Our ongoing ‘JA At Home Series’ aims to unite women during this difficult and isolating time. It’s a way to share on our experiences, provide insights into our current lives and ways in which we are all managing, in the hopes that as a collective, we can stay connected from our homes and help one another through this.

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Melbourne based Kiwi sister’s Shanae, Brie and Matisse are the brains behind Fit x Three. Sharing their passion for healthy wellbeing with the world, the Fit x Three sisters promote a healthy living and the importance of family. We spoke to them about how they are managing lockdown and how they are navigating their way through this challenging time.

How are you? We’re doing good! We’re finding that focusing on the positives and finding joy in simple blessings is getting us through these weird times. We are very fortunate to have each other as we know that isolation and lockdown for many can be quite lonely and we’re so so blessed to live by the beach. While we do miss a lot of things and have definitely had to adjust/adapt to working from home and even postponing a wedding, the sun is still shining (well most days it is – but that’s Melbourne weather for you)!

Tell us where you are and what you can see? We’re are currently sitting on Brie’s bed, as her room has the most glorious sunlight in the mornings and we can see Sasha, our adorable border collie, chasing birds outside (classic).

What are you reading? We are definitely book people and love to have a few rotate between us, currently it is Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead. Though we do also read a few blogs, Well and Good is fave of ours! We also recently got our hands on the Beauty Chef’s cookbook which is all about glowing skin and improving your wellbeing through eating food that is good for your gut – we have been loving trying out new recipes.

What are you listening to? We’re probably not listening to as much these days as we’re just not really driving anywhere and that is usually when we would listen to podcasts or music but we do love a good chill playlist, summer vibes.

What are you watching? We love watching movies on the weekends and have definitely made our way through a fair amount of tv shows – some good and some not as good! We’re currently rewatching Gossip Girl (who doesn’t love Blair and Serena?), The man on the High Castle is a new show we started watching that has been good! We loved Little Fires Everywhere which was a bit different to what we’d normally go for. We do miss The Bold Type and some of our other faves like Seal Team and of course any medical drama out there — our taste in movies and tv shows varies quite a bit as you can see!

What are you wearing day to day?  Our default is active wear (no surprise there), tights especially as we try and take our dog for a walk in the morning to get us moving. Though we will end up in trackpants and hoodies by the end of the day!

Have you implemented some structure to your day? Or are you taking it a day at a time? We’ve found that structure has helped keep things seemingly normal so we do plan out our weeks a bit just to balance work and study. We try to leave the weekends completely free for relaxing – as it should be! We love our morning dog walks, we’re all a little bit obsessed with to do lists and of course evening skin care routines.

How are you keeping busy? We’re all working, full time and part time and Matisse is studying as well so balancing that on top of workouts and runs does keep us busy!

Are you doing any at-home workouts? Yes, we are! Dad converted our garage to a home gym set up at the start of the year which has been the best thing. We find that changing up our workout styles has been super helpful in staying motivated so we love using the Nike Training Club app for HIIT workouts and our own strength or body weight workouts. We try and go for a run or a bike ride twice a week to get outside and get moving and we absolutely love our pilates / stretch sessions with Movementology which is Shanae’s online business. (@movementology.studio)

How are you staying positive? We’re trying to be grateful for the little things. The simple stuff that sometimes goes unnoticed, like how nice the afternoons are now the sun is out, morning walks along the beach or being able to spend more time with our dog now that we are home all the time – she is loving all the attention!

How are you practicing self care? What are you doing to look after your mental health? Shanae: Self care is something that is super important to us; skin care routines and journaling daily are a go to. For me, keeping active and eating well are the best forms of self care!

What are you most grateful for right now?  Brie: I work full time for a construction company as a Project Coordinator and have been so grateful to have stayed working throughout these times which has kept me busy! Another thing would be having the beach just around the corner – being able to go for a walk and have space to just breathe has got me through! Especially when it’s all a bit crazy and work can be quite stressful at times the beach always brings peace.

What are you most hopeful for? Matisse: I’m so excited for summer – hopeful for one that is full of so much joy and so many fun times. Also definitely keen to go somewhere further than 5km haha! We are originally from NZ so hoping to get back over there to see all the extended family as soon as possible!

What has been the most unexpected blessing that has come out of this for you? We have been so blessed to be able to spend more quality time with each other! Especially as we’ve gotten older balancing work/study/life it does get quite busy and with Shanae getting married and moving out soon this time together has been so special!

Are there any goals you have set for your self? Brie: One thing I’ve tried to do more of is letting myself be creative and get back into doing artsy things! This is something that I would have always put off with the classic line of not having any time! Lockdown has given me time (so much time) and reminded me to slow down a little. Spending the afternoon in the studio painting, drawing, using charcoals and different mediums and letting myself get lost in the process is something that I am enjoying so much and trying to do more of.

What are you most looking forward to in the future? Shanae: My wedding! My fiancé and I value being able to celebrate with our family and friends around us so it has been rescheduled and postponed twice now with the ongoing restrictions! It has been a journey that has needed a lot of patience but we are so excited for the future!