Photos: Margherita Ferraro
Name: Kim Hartwell
Age: 32
Hometown: London
Job title: Personal Trainer, Movement Coach, Yoga Teacher, Founder of Rock and Soul Adventure Retreats
How many times do you work out a week?
It depends a lot on my schedule, but I usually move 4-5 times a week.
Kim, you have a few job titles! Describe the work you do?
I coach people on how to feel confident in the skin they’re in. Whether that’s through work done on the yoga mat, in the gym studio, a movement class or up the rocks climbing across the world!
Describe your fitness regime?
As I travel a lot my fitness regime can be pretty varied. I love to use nature as my gym as much as possible so where I can I’ll climb, surf, run and practice some sort of movement/yoga outside. In the city I get to the climbing wall at least a couple of times a week, I’ll also practice yoga, then train some sort of movement and weights at the gym.
What’s your motto for motivation?
Find something you love doing and it will become a sustainable and enjoyable part of your life. There’s so many options to help you keep fit and strong, there’s no need to do something that you don’t enjoy. Think long term health and happiness vs the short term win.
How did you get into fitness?
I’ve always been a bit of a sporty tom boy from a young age (I played basketball pretty seriously until I was 16). As I progressed as a model through my younger years I became more aware of the need to look after my body, but also of the need to be comfortable and confident in my own skin. This eventually led me to want to empower others to feel good in their own bodies, no matter what they look like. I have a passion for pushing peoples boundaries and showing them that they have the power to do anything they put their minds to, I particularly love to show students this through outdoor adventures, for example when showing them how to climb on our retreats at Rock & Soul Adventures.
Top 5 exercises that surfers should be doing
Getting out and practicing your surf technique in the waves will always be a of paramount importance. However, as outdoor activities are so limited nowadays if you want to keep surfing better for longer, you have to cross train as well. As with any discipline, consistency, balance and enjoyment is the key to sustainability and success.
1. Single Leg deadlift
These are great for balance and leg strengthening. Don’t worry about touching the floor when you balance. Place the focus on keeping the back as straight as you can when lowering, pushing the hips to the back of the room as you tilt. Drive energy through the back heel.
2. Lunge rotations
Make it one movement, as you make a ‘chop’ like motion with the arms step and into a lunge. You want to chop the arms over the leg that is stepping forward.
3. Ice skaters
Imagine you’re jumping over a log. Then see if you can balance on the standing leg. Try to keep the chest lifted. If you need to work with placing the back foot on the floor, then eventually build up to the balance
4. Plank rotations
Start in a regular plank, think about doming the upper back to create a hollow body position. Work into your side plank, focus on keeping lower the hip lifted. You can modify my placing your knee on the ground.
5. Reach to W’s
Start in a push up position, lower to the ground, reach the arms forward then bring them into a W position focussing on squeezing the shoulder blades together. Reach forward again. Push up to your plank position, repeat.
Blog: www.kimhartwell.com
Website: www.rockandsouladventures.com
Follow Kim: @kimhartwell @rockandsouladventures
