Your behind defined! - PILTAES. PERSONAL TRAINING. WELLNESS

Hi! I'm Sophia - a British born, London trained, Californian living Pilates Instructor, Personal Trainer and lover of all things fitness & wellness. I'm wife to John and Mama to baby Theodore. I workout to keep my body strong and healthy and my (over-worrying anxious) mind calm and focused. My approach to fitness is to listen to my body and move it in a way that makes it feel good - some days this means slow, controlled mindful Pilates and other days this means a higher intensity, sweaty workout! But the main thing underpinning every workout I ever do is good form - moving well means maximising the benefit of every exercise (and workout) reducing the risk of injury and, ultimately, feeling much better in mind and body....'move well, live well' as I like to say!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE food! I have a semi-serious chocolate addiction and am currently working my way through every Californian Pinot noir and Chardonnay available. To me, living a healthy life doesn't have to mean excluding the things you love; to build a positive, life-long relationship with fitness and food, nothing should ever be considered 'bad' and you shouldn't ever be made to feel guilty about what you ate or the workout you didn't do (rest days are super important!)! Yes, of course, we must consider the nutritional value of our food and make sure that we include as much nutrient-dense food in our daily diet as possible (for optimum energy and health benefits) and, of course, if we become overweight for our height/build then we might need to consider whether we're consuming more calories than we're expending and look at reducing daily calories consumed from certain foods (as well as increasing activity levels to create the calorie deficit required for weight-loss). BUT....if we exclude the less nutrient-dense (but super yummy and soul-nurturing) foods from our diet completely, we will only ever end up wanting them more and (more often than not) will end up developing a very negative, unhealthy (and potentially disordered) mindset towards food. And, let's be honest, food is one of THE most wonderful things about life so let's enjoy it!

My approach to wellness is just as much about my downtime on the sofa with Netflix and a glass of wine as it is about my workout program....I get anxious and overwhelmed pretty easily (even more so since having a baby!) and so downtime is SO important to me for my mental health and overall wellbeing. We moved to the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area last year for my husband's work and I had my gorgeous baby Teddy last summer. So life is currently pretty much all about new Mama life and figuring out how I maintain my fitness and wellness as best as possible now I have my mini-man to look after (without being able to call my Mum to come and save me when I can't cope...argh!). I hope you enjoy my little blog - I don't find the time to update it half as often as I'd like to (I only wash my hair once a week these days so sitting down to write a blog post is nothing short of a miracle!!) but take a peek below for my thoughts and top tips on all things fitness and wellness, including advice based on my recent pregnancy and postpartum journey.

Oh, and I'd love to hear from you - get in touch if you have any questions, requests for content or want to connect or collaborate!

Big virtual hugs, Sophia x

Your behind defined!

1/24/2017

Did you know that your booty is made up three different muscles? These are:

Gluteus minimus - the smallest of the glute muscles lies directly under the gluteus medius.
Gluteus medius - this pork chop-shaped muscle sits near the outside of your pelvis.
Gluteus maximus - true to its name, the maximus is the biggest muscle in your body.
Your glutes are responsible for extending the hip (pulling the thigh behind you), abducting the hip (lateral movement of the leg to the side) and internal and external rotation (turning the leg in and out).
Due to a sedentary lifestyle and insufficient stretching and strengthening, the glutes are often weak and don't fire up correctly during movement and exercise. This causes the hip flexors (the muscles that pull the hip forward) to be overused and tight, the pelvis to be unstable and the lower back to, therefore, take excess impact during movement (ultimately causing lower back pain). The knees can also become weak and painful due to excess impact on them. So, if you suffer from tight/painful hips, lower back pain or knee pain, it's extremely likely that you have weak glutes which are not activating sufficiently during exercise.
STAY TUNED for future updates and exercise tips for glute strengthening and follow me on Instagram where I often post glute strengthening videos!

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