27 year old London based blogger and personal trainer Sophie Kay sent shock waves through the social media world by “Debunking Fitness Myths" so often perpetuated on Instagram and other social media platforms.
In her post, Sophie poses for her own selfies to reveal the tricks often used to create the perfect "fitspiration" photos. All it takes is finding the right angle, improving the lighting and of course, adding a filter. "Don't trust what you see," she warns and "don't pay much attention to those before and after shots!"
Sophie also debunks the myth that exercise is easy:
"Exercise is not easy. And if it is easy then you’re not pushing yourself. And if you’re not pushing yourself then you won’t make any progress and reach your goals. Even if your goal is just to clear your head you need to put in a bit of effort to achieve that. The real side of fitness is early mornings, freezing hands and ears in winter, ridiculous sports bra tans in summer, stinging sweat in your eyes, not bothering to wash your hair because you’re only going to get sweaty again tomorrow, permanent hand callouses, blistered feet and stiff muscles. But all of this adds up to feeling alive, proud and on top of the world."
Inspired not only by her participation in the 2012 London Marathon but also by her successful weight loss from training, Sophie studied and qualified to become a Personal Trainer. This led to her starting her own personal training business, The Fitology Way. Her training programs are designed to provide fun, challenging and sustainable ways to live a healthy lifestyle. On her blog, Sophie shares countless tips for staying committed to your fitness program with realistic and entertaining posts including The Danger of Low Calorie Diets, and "How to Exercise when You Don't Want To."
Like everyone else, we recently became huge fans of Sophie's and we're so excited that she offered to answer a few questions for us to share with you!
What 1-2 things do you believe sets you apart from other personal trainers?
Having been through the journey from unhealthy to fit myself, I think I've got a deeper understanding of the commitment and hard work that it takes to make those changes. That said, it doesn't mean that I take it easy on my clients!
Who or what inspires your blog posts about real topics, that female athletes pretty much shy away from openly talking about?
Talking to my clients and friends often inspires me because they're grappling with body issues that I want to help them out with by exploring them on the blog and trying to inspire and motivate them.
In your blog piece “How to Exercise When You Don't Want To,” one of your tips is to set some training goals - what are yours?
My big training goal for this year is to complete my first Olympic distance triathlon in August so I'm working towards that at the moment. My goal is to get round at this point! Next year's triathlon season might see me challenging that time.
What does a week of training and eating look like for you?
I train 5-6 times each week doing a variety of swimming, cycling and running as well as weekly yoga classes and cross training sessions including boxing, circuit training and weight training. I have 1 complete rest day each week and normally 1 active rest day where I have a good stretch out. I've figured out the way of eating that works best for me which has a big emphasis on raw vegetables with complex carbs, a majority of plant-based proteins and some animal-based proteins. I eat 3 main meals every day with 2 snacks which keeps me fueled up for whatever that day's training wants to throw at me. I try to live a balanced lifestyle though so if I fancy some pizza I'm going to eat some pizza!
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I think taking the step and investing in myself to do the personal training course was a big step for me because it's something I never thought that I could do. I was giving up one career for another without any idea if I'd be good at it or enjoy it. Luckily I am and I do!
Finally- what is your superpower?
My superpower is to find hidden reserves of energy whenever there's an opportunity to get sweaty, even if I've been up since 5am with clients!