Samantha Clayton’s story is little short of remarkable. It’s no surprise that the British Olympian has become a world-leader in motivating others to turn a difficult situation into an opportunity to change their lives for the better.
“The exercise stress we put on our body when we're doing weightlifting, for instance, is tearing the muscle fibres and in turn, that makes them repair and rebuild stronger and better than they were before. But it's really important you give your body the nutrition it needs in order to repair.
"In the case of muscles, that's making sure you get protein. So it's all about finding that education and that balance to know how to push yourself enough, but reward your body with nutrition and rest so that it can rebuild and repair.”
“In my household, we love having our shakes, I love my protein bars, and these are great options to have around.” says Clayton, noting the importance of planning for sports nutrition as well as exercise.
All you need is your own body
Clayton expands on the importance of exercise routines for every body.
“In every phase of your life, working on building your lean muscle mass is really important," Clayton states. “One reason is for your metabolism. When we have more lean body mass our metabolism is more effective because muscle is more metabolically active than fat.
"This means it takes more calories to sustain our muscle than it does to sustain fat. Our body becomes much more efficient at burning those calories the more lean mass that we have, so building muscle is important for our metabolic health.
“Resistance exercises are important for everybody, no matter their age,” Clayton continues. “Whether it's just because you want to still be able to get up and out of the chair, or whether it's because you want to be a strong, powerful athlete.
“The best piece of resistance equipment that you have is your own body, using your own body weight as resistance against gravity. But tools like resistance bands are amazing because they provide a steadier resistance to the body.
"They're very small, they're compact, they're very inexpensive. When we talk about exercise stress, using those resistance bands creates a little extra stress for the muscle, building a little more, a little better.
Why challenges work
“Exercise in my world is just something that is part of my everyday life. It's scheduled in the same way that eating is. Like breathing, it's just something that I have to do. It’s about discipline but it takes time for people to build a habit, which is why challenges are a fantastic start,” says Clayton.
Setting yourself a monthly challenge, or getting involved in Herbalife Nutrition’s Body Transformation Challenge for example, is a great way to establish that habit.
Clayton was thrilled to see the incredible variety of ways in which people kept themselves and their families healthy and active during the recent lockdown, and sees this as yet another example of success borne of struggle.
She adds: “I think that we'll all come out of this with a desire to keep on growing.”
For more information on Herbalife Nutrition, visit Herbalife.com.au
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