‘You shouldn’t let your heart rate go over 140bpm’ ‘You can’t do any work on your core’ ‘You shouldn’t lift any weights over your head’ As a pre/post natal personal trainer, I would say that it’s less important to listen to these bits of outdated advice and more important to listen to your body and do […]

I was gifted the Perifit for this review but all opinions are my own. Pelvic floor, pelvic floor, pelvic floor. These are some of the words that you’ll hear the most just after you’ve had a baby and with good reason. To take it back to basics though, what is your pelvic floor? Your pelvic […]

This post is in conjunction with TEMPUR® but all thoughts are my own. Anyone who knows me will know that my bed is probably my favourite place on earth and sleeping is of the utmost importance to me. I find that the sweet spot is around 8 hours per night for me, particularly as I’m […]

Ok, I’m not going to lie, this isn’t really a recipe because there is no skill involved in it at all but they taste delicious and I’m rubbish at baking so there we go. At the moment I’m all about convenience food because my interest in cooking has completely gone out of the window along […]

I’m starting a series on this blog based around my own experiences as an expectant mum (HOW GROWN UP) and as a pre-& post-natal qualified personal trainer. This first post is more about my own experiences in the first trimester but coming up are my tips on how to exercise in your first 3 months […]

There’s plenty of articles floating around at the moment about what people think the 2018 fitness trends are going to be but from what I can see, I think it’s going to be all about convenience. As fitness has become mainstream (everyone and their nan knows what a burpee is), convenience is the name of […]

There’s something about getting to the end of a tough class and feeling the vibe in the room where everyone is half amazed that they got through the class and half absolutely loving it. Know what I’m talking about? Then you must have been to F45. I tried out a class at F45 Farringdon, a […]

You know that moment in a race where you want to cry, stamp your feet and throw a strop because you can’t possibly continue even another inch? Everything hurts and you’re tired (and possibly hungry) and the finish line is SO FAR AWAY. Well, I had that for the first time in a long time […]

The mornings are getting chillier and the nights are getting earlier, it can only mean one thing… Autumn is coming! In preparation for the colder weather I’ve put together my Autumn kit list with all of my favourite layering options. This is also a lust list so I don’t have everything on this list (obviously) […]

Cycling from London to Paris was a massive learning curve for me because I’d never done any long-distance cycling before, let alone any kind of long-distance endurance event. So for those of you looking to take the challenge on here are my top 10 tips that I learned along the way. 1) Practice packing and […]

Here it is, the post you’ve all been waiting for, my round-up of how I got from London to Paris on two wheels. To get up to date you can have a read of how training went here, a list of all the kit I took here and my nutrition plan for the ride here. […]

One of the trickiest parts to get my head round while training to cycle from London to Paris has been the nutrition. I’m not naturally an endurance athlete so I’ve never had to experiment really with fuelling whilst moving. Even during the triathlons I’ve done I got away with a couple of badly-timed gels and […]

The one conversation that Elle, Mollie and I have had the most throughout this whole training period is what kit we’ll be taking with us. Yes, we all wear a lot of lycra anyway but none of us have done a multi-day cycle trip before so it’s taken a while to settle on this final […]

Last week was my final session of one-on-one swimming lessons with Swimming Nature and I’m so sad it’s over! You can read all about my first lesson here. I went into these sessions knowing that I’m a fairly confident swimmer and I’m very comfortable in the water so I was excited to work on my […]

Remember when I said that I was going to cycle from London to Paris? Well it’s now only 4.5 weeks ago and it’s all getting a bit real. We’ve written up our kit lists, we’ve received some amazing kit to train in and for the trip (more on that in another post before we leave) […]

I’ve spoken on my blog before about how much I love being in the water but I know that my technique needs a bit of love, as is evident when I get to the end of a few lengths of front crawl and I feel like I’ve run a marathon. So when Swimming Nature got […]

Does anyone else get the desire to scamper up and over things like walls, rocks and urban climbing frames? Excellent, it’s not just me. Everyone Active recently got in touch with me to see if I wanted to try out their climbing wall at the Seymour Leisure Centre in Marylebone, London and of course I […]

You know when you make a decision because you get over-excited and then sit back and think ‘oops’? Well yeah, I’ve done that. Except that oops isn’t a misjudged outfit or one drink too many, it’s a cycle trip to Paris. From London. On a bike. Without a support vehicle. Together with Elle, Mollie (both […]

I’m coming up to the big 3-0 this year and while I thought that the Olympic distance at the London Triathlon was going to be my celebration it hasn’t quite turned out like that. With a sore back and having to take everything back to basics I think trying to get round an Olympic distance […]

I’m a self-confessed hydraphobe (if that’s a real word…). As a kid, teenager and young adult I struggled to drink plain water and all I’d drink was juice or squash. A lot of squash. Since getting back into fitness a few years ago I’ve trained myself to drink plain water because I know how much […]

Contrary to what you might see on Instagram, having abs and being a bikini competitor does not automatically make you a personal trainer. You can definitely have abs, be a bikini competitor AND be a personal trainer but there are actual qualifications that you need to complete to be able to call yourself a PT. […]

Everyone’s talking about self-love at the moment and it’s something that I’m trying to work hard at so when John Lewis got in touch to see if I wanted to spend an evening with them talking about wellness I jumped at the chance. For me, wellness is holistic, it’s not just about what you eat […]

Every so often I get the opportunity to try something new that fills me with excitement (and just a tiny bit of nerves) and last weekend was one of them. I was invited by Up&Go UK to the start of their dawn breakers series to celebrate what you can do when you can grab your breakfast to […]

No one talks about periods in relation to fitness so when professionals mention it the press seems to be shocked and it becomes front-page news. But what about the hundreds of thousands of women who take a local fitness class when they’re on their periods? This post is for me, you and all of the […]

It’s been a funny one with my attitude towards swimming recently because I’ve always been a water baby but I’ve been psyching myself out with how much work I’ve got to do before my triathlon in the summer. I learnt to swim when I was really young and I’ve always loved being in swimming pools […]

I know, the question you want to ask is ‘why would a personal trainer need a personal trainer?’. Well you lucky people, I’m about to tell you! Since I qualified as a personal trainer just over 2 years ago I’ve had quite a few different focuses for my training including working towards my first 10k, […]

With all of the panic around a certain tanned president’s attitude towards women and the global women’s marches in response to it I’ve been thinking for a few weeks about what it means to be a woman. This post has gone through various iterations while I’ve wrestled with my own brain to figure out what […]

Since I got back from South America the weather has been arctic and I’m not going to lie, it’s been a pretty unpleasant transition. So how, as a personal trainer who works outside and sometimes works out before the sun rises, do I keep warm? This is my ultimate list of winter fitness kit to […]

Why did I want to write this post? Well, holidays for me from the age of about 11 have been surrounded by weeks of worrying on either side. Before the holiday there’s all the stress about being on a diet so you look good in your swimwear (or as a kid so I didn’t feel […]

Well, that has crept up on me! 2 years ago, at the beginning of 2015, I qualified as a Personal Trainer through YMCAfit after questioning my career in advertising. Whilst I enjoyed most of the jobs I had over the 5 years I’d worked in advertising I had a definite sense of unease that I […]

What’s the first thing you think of when going on holiday, especially when you’re going on your honeymoon? Bikinis, suncream, local food, spinning…. Ok, so maybe you’re not quite like me but when I travel I like to sample the fitness scene, mostly to try and make more room for all of the delicious food […]

Personal trainers, just like everyone else, go through phases of motivation and at the moment I’m coming out of a long stint of a lack of it. I always want to be honest on this blog and for me it’s important that I explain how I lost my mojo and how I’m rediscovering it. As […]

2016 for me was all about that little thing called my wedding, which happened at the end of June and was one of the most incredible days of my life (so far!).     It’s been the first year for a few years that I haven’t had a physical performance goal, like a triathlon or […]

With all of this discussion about the headphone jack being removed from the latest iPhone there’s been a big surge on wireless audio technology so when I was contacted to see if I wanted to try out some wireless headphones I jumped at the chance. The VerveRider+ is a somewhat sci-fi looking rig that promises […]

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to try out the new Best’s Cycle studio and loved it so I wanted to try out the Bootcamp class too. The studio, down next to Embankment station, is beautiful with very smart changing rooms including a cold air vent for after the sweaty classes and l’Occitane […]

Since becoming a personal trainer it’s very rare that I’m ever wearing something that isn’t activewear, especially Monday to Friday so I’m having to beef up my collection of lycra (well that’s my excuse anyway). When TLC Sport got in touch to see if I wanted to review some of the luxury activewear I jumped […]

As part of (one of) my real-world jobs I manage social media accounts and websites for a few different companies and one of the brands that I was lucky enough to come across during one of these jobs was The East London Juice Co. I’d tried their delicious juices before when they had a pop-up shop […]

Can you believe that I’ve reached the age of 29 and I’ve never been on holiday by myself? I’ve travelled by myself to meet people or had people meet me within a few hours but I’ve never done a trip by myself. I love being by myself, or so I thought. I love being at […]

If you’ve been a reader of my blog for a while you’ll know that one of the things that I blog about and sometimes struggle with is body confidence. Having suffered from a lack of it nearly all my life why then now can I wake up (nearly) every day and feel positive things towards […]

11 years ago I decided that it would a be a good idea to walk 13.1 miles through London at night with my best friend, her sister, her mum and her mum’s friends. In our bras. With no training. Having got back from 6 months of travelling 5 days earlier. In hindsight the no training […]

You know those workouts when sweat is dripping off your eyelashes, off the ends of your hair, off your elbows and you’re still pushing hard and smiling? Well I had one of those recently at Best’s Cycle, the new spin studio at Best’s Bootcamp in Embankment. I unfortunately couldn’t make it to the launch of […]

When we were kids Saturday nights for us consisted of all the fun stuff that we didn’t normally have for dinner, like cereal or scrambled eggs on toast or ‘oven food’ ie stuff cooked from frozen like oven chips, fish fingers or chicken nuggets with spaghetti hoops. Now that I’m grown up (allegedly) comfort food […]

This week has been a big week for my running you’ll be pleased to hear. After my first session at The Running School I spent the week trying everything I could to fire up my lazy glutes on a regular basis so if you saw me walking like John Wayne last week that would be why. […]

You know those moments in life where you look around and realize that everything is excellent? Well last weekend I had quite a few of them thanks to the amazing landscape that is the Lake District. I ventured way up north from London to climb Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England to help one of […]

Part of what I love about being a personal trainer is that to maintain your insurance you have to collect a certain number of CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points each year so as a profession we are constantly learning and developing our knowledge. My personal career as a PT has evolved to the point that […]

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll have seen that my relationship with running is very on/off. Sometimes I only hate it a bit and other times I’d rather stick forks in my eyes than run. At the moment, I’m edging towards the forks but I’m bullying myself into doing parkrun whenever I […]

There’s been a lot said recently about ‘clean eating’ and what it really means and as it’s something that I hear a lot of in the fitness industry I though I’d throw in my two cents. This programme from Grace Victory has brought the discussion about clean eating back to the forefront and I think it’s […]

Well. I don’t really know where to start because life has been pretty crazy for the past couple of months, which is why I’ve not been around here much. Ok, personal life. I got married! We had a civil ceremony in Hackney and then drove down to the South of France where 2 weeks later […]

You might remember a little race that I did last year called The Gauntlet Games, an entry level obstacle race that I did with a group of friends. We basically laughed our way round the 10k and across all of the obstacles but one of the things that really made it for us were the […]

Aaaaaaaaannnnnddddd I’m back! There’s been a brief hiatus on this poor old blog of mine thanks to a super busy period of work and a little something called wedding planning (which is nearly complete thank goodness). Less than 8 weeks to go. Eek. I thought I’d return though with a blog about how I’m planning […]

Have you ever walked into a room and everyone has stopped what they’re doing to look at you? So you go red, mutter an apology and stumble out? Well that’s what my first foray into the weight-lifting area of a gym was like back at university. It took me a while to go back and […]

I’m getting married THIS YEAR. I know, how did that happen?! Apart from being incredibly excited about celebrating my relationship with my soulmate, I’m also ready to buckle down for the next 5 months and continue to work on my body composition. As you’ll know from part 1 of this series, since September I’ve been […]

New year, new start, new you. Sound familiar? It’s all I’m hearing and seeing on social media at the moment and this is probably the first year that I’m not jumping on that bandwagon. Especially after my attempt at a juice cleanse earlier this year saw me fall asleep at my desk and give up […]

You might remember how I took on the Gauntlet Games earlier this year with 4 of my friends (as the Gauntlet Girls) and had one of the best races of my life. The excitement and joy of running 10k across country with some great friends, laughing so much we could hardly breathe and taking on […]

Mince pies, mulled wine, turkey and stuffing sandwiches, chocolate advent calendars, Christmas parties, hungover breakfasts, the list of temptation goes on. But what happens if you have goals that don’t mix with that list above? I, for one, am working towards the best body that I can have for my wedding in 6 months time. […]

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you might have seen that I’m following a high-protein diet at the moment to help my muscles recover from all of the heavy weight-training that I’m doing. With just over 6 months until I tie the knot I’m beasting my body into shape. With 143g of protein to consume […]

Before I went away a few weeks ago I was planning on writing a blog post about how to stay healthy and on track when on holiday but after what went on while I was away that would be insincere of me. After 2 months of tracking every little thing I’ve eaten I fell off the […]

Pretty much everyone who I asked for advice on what I should do as a fitness tourist in New York told me that I had to try out SoulCycle. As a massive fan of spin classes it was of course top of my list. The only class I could fit into the trip was 8am […]

You know the feeling when you try something that you really don’t like, have a horrible experience and never want to try it again? Well I have that with fruitcake and more recently running. I know, another post about my battle with running. However, this post is a confession and gauntlet being laid down all […]

You know those emails that pop into your inbox and you open purely because you’re on autopilot? Well luckily for me I did… The lovely people at Hi-PRO Nutrition said possibly the best words anyone could ever say to me…. ‘Do you want to try our new high-protein peanut butter?’. Various phrases involving bears and […]

In case you didn’t already know I’m getting married in June next year to this wonderful beard I always said that I don’t want to be one of those brides that loses so much weight before her wedding that she doesn’t look like herself in the photos but I definitely want to look my best. […]

As I sit here sipping on my protein smoothie, looking forward to a strength workout tomorrow and planning training sessions for clients, I can’t help but think how much my life has changed in the last 2 years. 2 years ago I couldn’t walk 2 miles without getting out of breath, I was so unhappy […]

Something simple today, my fitness inspiration. Microsoft recently got in touch with me to ask what my fitness inspiration was and to narrow it down to one thing was tricky but I think I’ve got it. My fitness inspiration is simply the fact that I can. I am lucky enough to do pretty much anything […]

Calling all girls who lift. Have you ever been told by friends, strangers and loved ones not to get ‘too muscly’ when they find out that you lift weights? Or asked ‘are you going to end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger’? Or even ‘don’t turn into a man’? Yep, me too. All of the above. […]

You know those races that you sign up for and then forget until it’s just round the corner and you realise you haven’t done much specific training? Well that’s how I felt going into L’Etape London, a 75km cycle sportive starting in Stratford and heading out to deepest darkest Essex before coming all the way […]

Drink more water! Make sure you’re hydrated! Blah blah blah, we’ve heard it all before but do you know why it’s so important to be adequately hydrated?   Our bodies are around 70% water and without enough of it we just don’t function properly and it can prevent us reaching our fitness goals. Dehydration and […]

You might have seen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (yes, I know, I love social media…) that I run a weekly class called BodyCon at Love Your body Health Hub in Hackney, East London. So what exactly is it? Well, BodyCon stands for ‘Body Conditioning’ so the format of the class is roughly 30 minutes […]

Here in London the weather is starting to turn from summer to autumn and my thoughts are starting to shift towards those early morning workouts and PT sessions. I’m not great in the cold so I like to make sure that I’m fully prepped for frost, snow, rain and PT sessions run in the dark before […]

If you’ve been following me over the last couple of weeks you’ll have seen that I ran a 2 week challenge called #weloveourbodies. The aim of the challenge was to encourage myself and other people to get into a habit of body positivity rather than looking in the mirror and hating what you see. You […]

You know those shops where you see something in the window then walk in and see a million other things that you want, like an Aladdin’s cave? Well MyProtein is a bit like that but online. Which makes it even more dangerous because you can shop in your pyjamas. When I was offered some products […]

It’s now 7 days through my 14 day #weloveourbodies challenge and I’ve learnt a few things which have surprised me. I thought that it would be easy for me to find something every day that I love about my body as I think of myself as pretty high on the scale of body positivity but […]

As you might have seen on Instagram and through my blog I’ve been trying to champion the importance of positive body image and confidence amongst women. I’ve spent too long hating my body and I’ve decided that the time has come to stop this. To get my message out there I’ve posted about the truth […]

Last Saturday I completed my first ever Olympic triathlon. Now that’s a sentence I never thought I would say… After my first Sprint triathlon back in 2012 I swore never to do another one and especially never do an Olympic triathlon. These people must be mad to consider the Olympic distances. Fast forward 3 years […]

Back in May I was asked by Cosmopolitan magazine if I would be in one of their features called ‘My body’s amazing because…’. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be featured in one of Britain’s biggest young female’s magazines?! And then came the catch. ‘Would you be ok […]

Pre and post-natal fitness is something I hear a lot about being a female Personal Trainer because getting pregnant and having a baby puts a huge toll on the female body and understandably women want to be in the best shape possible going into it and once the baby has arrived. While I’m not yet […]

Anyone who knew me a few years ago would be literally gobsmacked that I’ve now completed two sprint distance triathlons (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5k run) and as of Saturday evening, an Olympic triathlon (1500m swim, 40km cycle, 10k run). I’ve never been much of an endurance athlete but this is precisely why I’ve pushed […]

This triathlon has been a long time coming, in fact it’s been in the works since I completed my very first sprint triathlon 3 years ago. I decided to sign up for it as my big challenge for 2015 because I like to have a new challenge every year. I mean, why not? Challenging yourself […]

Sometimes there are events that can entice even me out of East London which is how I found myself at The Wimbledon Club on the middle Sunday of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Yep, my first time at Wimbledon and I was going to not only meet Martina Hingis but also get the opportunity to go […]

Summer holidays… For me that phrase conjures up thoughts of ice cream, pizza, sunburn, lying on the beach and reading every book I can get my hands on. But that was before I got fit and also before I realised I was going on a week’s holiday only three weeks before my first ever Olympic distance […]

When the lovely Lucy and Rachel from the Privee Project invited me down to the launch of Aquaphysical on the hottest day in the UK for 9 years I jumped at the chance, obviously. I mean, exercising on big inflatable boards in the Serpentine Lido with the potential for ‘accidentally’ falling into the refreshing water sounds […]

In this world of selfies, social media and instagram filters it seems that every day there is a new story of online bullying going too far with horrible consequences. Having recently been the recipient of some nasty online body shaming I wanted to explore my thoughts on it and see what you all think. A […]

The other day I ventured outside of my usual territory and it wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be! I was invited down to try out Core Collective, a new gym in Kensginton that promises no commitment with no membership fees, no sign-up charge and no contract, you just book in and workout. […]

London is hot today. And not just in that ‘aw look at the little Londoners thinking it’s hot’ way, it’s actually really hot. I’m sweating just sitting still. I’m planning on a couple of hour’s of cycling tonight and a yoga class balanced on surfboards so I’ve got some ways below that you can enjoy the […]

Yep, you read that right. SERENA WILLIAMS. Fangirling over here so hard… I was very lucky to have been given a place at an amazing session at the new pop-up Nike Court in London Bridge. I’ve applied for loads of the Nike events in the past and this is the first time I’ve been given […]

So it’s taken me a couple of weeks to fully digest what happened when this blog post went viral and to write this post in response. The post went viral across the world being featured on news sites, entertainment magazines and even being posted by celebrities (thanks Zooey Deschanel!) which blew up my social media […]

As a Personal Trainer and a fitness blogger I can see a lot of pressure in the industry to look and act a certain way which can be rather stressful and damaging for some people. The world of perfect abs, long legs and sweat-free faces on Instagram portrays an image of fitness that is fun, […]

Life is a battle. We’re constantly fighting against other people growing up, at school, in social situations and in family life. It’s always about getting more attention, being better and just generally winning. Well I’m here to say STOP. It’s time to start looking at yourself, not at other people. We’re all different and however […]

As a Personal Trainer and a fitness blogger I can see a lot of pressure in the industry to look and act a certain way which can be rather stressful and damaging for some people. The world of perfect abs, long legs and sweat-free faces on Instagram portrays an image of fitness that is fun, […]

Life is a battle. We’re constantly fighting against other people growing up, at school, in social situations and in family life. It’s always about getting more attention, being better and just generally winning. Well I’m here to say STOP. It’s time to start looking at yourself, not at other people. We’re all different and however […]

A 10k race? With gladiators? And obstacles? Hell yes, was my response. Get me there now. Which is how a group of 5 over-excited intrepid Gauntlet Girls came to be in Trent Park, North London early on a Saturday morning.

A 10k race? With gladiators? And obstacles? Hell yes, was my response. Get me there now. Which is how a group of 5 over-excited intrepid Gauntlet Girls came to be in Trent Park, North London early on a Saturday morning. This isn’t going to be a regular race report because quite frankly it wasn’t a […]

So yesterday I conquered my 2nd sprint triathlon and it couldn’t have been more different to the first one that I did back in 2012. I’d signed up for that one to lose some weight and get moving again, which I did until I went into denial 6 weeks before the event and stopped training. […]

So yesterday I conquered my 2nd sprint triathlon and it couldn’t have been more different to the first one that I did back in 2012. I’d signed up for that one to lose some weight and get moving again, which I did until I went into denial 6 weeks before the event and stopped training. […]

I had an interesting discussion while running last night with Run Dem Crew about how someone’s friend had asked her incredulously why she was eating a Kitkat when she was a RUNNER. A runner of all things! Like it would be ok if she was a javelin thrower…

I had an interesting discussion while running last night with Run Dem Crew about how someone’s friend had asked her incredulously why she was eating a Kitkat when she was a RUNNER. A runner of all things! Like it would be ok if she was a javelin thrower… My response was ‘as a Personal Trainer I […]

Let’s face it, if we all just exercised when we wanted to then we’d sweat maybe once or twice each week, which is fine if you’re not working towards anything but if you have goals (whether physical, mental, challenge-based etc.) then chances are you’re going to need to be training more than this. It’s not […]

You know that feeling when you book in a dentist appointment a couple of months in advance and then put it to the back of your mind because you’re actually really dreading it….? Yeah, that. But with a triathlon… With just over a week to go before this year’s first triathlon I thought I should […]

Every run starts and ends the same. You start running and then you stop running. It’s what’s in between that’s the ‘fun’ part… However long my runs are I always seem to go through the exact same thought patterns and it becomes a mental as well as a physical challenge to keep going. I thought […]

We’re a nation of scale-obsessed weight watchers and I’m saying that it’s time to stop. From a young age I’ve also been scale-obsessed and I’ve seen the numbers on the scale going up and down as a direct contributor to my happiness. At the start of my fitness journey I jumped on those scales every […]

With the warmer weather and that lovely sun starting to make an appearance my mind has turned to summer workout gear so that I can work on that runtan (because everyone loves sports bra tan marks right?)

Dear stretch marks, Firstly, I’m sorry. For as long as I can remember you’ve been in my life and for most of that time I’ve hated you. You used to remind me of how much weight I put on going through puberty and how uncomfortable I was in my own body. I used to slather […]

Hands up who has been on a low-calorie diet to lose weight? Yep me too. And who has lost weight pretty quickly while on it and then put it all on again afterwards? And again, me too. Having been through every fad diet out there I’m now preaching the benefits of doing a bit more […]

My name is Sophie and I’m a ClassPass addict. Rewind back a month to the launch of ClassPass in London and I was a bit ambivalent to what they were offering. For a monthly fee you can go to unlimited classes at nearly 200 studios around London. The only limitation that I could see was […]

This year the Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover) and Easter fell on the same weekend meaning that there was even more emphasis on eating over the long weekend. For the first 2 nights of Pesach (it lasts 8 days) we have a big meal with lots of family and friends and I can safely say […]

So you’ve taken the big step and got a personal trainer. Congratulations! You’ve booked in your first session, you’ve told everyone how hot you’re going to be in approximately 2.5 weeks time and you bought a load of expensive lycra that will DEFINITELY mean you can bench press like 100lbs. It’s time for that first […]

You might have seen a previous post that I did about the benefits of cardiovascular training which is a great place to start because anything that raises your heart rate is going to be beneficial to your cardiovascular system. There’s so much more to cardiovascular training however and I’m going to discuss the biggest 2 right […]

Base layers for me have always been something that you see athletes wearing (or my brother when it’s really cold outside and he’s playing football…) so I’ve never really given them much thought. Until now… I was invited along to a special boxing session at my new favourite place, Moreno Boxing, to try out some […]

I’ve read lots of posts recently about health, happiness, fitness, love and peace. But I don’t want to talk about any of those things, I want to talk about jeans. Yes, of the denim variety and no, that wasn’t a spelling mistake for ‘genes’. I put on a great new pair of jeans this morning and […]

I’ve been interested in boxing since the lovely Kate of Form Fitness introduced me to it in her weekly classes. Even back then I always felt better after sweating and punching for an hour, it does wonders for the brain! Fast forward 18 months and I’ve started going to weekly sessions with Carlos Moreno from Moreno […]

Welcome to the 2nd in my series of demystifying exercise posts. This time I’m focusing on cardio, mostly because people say ‘I’ve eaten a pizza but it’s ok because I’m going for a jog later’. I hate to burst your bubble but it’s worth WAY more than just burning a few calories. When people talk about ‘cardio’ […]

The lovely folks at ClassPass in the US have launched their service in the UK today, starting with London. Watch out, they’re about the revolutionise the way that we exercise… So here’s the basics: Concept - You pay a fee each month (like a gym membership) but you can go to unlimited classes at over […]

The 1st of March is technically spring although I don’t believe it because it’s still FREEZING. But the crocuses are coming out in the parks and it’s now light by about 6:30am which makes those early morning training sessions all the more bearable. My brain has start to motor forward to summer and those lovely […]

There’s so many different types of exercise out there so how are you meant to know which one is best to shave those inches off your butt? Or how about if you wanted to beef up your back? Or even if you’re in training for a triathlon? It’s tricky and to be totally honest, the […]

10 years ago my best friend and I embarked on a ‘life-changing’ trip to Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. I say ‘life-changing’ because it was in a way, but not in an ‘I lived off air and good vibes in an ashram and now I know my soul’ kind of way. We basically partied and […]

2014 was the year that fitness became mainstream. No longer is it strange to hear people say ‘oh, I can’t go for dinner, I’ve got Pilates’ or ‘let’s catch up at spinning’. Juicing, whether at home or bought, is more acceptable and quinoa is now a staple of a lot of people’s diets. AND they […]

The atmosphere, buzz and sense of achievement connected with any organised sports event is scarily addictive… And this is why I keep signing up for more and more! This year you can find me at: February 1st - Winter Run 10k - COMPLETED 73:16 May 23rd - Eton Dorney Sprint Triathlon (750m swim, 20km cycle, […]

While Simon (my fiancé) is in India for 2.5 weeks, I’ve had to fight the urge to book arrangements in for every night due to not wanting to be alone all of the time and not wanting to spend loads of money! So today I did something that I haven’t done in a couple of […]

‘Guys, we need to sign up to this race! It’s through central London and there’s fake snow and polar bears and everything!’ Skip forward a few months and our team had dwindled right down for plenty of very valid reasons. However, despite an awful race prep and freezing cold weather, this race was momentous for […]

Lift more weights, eat more food, do less cardio. Sounds pretty easy right? Well, I guess it is physically but it’s not so easy mentally. To put it into context, I’m coming to the end of the first month of a 6 month plan in which I’m spending 3 months building muscle and then the […]

You might have heard people talking about ‘clean eating’ but what does it actually mean? Well, there’s different levels of clean eating. For example, you could go hardcore and do a Whole30 which cuts out all sugar, dairy, legumes and grains or you can do a slightly more lifestyle-friendly version, which is what I’m doing. The […]

It’s now halfway through January and I’m kicking ass so far. I’m committing to my diet, eating ‘clean’ (ie. unprocessed) food 90% of the time and working out HARD. I’m focusing more on strength training than cardio at the moment to try and build some muscles before I start upping the cardio again in a […]

2015. How did that happen?! Last year was a year of big ups and downs for me, including a redundancy, 2 part-time jobs, a whole-lot of soul searching, a new career direction and a marriage proposal! I said yes, obviously…. So I’m starting 2015 with a big smile on my face and a lot of […]

Most people join the gym to lose a bit of weight and they think that because they’ve watched a few episodes of The Biggest Loser they know what they’re doing. WRONG. The gym can be a dangerous place is you don’t know what you’re doing. Oh, and chances are you’re going to look ridiculous while […]

On my PT course this weekend someone asked me what my motivation is when I’m working out to keep going and not stop when it gets tough, and it got me thinking. Why is it that this time, for the first time in probably 15 years, I have committed to a fit and healthy lifestyle? […]

If I had a penny for every fad diet I’ve tried over the years… I’d have a few pounds…. But anyway, my point is that there’s so many ‘miracle cures’ that keep cropping up promising to make you drop a load of weight simply by doing one thing and they might work for a few […]

I’ve dabbled in juice but I’ve yet to hit the big time and purchase my own juicer. You could say I’m more of a social juicer than an addict. So when my friend Anna joined the 42 Juice team and opened up their first shop by the sea in Brighton I had to give it […]

Someone around here passed their Level 2 Gym Instructor course today. I’ll give you 2 guesses as to who it was… Oh yes! IT WAS ME!! I’m a bit pleased with myself, can you tell? As someone whose strength really lies in written exams and essays, practical assessments scare me like nothing else. I couldn’t […]

How the hell did it get to November and how is it only 7 weeks until Christmas?! This is scary. This woman has got stuff to achieve before 2015 sneaks its way into reality. Before Christmas I am aiming to: 1) Lose 5lbs of fat without losing any muscle or strength - it’s all about […]

Everyone’s going mad for pancakes at the moment and quite rightly. They’re delicious with sweet or savoury toppings and they make the best brunch ever. But they’re not always the healthiest choice on the menu, especially if you’re trying to eat gluten free or dairy free. So here’s my never-fail recipe for healthy and nutritious […]

My first 6 months of 2015 are sorted in terms of challenges because I like to have things to aim for in terms of my fitness (plus I want to add to my growing medal collection…). As it stands I’ll be taking on: Winter Run 10K - February 1st 2015 Eton Dorney Sprint Triathlon - […]

I know, I know, I eat a lot of soup! But it’s quick, easy, super healthy and it’s pretty much all I want for dinner when it’s cold outside and I’m hungry. This is my new favourite soup, inspired by my boyfriend’s dad who made a delicious version and gave me the basic recipe. I’ve […]

When life is getting a bit much it’s important to just stop. A bit of ‘me’ time will never go amiss. I’m struggling with my energy levels at the moment. Working 4 days a week, doing homework, planning for assessments and spending the entire weekend studying and doing practical workshops for my PT course means […]

One of the things that I’ve always struggled with is boredom eating. If there’s food around and I’m not busy it magically appears in my hands and before I know it I’ve scoffed more than I should ever be eating. When I’m busy it’s really not a problem, I’m much more disciplined which is useful […]

When I was offered a chance to try out Speedflex, a new concept in low-impact, high-intensity workouts I was intrigued. Their selling point is that their resistance machines provide an intense cardio workout whilst allowing participants to work at their own level and (this is the bit I’m struggling to get my head round) won’t […]

It’s like I jinxed the weather! All of a sudden winter has arrived in London and it’s bloody freezing… And when it gets cold all I want to eat is comfort food while sitting under a blanket with the heating on. But comfort eating doesn’t have to mean letting your clean eating plan go, here’s […]

Although London seems to be basking in very late Indian Summer, my mind is starting to zoom ahead to some winter warmers that will be perfect for cold nights. My favourite quick and easy go to dinner is soup. You can tweak the recipes each time, throw in whatever you have in the fridge and […]

In a moment of endorphin-induced madness, the day after my first ever 10k, I signed up for my second ever 10k only two weeks later. Well, no pain no gain as they say… The Training After taking a few days to recover from Run To The Beat, I managed to pack in two short but […]

Having signed up for my second ever 10k race only 2 weeks after my first ever 10k race, I should have spent the weekend in between relaxing, doing some light exercise and chilling out. Instead, I went to France and ate my bodyweight in roquefort, camembert, baguette, soup de poisson and coffee eclairs. Because that’s […]

I’ve been neglecting my resolution to try out new classes every 2 weeks so when I was given the opportunity to try out a new spin studio in London I jumped at the chance. Enter Edge Cycle. It’s aim is to offer a combination of indoor cycling and bootcamp-style group workouts, which it does from […]

When I started running a year ago I couldn’t even run the 2 mile journey home from work without walking and it annoyed me so much that I refused to accept it. I’ve spent the last year getting fit and working on my running to the point that I decided to sign up for my […]

I’ve (nearly) reached the end! I’m now 3 days away from the big race and I’m feeling very calm, prepared and rather excited which I never thought would happen. Anyway, here’s how the previous couple of week’s worth of training has gone: Week 5: Monday: Rest or x-train - Quick 2.5km run to the gym […]

Picture the scene…. You’ve had a long day at work, you’re tired and hungry. You come home, open the fridge and, shock horror, it’s empty! What do you do? It’s so easy to pick up the phone and call your local Chinese or Indian takeaway shop but you had your cheat meal for lunch and […]

It’s now been a year since I started on this health and fitness journey and I’ve learnt a few important and useful things: 1) Always pee before a run - London doesn’t have many bushes or trees that are big enough to hide behind 2) Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, […]

Weeks 3 and 4 of the 6 week training programme are done. And they’ve largely been a bit of a disaster (with a few moments of glory). We’ve been having our bathroom redone so I’ve spent the last couple of weeks moving round between my brother’s flat (thanks Jonny and Sam!), my parents (thanks Mum […]

I love to sleep. Whether it’s the 12 hour mega-sleeps, the 45 minute power nap or the tube snooze on the way home, I can’t get enough of it. Having had a very busy couple of weeks with work and redoing our bathroom and therefore moving around various different houses, I’ve not been sleeping very […]

What would you prefer; to eat 2 bowlfuls of raw fruit and veg every morning or to sip the same amount slowly in a yummy smoothie? I know my answer, drink it every time! Here’s some easy recipes for morning smoothies that I rotate throughout the week. Simply sip them slowly through the morning at […]

In the past,whenever I’ve started a weight loss journey, I’ve always had in the back of my mind that there will be this magic day when I wake up and I’m skinny, like flipping that switch from fat to thin. The fact that this magic day doesn’t exist is the reason why I’ve never succeeded […]

If you’ve been following this blog since the beginning, you’ll know that I started it with a post about how I was getting back into fitness through running. You might also have noticed that I have a love/hate relationship with running. Which is why I decided to sign up to Run To The Beat 10k […]

Fast food has always been a treat in my life, from mum taking us for happy meals on the last day of term to hungover pizzas at university but since the beginning of the year I’ve changed my eating patterns to the point that fast food hardly figures. So when I was on a road […]

This morning at 07:15, my alarm went off so that I could get up for circuits at 8am. Except I didn’t get up, I had no energy, couldn’t open my eyes and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. Which is what I did. When I finally woke up the first thought […]

This is something that has really caught my attention over the past few days for a few reasons. It’s an advert from Always called #LikeAGirl exploring why ‘like a girl’ becomes a negative phrase as girls grow up. As a girl who was a serious football-playing, anti-dresses, action man tomboy, being told that I couldn’t […]

I love Instagram and health/fitness blogs as much as the next girl but there’s something that I need to get off my chest…. Fitness isn’t pretty. Eating healthily can be pretty but isn’t always. Meal prep definitely isn’t pretty. So what’s with all of these people pretending that it is?! This is a beautiful bowl […]

One of the biggest things that I’m learning is that fitness, health and exercise doesn’t always come in the form of a plate of salad and an hour in the gym. There’s more to feeling good and there’s definitely more to life than just that. This past weekend I visited friends in Plymouth, Devon and […]

Over the past 3 weeks I’ve completely overhauled the way that I eat and I wanted to explain what I’ve done and why. You’ve no doubt seen how much I was complaining about not losing any weight and as much as I’m learning that change doesn’t just happen on the scales, there’s still a part […]

The dictionary defines a snack as ’a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, especially one eaten between regular meals’. My definition is a bit more like this: ‘something yummy, healthy and filling to be eaten or drunk at any time of the day when you’re a bit peckish’. Yeah, I love […]

I’m not what you’d call a ‘natural runner’ but then I also thought that I wasn’t the kind of person who would enjoy kale in the mornings. I got that wrong. I see running as a challenge, one to be conquered and therefore I’m going to try and overturn my aversion to running by… well… […]

A few people have said to me recently that it’s impressive how I’ve stuck to eating healthily most of the time. My reply is normally ‘it’s easier when you exercise’! If I’ve worked out I feel much more inclined to eat proper nutritious food. I’m also more likely to fuel properly before a workout because […]

As women we’re constantly bombarded with images of how we should look, from red-carpet A-listers to top catwalk models. However unless you have those genes that give you legs that are about a mile long, it ain’t happening. You can go online and find scary ‘thinspo’ images which are meant to inspire you to get […]

itsthetinythings: Sometimes you just have to accept that you don’t have time to make your morning smoothie look pretty… ½ frozen banana ½ cup frozen mango ¼ cup frozen blueberries 1 tsp chia seeds 1 cup water 2 big handfuls spring greens ½ lemon squeezed #juice #smoothie #alkaline #alkalinediet #greens #supergreens #weightloss #fitness #fitspo #cleanse […]

I like to think of myself as someone who could handle themselves in a fight. Whether this is actually true or not I’ve (luckily) never had to prove and long may it continue that way. But when the opportunity came up to start working out like a fighter and training in boxing techniques I was […]

Nearly 3 months ago I posted my goals and it seems to be time to revisit them and see what I’ve achieved (or not…) 1) Lose 10lbs by June Well I’ve lost 3lbs since then, now just another 7 to go… 2) Run 5km in 30 minutes by September Getting there! I ran 5km […]

It’s taken me a few days of thinking to be able to write this blog, especially as it lays me pretty bare. Last weekend, feeling pumped up from a week of eating really well, exercising hard and feeling good, I put on a pair of short denim shorts that I hadn’t worn in nearly a […]

The last thing I want to do in the evenings during the week is spend hours chopping and then cooking food, especially if I’ve just worked out. My rule is, if it can’t be on the table within 25 minutes then it’s a weekend dish. So here are my top 3 quick ‘n’ healthy dinner […]

Last week I was taught a very important lesson. I haven’t been back to the army boot camp class since I was upset about coming last on every single running exercise and I felt I had to tell Dean, the instructor, why I hadn’t been in a few weeks. I didn’t want him to feel that […]

I’ve just spent the weekend in Brighton with some great friends and my lovely boyfriend and I completely relaxed my diet and exercise regime. I ate: - Crisps - Chocolate - Biscuits - Curry - Bread - Rice - Ice cream Oh and I drank rather a lot of prosecco in the sunshine… But rather […]

One of the biggest things I’ve learnt over the last few months is the importance of having a good breakfast every day. It kickstarts your metabolism after 12 hours of not eating, it wakes your brain up and it gives you the energy to get through the morning. I can’t function without breakfast these days! […]

I started this blog as a place to keep myself accountable to my fitness and health journey and to start writing again. Suddenly, it’s become so much more than that. At a close friend’s wedding yesterday, 6 different people came up to me and said that they’d been reading my blog and had been motivated […]

I was sent some Nature’s Power bars by the lovely people at Multipower to try out and I’ve got to say, I was pretty impressed… These bars are designed as pre and during training snack made with natural ingredients that contain fast and slow-releasing carbs. I got 2 each of the salty cocoa, honey & seed […]

It’s been 5 weeks. 5 frustratingly demoralising weeks. But finally I have taken a step off my weight plateau and lost my first pound in 5 weeks. I’m still 6lbs away from my goal weight but I’ve accepted that these last few pounds are going to be the most difficult to lose. I’m trying to […]

itsthetinythings: Really struggled on my 4km run tonight, lately every time I run I have a stitch within 1km! Any suggestions on how to avoid this? #running #runningtips #help #workout #selfie #healthie #tips #advice #training

Have you ever seen a baby elephant trying to take its first steps? Well imagine that. On ice. And that is largely how I look when I dance. However, part of my new healthy lifestyle is to try out new fitness classes and so when a friend asked if I wanted to learn how to […]

It should come as no surprise to you that I’ve been a big fan of shopping, spending money I don’t have and coveting other people’s clothes for years. My only problem now is that this obsession has turned to fitness kit. Seeing as it’s something that I put on at least once a day, it’s […]

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have noticed that for the past 30 days I’ve been trying out the Paleo diet, so called because you have to eat like a caveman. Luckily that doesn’t mean eating ancient species of rodent but rather you eat unprocessed, natural and ‘whole’ foods. Anything dairy is out as are […]

Last weekend was Be:Fit London, a 3 day health and fitness event aimed purely at women. Now, as a woman who is just starting on her health and fitness journey and is somewhat confused by all of this talk of macros, protein bars and tabata, I decided it would be a useful thing to go […]

http://simplytaralynn.com/ - Great for everyday inspiration as well as tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and body http://eatmoveimprove.myshowroom.se/ - Amazing breakfast food porn and body image inspiration http://projecthb.co.uk/ - Just a normal girl trying to get back in control of her life. Reviews of London-based fitness classes and regular meet-ups http://www.bangsandabun.com/ - Serious […]

I’ve been flying pretty high for the past few weeks because I feel like I’m getting stronger, my 30 day paleo challenge has been going well and my body shape is noticeably changing. But even with all of that, I suffered a bit of a setback yesterday. I went back to Dean’s Boot Camp at […]

This week’s new class was Mash Up with Kate from Form Fitness at my favourite place in East London, London Fields Fitness Studio. Picture credit: Kate Stewart (http://www.formfitness.co.uk/about-me/) It’s an hour’s worth of circuits, boxing and some core work. Now, I like circuits because you get to work lots of different muscle groups and just […]

As part of my 2014 goals, I’ve decided to try out a new exercise class at least every other week. This week’s new adventure was Hot Pod Yoga at The Trampery on Mare Street, Hackney. I’d always avoided bikram or hot yoga in the past as I suspected that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’m great in […]

When I started on my fitness journey, I wanted to look like this: That’s it. That was my goal. I soon ran into problems though because: a) My genetics will probably never allow me to look like that b) It’s discouraging when you don’t look like that within 1 month So I realised that I […]

I recently spent two weeks in India, travelling through the beautiful states of Goa and Kerala by taxi, train and boat. Apart from the jaw-dropping countryside and life-changing food, the thing that really struck me was the level of effort that is dedicated to roadside advertising. While more traditional billboards exist in the bigger towns […]

Every single person on this train is looking at one screen or another. iPhone, iPad, Galaxy, HTC, Lumia, they’re all the same. Including me. But if they’re all looking down, who’s looking up? That’s where the advertising is and that’s where companies are paying sometimes large sums to be. It makes me think, is there […]

Running and I have a turbulent past but we’re mending old issues and becoming friends again. Here’s how… Way back when, in my school days, I was very sporty. I represented the school at lacrosse, tennis and athletics but as I got older the puppy fat started to appear and I lagged behind everyone else. […]