In the world of health and fitness, few shine as brightly as Danielle Hayes, a champion athlete, CMB Coach, and founder of Firefly Somatics™. With nearly two decades under her belt in weight training and a seven-year tenure as a health and fitness professional, Hayes brings a unique blend of experience and expertise to the table. Her approach to fitness is both conscious and scientific, aiming to debunk myths and empower gym-goers with knowledge.
A common misconception in the fitness world is the vilification of carbohydrates. However, Hayes emphasizes that carbohydrates are not the direct cause of body fat gain. Instead, body fat increases when one consumes more calories than what their Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the number of calories needed to keep the body functioning at rest — and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the total number of calories burned in a day — require. Post-exercise, carbohydrates are crucial for muscle repair and growth. They replenish glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrate reserves in muscle tissue, essential for recovery.
Hayes simplifies the science: “After a workout, your muscle cells crave sugar to replenish energy and assist in repair. Insulin, a hormone, helps sugar enter the cells, acting as a shuttle for amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) to enhance muscle growth.”
While trendy, cold exposure post-training can hinder muscle repair and growth by restricting blood flow and oxygen to muscles. This practice can decrease the rate of protein synthesis, crucial for muscle recovery. Instead, Hayes advocates for warmth post-training, like a hot bath or sauna, to improve blood flow and support the nervous system in shifting to a recovery state. This isn’t to say that cold exposure, or cold shock isn’t valuable. In fact, it brings various benefits, and Hayes uses it regularly in her own self care practise. However, she never cold shocks after training.
Neuromechanics — the interplay between the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system in movement — is another area Hayes highlights. Proper neuromechanical functioning ensures healthy movement patterns and injury prevention. Drawing from personal experience with training injuries, Hayes stresses the importance of understanding how muscle force generation and voluntary movement control can lead to more effective and safer workouts.
There’s a common misconception out there:
“Women should not train while menstruating.”
This is wrong.
One of Hayes’ key advocacies is the importance of adapting fitness routines to the menstrual cycle phases. She breaks down the science into digestible advice, encouraging women to listen to their bodies and adjust their training and nutrition accordingly. The phases — follicular, ovulation, luteal, and menstrual — each have unique impacts on a woman’s energy levels, metabolism, and mood. Hayes offers tailored advice for each phase, promoting a balance between achieving fitness goals and maintaining hormonal health.
In Hayes’ own words:
“To clarify, there are 4 phases: follicular, ovulation, luteal, and menstrual. The cycle begins immediately after you finish menstruating with the follicular phase, lasting 14 days. This phase is characterised by increasing estrogen, normal progesterone, and an average body temperature. Following this is ovulation, and is characterised by peak estrogen levels, increased progesterone and raised body temperature. From day 15 to 28, you’ll enter the luteal phase. This is when estrogen levels are reducing, progesterone is increasing, and your body temperature remains higher than normal. Menstruation then follows to kick start things off all over again.”
Danielle Hayes champions a personalized approach to fitness, grounded in science and personal experience. By demystifying complex concepts like BMR, TDEE, glycogen, and neuromechanics, Hayes equips individuals with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their health and fitness routines. Her message is clear: understanding the body’s needs and responses can lead to a more balanced and effective approach to fitness.
For more, check out Firefly Somatics™ and schedule a free consultation at Dublin’s award winning CMB Gym today.
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