Nordic Spotlight: Speedfitness Boutique: CoachLotta

I have not been for a long time and therefore called the French sisters up at Son Mico, a lovely little café on the walk from Deya to Soller Valley, to see if they are open so we can stop for their amazing lemon merengue pie on the way like we have always done, and they have confirmed they will be open and that we and other wanderers are more than welcome to visit!

This week I spoke to one of the Nordic personal trainers on the island, Swedish Lotta Asmussen or CoachLotta as many in the Scandinavian community know her.
Lotta arrived on the island in 2016 shortly after a family tragedy where her only sister got diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away 6 weeks later. At that time, Lotta was working as a headmaster in a school in Sweden but after the shock of losing her sister, she needed to take a break, have some time to process the loss and grieve her sister to take better care of her own health. A friend handed over a job ad from the Swedish School in Palma who were looking for someone to be responsible for the preschool department, so Lotta applied and got the job, and a few weeks after she was on her way to Palma.

I met her at her work in Speedfitness Boutique in Bendinat. Here she coaches clients from all over the world to do EMS, electrical muscle stimulation. After 3 months in Majorca, she decided this is where she wanted to stay, she felt home! She explains “I am a preschool teacher and a fitness coach. I think my strongest side is that both my education requires that you’re good in pedagogy and to teach people new things.”

“What I love about Majorca is that people are more relaxed. You don’t have to call someone 2 months in advance to book the person for dinner, like you must in Sweden. And the pressure from society is lower. It is easier to be happy here and we are happy when we have nice weather, an income, a roof over our head and the possibility to enjoy the beaches and restaurants even on a weekday. The quality of life is high hear and I love that.

“Since moving to Majorca, I am more in balance. I have always gone up and down in weight, even though training has always been easy in my life. The life I have here is without the stress I experienced in Sweden. I also had time and space to grief my sister. I have made a big change since I moved here, both mental and physically, and I can say that I do appreciate life more now.”

In Sweden status is very important and I don’t feel the same here. And now, I’m taking good care of both my body and soul, I have achieved a weight loss of about 15 kg in 5 years. I have learned much more about myself, my body and movement. And now, I am in weight balance, know what I value in life, and I love to inspire others to movement and a healthy lifestyle. I want to inspire and help people to have joy, health, and less stress in their life.

Coachlotta is really doing a great job helping others to feel good too and she continues –
“I am a certified to coach and train women in the 40-60 age group who are approaching menopause.” She continues “Some months ago I was asked to start a senior group, we meet 2 days/week in Parc de la Mar and exercise together, The group has been really successful, and the feedback from the clients is amazing. Birgitta, a 76-year-old lady from Sweden is one of the clients that join this group – “Before I started with the group training, I could not run. But after just a few months attending Lotta’s group I feel so much better. In July I ran 5 days a week. My balance is so much better, I feel stronger, I can even put on pants without holding on to anything or sitting down”. Lotta reveals “It is very popular course and it’s an excellent way to socialize in a different way while my clients get fitter.” New classes start in October.