We recently sat down and chatted to the lovely Illaria and Chiara about friendship, BODYPUMP and what makes Cook + Phillip Park Pool a happy place.

Illaria is a resident in Zetland and runs a coffee van with her partner during the week.

Chiara lives in Botany and works as a pastry chef.

The one thing they have in common is they are both regulars at Cook + Phillip Park Pool and have now been coming for about three months.

Illaria: "I have been doing ballroom dancing but decided I needed to do more strength training, so I decided to join Cook + Phillip Park Pool.

We now do BODYPUMP twice a week and look forward to it every week."

Chiara: "I was doing Pilates but we decided to do BODYPUMP and instantly loved it. The instructor, the structure and the atmosphere.

There are now about six of us who regularly do classes together.

So what makes Cook + Phillip Park Pool your happy place?

Illaria: Apart from the classes, one of the main reasons we love coming to Cook + Phillip is the friendship.

I have been to other gyms and you just didn’t have the sense of community as you do here.

Chiara: I have found at other gyms, people often keep their distance and don’t talk to you. Here everyone knows each other and everyone is friendly.