Bikini Masters competitor Megan Ewoldsen proves that it’s attainable to be a busy mother and nonetheless win bodybuilding trophies, however the inspirational health influencer has lately taken to Instagram to share six suggestions that she wished she’d identified sooner, as pertains to getting probably the most from her time within the gymnasium. Luckily, the bodybuilder has shared these hard-earned classes, so to make positive factors with your individual physique.
Ewoldsen recurrently sets fitness-based challenges for her 335,000+ IG followers, and says that going from newbie to superior lifting is all about doing the essential coaching, “however with higher consciousness.” The sweetness, who most lately gained the Masters 35+ Bikini class within the 2025 NPC Worldwide Caribbean Grand Prix Bahamas and got here second within the 2025 NPC Masters USA wrote, “That’s the humorous factor about lifting. The longer you do it, the extra you notice the basics aren’t one thing you ‘graduate’ from. They’re one thing you retain getting higher at.” Right here’s how you can get higher with your individual exercises.
Megan Ewoldsen’s 6 Tricks to Stimulate Superior Muscle Progress From Fundamental Coaching
1) Management the decrease portion of the rep
“Most muscle development occurs throughout he eccentric (decreasing) section,” supplied Ewoldsen. “Superior lifters don’t drop the burden… they management it.” Certainly, a scientific assessment of eccentric motion the place the muscle is lengthened, versus concentric actions have been the muscle is shortened (because of elevating the burden), confirmed that “Eccentric training performed at high intensities was shown to be more effective in selling will increase in muscle mass measured as muscle girth.”
To get probably the most muscle, you must take again management, stated Ewoldsen. “After I slowed down my eccentrics, I instantly felt extra muscle engagement.”
2) Practice nearer to failure
“Newcomers usually cease when the set begins to burn,” defined Ewoldsen, encouraging her followers to push more durable for higher positive factors. “Superior lifters cease when the muscle can’t produce one other high quality rep.” After all, muscle constructing requires that the physique is in a state of hypertrophy, and this happens when the muscle is taxed to the purpose that it must restore itself. “It took me a very long time to comprehend the previous few reps are the place the expansion stimulus actually occurs,” shared the Bikini star.
3) Maintain the important thing workouts
Variation is vital for exercises, and can assist to maintain the physique guessing, however you shouldn’t swap out key lifts equivalent to squats or progress could also be misplaced. “Superior lifters repeat the identical key lifts for months or years,” defined Ewoldsen. “So, they’ll progressively overload them.”
Progressive overload is a necessary observe as much as the second tip, as a result of because the muscle groups get larger and stronger, extra drive is required to maintain that state of hypertrophy going. “The lifts that modified my physique probably the most are those I’ve repeated for the previous few years,” she added.
4) Don’t relaxation mid-rep
“Newcomers usually lock-out joints or calm down between reps,” mirrored the coach. “Superior lifters preserve fixed pressure on the goal muscle.” To grasp the idea of time below pressure, the bodybuilder defined that working with cables gave her a wake-up name. “Cables helped me perceive this immensely, as a result of the muscle stays below pressure your complete time.”
5) Use a full vary of movement
Whereas progressive overload and time under tension are important parts of the muscle building puzzle, they solely work appropriately if an train is executed with correct type. “Superior lifters don’t shorten the motion to make the train simpler,” challenged Ewoldsen. “They management the underside stretch and end the rep with a powerful high contraction.” The match mother additionally supplied that “typically even an additional inch of vary of movement fully modifications how an train feels.”
6) Typically much less is extra
Making a carry with the aforementioned management and correct type implies that you must preserve a cautious verify of the burden. If you’re failing earlier than you’ve acquired midway by the set, it may be time to verify your ego on the door. “Superior lifters are prepared to scale back the burden to enhance execution,” suggested Ewoldsen. “Higher tempo, deeper vary, and pauses usually require much less weight,” she defined. “Many instances I’ve lowered by weight and truly felt the goal muscle working extra.”
So, whether or not you’re a full gymnasium beginner, or simply want a reminder, the following pointers will stand you in good stead for muscle positive factors. “Even probably the most superior lifters are nonetheless working to grasp the fundamentals,” stated the match feminine.
To observe Megan Ewoldsen on Instagram, click here.
