She won over the nation with her role as Ziggy Astoni on the hit drama series Home and Away, but it’s Sophie Dillman’s authentic take on body positivity that will have you falling in love with the actress even further.
WATCH BELOW: Quick Questions with Home and Away’s Sophie Dillman and Patrick O’Connor
With the show currently on a break as NSW undergoes strict lockdown restrictions, Sophie tells us it’s been a blessing in disguise as she’s been able to put all her focus into her health and fitness.
“Because we’re not working at the moment, I wake up and workout first thing,” she tells New Idea. “I feel like I’ve done something, I’ve achieved something, I’ve ticked something off, I feel good.”
Exercise is also something that Sophie credits to helping with her mental health, saying that it is “so much better” if she works out.
“If I workout as much as possible I am so much calmer,” she says. “I’m so much more focused, I have so much more energy.”
Fitness has always been a priority for the 28-year-old, and not even the temptations of a lazy lockdown can sway her motivation.
“It is definitely a discipline that you have to learn,” she says. “There are multiple times that I have walked into the gym and stepped onto a treadmill and then walked out.”
“But that discipline that I’ve taught myself that after a workout I feel good, I love endorphins, that is my addiction; an endorphin rush,” she says.
Not only that, but getting a workout in first thing in the morning helps Sophie get off to the right start for the day.
“I’ve found very early on that if I don’t work out first thing in the morning, I have a really sh*t day,” she explains. “I feel really sort of anxious and flustered and I can’t ground myself and I don’t feel like I’ve achieved anything.”
Outside of lockdown, balancing her fitness with work can be a bit “hectic”, but Sophie says the key is to be “lenient” when it comes to listening to your body.
“You do have to give yourself leeway – if you don’t have time or you are exhausted, it’s okay. You can skip a workout,” she says.
It’s an approach that Sophie has taken on when it comes to her battle with Endometriosis, where she can often be in “really bad” pain, but luckily she’s figured out a way to ease the discomfort with specific workouts.
“High intensity interval training is actually really good for pain management,” she says.
“On the reverse, there are some days that I am in too much pain and so I can’t do intervals and that’s okay, you’ve gotta listen to your body.”
The actress, who moved down from Queensland and is currently living in Sydney, also considers her workouts as ‘my-time’, but that hasn’t stopped her from trying to get others involved.
Namely her partner and Home and Away co-star Patrick O’Connor, who she reveals aren’t exactly on the same page when it comes to fitness.
“Paddy and I don’t work out together – we’ve worked out together once and he nearly died and so he said he wasn’t ever doing it again,” she laughs.
Her impressive take on fitness is a true testament to her dedication, which is why she’s getting behind the popular fitness platform DediKate.
While originally hailing in from New Zealand, DediKate has just recently launched in Australia, and Sophie says it is “really easy to fit into your everyday routine”.
“Essentially most of the workouts are 20 to 30 minutes and that means that – I’ve been cooking dinner and I put the sweet potatoes in the oven, I’ve done the 20 minute workout, finished, taken the sweet potatoes out and had dinner on the table – like it’s really great,” she says.
DediKate also has a range of different levels to accomodate to everyone’s needs, and Sophie is “really excited” to be able to fit in a workout in between scenes in her dressing room once she returns back to filming.
DediKate is also donating $10 to support body esteem charity Butterfly Foundation for every Aussie member who gets involved.
