Q&A with Lottie Murphy

We love an inspirational fitness blogger as much as the next girl, and our Q&A with Lottie Murphy has left us smitten with the lovely Lottie. We grabbed 10 minutes with the Pilates teacher, former dancer and blogger to talk fitness secrets, clean eating fun and cheat treats!

1. How did you get into Pilates?

I started doing Pilates every day while at ballet school and always felt amazing in my body and mind after a session. Pilates made me a better dancer and I was hooked from then. I found myself wanting to do more Pilates classes rather than dance classes when I left school and decided to train as an instructor in 2012. I haven’t looked back since and as much as I loved dancing when I was younger, the health and fitness industry is where I’m meant to be.

2. Does your background in dance influence your Pilates teaching?

I believe I have very good body awareness from dancing since a very young age. I also have a good eye for alignment and form, which means my clients can’t get away with anything! It’s worth it though because technique is key to really getting the benefits from Pilates.

3. What other fitness/workouts do you do to stay fit?

I love yoga and go to a power yoga class once a week. I also try to get in one high intensity workout a week but tend to change it up, it might be a spin class one week and a bootcamp-style class another week. I then do a lot of home workouts, Pilates from YouTube and I use the NTC app.

4. What’s your favourite current fitness trend?

Youtube! There’s so many amazing channels on there for workouts and you don’t have to pay for expensive classes or a gym membership. Its accessible to everyone and you’ll always find a level for you. I have my own YouTube channel with short 5 and 10-minute Pilates workouts, I also love Carly Rowena.

5. What’s your top fitness tip/secret?

Be present when you’re working out and do things you love!

6. You’re also a clean eating queen, what’s your favourite healthy dish?

I’ve recently started making my own houmous! I try to make a batch a week and it’s simply chickpeas, tahini, cumin, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, water and a sprinkle of paprika!

7. Is there a particular style of cooking/eating you like or follow?

I wouldn’t put a label on the way I eat like ‘vegan’, ‘raw’ or ‘paleo’. I fit somewhere in the middle of them all! I eat mainly vegetarian whole food, but still eat small amounts of good quality dairy, meat and fish. I love dark chocolate and healthy raw snacks and have a couple of glasses of red wine at the weekend. It’s quite a simple diet really.

8. What’s your secret to balancing fun/socialising with a healthy lifestyle?

I’m lucky that it comes quite naturally to me to balance my lifestyle. I have a girls’ night once a week and go out for dinner with my boyfriend and definitely indulge but it’s all about being healthy in your mind. It’s not healthy to beat yourself up for eating dessert or that extra bowl of pasta and then starving yourself the next day and it’s sad to hear that this is quite a common thing for girls struggling to find balance! Get knowledgable about health and nutrition and then listen to your body!

9. What’s your favourite cheat treat?

Pistachio ice cream! If it’s on the menu at a restaurant then there’s no way I’m not having it!

10. How did you get into blogging?

I was the go-to girl with my friends and family for healthy lifestyle questions and just decided to start blogging about things I was interested in and getting asked about. I’ve always loved writing and have had a diary since I was 13, a lot of my posts are quite personal so I definitely find it a creative way to clear my mind and focus on my goals and I’m hopefully relating to and inspiring others along the way.

11. For anyone who hasn’t come across you before, what sort of things do you usually blog about?

My blog is a mixture of wellbeing personal posts, healthy recipes I’m loving, Pilates workouts and general lifestyle tips. I kind of see it like a little healthy lifestyle magazine with snippets of Lottie’s diary!

12. What’s next for you?

I have some exciting video collaborations coming up with Deliciously Ella and Welltodo London. I also have the launch of The Body, which is my Pilates masterclass designed by me to move and love your body! There will be an event section on my new blog coming soon where you can buy tickets so that’s really exciting! I’m also looking forward to a little retreat in May I’ve booked for me and my mum! Down time is really important for me.

Check Lottie out at lottiemurphy.com