Step Up and Transform Your Fitness Routine - Shona Vertue - a podcast by Rana Nawas

Shona Vertue is a personal trainer and yoga teacher whose clients include David Beckham. She has over 300,000 followers on Instagram and one of the most popular YouTube yoga channels in the UK.

Shona was a trainer on the cast of Warner Brother’s Wonder Woman 2, scheduled for release this autumn. She spends her time between London and Sydney where she surfs and skateboards - and I think Shona is one of the funniest people on Instagram! Her program, “The Vertue Method”, combines resistance training and cardio with yoga and meditation, and places as much importance on rest and recovery as hours in the gym. Yay.

We went deep into fitness, exercise and health, and Shona shared her knowledge and expertise across these domains. Why exercise? How to exercise optimally? What if you’re a total beginner? What if you’re already working out 3-4 times a week? How much do we have to do each week? When can we fit it into our fast-paced lives? We also talked about food, and explored the concept of “having fun”. 

Shona moved from sports (gymnastics and dance) into the corporate world. That experience did not last long, but informed her view of what corporate workers need to do to stay well. Shona quoted the Australian Department of Health and said that "health is not merely the absence of disease" - this quote resonated with me deeply.

When I asked Shona for book recommendations, she went with "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, and "Strong Curves" by Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis. The latter will enlighten you on the importance of the glutes in overall fitness and might (!) explain Shona's own obsession with a strong and healthy butt!

Maya Angelou is a massive inspiration to Shona and she mentioned the SuperSoul Conversation Oprah Winfrey had with Angelou as one of her favourites.

You can find Shona on her website, Instagram, and Youtube. Her book, The Vertue Method is available in stores.

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