Meet Tanya Steele: The Virtual Fitness Phenomenon Tackling Wellness, Motherhood and Activewear
by Nadia Sinclair

Internet fitness sensation, Tanya Steele, has been inspiring women worldwide since she kick-started her online fitness career in 2013. This 34-year old fitness guru from Norwich, stepped into the digital fitness world by creating her self-titled YouTube channel, and there’s been no looking back ever since.

Her unique workout approach featuring routines like ‘One Song, One Workout’ has garnered her 421K YouTube subscribers and 170K followers on Instagram throughout these eight years. However, Steele’s influence extends beyond just fitness. Her online presence also highlights sexual wellness, self-care, kinship, and the convergence of motherhood with active living.

On top of hosting wellness retreats and providing online workouts through her Let’s Sweat! series, Steele has jumped into the fashion industry too. Her recent collaboration with the brand Halo Fitness has birthed the TS X HALO activewear line. Stand by as she opens up about motherhood, workouts, wellness, and how her activewear collection came to be.

Discovering the Power of Fitness

Although active as a child, Steele admitted that it was joining a gym at 18 that ushered her into her fitness journey. Lifting weights sparked a newfound independence within her, and she loved every bit of growing stronger.

Becoming a Fitness YouTuber

Steele confesses that her decision to join YouTube was an act of desperation. Jaded by her previous job and unsure of which career path to tread, she turned to YouTube hoping this platform would elicit her hidden talent. Unexpectedly, the combination of fitness and YouTube won her massive support from her followers, leading her down an entirely different career path.

Her Fitness Routine

Tanya Steele has fallen in love with paddleboarding, calling it her current favorite form of exercise. On a sunny day, you’d find her gliding through the water, her daughter making splashes alongside her. When she’s not on her paddleboard, she’s likely participating in boxing, running, or lifting weights at her local CrossFit, Spitfire.

How Motherhood Altered Her Exercise Approach

Tanya notes that becoming a mother drastically changed her outlook on exercise. Today, her exercises are compact, focusing more on mental peace, maintaining individuality, and spending personal time rather than just calorie burning. 5K runs, 30-minute boxing sessions, or a paddleboarding adventure with her daughter are her favored everyday activities.

Fitting Fitness Into A Tight Schedule

Tanya confesses about her bouts of ‘mum guilt’ that make prioritizing herself difficult. To deal with this, she schedules her workouts before her daughter wakes up and sometimes pairs longer CrossFit workouts with her daughter’s nursery pick-up time. She also incorporates short 10-minute workouts alongside her daughter to teach the beauty of movement and exercise.

Tanya’s Advice for Other Mothers

She courageously advises other mothers to begin their fitness journey around three to four months post-childbirth. Starting with just 10 minutes daily can help ease them back into their fitness routine. For mothers with mobile kids, Tanya suggests asking for help to set aside time for themselves.

Tanya’s Relationship With Food

Steele revives the narrative about food, encouraging a love for colorful dishes that are not just aesthetically pleasing but also guiltlessly enjoyable and nourishing.

Advocating Body Positivity

Tanya’s emphasis on body positivity is stronger since becoming a mother. She wishes for women to appreciate their bodies, reminding us about our pure acceptance of our bodies in our youth.

Launching Her Activewear Collection

Tanya’s inspiration behind launching her TS X HALO activewear was the desire to create a clothing line that catered to every woman’s varied needs. Her immense excitement is palpable as she sees her online community donning her clothing line.

Advice For the Time-Conscious Exerciser

For those time-pressed, Steele proposes a 10-minute workout. Stressing that exercise isn’t all about gymming for an hour straight, it is about incorporating physical activity in any enjoyable way.

The Abs of Steel Workout

Tanya Steele exclusively reveals a home-friendly workout designed to strengthen your core. This includes exercises such as leg lifts, runner’s crunch, reverse crunch + bicycles, foot taps, side crunch, bear taps, glute raise + jack knife, and reverse crunch. Incorporating these into your daily routine can significantly improve your core strength, swaying your everyday movements and sports performance to a greater high.

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