Name Veronica Wilde

Occupation Group X instructor/Personal Trainer/Studio Manager

Gym Ab Salute Gym Lakeside

Federation (who you competed with) Miss Galaxy, Pure Elite and Fit Factor at Bodypower

Geography Thurrock Essex

How she moves Love hiit training (insanity/metafit and recently PowerWave style) and only of course lifting! Mixing is key

Favourite pair of kicks adidas/nikes for style, comfort, purpose

Favourite piece of kit and why Love wearing hats! Hides my scruffy hair! Lol.. Loves the urban look

Description of what you are wearing in the picture Favourite active wear brand and why Don’t really have a favourite brand, I wear all sorts, if it feels good and it looks decent it works for me.. Anything urban is always a winner although I am partial to some tight leggings now and then when I’m happy with how my bum and legs look!

Website: (under construction) Facebook Veronica Wilde/ Instagram 2Vfit

Name Holly Patricia Emerson

Occupation Commercial Buyer (PT in training)

Gym Champion London

Federation WBFF

Geography Southampton

How she moves I train hypertrophy & strength, lots of concentration lifting. I love feeling the burn and grow in the contraction or extension on the concentrated muscle

Favourite pair of kicks I love my Nike Force wedge trainers!! But for training I actually have a trusty orange pair of Sketchers GORUN. They are so light, slip on and are unbelievable comfortable for fasted cardio

Favourite piece of kit I’m currently aiming to grow my quads, so my favourite equipment at the moment is the leg extension and press

Favourite competition bikini designer I worn La Diva Design so far and love Veronique’s bikini designs but I think Alex Davey has a special flare for the Diva Fitness costumes! Feathers, feathers everywhere!

Description of what you are wearing in the picture My beautiful baywatch inspired high rise La Diva Design.

Favourite active wear brand Love training in loose fitted vests as it gives me room to move whilst training and I don’t get too hot during cardio. Under Armour do the best burn out vests with cool slogans! I have had my eye on a few Brazilian bodysuits though?

Twitter @HollyEms
Instagram @HollyPatriciaEmerson

Name J .Yohanna

Occupation Cosmetic Scientist

Federation and Class Miami Pro, Over 35s Fitness Model and Fitness Model Short

Geography Shortlands, Kent

How she moves Weight Training, Fasted Cardio and HIIT Cardio

Favourite pair of kicks I’m a fan of Nike Air Max but I was banned from wearing them to weight -train in (didn’t allow me to have correct form), so my new love are my Inov8 training shoes.

Favourite piece of kit Love my Jud Sports Bag from an Israeli Designer, it holds all my rubbish and can be held as a shopper or rucksack.

Description of what you are wearing in the picture Bikini by La Diva Design 

Favourite active wear brand Love Adidas leggings especially the Supernova range. Comfortable, Wick effect and have funky styles. In fact most of my gym gear are by Adidas

Blog name/website/twitter/FB/Instagram @fitabulous_lifestyle 

I am a bit late with this post as I clocked what was going on with M&S fab new activewear range in January but because of my competition training it’s taken me a while to get something up. As the saying goes, better late than never and I think this collection is worth the wait if you haven’t seen it before.

Marks and Spencer selling activewear is not a new thing, they were probably one of the first major high street retailers to feature it, except back then it was a bit frumpy and not something that you want to wear from the gym to the street.  Fast forward to 2015 and it appears that their designers have had a word with themselves and produced an activewear collection that is fresh, contemporary and fashionable – yes, I said it!

The sportswear collection has pieces for you to wear whatever your workout from cross training through to yoga and there are some particularly nice statement pieces like this M&S Collection Crop Top for £25 below.  Check out the full range and



12 weeks out from my first fitness competition and my old friend ‘doubt’ has decided to pay me a visit.  I thought I had kicked him to the kerb after my body transformation in 2014 when I regained my confidence, and my old body back, but he decided to pop up when I least expected it.

It all started when I got a letter from my fitness competition  organisers, Pure Elite, reminding me that I have 12 weeks left until I step on stage and that  reminded me I still have so much to do – buy posing shoes, book posing coach, practice walking in shoes.  It’s not just any old shoes either, they have to be the right height, and you need to get the right shoes that will accentuate your legs.  The same goes for selecting a posing coach, whoever you chose will need to show you how best to present your body on stage and show you the all important T – walk which is basically the contestant usually walking in from the left of the stage walking to the front of the stage, then left, then all the way to the right of the stage.  That’s a simplistic view as you have to do some set poses along the way.

Anyway I digress, back to my old friend doubt and this whole process which can be so overwhelming that it messes with your mind in ways that you cannot imagine.  It doesn’t help that the gym I train in, Crayford Weights and Fitness, is where so many competitors train, they also produces several winners and champions so I always find that I am comparing myself to other people who are at the same stage as me.

I am usually a stay-in-my-lane-tunnel-vision kind of girl but with lack of food (I live for carb day) and the constant tiredness from the training it’s no wonder that my mind is a little messed up.  A quick work with my coach Clara soon helped kick that doubt into touch, she remind me that we are all individuals who may have different ways of training, and possibly eating, and that I need to keep my head down, stick to the diet plan and focus on my journey not that of others. Tough love for sure but it worked and the following week my old friend doubt was back where he belongs – on the kerb.

Pictures: 11 and 12 weeks out from stepping on stage, practising in my posing shoes

It’s going down people, I am actually doing this and entering my very first Fitness Model competition at Pure Elite in April this year and let me tell you this, on the real, I can’t can’t believe I am actually going to be stepping on stage in front of hundreds of people in my bikini.

The seed of competing was officially sown into my head by my coach, Clara Mosha, after I had just completed my 12 week transformation with her for  She is a masters (over 35s) competitor and has trained many women to competition standard, and one day she asked me if I’d ever thought of competing, which to be honest blew my mind because I’d never even considered it and I was also very flattered that she thought I was good enough to complete the process.  This conversation took place in October 2014, hence why I’ve been so quiet with the blog, I’ve been going through what’s known in the competing world as ‘off season training’ where a bodybuilder bulks up to gain more muscle mass and then pre-competition cuts to a very low body fat  to create that very lean muscular physique for the stage.

For the past two to three months I have been lifting heavy four times a week to pack on as much muscle as possible. I’ve now started my pre-competition phase where my training has now gone up to six days-a-week and my diet/calories are slowly being reduced over this phase of the cut.

Over the next 14 weeks I’ll be giving you all the insight into my preparations from my diet, workouts, bikini picking and posing practice.  I’ll also let you know about all the tears and tantrums (am sure there will be plenty) I will be having along the way as well as pics of how my body will be transforming.

It going to be an interesting ride as I will be stepping way out of my comfort zone and pushing my body to places its never been before so make sure you follow my journey all the way from the gym to the stage.

Here is my first picture (exhales) at 14 weeks out.

I love it when a brand spanking new collection drops at the start of the year especially when it’s fresh, vibrant and full of colour just like this super-cool StellaSport range for girls.  Aimed at a younger audience, and under the creative direction of Stella McCartney, this range pops with bold colour, branding and explosive prints.  StellaSport is made up of apparel, footwear, accessories, gym bags and stand out statement pieces guaranteed to cause heads to turn.

Stella McCartney, Creative Director for adidas StellaSport says, “The adidas StellaSport girl is young, current and vibrant, looking to make a statement and stand out – we wanted to bring that to life within the collection and fuse performance with style to create performance pop”.

All tanks, bras and tights are designed with fast drying climate fabric ensuring  ultimate comfort and everyday wearablity.  The spring/summer range drops on 15 January at


  1. Thou shalt wear a sports bra when working out. How is that women are still going to the gym, not wearing a supportive bra when they training and feeling ok about it? It’s probably the most important bit of kit that a women can have in her gym bag, not only is it going to support the girls but it also protects my eyes cos ladies, to be frank, I  am not trying to see your boobs jiggling all over the shop. Cost is not an excuse either as you can pick one up from Primark for a tenner so what are you waiting for.

  2. Thou shalt not wear leggings that give you camel toe.  To be honest the fault with this lays, mostly, with activewear designers who are mugging women off by not bothering to put a simple gusset in the crotch area and charging they are charging you a premium to boot.   That said, you do still need to look in the mirror before you step out in those legging sisters – camel toe is never a good look even if you are wearing the latest £150 leggings.  If you are, then you’ve definitely been had because for that amount of money I’d not want my punany to be on show – no way, no how.

  3. Thou shalt no longer wear that favourite charity running t-shirt over and over again.  We all have that running/mud race type t-shirt that we are mad proud of because we got a PB or simply managed to completed the race. I get that you might want to show off your achievements to all and sundry but this is fitness fashion we are talking about and those type of tops are not the one!  Especially if you wear it over and over again to the point that it just looks old and tired.  Remember if you look good before you enter the gym you are likely to feel even better when you leave. Send that shizz back to the charity shop once and for all.

  4. Thou shalt not wear dope leggings with wack kicks.  This is a major bug bear for me and a big fitness fashion crime in my eyes.  How are you gonna come on social media bragging about your stylish new leggings and not even bother to sort out your footwear?!!! That’s like wearing a super-chic little black dress and then putting a dead pair of shoes on to finish off the outfit.  True fitness fashionistas understand that the kicks are like the full stop on your whole outfit and those muddy running shoes that some of you have been living in need to go now!

  5. Thou shalt not wear over-priced fitwear with no technical capabilities. This is kind of what I touched upon in commandment two, 2014 has seen a major rise in ‘designer’ activewear labels all vying for your money, with souped up promises of technical performance that simply doesn’t exist in their garments and, most of it is little more than sportswear with a bit of sweat-wicking in it (if you are lucky).  Since, I am in the gym training for my fitness comp (post coming soon) six days-a-week I expect a lot more from my kit, for starters a hidden pocket to store my gym key or some four-way-stretch would be nice especially if you want me to pay big bucks for your clothes.  Maybe I am too discerning but a floral pattern and a bit of mesh does not cut it with me, show me what I am paying for or call yourself sportswear not activewear.

I love a little gym gadget especially one that can actually make my workout life that bit easier and I think I have found it in the guise of Flipbelt.  You know when you’ve paid over £100 for a pair of nice patterned leggings (not me mate) only to find that you’ve no where to put you locker key or mp3 player (major design error)?  Annoying right? Not any more, the Flipbelt is the answer to all those problems of where to store all those pesky little items that you don’t want to store in you main locker when you workout.

These singular tubular pocket is made of a moisture-wicking spandex lycra blend that slides on and sits on your hips over your leggings or shorts with no slipping or unwanted moving around.  It super flattering too, as it acts as a tummy-hiding waist band too and the different colour ways can jazz up even the dullest pair of leggings.  To keep it secure, once you’ve filled it you just flip it inwards and now everything you need while you workout is safe and secure around your waist.  No more bulky pockets in sight or having to bring an additional bag on the gym floor best of all you can use it whilst you run, dance or train and it makes a perfect Christmas gift. £25

Christmas is fast approaching and if the lady in your life is serious about her workout wardrobe and sportswear stash then you need stay locked in with us at kicksandkit.comi in the run up to the festive season, as we count down to Christmas with our ultimate gift guide for fitness fashionistas.

We are kicking of with these special edition Christmas Pack kicks from ASICS UK that have got the festive vibe all over them.  The pack come in three styles, the snowman inspired Gel Lyte which come in light grey charcoal complete with carrot nose coloured lace.  These Mr Frosty kicks are finished with a white sole and snowflake sock liner.

The Gel Saga pay homage to Father Christmas and his trademark outfit – red upper, white sole and black stripes which are reminiscent of his black belt.  The last shoe takes its inspiration from Xmas trees with its upper rich green colour, white sole which echoes the colour of snow filled glass baubles, while the red stripes add the finishing touched much like a silk bow on a tree.

If you want to get in the festive season with your shoe game cop these at Size, Footasylum and Offspring

Gel Lyte from £110 and Gel Saga from £100 sizes from 4 upwards.