It may seem like common sense - exercising is good for your health.
But until now, according to a Noongar PHD candidate, no-one has ever proved if it works for Indigenous people.
Turguy Eskine from Edith Cowan University has embarked on what he says is the first study into whether exercise is the medicine Indigenous people need.
Hannah Sinclair, with this report by Ryan Emery.
Melanie King isn't just exercising for herself, but also for science.
The 41-year-old office worker is part of a trial that is testing the physiological and psychological effects of exercise on Indigenous people.
"The weights that we can push now I suppose are quite good for women. is It helps with everyday life kind of things: carrying shopping bags, moving stuff around the house, all those extra things. The energy is up. You're feeling positive at work. You're not stressed and you handle things a lot differently. Oh most definitely."
Joining Melanie King in the study is her cousin Gillian King and Gillian's 20-year-old daughter Tyla Ronan.
They are one group of several working out across the Perth metro area.
Tyla Ronan, who is small of stature, says she didn't think the gym was for her.
"I was really nervous about joining the gym. It's not something that I was used to obviously I was worried people would think opposite because of my size, but mentally and physically I've already felt the benefits. You don't even think about going out partying and doing all that kind of stuff. It's just like another outlet, I guess."
Melanie King says the women viewed the gym as a non-Indigenous domain.
She says there was an element of shame when they first thought about going and exercising in public.
"(They) Haven't had the exposure. It's intergenerational sort of stuff. The way to deal with things, you know, in the past you might have had alcohol, you might have had drugs. This is something positive. It's holistic, it's mental, it's all those things. You're quick to think about what you eat, what you drink and who you socialize with. I mean it improves all those things."
Before the participants are studied externally, their insides get a good looking over as well.
PHD candidate Turguy Eskine, who is beind the study, is measuring 23-year-old Jordin Payne's blood pressure, pulse rate, as well as her blood vessel compliance.
"Blood goes through there and what happens is that when there's a bit of pressure there, what your arteries should do is open up to decrease the blood flow going through there. So, at the moment, yours is 11-point-six."
Participants also receive full body scans to determine how much fat they have - even how much muscle is in each arm, or leg or their torso.
It's a level of detail not readily available in the commercial world especially not during a typical assessment by a personal trainer.
"(Eskine): This here actually gives you a breakdown of the fat and the muscle in total. So for each region, left leg is 7.2 kilos, and right leg is 7.8 kilos. (Patient): Interesting. (Eskine): So, what it does is break down each different component in your body and gives us a total score. So, your total score is 27."
Tabita Hunter, an Indigenous personal trainer from the Bardi people in the north of Western Australia, has joined the study.
She says she's the only one in her family who doesn't suffer from a chronic disease such as heart problems or diabetes.
The 31-year-old says she wants to see more Indigenous trainers helping their people.
"I must say because even the cultural understanding is definitely an aspect to look at and also understanding the diseases that a lot of our family faces. Yes, we are Indigenous people that have high risk factors of every single disease that are out there and with studies and with the actual statistics that are out there for our life expectancy, our diabetes, our heart conditions and also our obesity so being an Indigenous (person) it is very empowering. I feel empowered taking on the studies and about to train eight people within the twelve weeks program."
The study hopes to show the effect of exercise on the chronic diseases Indigenous people face.
Jordin Payne is one of those at risk.
"I found out not that long ago that I had really high triglyceride levels, which is basically an indication of heart disease and about two years ago, my father passed away from heart disease so it runs in our family, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to get my health and fitness on track."
Turguy Eskine, a Noongar man, says when he was an Indigenous health worker, he saw a revolving door of patients coming to the clinic.
"You'd have people turn up to Derbarl Yerrigan with blood sugar levels elevated, high blood pressures and those other types of risk factors and all the doctor would do is write them a script. There's a script. Go get your medication and that's the answer that they had medication. Whereas exercise has been shown to decrease the risk factors. I mean it's not only targeting the physical health, it's also the mental health as well. So you're getting a double whammy if you like."
But exactly what the effect is in Indigenous people Turguy Eskine says is not exactly -- clear although the early signs are it is effective.
"In the scientific literature, there's probably been less than a dozen papers being published in the area so this study will significantly contribute to that body of knowledge. We don't know what the physiological effects are of Aboriginal people training in gyms. I mean so far we've seen some very encouraging signs, and that's what we hope to get out of the PHD a better understanding of the physiological as well as the psychological effects of basically using exercise as medicine to improve quality of life outcomes within the Indigenous community."
The 39-year-old is also hoping that his research will lead to more funding for Indigenous health.
His ambitious goal is to set up a one-stop medical centre for Indigenous people that also includes - a gym.
The study will conclude later this year.
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