Fitness enthusiast Sarah Lindsay shares insights on what it takes to embark on a fitness journey and maintain it amid a busy lifestyle
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Sarah Lindsay is not your typical fitness guru.
This transformation specialist, a force in the fitness world, boasts an impressive CV as a three-time Olympic champion, European gold medallist, 2-time world silver medalist and 10-time British speed skating champion. Apart from her sporting achievements, Sarah is known as the UK’s body transformation queen and a highly sought after celebrity personal trainer in London. Her clientele includes a list of famous names such as Ellie Goulding, Piers Morgan and Pixie Lott, among others.
Co-owner of ROAR Fitness for the past eight years with her husband Rich, Sarah has established herself as a successful business owner and entrepreneur. With three locations in Central London and one in Dubai, ROAR Fitness has defied industry trends and remained a steadfast figure in the fitness world. Through her training methods and dedication, Sarah empowers her clients to build confidence, strength and take control of their lives, leaving a lasting impact on all who seek her expertise.
In a recent chat with City Timesshe shared her insights on what it takes to start a fitness journey and maintain it amidst a busy lifestyle, as well as some practices such as biohacking (a means of optimizing human health and performance) and the use of Ozempic (a drug offered to the weight loss market) in the modern world of fitness.
As a transformation specialist who has helped countless people, including celebrities, what do you require of your clients?
All I really want to know is what their goals are. It’s not my job to decide what someone else’s goal is, like, you know, I’m known for results and transformations, but for me it’s just good personal training. You know, people come because they want to change in one way or another, and the before and after picture is such a small part of that story, it’s just a visual representation, really, but what they get out of it is very, very more than that. I think the biggest thing that comes from that is confidence. How something makes you feel changes everything; every thought you have, every action you take, the way you talk to people, how you dress, how you stand and present yourself, and then how people respond to you – everything around you changes. So what I need to know when people come to us is what will really motivate you. what do you really want Tell me the truth. Because sometimes people are afraid to set high goals or they are afraid to tell you what they really want because they think it sounds stupid, but it’s up to you. Tell me what you want and we’ll facilitate whatever that outcome is, whatever that means for you.
You are an advocate of strength training for all people, especially entrepreneurs and CEOs. Why so?
I think if you are physically fitter and more confident, it shows how well you take care of yourself. If you want longevity and want to continue to do what you’re trying to do in life, then your health is important. And you need to make sure you stay in top shape if you want to keep looking after everyone else. So it’s hard when you’re busy and when, especially people who don’t get a fixed salary and things like that, you’re always in this hustle, you’re always chasing the next thing. And your health, I think your good health is the biggest thing to pursue.
Does that just mean you just go and be active, or do you also lift weights? Because sometimes lifting weights is a different ball game…
Yes, the only way to get stronger is to gradually fatigue the muscle. You need to somehow add weight to the body. So yes, you can start with maybe body weight or be able to create resistance anyway. So that could be gravity, that could be banded, very fast plateau. And then you have to start adding weight. And that’s the only way to get stronger; to keep increasing the weight you lift.
Is this what you advise for both sexes?
Yes, you should start lifting. You have to learn. Obviously, women can be a little put off for many different reasons. People don’t want to be particularly muscular, people find the gym very intimidating, but I think that goes for everybody, it goes for both sexes.
Everyone is talking about biohacking. Is it really essential for fitness enthusiasts?
Well, it’s really about human optimization. You know, you try to find all these kinds of little biological victories to optimize your health. And I think these things become trendy and a stigma is attached. I think you have to keep an open mind, listen to all these ideas. Some of them will be too far-fetched and unrealistic for you and will seem silly or even inappropriate. And there will be other things that really make sense to you and you think, or even sometimes you just try things and then it makes you feel different or you start to see the benefits. So I think you keep an open mind, try the things that seem nice or relevant or could help and improve your life in some way. I certainly wouldn’t call myself a biohacker, but there are things that could potentially fall into that category. I take an ice bath every morning, and it’s not necessarily for the physiological moments that people talk about, but because it makes me feel good. I like to do it, it makes sense to me to be slightly uncomfortable. It’s okay to put yourself in positions where you don’t feel particularly comfortable.
What do you think about using Ozempic?
I think it became this quick decision. It makes people lose weight quickly and a lot of the time when people get to the point where they’re willing to sacrifice elements of their health, they’re in that knee-jerk reaction of not feeling well, which I think is a bad time to make a decision about something similar in terms of medication. I understand that if someone is very obese and their doctor thinks it’s a good idea and they take Ozempic to lose weight, to get out of obesity, then that can be a great thing. But when it’s abused the way it can be, I think it’s very negative because I think we’re going to see a very negative pushback. If you don’t eat, you will lose muscle. And obviously I’m a big advocate of gaining muscle and how positive it can be for people.
What steps should a person facing burnout in their life take if they want to make an effort to get in shape?
So this is a really difficult time to start, but also the most critical. You’re burned out because you end up not recovering from whatever you do, so then you need to prioritize three main areas: sleep, nutrition, and exercise. You have to think about how you’re going to improve those three things, and when you’re burnt out and tired, you don’t want to. It’s hard to pay attention to because you know you’re in a negative cycle. But sometimes it just takes a moment to realize that when you feel too tired to do anything, that’s when you really need to look at it. Sleep and nutrition, which obviously includes hydration, are the first two areas to look at; how you can improve your health so you have the energy to exercise.
