It’s Winter… which usually means it follows with the saying that “Summer bodies are made in Winter”… are we right? Well perhaps not! We recently had the pleasure of getting to know Ash Lane, GC local, Fitness Trainer and Nutritionist, and what we found out about fitness and health is well worth the read. Read on and thank us later!

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
I can’t believe it but it’s been 14 years! My husband and I moved up from Sydney in 2008 and have not looked back since!

What do you love the most about the Gold Coast?
The people… there’s a much more relaxed vibe that comes with living here that I never found in Sydney among the chaos. When we do return to Sydney we’re blown away by the difference!

Tell us how your successful 12-week program came about.
My business success has 100% come from a combination of my passion and my struggles in my own journey. After spending years going through what I now know to be a typical yoyo binge / restrict cycle – where I would lose weight, only to fall off the wagon and regain the weight. I finally began my journey of further education. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the majority of what social media was telling us we should be doing and how to achieve our dream physique, was not evidence-based (so yes this meant literally most of it was just made up). Things like the 30-minute protein window, and no carbs after 4pm, and fasting for fat loss, and cardio for fat loss and the list goes on! All had absolutely no evidence to back up these claims. Now it’s not easy to find out what’s real and what’s not – unless you go back to the grassroots and start literally reading studies and research papers one by one on each of the topics… which is what I did. Through this process, I was able to discover why so many of the ladies that trained at the cardio class gym that I managed, would lose weight, only to then regain it (myself included). I combined this research with hiring an expert coach, and I had unbelievable success (which included eating more and training less than I ever had).

From there I started coaching ladies that had been exactly where I had been, and were sick and tired of losing weight BUT THEN gaining it all back… I call these ladies ‘BUT THEN’ girls… I lost weight BUT THEN. My tribe of ladies change this to ‘BUT NOW’ girls… I used to lose and regain the same 5kg, 10kg or more, BUT NOW I hit my goal and set a new one! It’s crazy to think that we consider it totally normal to set the same goal over and over! I just want to look how I did during my Bali holiday, or Christmas last year. This is called ‘GROUNDHOG GOAL’. You should be setting a goal, hitting it and setting the next one… Not setting the same goal over and over. Using a mix of this evidence based approach, and showing ladies how to become BUT NOW girls… Very shortly my 1:1 coaching program was full and I was forced to create a group program to run alongside it, which now has over 500 ladies at any one time, going through their very own life-changing process. This group program is called TWA (Train With Ash).

And of course on top of that we have group coaches, other 1:1 coaches and of course I do some very limited 1:1 coaching too! Most of these ladies start by going through my free 5-day challenge, where I give away all of my biggest tips, tricks, hacks and most importantly show them step by step why they are where they are, and why it’s not their fault, and then what they need to do to fix that! I try to give enough information away so that the ladies don’t have to join my paid group. But for the ladies that want a little more support on their journey – that option is there.

What are 5 tips you would recommend to someone looking to be their healthiest self?
1 – Think about what your goal is. Be specific. And then ask whether the track you’re taking is actually the right way to get there. So often I see ladies using cardio for a fat loss goal, which we know while this might be useful short term – it’s not sustainable or scaleable long term, and is one of the main reasons ladies are continuing to start over and over again. AKA – BUT THEN girls.
2 – Place your physical goal first. So if you have a fat loss goal – rather than tackling both fat loss AND nutrition at the same time – let’s tackle the fat loss first. Now often along the way nutrition comes into line too. But attempting to turn your whole life upside down and eating in a way you don’t enjoy can be a big reason for failure. Learn energy balance (macronutrients) and get the process moving first, then let’s tinker with the micronutrients.
3 – Motivation will fade. SO make sure whichever track you take that you’re changing habits as part of the process. Now this doesn’t have to be a huge life change. Even just 1 new habit per month is 12 new habits per year. But that 1 new habit could be the one that keeps you on track when the motivation stops.
4 – Focus on raising the floor rather than the ceiling. Most people plan for their best days… for when everything is going right for them and again motivation is high. But what about your worst days? When everything’s going wrong? And you want to quit? If you can raise the floor just enough to stop you from giving up, then that’s 1000% more valuable than trying to improve on your best day.
5 – Educate yourself. Lots of ladies embark on a journey that has no education involved and where you’re essentially ‘tied’ to that program basically forever (like meal plans for example). What you really want is to be able to do this on your own – and the only way to do that is through education. So hire a coach that you click with and that you trust to help you get there. Don’t be scared that you’re not going to pick the right one – you don’t know what you don’t know and until you try someone you won’t know whether their approach is correct for you.

Can you really eat more but still lose weight – or is this a myth?
As ladies, lots of us have been dieting for years. 5 years, 10 years, some ladies it’s been their whole adult life! I call this group of people ‘lifetime dieters’. It’s a constant cycle of restriction followed by a binge. The length of the diet might vary, but the result is always the same. Binge. Restriction always leads to binge. This constant diet cycle year in, year out, can lead to a downregulation of your metabolism (metabolic adaptation). Which just basically means your metabolism is slower. This is usually where ladies are at in their journey when I work with them. Some ladies wonder whether they’ve broken their metabolism (this is honestly how I felt too). The good news is that no you can’t break your metabolism, and yes you can reverse that metabolic downregulation. Which does mean that over time we’re increasing the amount you can eat and during that process, you’re either maintaining your weight while eating more, or some ladies do lose weight too. This process is called ‘reverse dieting’. And became well known in the bodybuilding community well before the ‘lifestyle training’ community. Most ladies start a new program or challenge in a dieting phase, and often that’s the entirety of the program! Just another diet! If that was going to work then it would have worked by now (yes calorie deficits work – bare with me).

There’s usually a missing piece though. A calorie deficit (diet) is only a part of the puzzle, and it should be the smallest part. Most of the IG models that we might look up to or bikini competitors etc – these ladies, spend the least amount of their year dieting (in a calorie deficit) and the majority of their year either building or maintaining. And that’s where the magic sauce is! It’s not in the diet. Anybody can cut calories in half and lose weight (usually through the latest fad ‘named’ diet – like Keto or Carnivore or Fast 800 or any one of the 1000s of diets that use the same method) but the magic sauce is in the building or maintaining / maingaining phase. This should be step 1. Dieting is step 2. This might sound harsh… But lots of ladies have to earn the right to diet. If you’ve been dieting for most of your adult life – then the solution to fat loss for you isn’t more dieting. It’s time to give your body some love and earn the right to diet.

What meal are you loving at the moment?
I am going to share my fav meals… BUT – it’s important to consider these are my individual favourite meals… They might not be yours. And they don’t have to be! The types of foods we eat should be foods we enjoy. There’s no magic foods when it comes to fat loss. It’s simply total calories in vs calorie out! I hear people talking about bad foods vs good foods and cheat days for example. This is not going to create a good relationship with food. Imagine if we treated our relationship with our partner like we do food? I am just going to have a cheat day from my partner. That doesn’t instill much faith in the relationship. And the same goes with the foods we eat. If you want a good relationship with food, remove the ‘titles’.  There’s no such thing as good foods or bad foods. Unless you have an intolerance, like if you’re lactose intolerant, then yes lactose might not be good for you. But for me it’s fine. Sure – most people could do with more veggies in their life – but if we don’t balance it with both whole foods AND soul foods, then we’re heading down a track of restriction. And restriction ALWAYS leads to a binge (starting to see a pattern here..?) Currently I am loving a simple marinated chicken meal that takes a few minutes to make. I buy a jar of Thai Spicy Satay marinade from Woolworths (brand is Marions Kitchen) mix it with diced chicken, throw in some Jasmine rice and veggies and voila! Dinner for tonight and lunch for tomorrow!

What does your typical day look like?
Every day is vastly different, as I’m admin, coach, accounting, marketing, etc etc, but this will give you a rough idea.
4-5am: Wake up, get dressed, grab a coffee and go for a Mental Health Walk. This is my favourite way to start the day, the experience of going to the coffee shop and walking up Burleigh Hill to watch the sunrise brings me so much joy to start the day.
6.45 – 7.45 am: I’ll reply to my 1:1 clients private messages that have come in overnight and run through questions in my Train with Ash Facebook group – I call this reactive work.
7.45 – 9am: This is school drop off time (yes school drop-off is just over an hour round trip morning and afternoon)
9 – 12pm: Make a smoothie for brekky & continue on with 1:1 client private messages, Train with Ash Facebook group, Instagram DMs and new client enquiries & emails.
12-12.30pm: Lunch – I’ll either eat leftovers or prepare something new at home.
12.30 – 1.30pm: I will spend 1hr creating content, whether this is for an IG story, an article, or a social media post.
1.30 – 2.45pm: Gym – I train 3 times per week, and 1:30 is my gym time on those days.
2.45 – 4pm: School pick up time.
4-6pm: I’ll do another run-through of 1:1 client messages, Train with Ash Facebook group and if there was any other admin work that needed to be done to close out the day.
6-8:30pm: This is usually dinner and family time, maybe homework with our son, and some downtime too. However, on occasions, depending on the month, the workload will differ and I may dedicate more time here to admin, client replies, programming etc.

Tell us the best piece of advice someone has ever given you and why you consider it the best?
Picking one is hard!! I think that following your passion would have to be it. And that’s because it was a turning point in my life. When I let go of what I ‘should’ do, and started following what I was passionate about, it was so much easier to get out of bed and ‘feel’ like doing whatever I had on my to-do list. I think that the people that are most successful in life (and not just in business, because success can mean different things to everyone) understand their passion and find a way to spend as much time as they can there. Before I ever charged a single client – I gave away everything that I had learnt, for free. And I still do this today (in the 5-day challenge). Because it’s my passion. Find your passion – and follow that road! The rest will work itself out along the way.

What are you looking forward to the most in the next 12 months?
Our next family move! We haven’t revealed just yet what that is (sorry!) but in October this year our whole world is going to be turned upside down and at the same time business will continue as normal (and continue to grow)! Follow my IG if you want to see what this is! Trust me – it’s big!

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café/coffee spot: Morning Coffees at Quest Burleigh!
Restaurant: This is hard! There’s so many! Hail Mary, Rick Shores, Light Years. And I can’t miss Pizza Fridays in our house which is usually Dominos Pizza!
Bar or place for a drink: This will be a shock – but I recently discovered a place called ‘The Miami’ that has the best Margaritas on the Gold Coast! Totally unexpected but if you enjoy a Margi then give them a try!
Beach: Burleigh beach – it’s our local and while the sand in my toes isn’t my most favourite thing on earth – walking on the path around the beach is up there!

How do you choose to spend your days off?
With my family! I have a husband and a 9-year-old son. And I read something recently that you only get 18 summers with your children. And that really hit home for me! Especially as half of those have passed already! So when it comes to downtime, it’s going to be with my family and quality time. Honestly, I don’t care where we go or what we do! It could be as simple as walking along the path next to the beach in the afternoon at Burleigh. That family time is my love language and fills my cup!

Sure, there’s abs-olutely no shortage of ways to get fit on the GC – but what about when you don’t want to feel the burn on the ‘ole hip pocket too?

When it comes to keeping active on the cheap, of course you’ve got your beach, bush walks, stair runs & bike tracks – but what about when you’re craving something outside of the more obvious suspects? *Cue crickets*

If finding ways to get fit, flexible or sweaty on the GC has you coming up empty-handed in more ways than one, we’ve compiled some of the best free and (super) low-cost options to get that heart rate up without breaking the bank!

Oh, and we crunched the numbers – with five free options in the mix, you’ll even have enough change left over for a sneaky oat latte for your efforts #thankuslater

Yoga pants at the ready, y’all!

Pilates
Zen Soul Life

Zen Soul Life
If you’re yet to become a devotee of the all-over body workout that is Pilates, the free and affordable weekly community sessions run by Zen Soul Life make it easy to change that. Don’t let the appearance of the low-impact movements fool you, this deceptively challenging workout will have you building strength, improving flexibility and – our personal fave – relieving back pain (a must for all the desk workers among us!).
When: Free sessions held Monday 9.30 am (during school terms) or various days and times (Paradise Point)
Where: Zen Soul Life, Pacific Pines Community Hub or Paradise Point Parklands
Cost: Free* (Pacific Pines) or $10

Move Strong – on the Mat
A hybrid program with a Pilates feel, Move Strong on the Mat is based around complementary resistance training and cardio techniques, designed and led by an accredited exercise scientist. Created to enhance your balance, coordination, cardiovascular health and muscular strength – sign us up! And from only $4 entry, this f-ab class is really not a stretch either.
When: Move Thursday 9 am and 10.30 am, Friday 9.15 am
Where: In Motion Health and Fitness, Benowa, Paradise Point & Labrador
Cost: $4–5

A&H Group Fitness
With a time slot that makes it ideal to squeeze in before work, and a fun and interactive group based environment designed for all fitness levels, the only thing standing in your way to live, laugh, lunge will be your ability to ignore the seductive allure of the snooze button. Go get your fix of strength, cardio, boxing and functional fitness movements all in one. With HOTA hosting multiple classes across the week that cost no more than a fiver; our reasons not to get our keister along for a solid sweat sesh really are diddly-squat.
When: Monday, Wednesday & Friday at 6 am
Where: HOTA, Surfers Paradise.
Cost: $5

Dance
Lights Out and Dance
We all know the mood-boosting properties of a spontaneous dance sesh, so why not take it to the next level and get fit while you tear up the d-floor? Lights Out and Dance is an immersive free-movement dance experience so fun you’ll forget you’re even exercising. Held in the evening at two convenient GC locations, what better way to ‘shake it off’ after the day that was, than having an abs-olute blast while you dance your heart out in the dark!
When: Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm
Where: Broadbeach Cultural Precinct, Broadbeach and Runaway Bay Youth Centre, Runaway Bay
Cost: $10 – bookings required

Yoga
This ‘Gentle Yin’ class is geared towards beginners, so the gentle movements will leave you feeling restored, rejuvenated and pose-itively put together no matter how manic your day has been! A combination of stretching, light isometric strength training and long holds at a restorative, slower pace. Glow on, get amongst it – your mind, body, and soul will thank you.
When: Tuesday at 4.30 pm
Where: Eleventh Avenue Community Space, Palm Beach
Cost: Free

For those of you a little further north, the savvy yoga sessions such as those hosted at various locations throughout Broadbeach may be a little more convenient for you. Designed to unify the body and mind, these open air classes are based around postures, movements and breath awareness while improving flexibility and strength. I really regret starting my day with that seaside yoga sesh – said no one ever.
When: Wednesday and Saturday (2 locations) 7 am
Where: Broadbeach Cultural Precinct, Kurrawa Park and Federation Park, Broadbeach
Cost: $5

Deep Water Running
For a cheap and cheerful workout that’ll really make a splash, get carried away with the benefits of deep water running! This low-impact workout option is ideal for people with injuries or limitations (but also, a great way to escape the humidity!) With beginner classes geared towards introducing you to the joy of combining cardio and for a full body workout and improving mobility without any worries about strain or injury.
When: Mudgeeraba – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (times vary) and Nerang, Thursday at 9.45 am
Where: Mudgeeraba (various locations) and Nerang Aquatic Centre
Cost: $3–$5

Tai Chi
Be moved by the healing martial art techniques that Tai Chi has to offer. A qualified instructor will guide you through a series of breathing and stretching techniques to help promote harmony, improve mobility, and increase alertness. The beach-side proximity is an added bonus that makes this class a martial-ous way to start your day.
When: Thursday 8am
Where: Kurrawa, Broadbeach
Cost: Free

Running
Parkrun
Ready to run Forrest, run? Or perhaps you’d prefer a spot of power walking to start your weekend on the right foot (hey, if it’s good enough for Kath and Kim, it’s good enough for us). No matter your preferred pace, hit the pavement with this fun, friendly and free weekly 5k community park run event! Great for people of all fitness levels to get those steps up – walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it’s up to you!
When: Saturday 7 am
Where: There are stacks of Parkrun locations across the Gold Coast. Including, Tallowwood Park, Coomera, The Esplanade, Paradise Point, Hollingdale Park, Main Beach, HOTA, Surfers Paradise, Monaco St, Broadbeach Waters, Varsity Lakes, Varsity Lakes and Darcy Doyle Park, Mudgeeraba and Kirra.
Cost: Free – registration required

Community Run Clubs
If you’re looking for a little push to peel yourself outta bed and punch out a sneaky few dozen km before breakfast, a community run club is the one for you. Hedges Run Club and Unfit Run Club are just two of many groups across the Coast bringing sweaty, like-minded souls together to make early morning mems whilst moving their bods. Cardio with a side of camaraderie – sounds infinitely funner, no?
When & Where: Hedges Run Club – 5am Wednesdays (outside Rafikis), Unfit Run Club – Thursdays and Saturdays, check the insta for deets as routes change weekly
Cost: Free – registration required

Words by Kellie Leader

If you haven’t already realised Mother’s Day is fast approaching – which means you better start thinking about how you are going to treat the number one lady in your life. The special day aside, we personally think that you should celebrate mum every day. Not only does she care and cook for you, she often has a long list of other responsibilities herself. Some mums even run a business too! And that is exactly what mum of two, fitness influencer and founder of James Cosmetics, Emily Skye does. No doubt you have seen Emily on Instagram as she has over a whopping 2.5 MILLION followers. Emily squeezed answering a few questions for Inside Gold Coast into her hectic work schedule. Read on to get to know Emily both personally and professionally!

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
8 years now!

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a mother of two beautiful kids, Mia and Izaac, and I also own two businesses, Emily Skye FIT, my fitness app, and James Cosmetics, my beauty company. Through my FIT app I’ve been able to reach and connect with millions of women around the world who are working together as a community to strive for a healthier, happier lifestyle. James Cosmetics are beauty products I truly swear by and use myself! I’ve always had a huge interest in the beauty industry and wanted to share products that I love with everyone! I also have an amazing community of women through my Facebook and Instagram pages who inspire me everyday!

How did both James Cosmetics and the Emily Skye Fit app come about?
I started Emily Skye FIT after a very hard time in my life where I struggled a lot with my body image and an unhealthy lifestyle. I was in a very bad place mentally and physically and wanted to make a change. I made healthy changes in my life and started eating healthy and exercising and it completely changed my life! I wanted to share that feeling with other women and made it my mission to share knowledge I had learned along the way with other women so they can make positive changes just like I did! Over the years, FIT has become such an amazing platform where we are just one big community, constantly encouraging each other and helping each other each day! The app has definitely evolved as well as I have, as a mother I really wanted to include a pregnancy program and post pregnancy, and these have had such a great response!

James Cosmetics is my beauty company and something I am so passionate about! I’ve always been interested in beauty and skincare, I even became a qualified beautician 15 years ago! The products we release with James Cosmetics are genuinely just products that I use and want to incorporate into my routine! We started with just our 24K Gold & Collagen Crystal Eye Mask, and it still remains as one of our best selling products!

Tell us what your proudest entrepreneurial moment is?
A couple of things would definitely be being named Forbes #3 influencer in the world, and featuring on the cover of Women’s Health Magazine in more than 20 countries! They are both definitely pinch me things that I’m very proud of!

As a very busy woman, how do you manage your time to really strike that work/life balance?
I’ve found the best thing you can do is plan ahead and have lots of structure. I was never really any good at structure before having kids, I was quite spontaneous and didn’t like planning anything too far in advance. I’ve had to change that since becoming a mother and having businesses. It’s all about prioritising and having a to do list to get through and sticking to it! I’m still learning of course, but having a routine has much a huge difference to my everyday life and my mental health.

What do you love the most about being a mum?
Being a mum is just amazing in itself. Having these little humans that you and the person you love the most in the world created together and they’re like a mini you but with their own personalities. It’s so cool seeing kids grow up and evolve and watch their personalities come out! I love being able to have an impact on someone the way I can with my kids, teaching them what I’ve learned through life and being a role model to them.

How are you planning on spending this Mother’s Day?
I’m looking forward to just spending time with the kids and being grateful for them and being proud of myself as well for what I’ve done and what my body has done! I’ll also definitely be showing appreciation to my own mother as well for the amazing job she did raising my sister and I on her own!

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café: BSKT
Coffee spot: Three Beans Cafe
Restaurant: Gemelli
Bar or pub for a drink: The only bar I’m familiar with is a barbell at the gym

How do you choose to spend your weekends?
Either outside with the kids playing in the pool or going for a walk along the beach with the kids with a nice coffee. I love spending time outdoors, especially living in a place with such amazing weather!