We spoke to Lotti; Head of Movement at BLOK. Lotti tells us all about her wellbeing routines and practices, how she finds balance and what she is manifesting in 2023.

I look after everything in our physical offering from the trainers to the curation of our classes and I also work closely with our tech team and marketing team as we develop our digital offering and our app.

The honest answer is because I found BLOK and I fell in love with it.

I trained as an actor but was looking for a career change and for me, BLOK was everything I wanted the fitness industry to look like and I knew it was a place I could help change the industry for better. 

Our ethos at BLOK is around cross-discipline training in order to create a balanced and sustainable training programme.

We have 25 class types from BLOKstrength to Yoga, from Calisthenics to Barre. It’s all about learning how to take care of your body and what it’s capable of. 

My London is long runs with my two best friends on a Sunday morning round North East London.

I’m all about balance but now I’ve been moving for my job for such a long time, if I don’t move, I really crave it. The thing that keeps me moving is a focus on skills-based training.

The only way to build skills like handstands is to keep consistent with them so once you know you’ve put the effort in to get as far as you have, it gives you the momentum so you don’t lose it. 

What do you do to motivate yourself, or to switch up energy throughout the day?

Start. I just start by taking the tiniest first step towards doing the thing. Then I’m often 10 steps in before I know it and then it’s a hell of a lot easier to keep going. The same applies whether it’s a long run by just putting my kit on, a yoga session by just rolling my mat out, or a long bit of work by opening a word doc and just starting typing. 

It’s all about balance and focusing on what I am doing rather than what I’m not.

With nutrition for example, once I started focusing on eating the widest range of colours and whole foods, if I then also wanted to eat chocolate at the end of it, that’s absolutely grand. You don’t need to deprive yourself of it because you know your body has already got everything it needs from the stuff you’ve already eaten. And by that point, I’m full anyway so I just don’t fancy it as much. 

Knowing what my ‘times’ are.

My energy levels are always at their best between 8am-4pm. Recognising that and being aware of it means I’m much better at not procrastinating in that time and then if I want to slow down after 4pm I allow myself a bit more space and don’t beat myself up about it. If I need to get more focus time in after that, I rely highly on lion’s mane tea. 

What time of day do you like to work out?

I tend to workout on my lunch break to break up the day. Equally, there’s nothing quite like rolling out of bed and straight onto a yoga mat to wake me up in the morning and set me up for the rest of the day.

That’s where digital platforms like BLOKtv come in super handy, someone can guide you through a yoga practice without even leaving your bedroom. 

Do you have any advice for readers wanting to bring more movement into their lives?

Just putting your gym kit on will immediately make you want to move a little bit more. 

The other thing is I talk a lot about movement that feels ‘manageably challenging’.

Pushing yourself to 60-70% and staying there for a longer period of time is so much more enjoyable and actually better for your body than going to 100% and then having to stop.

That was the game changer for me with running. I hated it for years and when I finally settled into a pace that suited my body I found myself really enjoying just getting outside and not putting pressure on myself to run a certain pace. 

What’s your go-to movement practice, or exercise that sparks joy?

Oof that’s a tough one. Nothing quite beats the flow of a yoga practice for me and focusing on linking my breath with my movement. I teach mobility skills which I also love doing. I describe them as the opposite of sitting at a desk and so much more of my job now consists of sitting at a desk, I find it’s often what my body needs the most. 

What’s your life’s philosophy or mantra? 

That all the tiny actions and thoughts make up the person that you are. 

I want to always identify as the sort of person who cracks on when the going gets tough and to remind myself that as long as you focus on it, the good will always outweigh the bad. 

What are some of the most common wellbeing myths you’ve encountered? 

That Keto is healthy. I know so many people for whom it has wrecked their metabolism long term. 

CrossFit is another one, I’m yet to meet anyone who does a lot of CrossFit who doesn’t also have some sort of chronic injury. 

Sleep can greatly affect our mood and stress levels. What’s your ideal winding down routine to find peace and calm?

Sleeping is a real talent of mine, I’m a nine hours a night kinda gal and I love it. 

I could not live without Pukka’s nighttime tea. I’m also a big believer in investing in a good mattress, bed sheets and PJs.

Anytime I’ve managed to put my phone away an hour before bed, I massively feel the benefits but if anyone has cracked how to do this consistently, please let me know.  

Something you’re looking forward to? 

The big things that are coming at BLOK… mostly more features on our app to help people train better and more consistently.

Download the app here. 

January edit

To write a list of goals at the start of the year and keep coming back to them. 

I’m currently in the process of buying my first home so I’m manifesting nesting. 

Don’t go all out in Jan, start slow and ramp up like you would if you were training for a marathon.

If you are trying to create a balanced healthy life, you don’t need to work out more than 3 times a week but make sure you get some movement in everyday.

Starting with a 20 minutes daily walk is a great first goal. 

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