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How To Build Muscle (Using Double Progression)

How To Build Muscle (Using Double Progression)

by | Mar 23, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Gaining muscle is a slow process.

While you’d think being a more experienced exerciser would have its advantages, gaining muscle faster isn’t one of them. It actually gets harder the longer we’ve been training.

That’s why it is key, no matter our fitness level, that we focus on the double progression technique to maximize our efficiency and see better muscle and strength gains faster.

Before I go over what double progression is and how to use it in your routine, I want to shed some light on how quickly we can actually expect to see muscle gains, especially based on how long we’ve been training.

And I will tell you, one of the BIGGEST things holding many back from truly seeing their hard work pay off in the gym IS the nutritional component which I’ll touch on a tip at the end.

But in terms of how fast you can see results…

Lyle McDonald’s research shows us that a more newbie lifter can gain up to 1lbs per month as a woman and up to 2lbs as a male.

With each year of training that goes down.

At just even 4 years of training experience, which many of us have been training for decades even, muscle gains are just even a few pounds per YEAR. Yes, not per month, per year! Women can see .1lbs per month and men .25lbs per month.

And this is often when our training is even more optimized for results. Which honestly…most of our training routines aren’t.

Not in a bad way, we just don’t push the progression as much as we could because we’re worn out from life.

We include too much cardio.

We miss days.

We get bored and want to try something new over staying consistent.

Heck we even try to do too much to try to rush results.

Or we simply don’t really fuel to promote our hard work in the gym.

But we’re human! This is going to happen!

That’s why I think it’s key we not only A. Remember to be patient but B. Also take ourselves back to basics and refocus on quality and intentionality with those basic systems over just trying to work harder and do more.

And that’s why I want to remind you of this key training technique – double progression.

So what is double progression and how can you use it?

Have you ever in your workouts had a rep range of 6-12 reps and picked a weight, gotten 12 reps and just stayed there for all the sets?

It felt “hard enough?”

You could have pushed harder.

Or have you ever just done the bare minimum in reps with weights and then tried to go up in weight the next week only to find you can’t keep going heavier week after week in your progression and are maxed out?

You’ve wasted another way to progress!

Trust me, I’ve been guilty of these both at times. Trying to push too hard with only changing loads. Or just going to the top of the rep range and stopping there.

I’ve even had times where I’m constantly changing weights and reps all at the same time.

But this all holds us back even when we FEEL like we’re working hard.

It’s also not a strategic, intentional build that allows us to truly push and optimize.

And this is where Double Progression can help.

Double progression helps you progress the same move in two different ways – by adjusting reps and by adjusting weight, but with one driving the other.

This method regulates how you increase both volume but also intensity of your training.

So…How it works….

It can be used with any rep range you have assigned (let’s say you’re doing 6-12 reps).

Once you hit the top of that range for a certain number of sets (usually 1-3), you’ll increase weight (generally not more than 5-10 pounds).

You want this increase to force you back down toward the bottom of that rep range (so more like 6-8 reps).

You’ll then keep this weight until you can again hit 12 reps for 1-3 rounds. At that time, you’ll move back to increasing weight.

With this double progression, you’re first working to increase reps, which is volume, before then progressing by increasing weight, or the intensity.

This is that double progression.

An example of this may be if you’re doing Goblet Squats for 6-12 reps and you decide if you can do one set of 12 you’ll increase. You have 3 working sets.

You do 12 reps with your weight for your first round. So you go up.

The next round, you can only do 8 reps with the heavier weight. So you stay there for the final round, performing another 8 reps.

Next week you start with that same weight but do 10 reps. You can stay there for all 3 rounds.

The following week you again are able to do 12 reps so you go up.

This push to get out more reps with a weight before increasing is what helps you optimally drive muscle growth, maintaining proper form while constantly pushing that progression.

But there may be some times we misjudge weights, going too light or too heavy.

There may be times that you find you go up in weight and can again hit the top end of that range. Don’t be afraid to go up again.

There may also be times that you miss the bottom of the rep range when increasing weights.

If this happens, you may find you drop down to a weight between what you had used and the weight you’re now using.

If you don’t have a weight between or feel like you can maintain proper form with just a quick pause between a few reps, you may pause for 15-20 seconds to complete the reps.

Just then stay at this weight for longer to progress that volume.

If you are doing 3 rounds and find you miss the rep range on the first round, you can then either use the short pause to keep the weight over the rounds or even lower weights for the final rounds, knowing the lighter weight will be harder simply because of going heavier to start.

The key is to focus on increasing the number of reps you can do first with a weight before you then add weight over always just trying to go heavier.

But part of what also pushes you with double progression is not just stopping at a rep number because it’s the top one listed. This pushes you to truly test out your limits, even working down in reps as you add weight!

Don’t be afraid to use this technique with any lift you include in your workout routine where you really want to make sure you’re maximizing your efforts, especially if you’ve felt stuck in your progression!

Now, the one very side note I wanted to mention with nutrition to optimize your muscle gains…

Eat to fuel that growth!

If you’re putting in this work to build muscle in the gym, you need to make sure your diet is working with you, not against you.

Too often I see clients, especially after a weight loss phase, not eating enough. Partly because they’ve trained their body to function in a deficit and the hunger cues even aren’t there.

Partly because they are afraid of gaining fat, which I totally get.

But building muscle requires us to have adequate fuel to not only truly be able to train hard but also to build more muscle, which requires more energy to be maintained.

This doesn’t mean go crazy with the surplus, but if you’ve been struggling to build, you need to assess whether your diet is truly in line with your goals.

Be conscious that with building muscle, especially the more advanced you are, the more precise you sometimes need to be in optimizing your diet to complement.

But if you want to build more strength and muscle, make sure you’re using this double progression technique in your training while fueling those gains!

Dial in your workouts to build muscle and strength and see that amazing definition…

–> Learn more about Dynamic Strength

10 Reasons You Aren’t Seeing Results

10 Reasons You Aren’t Seeing Results

by | Mar 20, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast, everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. I want to talk about 10 reasons you aren’t seeing results. Number one being you’re more interested in being right than finding what’s right. All of us can get ego in what we’re doing, ego in our knowledge, but knowing isn’t doing, and we can know a lot of things and still not see the tweaks that meet us where we’re at. We’re also basing a lot of what we think is right on what has worked for us in the past. But guess what? You are exactly the same person right now that you were even two seconds ago. I think my hair just moved. We’re always evolving and changing and the more we get set in our ways and think of right and wrong as these very binary things over so much nuance in what could work a little bit better or what could work a little worse, the more we’re setting ourselves up for failure.

(00:53):
So I think a lot of times when we see that pushback of someone even suggesting something new or we get that pushback when someone suggests something new, we think instantly to ourselves, no, I’m right. There’s some defense of what we’re doing over being like, how could I be wrong? Or How could this be better? It doesn’t even have to be that you were wrong, it could just be better for you. Now we’re constantly doing new research that is proving new things too. So there’s so much opportunity in the options. So when something’s not working, instead of being like, well, these are all the things I’m doing right, say to yourself, how can I find a better way? Because if we get too caught up in being right over finding what’s right, we’re going to hold ourselves back. We’re going to shut ourselves down to all the options and opportunities out there.

(01:35):
Number two, you’re not making the one change you need to make and you’re looking for any way to defend against it. I actually had a conversation with somebody in Messenger the other day where I was talking to her and I’m like, Hey, you say you’re willing to make all these different changes and you say nothing’s working. What’s one change you’re fighting against or one area? You’re not really looking at your routine to assess. And we were talking about nutrition. She’s like, well, I’ve done all these different diets, and ultimately I was like, well, what about your workouts? No, I’m not changing my workouts. I’m like, right there is the problem. The one thing we aren’t willing to change is often thing that needs a little adjustment, and maybe it’s not in line with what our diet needs to be because of other hormonal factors. Maybe it’s not in line with hormonal shifts.

(02:15):
Maybe it’s not in line with our age, our schedule, whatever else it is. And it wasn’t that her workouts even worked fabulous. Maybe it wasn’t her workouts, but that unwillingness to look at them was going to hold her back not only from changing potential issues with them, but that was going to pop up somewhere else. Because a lot of times when we defend against changes in specific areas more, we’re putting up mental barriers against other changes. And so at some point we’re going to hold ourselves back from making a change that we really need. So the harder you’re fighting a change, the more you have to look at the change and be like, this might be the one change I really need. Number three, you simply give up before results have had time to snowball. So often that’s the case. We just need to keep going sucks because we sometimes don’t feel like we can see results happening, but that’s often also because we’re only measuring progress in one way.

(03:02):
So if you want that scale to change, you got to stop staring at the scale because it’s not going to change by staring at it by wanting it to change any faster. You have to celebrate the effort, you have to celebrate those habit changes. And so what you need to do is set ways to be successful in more ways by measuring progress in more than one way. I do believe that you can see progress towards your goals and know you’re on the right track pretty quickly, whether it’s changes in energy, changes in feeling fueled, changes in bloat, changes in just feeling healthier. There’s a lot of different ways we can know that we’re on the right path towards something and that the changes are paying off. And a lot of times it’s even owning. Am I actually doing the habits consistently? As silly as it sounds, I always think back to when I was trying to make a habit change when I was younger and my mom put a calendar out and then gave me gold stars and I could put the stars on each day.

(03:47):
Do that for yourself. If you’re doing that consistently and you’re doing that consistently for weeks on weeks on weeks, you’re going to see progress. And it might not happen again in the way that you want first, but you’re going to see progress. But you’ve got to assess that consistency because a lot of times you might notice there aren’t gold stars on specific days. We’ve missed things. Not to mention we are not recognizing all the time it took to get into our current situation. We’re seeing where we are right now. We want changes tomorrow, but we don’t see that actually a lot of these habits, the results we have now, they’re results of our past hustle, of our past habits and they have built up over years even the mindsets behind them that have kept parts of them ingrained. So sometimes it’s not that you need something different, you just need to keep going and making little tweaks to keep yourself consistent and dedicated, but you need to keep going.

(04:32):
Number four, you’re trying to avoid the hard. There is no way around it. If you try and go back from the hard, it’s basically like you’re trapped in the circle in the fence and you go up and you hit the hard and then you go back and then you go try and go a different way and you hit the hard and you come back and you’re still stuck in the same radius. You’re just trying to get around it and you can’t. You’re going to hit the hard in some different form, but it’s the same hard. It’s that you’re not willing to go that extra mile to push through that one pain. And I’ll tell you, we do this because we don’t want to fail, but failures are the best learning experience. They are what truly creates our growth, truly creates our strength that we don’t suffer through them as stinky as they might be.

(05:09):
We’re never going to build the strength to overcome. We’re never going to build that mental resilience. We’re never going to move forward towards our goals. The people who have succeeded the greatest have failed the most. We have to embrace that. So stop looking for a way around the heart. The sooner you embrace the heart, even the sooner you can overcome that obstacle, and guess what? The next time you face the heart, it’s not going to feel as hard because you’re going to be more comfortable being uncomfortable and pushing into it, leaning into that discomfort. Number five, you continue to try to focus on your limiting beliefs, not try to you do. You focus on those limiting beliefs. You tell yourself all the things you can’t. You let that inner critic become louder and louder and louder. And if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change, this is a great quote by Wayne Dyer, and I think it’s important that we remember that our perspective shapes everything.

(06:00):
We can see something as an opportunity or an obstacle, and it’s very key that we recognize when we’re repeating our limiting beliefs to ourselves because they’re going to color how we approach everything. If you tell yourself you can’t, that you’re not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, you’re not going to be enough for that obstacle. But if you tell yourself, Hey, maybe I’m not even strong enough yet, but I’m going to find a way to get stronger. What’s one thing I can do to improve? You’re still testing that boundary, yet is a very powerful word to give yourself the opportunity to see that you might be able to grow into this. But only by pushing into it, only by questioning those limiting beliefs can you drive forward to reach your goals. Number six, so often we’re not taking ownership. Guess what? If you succeed or fail, it is your fault.

(06:45):
Yes, there are programs and plans that work better for us that speak to us in ways that help us move forward, but ultimately we have to take action. We have to determine what isn’t working and we have to move forward with things that are pushing us forward and we have to let go of things that aren’t working for us. We have to take ownership. It is our fault if something doesn’t work and we can’t keep placing blame outside of ourselves because ultimately, if you really think about what’s worked and what hasn’t, the only common denominator in a lot of those things is you. Yes, there are other things like, oh, it didn’t work to cut out different foods or it didn’t work to have hour long workouts. But that’s still about you and your priorities and your goals and the excuses you choose to make or the hard you choose to push through.

(07:25):
And I see this as a very empowering thing when I’m saying this. This isn’t a bad thing. I’m not saying you can control the rain or that isn’t going to have an impact. And I’m not saying we’re not going to get down on ourselves or do the woe is me, trust me. I do it far too frequently. But I do think it always is coming back to that ownership because that’s what helps us get up and move forward the next day and take that next step and always keep picking ourselves back up when we have fallen. But the more you take ownership, the more you’ll see your power in everything to make changes that move you forward. Number seven, you don’t own your priorities and they become your excuses. Take a look at your excuses right now. A lot of these excuses probably are stemming from things you value, you prioritize in your life or the priorities that you do have and then the impact they have on your lifestyle.

(08:09):
But we need to own what is a priority for us? What is a non-negotiable? Because otherwise it will pop up in our excuses and we’re not planning for it because the reality is our life. A lot of times there are things we can’t change, but we can own those things and then we can plan around them. So right now, if time is your excuse, why are you trying to force an hour long workout? If time is your excuse, why aren’t you steering into getting a few more meals prepped by somebody else or having a few restaurant meals in there? Why are you trying to force a specific meal prep? Why are you trying to force a specific workout routine? Own your priorities because it will help you overcome a lot of those excuses. And it’s not always sexy, but taking it back to those 1% changes, those silly simple habit swaps really adds up.

(08:49):
Number eight, you aren’t constantly reflecting. We learn more in the reflecting than in the doing a lot of times. But if you’re not constantly stepping back to assess what is my goal? Is it still important to me? How are my habits working? Does something need to shift? Especially as the excuses pop up, the motivation starts to fade because what works for one season doesn’t work for another. During the holidays, you’re starting to be like, oh, this doesn’t feel sustainable. The effort doesn’t feel worth the outcome. Okay, well own that. Step back and reflect what’s changed that now makes some of those habits that didn’t even feel bad before, not feel like they are worth it. Maybe you can change the habits and how you’re implementing them because balance isn’t just a set it and forget it finite thing. There is always the act of balancing.

(09:33):
So the more we can really step back and look at everything and constantly reflect, the more we’re going to see opportunity for growth and improvement. And I actually, I read this today and I can’t remember where I read it, but it was a great example of giving more feedback during a time or right after a game where athletes had won. And I thought this was a very interesting thing because I do think we’re more often going to reflect on failures, try and brush past ’em as fast as possible, but we’ll reflect on the failures, beat ourselves up over them. But then a lot of times when we’ve had that success, we then don’t reflect on, Hey, what’s still something we could have improved? Not only what worked, but what’s still something we can improve while we’re in that positive mindset? And I think that’s a very important perspective to take because it also reduces our resistance against feedback at times where maybe something didn’t go as planned.

(10:21):
We’re more willing to reflect. So reflect on those winning experiences, not only to see the good, but to even see the opportunity for growth when you’ve done a lot, right? That will help you see those 1% changes that really pay off. Number nine, you excuse 1% deviations. This is the most dangerous. Well, it’s not that bad. I don’t need to track this little bit of this or Oh, it’s not bad, I just missed this one. Workout deviations are going to happen and you are going to miss that workout. You are not going to log that one thing. But the more we start to get into that habit of excusing them and justifying them to ourselves, the more we’re going to become complacent, the more they’re going to creep in. So saying, Hey, I had to miss this workout for X, Y, and Z reason, but I’m doing this, this, and this as my game plan to move forward is different than letting yourself off the hook.

(11:06):
And I think that’s important that we really note that there’s letting yourself off the hook and there’s giving yourself grace for being human and for life getting in the way. But the mindset and attitude we take with it is very different. Instead of excusing it and justifying it, it’s saying, Hey, this had to happen. Here’s what I’m doing instead. And it’s making sure that you have that clear game plan so that you do something to move yourself forward in terms of shifting your mindset, shifting your habits, shifting your routine, not just excusing it and letting those things slide because we get complacent then, and that’s where we don’t see things snowball and it can still even feel like we’re working just as hard while we’re seeing our results fade. And number 10, you’re constantly searching for an aha moment instead of looking for reminders that connect dots and help you tweak.

(11:48):
I bring this up because I know I am incredibly guilty of it. I do read new things and what’s some magic secret out there? Even though I know there’s not going to be one. And the more I’ve stopped searching for some big thing that’s completely different than what I’ve done because I’ve had people even start the Macro Hawks Program or Metabolic Shred or different programs like that and be like, I was expecting some new magic ratio. Sorry, there probably isn’t any, but if you were to read this and test it out, you might realize that the ratio is done in this order with this framing all of a sudden is that aha moment that makes things click. And so the more I started reading and looking at programs and just listening to podcasts from that perspective of what’s a phrasing to something that I haven’t heard?

(12:27):
Or how are things being said, even like the same description of the basics said in a different way that maybe I can now connect a new dot for myself. Because hearing something that we’ve even heard a thousand times before said in a new phase of life can all of a sudden make things click. And the more we look for those tweaks and everything and the more we hear the nuance and even how something’s being said, the more value we can get where it can end up being the aha moment we need. It just didn’t seem like that big a change to start. So these are 10 reasons why I feel like we often hold ourselves back or how we hold ourselves back from seeing the results we want. And if you’ll notice, none of ’em are macros really or none. Of’em are workout tips because so much relates back to our mindset. Our mindset will shape all the other systems that we really need to enact. So if we can get our mindset framing the changes we need to make in the right way, we’re going to see better results faster. Hope these really helped. I’d love to hear which one really resonated with you the most of all these different tens so that you can really get working towards your goals today.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

I SHOULD be in better shape

I SHOULD be in better shape

by | Mar 16, 2025 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Mindset

SHOULD.

That one word often sabotages the mindset changes we need to make and habit actions we need to take.

“I “should” be further along.”

Only makes us frustrated and feel broken and like a failure. It doesn’t help us learn or want to make more changes.

“I “should” workout 6 days a week.” “I “should” track my macros.”

Ideals are fabulous. But if you can’t do them?

We often do NOTHING.

We need to, as one of my fabulous coaches says “Stop SHOULDING all over ourselves.”

Because when we say all the things that SHOULD be happening, we don’t focus on what we actually CAN do.

SHOULD prevents us from making a change.

I’d encourage you right now to even ask, “Why SHOULD you do this? Why SHOULD you be further along?”

Because so often we never really ask this important question.

And when we do, we pause to assess what we are actually doing and what we need to move forward. The mindsets we CAN shift and the actions we CAN take.

That’s why in this video I want to share 3 steps you can take TODAY to honestly create an action plan to move forward toward your goals.

Starting with Step #1 asking yourself this important question…

“What does my CURRENT lifestyle and results actually look like?”

Where you are right now is a result of your past hustle and current habit practices.

The dieting practices you’ve done, starving yourself, cutting out whole food groups.

Overeating in self sabotage when you can’t stand the restriction any longer.

The skipped warm ups that lead to overuse and injury.

The rushed workouts where you didn’t fully push that progression or challenge yourself – you just got through them.

The haphazard programming and randomly strung together “best moves,” “best foods,” “best macros,” hoping something works….

This lack of planning and lack of focusing on owning our CURRENT lifestyle and priorities when we seek to make a change and instead just trying to work HARDER or do MORE based on a certain ideal…

This is what leads to the SHOULDING and stops us from making changes.

So step 1, before you go in search of a “perfect plan,” which doesn’t exist and I’ll get into more shortly, is to OWN YOUR LIFESTYLE AND PRIORITIES FIRST.

When you step back and truly assess what your lifestyle is and where your priorities lie, you can plan around them as you make changes and meet yourself where you are at.

What habits are truly beneficial that you’re doing?

What habits are holding you back?

What excuses do you always seem to make that lead to you falling off your plan?

When we ask these questions and assess, we can find little changes that meet us where we are at to move us forward.

We can start to build a plan that is actually sustainable.

Because if you don’t know where you’re starting from, you can’t outline a route forward.

And if we don’t own our priorities, they become our excuses every single time.

Family pressures and events? Long hours at work?

Not enough time always your excuse?

Stop then trying to force some ideal training schedule of 6 days a week and 1 hour in the gym.

Instead, especially if you’re barely making 3 sessions of 30 minutes now, why not start with that?

There is no perfect plan. But there is progress. And small changes to build lead to consistency which yields results!

Step #2, write out where you’re going.

And I don’t just mean write out your goals here. I want you to consider what the lifestyle at your goals will actually LOOK like.

Because it won’t look the same as what you’re doing now.

Change requires change.

If what you’re doing now worked to see results, you wouldn’t be looking for another program, another thing you SHOULD be doing.

You’d just keep doing the habits you’re already repeating.

But in order to make changes, we have to understand what changes are actually needed.

And while we may not have the full picture, we can often highlight a few things we know we will either need to do MORE of or LESS of to be at our goals.

As you list out the lifestyle your goals would require, don’t think right now about if it is doable. Don’t let the changes overwhelm you.

Just consider what you may need to do and even think about WHY.

The WHY part of that is key. Because often we don’t understand why we make certain changes or believe certain things are “best.”

This assessment of why we believe we need certain habits can help us already start to see things that may not fit or that may not be needed to then find other habits that are more in line.

Especially since you know where you are right NOW! You can start to see how many ideals you have that aren’t anywhere close to what you’re doing.

It may be eye opening to realize how far off you are from the habits you need, or believe you need. It can make us think…

“Well no wonder I’ve struggled to make some of these changes in the past! They’re a complete 180 from where I am!”

But don’t let this overwhelm you. Just write everything down. No judgement. No stress as to what you can or can’t do.

We will get there.

And I say write it down because writing it down makes it more real and tangible. It gives you a set destination to map out a route toward, breaking down those habit changes.

It reminds you of what you may need and even WHY you may need it when there are lows in the journey.

And it also then allows you to find one habit change to start with that may then impact other areas.

Often there is one thing that can really get the momentum going…

Which brings me to Step #3, set one small change you can make even right now!

Sometimes we make changes like we’re covering our eyes and simply pointing at a city on a map to drive to. Or like we’re just picking a place to go we’ve heard is “best.”

Then we expect ourselves to just know how to get there. And for everything to go smoothly and be amazing.

The thing is…

Without directions, we have no idea how to get there and half the time we won’t even make an attempt to travel.

How do we know that is even a place we WANT or need to go?!

We don’t always know what is required to shift in our lifestyle to replicate the habit or change we’ve selected.

We don’t know even if that change is something doable with our current routines and habits and how those will have to morph.

Instead, we want to base all changes off of where we are starting from.

We want to treat it like we’re mapping out that first turn out of our driveway to get to our destination. Not just pointing to some random turn somewhere along the route!

Because starting your journey by turning the wrong way right out of your driveway? That journey is not going to go well.

Instead, meet yourself where you are at and make sure you’re heading in the right direction with a doable step immediately.

This allows you to not only make a change that feels doable to build momentum and motivation through action, but it allows you to start the course toward a bigger habit change.

And it allows you to make changes in a way that can allow for easier course corrections.

We do have to start trying to find what may be “best” for a specific goal without fully knowing if it is best for us.

But by breaking down that habit based on where we are starting from and ultimately where we want to go, we can attempt to move forward to build up.

In the process, if we find that the habit doesn’t fully align, we can then always take another turn, knowing we’re still heading the right way.

That’s the key.

Changes that meet us where we are at to move forward but that build off each other so we can adjust as we go and find things that do or do not ultimately match our specific journey.

So based on your current lifestyle and routines you’ve just assessed, what is one small change you can make today that is a component of what you feel you need MORE of to reach your destination.

I say to focus on the MORE of instead of LESS of because often mentally these changes are easier to make. We mind adding more than we like subtracting, especially if what we think we need less of is something we enjoy.

But find that habit change that is, as weird as this expression is, the first bite to eat that elephant.

And write that change out to start today.

This isn’t sexy. Doesn’t lead to overnight results. But this momentum shift is what will carry you through and make you want to do more.

Because getting started with all the things we feel we SHOULD be doing is the hardest part.

This helps us take action and makes something we SHOULD do something we not only CAN do but even WANT and GET to do.

Write out that change and put it someplace you can see daily for the next week. Even give yourself a chance to check it off when it is done.

Then set a time a week from now to add on another change.

Stop SHOULDING all over yourself and ultimately never taking action. Start with action today and do these 3 steps and share in the comments the first small change you’re making!

If you want a completely CUSTOM PROGRAM with accountability and guidance to help you build your leanest, strongest body no matter your age (it is NEVER too late to make a change), check out my Coaching.

–> Apply and schedule a free consultation

Why Willpower Won’t Help You (And What To Do Instead)

Why Willpower Won’t Help You (And What To Do Instead)

by | Mar 13, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. Creating a routine you love means meeting yourself where you’re at yet. So often when we want to achieve a goal, what do we do? We look for a perfect plan. We try and force a round peg into a square hole, or maybe it’s a square peg into a round hole, but we’re trying to push something in and create something that really doesn’t fit what we need and even need now. And I’m super excited to dive in with Michelle to really talk about creating that sustainable routine and what that really means. So Michelle, thank you so much for joining me today.

Michelle (00:41):
Thanks for having me.

Cori (00:43):
Let’s talk about how we often approach making changes to reach our goals. We look for a perfect plan, but this is also what sabotages our ultimate success.

Michelle (00:57):
Yes. You can’t just grind your way to success. And so often we look at someone where they’re at right now and we’re like, oh, we want to be like them. And you start to see what they’re doing and we try to go all in and do everything they’re doing all at once, when most likely they probably started small and built their routine and it’s theirs. Your routine is going to look different than everyone else’s. My routine’s different than your routine. We have to have our own routine that really is serving us. And we’re not just kind of a slave to following things and checking things off of the box just because we think that’s ideal.

Cori (01:35):
And it’s an interesting thing because you have to use other people to get an idea of a roadmap. You have to look for plans to help guide you, but it’s remembering that there’s so much nuance to everything. It’s like when you do set your roadmap out, you set your GPS to get to your destination while you have that route that a lot of people might have driven. It is slightly different because your house isn’t their house. Maybe someone lived in your house before, but at the same time they’re starting from a slightly different position, even if it’s your next door neighbor. And then there’s different things that can come up. You might have to go pee at a different time than they did. You might have to stop for food at a different time. You might run into traffic jams. So while we can know that there is a roadmap forward and a way to guide ourselves the exact implementation of our journey, the exact journey is going to be very unique no matter what.

Michelle (02:27):
Yeah, and I know we always say this here, but it truly is also that 1% improvement. Don’t even look at this as like, oh, I’m going to completely do a complete overhaul of my routine. Make it so simple that it seems like almost silly to start there. Start there and then slowly build as you truly create this habit and your routine that fits you.

Cori (02:49):
I love that way of putting it. Build the routine that fits you. Because I think too, when we think about a plan, we think about going on a program not building that program around ourselves. And that’s what ultimately keeps us very stuck, is that we’re trying to force ourselves into that mold and it doesn’t work that way. Balance is an act, right? It’s not just one. Set it and forget it thing.

Michelle (03:14):
Yeah. The best routine, the best plan that you’re ever going to follow, follow is one that’s truly going to fit you because that’s going to be the one that you stick with. You always hear like, oh, I did that for a couple weeks, or I did that workout program for this long, but you didn’t stick with it because it truly wasn’t meaning you where you were at.

Cori (03:34):
And that’s even an interesting thing because yeah, you did it for that long. Okay, but what’s next? I think we have this idea that I’m doing this, this is forever. And it’s like, no, it’s still the plan right now, right? It’s the right turn on this street, not the left. Turn on the next one. And the more you embrace, I’m doing this, okay, what’s the exit strategy or what’s the next phase? The better off you’re going to be because there will be phases and evolutions in building that forever process that sustainable lifestyle. It doesn’t mean doing one thing, it means coming back to the meeting yourself where you’re at right now. So you do this one thing that meets yourself where you’re at, okay, as you progress now, where are you at? You need that reassessment to keep moving forward. So out of this, how do we go about setting an accurate sort of location for ourselves to know how we can meet ourselves, where we’re at to move forward?

Michelle (04:24):
Yeah. You have to first start with knowing your why. What is your end goal? What is it that you actually want to build towards? Because if you’re just pulling out a routine because it’s like, oh, well this sounds like a good habit to start, but you don’t see what you’re building towards or how it’s even contributing to you to get to that end goal, then there’s no reason for you to stick to it. And so it makes it harder to continue that. So really looking at what it’s you’re actually looking for. Why are you even wanting your routine? Is it because you feel like you need a little bit better time management, more energy, more confidence? You’re trying to improve your overall performance? What areas are you actually looking to improve and then build towards that.

Cori (05:10):
I think that’s a key point too. It’s not just your ultimate goal, but the areas in your lifestyle, in your mindset that you’re looking to improve. Because so often we do just put things together that look cool or fun or hard or feel like we’re doing more work or someone else said worked and we don’t assess well that worked for them, but is the purpose for my purpose, does this drive me towards creating something that does build in a sustainable way? Does it meet me where I’m at? We don’t ask those other questions to really assess that balance because it isn’t just our ultimate goal. It is what else do we want out of our lifestyle? Because in order to reach our goal, we’re kind of building a new identity and therefore new routines, new habits, new lifestyle patterns.

Michelle (05:55):
Yeah, just overloading yourself with like, oh, I’m going to do this and I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that, because they can all be good. It can all be like, oh, I’m going to start working out and I’m going to eat this every morning and every morning I’m waking up at five. Those are all can be good things, but does it actually serve you

Cori (06:16):
And does it serve the direction you ultimately want ahead? And I say that too because I think a lot of times we assess what might even be make us happy in the moment, not what will really drive us forward because there will be some sacrifices as we’re really trying to create something sustainable with that long-term vision. But also off of that, it’s so easy to get caught up in when we’re thinking about why the value of it and putting a little guilt trip on ourselves even of, oh, well it’s just five pounds. That’s why it’s not that important. That’s why I don’t stick with these things. So connecting it to a deeper meaning is really key. If we do want to find the true purpose to be able to outline those other changes that we need and value those other changes to some extent.

Michelle (07:03):
Yeah, it’s so easy when things are going to get hard, you’re going to wake up in the morning and be like, oh, I don’t want to do that. But if you have a deeper reason behind just like, oh, you’re going to do this because it sounds good, and it even makes you sound good when you’re telling people what your routine is. But if that’s the only reason you’re doing it and it’s not truly because you have something more deep rooted that makes it harder to rationalize the five pounds or rationalize, oh, it’s a busy day today, I just don’t have time, I can’t prioritize it. That is going to help you stick with it if you can focus more on the process than just the outcome.

Cori (07:43):
Yeah, it is that effort we’re putting in daily and the build of creating a better us, the us we feel we deserve. And I mentioned this too because I do think, and I’ve seen it even on posts that I’ve had of I wanted an aesthetic goal or I have clients, we have clients coming in who want weight loss goals and people will be like, it’s more important the BD on the inside and all these different things. And while I agree, we want to not just focus on one aspect of our life because that doesn’t make us a whole person that’s devaluing what can get us motivated to make a change. And it’s also devaluing the habit changes that go into some of these goals which can pay off in so many ways and it makes us feel guilty or selfish or vain for pursuing them, and we shouldn’t because they will be pushing us outside our comfort zone to achieve things we never thought possible and build the lifestyle that drives us forward in so many other ways. So I only bring this up because a lot of times we think, well, my goal isn’t that deep rooted in my why, and therefore maybe I don’t value it enough to move forward. And I think with those cases, a lot of times we just haven’t looked at all of the ramifications of all the habits that we’re going to put in that we might come for one reason, but stay for another.

Michelle (08:53):
I love that. Yes, because I think that’s huge. Like you said, there’s nothing wrong with having an aesthetic goal. There’s not if that’s your why, that’s not a bad why to have. But as you said, there’s usually that even often opens up doors to other reasons that maybe you didn’t even connect with why that was so important to you. So I think there’s always ways to go a little bit deeper there as well.

Cori (09:19):
And I know we’ve talked a lot about finding your whys, meeting yourself where you’re at, but what is so key in this is also creating a plan off of this that is flexible to be sustainable. So in that when you’re meeting yourself where you’re at, what kind of things do we have to assess with? Okay, I have my value, I have my why now what?

Michelle (09:40):
Yeah, you have to take into consideration what stage of life you currently are in. And I say this because if you’re a young mom, if you’re a mom with older kids, if you’re a mom, an empty nester, or if you just never had kids and you have other obligations with work, if you have different things going on with work and you’re at different stages in your career, these are all things that play into effect of what your routine is. We at least, I feel like oftentimes people put on a pedestal like the morning routine. Well, you want to start your day off great. And I do think there’s always a routine that you should have in your morning, but everyone always pulls workouts into that. You should start your day with your workout. That doesn’t work for everyone. Some of us are at a stage of life where we need to prioritize sleep and maybe that workout needs to happen in the evening or later in the day, and that’s completely fine. That’s where it’s kind of assessing what is really going to help you build your day around your work, around your obligations, around any of those things that you also highly prioritize. Now, we value things differently in different stages, and that’s normal. That’s being human. We are always going to change things and your routine is probably going to change in five years from now. It’s just how it is because we’re constantly evolving. Your routine cannot stay stagnant because you are not staying in the same moment.

Cori (11:09):
And off of that, I would urge you to even think about what have been your common excuses for why you can’t get started or in a groove right now? Because a lot of times those excuses pop up from our priorities. What in our priorities might have shifted? Because if those weren’t excuses prior, what habits and routines are you trying to force based on a different season of life? And thinking about this too, when we think about sustainable, it’s what was comfortable. It is what is comfortable. So if you think about what was sustainable potentially in college or as a new mom versus now as an empty nester, that could be very different things. And if you don’t accept that change is going to have to occur, that’s where we see ourselves not owning our priorities and those excuses popping up even more.

Michelle (11:53):
And I think what you’re even touching on is huge because like I said, I feel like we always think of routine as, oh, that’s just morning. Or we kind of talk about people who have their routines as being boring. No, these people just have non-negotiables that they have set for themselves, and that’s important for you to be able to continue with that consistency in your life

Cori (12:15):
That’s so important. The non-negotiables, and I was even just thinking now about a more recent change in my schedule where I loved working out sort of like mid-morning a few years ago, and that just became unsustainable for me. So I shifted it more to morning. I like getting it done, but this past year I realized that really just didn’t work for my schedule anymore. And so I’ve had to go to the evening when I first started that I very much disliked it. I still can’t tell you that I like it anymore. And I would’ve told you at the beginning, this will never be sustainable. I won’t be able to maintain a long-term. But I knew that the only way to test out if something was sustainable was to give it a chance, which sounds weird because you’re sort of forcing yourself into the sustainability by just doing it, but you have to because you don’t really know what’s sustainable ultimately, until you give it time to become that routine or habit or you change the environment, you change the patterns.

(13:11):
And so by setting this certain time in the evening, by having a specific pattern of eating lunch, dog walk, doing work so that I know I shut off at this time and then go to the gym, there’s patterns I’ve now created where I don’t even know if I like it any better, but it’s just what I do and it’s now comfortable enough that I know I can keep doing it and I won’t miss those sessions. But there’s got to be the evolution in other things to make you want to do that from embracing why you’re doing it, to placing more value on it, to just even understanding that you got to test sometimes to see what does and doesn’t work.

Michelle (13:45):
I love that because you just hit on something really important. You started with one habit, one thing in your routine that you wanted to value, and so it was shifting that workout and then all of a sudden these other things had to be kind of evolved because that was highly valued. So we always say you start with one thing, you start with that 1% change, things will start to evolve to make it so that pattern that you’re creating is easier to follow. That routine becomes easier to follow because you’re aligning yourself with it.

Cori (14:19):
That alignment is important and I think it’s more than just trying to willpower your way through. Tell yourself you value this. Tell yourself it’s important. Say I like it. It’s not just even the workout designed ahead of time, but it’s all those other things in your life that need to fall into place. And mindset is a big one. You have to say sometimes suck it up buttercup. I’m testing this out, align my mindset with going all in on it and not giving myself any excuse not to do it. But out of that mindset then comes other habits where I have a thing of I know at X time I’m exactly going, I know that I’m going be wrapping up so I can’t start another project. Right? Then I have the workout clothes already on, which for me isn’t hard. I wear them all the time, but I have other little things in my routine where I don’t take off my shoes when I come in the house after X time because I want to make sure that I go. And the more we shift that environment, the more we get in alignment from our mindsets to our actions to remind ourselves of the new habit we want to create.

Michelle (15:14):
Yeah, it’s this snowball, the snowball’s happening, and I’m going to say this as well. You even said when you did that, it was hard at the beginning, that first month of you getting used to kind of a new routine, you may not hit it every single day, but the more you do, the more consistent you become with this, just like any other habit, the easier it becomes to, again, you’re aligning yourself with it and all of a sudden it doesn’t feel as hard,

Cori (15:42):
But it’s also remembering why we’re doing these things. No one is forcing me to do that. No one is forcing you to make a change for your goals. You are choosing to, you are doing this for you. And I think that prioritization of doing it for ourselves and that reminder is so key because it gives us choice in it versus feeling restricted, feeling like we have to. It’s creating that mindset of more, I get to do this because I feel I deserve this and this is building the person I want to become with achieving my goals.

Michelle (16:15):
Yes, this is yours. This is your journey. This is what you are focusing on. So I always say too, as we are kind of talking, things build, you start small, you do something for you first. And I think a big part of that, and you kind of touched on it, is even that mindset. How often do we not even recognize that we are doing things for ourselves? But then when you kind of put a label on it like, oh, I’m going to own this. This is my time. All of a sudden you feel like you’ve kind of had a little win for the day. Oh, instead of doing this, I prioritize that and this is for me and that’s my early win. If you can get yourself having early wins in the day, now I’m prefacing this, that’s a win. I’m not saying this is a giant habit where it’s like, oh, first thing in the morning you’re going to go work out. It can be as simple as first thing in the morning. You stave off opening social media for a little while because you’re going to do something else at that time. That’s an early win. If you can do those things, all of a sudden that’s another way to kind of build and be like, alright, I’m doing this for me and now I’m going to move on to this thing. But it requires that recognition that you’re doing it for yourself.

Cori (17:33):
One minute can really add up, and this seems silly, but it’s shifted my mindset where when I make coffee in the morning, instead of going on my phone, I do little loops around the kitchen and just sort of walk around and I’m not trying to really even get steps. It’s more just giving myself that mental space as the coffee is brewing, which takes two seconds with the instant pods, but it’s that little extra for me, right? Win ticked it off. It’s those small things that do build momentum and you find when you start to do more, you kind of don’t want to stop doing more. It’s only once you’re thrown out of that routine that all of a sudden it becomes a lot easier to do more of nothing. So I think that’s really important that we find ways to create that success through being able to check the boxes really quickly.

Michelle (18:22):
Again, just the small wins. As silly as it sounds for me, I do a lesson on Duolingo before I allow myself to open up social media. It’s a small thing, but I feel like, oh, I did something productive before. I’m going to go and see what’s going on.

Cori (18:37):
There’s even been mornings where I’ve been trying to read a little bit more, doing a little bit more continuing education even, and I only have five minutes and to get myself to focus on, not do anything else, I have to go on the treadmill as I do it, not walking at a fast pace. This is not about activity, but it’s about having that restriction on what I can focus on. But there’s been mornings where I’m like, I only have five minutes. I’m not going to do it. It’s not worth it. I’ll do it later. And I’m like, no, I’m still going to do it. And often I actually do find a little bit more time, but even just that five minutes of prioritizing me, even though it’s educational or this or that or other things that pay off, it’s still like, no, I took this time for myself and it’s a win because I know I also stayed consistent with it and overcame something hard. So there’s such a snowball to some of these things beyond just the actual thing we’re doing even.

Michelle (19:26):
Yeah, it’s really like we’ve talked about, it’s really like as you do it, it becomes easier to be like, oh, I’m going to do this now. When I do that, I find it easier for me to be like, oh, you know what? I should really read that chapter in this book now before I do that. And so we always feel like, oh, there’s no time. There’s no time. But oftentimes it’s because we’re not capitalizing on those small moments and having micro wins or micro self-care moments.

Cori (19:53):
Yes. We’re not using those little minutes to add up. So with all this, I feel like we’ve given so many great tips on how to start to build your routine and we want to keep it simple. So going through the steps, and I want you to clarify anything, give me your thoughts, some closing thoughts on all these different things. But we want to set the why and we want to understand why we’re making these changes. We want to understand we have to meet ourself in the season that we’re at right now. So it doesn’t matter what used to work, what could work, what would work right now, and even assessing potentially a little bit what hasn’t worked in the past to know what might not fit. And then starting with something that’s for us that meets us where we’re at. That’s so silly, simple. We could do it today. Thoughts on all of that, Michelle? Summary of how to start making a routine that we really love that ultimately moves us forward towards our goals.

Michelle (20:43):
Yeah, you’ve summed it up perfectly. The main thing I just want everyone leave with is your goal isn’t to grind your way to success, it’s to build that routine that’s going to support you long term. You start small with a core routine that you value and then you layer in those habits,

Cori (21:04):
Love it, core routine. We can then change the exact implementation of that as our needs and goals change. But having those fundamentals in place is so essential. Michelle, thank you so much for jumping in and talking about how to build that routine that we really love because I think it’s so key. Guys would love to hear the habits that you are starting with and even what you’ve gone back to in your why, to assess why your goals really matter to you.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

The One Small Change That Will Transform Your Lower Ab Workout

The One Small Change That Will Transform Your Lower Ab Workout

by | Mar 9, 2025 | Blog, Core, Exercises

One small tweak to a move can be exactly what we need to create progression and take our results to the next level.

That’s why I want to show you how just this small change in your bench positioning can progress the basic lower body crunch to challenge those lower abs even more.

If you haven’t yet tried Incline Abs, you’re going to want to.

In this video I want to break down how to do this move to get the most benefit as well as why it is so amazing.

Because this exercise is deceptively challenging and must be earned, I’ll also share ways to modify it and build up!

But first, why should you use this move?

Incline Abs are a move I’ve fallen in love with because they are a great way to create progression through the same but different from hanging abs, but also take the basic lower body crunch up a notch without adding weight.

And lower body crunch movements are a great way to target that lower portion of our rectus abdominis, or our lower abs, to a great extent.

This move reduces some of the strain on the upper body that comes with doing the hanging knees to elbows, while still giving you the benefit of engaging your upper body to pull down on the bench as you curl your knees up.

So you get the upper body bonus but with less upper body strain.

That upper body hold can be helpful to engage the lats and even your serratus to better help you active your abs and protect your lower back.

And because of the bench behind your back, you won’t be able to swing or use momentum as easily as you can with hanging knees to elbows.

The bench variation can help you really practice that spinal flexion to learn to control that knee tuck, even making it a great option if you’re working to build up to hanging core moves.

But don’t think that this move is easy just because it may be a way to build up.

It isn’t. And the harder you pull down on the bench and more you focus on that controlled roll up and down being powered by your abs over just flexing at the hips, the harder this move gets!

Now, breaking down how to do this move to maximize it before I share some modifications and variations…

When you set up for this move, you’ll want your bench on about the second notch for a 45 degree angle.

Sit back against the bench and grab the top of the bench in both hands so you can really pull down hard on it and feel the sides of your back engage.

With your knees bent and toes touching the ground, push your back into the bench and slowly curl up one vertebrae at a time.

Feel yourself rolling your knees up toward your elbows pulling with your abs.

It will be tempting to just sort of bend your knees to tuck but this not only won’t get you far, it will just lead to you overusing your hip flexors.

You want that curl to be powered by your abs which means rounding through your spine.

Once you curl your knees up to your elbows, focus on that slow lower down one vertebrae at a time.

At the bottom, do not release tension on the top of the bench or bounce off pushing off with your feet.

You may feel your hips just slightly working at this initial point so can keep your knees tucked up and not fully touch down if you’re struggling with that initial ab engagement to start.

The key here is that hard pull down on the bench and curl!

This is deceptively hard when done intentionally and with control. And starting with a flat bench may be key.

However, if you feel really stuck building up to this move, even try a slow eccentric “only” variation.

To do this, you can slightly use that push off or momentum to set up at the top then control the lower down for a 5 count.

Because we are often strongest in the eccentric portion, this may help you take on your weight to work through the movement with control but while using momentum strategically.

But if you can’t control that lower down, the flat bench or even the ground with an overhead hold can be key to start.

You’ll still get that upper body engagement and you can learn to control that spinal flexion.

If you kick out straight with the moves it will take things up a notch from keeping the knees bent to touch the toes down as you lower back down from the curl.

Make sure to keep your abs engaged as you extend your legs out straight if you do, tilting your pelvis toward your ribs for that posterior pelvic tilt. That will engage your abs with your legs out straight and even engage your glutes.

You can kick your legs out a bit higher if needed as well to modify just slightly.

With this flat variation still stay focused on that curl of the spine to bring the knees in and pull down hard on the bench or pole you’re holding on to overhead.

But this flat variation is a great way to get started on that curl without the added resistance that gravity applies with the incline.

Regress to progress but focus on that curl and use that overhead hold to help you really work those abs.

And then use that change in posture on that bench to progress the lower body crunch to challenge your lower abs.

From there, don’t be afraid to change up tempo or even add loads as you use that Incline Ab variation. But don’t just jump to adding loads. Focus on that control and slow roll powered by your abs!

For more moves to challenge your entire core, check out these 7 Intense Ab Moves.