The Tuscan Fitness Team

Alexandra Sturgess

Founder, Yoga Teacher, Barre Instructor

For Alix, nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and Yoga have always been of paramount importance. She is a strong supporter of the Latin saying ‘mens sana in corpore sano’, which means that only a healthy body can support a healthy mind, so we should strive to keep our bodies in top condition. She has been practicing Yoga for many years in order to sustain a well balanced life, she has completed trainings in India for (200hr) ashtanga yoga and in Costa Rica for a (200 hr) vinyasa and massage therapy course and believes that through asana practice we can sustain a clearer consciousness. Alix wants to impart her knowledge onto her students helping them to understand their bodies and therefore be able to delve more deeply into each pose. This was the genesis which led to the development of the” Body and Mind” company. She has lived in many countries, and experienced many different cultures, and from this she has been inspired to follow the fundamentals of the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle which provides the most comprehensive combination of nutrition, well-being and family-oriented ideals. This philosophy is not about deprivation or even having to worry about how to manage a harmonious diet and lifestyle, instead Alix wants to open up a world of delicious and well balanced menus that you can take home with you and use for the rest of your life.

Francesca Blechner

Personal Trainer

Francesca is a Personal Trainer and Sports Massage Therapist operating in london with a wealth of experience and an array of knowledge. She has 12 years experience working in the fitness industry at some of London’s leading health clubs. Holds a degree in Sport and Exercise Science. Boxing trained by David Haye on his training course. A certified Master Kettlebell instructor, Fran is taught personally and certified by Europe’s leading kettlebell instructor and TV’s former ‘Biggest Loser’ trainer the late Angie Dowds. Fran has a substantial client list including celebrities, former sporting professionals, TV presenters, business executives, new mums & many more. Francesca works with her clients in London and also the Middle East. She is the director of FB Personal Training and has a team of trainers operating in London who are passionate about helping others achieve their health, fitness and lifestyle goals. Specialist areas are Kettlebell training, boxing, TRX and Sports Massage.

For more information about Francesca, please see www.fb-personaltraining.co.uk

Filippo Dainelli

Personal Trainer

Filippo is a Personal Trainer born in Montevarchi, Tuscany with a lifelong passion for fitness and sport in general. He graduated with a degree in Sports Science from Florence University and from 1995 to 2008 worked as a Fitness and Bodybuilding instructor at the Los Angeles Gym in Montevarchi. Since 2008, Filippo has been working in the same capacity at the gym ZeroOtto and has also become a certified Fit Boxe instructor via the FIF (federazione italiana fitness).

Furthermore, Filippo is a certified instructor in Body Pump, Legs Buns and Tums as well as body toning techniques, which are all talents that he brings to the Tuscan Fitness table. On top of all this, Filippo also spends time as an Aqua Gym instructor and a Callisthenics trainer and in his spare time, he works as a conditioning coach for the local football team, Virtus Leona.

Paolo Puccini

Web Marketing Manager and Personal Trainer

Paolo was born in São Paulo , Brazil but has been living in Italy since he first set foot in Rome in early 2000. With previous experience in web marketing and business development, he has been working as online marketing manager at Tuscan Fitness since 2013. He speaks english, italian, portuguese and spanish, has lived and worked in several countries and loves to travel.

Though extremely passionate about business, marketing, and all technology, he is equally passionate about fitness, healthy living and Italian food. Paolo is also a certified ISSA fitness trainer and committed to helping those who wish to stay fit. Understanding that each individual has different goals as well a needs, he strives to make sure adopting a fitness lifestyle is interesting, rewarding and most importantly fun.

Federico Capanni

Social Media Manager

Federico started working as an e-commerce manager six years ago, somewhat by accident. Over the course of time though, he specialized more and more in the world of web marketing, successfully managing not only e-commerce websites but also marketing campaigns and social media campaigns.

His meeting with Alix was perfect because not only are their views of business in agreement, but also because Federico, whose work keeps him in front of the pc, also loves hiking, mountain biking, eating well and living healthy. As a young athlete, he was heavily involved initially in swimming, and then kick boxing. Currently, he still finds time to give lessons as a swimming instructor at the village swimming centre, and he also carries out this role upon request for Tuscan Fitness

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Yoga Teacher Training Instructor

Peter Kaaberbøl Kristensen

Yoga Teacher Trainer

Peter Kaaberbøl Kristensen is the founder of LagoCph yoga school in Copenhagen, Denmark, and X-Pand Me body stretching system. He is a master practitioner of yoga, meditation, martial arts, and bodywork and for the past 12 years has devoted his life to educating yoga teachers around the world. Peter has a gift for breaking down complex yogic principles into simple guidance that helps the trainee investigate the body’s subtle energies. By bringing trainees’ awareness to their inner worlds, Peter helps them deepen their practice from the inside out.

His intensive month-long teacher training programs deepen the trainees’ personal practice and guide their teaching techniques to a place where they can freely impart the body’s inner wisdom to their own students.

The training programs provide a safe environment for structured asana sequences, and even more importantly, for personal growth through mental and spiritual exercises. The programs facilitate transformation at all levels, helping trainees to be their best selves and, in turn, the best teachers they can be. Peter stays true to classical yoga in all its forms and blends those forms with the beauty and freedom of the modern Vinyasa flow. His classes are physically challenging, but rooted in alignment and the subtle energetic lines of the body. Peter brings his yoga practice into all areas of his life, and helps his trainees do the same by guiding them to the subtle wisdom within their own bodies.

Peter began practicing yoga at 18-years-old and has studied with a broad range of classical Indian teachers including Akhil Bhattacharya and massage master Rahul Bharti in Nepal. He has practiced extensively in India, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Japan, and the United States. His interest in bodywork and movement took him to martial arts, including Aikido and Capoeira, Thai yoga therapy, and Acro yoga.

Peter runs his teacher training programs in Denmark and, in tandem with Paula Tursi, in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras. He lives in Copenhagen with his wife and two daughters.

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