The Movement Link Podcast

After posting on my IG story last week that I make my own pre-workout, I've had a lot of questions as to what I include and also why I choose to make my own rather than purchasing a pre-made powder. So this episode answers both of those questions for you! Just a quick reminder: what I include in my pre workout is specific to my needs and my goals, so please do your own research (and ask lots...

Have you ever wondered how many days each week you should really be training? Or perhaps you’ve seen your friend training 5 or 6 days a week, and you wonder if you need to do the same in order to get results? In this episode I’ll run through all the factors that we need to consider when it comes to training frequency - there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to how many days per week...

Building muscle is a really slow process. Unlike dieting, where we can visibly see positive changes in as little as 2-4 weeks, you may not actually see any visible muscle growth for 4-6 months, or potentially longer. So if your goal is to build as much muscle as possible in the next 12 months, this episode will walk you through the key things that I would be focussing on personally, or with any of...

Although I think most people understand the importance of warming up before their workout, I feel that less of us know exactly what to include in our warm up to make it effective.  In this episode I cover: Why we should be warming up; How much time we really need for an effective warm up; What an ineffective warm up looks like; 3 simple steps to building an effective warm up.  If performance and m...

Today I’m sharing the mic with Sarah Hallatt . Sarah is a mum of 2 girls, works full time, trains 5 days a week, tracks her macros and competes in natural bodybuilding. After spending several years struggling with her weight and negative body image, she found her way into the gym and has never looked back. In this episode, we chat about body image flexibility, the challenges of a contest prep, why...

Core stability and core strength are terms that are often used interchangeably.  In reality, core strength and core stability are two very different things and as such require two different approaches when it comes to training each of these optimally.  Tune in to find out: Exactly what your 'core' is and which muscles are involved; What we mean when we talk about core stability; and Why...

If you’ve ever tried tracking your macros and calories, you’ll know what an endless minefield calorie tracking apps such as MFP can be. Search for the word ‘apple’ in the MFP datable alone and you’ll easily get over 100 options to choose from - some have green ticks, others don’t, some have carbs, some don’t, some have calories and no macros, other apples apparently have no calories at all. So whi...

If you're thinking of getting on stage, this episode is a must-listen. Contest Preparation takes dieting to the extreme, however there are skills, behaviours and routines that you can develop and have in place before entering a contest prep that will help to make the journey that much smoother and more enjoyable. In this episode, I cover what I consider as the 'pre-requisites' to st...

When we look at how to make dieting easier, a lot of the discussion tends to be focussed on how to better manage the actual diet phase itself. However what you do BEFORE you enter a diet phase is largely going to determine how successful your diet is likely to be. Tune in to find out why you may actually need to spend some time preparing for a diet phase and what you can do before you start dietin...

What makes up a good snack bar/muesli bar? If you've ever found yourself lost in the muesli bar aisle and unsure what to look for or where to start, rest assured I still feel that way sometimes with the variety of snack bars available on the shelves.   In this episode I cover what I would look for on the ingredients list and nutrition panel when picking out a decent snack bar, and also some i...

Always a hotly debated topic! And with so many on the market with some fancy marketing claims, how do you really know what to spend your money on? In this episode, I cover: Why we may want to take a pre-workout (expectations, benefits) What to look for if you decide to buy a pre-workout (ingredients) If they're really worth it For online coaching enquiries, questions or feedback, please conta...

Are frozen meals really bad for you? Or do they have a place within a balanced diet? In this week's episode I answer this question, and also offer some guidelines as to what to look for when choosing frozen meals. For online coaching enquiries, please contact me via the links below. You can follow me on Instagram to stay up to date with each episode as well as all of my regular content. Web:...

Q&A episodes are definitely one of my favourite podcast formats. Thank you once again to everyone that submitted questions through the question box on my IG story. In this week’s episode I explain why I’ve started including coconut water and sodium in my pre-workout, caffeine recommendations to support training performance as well as what goes into my home-made pre-workout (and what I’d look f...

"I just can’t stop eating at night and it’s undoing all my hard work during the day." If you have ever said this, or thought it, then this episode is for you, as I’m going to show you why you can’t stop eating at night, and also why trying to eat less during the day is not going to solve the problem. For online coaching enquiries, please contact me via the links below. You can follow me...

To hit a plateau with your training is incredibly frustrating, particularly when you feel as though you’re putting in the hard yards, but not seeing any progress. In this episode I look at reasons why you may have hit a sticking point in your training, and how you can work around these to keep the progress happening! For online coaching enquiries, please contact me via the links below. You can fol...

Being able to sit down and enjoy a sweet treat without over-eating should be a normal and enjoyable part of life! However it is also something I see so many people struggle to manage without it having a negative impact on their body composition goals. In this episode I walk you through 4 super simple strategies that I hope will help you be able to enjoy a normal portion of those occasional treats...

When it comes to fat loss, it's no doubt that plateaus are frustrating, particularly if you feel that you're putting in the effort and aren't being rewarded for your investment of time and energy. However, if you are no longer losing weight, then there will be a reason for this (and no, you're not broken!). In this episode I walk you through how to break through a fat loss plat...

I always love a good Q&A episode - a huge thank you to everyone that submitted questions through the question box on my Instagram story last week. Join me as I go through my favourite glute exercises, how to manage hunger when dieting, the importance of having realistic expectations when it comes to building muscle, as well as a brief update on my current improvement season. For online coachin...

I see so many people spin their wheels when it comes to building muscle. Having some idea of what’s involved in the process of building muscle, as well as realistic expectations around timeframes can make it easier to fully invest in the process. In this episode I go through 5 key things that you need to understand if you want to build muscle. If you need additional guidance, please reach out to m...

Although this seems like such a trivial topic, it’s amazing how many people aren’t using the scales in a way that is going to provide them with helpful information. Tune in to find out exactly what time of day you should be jumping on the scales, as well as how frequently you should be tracking our weight in order to determine progress. Side note: if you are someone who finds seeing your weight an...

Building muscle is tough, like, really tough! Most of us don’t build muscle by mistake, and I don’t think anyone is at risk of going to the gym for a few weeks and suddenly waking up with too much muscle (I wish!). I see so many people spinning their wheels when it comes to building muscle, so this episode covers the 5 most common mistakes I see people making, and what to do instead. Questions or...

You’ve just eaten a burger, and some chips…and a few slices of pizza…and washed it down with some ice-cream and now you’re regretting the whole situation and feeling pretty damn uncomfortable. So in this episode, I’m going to show you how I would troubleshoot this situation with a client of mine if someone reached out to me and said that they had massively over-eaten - because you’re a human, you...

In this week’s episode I’m excited to have friend, personal trainer, photographer and business owner Jenny Chan back behind the mic. Jen has completed the 75 HARD Program (by entrepreneur Andy Frisella) not once, but twice, and although it’s often perceived as a fitness or weightloss challenge, what we find out is that it’s far more about mindset, mental resilience and forging a level of self-beli...

In this episode I take you through a practical skill that I genuinely believe is the most important skill you can possibly learn if you want to be successful in improving your health, your fitness or your relationship with food. In  both my personal experience, as well as my experience as a coach, having the ability to build this one skill is the most important deciding factor between whether some...

It’s a hotly debated topic - is fasted training the secret to fat loss, and are you setting yourself up to fail if you eat before training? Let’s find out in this week’s episode. Questions or feedback? Contact me via the links below, or follow me on Instagram to stay up to date with each episode as well as all of my regular content. Web: The Movement Link IG: @jemmalee_exphys Email: themovementlin...