GYM GIRLS LOCKER ROOM - The SECRET to Staying Lean & Building Muscle with @allismeltzer

Episode Date: April 30, 2024

EP 09 - When Syd first started her fitness journey, Alli was one of the first people she put on her vision board. Life came full circle when Syd sat down with Alli at the Gymshark HQ and Syd asked her all the burning questions: what's Alli's current training routine, what supplements does she take, does Alli drink alcohol, how she remains consistent and more! 👀 WATCH the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SnW8xR2XZKM connect with Alli: https://www.instagram.com/allismeltzer/ 💘 join the GGLR community: INSTA - https://www.instagram.com/gymgirlslockerroom/ FACEBOOK COMMUNITY PAGE - https://bit.ly/3TqhxDG TIKTOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@gymgirlslockerroom/ 📲 find Syd on socials: INSTA - https://www.instagram.com/sydgrows/ TIKTOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@sydgrows/ GYMSHARK - 10% off code: SYDNEY

What is the secret to being lean and having big muscles? So people ask that a lot and I feel like... Do you ever do like HIIT workouts? Because I feel like I always tell people this. I feel like that's changed my body so much. Like you're still like really working your muscles, but like you're also getting that cardio in. Do you struggle with consistency these days?

Yeah, like I always like keep the promises you make to yourself. You have to be able to be real with yourself. Like I just being lazy like do I just not want to do it I think it's important what does your split look like okay yeah so okay yeah call me a hater I'm gonna say it hello and welcome back to the gym girls locker room hosted by me Sydney Cassidy guys I'm really excited for episode. I literally just met like my gym hero. I'm not even lying. Ali is on the podcast today. She is a US Gymshark athlete and fitness girly. She's been posting for ages and she has the most insane body. Serious, I'm really being so real here. We got down to business.

I was asking all the questions for you guys. I was asking, what's your split? What's your diet? How the hell do you look like that? I think this will be really insightful and I think you guys will learn a lot about what it takes to look so incredible. It was Ali's first podcast and it was an absolute joy to have

her on so I really hope you guys enjoy this one. Just before we get into the episode please do give us a follow or subscribe on whatever platform you are listening or watching on. It helps us out so much in pushing the podcast out to a bigger audience so we can get even bigger and better guests follow us at gym girls locker room on all platforms and let's get into the episode guys i am so excited to have ali a gym shark athlete and content creator would we say yeah yeah general like fitness girl um over here um she's someone that I have literally like looked up to for such a long time we actually became Gymshark athletes around the same sort of time yeah we did because I knew mine was about to come up and I saw your announcement I was like god she's so

did you sign in June too then or yeah mine was like mine was like I I was signed but I couldn't announce it for a while so it was after you but um you were one of the um I think the girls will appreciate this because it's just like a cute little story maybe you will too but um you were like one of the so like when I started my fitness journey I had like a cute little story maybe you will too but um you were like one of the so like when I started my fitness journey I had like a vision board and I put like a little cut out of you like I think I must have just been like typing in like gym girls and I just found like a picture of you and like put it on my like vision board so oh this feels like a very like full circle moment it's like still in my living room and I'm like oh now she's here so that's so

cool yeah when you came over to the um when the girls said you were coming over to the UK I was like we have to have her for a podcast it's your first podcast it is yeah it's my first podcast I'm like a little bit nervous but I feel like once we get flow and it'll yeah it's it's like it's weird when you've not done anything like this because it's just like oh what we just have a conversation yeah but um so you're over for Gymshark can you say what yeah some photo shoots we did um kind of like a a scrunch butt like theme yesterday and then today's like more for website photos so yeah today we have like all the different outfits and stuff so yeah have you been over to the UK before no this is my first time yeah what do you make of it I like it um it's like so busy like because we were in London yes uh yeah Monday Tuesday and it's just like go go go

everywhere like so many people so many things and places I was like kind of overwhelmed I know are you a city girl or no no no no I I feel like I live in Spokane in Washington and it's more like I mean it's like starting to get busier but like nothing like this like it's like a little bit slower and you know it's funny because like I'm born and raised in London and like I even feel that now and that's why I moved away because I was like always like I'll stay in London till I die and then you go elsewhere like in the world or even in the country and you're like this is insane like wait this is chill this is like yeah wait you guys don't rush around and like people actually say hi to each other wow crazy um so

yeah like I don't know I just find it like really intense have you managed to train since being over here no I was gonna say like I feel like the one thing that like really would pull me over to the US is the gyms gyms yeah yeah um have you been to Houston no I've literally been to New York and that is it okay I really need to see America. But, like, I really, when I go, I really want to, like, not just go to, like, the parts that, you know, like, the touristy. Yeah, the touristy. I really want to, like, see it, you know what I mean? Yeah.

Like, go to all the towns. Why? What were you going to say? I just went to Houston, like, a few months ago. And the gyms there are crazy. And there's just, like, and the gyms there are crazy and there's just like so many gyms like there's just so many types that you can find your style and like where you fit in and so I thought that was cool but yeah there's a lot of um the fitness community over there there is yeah yeah there's a

lot of fitness there and just because or I yeah I don't I guess just because there is so many gyms and I feel like um yeah I don't know they all just kind of like are there it's cool though like it's fun to visit but I don't think I could like live there I like a slow life like I was telling everyone my dream like house is like on a farm in the middle of the woods like with some chickens and like no no you're so real for that honestly but like make sure we have like one room for a gym like a little exactly yeah we've got like the deadlifting platform and everything but yeah no like the like scale in america of like even well i i i'm honestly just like thinking about the gyms but like the gyms there like i see all of you girls and like where you post and i'm

like wow we're really out here with like our pure gyms like there'll be like one occasional nice gym but you guys seem honestly spoiled for choice I'm very jealous yeah I will say that yeah I mean I haven't actually been to any gyms here so I cannot say I guess like but just the gym shark one here well yeah I would say that's that's definitely one of the best ones out here is it really I mean it's nice but like I'm surprised yeah so I mean it's like the gyms over here there's a lot of like commercial ones they're like very small crowded basic gyms they're not really gonna have like the bespoke like machines or like the named brands um and like one thing I noticed more than anything is like

your I love the like US style like warehouse gym vibe you know kind of like grungy I think we just don't have that like we don't have the space so you know the gyms are like above shops or like slotted in high streets you know so it's like yeah it just seems really cool I think I would probably if I did go over to the US just like plan my trip around a gym tour yeah that'd be the way to go yeah that'd be fun how are people with like filming here you know actually fine yeah um I feel like because I've only been doing this for like like filming for like two or so years now and even in those two years it's like changed hugely yeah um so people are really chill how about in the US um I feel

like in general it's well it really just depends on the gym like when I first started in my gym it was like no one was doing it so I think people were like just confused kind of why I was doing it but like now it's more people do it in the gym so it's like more of a normal thing and I think people like realize now that it is like a job and like and you do like it's not just like to stare at ourselves you know what I mean like it is for a purpose and so like they're more like cool about it and stuff but yeah definitely um you it seems like you've trained at the same gym like throughout a long time like I was scrolling back doing my research and I was like oh my god like you've had that I think that's so beautiful that you've like stayed yeah have you stayed at the same yeah um I think like once gym like after

covid once gyms opened back up like I've been there ever since I just really like that gym because they have um like you can probably tell in like all my videos I'm kind of in that same spot like on the turf I have to tell you about like I love when gym girls like they know their angles and they know their spots I'm like yeah has she got like a whole camera crew lighting like squad behind her like in front of her we do put up a light do you yeah you look so well lit and I'm like UK gyms could never it makes it makes a big difference because like I'd say the lighting in my gym is like decent but um it is like a little bit on the darker side so yeah Lash has like a little light that we'll put up when we go to record and

it makes such a big difference yeah everyone comments on that like yeah do you use a light I was like the only way I've been able to achieve that is my home gym which I really relate to and what you're saying about like your gym like you've been there for so long it's like my my gym back in London it was like where I started my journey and I felt like it saw me through like all my sort of growth both on like social media and myself so I really relate to you there but like the only spot I could find was like they had um windows by the squat rack so then you got this like beautiful like daytime yeah like lighting but I was like so do people give you funny looks when you do that when you bring out a ring light oh yeah well I'd say like I think

now I don't even like look around to like see if like that's people are looking or anything but definitely when I like when we first started using the light I was like so embarrassed and just like scared to do it but once I like saw the difference it makes in the content I was like okay it's worth it like if people judge me like oh well like yeah what was it like when you first started back I mean that was like what five um it's been about like four years so um yeah I started like when COVID hit and everything went crazy like I did like post a little bit um like before lockdown like I would post a couple gym workouts but I was working full-time um like front desk at the gym so it was just like hard to stay consistent with posting when you're like busy and stuff but um yeah once like everything shut down I just started recording all my workouts at home like on my deck I'd like get my

little tripod and my phone and just like make up moves because I had like a set of 10 dumbbells but I was really into just like body weight just like making things up and so yeah I just like started doing that on my deck and yeah I just like kept going from there. So did you start your fitness journey and posting the content like within the same time or um so yeah kind of um I played soccer all growing up so I was like I was always active but I wasn't like in the gym like lifting weights and stuff until until after soccer I was like okay I kind of need something else to do like it was weird going from like practice every single day seeing your friends and then like nothing after that so I was like okay well I need to like stay in shape so I got in the gym and yeah I wasn't working out like very long before

like the lockdown did happen so because I I saw your you started out doing home videos and in my head I was like gonna ask you oh so did you not have the confidence to go gym but I'm just thinking oh no it was because you were in the pandemic yeah oh so you just you just started exploring because you were like okay I need to do something exactly yeah and I was like yeah I was like this is a time like I can be consistent I posted every single day for like I think I would post like at least five or six days a week for like the first two years maybe like I was like on my game with the content yeah but um yeah especially when I was just like at home and then when I did go back to work I still like made sure I was on it and posting all the time but yeah that was kind of the when you started out gym like what where did you how where did

you even begin yeah things because I look at you now like guys if you don't know Ali like honestly go check her out she has the most insane body like full-on body goals because you're I feel like you're you're super you're super lean but you're you've got like a lot of muscle mass so for someone looking at you now it's like oh my god yeah she's like always been like that but like actually no and like yeah what was it like starting out how did you navigate that yes for my body at first I was like kind of skinny I think well I kind of went through phases like when I got done with soccer I think I put on that was like the first time I noticed like oh I'm kind of like gaining weight like but yeah when I first went into the gym I was like oh I just need to like get back in shape

and so I would just like run a mile on the treadmill every single day and then I would go to the leg press and do like a few sets there. And then like, you know, the hip abductor machine. Of course. Yeah. I would do like the abductor and adductor and then I'd go home. Like every single day. I was like, all I would do. I think the girls will relate.

Like, yeah, we've all been there. And it was like, I was like scared to like go to the cable towers or like scared to go to the dumbbell rack so i was like this is like what i know so this is like all i would do um but i think then one day uh my friend came with me and we're like we should like try the like the cable or something we watched a video and then like after that i was like obsessed with it like yeah it was like really fun but um yeah at first i was just like so scared to explore the gym I was like okay this is what I know so I'm gonna do every single day yeah literally I think you you start where yeah literally it's like okay I'm gonna do the things that are like so basic

that I like can look up walk up to it and I know exactly what to do and then you like slowly inch over you like wander over to the cables then maybe I think friends help so much like having a friend yeah was your friend a beginner as well or yeah we were like in the same boat where like we played soccer it was over and like so yeah she was like she's like my longest friend so we kind of like did that together too and so but yeah I love it for you has your finished journey just been like a really sort of slow like trajectory like obviously for the audience and like for me looking at you now it's like wow she's like this insane gym girl yeah has it actually just been like a slow build across all of these years or I think so yeah like um I get like asked that so much like oh my god how long did it take to like

look like this I don't I feel like that's such much like oh my god how long did it take to like look like this I don't I feel like that's such a hard question to answer because people like I don't I don't know it's like gonna be so different for everyone but yeah I think like I had like some muscle like playing soccer all growing up so like um yeah I think like my legs were kind of like easier for me to grow in that sense. Like I kind of already had a foundation there with like playing soccer so much. And, um, but yeah, like as far as like staying like lean and, um, like building muscle, people ask that a lot.

And I feel like, do you ever do like HIIT workouts and stuff? Cause I feel like I you ever do like HIIT workouts and stuff because I feel like I always tell people this I feel like it's such a good way to like stay lean and also like building muscle because the burn with like a HIIT workout is crazy like you're still like really working your muscles but like you're also getting that cardio in at the same time it's like I always recommend that like I feel like that's changed my body so much so yeah yeah no I wanted to ask you like what is the secret to being lean and having big muscles but yeah I think like those explosive movement yeah I think that's that really helps yeah so like what does that look like like what are your favorite go-tos for hip workouts you know I just

kind of like make them up on the spot. Like I've always really, like I've always really liked kind of like inventing like a new move, like or just like something creative that I don't know. Like I literally was like on the spot, like think of five exercises to like pair together and I'll try to make sure I hit like

combination of everything. So like some abs, arms, legs, like stuff that also like get your heart rate really high so like yeah I have a ton of those on my Instagram that I just like I love that recently I've been kind of exploring other things but certainly with like functional movements anytime I've tried to think okay I want to be like something functional um I think I like create these rules in my head of like oh well I don't know what the proper movements are yeah it's actually really nice to hear you say that like actually you just completely wing it yeah so like what is your okay if you're making it up cool so what's your

criteria for like those movements will you just be like i want to elevate my heart and i want to like how do you go about yeah seeing those movements together yeah I'll try to get some that are like so if I like I usually start the first one with like something full so like a squat to a press where it's kind of working like everything but it also like gets your heart rate going and then the next one will be like okay this one will be focused more on like an upper body burn and then like a lower body burn and then the next one might be like an ab and then I'll end with like something with like a jump or like something to like really get you going like at the end you know yeah and will you do that in a circuit like a continuous yeah

my my favorite way to do it is just like set my timer out and then I'll do each one for like 40 seconds um and then the it's like you start at the top of each minute. It's like 40 seconds on and like a 20 second rest. And then you just know to start at the top of each minute. I also like doing it like with reps too, like 12, 15 of each one. And then just like doing every exercise back to back and then resting in between the round. Those are like my two favorite methods. I think going for time is good because you're not limiting yourself.

I think a lot of people don't push themselves. And I think it's nice for different levels because if it's 40 seconds, if you're maybe more of a beginner, you could take it slow. It really is as hard as you make it in that 40 seconds. If you want to make it really hard, you could do as many reps as you can or like if you need to slow it down you can type thing so yeah I like the timing and stuff okay and will you put that so would that be like your workout for the day or will you be slapping that onto the end of a workout yeah usually if I do like a hit I'll it only only

takes me like 25 30 minutes so I'll do that with like an ab circuit or something like a 12 10 12 minute abs so yeah it's kind of like cardio and abs a little bit yeah oh god I wish I really focused on abs a bit more do you you do that you do I love a good ab circuit yeah I know you do I know you do I really need to do that so like will you do that every week yeah I do abs probably like twice once or twice a week yeah definitely once the thing is with abs as well is that they recover really quickly so like you can be like absolutely blasted and then you just need like a little bit of recovery and then you can hit it again but I just don't know why I don't I avoid them but I feel like you you they show really well when you actually do train them so yeah and I think if you think about it too

like like even if you just do eight minute or like six eight like it doesn't have to be like this long thing like if you just can make the time for like six extra minutes at the end of your workout or something like I think it does make a difference to like in compound lifts like having a stronger core I know I feel like people I don't know there's so many different opinions in fitness like people like can never really I don't know there's a lot to like listen to but um I like training core I know there's some people that are like oh you don't need to because you use it and like all the other exercises but I think it's important no totally I I really do and I I've changed my opinion on it

a lot more I used to be like no I train it in my compound movements I don't need to do it but um I I dappled um in CrossFit okay it's very big in the US or not it is pretty big yeah um so I I was doing a bit of that just honestly just because I really wanted to just like find that I'd been in a little bit of a slump with gym and I just was like let me just try something let me just shake it up enjoy like have fun so I was trying it and I found it really interesting that they always always always always um would have core work at the start of the workout or like in the workouts and it there was like a real real emphasis on it and how it like has such a big part to play in all of your other movements and then you'd feel it when you'd be doing the drills or any of the gymnastics parts or whatever you would really

really feel it and so I have definitely changed my opinion on it and that you know core isn't just an aesthetic thing it's actually yeah serving the purpose I think that's what people think like yeah they have to like train it to like have the abs but like yeah it does help you like get stronger and other lifts too and stuff so yeah definitely um so what does your split look like okay yeah so okay yeah uh yeah I usually start well I mean it kind of like can change around like especially if like I need to take a day off and like I'll switch it around a lot but like if I'm really sticking to it I'll do Monday glutes and hams and then Tuesday I'll do I like to switch up my upper body like I don't really do push and pull like I kind of pair different things together so maybe like shoulders and chest and then abs maybe like sometimes and then midweek Wednesdays is always my full body

day so I kind of decide if I want to do like the full body hit like I was telling you about or a full body lift I kind of like to mix those up too but um yeah and then Thursday I do quads calves and then um abs like depending on if I did it on the other days or not and then Fridays is upper body usually back and cardio and then Saturday I'll do usually a mix of glutes and quads oh so you're training I usually do six days yeah okay and how and have you always done that is that just yeah yeah I'd say so I some you know some days I'll take like the two days off or some weeks but it just kind of depends um yeah usually I get there six days a week I'm just trying to work out like how long are you in the gym like how many exercises are they

are you able to because some people will be listening and be like dude and I'm listening and I'm like there's no way I could go six days my body needs rest like I'm just one of those people where I feel like I really need it yeah I think one of the the things is a how well people can recover and like how well adapted they are but also like how much intensity they have within those sessions so how many exercises do you tend to do how long do you tend to train per day yeah I'd say like usually four to five exercises um I would rather do less exercises and more intensity like um like I really like to try to go to failure like as much as I can um but yeah I would rather do like more sets and less

exercises how long I'd say like an hour to an hour and a half yeah okay yeah so yeah okay we can confirm it Ali is just one of those people that can just train a lot yeah and I do think that like I do focus a lot on like my recovery as well like with make sure I'm getting like all my proteins and like um like my BCAA and EAA type supplements I feel like all that kind of helps my recovery and stuff too yeah so what are your like go-to's for recovery um what every workout I drink my BC or it's called amino IV is like what it's called and i feel like that yeah i've never tried bcaas okay i think it just like it's supposed to like help speed up your recovery and like keep you hydrated and like and you drink that during don't you yeah i drink it

during you can drink it like any time of day but the one i use pe science and the they just like it's actually refreshing flavor where i feel like some supplements kind of just have like a dry taste like i usually couldn't drink it during my workout but this one's like really good yeah yeah yeah and then like with sleep and all those sorts of things like yeah you know i'm kind of a night owl and like a sleeper yeah i've seen you say this yeah um but no i think I do get like good sleep I think I usually get like a full eight hours every night so do you see the study recently about how they've come out saying women need more than the eight hours I believe it yeah I think it's like um

did you guys see that it's like a study saying that like women need like nine hours and when they're around like certain parts of their cycle, they need even more than that. And all the women are like, of course, I knew it. I knew it all. Yeah, like the whole time I knew it. Okay, cool. Yeah. So, okay.

What supplements do you take? Are you like super regimented with that? With my vitamins, actually I ran out so I couldn't bring them here. But I'm like really big about making sure I get like all my multivitamins and like fish oil. But like just day to day I'll have like either a pre-workout or a pump. I just actually started taking creatine probably in December. So how many months was that? Four months ago.

And I think I've seen some gains from that, honestly. Especially through my legs. I've noticed quite a bit of growth. Just like that juiciness, isn't it? Yeah, I feel like they're just full and just like, I love shit. When you were saying earlier about, oh, I'm really thirsty, I was about to say i bet it's like creating yeah because like we're creating you have to just drinks like you have to

make sure you're on it oh really okay i haven't noticed like any like like being more thirsty is that what you mean or yeah i think somewhat but also just like making sure that you hit your daily water intake that you're supposed to i'm so sad because i know like as a little tangent i know that creatine is like for me when i've taken it before it's one of those things is the most well-researched supplement it like it does the damn thing like it really does help with the strength muscle mass even um did you know it helps with like um like your brain brain functioning yeah yeah i've heard that it's um crazy but i can't take it at the moment because my kidneys aren't up to it oh really which is like something that i feel like people don't really i don't know talk

about whether or not because like you know they say you need to drink loads of water with it it's because it can be quite intense on your oh okay i actually didn't know that yeah i know so i i mean i wanted to take it and then my dermatologist was like um absolutely not i was like maybe i should ask my doctor it's funny because everyone promotes it but you don't actually know whether or not your body is like up to take yeah something maybe that you should ask about yeah yeah i could see that yeah especially a lot of people don't drink enough water me included guilty yeah honestly energy drink running through my yeah literally give me the caffeine um okay cool amazing and then so with like your food like do you feel like with your physique food is a massive like part to play in that or I get asked about nutrition all the time and

I feel like people don't believe me but I've never tracked calories or like never done like where did I weigh things and like all that um the one thing I do like keep track of is protein because I feel like that's just like huge for gaining muscle and like making sure that you're like keeping the muscle you work so hard for in the gym I'm like I'm not gonna go work so hard and then not like make sure I'm doing the other part so yeah that's like one thing that I do keep track what um do you know like roughly what you're going for like you know because there's all the you know how you're saying earlier about like in the fitness industry there's all the, you know, how you're saying earlier about like in the fitness industry, there's all these different like things, people say this, people say that, but like people say, oh, 1.6 times, two times, like what do you go for in your head? Or are you

just like, I'll take as much as I can get? Yeah, that's kind of what it ends up being, but I aim for like 130. Like I think it's, I've heard that it's supposed to be like your body weight or something in protein yeah but I don't know I feel like 130 is like a good amount so that's like my goal every day so I don't know 130 grams sorry I don't know 130 grams okay well anyway I'm not sure either because maths really is not my strategy okay cool yeah I mean are you like I wonder are you are you quite a good like intuitive eater yeah yeah I think you know how to like plate your meals up you generally eat well and like healthy yeah I'd say eat pretty clean like Lijah and I's kind of um like it's like 80 20 like I'd say like weekdays we're like, okay, like we'll keep like pretty healthy, stick to like good meals that we know have everything.

And then like weekends if we want to like have a drink or like get a burger or something, we do that. So I think you have to have that balance. Like because if you don't, you're just going to end up like binging it or just like going. I don't know. It's just not going to stick if you don't have balance. Like you can't keep up 100% perfect for the rest of your life like it's not a lifestyle it's not attainable but it's also not fun like no not life is for living obviously we want to look good and feel good but also at the end of the day it's more important like to be happy and yeah enjoy your days and not like be miserable all the time and like yeah definitely so you just

mentioned him elijah you're is he has yes his husband um so cute you guys have been together for a while right yeah um six years wait you're like um i'm forgotten yeah we just got married last September so and you it was like a whole beach yeah we did like destination and it was really small I think there was like 25 people there I love that I'm so glad that we decided to do it that way because it was literally just like a vacation with all our favorite people and like exactly I think I mean I'm not I don't want to like hate on like the like having a wedding at home but I think sometimes it can just get like oh if we invite them then we have to invite them and like I just didn't want the

politics of it all like exactly like I just didn't want it to be like that so I was like how about we just run away for a weekend I love that I love that no it looks so dreamy I was someone that said like when I get married I want like the biggest wedding. I want like loads of people there. Like basically in my head, I was like, I want everyone there. But then having done, you know what changed it for me? Gymshark events. Doing events where like you're the center of attention.

I was like, there's no freaking way in hell my wedding day is going to be like that because it's so obviously it's like you know well I mean a wedding and a Gymshark event are very different but like same energy right really high energy so fun like like just good energy all around but it's so like you only get to spend like five minutes well not even that like 30 seconds with each person yeah I think your wedding day is so special you just you want to be able to like soak it up and like be in the moment you know so yeah I love that for you I think it's so nice uh my friends got married like the year before us and they did the big wedding and like we hardly saw

them the whole night because like they had to make sure they say hi to all their family and talk and like so yeah i think like they even said they wish they would have just like kept it smaller and like more intimate and yeah i have no regrets at all it was so fun we had um we got married like on the beach and then we had like a our pictures were all on the beach and then they set up like a dance floor dj all on the beach like it was so fun oh it was like the best day of my life yeah oh my god i know wait where was it again um it was it's called playa del carmen which is like near cancun oh sick yeah amazing was it you're just like friends and family there yeah yeah it was just like my parents and then like um some friends and like elijah had quite a bit of family there he has a big family so like his sisters and cousins and stuff how did you guys meet we actually met at one of elijah's

fights he used to be an mma fighter okay i thought i thought he his ears yeah i saw his ears and i thought he's either a rugby player or he's a fighter yeah yeah he grew up like wrestling um so that's kind of like a lot of the reason why he has the ears too is because like wrestling is a lot of all that too but um but yeah then he got into MMA and I think he did like 30 some fights um and some of those were pro but yeah wow yeah so it was really fun he was actually like not supposed to fight that night that we like because we like saw each other in the crowd and we like kept making eye contact and he wasn't supposed to fight that night but he ended up fighting um because they like someone backed out and they were like asked him he's like okay um and so like when

he went up there uh he had got he like won so he had like a winning picture and it popped up on my for you page that night on instagram and so i liked it and then he dm'd me and the rest is history amazing so do you like he goes to the gym with you not all the time but occasionally or yeah i'd say he's like very um like he does jujitsu and he likes basketball so like he's not as much into like lifting as I am but yeah he works out a lot too but yeah so sometimes he'll like be doing that stuff while I'm at the gym but yeah is it like I always think about like people that have partners that are really like aligned with like they're like fitness girls or whatever like does it like aligned with like their like fitness goals

or whatever like does it help you stay like motivated yeah for sure because disciplined as well I guess in ways yeah definitely and like he's the he's the cook in the house so like he's like makes all the meals mostly nice I love it very lucky lucky. It's nice, like, having him that also he wants to, like, eat healthy too. And so, yeah. We're very basic with our meals, I will say. Tell us. Yeah. Like, we'll eat the same thing for, like, a week.

And then we'll move on to something else and eat that for, like, or maybe a few weeks. But lately it's been, like, beef. Like, literally just, like, ground beef like literally just like ground beef and um like green beans neither of us are big on vegetables so I will say we do kind of lack in that part um oh that's why you're on it with your vitamins you're like I need to get it from somewhere I was like why does she care so much about her vitamins and I take greens too like powder oh yeah I'm like I don't i don't want to eat broccoli or like the only like green thing i'll eat is like a green bean which is why she's hyper fixating on it for

like two weeks straight okay wait so you're having beef and beef green beans and like sweet potato fries we've been like on a kick of those we like found one that we really like that's like decent like calories and stuff so like yeah sweet potato fries and what's our other oh have you ever tried bon i don't know if it's like here but it's called bonza pasta it's like protein pasta no okay um i'm always like kind of skeptical of those products where it's like it says like it's like protein cereal or something i'm like but is it nice it's actually good yeah yeah um so we've been into that lately and like mixing in like chicken or beef or something with that too but yeah we also eat a lot of steak yeah oh okay okay so okay but you're like but you'll keep it like pretty basic with like sauces and you won't be doing yeah Elijah's pretty good about like seasoning it and stuff um but we're

big ranch people we love some ranch with everything ranch like isn't a thing here is it ranch sauce I say it like I feel like you say it so much but I'm like oh my god no that's actually so icky um ranch um no I feel like no not really like i'm just trying to think of like my one friend who likes it i don't even know what it tastes like yeah if you were in the u.s like like i feel like everyone likes ranch like if you go to a restaurant like they everywhere will have ranch for you to like especially when you have like fries or like what is it like you can like dip pizza in it um it's kind of like no it's not like mayo I'd say um kind of has like dill a little bit like a slight dill taste I asked for ranch at dinner last night with my fries and they were

like oh we don't have ranch that's yeah weird um I will say one thing i did notice call me a hater i'm gonna say it i'm scared people are gonna come for me um because i studied in new york when i well was at uni studying um but i was like i don't know one thing i feel like we do well over here is like fresh produce. Like over in the US, I felt like. Have you been to a supermarket? Do you mean like fruit or like? Like fruit, veg and like kind of the meat as well.

I feel like I noticed a difference. But I was wondering if it was like due to like being able to like import thing i don't know yeah i have heard that like food here is like a lot um like cleaner i think or just like i don't know maybe not as much of like preservatives and like bad things like i think that's yeah i think that's there's quite like even with like supplement brands it's very the ingredients are very different I don't know if it's necessarily clean I don't know but yeah very different I think the UK kind of has like more restrictions on like that stuff maybe I don't know yeah hey guys I think you guys have like more caffeine restrictions than the u.s right yeah well i think and also like even vapes

not that i vape anymore i quit but like the vapes are like insane over in the u.s i was i never got into vaping probably for a good reason yeah honestly i'm glad i didn't because i know people like when they try to quit it's really hard for them and stuff so like okay I'm glad I didn't if I were to try to hit one I would just like cough yeah well I think over there I don't know do you know how much it's like significantly higher amounts of like nicotine yeah um which is just like hooking people you know yeah that's like yeah do you drink or yeah here and there I always say I love a celebratory drink like I love a good cheers like yeah I think I think that's something that like and I'm I wonder if you'll relate like that's something that surprises me that my audience will always be surprised if they see me posting a drink yeah and I'm talking a drink like people go

you're a gym girl and you're drinking alcohol and it's like yeah because everything in moderation i mean i don't really drink that regularly but you know just a little bit i don't i think when i was younger like i had my phase of like going crazy but like no i definitely i'm just like two max like i'm i'm good at two like i don't need to like get drunk i'm just just like a little like, oh yeah, drink at dinner and like, yeah. Whatever suits you, hey, you know? Yeah. What is, okay, I'm going like full pivot here.

But like when thinking about gym, like what would you say is your why? Why you go gym currently hmm I feel like the gym helped my confidence so much like I think when I was younger I was I don't really even know why I think I was like an insecure person like especially in like relationships like I was always scared like oh they're gonna like like someone more or like I don't know and I think the gym has just made me like so much I don't know more confident in myself and like yeah I think that's like my biggest thing yeah yeah it is wild how much like the gym can do for an individual outside of just like I don't know changing your appearance or whatever and I don't even think it was like oh because like I look better I think like I mean like that helps

but like I think I just got like more stronger like mentally like I just completely yeah yeah like it kind of yeah like I look stronger but I also like feel stronger like yeah in my mind and like like I think with the gym as well it's like there's so many you just don't realize like I think a lot of people naively get like especially gym rats they like naively get into it they're just like oh yeah let me start going but there's so many like transferable yeah like not skills but like qualities you like learn I think you build like resilience and like I don't know because like if you can like push through hard workouts and like like push past the part like when you think like oh i need to

stop like you keep going and like i don't know you see that like you can do more and i feel like that does kind of like translate over to just like real life like day- day like yeah I don't know I feel like it just builds confidence in there and that does just transfer to outside the gym when you're just like doing things even the one thing that really stuck out to me that I heard before was like even just like the discipline of doing things you don't want to do like going when you don't want to like that really shapes a person and makes you sort of I don't know just tackle things in life where you're like okay if I can do this and I didn't want to then like I don't know you're just able to face and navigate the world in like a different way so and I think like if you can

like do the things you say you're gonna do in the gym like that also does kind of like go into like real life too like all the stuff like you need to get done and yeah like I always like keep the promises you make to yourself because like if you just get to where you're like uh like if like okay today I'm going to do this this and this in the gym or like even outside like and then you're like oh I'll just do it tomorrow I don't know I feel like that does like translate over into a lot of things and like yeah that's so fair like that you kind of like lose that trust in yourself like yeah yeah you're like you can't trust that you're able to like even keep your own word and like yeah discipline for yourself yeah

what do you do you struggle with like I don't know even just like consistency these days or is it so built in yeah there is days where I'm just like wow I really don't want to even just like consistency these days or is it so built in? Yeah, there is days where I'm just like, wow, I really don't want to go to the gym today. And I think like there is sometimes where it's like I actually feel like, okay, I need to take today off and like rest. And I think that you have to be able to be real with yourself. Like, am I just being lazy? Like, do I just not want to do it? Or like, is my body actually like tired? Like, so I think you have to be able to like be real and like be honest like no I'm just being lazy or like yeah for me like in my head because I think that's such a fair point you're touching on firstly like that thing of like don't be so

toxically like disciplined that you're like taking it to like you're not even in tune with yourself and when your body's actually saying like I really just need some time to recover especially as a woman right with your cycles the thing that like is in my head that is my like marker for like okay sid you've got to go to the gym like is the moment i'm sat there having a little internal like conversation with myself like should i go gym but like oh I don't really want to like the point in which I'm having that and I know it's beyond like I'm totally fine to go I feel like when you have that conversation with yourself it's like okay this is my marker sometimes you have to just take your body and like not even be there like mentally yeah and I think if you can

get yourself there like that's one of my things I'm like if I can get there I know I'll get in the zone once I get my headphones in and like I get going I'll I'll get into it and sometimes it ends up being some of the best workouts when you didn't even want to be there you're like well I'm so glad I came today because like that was such a good workout um but yeah like the hardest part is just getting there sometimes because I think a lot of people think motivation comes when you're wrapped up on the like couch as you'd say um you know like with your dog and just like laying there and thinking like oh my god how am I gonna go to the gym it's like no no no the motivation will come like the moment you've stepped over like the gym door and you're like in the environment and you're like ready to go what are

some things you what are your like go-to's to like if you're not really feeling gym like what are those things you do to set yourself up to have a good session I think sometimes like even if I like look at my past workouts sometimes like because I'm like oh yeah I want to like if I find like exercise like that seems like good like if I don't really don't want to go like okay well what like would sound good today kind of thing or like I don't know um but also like having kind of a routine like how I go and mix my pre-workout put on some music like I think having that routine kind of gets you in the right mindset and like putting on the cute gym fit of course that's like yeah that's actually a

big thing that I always gotta have a cute fit that does help a lot and what are your like go-to staple pieces in your wardrobe I think uh right now I'm really liking the new elevate shorts from Gymshark yeah yeah have you tried those ones um no I don't think I have you know because like they're not a stretch or like a compress are they just like a kind of yeah I kind of like them because some days too like I really don't want to put on something so tight and like some of the like I love the adapt like the new safari and stuff but some yeah some days like it squeezes my leg kind of tight and like some days I'm just like okay I don't want to feel like I'm just bulging out of my shorts or like

I don't know so I feel like having something that's like just comfortable also I've been really loving like the boxers and sweat pant combo I saw this in one of your videos you were talking about and I was like I haven't got any boxes that would look you'll have to get some because it is especially for like an upper body day it is just like so comfortable and yeah actually you know same energy which I do is I'll put like shorts like I'll get like some like fitted shorts and then I'll just like put the joggers over the top like even that like the layering it just looks nice especially if you're like I don't know at a certain point in your cycle or you're just like normally feeling it it's nice to you know uh my cycle has never like gotten the way of my training until recently like and I've I feel bad saying this because I feel I know so many girls get

cramps and I never get cramps like I've never had like I've I don't think I've ever like experienced like bad cramps but but these last few months I will say my like I've been so tired and so like irritable when I get to my cycle I'm just like I just don't want to be here today type of things like I was definitely more like easy on myself this these past few months with that where usually I'm like you're fine like like I tried to do a hip thrust on my cycle the other day I was like oh gosh that's not happening like no no it's just simply not happening it's so uncomfortable I was like that I've never had that before for some reason I don't know why it's like been a little bit different lately but 25 oh you're you know what

happens when you're 25 oh god no it's good oh okay um so i wonder if you felt a little shift within yourself when you're 25 you're we actually just did an episode about this your prefrontal cortex which is the last part of your brain that develops it's like in charge of like all the decision making the like the things that like god it's just like a really extensive list of what it controls but basically people say that like when you hit 25 you go through this like shift and you just like become like your final form i don't know have you felt any different um i don't I don't know if I have like can say I like felt I feel like I'm I'm more like sure of myself now like I feel like I'm like very confident now in a way it's like I'm me like if you don't like yeah I don't know I think it's that I think it's like

you you anchor in on yourself more and you're just like you know who you are and I feel like more mature yeah like I feel like she's 25 yeah I'm a big girl yeah so I don't know maybe maybe you're tired because of that who knows that's true I don't know I'm not a scientist that would make sense this is a cute one what um would what advice would you give like your 16 17 year old self you know I think the confidence thing is like a big one because I like I was saying I don't know um like I don't really know why I was like so insecure and like and it wasn't even more it wasn't even like so much my body that I was insecure about I just was like I don't know I just was like scared I wasn't good enough kind of thing but yeah I would just tell her that you are good enough and to not I don't know like worry about what other people are thinking so much and just like do you like because I think like I don't know you can get so wrapped up in that and then I think sometimes when you're always worried about like what other people are thinking you don't

maybe like do stuff you want to do like people wanting to film in the gym like they let people's opinions stop them or it's like you might regret that one day so like the fear of like the regret is a lot worse than like the fear of what people would think if that makes sense a hundred percent yeah okay yeah completely it's funny because um I feel like a lot of people do ask about that like filming and like getting into content creation and like that's like a perfect example of just like pushing through like people other people's opinions and like you know really just like being confident learning to be confident in yourself and just be like no I want to do this because I want to I heard this thing where people say like you have to push through cringe to be

cool yeah and I feel like that like I just love that because it's like yeah that's good I was watching I saw this like TikTok trend and it's like keep on going with your like and then it goes silly dream and it's all these people showing that like stuff from when they were younger has like like blown up and it is literally just from like doing the thing that like everyone finds like embarrassing or like awkward or whatever and just like sending it and does it feel surreal for you like being in the position you are and oh yeah this is literally like a dream come true like I say it all the time whenever like I'm at the events or just like photo shoots like I just can't even believe that this is real because like

even like two years ago like this was like the dream and I don't know you almost like like you want it to happen but like you don't know like if it will type of things like now looking back it's just like yeah this is literally like what I've dreamed of like happening so yeah it's really cool yeah I just think it's so beautiful as well to like reflect because I feel really similar similarly like it's just really beautiful to reflect on like all those like times you felt embarrassed going to the gym yeah all those workouts you did and like just thinking about all those past versions of yourself yeah like so glad you like pushed through all that yeah here yeah and just to think like oh my god what would she think like you're literally sat in like the uk yeah yeah all these shoes and like you had your face on

your face was in the store as well that was so cool to see yeah that was crazy it's unreal um well i think that's everything okay thank you so much for coming on it's been an absolute pleasure yes you have now done your first podcast i hope you liked it um i did that was fun and it was nice like get to know you because like I followed you for so long and yeah we've like never met I know I know it's good I've I like petition for more UK girlies and US girlies to um meet up and have chats yes that'd be nice I saw all you girls at the Miami thing and I was like so jealous I was like she's meeting all you girls at the miami thing and i was like so jealous i was like she's meeting all the girls that i love like oh yeah for one day i hope you guys enjoyed that episode thank you so much for watching ali where can people find you if they don't already follow you it's just ali smeltzer

on instagram nice and easy we'll pop it in the description if you or the show notes actually on all platforms if you want to find us in the meantime follow us on all platforms at gym girls locker room and we will see you in the next one bye