Voice of Sportswear

Currently on our screens hosting BBC talent fest The Voice, Emma Willis shows off her fitness credentials with a 14-piece sportswear collection for High Street retailer Next.

Available in a range of contemporary prints and colours, the range comprises sports bras, loose vests, leggings, loungewear and swimsuits, perfect for high or low-intensity workouts.

The leggings are designed using a flexible 4-way stretch fabric, with sweat-wicking technology, so keep gym bunnies cool while they’re ramping up their heart rate.

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The athleisure assortment starts at £16 for a high neck vest top to £38 for a swimsuit.

Charcoal leggings, £24, crop top, £18, Adidas Run Falcon trainers, £43, at Next

Seeing Success

Independent opticians, Clamp Optometrists, have scooped a regional award, recognising their high level of customer service and experience. Established more than 100 years ago in Cambridge, Clamp won Eye Care Specialists of the Year at the 2020 Cambridgeshire Prestige Awards. Winners are selected based on their marketing and branding, business growth methods, customer experience, and approach to new ideas.

Mitesh Gandhi, optometrist and clinical director, says: “We all work tirelessly every day to try and deliver excellent clinical care and attention to detail, so it's a great privilege to be recognised across the Cambridgeshire area with this award.”

Visit Clamp Optometrists at 7 St Andrew's Street, Cambridge or clampoptometrists.com

Energy Retreat

Doesn’t life sometimes feel like you’re stuck on an unrelenting hamster wheel, racing at 100 miles per hour, and clawing at the big red stop button? So, it’s incredibly important for mind, body and soul, to jump off that wheel and take time to re-centre. One great way to achieve this is to book a retreat – and Satyam Yoga & Wellbeing Centre in Cambridge (which offers a host of classes and holistic therapies) – is running an Energy & Emergence Retreat in May.

Quite frankly, it sounds like a little piece of heaven, encompassing a weekend of yogic experiences, from movement and breathwork to yoga nidra and chanting, alongside nature walks, alone-time, music, games and laughter. Participants will learn new pattern and habits to re-educate body and mind, free up energy and uplift spirits. The retreat, set in an eco-friendly barn in the Suffolk countryside, runs May 1-3, with more details available at satamyogacentre.co.uk

Win It

How would you like the opportunity to be trained for eight weeks for free by experts at F45 Cambridge Station, transforming your fitness levels and all-round wellbeing?

We’ve joined forces with the innovative gym – which specialises in ever-changing, 45-minute workouts - to offer one lucky reader the chance to join the F45 8-week challenge, which begins at the end of April.

The challenge happens four times a year at every F45 studio in the world – and delivers amazing results and life-changing habits – plus the global winner takes home $12000.

Typically winners lose more than 1.5 stone, gain muscle mass and massively improve their fitness levels.

In the Cambridge studio, it’s all about being part of a supportive team with similar goals, which might be weightloss, improving nutrition or bolstering strength.

Competitors’ progress is tracked from day one until the end of the challenge through full body scans and photographs. The last winner reduced their weight by 10 per cent and body fat by six per cent.

Participants are supported by a dedicated trainer (offering 24-hour support) and an App, which provides a weekly shopping list and detailed, tasty food plan with recipes and instructions. There’s also an end of challenge party to crown the studio winners!

Interested?

We are looking for one person to join F45 Cambridge Station’s next 8-week challenge, starting April 27. You have to be prepared to work out in amazing classes with the best trainers at least five times per week, give up alcohol and follow a food plan for eight weeks. We will want to take your before and after photographs and share your inspiring story. In return you will receive free membership for eight weeks, access to a dedicated trainer and support every step of the way.

For your chance to win simply email your name, address and daytime number to louise.cummings@velvetmag.co.uk, titling your message ‘F45 8-week Challenge Competition’ to arrive no later than April 20. The usual Ts and Cs apply; if you’re happy to be contacted by Iliffe Media and its partners, add ‘Please Contact’.

Stress Busters

April is Stress Awareness Month – and we’ve got some tips to help cut down work-place worry. First-up, heartening news – you can eat chocolate!

Cacao is high in magnesium, which helps to calm the nervous system, and contains a natural chemical called phenylethlamine, associated with good mood.

Snack on high-cacao, lower-sugar dark chocolate such as Ombar 72% Cacao (£3.49, Waitrose Free-From Aisle). Secondly, by all means enjoy your morning coffee, then stop, as too much caffeine can lead to a spike in stress levels. Take a 20 minute stroll to connect with nature, and enjoy a mid-morning snack of Nairn’s Rough Oatcakes (£1, Sainsbury’s), which help regulate blood sugar and mood throughout the day because of the slow-release properties of oats. Wishing you a stress-free month!