Despite being named World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Player of the Year, England rugby star Ellie Kildunne admitted on an episode of Just As Well that the ‘gym was never easy’. In order for her to feel her best, she sticks to a no-nonsense approach to training and nutrition that focuses on the fundamentals: consistent exercise and eating enough.
‘If I haven’t put the work in, if I’ve skipped reps, if I haven’t eaten the right amount for the game, I would feel anxious,’ she says in her cover interview for Women’s Health UK. ‘But I’ve never put myself in that position because I want to be the best.’
What does being the best mean to her? ‘I want to become world player of the year twice. That’s my focus. Anything else that happens is by the by.’
On her episode of Just As Well last year, she said strength training now makes her ‘feel powerful’, while she ‘hates running’ – but a lot of her training involves speed, agility and endurance practice for her time on the pitch. That mix of conditioning and strength means she has built a strong, fast and resilient body.
Speaking of her physical transformation, she admits her personal body image hasn’t always been positive: ‘Body image is such a mental challenge,’ she tells Women’s Health UK. ‘My body is what made me World Player of the Year… I’ve got to remind myself of that.’ Visibility helps too: ‘We’re in that transition phase… social media is starting to lean more towards athletic women… I see people that look like me now.’ Now, Ellie says when she sees a muscular person, she thinks, ‘Respect. Because I know exactly what goes into that.’
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red.Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.