Darren Holness PT

11/09/2025

05/09/2025

Hot flushes, brain fog, sleepless nights, weight gain around the belly… menopause can feel like your body’s turning against you.
But here’s what no one tells you: strength training is one of the most powerful tools you have to fight back. 🏋️‍♀️
It’s not about lifting the heaviest weights or spending hours in the gym — it’s about giving your body what it needs to stay strong, mobile, and confident through every stage.
This is where the real change happens 👇”

✨ Save this post for when you need the reminder: you are stronger than your symptoms.

03/09/2025

I've had a love-hate relationship with steady-state cardio, if I’m honest.

What is steady-state cardio? Apart from being boring at times 😂😂.

Steady-state means keeping your heart rate at a consistent pace for 30 minutes or more, unlike HIIT training, where you alternate between intense bursts and rest.

But running on a treadmill for 45 minutes isn’t my idea of fun, and if I forget my headphones, you can forget about it!

However, it has its own unique benefits for health that you can’t get from weights or HIIT training.

Slow, steady cardio increases the size of the left ventricle of the heart, allowing you to pump out more oxygenated blood per beat. This is why your heart rate slows down as you get fitter—it’s doing more with each pump.

This helps you recover quicker, adapt better to other forms of training, and reduces markers of stress, which can speed up your results.

Steady-state cardio also has significant benefits for disease prevention, sleep improvement, and mental health.

But for some, it can be tedious. That’s why I like to mix it up! Set a timer for 30 minutes and pick 3 pieces of equipment. Set a goal for each, and keep rotating for the duration.

Here’s what I did:

500-meter run
100-meter ski
10 calories on the assault bike
You can get more adventurous than this, but the point is, you don’t need to stay on the same piece of equipment for 30 minutes!

If you’d like a free 30-minute cardio workout you can do at home or in the gym (that’s not dull as dishwater), DM me "workout," and I’ll send you something!

17/06/2025

“I thought fasted workouts were better…”

Meet Sarah.

She came to me doing 6am fasted HIIT sessions but wasn’t seeing the results she wanted.

Imagine getting up at 5:30am to work out but not seeing any progress?

The problem wasn’t Sarah’s work ethic.

⸻

“I don’t get it — I train hard and eat healthy.”

Sarah had read that fasting was the key to burning fat.

And technically, you do burn more fat during fasted training.

But over the course of the day, you don’t burn more fat overall.

Instead, she felt drained, moody, and wasn’t recovering properly.

The issue? She was putting her body under too much stress.

⸻

Fasting is bad for women (especially paired with intense training)

Fasting + intense training = hormonal chaos

Here’s what happens:
• Women are more sensitive to stress. Cortisol (the stress hormone) is already high in the morning.
• Fasting and HIIT pushes it even higher.
• This can suppress the hypothalamus — the brain centre that regulates your cycle.
• That means lower LH & FSH → disrupted ovulation, low progesterone, and thyroid suppression.

⸻

❌ Why that matters for fat loss:

When energy availability is too low, your body gets defensive:
• It slows metabolism.
• It holds on to fat.
• It breaks down muscle.
• And it shuts down reproduction to conserve energy.

Sarah wasn’t “doing it wrong.”
Her body was just trying to survive.

⸻

✅ One simple change → big results

We added a small pre-workout snack:
🍌 Banana + protein yoghurt
🥚 Or eggs on toast
💧 Plus hydration

Within 2–3 weeks:
✅ Her cycle returned
✅ Mood + focus improved
✅ Workouts felt easier
✅ And yes—fat loss picked back up

⸻

📩 Tired of guessing?

Let’s personalise your training + nutrition so your body actually responds.

📬 DM me ‘HORMONES’ and I’ll send you a free Pre-Workout Fuel Guide for Women.

⸻

11/06/2025

🔥 Spiced Beef Tagine Mince Bowl – Easy, Warming, Full of Flavour! 🇲🇦
This one-pot wonder hits all the right notes:
✅ Lean beef mince
✅ Homemade tagine spice mix
✅ Roasted sweet potato
✅ Fluffy couscous
✅ Whipped avo with lemon & yogurt
All topped with fresh chilli, spring onion & a final squeeze of lemon 🍋

Healthy comfort food with a twist – packed with flavour, colour, and proper satisfying.

🎥 Recipe in the vid – save it & tag me if you give it a go! 👇

23/04/2025

💪 Women 40+ — You Probably Need More Protein Than You Think

For decades, almost all fitness and nutrition advice has been based on male bodies.

Even today, less than 10% of sports science studies focus exclusively on women. That’s not just frustrating — it’s risky. It means most women have been training, eating, and recovering based on research that wasn’t done on them.

But that’s changing — and it’s about time.
We’re finally seeing more studies that focus on women, especially those navigating perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.

What we now understand is that as women age, they may need more protein than they did in their 20s .

➡️ For example, one study showed that a woman in her 40s+ needs about 28g of protein post-workout to get the same muscle-building effect that a 20-something would get from just 17g. That’s a 65% difference — and most women never hear this.

📊 For women 40+, a smart daily protein goal is:
2.0–2.3g of protein per kg of bodyweight
(around 1–1.2g per lb), spaced out across the day.

This supports:
✅ Muscle retention
✅ Fat loss
✅ Bone density
✅ Brain function
✅ Hormonal health and menopause resilience

06/03/2025

🥢 Summer Rolls That Actually Taste INSANE! 🔥

These high-protein summer rolls are fresh, flavourful, and ridiculously easy to make. Perfect for a light meal or snack that still packs a punch. 💥

🥢 What You Need:

✅ Lean mince meat & prawns 🍤
✅ Five spice, garlic, salt, pepper 🧄
✅ Honey 🍯 (for that little sweetness)
✅ Spring onions, carrots, cucumber 🥕🥒
✅ Coriander & mint leaves 🌿
✅ Rice paper wraps

🥢 How to Make It:

1️⃣ Cook the mince & prawns with five spice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add a touch of honey for that balance of sweet & savoury.
2️⃣ Slice your fresh veggies – spring onions, carrots, cucumber.
3️⃣ Soak the rice paper wraps until soft.
4️⃣ Assemble & roll – add the meat, prawns, fresh herbs, and veggies, then wrap it up tight!
5️⃣ Dip & enjoy! 🌟 (Try it with a sweet chilli or peanut dipping sauce!)

🔥 Light, fresh & packed with protein! Let me know if you’re trying these! 👇💬

04/03/2025

🎙️ From Gym Hater to Fitness Advocate 💪

𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧

For most of his life, Chris hated the idea of going to the gym.
🏋️‍♂️ He started training with me, and something unexpected happened…
✅ He felt physically stronger
✅ His mental health improved
✅ He finally understood the true power of exercise beyond just aesthetics

🔥 Fitness isn’t just about looks—it’s about feeling better, living longer, and taking control of your health.

📢 Listen to his journey and why he’ll never look at exercise the same way again.

👇 Drop a comment if this resonates with you!

11/02/2025

📢 Monday Morning Weight Gain? Don’t Panic!

If you step on the scales after the weekend and see a higher number, it doesn’t mean you’ve gained fat.

Here’s what’s really happening:
✅ More food in your system = More weight on the scale
✅ Increased glycogen stores = More stored energy (which holds water)
✅ Water retention from extra carbs/sodium = Temporary fluctuations

Fat gain happens over time, not from a couple of extra meals. Stay consistent, drink water, move your body, and that number will settle. 💪

Drop a 🔥 in the comments if you needed this reminder today!

06/02/2025

Exercise is amazing for managing stress, but one mistake I see a lot is people forcing workouts into an already stressful week—then dropping in and out of it.

If this keeps happening, it might be worth taking a step back. Instead of adding another ‘to-do’ to your plate, use that free time for something you genuinely enjoy—something that helps you unwind and reset.

When your mind feels clearer, it’s much easier to start a new workout routine without it feeling overwhelming. Once you’re in a better headspace, you can actually stick with it and experience how much better exercise makes you feel!

29/01/2025

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this. For some people, weighing in too often can be mentally draining because the number on the scale fluctuates daily—even when you’re doing everything right.

Why? Because you’re not just measuring fat; you’re measuring your entire body weight, which can be influenced by:
✅ Food volume – Eat 500 calories of broccoli, and you’ll physically weigh more than if you ate 500 calories of chocolate, even though the calories are the same.
✅ Water retention – Hydration, glycogen stores, and even the time of the month can all affect scale weight.

💡 What’s the best approach?
👉 If fluctuations stress you out, weigh in less frequently (e.g., once a week).
👉 If you’re fine with daily changes, weighing every day and taking a weekly average gives a clearer trend.
👉 For the most accurate tracking, compare your weight to the same week in your cycle each month.

Bottom line? Don’t overthink it. Your progress isn’t defined by daily weigh-ins—patience and consistency matter most! 🚀🔥