A FITNESS champion has finally opened her new female-only gym in Basingstoke as her dream becomes reality.

Farah Fonseca, who lives in Basingstoke and has held major titles including Strongest Women in the World, opened Fonseca Fitness on Telford Road on Saturday, February 5.

The personal trainer said opening the fitness space is a dream come true, after renting out spaces to train for the past ten years

SEE MORE: 'A dream come true': Dedicated fitness champion to open new gym in Basingstoke

More than 100 people attended the opening event held last weekend, which saw the gym host its first fitness class.

Farah said: “It went amazing I could not have asked for it to have gone any better and we had over 100 people attend. It just did not feel real, and all my friends were reminding me to take a step back because it was such a big day.

"It still hasn’t quite sunk in and it feels like on Saturday I got married and now it feels like I am in the marriage."

A whole range of classes are available including female self-defence classes and boxing, but the fitness fanatic hopes the new gym will become a “safe place for women in Basingstoke".

READ MORE: Have your say on proposed Lidl development plans at Junction 7 of the M3

She added: “I am most excited about the community and to be able to create a safe space for women in Basingstoke and for young girls. To be able to teach younger girls what their bodies can do rather than what it looks like and to try to get them away from the social media craze. That whole community of creating a safe place, a place where women can go and discuss things that they might not be able to anywhere else is exciting for me.”

The space is only open for classes, but Farah is hopeful that the gym will soon be open for anyone to come and train whenever they want.

For more information, visit: www.fonsecafitness.co.uk.

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this story. We really appreciate your support.

Please help us to continue bringing you all the trusted news from Basingstoke by sharing this story or by following our Facebook page here.

Kimberley Barber

Editor