Louisa Drake on Food, Fitness and the At-home Equipment You Really Need

Louisa Drake is a fitness expert, founder and creator of The Louisa Drake Method, a unique fitness-fusion approach to working out and a holistic approach to lifestyle. She’s worked with some of Hollywood’s leading ladies including Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham as part of Tracy Anderson’s elite team in LA and NYC, and holds qualifications in Pilates, Barre, Level 3 Personal Trainer and nutrition, further nutritional studies with Poliquin Group and Strala yoga.

Here, Louisa shares her knowledge, expertise and top tips for getting started with The Recénseré…

My mission is to make the Louisa Drake Method accessible to anyone, regardless of their shape, size and experience and for them to discover a new mindset.

LDM is a shape-changer that generates a longer, leaner and strengthened body but the biggest takeaway is body positivity and confidence. I have a total, deep health and holistic approach to my work and I want everyone to feel empowered.

Alongside clients fitness goals all areas of their health and wellbeing is supported. Sleep improves, stress levels decrease and metabolism improves. Clients discover muscles they never knew existed. You’ll find stubborn areas shape up and confidence increases.

On starting out:

One of the biggest issues people have when first committing to a fitness plan is performing exercises incorrectly with improper form. This is where the Louisa Drake Method steps in, we educate our clients on their bodies, alignment and how to activate the right muscle groups. 

When starting a new fitness regime people tend to go too hard and too fast, without a proper warm-up and cool-down— also not including enough variety in their workouts. By including a mixture of classes and activities in an exercise routine you’ll cross train and work different muscle groups which is important when it comes to preventing injuries.

On the best way to lose weight & tone up:

Both diet and exercise play a role in your weight loss and toning up, you can adopt some strategies to help you accomplish fat loss while building muscle at the same time. 

Doing only abdominal crunches won’t give you a washboard stomach. To a degree the expression ‘Abs are made in the kitchen’ is true, I see this exercise performed incorrectly the most. People end up straining their necks more than actually activating their core muscles. You don’t have to skip them entirely,  but do work them into abdominal workouts that include planks, bicycle crunches, and other moves that work as many core muscles as possible.

You need both resistance training and high intensity aerobic exercise. Aim to alternate your workouts from resistance only then purely cardio or cardio and resistance 3-5 days per week.

Resistance training (aka LDM Sculpt) should be included in a weight management programme. Not only will you increase your resting metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns energy when it is at complete rest) it will be elevated for up to 15 hours post exercise. You won’t necessarily burn more calories lifting weights than doing cardiovascular exercise, but the increased muscle mass you develop will make your body burn calories during rest.

Adding cardiovascular exercise will help you burn more calories but you don’t want to rely on purely aerobic based workouts. High intensity aerobic exercise such as HIIT or LDM Shape Changer (cardio and resistance training) represents an effective solution for promoting fat loss as it increases your metabolic rate for the following 24 hours. The body’s fat-burning process continues long after your workout, even at rest.

On nutrition:

I stick to the 80/20 rule and fuel my body with the correct nutrition. I eat a well-rounded diet to nourish my body with seasonal, organic, nutrient-dense foods to stay balanced and energised.

My post-workout favourites include a high quality protein such as Supernova vegan protein powder based shake, with banana, blueberries and spinach or I cook up some eggs with salmon or cottage cheese. 

I like the Hemsley sisters cookbooks, Eve Kalink’s ‘Be Good to your Gut’ is fantastic, Danielle Copperman’s ‘Well Being’ has great recipes and holistic rituals.

On intermittent fasting:

I think intermittent fasting can benefit some people, adjusting meal timing or frequency to help support their lifestyle— but as a nutritional coach I take an individualised approach, as one size doesn’t fit all and the ‘best diet’ doesn’t exist.

We all have such a unique genetic makeup and people’s needs change, so their nutrition also needs to adapt to support them to discover a sustainable approach to their diets.

On at-home equipment:

Resistance bands and hand weights are ideal as a basic kit. However props really help enhance your workout and adding to your home equipment will help you progress.

We have our own LDM products available in our online shop and we also sell Bala Bangle wrist and ankle weights.

I have an exciting new LDM home workout kit coming soon. It will include the new LDM loop band sets, gliding discs and our popular resistance band and stability ball.

On workout wear:

I like Live The Process, Varley, Silou, Ernest Leoty and Lululemon. For trainers, On Running and Adidas are my favourites.

Varley Naomi lilac textured-knit leggings, £39 | Better You Magnesium Oil Spray, £12.95 | Ernest Leoty Jade Tank Top, £87 | LDM Resistance Band, £12.00 | Danielle Copperman Well Being, £25

LDM Live is now a permanent fixture with online workout videos being produced regularly. New LDM equipment is launching soon, and a new LDM studio space in London is in the pipeline.