Matt Hall Fitness

One of the hardest parts of recovery is not comparing yourself to the person you used to be.

One day you’re pushing your limits.
The next, you’re celebrating a reverse lunge holding a crutch.

Don’t let your past become the standard that steals today’s progress.

A few weeks into recovery now, and if I’m honest, it’s been harder mentally than I expected.

There have been days where I’ve felt frustrated, stuck, and fed up with how slow progress can feel.

What keeps bringing me back to reality is remembering there are people facing challenges I can barely imagine, and yet they still find a way to show up every day and keep moving forward.

That perspective doesn’t make the hard days disappear, but it does help.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust that things won’t always feel this hard.

Recovery isn’t linear.

Neither is the mood.

Some days the win is simply turning up.

Thankfully, I’ve got an incredible wife helping me keep my head in the game on the tougher days.

Recovery has a way of humbling you.

From marathon training and heavy gym sessions to celebrating 1kg dumbbells.

Not exactly the plan for 2026, but grateful to be moving forward one step at a time.

“You’ll probably get better fat loss results if you stop training fasted”

A lot of people train fasted because they think it burns more fat.

But in reality, fat loss still comes down to your overall calorie deficit across the day/week — not whether you ate before your workout.

For most people, having some carbs before training means:

• More energy
• Better performance
• Stronger sessions
• Better recovery

And when you’re properly fuelled, you can usually train much harder than when you’re running on empty.

If you train first thing in the morning, you don’t need a huge meal beforehand. Just something light and easy to digest.

Pre workout ideas (30–60 mins before):

• Toast or bagel with jam
• Banana + honey
• Rice Krispy square
• Rice cakes with honey or jam

During longer or harder sessions:

• Water + electrolytes
• Lucozade Sport
• Gels for running/endurance sessions

After training, focus on protein + carbs for recovery:

• Protein shake + rice cakes
• Greek yoghurt + granola + fruit
• Eggs on toast
• Then a proper meal like salmon + rice or chicken + potatoes

You can still create the calorie deficit needed for fat loss across the rest of the day — while actually giving yourself enough fuel to train properly.