FHP 342 – It’s YOUR Choice

FHP 342 – It’s YOUR Choice

Things in our life are going to happen. Things outside of our control.

There’s no denying that.

But we also have to stop blaming these events for our successes or our failures and realize that ultimately we are in control.

And this is actually a good thing.

Yes, it stinks accepting full control because it also means you’re responsible for your failures, BUT it also gives you the power to make a change at any time.

While we can’t control everything that happens in our life, we can control our perspective and how we respond ultimately to events.

We have to realize that we always have a CHOICE in what path we take.

And this responsibility and power can be scary.

It means we ultimately get the blame whether things work out or they don’t.

But that acknowledgement of our own control of the ultimate outcome is key if we truly want amazing results.

If we don’t believe we are in control of things, if we don’t believe we have a choice in the matter, we are constantly relying on outside things.

It means we can never really move forward on our own. It also means we never have to accept responsibility, to some extent, for our failures.

But the more we CHOOSE to accept control, the more we can ultimately steer our own car and head in the right direction even more quickly.

Recognizing that you have a CHOICE in how you perceive things can help you see even failures and setbacks as a learning experience.

Life is going to happen, but we can ultimately let those situations derail us because we couldn’t stop them from happening, OR we could choose to control our perspective and learn from the events and find opportunity in the new situation.

Whether something happens or not isn’t really what matters. What matters again is the choice we make in how we use those events to make or break us.

We have the CHOICE each and every day to believe we will be conquered by an event or that we will conquer any situation that comes our way.

I know it’s cliche but there is that oh so true line of “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

But we have the CHOICE to believe, or not believe, in ourselves.

No one can make that decision for us.

Just like we have to make the CHOICE to be motivated. To want to move forward. To take action.

Our mindset is of our own making.

No amount of outside belief in us, or pushing, can force us to move forward. We have to make the decision to believe in ourselves and take action.

We have to make the CHOICE to go against what is instinctual and natural to make a change. We have to CHOOSE to step outside our own comfort zone.

Basically we have to recognize that so much of our success or failure is based on the mindset and actions we choose to take.

As scary as it is to take responsibility, the simple fact is, ultimately we are in control. And that, through our choices, we can improve our life, our results, at any time.

Embrace the power that mindset brings with it.

Today make one small decision to move you forward. Realize you can CHOOSE to succeed.

So make that your CHOICE and move forward!

The Side Plank – How To Do It The Right Way

The Side Plank – How To Do It The Right Way

Isometrics are key exercises to include in your routine to improve your stability and mind-body connection. They are a great way for you to target underactive muscles and really get them firing correctly.

They are a great way to make sure that you’re using muscles efficiently and effectively to work together to perform a movement.

Because we have to remember that part of getting stronger is learning how to quickly and efficiently recruit muscles to work together in the right order, each carrying the load they were meant to carry!

But so often these seemingly simple moves are taken for granted.

We simply try to get through the hold, or hold longer, instead of really focusing in on engaging muscles correctly as hard as possible.

That’s why I wanted to discuss one amazing core isometric, the Side Plank, and not only why this move is so key but also how we can get more out of it to not only strengthen our entire core but also avoid knee and shoulder aches and pains.

What The Side Plank Works:

The side plank is an amazing unilateral core move that can help you improve your shoulder, spinal, pelvis, hip, knee and even ankle stability when done correctly.

Because it’s a unilateral move and works each side independently, it an help you even correct imbalances. If you do have an imbalance, you may find you do an extra round or even only rounds of side planks on one side.

It is a great anti-lateral flexion, or anti-side bending, exercise to include to help you learn to brace to protect your spine.

While the primary focus of the side plank is to strengthen your obliques, it will also work your glute medius, glute max, lats, shoulders, and QL (quadratus lumborum) to name a few of muscles involved.

It really is a full core move and can help you build stability from your shoulders to your feet.

But to get all of these benefits, you need to focus on what you actually feel working as you perform the hold and, at times, even concentrate on engaging each of the muscles involved a bit harder.

3 Form Cues To Improve Your Side Planks:

That’s why I wanted to share these 3 Key Form Cues to help you really proper engage the correct muscles as you hold.

#1: Flex your foot to create tension through your lower leg.

If you want to get the full benefit of the side plank and even help protect your knees and ankles, you can’t ignore the importance of creating tension through your lower leg as you hold.

This will not only improve your efficiency with the movement, but it will help engage the muscles from your ankles to your hips, including your glutes.

To flex or dorsiflex your foot, pull your toe up toward your shin to engage your lower leg before you even lift up into the side plank. Then really focus on pushing the side of your foot down into the ground as you hold to keep that tension.

You don’t just want to lift. You want to create that tension.

You can then either stack, or stagger your feet. Neither is technically bad and both can have their benefits.

Some argue that stacked is harder as there is a smaller base of support while others will argue the staggered is better to create tension and be able to better transition from front to side plank variations.

The key is truly creating the tension through your lower leg to improve your knee and ankle stability and even better engage those glutes!

#2: Squeeze your glutes.

Often we get so focused on this move as an oblique exercise we only lift through our torso, letting our hips ultimately sag and we miss out on the amazing benefit the side plank can have for improving our hip stability!

As you lift up into that side plank, squeeze your glutes to extend your hips and lock yourself into that nice straight line. Think about almost slightly squeezing your butt to push your hips forward.

This will help you avoid rotating toward the ground and even overloading your TFL and QL which can perpetuate SI Joint, IT Band issues and even lower back, hip and knee pain.

We want muscles to learn to engage to support each other, which often means focusing on that engagement in muscles that tend to be underactive.

By also engaging your glutes, you avoid rotating toward the ground and overloading your shoulder as you hold. Activating our glutes can actually help better engage our lats.

And not only do you want to focus on that glute max engagement, but you also want to think about the side of your butt lifting your hip up to maintain that hold. Focusing on the glute medius working will help you really use this move to improve your hip stability!

#3: Engage the side of your back to support your shoulder.

If you’ve ever found that side planks irritate your shoulder, you need to make sure you aren’t just relying on those smaller muscles to hold. You want to also engage your back and lats to support your shoulder properly and help stabilize it.

As you set up for the side plank, make sure that your elbow is underneath your shoulder and that you aren’t shrugging.

Even think about slightly pulling your shoulders down as you set up to hold.

Then as you hold at the top, to keep your back engaged, think about pushing your elbow down into the ground as you pulling your elbow slightly toward your feet. Your elbow will not move, but this focus as if you would adduct the shoulder if you could, engages your lat to help prevent shoulder issues.

Learning this engagement can not only help us avoid neck and shoulder aches and pains but also improve our scapular and shoulder stability, which in turn can improve our other pressing exercises, like our bench or push ups!

SUMMARY:

Using these 3 cues you can help yourself properly engage all of the muscles involved in the side plank to get more out of this amazing move and really improve your mind-body connection.

Focus on holding harder and run through what you feel working as you hold over just trying to hold longer or “get through” the time.

Try adding in some side plank holds for even 20-30 seconds to your activation series before your workout to activate everything from your shoulders to your knees!

FHP 341 – Am I Too Old?

FHP 341 – Am I Too Old?

Are there changes that happen as we get older?

100%!

But so often we blame our age for things within our power to change.

We also blame our age for issues we’ve ALLOWED to actually build up over time.

Improper dieting practices. A lack of a proper warm up….

Things we thought we could get away with when we were younger. That we thought “worked?”

Well…let’s put it this way….just because we could get results at the time, workout without warming up without any immediate consequences doesn’t mean we SHOULD HAVE.

And it’s also a big part of why we’re now “feeling our age.”

But because this is something we’ve…well…sort of done to ourselves…it also means we have the power to change it.

So how can you avoid feeling old? How can you control what you can control to stay lean and strong to your final day on this planet?

Here are 5 tips to help…that we need to try to teach people at younger and younger ages!

#1: Suck it up and learn about macros.

I know I sound like a broken record, but so often our desire to avoid learning about the fundamentals of nutrition catches up with us.

We may get away with slashing our calories super low when we’re younger or even out exercising our diet.

But as it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle and metabolic adaptations can add up (both from menopause, muscle loss and previous improper dieting practices) we can’t just keep restricting further to see results.

By learning about macros we can actually help retrain our body to eat more, fuel for muscle growth AND achieve some stellar body recomposition.

Learning about macros gives us control to adjust as our needs and goals are constantly evolving. 

#2: Include PREHAB with each warm up.

I’ve heard so many people say they used to get away without warming up.

What I want to tell them often is that their “getting away with it” is actually what probably caused some of their current issues.

I used this analogy in another podcast, but it is like a leak in your ceiling. You may not notice it’s there. You may “get away” with keeping the same pipe…

But one day the leak will have added up enough your ceiling tile may collapse in.

So many injuries and issues are due to perpetual overload. And often when the injury fully shows and we can no longer push through…well that move is simply the final straw.

Start doing that mobility work daily to address common daily postural distortions and help prep your body to work correctly during your workouts.

Even just a 10 minute warm up with that full prehab process can go a long way.

#3: Stop saying you’re too old for things.

You want to know the clients that stay young forever? They’re the ones that never stop pushing themselves. 

That never shy away from challenges.

That constantly seek to progress moves.

Use it or lose it couldn’t be more true.

While yes, recovery times may change as well as even the types of training we are interested in…not to mention INJURIES may impact what we choose to do, age should never determine what we believe ourselves capable of.

At any age you can build strength, endurance and power.

It’s always about meeting yourself where you are at.

#4: Stop doing it because someone else did.

So often we don’t stop to assess our needs and goals.

We try to do something just because it worked for someone else even if it isn’t truly realistic for our lifestyle.

FOCUS ON YOU.

DO YOU!

What does your lifestyle look like and how can you create the healthiest version of that?

How can you help yourself build back in a sustainable way if you’ve been out with injury? 

How can you create a lifestyle balance that allows you to enjoy your glass of wine or dessert?

Don’t get caught up in someone else’s standards of what is healthy…focus on your needs and goals.

#5: Suck it up and go slow.

We need to get it out of our heads that results will happen overnight.

Slow results are REAL results…not just glycogen depletion and water weight being lost.

Slow results are also SUSTAINABLE results. 

We need to also realize that, the older we get, the longer we’ve potentially been doing the WRONG things. Also the longer we may have had the injury or the weight on.

And the longer we’ve been doing the wrong things? The longer it takes to correct.

As I like to tell clients, you didn’t get into your situation overnight and you’re not going to get out of it that quickly either.

The longer you’ve had the weight on, the more your body will rebel against the change.

We do not like change.

So get ready to be consistent and embrace that changes will take time!

How To Build Muscle And LOSE FAT at the same time

How To Build Muscle And LOSE FAT at the same time

When you think about gaining muscle you think about a “bulking” phase.

And all too often for people this calls to mind images of people stuffing their faces with all sorts of foods.

You need to eat big to get big right?!

While, yes, a calorie surplus is key to gaining muscle, too often a “bulk” often becomes the perfect excuse to pig out and way overeat.

And this often leads to a lot of unwanted fat gain as you put on muscle.

This unwanted fat gain means you will then at some point have to go into a CUT to get rid of the fat and lean back down.

And when you cut, if you don’t do it super slowly, you’re most likely going to lose some of the muscle you worked hard to gain anyway.

So the question is…can you gain muscle WITHOUT gaining fat?

Is it possible to bulk in a way you don’t really need to then do an extreme cut to lean back down after?

The answer is YES.

By being precise in how we go about gaining muscle and taking the time to do it right, we can ultimately gain muscle without packing on the fat.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you gain muscle without gaining fat.

But before I dive into the tips, I do just want to discuss calorie intake and whether you ACTUALLY even need to be in a surplus first to gain muscle…

Do You Really Need A Calorie Surplus To Gain Muscle?

The answer to this is…It depends.

And part of what it depends upon is your current level of leanness and even training experience.

If you’re just beginning your weight loss journey and have a good deal of fat to lose while also wanting to put on muscle, you’ll actually find that a small calorie DEFICIT works to your advantage. Especially if you focus on a higher protein ratio.

By putting yourself in a small calorie deficit, while focusing on protein, you can lose the unwanted fat while not only retaining but even gaining muscle.

If you instead put yourself in a calorie surplus, you’d potentially, yes, build muscle, but not see the body recomposition or fat loss results you want.

By creating a small deficit, you can lose fat AND gain muscle.

So even think just a small deficit of 100-300 calories off of maintenance.

However, if you’re already lean, a calorie surplus will work to your advantage.

BUT this doesn’t mean adding 1000s of calories to your daily intake.

Often a more moderate surplus is best while still maintaining that focus on protein.

When you’re leaner you want that surplus to ensure you have readily available energy to fuel your training sessions so you can create progressive overload and help your muscles repair and grow.

If you don’t have that positive energy balance, you risk catabolizing lean muscle, which will hinder your gains.

A newbie lifter though does have more growth potential than someone who’s been training for awhile so may go on the higher end of a “moderate surplus” if they’re lean to start.

But you still want to be mindful of your surplus as more calories doesn’t mean faster muscle growth. Any excess energy, aka extra calories, you consume your body doesn’t need will simply be stored as fat.

So while you will want to set your calorie intake to start a few hundred calories over maintenance, you don’t need to create any crazy surplus to see results.

Generally speaking in the range of 100-400 may be more than enough above maintenance to see amazing results.

Once you have figured out your calorie intake, you then want to consider these 3 tips to help you dial in both your training plan and your diet to assist in gaining muscle without gaining fat.

 

3 Tips To Help You Gain Muscle WITHOUT Gaining Fat:

#1: Don’t Fear Carbs. Dial In Your Macros.

If you want to add muscle without gaining fat, you can’t ignore the importance of the macro breakdown you use. And you may even find you cycle ratios as your training routine changes.

By focusing on macros over just the calories in vs calories out, you can help yourself avoid gaining unwanted fat.

And while focusing on protein should be the first thing you do, going slightly higher in protein if you’re in a deficit than you would when you’re in a surplus, you also can’t ignore the importance of CARBS.

Low carb is all the rage right now, especially for weight loss. But carbs play an important role in promoting the most efficient muscle gains.

You want the immediate energy to fuel your workouts so you can train hard without fatiguing as easily. This allows you to really fully benefit from your training routines.

Carbs have a protein sparing effect.

They create an anabolic environment that protects your lean muscle while giving you the fuel you need to rebuild after your training sessions.

If we don’t have sufficient readily available energy, protein will be used instead. And, especially if you’re already lean, this means your body will even start to break down muscle tissue to use as immediate fuel.

So consuming enough carbs is key to helping you protect your lean muscle, support muscle growth and recover faster from your training sessions.

And the more active you are, often the more carbs are even necessary to help with body recomposition and fat loss.

So while you may fear carbs because you saw a quick change on the scale due to glycogen and water weight being stored, you need this fuel if you’re serious about those muscle gains.

This scale change due to full glycogen stores is NOT fat being gained. So be prepared for that weight change if you are increasing carbs to go into more of a muscle building focused phase!

#2: Use A Variety Of Rep Ranges.

If you want to lose weight, you can actually do so by simply adjusting your diet.

While training makes it easier, and has been shown to be key for long-term success, you can truly lose weight without changing your activity.

BUT if you want to gain muscle, you’ve got to create a clear plan of action for the gym.

Now the question that often comes up is, “How many reps and sets?”

Do I do lighter weights and more reps or heavier weights and fewer reps?

The simple fact of the matter is – If it challenges you, it will change you.

So while yes, lifting weights makes it so much easier to gain muscle, you can achieve gains even using bodyweight moves by creating progression through tempos, range of motion, instability not to mention simply advancing moves in different ways.

The key is creating that new challenge strategically.

Now in terms of the reps and sets you use…

Well that really depends on so many factors, but the simple answer is USE A VARIETY or rep ranges to get the best results.

This can actually help you even increase training frequency over the week if every workout isn’t leaving you completely destroyed and help you utilize all three drivers of muscle growth.

Program in heavy compound lifts to start a few workouts in that 1-5 rep range. This can help you build maximal strength to lift more even in other moves. And it can help you really apply loads to those big muscle groups to challenge them. The more weight you can move overall, aka the stronger you are, the better the gains you’ll see. So doing some lifts focusing on building strength can improve your muscle gains.

Then program in some other compound accessory exercises to address those muscles further, working in that 6-15 rep range or the traditional hypertrophy rep range. This can help you really continue to challenge those stronger muscles.

To finish you may want to add in some more isolated moves working in that 15-20 or strength endurance rep range even. These moves may create more metabolic stress or they may be moves that isolate smaller muscles where you can only create so much challenge through loads alone.

By working in these different rep ranges, using different types of moves and even tools, you can even better utilize the different drivers of muscle growth as well – from muscle tissue damage to mechanical tension and metabolic stress.

But just remember, whether you’re working in the 1-5 rep range or the 15-20, no loads should feel light. You should always feel like you can’t do more weight in the given rep range, even focusing on working down in the assigned rep range over the week while increasing loads!

#3: Play With Meal Timing.

Meal timing is one of those things I think should oddly be the LAST of your worries BUT I also think it can be a really powerful tool to use to your advantage when working to get the most efficient muscle gains without gaining fat.

I just want to note that you should not stress over your meal timing, especially to start. If you hit your macros and calories overall for the day, you’re going to see results.

So do not stress if one day you can’t adhere to your ideal meal timing.

However, because making sure our muscles have the fuel they need to recover, repair and rebuild is so key, tweaking our meal timing can be super helpful.

Taking in some carbs pre workout can help really prevent any extra muscle tissue breakdown and allow our muscles to efficiently utilize the protein to build.

You have that immediate fuel to power through a tough workout and you immediately replenish those depleted glycogen stores after for the protein sparing effect.

By also consuming protein pre and post workout, you ensure your body has what it needs to rebuild when it is primed to do so.

A big main reason to eat post workout is actually to create an insulin response.

Insulin is an anabolic hormone, meaning it helps promote muscle growth and spiking it halts protein breakdown while encouraging protein synthesis.

Preventing protein breakdown can also aid in recovery.

Basically, post workout your body is primed to use the calories you give it to rebuild so some sort of post workout fuel can be good to help you build muscle and recover.

A simple carb source is key to replenish depleted glycogen stores and help you create that insulin response to build muscle, reduce soreness and help your body recover more quickly.

Fast digesting proteins and simple carbs are ideal.

Especially the older we get, because we don’t utilize protein as efficiently, the more we can benefit from taking in more protein, closer to 40 grams of protein, post workout.

Now what about Intermittent Fasting and fasted training?

You can 100% do IF and gain muscle. However, fasted training may not be ideal if your focus is truly on gaining muscle.

Studies have shown that even moderate glycogen depletion may impact performance.

So if you are training fasted, you may not be able to push as hard as you would had you had full glycogen stores. And being able to create that progression is key.

Not to mention you do risk your body seeking out energy from other sources, breaking down protein and muscle tissue for energy depending on the length of your fast and the fat stores available.

Especially if you are in a deficit, but really want to focus still on building lean muscle, be careful of fasted training.

So if you do choose to do IF consider breaking your fast prior to your training with even a small snack if muscle hypertrophy is your primary focus!

SUMMARY:

While it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat or achieve body recomposition, don’t expect results overnight. Especially the longer you’ve been training the longer it will take often to create those changes.

And as strange as it sounds, when it comes to body recomposition, slow results are often the REAL results.

So while you may want to do what you can to rush the process focus on staying consistent even when it feels like things aren’t building!

Achieve your ideal body composition and lasting results with a workout and diet routine that actually fits YOUR lifestyle.

Learn more about my 3-Part RS System…

–> The RS Formula

 

The Best Deadlift Exercise You Aren’t Doing

The Best Deadlift Exercise You Aren’t Doing

It’s awkward. Uncomfortable. You can’t lift as heavy. And it takes coordination and balance…

I’m talking about one of the most underutilized but oh so important deadlift variations out there…

The Single Leg Deadlift.

All too often we avoid moves that challenge our balance because they make us feel uncomfortable in a way we don’t like and uncoordinated.

We may even dislike them because we feel we have to regress the movement instead of being able to beast mode out heavy loads like we can with other bilateral deadlift variations.

But for the exact reasons we often don’t like unilateral balance moves, like the single leg deadlift, we need to include them MORE.

They are super key to helping us stay strong as we get older!

Unilateral balance moves are a great way to correct any imbalances between both sides. They help us strengthen our weaker side without our stronger side compensating.

They help us avoid perpetuating the imbalance, which we can often do when lifting heavy with a bilateral move because, to move the weight, we simply rely on that stronger side.

So if you do want to beast mode out heavier deadlifts, the single leg deadlift is a great accessory move to help you build up.

It will still target your glutes and hamstrings to train that hip hinge movement pattern but in a way that will help you correct underlying recruitment issues!

And it will also help you become more focused and intentional about your foots connection to the ground. So much of powering that deadlift really does come from us pushing the ground away. And this focus on our foundation will pay off in terms of improving our stability and balance even in other moves.

The Single Leg Deadlift is a key exercise to help us focus on improving our stability from the ground up while improving that mind-body connection.

We have to remember a big part of lifting heavier is the strength of our mind-body connection. Our ability to recruit muscles efficiently and effectively allows us to lift more.

It’s why we want to include moves like this to really allow us to focus in on what we feel working and strengthen those weak links!

So how can you improve your Single Leg Deadlift form to embrace and master this amazing movement?

Here’s how I cue the move to help clients dial in their form…

To do the Single Leg Deadlift, start standing tall and shift your weight to one leg with the toe of your opposite foot touching down. As you shift your weight, think about the foot of your standing leg as a tripod, two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel all pushing down into the ground as hard as you can.

Then instead of focusing on lifting that other leg toward the wall behind you, think about pushing the glute of your standing leg back.

As you sit back, your other leg will raise toward that wall to balance out your chest hinging over.

Do not reach toward the ground.

Soften your knee as you hinge to allow you to really load that glute and hamstring. You will even feel a stretch down your hamstring.

As you hinge, you want your hands to reach back toward the instep of your foot instead of reaching out. If you use weights, you want to lower the weights back toward your instep. This helps you load that standing leg and avoid overloading your lower back.

Keep your hips square to the ground as you hinge and don’t just try to reach lower and end up bending at the waist.

After hinging over to about parallel, think about pushing the ground away to stand back up. Too often we lose this focus on our foot’s connection to the ground which leads to us losing balance and even shifting our weight forward.

This shift or rock forward is also what can lead to lower back pain with deadlifts.

Drive that ground away to stand up tall and squeeze your standing glute at the top. Don’t be afraid to touch the other foot down when fully standing, but don’t use it to push back up.

While you can definitely modify this move by holding on to something if that helps you focus in more on what you feel working and your foot’s connection to the ground, I actually prefer to first try the single leg slider deadlift variation.

This is a great way to add stability to this unilateral move while allowing you to focus on the hip hinge movement.

It also teaches you to really sit back in that standing glute while worrying less about how high you lift that back leg.

With this modification, you will slide the foot back on the slider only as far as needed to counterbalance the hinge. Do not turn this into a lunge.

You can also use the variation as a progression for the single leg deadlift because sometimes the same but different can be the variety we need to move forward.

You can add loads to this single leg slider deadlift to make it just as challenging in a different way!

If you want to even create more of a challenge for yourself using the single leg deadlift, instead of adding loads, try different loading placements. Try a unilaterally loaded deadlift or even a front loaded one.

These may not create progression through heavier weights but they do by changing the activation of the muscles of your core and the instability created.

SUMMARY:

As uncomfortable and awkward as unilateral balance moves can be, they are key to helping us build functional strength.

Moves like the single leg deadlift will help keep you young while being a great accessory lift to improve your deadlifts not to mention your running!