying to make by waxing lyrical, is that Powerfit is far more than a workout.
The vibe there is definitely next level. On Monday, 20 April 2026, it was a full house when 50 or so ladies of all ages took up their bootcamp positions above their yoga mats and began their workout to high energy music.
“It’s about letting off steam, releasing the pressure valve, escaping the mundane and just enjoying yourself with other women in the community who are all driven by a collective desire to better themselves in mind, body and soul,” says Nadine.
I interrupted the class and randomly asked the ladies, who range in age from about 16 to over 60 (I’m guessing, ‘cos you never ask a lady her age) what the experience means to them.
“I have more energy to spend with my children now and actually take an interest in their day, before, I would just come home from work, make food and go to sleep,” said one.
“It’s made me more confident,” says another. “It’s soul food,” says another. “Explain,” sê ek. “Sometimes, as females, we go through things and you need some support, and when you come here your receive a prayer without even knowing it’s a prayer and it’s almost as if that prayer was pre-destined for you.” sê sy met contagious conviction.
“It’s like therapy, but better, it has helped me process personal and family issues for over a year now and the energy and comradery has helped me in a way I can’t really explain,” says another.
Nadine says there are about 80 paid members who attend the classes, and the main focus is on having fun while achieving personal goals.
“Sometimes we have random fun activities like impromptu modelling shows, or a hiking trip where family members are also welcome. But there is also a serious element in terms of the goal-setting. Right now, we are doing a 4am 14-day challenge and how it works is that you have to get up at 4am on day one, and do one sit-up, two push-ups, three squats, and so on, and you have to send a pic of you and the date and time to the group. Then on day two, you double the reps, and continue to double up every day until you get to day 14.”
Ek wietie van julle nie, but I am seriously impressed. And I want to say this as an impartial observer, all the ladies present, looked super healthy and super happy.
“Last year I entered the Wings For Life race, but I was too afraid to actually do it, then I joined Powerfit and this year I’ve entered again and can’t wait to do it,” says another lady proudly.
I explain to Nadine that one of the reasons I wanted to do this interview was to share the initiative so that other communities could be inspired to do something similar and add to the improvement of the collective physical and mental health of our communities.
Nadine says she started Powerfit when she moved to Lavis from Kensigton two years ago. “I used to attend a bootcamp class in Kensington, and when I got here, I realized there wasn’t one, so I did some research and created Powerfit and it just grew from there.”
Nadine and her able assistant-instructor Carlyn Benjamin, create the bootcamp and step class routines themselves, and having experienced it, I can confirm that it is a whole lot of fun, but be warned - the step class comes with a few home-made community akkeltjies (dance moves) that is not for those of us, like me, that have two left feet.
Check out their socials to check out their vibe. Or Whatsapp Nadine now on 0678399841 to try a free session before joining. I’ll also tell you that the monthly fee is way less than a bottle of wine en ‘n pakkie entjies. See what I did there.
Keep it up ladies!
