Shona Vertue is known for her impressive and gravity-defying yoga postures on Instagram and as a woman who oozes positivity in the fitness world.
The Aussie-born personal trainer believes self-love and worthiness is an important trait, especially when it comes to staying healthy.
She combines weights and cardio into her weekly training schedule as well as practising yoga. She launched her own class concept, ‘The Vertue Method’, in January 2016 that fuses yoga, weighted circuit training and meditation.
As part of our new series ‘Fit Fix’, we asked her about her what workouts she does in a week, her nutrition and her personal motivational mantra.
TRAINING 💪
Talk us through your week in fitness.
“Any sort of exercise for me must begin early morning or it just won’t get done. I train with weights Monday, Wednesday and Friday for around 45-60 minutes and then do cardio every other day.
“Mondays and Fridays I focus on lower body pulling (deadlifts and hip thrusts), with an upper body push (handstands and push ups). Wednesdays are a lower body push (squats and lunges) with an upper body pull (chin ups and bent over rows).
“In the evenings I work on mobility which includes stretching and foam-rolling usually while watching a TV series (currently ‘Westworld’). I call it ‘Netflix and Roll’.
What’s your favourite type of workout and why?
“The Vertue Method of course - it’s the class I created last year which involves all of my favourite things: weights, meditation, yoga and glutes activation.
“I have also just cancelled my gym membership and have been thoroughly enjoying training at home. I purchased very heavy weights so I can train at a high intensity.”
Do you have rest days? What’s your favourite way to spend your rest day?
“Yes, Sunday is my rest day, although I’m an active person so I will still find myself going for a big walk or dancing in the living room to old school hip-hop.”
FOOD 🍳
What do you eat throughout the week to complement your training schedule?
“I make sure I eat the rainbow (lots of different coloured vegetables) and also ensure I hit my protein targets to support the recovery of muscle tissue that’s been damaged while I train.
“Breakfast is always protein and fat (it keeps me satisfied and alert much more effectively than a bowl of porridge) usually eggs and some veg cooked in butter or coconut oil. Lunch is always a big fat bowl of green, red and purple vegetables along with a protein like egg or mackerel.
“Dinner is much the same only the vegetables are cooked to make digestion a little easier.
What are your pre and post-workout snacks?
“I don’t really snack to be honest. Pre-workout is breakfast and post-workout is a protein shake - I love my green boss smoothie, which is baby spinach, cinnamon, protein powder, oat milk and ice.
“Yes, I am queen of the protein shake (self-appointed queen that is) - protein shakes are an awesome way to ensure that I’m hitting my protein targets.”
What’s the best lesson you’ve learned about food?
“To make vegetables the main act (rather than the meat). So often I used to treat vegetables as a side to the supporting act.
“Now I recognise and respect the power of consuming vegetables that comes from their micronutrients.”
MOTIVATION 🙌
Do you have a motivational mantra that keeps you going?
“My favourite quote is: ‘Nature does not hurry, and yet everything is accomplished’ by the Taoist master Lao Tzu. It grounds me when I’m feeling impatient. Goals take time to achieve and that sort of anxiety is demotivating.
“This is especially true when it comes to achieving a fitness or health goal. Everything we want we can usually get within minutes via our smart phones, but when it comes to the body, adaptations take time.”
Do you always have fitness goals you are aiming for?
“Kind of - I actually genuinely enjoy moving and sweating so I don’t require a ‘goal’ in order to be motivated to move.
“However, my training takes on an extra level of intensity when I am focused upon a skill-based goal, rather than aiming for a number on the scale or the size of a body part. Lately it’s been calisthenics (an exercise where you use the weight of your own body to build muscle).”
What’s your ultimate workout track and why?
“I know this is a little weird and Clockwork Orange-esque, but lately I have been weight training to classical music and it is incredible. I love the way it focuses my mind. It’s not distracting and it makes weight training a moving meditation.
“It helps me to really concentrate on activating the correct musculature and form. Cardio is another story - I need to be totally distracted when I’m doing cardio. Anything with an intense beat and heavy bass works for me.”
Find out more about ‘The Vertue Method’ in Vertue’s book, available now.
‘Fit Fix’ is a weekly dose of fitspiration from leading athletes and fitness fanatics. Each Wednesday we chat to stars about their weekly workouts, the food they eat and what keeps them going.