In this episode, Lou chat to Olivia King, a former professional athlete in swimming and rowing, as the guest. Olivia shares her journey from starting competitive swimming at a young age to transitioning to rowing and making the Canadian national team. She discusses her intense training regimen, including swimming 10k in a pool after a planned open water swim got canceled. Olivia provides insights into her training techniques, such as focusing on breathing, stroke rates, and using paddles for resistance training. Their conversation delves into the mental aspect of swimming, including thoughts during long swims and the importance of goal setting.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Olivia found a balance between school and swimming by transitioning to a public high school to experience a more normal high school life while still focusing on swimming and maintaining good grades.

• Olivia emphasized the importance of race simulation in training, where she practiced her longest swim two weeks before the event to prepare for the actual race conditions and challenges.

• Olivia highlighted the significance of breathing technique in swimming, emphasizing the importance of breathing to the opposite side to maintain balance and efficiency in the water.

• Olivia discussed the use of paddles as a form of resistance training in swimming to improve arm strength and stroke efficiency, providing a way to enhance performance and technique.

• Olivia shared insights into her mental approach during swimming, mentioning how she engages in self-reflection, technique correction, and even sings songs in her head to stay focused and motivated during long swims.

BEST MOMENTS

"I was taken to a pool, had to try out. So like little eight year old Olivia with the cap and goggles on got into lane eight and this coach watched me swim up and down the pool."

"I think that elite level of sport at such a young age was, it definitely had its benefits."

"I was so against waterproof headphones, only because I think the beauty of sport in general, and I think the beauty of individual sports, especially like being able to go for a run, or go for a swim, or even just go for a hike."

"I always teach the little kids this is you know when you go to blow into a tissue yeah blow your nose that's you breathe out under the water yeah so that when you go to turn your head to breathe all you have everything's out of you all you got to do is suck in."

"Swimming really has been like the OG of Restricted breathing and working on your VO2 and your cardio that way."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

Today, Lou dives into another Q&A session, addressing various questions from clients and Instagram followers. The episode covers topics such as the challenges of losing belly fat, strategies for staying motivated to exercise in cold weather, tips for improving mind-to-muscle connection during workouts, and the importance of habits in achieving fitness goals. Lou provides practical advice on managing calorie deficits, optimizing workout performance, and balancing weight loss goals with maintaining muscle mass.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Losing belly fat is not achieved through spot reduction, but rather through a calorie deficit and overall fat loss.

• Mind-to-muscle activation can enhance muscle engagement during workouts, leading to better results.

• Building habits and discipline are crucial for achieving fitness goals, especially when working from home.

• Walking and increasing movement throughout the day can help reach step goals even when working remotely.

• Balancing heavier weights with proper form and range of motion is essential for muscle growth and injury prevention during workouts.

BEST MOMENTS

"You cannot spot reduce fat. So wherever you likely want to remove fat from you generally can't straight away like you can't remove it from that area by trying to work out that area."

"The fact that you're not hungry is amazing and it's down to the fact that you are fueling your body extremely well with whole foods, protein, vegetables."

"Change happens when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of doing the thing that makes the change."

"You can easily rack up 7,000 steps just from doing three 20-30 minute walks a day easily."

"If you do go for a full range of motion you have potential for an injury if your form is not correct."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

In today's episode, Lou speaks to Heather Masterson, a performance nutritionist who shares her insights on nutrition for athletes, particularly focusing on the importance of fueling correctly for training and performance. Heather discusses her journey into nutrition, emphasizing the significance of understanding individual nutrition needs and developing personalized strategies. Lou and Heather consider topics such as carb loading, training the gut, and considerations for female athletes, including managing nutrition around the menstrual cycle.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Nutrition plays a crucial role in supporting training, recovery, and overall performance in athletes.

• It is essential to develop personalized nutrition strategies based on individual needs, goals, and training demands rather than following generic guidelines.

• Carbohydrate loading before endurance events like marathons can help maximize energy stores and improve performance. It involves increasing carbohydrate intake in the days leading up to the event.

• Gradually introducing fueling strategies during training sessions can help train the gut to tolerate and utilize carbohydrates effectively, especially during long runs or races.

• Understanding the impact of the menstrual cycle on training and performance can help female athletes manage symptoms and optimize nutrition and training strategies accordingly.

BEST MOMENTS

"Sydney is just so busy with running and sport. Everybody's doing something every day. You are included in that. You do not sit down."

"When we're training, any kind of training that's moderate to higher intensity, carbohydrates will be our main fuel source. And we're pulling on carbohydrates that are stored, say, in our muscles and our liver when we're going over that hour, 90 minute mark."

"How good is your energy? Is your performance improving? Is your sleep improving? Are you picking up niggles, aches, pains? Are you constantly thinking about food, training?"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

The latest episode of The Exercise Engineer podcast features a Q&A session where the host answers various questions from listeners and clients. The episode begins with a reflection on personal growth over the past year, highlighting achievements and areas for improvement. Lou delves into topics such as preventing burnout, the benefits of commitment, and tips for beginner runners. Practical advice is shared on topics like pacing, building endurance, and proper nutrition for fitness goals. Listeners are encouraged to set goals, push past mental barriers, and focus on sustainable progress. The episode wraps up with a call to action for listeners to share the podcast with others and stay tuned for future episodes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Q&A sessions are beneficial for reflecting on personal growth and achievements over time.

• Commitment to long-term goals is essential for success and sustainability in any endeavour.

• Proper rest, nutrition, and recovery are crucial for preventing burnout and achieving fitness goals.

• Building pace as a beginner runner involves starting slower, practising different paces, and ignoring the brain's urge to stop.

• Consistent practice and pushing past mental barriers are key to building resilience and improving performance in running.

BEST MOMENTS

"I just think this one is, it's an interesting one to ask yourself on a, I think a regular basis this should be asked, but"

"I'm proud that I can personally help people and change people's lives for the better."

"Yes, you can eat over your calorie goal every day and still lose fat."

"So really important that we know these different paces but as a beginner runner you don't need to know this."

"I say a lot of the time, like when your body tells you, when your brain is telling you to stop, you're only at 40%."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

In this episode, Lou shares her insights on growing social media and creating engaging content. She discusses her journey from being an engineer to a fitness coach, and how she has grown her social media following to over 21,500 followers. Lou emphasizes the importance of consistency, value, and variety in content creation, sharing practical tips for coaches and individuals looking to improve their social media presence. She also looks at the significance of filming everyday activities to create quick and engaging content, utilizing different styles and formats to keep the audience interested.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Consistency is key in content creation, even if the results are not immediate.

• Film everything you do to have a variety of content to work with.

• Utilize different styles of content creation, such as point of view reels, trending audios, face-to-camera, voiceovers, and client reviews.

• Repurpose content by creating different variations of the same idea in various styles.

• Use simple editing tools like CapCut to quickly and easily create engaging content from everyday activities.

BEST MOMENTS

"I think a lot of people are in my position where this is their full-time job as well. And social media is a full-time job."

"So do the stuff that you do every day. And then just film it all. Having little short bursts of clips of your whole life makes it so easy to put it into a full day's worth."

"The more different reels, the more different points of view, the different angles of you running that you can get, the better."

"I think that's a really solid bit of advice. Because again, the other day we were flying and I was like, I need a piece of content. I need to make something now."

"It's one of those things where that happens. Now, where it comes to like how do you action that yourself what you said with the pillars perfect."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

In this episode, Lou covers a range of topics, from struggling with hitting protein goals for breakfast to tips on not overthinking before a long run. She also addresses the use of creatine in a fat loss phase, the impact of menopause on fitness and health, and the common feeling of guilt when missing a workout. With practical advice and personal insights, the host encourages listeners to prioritize their health and well-being while navigating challenges in their fitness journey.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Focus on what you can do during busy weeks, prioritize self-care, and avoid feeling guilty for missing workouts.

• Monitor symptoms, consider protein intake before bed, engage in short burst workouts, and prioritize self-care with a "golden hour."

• Creatine can be beneficial for performance and muscle growth, even during a fat loss phase, but may lead to temporary water weight gain.

• Shift focus from guilt to understanding the reasons behind missed workouts and prioritize overall health and well-being.

• Emphasize protein intake, consider post-dinner walks, and practice strict fasting between meals for better digestion and glucose management.

BEST MOMENTS

"Struggling with hitting protein goals for breakfast. I have oats and berries but hate the idea of adding protein powder to them. Any tips here?"

"Any tips on not overthinking and getting in your own head before going for a long run? It's making me hate the run."

"Do diet breaks slash cheat meals help avoid the plateau when we diet?"

"How to balance work life and exercise without feeling guilty?"

"I'm in a fat loss phase. Is creatine useless in this sort of area?"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

In today's episode, Lou cats to world record holder and entrepreneur, Sophie Bennett. Sophie shares insights into her journey of achieving world records, including completing a 100-kilometer ski erg challenge. She delves into the concept of building resilience through incremental progress and the importance of setting achievable goals. Sophie also emphasizes the significance of surrounding oneself with individuals pursuing similar challenges to stay motivated and overcome mental barriers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Embrace discomfort as a means to push your limits and achieve your goals.

• Break down challenges into smaller, manageable tasks to build up resilience over time.

• Being around people who are working towards similar goals can provide motivation and inspiration.

• Plan ahead and set up systems to make it easier to take the first step towards your goals.

• Begin with small steps, such as running for 10 minutes or setting achievable daily goals, to build momentum towards larger accomplishments.

BEST MOMENTS

"If I know I can do 5K on the ski erg, then I know I can do 10, because once you've done five, you've only got five to go. And if you know you can do 10, then you know you can do 20, because you've only got 10 to go."

"Doing something hard isn't doing something that is out there and obscene and new and extraordinary and all these things. Doing something hard is doing something you've never done before."

"Just because I do hard things doesn't mean I have to do every hard thing."

"For me, for business, getting started was the fear of having a 9-to-5. The fear of four weeks annual leave gives me the heebie-jeebies. Honestly, I just can't. I have so much to do. I can't fit that into four weeks! There's so much of the world to see."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.

Today, Lou explores the possibility of using ChatGPT to generate a training and meal plan for her next marathon. She examines the details of the plans being generated, analyzing the training schedule, meal plans, and the rationale behind them. Lou considers the adequacy of the plans, highlighting the emphasis on whole foods, macronutrient balance, meal timing, and the importance of recovery strategies.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The meal plan provided by ChatGPT focused on whole foods, emphasizing balance, variety, and enjoyment, while excluding processed foods and sweet treats.

• The meal plan lacked sufficient protein intake, highlighting the importance of adequate protein for muscle repair and maintenance, especially during a calorie deficit.

• ChatGPT emphasized key training principles such as periodization, specificity, and recovery strategies to prevent overtraining and injury.

• The meal plan highlighted the significance of macronutrient balance, including carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle repair, and fats for hormone production and overall health.

• ChatGPT recommended supplements like multivitamins and protein powder, along with optimal meal timing for pre- and post-workout nutrition to support recovery and performance.

BEST MOMENTS

"It's important to listen to your body, monitor progress and make adjustments as needed to ensure that the plans align with your individual needs and goals."

"A calorie is a calorie and in order to lose fat we need to be in a calorie deficit. However, if you eat crap you're gonna feel crap."

"I'm so impressed that it hasn't given me a chocolate bar to eat in my meal plan but obviously it hasn't, that's just stupid."

"It's really interesting how much emphasis it put on recovery and prioritising rest, sleep, recovery strategies to prevent overtraining and injury."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/theexerciseengineer
lou@theexerciseengineer.com

HOST BIO

Lou's personal journey with body confidence and food struggles began at the age of 15, where overeating and guilt around food consumed her. But everything changed during the lockdown in March 2020. Determined to regain control, Lou immersed herself in research, found joy in working out in her garden, and started tracking her nutrition and steps. Surprisingly, she lost a stone in less than three months and discovered a newfound love for fitness.

Fueling her passion, Lou pursued personal training qualifications and launched her Instagram page in September 2020. After months of building a solid foundation, branding, and gaining relevant expertise, she started helping others achieve what once felt impossible—losing fat, feeling empowered, and loving the journey without restrictions. With numerous success stories, digital products, and a thriving membership program called Train with Lou, Lou now coaches, teaches, and learns about food, exercise, and mindset.