Lifestyle Science with Jayne Lo: Elite Personal Training tips and how to fuel yourself

She tells us how she fuels her body for performance.

Welcome to our latest series, Lifestyle Science. These are interviews we are doing with POC leaders in the health and wellness industries where we deep dive into their lifestyle. They give us their personal guide to living well so your in touch with emerging wellness trends, nutrition and self-care for glowing mental and physical health.

Jayne Lo is an Elite Personal Trainer at Third Space in London, part of a small team of industry leading trainers with experience in elite sport and 10,000 hours of session experience.

Growing up in Hong Kong, she always loved sport and she was a competitive swimmer and distance runner in school. She is a performance athlete - she competes in Olympic Weightlifting events, Crossfit competitions and previously represented the UK at the Arnold’s and the Amateur Olympia as an IFBB bikini competitor. She has an impressive record of qualifications in performance nutrition, weightlifting and strength training.

Jayne is a strength and conditioning specialist and she works with her clients to help them find a sustainable training and fuelling programme with their busy lifestyles. Given her background in training and fuelling, we sat down with Jayne to chat about her best training and fuelling tips and all her own lifestyle must-haves.

My favourite protein products:

I’m usually on the go and don’t always have structured time in my day to eat proper meals until dinner, so my go to protein snacks are Barebell protein bars. I also love making smoothies/smoothie bowls at home using whey protein powder.

My favourite is coconut whey and it’s delicious mixed into a shake with frozen mango, frozen banana, almond milk and a bit of Skyr Greek yoghurt.

**Jayne’s favourite protein shake**

Blend together:
coconut whey protein powder
frozen mango
frozen banana
almond milk
a bit of Skyr Greek yoghurt

Daily supplements I take:

I have much better training sessions when I have caffeine beforehand (also backed by science) so my go to is a can of NOCCO whilst I’m warming up.

I also take vitamin D3, vitamin C and zinc for my immune system and recovery, and creatine for my performance.

When I’m run down, I like to put Phizz tablets into my water to ensure I’m getting my daily vitamin needs in and also electrolytes.

Carbs I include in my daily diet:

Again due to convenience, I live off bagel thins, Soreen loaf and cereal when I haven’t had time to cook.

Otherwise pasta, oats, rice and noodles are my staples. And when I have a little bit more time I love roasted baby new potatoes and sweet potatoes.

My stance on eating rice:

(we asked Jayne this because growing up in Asia, rice is such a big part of our diet but it gets such a bad rep these days!)

Rice is a huge part of my diet and like any carb (and any food in fact), moderation is key.

Rice gets a bad rep because people don’t understand the science behind weight gain.

Being in an energy surplus is what causes someone to put on weight, and because Asian food is calorie dense in general (think the ghee used in cooking, coconut milk, using fatty cuts of meat, the amount of sauces/oils/sugar used in cooking) people assume it’s the rice.

A meal I like to cook for dinner regularly:

I go through phases and at the moment I’ve been making lots of prawn Pad Thai at home. It’s also easy to make in batches. I also love making bavette steak, stir fry greens and rice.

My favourite post-workout fuel:

Anything low fat, high carb and high protein! The shake I mentioned above is a go to if I’m at home. If I’m at work then some form of protein (chicken or whey protein) and a low fat source of carb (rice, pasta, oats, cereal etc.)

My food philosophy when I eat out:

I eat everything but try to be mindful of my portion sizes of foods that are calorific and try to make sure my calorie intake the rest of the day has been lower.

Favourite workout routine:

Anything that challenges me! I compete in CrossFit and it's a very varied sport where there is always more to learn and improve in. The workouts are so different every day that I can't pinpoint a favourite.

“For those who may struggle to get their heads around fuelling properly, it may be useful to change their training focus - a focus away from appearance and instead to fuel performance instead. When you start to deviate away from how you look and focus on how you perform, your adherence will get better.”

— Jayne Lo

Importance of weight training for women:

Weight training helps strengthen joints, ligaments as well as muscle tissue which is important as we age as it prevents us from injuries in day to day life (think trips, falls, or even carrying suitcases and children). It also reduces the risk of osteoporosis by preserving bone density. Exercise is also good for heart health and keeping the lungs healthy, helps improve sleep quality and can reduce depression.

Things to keep in mind when looking for a personal trainer :

Find someone who genuinely cares, and someone who has a growth mindset as they will continue to develop their skillset to improve as a coach. Good trainers would make sure to educate you as well as just deliver the session and count reps.
They will provide you with support and guidance outside of sessions too, such as training programme and nutrition advice. This usually comes with an extra cost of course but if you find a good coach, it's worth paying extra for their help if it means you'll reach your goal faster!

My favourite workout shoes:

My favourite training shoes at the minute are R.A.Ds!

They are functional fitness trainers that are great for both lifting and conditioning workouts. They have a flat, stable base but are snug around the ankle and not too rigid that I can't run in them.

My dream health vacation:

Anywhere with a beach or a lot of nature and also has delicious food from local produce. I also love cities with lots of culture, but also has a big food, coffee and fitness scene.

How I take care of my body:

I don't do this enough but a monthly or bimonthly massage would be great for my recovery!

When I had the time, I would also spend 45 mins on my rest days to stretch, mobilise and foam roll.

At the moment, my active recovery days always involve a long walk (15-20k steps) and I tend to do this without any technology on me to give my head (and eyes) a break from the screen time.

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