Sophie Jenkinson Personal Training

Sophie Jenkinson Personal Training 1:1 Personal Training based in Sheffield, Online Coaching and Group Online Coaching Personal Trainer

Congratulations on meeting Eurocentric beauty stands - thanks, my life’s on fire 🙃🔥
25/08/2025

Congratulations on meeting Eurocentric beauty stands - thanks, my life’s on fire 🙃🔥

“I just feel better when I’m half a stone lighter…”I’m not denying that this might feel true for you. But the question w...
14/08/2025

“I just feel better when I’m half a stone lighter…”

I’m not denying that this might feel true for you. But the question worth asking is — why?
Is it really the absence of those 7 pounds that changes everything?
Or is it the behaviours that usually come with being at that weight, the ones that genuinely make you feel better in your body?

When I have this conversation with clients, so many realise they’re disconnected from what truly makes them feel good. They lean more on the number on the scales to “tell” them how to feel than on their body’s actual feedback.

Energy.
Mood.
Sleep quality.
Stress levels.
Ability to be present in daily life.
Capacity for fun and joy.

These give us far more useful information about our wellbeing — but we rarely check in with them first.

So ask yourself:

Do you feel better when you’re X weight…
or is it because, at that time, you’re:
Sleeping well
Exercising regularly
Getting outside daily
Eating mindfully
Prioritising connection with loved ones
Managing stress
Drinking moderately

And if the honest answer is, “I’m not doing most of these things right now,” then it’s worth considering this:

If you chase being lighter above all else, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Because while you’re focused on a number, you’re ignoring your body’s most valuable clues about what you truly need.

I’m not saying you have to throw out your bathroom scales or accept a weight you’re unhappy with.
But imagine this — instead of stepping on the scales and letting them tell you that you “feel gross,” you notice that after a long day at your desk you’re irritable and groggy, and you think, “I know what my body needs — a quick run will sort me out.”

When we are better connected with ourselves like this - all those silly little habits we are trying to build become so valuable, so obvious and a damn sight easier to create and maintain.

If you’re done letting the scale rule your mood, I’m your coach. Let’s go. 🩷

You pictured yourself feeling confident in your clothes, taking photos you actually liked on holiday. Wearing shorts in ...
12/08/2025

You pictured yourself feeling confident in your clothes, taking photos you actually liked on holiday. Wearing shorts in the heat. Getting dressed up for weddings. Living your life without always second-guessing how you looked.

But instead, every morning feels like a negotiation with your wardrobe. You’re tired of thinking about it this much.

It’s been a busy couple of months, so you’ve told yourself you’ll start again in September.

And probably, you’ll do what you did last time — set targets to train 5–6 days a week, hit your steps, follow a meal plan.
You’ll aim to get to “where you want to be” by Christmas.
And this time, you’ll really stick to it… right?

But what if this time was different?

What if instead of battling through workouts you hate and forcing yourself around the block to hit your step count while eating as little as possible…

You focused on giving to your body?
On getting strong in the gym while fuelling yourself properly.
On building habits grounded in self-care.
On working on your mindset and challenging the thoughts and patterns that keep you stuck.

Because when you’ve built that base, the strength, the habits, the resilience. You’re not relying on panic, guilt or shame to carry you through.

You’re relying on confidence and capability. 
And you just keep showing up, because it’s part of who you are now.

If you’re ready to get out of this start–stop cycle and build something that lasts, this is the work I do with my clients. Send me a message and let’s talk about what that could look like for you.🩷

I found a journal entry the other day from before I had heart surgery. I had just found out I needed heart surgery 20 ye...
06/08/2025

I found a journal entry the other day from before I had heart surgery. I had just found out I needed heart surgery 20 years sooner than I was expecting.

I have congenital heart disease, a defect from birth which would finally lead to a major repair of my aorta and a valve replacement.

It’s a strange thing being ‘unwell’ whilst feeling absolutely fine. Prior to surgery I had no symptoms and no impaired function at all. Completely healthy, just a dangerous decline of a very important part of my heart.

Approaching surgery the thing I most struggled with wasn’t the procedure of fear of something going wrong - it was what my life would look like after-after. When I got back to normal everyday.

“ I will never been as well as I am now” I wrote.

Il tell you two things on reflection - I should have been a damn sight more scared of the actually surgery because waking up after that was absolutely no joke. 0/10 it was that bad, do not reccommend.

And secondly - It amazes me, every single day that I feel exactly the same as I did before. Completey fine, not a bloody care in the world.

And my body got me through all of that. After all the s**t I’ve put her through. 🫣

So take care of your little bodies because they are the only ones you get.❤️

I work with a lot of women who hold themselves to incredibly high standards.They’re smart, capable, committed, but also ...
05/08/2025

I work with a lot of women who hold themselves to incredibly high standards.

They’re smart, capable, committed, but also deeply self-critical.

They struggle to recognise their own progress. And when you can’t acknowledge what you’re doing well, it becomes very hard to stay consistent.

If your default is to nitpick and criticise, you’ll overlook your effort.

If you refuse to recognise your progress, what’s the point of all the hard work?

These traits, the perfectionism, the rigidity..can make consistency harder, not easier.

Which is ironic, because these are the clients who care the most.

They want to give 100 percent all the time.

To do it all, perfectly.

And when they can’t, they spiral. Black and white thinking takes over.

They skip workouts if they can’t do the full plan.
They “start over Monday” if one meal doesn’t go to plan.
They don’t train at all if they’re carrying a ni**le or injury.

I love ambitious women. I love your striving. Your standards. Your discipline.

 But some of these patterns are not just unhelpful, they’re harmful.

Because life is messy. Unpredictable.
 And if your only settings are “all in” or “nothing at all,” you’ll constantly be at war with it.

Results don’t come from what you do when everything’s perfect.

 They come from what you do most of the time, when things are good enough.

Didn’t get your steps in? Go for two 10 minute walks.
Can’t make it to the gym? Do 20 minutes at home.
Meal didn’t go as planned? Cool. Next one’s a new opportunity.

You don’t become consistent by being perfect.
You become consistent by being flexible and showing up again and again and again.
And that’s what changes everything 😉

Comparison is a normal part of being human. We all do it. But when does it tip over into something unhealthy?It becomes ...
28/07/2025

Comparison is a normal part of being human. We all do it. But when does it tip over into something unhealthy?

It becomes unhealthy when comparison stops motivating us and starts stealing our joy. When it chips away at our self-esteem, leaves us feeling s**t about ourselves, or turns everyday life into a competition we never signed up for.

For many of my clients, and for me too, comparison creeps in everywhere. Not just the big things like careers, relationships, and money, but the tiny, ridiculous things as well.

Should I be decanting my dishwasher tablets into little glass jars?
Why does my fridge not look like a Pinterest board?

Social media doesn’t help. We feel like we know people’s lives because we see them online, but what we’re seeing is a carefully curated slice, only what someone chose to show us. And somehow, we hold ourselves up against it like it is the full story.

The truth is that time and headspace are two of the most precious resources we have. And I don’t want to waste mine being cruel to myself and stuck comparing my life rather than living it.

Here is how to start breaking free from constant comparison:

Catch the comparison.
Notice when it shows up. I’m not where I “should” be in life. Maybe it is your career, finding a partner, financial goals, or buying a home. Pay attention to what you are honing in on and the thoughts that follow. Awareness is the first step to change.

Practice gratitude daily.
Regularly remind yourself what you’re thankful for, what you have accomplished, and what you are proud of. Gratitude helps train your brain to notice the good, not just the gaps.

Focus on your own growth.
What are you working on right now? Who are you supporting? What are you proud of? Celebrate that and make it part of your focus.

Notice your triggers.
Comparison is a habit, and habits have cues. Is it scrolling? Certain places or people? Notice when it happens so you can interrupt it.

Turn comparison into curiosity.
If someone sparks envy, ask yourself: Do they represent something I secretly want? If so, can you use that as inspiration for change rather than proof you are behind?

Save this for the next time comparison shows up ❤️

I coach the way I do because I know what it feels like to struggle deeply with your body.During my own journey, I needed...
24/07/2025

I coach the way I do because I know what it feels like to struggle deeply with your body.

During my own journey, I needed someone to tell me to stop being so self critical. I needed compassion from a coach and I needed to learn it for myself.

I needed to hear that my obsession with my appearance was consuming the one precious life I had, and that the pursuit of perfection was an unwinnable race.

I needed guidance to see the capability and potential in my body, and to realise that exercise could be meaningful and empowering rather than purely aesthetic.

I needed to be challenged in how I thought about my body, and to have the fitness grind culture I idolised called into question, as it was keeping me stuck and disempowered.

Most importantly, I needed to understand that I didn’t have to choose between working hard toward big goals and accepting myself as I am. Both could coexist.

Today, I coach women in the way I wish someone had coached me — with compassion, empowerment, and a focus on building a fulfilling relationship with their bodies and lives.

I used to think daily gratitude was for people who had little troubling them in life—counting their blessings and being ...
16/07/2025

I used to think daily gratitude was for people who had little troubling them in life—counting their blessings and being thankful for their luck and good fortune. Smug bastards.

But here’s the thing: gratitude isn’t the absence of difficulty or the abundance of wealth, health, or fortune.

It’s about perspective.

It’s about the ecosystem of your mind and how you nurture it.

Practising gratitude helps train our minds to notice the good—even when things are hard. We are training our brains to seek out abundance rather than what is lacking.

We all know someone who, objectively, does not have a great deal to complain about—yet they do. Their perspective focuses on what’s disappointing and unfair. They are chronically negative, and even the most hopeful news or outcomes bring a gloomy skepticism.

And in turn, we know those vibrant and energy-giving folks too. They are no strangers to life’s greatest difficulties and challenges. Yet somehow they hold hope and resilience, as if they know something the rest of us don’t—a premonition or knowing that everything is going to be alright.

Neither of these are fixed states, and over time we can shift in either direction—but the upward shift takes work.

For the record, I’ve never been a mood hoover, but I’m not naturally the second girl either. What I can tell you is that practising gratitude has greatly improved my well-being, happiness, and ability to deal with hard things. Wherever you lean on the spectrum of glass-empty or glass-full, you aren’t fixed there.

And if it’s not already obvious how gratitude can help you in your journey to improve your relationship with your body as well as generally in life—I’ll spell it out:

Practising gratitude can

- help redirect attention from your body’s perceived flaws to how it functions
- reduce self-criticism and comparison
- weaken the habit of comparing your body to unrealistic standards. It’s hard to be grateful and harsh at the same time
- deepen body appreciation lower anxiety and negative rumination, which often fuel body dissatisfaction. A calmer nervous system creates more space for acceptance and self-respect.

So tell me—what are you grateful for today?❤️

👉 Stop waiting until you feel better about your body to start living your life.
Confidence doesn’t arrive after you “fix...
10/07/2025

👉 Stop waiting until you feel better about your body to start living your life.
Confidence doesn’t arrive after you “fix” your body. It comes from doing the things you care about even when your inner critic is screaming. It builds when you show up anyway.

👉 Accept that there will be days you don’t love how you look—and that doesn’t mean you’re failing.
You don’t need to “love” your body every day to respect it, care for it, or live fully. Body image isn’t a destination—it’s a relationship. And like all relationships, it’s allowed to be imperfect.

👉 Start noticing how much of your time and energy is spent monitoring your appearance.
The checking, comparing, zooming in on flaws. What could that energy go toward instead? Joy? Connection? Goals that actually matter to you?

👉 Challenge the idea that looking better will make you feel better.
Has it ever really worked? Or has the bar just kept moving, pushing you further from peace with yourself?

👉 Make peace with the fact that you’ve been lied to.
You were sold the idea that your value lies in your appearance. That controlling your body is the path to happiness. But this culture thrives when women are too busy doubting themselves to do anything else. You don’t have to keep buying in.

👉 Focus on the kind of life you want to live—not just the body you think you need to live it in.
What experiences do you want to have? What relationships do you want to nurture? What legacy do you want to leave? That’s the real stuff.

Improving your body image isn’t about liking what you see.
It’s about caring for yourself, your real, living, breathing self—in a world that profits from your insecurity.

If you’re ready to work on that kind of change, I’d love to support you.
Send me a message and let’s talk.❤️

When I first realised that I was struggling with my body image, that perhaps the problem wasn’t my appearance but more s...
16/06/2025

When I first realised that I was struggling with my body image, that perhaps the problem wasn’t my appearance but more so my perspective of it  

And that maybe there was a solution in which I could come to feel better, think about my body less and hell, maybe even one day feel good…

I was all ears to suggestions of how I could go about it.
 
I took to the internet, listened to podcasts and read books - and my consensus was - what a load a s**te. 

The most offensive pieces of advice included acceptance, self compassion and body gratitude.

Having spent years committed to the idea that I just needed to try harder, be more disciplined, more motivated. Absolutely certain that there was an endless list of things wrong with my body and consequently with me - the idea that I needed to be kinder to myself as a means to feel good went down like a lead balloon.

It felt like saying, you’re off the hook - go forth into mediocrity and have a lie down - give up and rot here.

In hindsight and wisdom - I can see my misinterpretation of these ‘soft’ principles as woo woo. It was so hard to fathom there was a path out of where I was that didn’t involve +nodaysoff grind

What I wasn’t able to see was that acceptance isn’t about giving up, being mediocre or settling. It is recognising your worth is not conditional to your appearance and that you can care for your body whilst working to change it. 

That self compassion isn’t about bubble baths or being kind to yourself. It is the commitment and action towards the things that are important in your life. Holding yourself accountable even when it feels tough. 

And that the purpose of gratitude and appreciation is to begin to cultivate a more positive relationship with yourself - which in turn makes it a lot easier to recognise your progress alongside encouraging and reinforcing thoughts and behaviours you want to continue.

In the end, it was the very stuff I’d dismissed as fluff — that helped me step out of the loop of shame, struggle, and starting over.

If you need some help and you’re ready for a different approach — one that’s built on support, not self-criticism — DM me. Let’s work together.

10 years ❤️For Dermot“He travelled inwardly, through difficult terrainLooking for answers or ways to explain The power o...
18/02/2024

10 years ❤️

For Dermot

“He travelled inwardly, through difficult terrain
Looking for answers or ways to explain
The power of the ego and the depth of life’s pain

The music of Beethoven played in his heart, Krishnamurthi and Eric Fromm too played a part
In helping him search day by day, hour by hour
In the hope of finding his own “Higher Power”

A man gentle of spirit, a man strong of the mind
A writer, a thinker, a man who was kind.

But most of all
A lover of family, a lover of truth
Beloved protector of Sophie, Jessica and Ruth”

Our beloved auntie wrote this for his eulogy and I think it’s just perfect ❤️

Entering My Single Girl Era 💫💁🏼‍♀️💕
28/07/2023

Entering My Single Girl Era 💫💁🏼‍♀️💕

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