The youngest member of the Shack Palace family, Tascha has recently opened her personal training studio; Wilda in the Byron Bay industrial estate.
She offers private sessions for all types of clients; whether you’re starting from scratch or you’ve been training for years. To introduce us to her cool new space, we have invited Tasch to answer a few hard hitting questions;
What is Wilda?
Wilda is a personal training studio in Byron Bay. It is a very small space designed for me to coach either one or two clients at a time. It’s a dark space with natural (two big fully opening doors) and red lighting to enhance your inward focus on the movements being performed. No bright lights, no mirrors, no distractions. Just me, you, some good (debatable) music and the drive to see what your body and mind are capable of. I’m am very grateful to be the youngest Macchia and have (self proclaimed) guru and (actual) designer/father to help with the interior design of the space. It’s such a great feeling to work-out in a space that feels good to be in.
What is the Wilda philosophy?
I came up with the name Wilda as I wanted it to represent (a part of) what I believe training should be about. I have learnt traditional training methods (as every personal trainer has) yet I am also passionate about learning other bio hacking, longevity promoting ways of training to intertwine into my sessions.
I think it’s important to utilise traditional training methods but to also work with each individual client, teaching them the resiliency that we can have in our bodies in everyday life and how we can enhance the body/ brain connection by doing more unique movements. I like to add at least a few exercises of stability work, unilateral movement, coordination aspects and movements that put the body into less traditional positions in my client’s sessions. It keeps it fun and like child’s play and keeps their bodies mobile and their brains agile. There are a lot of rules/guidelines (rep ranges, set amounts etc) when it comes to traditional training and I definitely utilise some of these aspects but I think it’s important for continual interest in training, to build resilient bodies and to have fun with it so that we aren’t too serious and we keep learning new ways to move and grow. I love teaching people new movements and why they’re important / useful to do and I love that working in this industry I will be continually learning and growing myself.
What do you personally love about training?
I love seeing what my body is capable of. I love that I can find something difficult and then I can work on that movement, accessory exercises using the muscle group that it requires, the mobility necessary to support the movement and try the movement again and be able to do it. I think training can be a great metaphor for how important it is to learn about our bodies. They are capable of so much more than what we often believe and with a bit of hard work and consistency everyone is able to see growth within their ability. It’s the same as our immunity, skin, digestion, energy levels (and other important functions that help us perform optimally in life), you have got to be willing to put in the time and research and learn about all the ways you can best optimise these functions for yourself.
During training it’s up to you to push your body, to listen to your body and to show up for yourself- you can’t hand over your body to anyone else to train for you and that may be the most important lesson of all. You have the power to grow and nurture the healthiest version of yourself and it takes a little bit of grunt work (just as a training session will) but the high you get as a reward is unparalleled… because you know you did it yourself and you could/can/will do it again for yourself when the next lesson/challenge comes your way. This doesn’t mean you tackle your training or your health all by yourself; people train with trainers for a reason (because they have spent all their time immersed in that world) but with the help of reading, learning, talking to a wide range of professionals and looking at both sides of the coin (always look at both sides/ arguments/ research and intuit it yourself), you have the power to build the healthiest you. So to cut a long answer short, I train to show my mind what I’m capable of, to build the healthiest body possible and because that endorphin high is genuinely the best mood enhancer I’ve ever felt … and I created it myself!
