Women's Fitness July 2022

Sunshine, flowers, holidays… there’s so much that I love about the summer, but nothing more so than the appeal of sports in which I don’t regularly participate. Cycling, open-water swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, hill walking, tennis, volleyball… with fairer weather and (often) less kit required, now’s the time to try a new sport. Just last month, I took my swimming outdoors for open-water dips. Like its pool counterpart, open-water swimming is great for physical fitness, but the lower water temperatures give it some added health benefits – something we discuss on page 30. Interest in cycling is also up, perhaps partly thanks to e-bikes which use an electric motor to provide added oomph that helps riders to go further, faster and for longer. Perfect for distance rides, commuting, tackling…

Jessica Hovenden Jessica is a certified Pilates trainer at Ten Health & Fitness (ten.co.uk). As a lover of being active, Jess found Pilates after years of being a dancer. Eve Boggenpoel Eve is a yoga teacher, counsellor and author. Her work is grounded in a deep appreciation of inner stillness as a pathway to transformation.@findingstillness.uk Joanna Ebsworth A qualified Level 3 PT and fitness instructor, Jo has been combining her love of exercise and writing for 15 years, and is keen to inspire others to be active. @joglows Sarah Lindsay Triple Olympian speed skater Sarah Lindsay is the co-founder of Roar Fitness, which has three gyms in London and another opening soon in Dubai.roar-fitness.com Luke Baden Luke is master trainer and functional fitness programming lead at Fiit (fiit.tv). His range…

STAR LETTER GIVE IT A WHIRL I enjoyed and appreciated your article Your pace, or mine? (June issue), which reported that singletons are swapping tapas restaurants for tap-dancing classes, and asked: ‘Would you go on a fitness date?’. If you’d asked me this six months ago, I’d have said no. But I have a friend who has been tap dancing for 20 years and met her husband through it. She is fit and, although she does yoga, too, says the dancing has been the best workout she could have done. I agree that exercising together seems such a creative way to get to know a prospective beau on a deeper level. From cycling to bootcamp to tap dancing, the workout floor is clearly a perfect setting to discover your date’s…

Made to move Broadcaster and choreographer Oti Mabuse has joined forces with Bravissimo to launch her first ever collection of lingerie and sportswear. Designed by Mabuse with confidence, comfort and style in mind, the 16-piece collection features two sports bras (available in D-L cups), with matching sports leggings (XS-3XL). We love this compression-style Performance Non-Wired Sports Bra, £44, and matching Performance Sports Leggings, £45, both made from recycled fabrics featuring a monochrome tribal print. Prefer a more lifted look? Then opt for the Performance Wired Sports Bra, £44, in a Blue Leopard print instead; bravissimo.com TRY THIS… Body care Bast Paris is the new bodycare brand that supports and champions active lifestyles, both pre- and post-workout. Designed to help fitness enthusiasts prepare for physical activity and take care of their…

Sarah Lindsay’s Roar Fitness gym in London’s Kensington has a gallery of pictures on the reception wall that prove exactly why the triple-Olympian-turned-PT is being hailed the ‘UK’s Queen of transformations’. Jaw-dropping before and afters could motivate even the most languid gym-goer to grab a pair of dumbbells in pursuit of peak power. Just ask Piers Morgan, one of the latest stars to recruit Sarah, who, since retiring from professional speed skating 12 years ago, has opened a trio of London gyms (with another set to open in Dubai later this year) where weight lifting – as opposed to cardio – is the ticket to top-to-toe body sculpting. Sarah, who was the British women’s short-track speed skating champion for 10 consecutive years, qualified as a PT before retiring in 2010,…

Rest – Allow a day between workouts for your body to replenish energy stores, and to protect you from injury. Rest is also important for the mind. Enjoy it! Recover – Foam roll and stretch. Using a foam roller to release lactic acid and increase blood flow is an active form of recovery. It eases tension, prevents soreness and will make you feel brand new. Revive – Try cryotherapy. At LondonCryo (londoncryo.com), I sit in an infrared sauna to reduce muscle inflammation and remove toxins, then I do cryotherapy. The muscle-healing benefits are triggered when you reach -110ºC or colder!…