Simone Puddu Personal Training

21/05/2026

When your program calls for 10RM or 75%, it isn’t a guess—it’s a precise number. In the weight room, 75% means loading about three-quarters of your one‑rep max, roughly what you can move for ten solid reps. For cardio, it usually refers to 75% of your maximum heart rate, a moderate‑to‑vigorous level—not VO₂ max, which equates to around 82–87% HRmax and feels much tougher. Why does this matter? Because your body adapts to exactly the stress you apply. Working at 70–80% 1RM for 8–12 reps builds muscle; 85–95% 1RM for 3–5 reps develops strength. In endurance, moderate intensity builds your aerobic base, while higher intensity raises your lactate threshold. Guessing “75%” and actually hitting 50% means you’re training the wrong energy system and chasing a different outcome.
Too many newcomers rely on how they feel, but perception only works if you’ve learned the Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. Otherwise it’s like driving with no speedometer and trusting the wind noise. I guide clients to use concrete targets—percentages, one‑rep max tests, reps in reserve, heart‑rate zones, or RPE (just one or two methods per client)—so we progress intelligently toward strength, hypertrophy or endurance goals. You don’t need a lab; you need to know your numbers and be intentional. Save this so you know what intensity really means next time you see it in a program.

20/05/2026

Do you feel like your workouts are all over the place? After years of experience working with women in midlife, I know that your body doesn’t adapt the same way to every stimulus. Training for skill or speed is not the same as training for strength or endurance. Power, hypertrophy, muscular endurance, anaerobic capacity, VO2 max and long‑duration endurance all require different methods. Some overlap—strength will help you move better—but others contradict each other. When you plan strength sessions while peak preparing a marathon, you’re sending your muscles mixed signals. It’s like trying to bake a cake and grill a steak with the same recipe. I’ve watched clients go from frustration to progress the moment they picked one clear goal and aligned their workout style, nutrition, daily habits. That clarity shapes every choice: exercise selection, rep range, rest intervals and how often you train. It gives you permission to stop chasing everything at once and focus on what matters most right now. So before you decide your next program, choose your goal first. Your goal determines the road you take. Share your story and let other women know they deserve clarity too.

19/05/2026

Creatine is not just a "lift heavier" supplement anymore.
Follow along for a moment.
Your immune cells use phosphocreatine to produce ATP. The same your muscle fibres do during a heavy set. And when under-fuelled they both have bad performance.

The 2022 study that started this conversation was conducted in mice, not humans - it is not the same. But what it showed was specific and measurable: creatine supplementation increased intracellular ATP in neutrophils, and those neutrophils performed quite better across four distinct antibacterial functions:
1 - Cytokine production
2 - Phagocytosis
3 - Reactive oxygen species
4 - NETosis.
The creatine-supplemented group also showed meaningfully lower pro-inflammatory markers in the blood and lower bacterial colonisation in organs.

A 2023 Frontiers in Immunology study added another layer, finding that creatine boosted anti-tumour immunity through macrophage upregulation using the same mechanism. Again, animal research. But again: consistent direction.

We do not yet have large-scale human RCTs confirming this translates directly, so take this with a grain of salt. But the mechanistic logic is sound, the animal evidence is consistent, and the broader anti-inflammatory picture in humans is already supported by existing creatine research.

Most of the women I work with start creatine for muscle and strength reasons. Almost all of them report feeling better overall within a few weeks. Clearer. Less inflamed. More resilient. The immune and brain mechanisms are likely part of that picture.

If you want to understand how I integrate creatine into a full nutrition and training protocol, my DMs are open. 💬

18/05/2026

Severe DOMS isn’t a badge of honour – it’s a progress killer. Some soreness is normal; delayed-onset muscle soreness comes from tiny fibre damage and shows up 8–20 hours after training. But if it’s so bad you need a day or two off, you’re losing valuable training volume. A 2003 Sports Medicine review advised scaling back intensity for a couple of days and working unaffected muscles after a brutal session. Why? Because muscle and strength gains come from consistency and cumulative volume.
A 2016 meta-analysis showed muscles grow more when trained twice a week than once; a 2023 Bayesian network review ranked twice-weekly, multi-set, higher-load training highest for hypertrophy when total weekly volume stays constant. Skip sessions due to soreness and you can’t make up that lost volume.
Your body adapts via the “repeated bout effect”: after the first damaging workout, later sessions hurt less and sap less strength. That protection can last up to 24 weeks, but only if you progressively overload instead of annihilating yourself. I coach women to pick a goal—strength, muscle, endurance—and match the rest: for strength and resilience, we use full range of motion and progressive loads; for hypertrophy, we plan the right volume; for endurance, moderate intensity more often.
Don’t chase soreness; chase adaptation. Moderate soreness means you worked; crippling soreness means you overreached. Train hard enough to challenge yourself, not so hard you can’t come back. Save this for your next cycle and let me know in the comments: how do you judge a good session?

18/05/2026

You find everything marketed as "upgrades": Creatine HCl, Ethyl ester, Liquid creatine. These forms are fancy, expensive, and yet the research is clear: NONE of them outperform plain, cheap creatine monohydrate. If you feel creatine monohydrate makes you feel bloated (common early complain), the problem was probably not the creatine. It was likely 1 - the lack of sodium and electrolytes 2 - a too big starting dose. Add a pinch of salt or an electrolyte mix and most of the bloat resolves. So: fu # # fancy products and Hurray for paring it properly. Also, in my opinion, it is a must to get the micronized form. What do you actually use?

17/05/2026

Same exercises. Better ex*****on. More control.
That’s where motivation comes from.

Training doesn’t need constant novelty to be enjoyable.
It needs attention.

When mechanics improve, movement feels better.
When movement feels better, people enjoy showing up.

That’s why my clients progress on how they move —
cleaner form, better control, smarter effort — session after session.

No chaos. No random workouts.
Just guidance, precision, and progress you can feel.

That’s what keeps training fun — at any age.

17/05/2026

Most people ask whether they should take creatine. The better question is how much, and the answer depends entirely on your goal.

The dosage that works best for preserving muscle during a cut is not necessarily the same one you would use to support maximal strength, cognitive performance or recovery. Yet many women stay on the same generic 3–5 grams for years and assume the supplement has “stopped working.”

Creatine is not a magic powder. It is a tool. And tools only work optimally when matched to the task.

If you are dieting, hydration and electrolytes become especially important because the associated water shifts can distort both scale weight and perception. If you are focused on strength, a short loading phase may saturate stores more quickly. And if brain fog and mental fatigue are part of the picture, it is worth remembering that creatine also supports the brain.

This is why I cover supplementation as part of every coaching program. Your protocol should evolve with your body, your training and your goals.

Save this.

15/05/2026

09/05/2026

Most people think training is about the body.
It’s not. It’s about being able to look at yourself and say:
“I’m doing something right.”

This client didn’t just train online.
She brought structure into a messy phase of life.
No generic workouts.
No random motivation.
A program built for her body, her limits, her reality, with clear rules. clear priorities. repeatable actions.

That’s why it worked.
And that’s why she now feels better about herself — not just fitter.

That’s the real KPI.

08/05/2026

Your brain actually holds creatine reserves - and it draws on them when you're stressed, sleep-deprived, or mentally overloaded. That's not a small thing. That's your mental clarity, your resilience, your ability to function under pressure. But here's the part most people miss: if your creatine isn't being absorbed properly, those brain reserves stay depleted. And the missing piece is often sodium. No sodium, no proper absorption - and all the creatine in the world won't help your brain when it needs it most. If you've been taking creatine and not feeling the mental benefits, this is worth paying attention to. Save this

04/05/2026

Hard time keeping balance and keen to fall?

Sometimes the problem is not just “weak legs” or “poor coordination.”

It can be muscular imbalances.

I’m addressing this with my client in this video. What’s she’s doing is called “Bottoms-Up Kettlebell 90/90 Carry” (one of many names) and it is s a great drill (again: of many) because it forces your body to work as one unit.

You need:

✅ shoulder stability
✅ core control
✅ grip strength
✅ hip stability
✅ posture awareness
✅ focus and control

The kettlebell being upside down makes the exercise more demanding.
You cannot rush it.
You cannot fake control.

Your body has to stabilize from the shoulder down to the hips while you move.

This is why I use it with clients who need to improve balance, coordination, and overall stability.

Simple does not mean easy.
Controlled does not mean weak.

Train your body to move better, not just harder.

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