Welcome to the Beyond Fitness blog! We thought it would be a good idea to send out a little blog post every now and again (don’t worry we’re not going to be spamming your social media constantly!) and focus on topics that interest or inspire us and that we believe will be relevant to you guys as well. We’ll try and keep them as short and informative as possible so that everyone can spend less time on the computer and more time outside!

First up we’re going to discuss our ethos, why we decided to start Beyond Fitness and our core values and philosophies at the heart of the business.

The idea to start a summer venture blossomed in November 2018 when we were doing a 3 week stint of ski race training in Hintertux, Austria. Ski seasons had been a big part of both of our lives for the last 9 years (thanks to the team at Performance Verbier for reeling us back in each winter!) and we loved working outside and showing people around the mountain. However our summers were less structured and we were looking for something that gave us the same satisfaction as our winter job.

Alex was already qualified as a Mountain Leader and I was a trained sports massage therapist and PT so ideally we wanted to merge our skills together somehow. It suddenly clicked that we should use Alex’s family holiday home (click here to see the beautiful Royal Cottage) as a base to run weekends filled with fitness and outdoor activities. And so Beyond Fitness was born!

From the start we were both adamant that we did not want Beyond Fitness to become a fitness or weight loss bootcamp retreat. Hence the reason for our name. Whilst both of us love being active and in the outdoors, we are also big food fans and enjoy the occasional drink. It’s all about the balance right?! This was the ethos we wanted to shine through right from the very start.

That’s why during our weekends you won’t be restricted on what you eat and you definitely won’t be judged on how many miles you can run! Our main aim is to get people out into the stunning natural scenery of the Trossachs National Park with the hope that they will be encouraged to continue exploring outside once the retreat is over.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” – Albert Einstein

A little background story

After a season ending injury in December 2015 when I ruptured my cruciate ligament in my knee whilst ski racing, I was back in the UK on crutches for 10 weeks and unable to do much. The rehab was a long and monotonous process where I was in the gym nearly every day trying in vain to build up some leg muscle. Nothing much exciting happened during the year of 2016 as I was so afraid to re-injure myself and so desperate to get back skiing for the following winter!

Now fully fit and stronger than before I fully appreciate being able to move freely and try not to take it for granted. You never know what’s round the corner. Since then, Alex and I enjoy spending most of our free time out of the house either skiing, hiking, climbing or surfing (yes, you can surf in Scotland!). Below are a few snaps of our recent adventures.

Alex on a Via Ferrata in Verbier

The start of our 7 day hike in the Yosemite wilderness

Ski touring up Mont Telliers

Kim surfing in Indonesia

Mont Telliers summit

We hope this gives you a little insight into why we started Beyond Fitness, what we enjoy doing and what to expect if you come and stay with us at Royal Cottage!