Bikini Masters competitor Megan Ewoldsen proves it’s possible to be a busy mom and still win bodybuilding awards, but the inspirational fitness influencer recently took to Instagram to share six tips she wishes she’d realized sooner as they relate to getting the most out of her time in the gym. Luckily, the bodybuilder has shared these hard-earned lessons so you can reap the benefits with your physique.
Evoldsen regularly sets fitness-based challenges for her 335,000+ IG followersand says that going from beginner to advanced lifting is all about doing the basic training, “but with better awareness.” The beauty recently won the Masters 35+ bikini competition 2025 NPC Worldwide Grand Prix Caribbean Bahamas and came in second place 2025 NPC US Masters wrote, “That’s the funny thing about lifting. The longer you do it, the more you realize that the basics aren’t something you graduate from. Here’s how to get better with your own exercises.
Megan Ewoldsen’s 6 Tips for Stimulating Advanced Muscle Growth From Basic Training
1) Control the lower part of the repetition
“Most muscle growth occurs during the eccentric (lower) phase,” suggested Ewoldsen. “Advanced lifters don’t drop the weight … they control it.” In fact, a systematic review of eccentric movements, in which the muscle is lengthened, compared to concentric movements, in which the muscle is shortened (as a result of lifting weights), found that “Eccentric training performed at high intensity was more effective in promoting muscle mass growth measured as muscle mass.
To gain more muscle, you have to take back control, says Ewoldsen. “When I slowed down my eccentrics, I immediately felt more muscle recruitment.”
2) Practice closer to failure
“Vectors often stop when the set is on,” Ewoldsen said, encouraging his followers to try to get more profit. “Progressive lifts stop when the muscles can’t produce another quality rep.” Of course, building muscle requires the body to be in a state of hypertrophy, and this happens when the muscle is taxed to the point where it needs to repair itself. “It took me a long time to realize the last few reps where the growth spurt was really happening,” the Bikini star said.
3) Maintain core exercises
Variation is important to exercises and helps keep the body in shape, but you shouldn’t miss out on key lifts like squats or lunges. Ewoldsen explained, “advanced lifters repeat the same key lifts for months or years.” “So they can gradually overload them.”
Progressive overload is an important follow-up to the second tip because as muscles get bigger and stronger, more force is required to maintain this state of hypertrophy. “The lifts that have changed my body the most are the lifts that I’ve done over the last few years,” he said.
4) Don’t rest in the middle of a rep
“Sweaters often lock joints or rest between repetitions,” reflects the coach. “Advanced lifters maintain constant tension on the target muscles.” To understand the concept of time under tension, the bodybuilder explained that working with cables gave him a wake-up call. “Cables helped me a lot with that because the muscles are under tension all the time.”
5) Use full range of motion
While progressive overload and time under tension are important pieces of the muscle building puzzlethey only work properly if the exercise is performed with proper form. “Advanced lifters do not shorten the movement to make the exercise easier,” said Evoldsen. “They control the length of the bottom and complete the repetition with a powerful pull-up.” Fit Mom also suggested that “sometimes even an extra inch of movement completely changes the feel of a workout.”
6) Sometimes less is more
Entering the lift with the above control and proper form means you need to carefully check the weight. If you’ve failed before you’ve even gotten halfway, maybe it’s time to check your ego at the door. “Advanced lifters are willing to drop weight to improve performance,” Ewoldsen said. “Better pitch, deeper range and suspension often require less weight,” he said. “Many times I’ve dropped the weight and really felt the target muscles work harder.”
So whether you’re new to the gym or just need a reminder, these tips will help you build muscle. “Even advanced lifters are still working on mastering the basics,” says the fit woman.
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