Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2025 i Women's Fitness

The start of a new season is a great time to reflect and readjust your fitness goals. Perhaps like me, you find the shorter days and cooler temperatures naturally lend themselves to a shift in activities. I do less pavement pounding and more trail running, with fallen leaves underfoot and the crisp smell of autumn in the air. I also swap some outdoor activities (road cycling, bootcamp-style workouts) for indoor gym time and more restorative yoga sessions. This is just what my body craves when the weather turns. Perhaps you too crave a change of activity to keep motivation levels lifted. If so, I recommend you turn to new Women’s Fitness columnist, double Winter Olympian Aimee Fuller’s column on padel tennis. Aimee explains how trying something new and finding your…

ERYN BARBER Eryn is a personal trainer at The Fitness Group. A certified running coach and keen trail runner, she also has a master’s degree in Strength & Conditioning. Visit thefitnessgrp.co.uk Q I’m returning to fitness after a break and I want to get a basic activity tracker or fitness watch to keep myself motivated. What sort of features should I be looking for? A When you’re returning to fitness, you don’t need an activity tracker that has an extensive number of features. These are usually unnecessary and can leave the user feeling confused about what they should be monitoring and tracking. If general health and fitness is your priority, having a step counter on your activity tracker is a great way to make sure that you’re doing enough movement…

We get it, lower-body moves are supremely satisfying – they enable you to use heavier weights because the large muscle groups can cope with it, and this in itself leads to a great feeling of accomplishment. But don’t overlook the benefits of upper-body exercise. As well as improving posture and making everyday tasks such as hauling the shopping bags across the car park that little bit easier, they also strengthen your back muscles to boost your bodily stance. ‘These dumbbell exercises are designed to strengthen the chest, shoulders and upper back – key areas that help create a lifted, toned appearance through muscle support,’ explains personal Sarah Campus. ‘Strength training with dumbbells helps build the muscles around the bust, improving posture, creating shape and definition, and support long-term upper body…

Want a happy gut? A growing bank of data is supporting the important role gut health plays in a myriad other areas of our wellbeing, including its impact on immunity, heart health, mood and even brain health. Fortunately, looking after your gut and nourishing your microbiome doesn’t have to be hard work – it can be as simple as eating the right stuff. This is why the experts at Love Your Gut (loveyourgut.com) have created these new easy and delicious recipes to help support a healthy gut microbiome. Each one is full of gut-friendly ingredients and nutrients, such as plant-based foods, fibre and fermented foods, plus prebiotics, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And because eating a variety of foods results in more diverse gut bacteria, each recipe includes different microbiome-loving ‘hero’…

To put safety first, there’s no point in skimping on your helmet – and the Fizik Kudo helmet (£269.99, uk.fizik.com) has safety in spades. Boasting a MIPs Air Node system, tilt adjustments and rear light for visibility, we love this helmet for its lightweight and performance-driven fit. Available in two different widths – Regular, and Wide Fit for more space in the toe box with the same heel width – the Fizik Tempo Decos Carbon road-cycling shoes (£289.99, uk.fizik.com) not only complement the Kudo helmet (above) perfectly but also boast the highly-rated Boa lace system. For a fully immersive riding experience inside, try Garmin’s Tacx Alpine gradient simulator (£929.99, garmin.com) that raises and lowers the front of a bike to replicate climbs up to 25 per cent and down to…

Mum of four and near-legendary mountaineer, Nikol Kovalchuk is redefining what’s possible – one peak at a time Nikol Kovalchuk’s journey into mountaineering didn’t begin with ice axes or altitude: it started with curiosity and movement. Her early years were filled with outdoor adventures, and what began as a series of casual hikes soon evolved into increasingly demanding hill climbs. After successfully climbing Everest, Nikol challenged herself to complete the Seven Summits – the highest peaks on each continent. But while tackling her second 8,000m climb – Nanga Parbat, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan – she set her sights on an even greater challenge. ‘Everest was monumental, but Nanga Parbat changed me spiritually’, she reflects. ‘That mountain stripped me down and built me back up. I made a promise to myself on…

STAR LETTER ‘I’VE STOPPED COMPARING MYSELF TO OTHERS’ Your feature about Meggan Grubb – I’m mentally a lot stronger now (August issue) – really struck a chord with me. Day-to-day tasks, which get more difficult as you age, can be a lot easier to manage if your body has been cared for and strengthened throughout. I always bear Meggan’s advice in mind: I follow her on Instagram and she is a great motivator, continually inspiring me to be fitter, healthier and mentally stronger. Growing up, I struggled with confidence, compared myself to others and wanted to be different, but Meggan has helped me realise we are all unique. She made me look at others with a whole new perspective and I no longer liken myself to friends who may be…

Meet Kasia Polish racing cyclist Kasia, 30, rides for the UCI Women’s WorldTeam Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto. With 18 professional wins to her name, she won the Tour de France Femmes (TDFF) in 2024, after finishing third overall in 2022 and 2023. Awarded the Queen of the Mountains jersey in 2023 for best climbing specialist in a women’s race, she returned to the 2025 TDFF this summer to defend her title as one of the favourites. EARLY DAYS I always wanted to ride but it took some years before I was allowed to have a bike. My dad gave me a road bike to use when I was 14 years old, and I went so hard on my first ride to prove I was able to do it. He then signed me…

Looking to sign up for a 10K – or 6.2-mile – running event? The 10K is a great distance. It’s a good step up if you’ve achieved your first 5K, and it’s a great distance for setting yourself goals. It’s also a manageable distance for so many runners and is an event you can take part in more frequently than a marathon. To achieve your best 10K your training needs to incorporate a variety of paces, so try to include long runs, tempo runs, interval sessions and easy recovery runs within your training schedule. LONG RUNS Long runs help to build aerobic fitness and endurance as well as mental resilience. However, your long run should not be too extreme when preparing for the 10K distance, otherwise it could have a…

After a summer of barbecues, ice creams and picnics on the beach, it’s no surprise many of us feel a little off track with our nutrition goals – and that’s okay, as summer was made for treating yourself and making memories. But if you’re now feeling sluggish, bloated, or just out of sync with your usual routine, a gentle health reset can work wonders. September is the perfect time to re-establish some healthy habits. The good news? You don’t need to do an extreme cleanse or overhaul your entire diet. Small, consistent tweaks can help you feel back on track and energised, allowing you to feel a sense of confidence and satisfaction with your routine again. Here are my top five ways to ease back into healthy eating this season.…

Cover up Did you know, 32 per cent of Brits never or rarely wear SPF? And even less cover up once summer is over. With up to 80 per cent of UVA penetrating cloud cover, we’re pleased to discover new face cream NecessaryGood Protected & Hydrated SPF 50 (£29, necessarygood.com). Invisible, lightweight and non-oily, it protects against UVA and UVB as well as blue light, and also gives skin a healthy glow with multi-molecular hyaluronic acid and glycerin for deep hydration, plus niacinamide, pro-vitamin B5 and vitamin E for even skin tone and a stronger skin barrier. We love the clever Innerbottle, an airless balloon system that means you use 99.9 per cent of the product – no waste! Up your curl appeal Did you know curly locks need even…

Fit for all Crew Clothing’s debut activewear collection combines technical performance with the British lifestyle brand’s signature style and heritage. Designed to see you through every workout feeling confident, the Crew Sport womenswear line-up offers clothing for a range of activities, with seam-free crop tops, leggings and tees for yoga and Pilates, sweat-wicking shorts, skorts and vests with four-way stretch for HYROX and padel, plus dedicated running gear, including a jacket and gilet with reflective detailing for the track, roads or trails. Prices start from £25, crewclothing.co.uk DO THIS... Scenic miles, big smiles The world-renowned Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running is returning to the breathtaking Scottish Highlands for its 23rd edition. A true celebration of running, nature and community, the weekend kicks off on Saturday September 27…

Plant-based protein Made from 100 per cent natural ingredients, Better Nature Mediterranean Tempeh (£3, ocado.com) is packed with fibre, gut-friendly prebiotics and 44g of protein – which is more than a chicken breast! With a juicy, firm texture and sunny Mediterranean flavour, it cooks just like chicken and is easy to slot into your favourite recipes. Fuel-to-go KeepCup is known for its reusable cups – now, the brand is turning to portable food solutions with the launch of its reusable Go Bowls (£17, keepcup.com). Perfect for transporting everything from breakfast yoghurt pots to post-workout pick-me-ups, the sleek and lightweight bowls feature a secure vacuum-sealed lid to keep food fresh and a generous 550ml capacity for those hearty lunchtime meals. Gulp for your gut Gluten-free, lactose-free and with no nasties, GOODIE…

You might have been diagnosed with PCOS, be wondering if you’re a sufferer or have heard of it and want to know what it is. PCOS is a very common hormonal and metabolic condition – although around one-in-10 women are affected by it, up to 70 per cent of cases go undiagnosed. ‘It’s a hormonal condition where androgens such as testosterone can be higher than normal,’ explains Dr Amina Hersi. The exact reason for PCOS is unknown but there are likely causes. ‘Genetics plays a role – if your mum has PCOS, your chances could be around 50 per cent,’ says Dr Hersi. ‘Things like diet, movement, stress levels, sleep and even possibly early life experiences (such as childhood trauma) all play a part in how PCOS shows up. And…

Once reserved for endurance athletes and those working at super-high intensities, it now seems everyone from your gym buddies to wellness gurus is supplementing with electrolytes. Indeed, the inaugural 2025 Hydration Report from electrolyte brand Humantra, shows 24 per cent of UK adults now take electrolytes regularly. Yet the same report reveals 55 per cent of UK adults still don’t know what they are or what they do. So, just what are electrolytes? How do they work? And can they really benefit your training, recovery from exercise and overall health? WHAT ARE ELECTROLYTES? The simplest way to think about electrolytes is as a collection of electrically charged minerals that spark chemical reactions around the body when dissolved in water. ‘The most important minerals are sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium,’ says…

If you used to be a keen cyclist but riding fell to the wayside when life – or the roads – got busier, you’re in good company. A combination of more cars and less time has seen my cycling ventures diminish to the odd celebratory birthday ride, a summer triathlon or two, and a whole lot of indoor pedalling. And in this time, I’ve not realised my old-faithful road bike has reached an aged status whereby it feels heavy, clunky and not at all enjoyable to ride. So, I tried the Pearson Forge 105 (from £4,700, pearsoncycles.com) and my whole perspective of road cycling shifted. Smooth, reactive and sprightly, with a satisfying ‘whoosh’ of the wheels that makes you feel fast and professional, this London-built and hand-delivered bike comes with…

Whether it’s a racing mind, your partner’s snoring, or caring for sick kids, we’ve all had nights where we’ve hardly closed our eyes. Forget the recommended seven-to-nine hours sleep, the average Brit faces the day on just 5.91, according to a survey by Nuffield Health, and a bleary-eyed 11 per cent do so on just two-to-four hours! Poor sleep is never good for your health. In the long term, it increases the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and colorectal cancer – to name a few – and even one night tossing and turning can affect you physically, emotionally and cognitively. But what can you do to counter the effects of insomnia so you survive the next 16 hours relatively intact? Read on to discover what the experts…