THE JOURNAL

    Training, nutrition and the mind.

    Articles from Hanna and Selina, built on the research behind PRYME.

    See the research behind PRYME

    51 articles

    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    A 5-Minute Daily Breathing Practice for Calm and Better HRV

    You don't need an hour of intense breathwork. Five soft minutes a day works. Here's my simple daily menu (sigh for calm, 4 in and 6 out for HRV), why slower beats bigger, and what to expect from your overnight number.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    What Does Alcohol Do in Perimenopause? The Honest Answer

    Even a "normal" amount of alcohol hits differently in perimenopause: 3 am wake-ups, hangxiety, hot flashes and a middle that won't budge. Here's what the research says, and why the benefits of leaving it out stack up every month.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Blood Sugar Spikes in Perimenopause: What They Are and What Helps

    A blood sugar spike is a fast, high rise after eating followed by a drop, and in perimenopause insulin resistance climbs faster than at any other time in midlife. Here's what that means, why the scale won't warn you, and the simple habits that calm the curve.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Does Collagen Count as Protein? What Builds Muscle After 40

    Collagen doesn't count toward your muscle-building protein: in older women, whey built muscle and collagen didn't. Here's what does count, why leucine is the switch, and how to spot a real protein food in five seconds.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Does Exercise Raise Cortisol After 40? What the Research Says

    Everyone's blaming their workouts for "high cortisol" and belly fat. The research says a workout is a short wave, and the pattern that hurts is cortisol that never switches off at night. Here's what that means and what to do about it.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC6 MIN READ

    The Hand Portion Method: Build a Balanced Meal Without a Scale

    You don't need to weigh your food to eat well. The balanced plate and your own hand give you a quick, repeatable way to build meals that keep you full and support your goals, at home or anywhere else.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC7 MIN READ

    Health Halo Foods: Are Your "Healthy" Foods Really Helping?

    "Healthy" is how a food is sold. Macros are what it actually gives your body. Here's how to spot health halo foods, what really makes something a protein source, why whole food carbs come first, and a 30-second label check.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC7 MIN READ

    High Protein, High Fibre Meals: 25 Easy Power Pairs

    Protein and fibre are the two things almost everyone is short on, and you can fix both with one habit. Here's the Power Pair formula, the best lean proteins and fibre boosters, and real meals with the numbers to go with them.

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    MIND & HYPNOSISHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    How Does Hypnosis Actually Work? What the Science Shows

    Clinical hypnosis is focused attention that makes you more open to helpful suggestion, and you're awake and in control the whole time. Here's what brain imaging and trials show, where the evidence is strongest, and why it works best as a daily practice.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    How Many Meals a Day Should You Eat to Build Muscle?

    Eat four protein meals a day, 30 to 40 g each, with nothing in between, because muscle building switches on after a proper dose and then needs a break. Here's the research on meal timing, breakfast, eating before training and why late eating costs you.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    How Much Water Should You Drink, and Do You Need Electrolytes?

    Most women need about 2.7 litres of water a day from all drinks and food, and thirst plus pale-yellow urine are good guides. Here's when electrolytes help, how to drink for HYROX and long sessions, and why over-drinking is the real danger.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC7 MIN READ

    How to Eat Healthy for Life Without Dieting

    Most diets work for a few weeks and then life gets in the way. Here's the habit-based approach I coach instead: what food actually does, the meal-by-meal method, and how to eat for muscle, bones and energy for decades.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    How to Eat Healthy at Restaurants and While Travelling

    At a restaurant, start with 1.5 to 2 palms of protein, add veg, then the starch that fits the time of day. Here's how to order, log, travel and handle parties and holidays without losing your rhythm, or your mind.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC7 MIN READ

    How to Eat Out and Stay on Track: A Restaurant Cheat Sheet

    One meal out will never make or break your results. Here's the simple three-pick system I teach for ordering anywhere, where the hidden extras hide, what to order at nine common restaurant types, and a one-page cheat sheet to save.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    How to Get 25 g of Fibre a Day Without the Bloating

    Aim for at least 25 g of fibre a day, and get most of it from 1 to 2 fists of veg at every meal. Here's why that number, how to build up without the bloat, and the cold-rice and fermented-food tricks worth adding.

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    MIND & HYPNOSISHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    How Long Does It Take to Form a Habit? How to Make It Stick

    Forget the 21-day myth. Real-world research puts habit formation at a median of 66 days, and missing one day doesn't undo it. Here's what actually makes habits stick, from Stanford's mindset research to identity, tiny habits and the subconscious.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    How to Read Your HRV, Sleep Score and Fitness Tracker Data

    Your tracker is a useful tool and a terrible boss. Here's what the research says about HRV, resting heart rate, sleep stages, calorie burn and body scans, and how to use the numbers without letting them run your day.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC6 MIN READ

    How to Increase Calories After a Diet Without Regaining Weight

    The end of a diet is the risky part, because the structure disappears all at once. Here's how to step your calories up slowly, why the scale may rise a little (and why it isn't fat), and the light habits that help you keep what you built.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    How to Sleep Better: Light, Caffeine, Alcohol and Timing

    Better sleep mostly comes down to a handful of levers: light, timing, caffeine, alcohol, temperature and food. Here's what the research says about each one, why 3 am waking happens, and why you should skip a workout before you skip sleep.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Is HYROX Good for Longevity? What Each Station Actually Tests

    HYROX looks like a fitness race. Look closer and it's close to a checklist of what predicts how long and how well you live. Here's how each station maps to the research, and why life always beats the podium.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Low Testosterone After 40: What Men Can Actually Control

    Most men don't get a sudden "andropause". Testosterone drifts down slowly, and the biggest levers are ones you already control. Here's what the research says about sleep, body fat, alcohol, heart risk and TRT after 40.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Muscle Soreness or Injury? How to Tell and Recover After 40

    Sore after leg day, or actually hurt? Here's the simple way to tell normal muscle soreness from warning signs, why deload weeks are where results show up, and what a real recovery day looks like.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    The Norwegian 4x4 Workout: What It Is and How to Do It

    The Norwegian 4x4 is four hard 4-minute rounds with 3 easy minutes between, developed by heart researchers in Norway. It is not the same thing as the elite "Norwegian method". Here's what the studies show, how hard is hard, and how to fit it into a week where you also lift heavy.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER12 MIN READ

    Perimenopause and Training: The Complete Guide for Women 45+

    You walk, you eat right, you do the work, and the middle still got softer. This is the complete perimenopause training guide: what changed in your body, how to lift and build your engine, how to eat, and why your head is part of the plan.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    Why Am I Gaining Belly Fat in Perimenopause? Estrogen and Insulin

    Perimenopause belly fat isn't laziness and it isn't "just age". As estrogen falls, insulin resistance climbs faster than at any other time in midlife and fat shifts to your belly. Here's the research, and what actually moves it.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Power Training After 40: Why Jumping Protects Muscle and Bone

    After 40 you lose power about three times faster than muscle, and in a large 2025 study power predicted survival when strength didn't. Here's why I want you jumping, throwing and lifting heavy, and what the bone research actually shows.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Should Women Over 45 Do Cardio? What the Research Actually Says

    Somebody on the internet told you women over 45 should cut back on cardio. The research says the exact opposite. Here's what the big studies show, why cardio doesn't wreck your cortisol, and why Zone 2 is your base, not your magic.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    Should You Train Differently in Your Luteal Phase?

    Cycle syncing is everywhere online. The research doesn't back it. Here's what the big reviews found, why how you feel is still real, and how to use readiness instead of a calendar to decide whether to go hard or ease off.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    What Counts as Ultra-Processed Food (and Is It Really That Bad?)

    Ultra-processed food is factory-made from ingredients you'd never find in a kitchen, and in a controlled trial people ate about 500 calories a day more on it without trying. Here's what counts, what doesn't, and why I lean clean in perimenopause.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC5 MIN READ

    What Does 140g of Protein a Day Look Like? (No Food Scale)

    If you train hard and still aren't seeing it, protein is usually the missing piece. Here's what 140 g a day actually looks like on a normal day, the four anchors that get you there, and the three habits that quietly keep people short.

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    NUTRITIONSELINA LEBLANC6 MIN READ

    What Are Macros? How to Start Tracking Them as a Beginner

    Macros are the three nutrients that make up almost every calorie you eat. This beginner's guide explains what they are, how to sort a food into protein, carb or fat, and how to log your food so the numbers actually match real life.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER6 MIN READ

    What Is NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) and Does It Work?

    NSDR, or non-sleep deep rest, is Andrew Huberman's term for lying down and following a voice through breath and a body scan into deep rest without falling asleep. Here's what's solid, what's early, how it differs from hypnosis, and when to use it.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    Which Supplements Are Actually Worth Taking After 40?

    For most people after 40, creatine (3 to 5 g a day when lifting) is the one supplement with strong evidence behind it, and everything else comes after food, sleep and training. Here's what the research says on vitamin D, magnesium, omega-3, berberine and more.

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    TRAININGSELINA LEBLANC10 MIN READ

    Working Out Hard But Not Seeing Results? 5 Reasons Why

    If you sweat through class after class and still look the same, you're not lazy. Your effort is going into the wrong places. Here are the five most common reasons hard work stops paying off, and the fixes I use with the people I coach.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    Does Yoga Nidra Help You Sleep? What the Research Says

    Yoga nidra, or "yogic sleep", is a guided practice where you set an intention, scan your body and follow your breath into deep rest. The research is small but consistent. Here's where it comes from, what it does, and how to use it at bedtime and at 3 am.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER12 MIN READ

    HYROX After 40: Why This Format Suits Us, and How to Train for Results Beyond the Clock

    The rulebook contains no statistics. It contains something more useful: the structure of a sport that assumes people keep racing into their eighties. Pair that with the first peer-reviewed HYROX study and the masters physiology literature, and a clear training picture appears, including how to measure progress when the finish time is not the point.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER4 MIN READ

    Does Strength Training Actually Slow Aging?

    The UK Biobank tracked over 70,000 adults. The people in the top tier for both cardio fitness and grip strength had 47% lower all-cause mortality than the bottom tier. Not either one. Both.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER4 MIN READ

    Is Being Out of Shape More Dangerous Than Smoking?

    122,000 adults, treadmill tested. The least fit group carried five times the risk of death compared to the highly fit. That is a bigger gap than any single disease category in the study.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER4 MIN READ

    How Much Protein Do You Actually Need After 40?

    Most people over 40 are not losing ground because they eat too little protein overall. They are eating it in the wrong shape: one meal carrying the whole number, with long gaps either side.

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    SLEEP & RECOVERYHANNA HORNER4 MIN READ

    Can Breathing Exercises Actually Change Your HRV?

    A meta-analysis of 58 studies backs this, not one wellness blog's opinion. HRV is not a mysterious wearable number. It responds to input the same way a muscle does.

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    MIND & HYPNOSISHANNA HORNER7 MIN READ

    How Hypnosis Actually Improves Athletic Performance

    Clinical hypnosis is one of the most researched and least understood tools in sports performance. Twenty years of controlled trials show meaningful effects on strength expression, pain tolerance, and pacing. Here is what it is, what it is not, and how to actually use it.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER8 MIN READ

    The Hybrid Training Plan for Lifters Who Want to Run

    The interference effect is real. Done wrong, adding endurance to a strength program cancels strength gains. Done right, it stacks. Here is how to actually run into your training week without shrinking.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER9 MIN READ

    Strength Training in Perimenopause: What Changes and What Does Not

    Perimenopause changes how your body responds to training, protein, and recovery. Almost nothing you read online reflects that, because most fitness content is written for 25-year-old bodies. Here is what changes, what does not, and how to train through it.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER8 MIN READ

    VO2 Max Training for Women 40, 50, 60: What Actually Works

    VO2 max is not just a number on your fitness tracker. It is the single strongest predictor of all-cause mortality after 40, and it is trainable in your 40s, 50s, and 60s. Most women never train it because nobody ever wrote it into their week. Here is exactly how.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER10 MIN READ

    The 12-Week Training Plan for Your First Hyrox

    Most first-time Hyrox athletes underestimate the running and overestimate the strength work. The plan that gets you to the line ready is not a bigger version of your gym routine. It is a periodised block with a specific ratio of run to strength to station work.

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    PERIMENOPAUSEHANNA HORNER10 MIN READ

    Menopause and Strength Training: The Non-Negotiables

    The old advice was to slow down. The current evidence says the opposite. Lifting heavy, sprinting, jumping, and eating enough protein is the single most protective thing a woman in perimenopause can do. Here are the non-negotiables, with the science underneath each one.

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    MIND & HYPNOSISHANNA HORNER9 MIN READ

    Hypnosis for Athletic Performance: What It Actually Does

    Hypnosis has an image problem. Most people imagine a stage show. The clinical literature describes something very different: a focused attention state that reliably lowers perceived exertion, sharpens motor rehearsal, and shortens the return to baseline after hard efforts. Here is how it works, and how we use it in this program.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER8 MIN READ

    Your Functional Fitness Gym Plus a Hybrid Program: How to Make Both Work

    The community at your gym is not something you replace with an app. But the class programming was not built to get you to a Hyrox podium, and pretending it was is why so many members show up to race day undercooked. Here is the honest playbook for stacking both.

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    TRAININGHANNA HORNER10 MIN READ

    Hyrox for All Ages: Why 38 to 60 Is Actually the Sweet Spot

    The average Hyrox finisher is not a 25-year-old CrossFitter. It is a woman in her forties who decided her body was not done yet. If you are between 38 and 60, hybrid racing is not the wrong sport for your age. It is the right one.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER8 MIN READ

    Macros 101: The High-Protein Performance Playbook

    Most macro advice on the internet was written for men in their twenties, for women trying to shrink, or for bodybuilders. None of that is you. Here are the numbers for a woman training hybrid, with the science underneath each one.

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    NUTRITIONHANNA HORNER9 MIN READ

    Hybrid Nutrition 101: Fueling a Body That Runs AND Lifts

    Hybrid training is not cardio and it is not lifting. It is both, in the same week, sometimes in the same session. That has real fueling implications, and most women who come to hybrid from group fitness are eating like they are still in a bootcamp class. Here is the reset.

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