The power of friendship - Helen & Elin -Motivation, discipline & joy

 If you follow Power Woman on Instagram you have probably seen Helen & Elin - the duo behind the account @livetikrokarna. On their account they inspire women to move by sharing tips on exercises and sharing their own active life - all the way from everyday training life to races. We asked Helen & Elin to tell us about themselves in their own words and how the story about they came to start their training account together.

Tell us about yourselves-who are you and you got the idea to start Livetikrokarna?

We are Helen Lindberg and Elin Johansson, and together we are the training duo Livetikrokarna, a name that came about when we started blogging in 2013 about our lives as active mothers living in Krokek, the central community in Kolmården, Sweden. We wanted to inspire more people to be active together with their children, to find ways to incorporate exercise and training while juggling life with young kids, work, and everything else that stage of life entails.

Now, our children are 11 and 14 years old (we each have two children of the exact same age, with only a few weeks between them), we are 43 and 42 years old, and life has changed quite a bit since those early parenting years. Almost eight years ago, we started our own business and now lead group training sessions called Vardagsstark (translates to everyday strength)  in Kolmården three times a week. We have trained as running coaches, forest bathing guides, and personal trainers, among other things. Helen has also completed a yin yoga course, and Elin has taken an Afropower course. We work a lot with training and coaching in different ways, organize fitness events, and love traveling as fitness instructors with Springtime Travel.

What role has sports played in your lives?

Both of us started our athletic journeys in the world of team sports. Helen, who grew up in Skellefteå, played hockey, football (soccer), and floorball. Elin, from Linköping, fell in love with floorball early on and made it her main sport.

Sports, especially team sports, played a huge role in our lives, and we have always been active. You just went to practice at the set times—there wasn’t much to think about. The coach told us what to do, and we did it. The idea of putting the team before yourself, the sense of teamwork and collaboration, appeals to both of us. Maybe that’s why we chose to form our own team after leaving competitive sports. Because that’s how Livetikrokarna feels to us—it’s our team, where we inspire others with our joy for training and our passion for helping others find their own way to exercise and achieve their goals.

We both lived in Norrköping when we became teammates in 2005—or maybe it was 2006; we don’t quite remember 😊. We connected both on the field and as friends, and that bond has remained ever since. We both put our floorball sticks on the shelf when we started our families, and after having our first children, we looked for a new way to stay active. We wanted something accessible, something that didn’t take too much time and could be done close to home… the answer was running!

During our years in the floorball team, running was more of a necessity to maintain our stamina on the field. But now, it became our primary form of exercise. After having our second children in the spring of 2013, we decided to take it a step further and complete Tjejklassikern ( this Swedish classic consists of races through out the year in skiing, swimming, running and biking) to maintain a consistent and varied workout routine throughout the seasons. That challenge sparked something in us—a love for running races!

We did most of our training sessions together. We live close to each other and have a very similar pace and rhythm when we run. Since we had never trained for running in a structured way before, we quickly improved and loved pushing ourselves by participating in races. Some years, we ran 15–20 races just for fun—every step taken side by side, from start to finish. Training together for races and then running them while chatting and cheering each other on is one of our absolute favorite things to do. Collecting race kilometers and shared experiences became a passion.

In 2017, we ran our first ultramarathon, 45 kilometers, and discovered something new—a slower, more enjoyable way of running, focusing on the experience and community. And that’s where we’ve chosen to stay. These days, we love running all kinds of races—trail, mountain, road, obstacle courses, Hyrox, short, long, ultra—variety is fun! We stop to take pictures during races, talk to and encourage fellow runners, soak in the surroundings, and focus on the experience rather than the finish time. We no longer chase personal bests or times as our top priority, but we still enjoy focused and goal-oriented training to keep improving.

Strength training has also become an important part of our routine. In the past, we never set foot in a gym—instead, we preferred functional bodyweight exercises, ideally outdoors. But a few years ago, we got gym memberships, and now, heavy strength training is just as essential in our training plan as running.

What is the biggest challenge in your training?

The biggest challenge with training right now is finding time to train together. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard. We know that working out together makes everything so much easier, so when we can’t, we have to work extra hard on discipline, motivation, and willpower. And when we do manage to train together, we enjoy it even more—the shared motivation and joy of exercising together is so rewarding!

What advice would you give to someone who has just started running or wants to start?

Our best tip for beginners in running is to start slow and not go out too hard. Run at a comfortable pace where you can talk without gasping for air. Even if it feels like you’re running so slowly that others could walk faster—don’t worry about it! If your goal is to run, then you’re succeeding just by doing it. Alternate between running and walking, increasing your running time as it feels good. Two sessions a week is a great start, as your body needs time to recover so your ligaments, joints, and muscles can adapt and benefit from the training.

What are you most excited about right now?

Right now, we are signed up for an obstacle course race in August and the Helsingborg Half Marathon shortly after. We might also sign up for Hyrox in December—we did our first Hyrox competition in December 2024, and it was so much fun! Combining running with strength training suited us perfectly.

If you could meet a younger version of yourself what would you tell them?

If we could meet a younger version of ourselves, we would tell them to start strength training earlier—maybe then we could have avoided some of the injuries we’ve had over the years. We’d also encourage ourselves to start working with fitness and health sooner. If we had built a parallel career in this field right after university, alongside our licensed professions (occupational therapist and preschool teacher), we could have enjoyed the best of both worlds even earlier!

What makes you feel strong- like Power Women?

We feel like Power Women when we try new things, challenge ourselves, and take on things we’ve never done before. But also when we dare to step back and rest when our bodies tell us to—when we listen to ourselves instead of doing something just because “everyone else is doing it.” We feel strong when we support each other, help each other cross the finish line in tough races, and when we complete those workouts we didn’t feel like doing—but did anyway. Whether it's in pouring rain, freezing cold, or when the couch is calling our name, we push through, knowing we’ll feel great afterward.

What is your favorite garment from Power Woman?

Our favorite piece from Power Woman is the Edge Run shorts.

Follow Helen & Elin & get more training inspiration on Instagram at @livetikrokarna