DOMS – Delayed onset muscular soreness

DOMS (Delayed onset muscular soreness) 👎🏼 I’m sure you’ve all experienced the unwanted achy/sore muscles after exercising before!🙈 Many people think that this soreness is the sign of a good workout, and that if they don’t feel sore the next day then they think it wasn’t a good enough workout – but this is NOT TRUE! DOMS is NOT the desired effect of exercise!

Delayed onset muscular soreness is a result of small tears in your muscle fibres as a result of eccentric contractions usually after excessive or unfamiliar exercise. (Eccentric means the muscle is lengthening during contraction e.g. the tricep in a bicep curl💪🏼.) As a result, muscles may start to feel stiff and tender for 24-72 hours after the tears were caused and you may experience a short-term reduction in strength and need to rest the working muscles for a few days. This is not the desired effect of a workout!

So if you are one of those people that bases workout effectiveness on how sore you feel the next day, don’t! DOMS is NOT the desired outcome!

 

How to avoid DOMS

1) Gently introduce yourself to new workouts – don’t go too hard too quick

2) Increase reps and number of sets progressively – not huge jumps at once

3) Make sure you have an effective cool down lasting at least 10 minutes after your session

4) Don’t include too many eccentric contraction exercises on the same muscle groups in each workout

 

Do not compare yourself to others

Ever find yourself scrolling through a feed and then seeing a photo of a girl with amazing abs or an amazing 🍑 and thinking i wish i had that too? .

Well guess what? Don’t just wish for it – if you want it, work for it! IT IS POSSIBLE!. I’ve never had stomach definition before now and i never believed that i ever would, but with motivation, training and TIME i have seen progression!!

I’m still nowhere near some other girls i have seen but i have learnt that that doesn’t matter. Its not about what other girls have, its about my journey and the steps i have made physically and mentally to be where I am now.

Don’t compare yourself to other people! Do not judge your own progression against the progression of others and do not get demotivated by not being at the stage you want to be.

Everyone starts somewhere and EVERYONE, including you, has the power within them to work for what they want. Be proud of every little step that you make – this is what matters in the long run and this is what you deserve.

WORK HARD for what you want & eventually you will start to see the results you have always wished for. Don’t let comparisons get in your way – be you & get excited for what is to come for future you!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

How many reps should you do?

HOW MANY REPS SHOULD YOU DO? 🏋🏼‍♀️ Everyones body responds and adapts in different ways under different conditions. Some women get more benefits from doing lots of reps with low weights, but others respond better to fewer reps with heavier weights so there is no set way of doing things!

However, typically, to build STRENGTH use a higher resistance for fewer reps (1-6) and rest for at least 2 minute between each set.

To increase ENDURANCE, use a lower resistance and increase the number of reps (12+). Rest for 30-60 seconds between each set.

Experiment and see which works best for you!! ☺️💪🏼

The abs of your dreams!

All of you want that defined stomach right?? Well to build your abs and see that ‘six-pack’ definition you need to do a range of different types of movements as your abs are actually made up several different muscles that all need to be worked!

You can’t just stick to the good old crunches and sit-ups as these are only flexion movements which only work the front of your core called the rectus abdominus!🙈 You may get that beloved line down the front of your stomach but not much else! 😭

To get the definition at the sides of your stomach you need to engage and work your external and internal obliques! This can be done by lateral flexion and twisting exercises such as torso twists, seated swivel kicks, torso twists, standing lat stretches and side planks variations.

To flatten your stomach you need to work on your transverse abdominus which stabilises your core and spine. The best exercises for this are core stability exercises such as the plank. Working on this inner abdominal muscle will make all the difference!😁

Now you know that, you’ll have the stomach of your dreams in no time!!👊🏼

5 things that make me happy

Hi everyone,

I was challenged to reflect upon my life and the 5 things that make me happy, so here goes! 😁

5 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY…

1️⃣ My doggies❤️ I have two long haired chihuahuas (basically like real life teddy bears!) I love to cuddle them and play with them and they both have such cheeky personalities so they always know how to make me laugh. Don’t know what I’d do without them following me around like my shadow😅💜

2️⃣ My friends❤️ I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. Friends are everything! I love nothing more than a good catch up or a night out with the people that i love and their friendship, laughter and support means the world to me

3️⃣ Playing netball for UCL💜 I’ve fallen back in love with my childhood sport thanks to UCL netball club and it makes me happy to end my Mondays and Wednesdays playing netball for one of the best clubs (if not the best😉) with some of the best girls. It provides so many social and mental benefits as well as the physical benefits of regular training and match play.

4️⃣ Naps😅 Those of you that know me personally will know how much I love to nap. I love getting back into bed and having a quick rest before getting on with the rest of my daily life & 1000% i couldn’t function without them!😂

5️⃣ The sun☀️☀️ Waking up to the sun shining makes my day before it even starts! I love to tan!😂 As soon as its sunny i love to go outdoors for long walks or to sit in the local park and relax all day (even if its exam season😅) and some of my happiest times have been on my summer holidays in the sun.

What are the 5 things that make you happy?

Friends are everything

As you may already know, i’ve just had two holidays – one to Croatia and one to Budapest – which makes it 4 holidays this summer. All 4 were absolutely incredible in different ways but instead of telling you about them all I want to share with you something that all of these holidays have taught me & what you should know too⬇️

Friends are everything. Friends adds to the fulfilment of our quality of life, open new doors for us, keep us safe and catch us when we fall. Friends love and support us whether we ask for it or not, and they make us who we are today. Life isn’t about what we do or where we go, but who we do it with and who is by our sides no matter what. Even if we had everything we could possibly want in life, they have no value without friends to share them with.
Friends know us well, maybe sometimes even more than we do ourselves, and they teach us how to laugh and smile and how to value who we are as people.
Without true friendship we would never grow, we would never learn and we would never flourish. Friends are everything!💜

Heres to all of the friends in our lives that love and support us like sisters! xxx

Girls in my life, you know who you are❤️

How to stay healthy on holiday!

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY ON HOLIDAY☀️✈️

August is the prime time for holidays and i know you all feel like your fitness journey will be halted or some of your progress will be reversed by going on holiday, but THAT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE CASE!!!

As I’ve just come back from a week in Croatia and am flying out to Budapest tomorrow I know what this feels like. But here’s a few tips I use to stay healthy!😁❤️

1️⃣ STAY HYDRATED! Make sure you drink lots of fluids throughout the day! It’s important you drink at least 1.5 litres of water to avoid dehydration, but very sunny destinations try and drink more!! 💦

2️⃣ Go easy on the alcohol!😉 As a student at uni i know how much people can drink!😂 But try & keep your intake low.

3️⃣ Take a 20-30 minute walk per day. You may not have access to a gym but that doesn’t matter! Take the time to walk around the beautiful city that you are in and explore some of it’s sights. Walking is an amazing way to keep yourself active and keep your fitness journey going

4️⃣ Focus on breakfast – don’t skip it! Breakfast is usually the easiest meal to control as you can easily get yourself healthy foods like some fruit and eggs!

5️⃣ Keep your portion sizes controlled. You may find yourself eating food you wouldn’t normally eat but as long as you keep your portion size controlled you will be fine!! Everything can be eating in moderation, the key is just to not overeat them😊

6️⃣ Take note of my workout of the week 4 made during my time in Croatia for an easy, quick, holiday friendly workout to maintain your full body strength and work on flexibility. This is perfect for completing on holiday, with limited time and equipment, and is manageable in humid weather as it is relatively low intensity!

7️⃣ DON’T STRESS!!! You are on holiday!!!! Have fun! Enjoy every possibly moment of it whilst it lasts as time on holiday has a habit of flying by!😭 Give yourself the break you deserve and then get back to your usual routine when you get home! A little break may even do your body good for rest and recovery😊

Enjoy your holidays!✈️
Meg💜 xxxx
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Reflection time✨

REFLECTION✨ After only a month of doing this i could not be happier with how this has turned out & for all of your support!! I was so nervous to start this account and to release my own training programme as I didn’t really know how it would develop and i didn’t have the confidence to do so until now, but i’m SO happy that I took the leap and just did it!😁 This is what I want you to do in your own journeys! ➡️ Take the leap and believe in yourself as your only limit is you. Do not be afraid to fail, be afraid not to try!

Being approached to become an ambassador for @xercise4less and becoming a @myproteinUK affiliate within a matter of weeks from me not having a clue what i was doing has been amazing, and i can’t thank you enough for your engagement to help make that happen!

Gaining followers is just a bonus to doing what I love but to have just over 1k of you following my fitness journey already is unbelievable!☺️ I cannot wait to motivate and encourage you further on your own journeys and i am so so excited for whats to come!😁💜 Having you as part of my BIYTraining family means the world to me❤️

For more coverage of my fitness journey and extra motivation visit my blog https://megcanfitness.wordpress.com !👀😛

Facebook page = Megcanfitness
Twitter = @megcanfitness
IGTV = available on my profile

To start my very own 10 week BIYTraining programme, send me a message!💪🏼🍑

Sending love,
Meg💜

@megcanfitness

Kicking gym intimidations ass!!

GYM INTIMIDATION?😰 Ever felt nervous to go to the gym? Ever felt nervous to use the equipment in front of others once in the gym?
Well heres a little secret…. YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE hun! It happens to the best of us. Even me!

A few people have mentioned thiS to me this week so i’m going to tell you all a few things to remember: (I personally learnt these 4 things to overcome my gym intimidation and now I could not be happier going to the gym and doing what I love☺️❤️)

1️⃣ In reality nobody actually cares what you are doing in the gym. As self absorbed as it sounds, everybody is only there for one reason: to focus on themselves and their own results. They don’t actually have the time or the motive you watch or critique what you are doing.

2️⃣ There may be a few people that do watch you but this is because they may actually be learning from what you are doing. You may seem fitter or stronger or more experienced than them and so some people will aspire to be like you, so may actually even feel a little intimidated by you (crazy right😱) !! So get your sweat on and inspire them!

3️⃣ Everybody starts as a newbie. You have to go and/or you have to use the equipment to become fully confident with it. Everybody will have been in your position at some point but getting over it comes with time and experience. Nothing will change if you never try and overcome it.

4️⃣ Go with a friend. You will automatically feel more comfortable as you trust each other and you can encourage each other to just get on with it☺️

5️⃣You are incredible at what you do and you should never be intimidated by a gym or people in a gym. Get your sports gear on, get yourself to the gym, have confidence and go kick some ass!!! 🍑💪🏼🍑💪🏼🍑💪🏼

You can do it. I know you can!
#believeinyourself 💜

Workout of the week 4 (1/08/18) – Croatian edition!

WORKOUT OF THE WEEK 4 ~~ THE CROATIAN EDITION 💪🏼😛🌞✈️

This week’s workout is a little different to usual, designed to show you that exercising on holiday is quick and easy😁!! It is more of a yoga style workout for full body strength, flexibility and mindfulness, and making it easier to workout in 32 degree heat😅 This is what i did:

1️⃣ 30 seconds downward facing dog
2️⃣ 30 seconds boat pose
3️⃣ 15x bodyweight squats
4️⃣ 10x aeroplanes – BOTH LEGS
5️⃣ 20 seconds warrior pose – BOTH SIDES
6️⃣ 20 seconds cross body triangle pose – BOTH SIDES
7️⃣ 10x crab reaches
8️⃣ 4x cat to camel pose
9️⃣ 20 seconds standing lats stretch – BOTH SIDES
🔟 20 seconds palm tree pose

(To see what these exercises are, visit my instagram or facebook page @megcanfitness for photo demonstrations.)

⏸ Rest for 60 seconds
🔄 Repeat 1-10 THREE TIMES !!!

This is the perfect workout for on your holidays so being on the beach or not having a gym accessible is NOT an excuse!!😉

You can do it. I know you can!💜#BIYTraining @ The Garden Croatia