Alpha Female Coaching

Detours and Delays and New Year Goals 🥴

I know, a tad late for a New Year post, right? 😅

The start of 2024 has been interesting, to say the least. A bright start turned into a WHAM of cold/flu that knocked me on my ass.

👎 Planned fat loss had to take a backseat. Calories? Up to maintenance for recovery.

👎 Training? Non-existent. Half dead, a turning inside-out coughing situation.

Had a chat with a client about the New Year pressure — to give 100% to fitness, diet, and more. But let’s be real, it’s a tough time. Bugs, work chaos, crappy weather. All you want is to snuggle up and hibernate.

If your grand New Year plans also went sideways, know you’re not alone! And here’s the deal — resolutions not going as planned doesn’t mean you can’t start them ANYTIME.

If you’re still working on getting back on track, I’ve got something exciting coming. Keep an eye out for an announcement in the next 24 hrs! 📣

🍈🍈Boobs, 🍫Brownies, & 🏋️‍♀️Barbells: My Bulk Story!

Entering the final week of my build phase - officially starting the cut on December 27th🎄 Final weight yet to be confirmed, but so far I’ve gained 7kg since August. For which I’m very very happy!

It’s still shocking in a way to say that and feel happy about it. My younger self, growing up as a teen in the 90’s, would have been horrified. The pressure to be thin was huge. I’m thrilled that now, being strong is the new skinny. We, as women, feel empowered to embrace our strength. Nearly 20 years ago, when I started weightlifting🫢, there were very few women in the weights area. Now, it’s almost the opposite. Keep it up ladies 🫡

So, what are the realities of doing a build phase, the good and not so good?👍👎

👍Boobs: Yep, I said it - B***S. The extra body fat definitely makes a difference. But I also know they’ll be the first thing to go in January 🥲

👍Treats: I never forbid myself from anything, but extra leeway for indulgence has been bliss. My favourite treat? Warm chocolate brownie with raspberry coulis 🤤

👍 Energy boost: This has been the best part of the build. Progressing my lifts week after week, feeling stronger and stronger - it’s unmatched. Ladies if you want to feel powerful, eat your food!

👎 fat gain: Having been pretty lean for the past 3-4 years, accepting added fat gain was tough. But it’s part of the process. A 50/50 fat to muscle ratio gain is considered good. To build muscle fat gain is inevitable.

👎Fullness and bloating: Feeling like I’ve eaten Christmas dinner every day has been the least enjoyable part. The constant fullness is uncomfortable.

👎 Nutritious diet: While eating extra treats is great, maintaining a nutritious diet is 🔑eating healthily = feeling better. Hitting higher cals without resorting to junk food meant more food volume than I’m comfortable with. While I support not restricting food, I believe we focus too much on creating “fake” protein desserts etc. Eat REAL food!

✨Thinking of gaining some muscle?
Let me take the guesswork out for you
📲DM to book a no obligation call to chat about how I can help you!

✨The work you’re avoiding⬇️⬇️⬇️

➡️Nutritious Diet: “ I don’t like to eat any vegetables”
➡️Hydration: “ I don’t like the taste of water”
➡️Organisation: “ I don’t time to train/walk/prep food”
➡️Sleep Hygiene: “I like to binge watch Netflix in bed”
➡️Self Control: “I can’t stay within my limits with alcohol and food at the weekend”

And you wonder why you can’t make progress?!

Change is hard, I get it!

We all have 🐂💩 excuses we tell ourselves to let us off the hook, and to stay within our comfort zone. It may be a s**tty place to be but we’re comfortable there, we understand it, it’s our safe place.

If you want to make progress, you need to face your excuses head on and do the damn work.

Make change your priority! You don’t need to do it all at once, tackle each priority one at a time. When one is track, move to the next, and so on.

✨Have you tried every vegetable there is? Have you tried cooking them different ways?
✨Have you thought to add some fruit juice for flavour to your water?
✨How long do you spend watching tv and looking at your phone? Could you swap an hour to prep food twice a week, 3 hours a week to train, 20 mins a day to walk?
✨Could you cut out or change to the drinks you consume, or prepare satisfying healthier food to have on hand the following day?

When Life Throws You Curveballs: How I Rebounded From My Recent Setback" 🔄🥊

Like I mentioned before, there will ALWAYS be setbacks at some point in time. Whether it's an injury, sickness, or just life overtaking you 🤕🤒🌪️

My own recent setback? My planned build for an upcoming photoshoot went to absolute s*%t! 😂 My mind was all in for the process, but my body had other ideas 🤷‍♀️

At the beginning of my journey, I mentioned that my digestion was acting up, making it difficult to get in adequate calories. 🥗🍎

Summer rolled in, and all I craved was fruit and salad, which again, made it tough to consume enough calories. 🍉🥦

Then came the trifecta. I got hit with sinus issues in August, leaving me with near-constant headaches (which don't mix well with weightlifting). 😷 And to make matters worse, the decongestants and pain meds messed up my stomach, so my food intake dropped again. A double whammy! 💊🤢

Last week, when I was due to start my cut, I found myself lighter than when I started. 😳 I thought long and hard about it. Sure, I could have comfortably started the cut, but I knew I wouldn't be happy with the final results. 🤔

I'm all about being strong, both inside and out. If I had gone ahead with the cut, yes, I'd be lean, but I'd also end up looking scrawny. And that's NOT a message I want to send. 🙅‍♀️💪

Have I quit? Absof*ckinglutely NOT! 🚫

I've pushed back the date from Dec 2nd to March 2nd—rebooking confirmed this week! 🗓️👏

Now, with a clean slate and 3 months to build, my appetite is back with a bang! 🍽️🔥

Moral of the story: DON'T QUIT, READJUST! 👊💡

3 fitness insights for women💗

1️⃣ Slow Down in the Gym 🐢 Ladies, the gym isn't a race. Forget the rush; it's not about how many exercises you can cram into an hour. Instead, slow down your reps and ensure you're taking ample rest, especially before intense sets. If you're constantly on the move and tackling more than 5 exercises within an hour, it's time to re-evaluate. Quality over quantity always wins.

2️⃣ Ditch the Food Phobia 🍽 Surprisingly, many women that approach me with a fat loss goal, reveal they've been under-eating or excessively limiting their food intake. Continual food restriction, whether it's sticking to the calorie count from your last diet or fearing weight gain, isn't your friend. Understand that your metabolism isn't broken, but it does adapt. Feed it right, and you'll be on your way to success.

3️⃣ The Perpetual Weight Loss Loop 🔄
If you're always on a fat loss mission, jumping from one diet to the next, it's time to pause. This yo-yo pattern not only slows down progress but also preconditions your metabolism for fat storage. Focus on maintaining a balanced intake and boosting your strength. Though it might take longer to achieve your goal size, the journey will be sustainable and the results lasting.

🔍 Do these points resonate with you?
✨Let me guide you on the right path. DM or tap on the "work with me" link in my bio for a no-strings-attached chat.

My Role Models: The relentless spirit of grit and grace🎬

Growing up, my father instilled a principle in me: "When you're knocked down in a fight, you keep getting back up."

In a recent chat with a client (from my generation), we reminisced about our pre-Internet childhood. Our role models? Fierce women from the big screen. 🍿

Who else recalls Sigourney Weaver in 'Aliens'? Her strength, intelligence, and capability equaled any man's. Far from a damsel in distress, she was the warrior we admired. And let's not forget Vasquez, effortlessly doing chin-ups, breaking stereotypes. And Sarah Conner from 'T2'? An epitome of resilience.

These characters weren't just entertaining; they symbolised the relentless spirit I yearned for — one that didn't wallow in self-pity but tackled challenges head-on.

Life's not a polished Instagram feed or a fairytale movie. It's raw, unpredictable, and no knight in shining armor is coming to the rescue. **You** have to be your own hero.

I've rebuilt my physique from ground zero multiple times, each instance refining my mettle. This year? It really pushed me to my limits. Thoughts like "Can I do this, again?" flooded me. But, I remembered my essence, dusted off, and re-entered the arena. Because this unwavering mindset is now woven into my very fabric.

In the end, here's my truth: Knock me down, and I'll rise even stronger. 💪

If you're chasing a quick fix, sorry to break it to you: it's a mirage. True success? It's a marathon, not a sprint. So, when life throws curveballs, dodge, get up, and keep sprinting!

 

Check-in time: 18 weeks and counting! ⏳

Switched things up this week by capturing my progress during a mess around in the gym rather than the usual check-in snapshots. 🏋️‍♀️ Sometimes, it's in these candid moments that we see our progress in a whole new light. Check these screenshots, where after running it through a Lightroom preset for clarity, my leg definition stood out - a happy surprise, considering my lower body tends to retain more fat! 💪🎉 (Swipe left for a side-by-side comparison with the original image for complete transparency.)

Stat-wise, things have remained steady – no fluctuations in weight or measurements.

However, it's not been smooth sailing on the digestive front. 😕 The past couple of weeks have been a bit tough, with discomfort after meals and a waning appetite making it challenging to hit my caloric target. I've been falling short by almost 100 calories on average. My goal for the upcoming week? Focus on setting my digestion right and ensure I meet my calorie goals before I make any further tweaks to my intake. 🍽️

Now, let's talk about training...and it's been nothing short of phenomenal! 🌟 Each session has me strengthening my game and steadily progressing on each exercise. I confess, I felt a huge dent in my ego when I got back into my training properly, my weights and performance were waaaaay down on my previous standards - especially concerning my lower body. But hey, who doesn't love a good comeback story? Seeing myself progress and regain my strength has been a major confidence boost, and I'm all set to take things up a notch! 💯

✨Need support and guidance with your training or nutrition?
Follow the link🔗 in my Bio or DM 📲 me to arrange an obligation-free chat 💜

Embracing New Goals! 🌟

For the past year and a half, my main focus has been supporting others in reaching their fitness goals. While my own goals took a backseat during this time. Truthfully, I didn't have anything specific to aim for and I just focused on maintaining what I had already built. However, the past year took its toll, and I ended up losing a significant 5-6 kg. 😔💪

But now, I'm ready to shift gears and prioritise my own goals once again. I'm thrilled to share that I've set a new goal for myself—one that I never would have dreamed of pursuing before. It's something that fills me with both excitement and fear: a photoshoot. 📸 As someone who has always shied away from the camera, this is a major step outside my comfort zone. However, it's time to elevate the quality of the visuals I use on my website etc. Those blurry screenshots from videos just won't cut it anymore. It's time for a change! 📷🙈

So, I've taken the leap and booked a date for the photoshoot—Dec 1st, 20 weeks away! I intentionally scheduled it far in advance to give myself ample time to regain my peak form and feel confident and empowered. I want to present my very best self for the shoot. It's an exciting challenge that motivates me to push my limits and rediscover my full potential. 💃✨

This journey is also an incredible opportunity for me to put my new Nutrition qualification to the test by applying it to myself. 🥦📚 The qualification focuses on helping clients achieve their best physique within a set timeline, making it perfect for transformations, photoshoots, and even competition preparation. 💪💯

I invite you to join me on this journey as I work towards rediscovering my former self. Each week, I'll be sharing updates on my progress and the process I go through. Let's embark on this exciting path of growth and transformation! 📈💪

I'm genuinely excited to see what this 40-year-old body can accomplish this year! Let's do this. 💪🎉

20 weeks to go! Time to make amazing things happen! ⏳✨

Answer to a common weight loss question⚖️

First things first, IF you are in a calorie DEFICIT you should start to see the scales drop by about the 2 week mark📉

If you have calculated your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), reduced your calories accordingly, and are not seeing any reduction on the scales within that timeframe, then why might that be?

Your predicted TDEE is not correct.

TDEE is calculated on your body mass, age, s*x, and activity level and based on what we'd expect to see with the "average" person. But everybody isn't average and your TDEE may be below average, so a new adjustment of your calories should be made at this point if seeing no change.

Another reason your TDEE may not be correct is that you may have been maintaining at a lower calorie mark after for example, coming off a previous weight loss phase. If so, then your current calorie level is your true TDEE and calories will need to be dropped below this to see a change on the scales. If you have been maintaining on unsustainable calories then I suggest looking at doing a reverse diet before attempting a fat loss phase.

Some other reasons why you might not be seeing a drop on the scales:
❌You aren't accurately tracking your energy consumption enough (teas, coffees, that untracked lick of the peanut butter off the spoon, guestimating, meals out)
❌You aren't getting enough quality sleep, 7-9 hours is the recommended amount.
❌You may be retaining water. This can be caused by your menstrual cycle, addition of extra carbs or simply not drinking enough water.

So ask yourself these questions👇👇👇

Have I been maintaining on lower calories than my predicted TDEE?

🤔Have I been tracking accurately?
🤔Have I been sleeping enough?
🤔Have I been drinking enough water?
🤔Am I stressed?

Need help with your nutrition?

✨Online Coaching slots available

📲 DM or follow the 🔗 in my bio for more info.

Worth a read if you suffer from anxiety😵

The past year I’ve felt like my anxiety was through the roof, sure I’ve dealt with a lot of change and new challenges but it felt beyond this. My days felt like they were driven by panic, a racing mind and ultimately an overwhelming state of chaos🥴

Then I noticed something….My anxiety peaked around midday…. Right after my usual pot of coffee☕

Did I really have anxiety, or did coffee play a role?🤔

I decided to test it, I cut my delicious coffee out completely😢

It only took a couple of days to realise, but YES it absolutely was the coffee, well a major part of it was. No longer was I feeling half as panicky and crippled by anxiety. Sure I still have a certain level of it, but not the kind that sent me spiralling and left feeling unable to focus.

So why does caffeine have an impact on anxiety??

Caffeine stimulates the autonomic (non-conscious) nervous system, which can cause effects like a racing heart, feelings of panic, and increased anxiousness if you are sensitive to it. Ultimately, it triggers or emulates the fight or flight response.

Now this may not work for everyone as we all have different tolerances for caffeine. One person can drink cup after cup but for others like me who are more sensitive to it, one cup can be enough to tip you over the anxiety edge.

If you do suffer from anxiety and love your coffee, I definitely think it’s worth trying to eliminate for a while and see how you feel. Trust me I LOVE my freshly pressed pot of coffee, BUT I much prefer not feeling overrun with chaos 😅

🍾👑 GOAL-DIGGER 8 WEEK TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGE👑🍾

Want to smash your goals and get the results you desire in time for summer?

Then you need this challenge in your life!!⬇

💜Designed to build a successful goal orientated mindset and move YOU 1% closer to YOUR goals, every, single, day!

💜Optimised Gym Programming focussed on building a Strong, Feminine and Hourglass physique⏳, with a particular focus on building firm, round Glutes🍑
(Customisable to your goals & availability)

💜Calories & Macros set for you for YOUR goals. Plus receive a free “Flexible Dieting Guide” and shopping list suggestions to make your journey easier.

💜Full support & accountability from me your Coach, in-App messaging, weekly check-ins, & Q&A’s. Plus FaceBook Group Support & Motivation from other ladies on a similar journey.

💜All delivered via the exclusive & convenient Alpha-Female Coaching App

💫This is the perfect challenge for those who are serious about hitting their goals in time for summer, and beyond! 

💫You’ll learn how to train smarter and optimise your time in the gym, still eat the foods you love and learn the method for successful goal accomplishment, all whilst naturally building a set of healthy habits that particularly suit YOUR lifestyle. 

Challenge Starts Saturday April 29th - Ending June 23rd

Early Bird special price of €147 ends Sunday April 16th - Full price of €197 applies thereafter.

🔗Follow the link in my Bio to SIGN UP, or for more information.

COMPETITION🚨🚨🚨
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Best time of day to train❓⏰🏋🏼‍♂️

Firstly, the best time of the day for YOU to train is the time that best fits with YOUR lifestyle.

Over the past 17 years I have gone through phases of training both before or straight after work.
Saying that I do think mornings have an edge, certainly on evenings, why, hear me out…

💜In the morning you feel more re-freshed 😃
🧡In the evening after a days work your nervous system is likely a bit more fatigued🥱
💜Training in the morning allows you to free yourself from that responsibility and continue with your day feeling righteous💪
🧡Training in the evening may give you the chance to talk yourself out of it over the day, “oh god it’s been such a rough day at work, the last thing I want to do now is train” 🥴
💜Training in the morning will set you up for the day energy wise 💃🏼
🧡Training in the evening (depending how late) can make it take longer for to unwind and settle down to relax before bed😳

💫But let me tell you something else about mornings!!
After working the early shift in a few gyms (Ireland & UK) I’ve seen a common thread… Those people you see at the gym first thing in the morning are the same people you see there at that same time, day in and day out, it’s non-negotiable.

Those people have their s**t together, big time!

What I’ve also noticed about them is that they usually are highly successful people professionally, excelling in the work place or owners of their own businesses. From my experience they are also the nicest and friendliest bunch of people you will find at the gym🤗

IMO those are the people you want to have around you, being around them is both incredibly motivating and inspiring! They say “if you lay with dogs, you will get up with fleas” and the same is true the other way around, if you surround yourself with successful, motivating and inspiring people then that is bound to rub off on you too!

What’s your take on it, which time of the day do you prefer to train and why?
Comment below ⬇️

Why I called my brand Alpha-Female Coaching💁🏼‍♀️

When I first thought of how I wanted to help women, I knew I wanted to be able to help and create a band of strong, independent and confident women.

The first thing I came to think of when thinking of a strong group of women, was the Amazons. 

For those who don’t know… in Greek mythology the Amazons were members of a woman-only society, bound by the bond of sisterhood. They were a group of female warriors who could match men in physical agility and strength in the art of combat. They lived under the assumption that women are equal to men (not better) and they could be just as noble, brave and heroic. They were the protectors, the providers, and they were the nurturers. They were powerful female players, with a strong belief in their capabilities! Like many modern women today.

When collating my research I found myself coming back to the words ‘’Alpha Female’’, they had Alpha energy, they were, Alpha Females! And seeing as the name Amazon is pretty much taken I thought it would be the perfect alternative 😂. In fact ,I love it far more.

The words ‘’Alpha Female’’ makes me think of some pretty amazing women I already know in my own life, clients and friends who sum that name up quite perfectly. They are women who truly inspire me in their abilities and their heart. They are absolute weapons professionally, but are still true sisters who uplift each other to reach greater heights💓Strong independent women who are not afraid to go after what they want! 💪

I also know only too well how the one ball that usually gets dropped is their self-care, the gym rarely gets a look in, never mind trying to figure out the best way to get the results they desire. And that’s exactly why I want to be able to help them and others in similar life situations.

Alpha-Female Coaching is about building up and supporting strong independent women to be female bosses at the gym, not just the boardroom.

🌸BTW this isn’t solely for women in the boardroom, being an Alpha-Female is more than anything a state of mind, an inner confidence and a belief that she can handle anything that comes her way, with grace.