Women's Fitness January 2026

As I write this month’s Welcome page, I’m looking at two separate races that take place at the start of the year – one at the end of January, the other at the start of February. These are mass participation events, so it has occurred to me that the order of things has shifted – for many, January isn’t sparking the start, or even the maintenance, of a training programme, but the very peak of it. Come January, many of you may well be (like me) in the thick of training – the intense intervals, the long miles, the sustained efforts – and you might be starting to feel a bit fatigued. If this sounds familiar, turn to page 94 to find out how to balance your efforts with nervous…

Eve Boggenpoel Eve is a qualified yoga teacher, counsellor and homeopath. She is passionate about helping people heal, so they can connect with and live their authentic selves with greater clarity and ease. @eveboggenpoel Lucy Miller Lucy is a fitness journalist, ex-national gymnast and qualified Level 3 PT. She is also a nutritionist and life coach who loves nothing more than to go for a run or to the gym. @lucycmiller_ Aimee Fuller Aimee Fuller is a former Team GB two-time Olympic snowboarder. She is now a broadcaster and author, as well as an avid runner and qualified yogi. Follow her @aimee_fuller Joanna Ebsworth A qualified Level 3 PT and fitness instructor, Jo has been combining her love of exercise and writing for 20 years, and is keen to inspire…

Get set, go! Want your workout wardrobe to work as hard as you do? Look no further than British activewear brand BAM, who has perfected the art of ‘wardrobemaxxing’ this winter with beautifully designed, hardworking pieces that offer multiple looks and maximum mileage. The bestselling Enduro Training Jacket gets a cold-weather makeover in the form of the new Thermal Sculpting Training Top, £75, with a brushed inner for warmth and reflective tape details on the shoulder blades – great for taking you from the street to studio in style or for high-visibility night runs. And the supersoft Thermal Ultra Active Leggings, £65, are suitable for all your chilly outdoor adventures, thanks to their high waist, cosy lining and reflective piping. Visit bambooclothing.co.uk TRY THIS... Get a grip BJJ, aka Brazilian…

Meet the expert Sean Murphy is Ultimate Performance’s global chief personal training officer and oversees U.P.’s entire worldwide personal training team. He works closely with U.P. gym managers across the world, leading on recruitment, education, exercise execution, program design development, performance and client management to ensure the global training team produces world-class results. He was educated at Brunel University London, graduating with an MSc in Human Performance (Sports Science), and has built a long-term career at U.P., harnessing his knowledge of fitness and human performance. Visit ultimateperformance.com There’s a lot of confusion about whether women should avoid high-intensity training during menopause, but it’s not as simple as saying yes or no. What matters is how often it’s done, how well recovery is managed and how it fits within a structured…

Sometimes even the smallest shared interest can form the foundation for a meaningful friendship. For Russian dancer, choreographer and Strictly Come Dancing star, Katya Jones, 36, and two-time Team GB Winter Olympian turned broadcaster, Aimee Fuller, 34, that common ground was a mutual appreciation for nuts. ‘I remember seeing Aimee hovering over a massive bowl of nuts at my ex-husband Neil Jones’ birthday party in 2021, while everyone else was in another room playing games and eating McDonalds,’ says Katya, who recently celebrated her 10th anniversary with Strictly after making her debut on the Saturday night BBC show in 2016. ‘Neil had invited Aimee after they met on a job in 2020 and she had introduced him to wakesurfing. As soon as he met her, he said, “Oh, you would…

Early days My mum skated competitively until she was 18 and my uncle was a professional ice hockey player who represented Team Canada, so I didn’t really have a choice about skating – I was plopped on the ice when I was two years old! I took part in my first solo competition around the age of six, but when I was nine, I saw the Canadian ice skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold during the 2010 Winter Olympics. That’s the first time I saw ice dancing, and that’s when I announced to my family and declared to the world that my dream was to go to the Olympics and do ice dancing – they’d just have to deal with it! Ice dance is basically ballroom dancing with…