Sports Scientist Roma van der Walt Launches Women's Fitness Program

Sports scientist Roma van der Walt, has partnered with The Carry to develop The Carry Method, a weighted vest training program designed to help women build muscle, improve physical fitness and support healthy ageing. The initiative begins with a 12-week body composition program, “Hi, Muscles,” followed by “Strong Bones,” a program focused on bone health.

Roma, a former professional athlete and founder and CEO of Vitelle, a health intelligence platform focused on female physiology and performance data, will serve as the method’s founding fitness advisor and program architect. She will lead the scientific approach and exercise programming, bringing her expertise in sports science, strength training, recovery and women’s performance to the initiative.

The first program, “Hi, Muscles”, is designed to build lean muscle mass and to lose body fat by building strength progressively with resistance training and walking with weights. It is divided into two 6 weeks sections. The first one lays the groundwork with strengthening exercises and walking with a load, the second one adds in a combination of movements, shorter rest periods, and power training.

The participants can train up to five days a week in short training sessions with a weighted vest, dumbbells and a bench. Weekly BAM Check-Ins help participants track important aspects of physical fitness such as balance, aerobic capacity and mobility.

Key Highlights

• Roma van der Walt leads science-based training for women’s longevity
• Twelve-week program combines progressive strength training and weighted walking
• Upcoming bone health program will incorporate evidence-based loading exercises

The Carry Method is based on six principles, first being progressive overload and secondly nervous system health. Training session’s alternate heavy and light, have rest periods in between rounds and limit sessions to less than 40 minutes. The method is designed to support the consistent exercise in the daily lives of women who are working, parenting and prioritising their own wellbeing.

“Most midlife women don’t need more intensity. They need consistency, load that progresses, enough recovery, and a plan that fits into a real week,” Roma van der Walt said. She explained that the sessions are designed to help women sustain their training over the long term, rather than focus solely on short-term results.

The second program, “Strong Bones,” is in development with van der Walt. It will introduce jump training and evidence-based loading exercises to support bone health. The initiative addresses an important aspect of women’s wellbeing, as maintaining bone strength becomes increasingly significant with age and changes in bone density.

Van der Walt’s work brings together athletic experience, sports science and health technology. She has begun to concentrate on female physiology and performance data through Vitelle, and is playing a key role in the increased interest in the distinct needs of women in exercise and recovery. Her work on The Carry Method is to ensure that a scientific concept is applied to a practical workout that women can do on a daily basis.

The program is introduced as women are increasingly interested in strength training and resistance exercise and in preventive health. Weighted vests are being used more and more for walking and exercise, but there are guidelines to be followed regarding exercise progression and appropriate loading and recovery that can help women embrace exercise in a more systematic way.

The expected release of Carry Method is in January of 2027, and early access registration is now available. The programs are developed for use in the home, outdoors and in the gym and may be executed with weighted vests of various brands.

The plan is to include more structured strength training within this initiative, in an effort to increase the accessibility of structured strength training for women who wish to enhance their muscle strength, maintain their mobility and support their overall health over a long period.