Recent Women’s Fitness cover model Megan Davies is a Beachbody On Demand Super Trainer and creator of home workout Muscle Burns Fat. She shares how she stays in shape.
33-year-old fitness trainer Megan began exercising and taking care of herself at a young age 20 years after disliking her family’s unhealthy eating habits. In the process, she ended up helping her entire family lose weight and get fit. She now lives in Coral Springs, Florida and is passionate about the benefits of strength training…
Q How long have you been a fitness trainer and what inspired you to become one?
I have been a trainer for 15 years, but my love of fitness started almost 20 years ago. I started training for Figure competitions at 14 years old. At the time, the rest of my family was very sedentary, and we all had horrible eating habits. I was quiet and I gravitated towards weight training and being competitive on my own terms. It turned into something I was passionate about. My parents and brother ended up joining in and seeing huge transformations.
Q What sort of results did your family have?
My dad lost 45kg and even competed in bodybuilding with me at the age of 50 years old! Then we started helping friends and family do the same. I went to college, started working at the gym, and realised it could be a career, not just something to do for fun. When I graduated, I took a different path while saving up to open a gym one day. About eight years ago, my family and I opened a gym together and we still continue to train clients to this day. My gym is a big family, my family is why I do what I love.
Q What are your favourite forms of exercise and why?
I always say I love lifting heavy and moving fast. These are two things I pull into my training style not only for myself, but for my clients too. Heavy and fast is relative, as long as you are challenging your own boundaries. I created MBF (Muscle Burns Fat) and MBFA (Muscle burns Fat Advanced) for Beach Body On Demand with these same principles. We wanted people to know from the name that we would be building muscle to raise the metabolism and burn fat, destroying the myths that women will get bulky if they weight train or that the only way to lose weight is to do hours of cardio.
Q What do you love about strength training?
Apart from the physical benefits, I think building strength builds confidence. One of the coolest things about training someone is seeing that mental confidence and strength increase. In a week of MBF and MBFA we have a lower, upper and full-body strength day which are separated by Core Circuit days. Over the weekend we have one super short and sweaty metabolic day and one Dynamic Recovery day where we stretch it out and work on mobility. I think there’s something for everyone in this programme and the results have been phenomenal.
Q How strict are you when it comes to what you eat and what are your favourite meals and snacks?
I am a creature of habit and eat healthy much of the time. My food is pretty boring too because I don’t love cooking! However, if I want a treat here and there, I will eat it and not feel guilty about it. I’m not much of a snacking person. I prefer larger meals when it is time to eat and the feeling of being full and satisfied after every meal. I drink Beachbody’s Shakeology once a day as a snack which I just mix with water.
Q What advice do you have for anyone who wants to get in better shape?
I exercise and eat well because I enjoy it and I want to lead a long, healthy, active life. I want to help others find that kind of enjoyment as well. What I have found lately is that people beat themselves up far too often along this journey for essentially not being perfect. This is not a perfect process. Let go of that baggage and find ways to enhance your life with nutrition and exercise. Find joy in moving your body and eating healthier foods. Be open-minded to always learning and making changes as you go, without fear of failure or beating yourself up. We all have our starting point and we build what works from there. Bring the fun back to your process!
