What You Can Expect from Us!
Hey, it’s Jess here. For those of you who have read Roqueta in the past, you’ll be familiar with my, and my husband Tom’s, regular contribution to the health section of the magazine.
I wanted to bring you up to speed on what Tom and I offer, and a little bit about our health perspective. You will then know the kind of articles and health and fitness support you can expect from us. A lot has changed over the past few years!
We now have two daughters, Olive, who turns three in August and Lola, who is five months old. Our fur-daughter, Boni, who we rescued from the Protectora 5 years ago has been the perfect dog for our family. She is exceptionally loving, a great hike companion and loves nothing better than curling up with you on the yoga mat or under a blanket on the sofa. Wherever you go, she goes.
Let’s start with Tom’s background and what it is that he does, and who he works with. Tom has been in the fitness industry for 25+ years. He turns 50 this year, though to look at him you wouldn’t know it. He walks the talk. He is a qualified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach and, most recently, a qualified Qi-Gong instructor, which he’ll share more with you in future articles.
It is such a gentle, yet energising practice that a lot of people haven’t tried; think of it like a moving meditation. Perfect for those who struggle with the stillness of traditional meditation but want to shift their stress into more positive energy.
He works with CEOs, entrepreneurs, high-level executives & clients around the world to help them rapidly upgrade their energy, transform their bodies, & enhance their mental clarity. Tom works with clients on the island, and then when they’re off the island, he continues to support them with accountability check-ins and online coaching.
His approach focuses on simplicity, having fun, giving insight into what exercises and foods could support his client’s goals & improving areas of life such as sleep, energy, mood, longevity, and other areas holistically connected to the above. He takes pride in what he does, and getting lasting results is important to him.
Outside of fitness and nutrition, the things he is most passionate about in his life are his family, adventuring outdoors here in Menorca, hiking, biking, snorkelling and travelling. He’s happiest at the top of a mountain, soaking up a new view with a snack in hand.
Jess or Jessipes
Now onto me. My background is Nutritional Therapy. I’ve always been fascinated by the connection between the foods we eat and the impact they can have on the way we feel, and knowing how to listen to our bodies to nourish ourselves accordingly. Food can support our bodies out of disease and it has the power to make us feel amazing. More and more so, this understanding is becoming more widely recognised. As a society, we are becoming more disconnected from our food chain and more reliant on pharmaceutical intervention. People are now recognising that this approach comes with side effects, many of which are to our detriment.
I’m mostly known for my cooking and recipes, and some people call me Jessipes, pronounced ‘Jessie-peas’, for this very reason! I love deliciously simple foods, incredible salads, middle- Eastern flavours and ingredients such as harissa, olives, aubergines, honey and mint. But I also love smoothies, juicing and decadent desserts, usually of the chocolate kind. There’s nothing more satisfying than feeding people delicious food that is also full of health benefits. Sharing recipes and helping people to be more kitchen confident is a passion of mine.
In the last 4 years I’ve qualified as a Yoga teacher and Personal Trainer, two additional ways of making people feel more energised, mentally happier and calmer, nervous-system-wise. Most of my clients have a body shape goal, and I love helping them achieve this goal by educating them on what to eat and why and providing online group exercise classes to support them in moving their bodies.
Inspiring people to take micro steps, to turn their health around is my passion. In my 12+ years of working in the health and fitness industry, I’ve found that it’s sometimes the most simple changes (performed consistently) that make the biggest difference. I’ve also realised that it’s not a lack of information that’s often the issue, it’s having it put across in a way that’s relatable, inspiring & feels achievable.
Together we are able to turn our knowledge into a simple, straightforward process that gets results & avoids unnecessary overwhelm and frustration to save our clients time. Here’s a summary of the main services Tom and I offer as we have a few strings to our bows, though everything stems from the goal of wanting to help people feel brighter, move better and have more body confidence.
• Online group workouts and online one-to-one Personal Training
We jointly run online workouts three times a week every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. The group is called ‘The Online Workout Club’. The workouts are live and a great way for our clients to enjoy the accountability and coaching of a personal trainer but at a discounted cost. We also offer one-to-one personal training and yoga, both online and here on the island.
• One-to-one fitness and nutrition coaching
This is done online, with Tom covering the fitness side and me covering the nutrition side, and together we provide accountability with weekly Zoom check-ins.
• Nutrition support and cooking workshops
I run my online nutrition clinic called ‘The Online Nutrition Clinic’, which supports people with their individualised health goals via tailored nutrition support. I’ve been running this clinic since 2012, initially in London when I lived there, and then I transitioned it online when we moved to Menorca in 2016. Also, I teach one-to-one or small-group cooking workshops on the island.
• Island hikes
Tom runs the hikes, and I prepare juices and healthy snacks for the hike pit stops. He tailors the routes for the group size and fitness ability, and I make up the snacks/juices to keep everyone healthily fuelled!
• High-end nutrition workshops and health coaching for businesses around the world
Productivity, mental happiness and performance are all improved when our bodies and minds are fuelled optimally. We teach this in our workplace programmes. We live on the island year-round, and when we’re not running our online workouts, nutrition clinic, and island hikes, we’re enjoying family time with the girls, picnics, hikes, and simple island living.
The best way to keep up to date with our offerings is to join our newsletter, which you can do over here: https://www.jessntom.com/newsletter
Looking forward to sharing all things health and fitness going forward with you! All our healthy best,
Jess and Tom
Nutrition Support – Personal Training – Yoga – Island Hikes – Cooking Workshops
www.jessntom.com
Tip – For those who enjoy walking
Increase the energetic demand on the body on your walks in no extra time.
While working as a personal trainer in the City of London, I had the pleasure of working with some fantastic people. One of my clients, let’s call him Mike for anonymity-sake, loved to be pushed in our sessions. He was ten years or so my senior, but his output in the gym was easily higher than most people ten years younger than me or much more.
I know he was in the forces, and my hunch tells me it was the Special Forces, namely the SAS, from the conversations we used to have. Needless to say, I learned some great things from him. His holidays often involved hiking. But not just any hiking. He wanted to maximise the metabolic effect and, to be honest, get more out of what he was doing already.
I loved this idea of taking something that we already do and looking at ways we can get more out of it. The majority of clients that Jess and I work with have a weight loss goal they’re working towards, but they don’t have an abundance of time; they’re busy people, so we’re always introducing smart, time-efficient ways to help them achieve their goals and sustain them.
Most of us are very adapted to regular walks, so Mike’s trick is to carry something heavy with him to increase the energetic demand on the body. His method was to have a strong rucksack and load it with weights. To my recollection, he used some sandbags. Heavy big books are a favourite of some clients.
If using dumbbells, weight plates, or anything potentially uncomfortable on your back, then add some cushioning between your back and the weight. A towel could work or get inventive. Alternatively, if you have a baby, put the baby in a baby carrier and incorporate them into your walks. My wife Jess does this regularly with our 5-month-old Lola. I occasionally have 15kg+ of the fastapproaching three-year-old Olive in the backpack with me!
Remember that the more weight you’re carrying, the sweatier you’ll get. Also, the more weight you have on you, the harder it is on the joints, especially when going downhill, so select an appropriate weight if you have any joint challenges.
The more weight you have, the more calories you’ll burn. You can use this to your advantage if one of your desired goals is fat loss. Start with smaller weights and build up and make sure your pack is balanced.
Cami de Cavalls walks suddenly took on a new dimension! Build things up, Have a great rest of your day, and let me know how you get on with the 90-minute delay before caffeinating your body, and the loaded hikes!
Tom
Nutrition Support-Personal Training-Yoga-Island Hikes-Cooking Workshops
www.jessntom.com
