EMF Coaching

As a powerlifter with coeliac disease, trying to gain weight.

I’m chasing something specific here - filling out my weight class a little more (after weighing in super tiny last year 🤭) adding kgs to my lifts, and actually fulfilling my potential in this sport.

That takes eating enough, consistently.

But it’s not just that simple

Coeliac disease means digestive health has to come first - I have done a lot of trail and error with what fuels me the best and what my gut can actually handle. Training doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and neither does eating.

So I’m not gaining weight for the sake of it. I’m doing this slowly and intentionally, prioritising muscle over just moving the number on the scale. Slower progress, but the right kind.

And before y’all get mad at me, I added some chilli sauce for flavour after the photos (but I also do lowkey love plain ass food 😂)

These are some of the meals getting me there. 👇

You didn't skip the session. You just skipped the part that makes it worth anything.

Undereating after training feels productive. It isn't.

Your body can't repair, refuel or adapt without the input to do it with, so you end up doing the hard part for a fraction of the result.

Fuelling properly after a session isn't separate from your training. It's the training.

If you play sport, your body has to tolerate a lot.

Running. Sprinting. Jumping. Changing direction. Contact. Repeated efforts. Fatigue.

And then we add your actual life on top of that too.

Work. Poor sleep. Stress. Busy weeks. Extra sessions. Less recovery.

So when someone keeps picking up injuries, I don’t think the most useful answer is:

“I’ve just got bad knees.”
“My hamstrings are always dodgy.”
“I’m just injury prone.”

I want to know whether your capacity actually matches the demands you’re placing on your body.

That’s one of the reasons strength training matters so much for athletes.

It isn’t just about lifting heavier weights.

Good strength work helps build your ability to tolerate force and gives your muscles, tendons and supporting structures a better base for the demands of your sport.

Essentially, we’re trying to raise the ceiling.

But strength is only one part of the conversation.

If you’ve recently been injured, ask yourself:

Did you actually complete your rehab?

Or did the pain disappear, so you stopped the exercises and went straight back to normal training?

Because pain-free and fully prepared for sport aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Your rehab needs to bridge the gap between where you were injured and what your sport is eventually going to ask from you again.

And then we need to look at the bigger picture.

Maybe your normal training load was manageable…

but then work got ridiculous, you slept badly all week, played an extra match and squeezed another run in because you felt like you “should”.

Your body is dealing with the whole picture.

There is no programme that can make you completely injury-proof.

But we can make you better prepared.

Before you decide your body is the problem, ask whether you’ve actually given it the preparation it needs.

If you take your sport seriously, your strength work should help you perform in it - not just give you something to do in the gym.

DM me 💫PERFORM💫 if you want your training built around making you stronger and more capable for your sport.

It’s summer. Kids are off still school. Holidays are booked or you’re just returning. Routines are a mess for everyone right now, not just you.

But here’s what happens in individual sports especially: nobody around you clocks that missing a week is normal.

There’s no teammate texting “see you Thursday.” No changing room keeping you accountable. Just you, deciding in your own head whether 2 missed sessions means you’ve fallen off completely.

You haven’t.

Progress isn’t a streak you break. It’s a direction you keep coming back to.

The athletes who actually get better this summer aren’t the ones who never miss a session.

They’re the ones who don’t let missing 2 turn into missing 12.

If your training’s felt patchy the last few weeks, that’s not failure, that’s just August.

Show up when you can, and don’t let a normal wobble talk you out of the whole thing.

Comment “SUMMER” if your routine’s been all over the place lately, you’re not the only one. We’ll make sure your next week is bullet proofed for success x