Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in 10 reasons why we fail. Now, you may be thinking, I’m going to say, oh, your macros weren’t right. Your work workouts weren’t right. You have genetic predisposition for this not to work or it’s your hormonal imbalance. But I’m not going to say any of those things because often it isn’t that we don’t have the right plan.

(00:48):
It isn’t that we’re doomed because of our situation. There is always a way to move forward. The issue is, is that often we’re not really assessing what’s going on and our mindsets aren’t backing up our actions. So I wanted to talk about the 10 most common reasons. I feel that we truly fail in reaching our goals. Number one, being the biggest, most important probably if you don’t listen to anything else in this podcast, you got to listen to this one. We simply give up. That’s it. We start something, we hit a hard point, and when we get that shock of the hard, we say, oh, this isn’t for me. We don’t feel comfortable pushing through it, and we go back to our comfort zone. And so we start a new program and guess what? We get to that same hard point. We get that shock up and we go back.

(01:33):
So we’re never pushing that comfort zone. We’re never pushing that boundary. We’re never pushing past that hard to see what is truly possible for us. We give up and if you probably look at every time you repeat the same cycle, you give up probably near the same point. Yeah, sure. Maybe it’s one time because you had to cut carbs and you didn’t like cutting out carbs. Maybe another time it’s because you had to do six workouts a week when you really can only usually do four. But it’s always because we’ve created some system that really isn’t realistic and we encountered some hard that goes against a pattern we’ve repeated. So we turn back. If you want a new and better result, you have to embrace the hard. There is a downside to every upside. And if you can’t say, Hey, is this this downside to the upside?

(02:13):
Is this the discomfort of my brain saying, no, I don’t like this, so I don’t want to do that. And coming up with all the reasons why now I shouldn’t do it, to just default back into what I really want to do because it’s comfortable. It’s what I’ve always done. You got to question that because at some point you got to choose to push through it. Even saying, Hey, this is an experiment. Maybe it won’t work out, but at least I’ll show myself that I can be comfortable being uncomfortable and that will help you move forward. But I can tell you I see it at 30 days a lot of times with certain programs or six weeks or nine weeks where we hit that point where we feel like we deserve more for the effort we’ve been putting in, and we always quit at that point.

(02:44):
If we just kept pushing through what feels like a plateau, what feels like a dead zone would probably show that snowball. But the simple fact is we don’t keep going. So often I would tell you, stop looking for a new macro ratio. Stop looking for a new workout plan. Say, Hey, am I doing all the habits consistently? If your consistency is actually there, keep going. You’re closer often than you think. Number two, we don’t assess why something happened. So I’ll put clients on a higher protein ratio and all of a sudden things will change. Our body doesn’t like change, so it does respond, but they’ll see an increase on the scale or they’ll see a change in something else and they’ll be like, oh, it’s the protein. And I’ll be like, well, no, you’re attributing causation where there might not be any. And when we truly dive into it, yes, the protein was part of it in that they increased the protein, but in that they changed all these other foods.

(03:29):
They changed their meal timing, they changed their fiber, they changed their hydration. So it wasn’t really the protein. They would’ve stopped doing the protein. It was a thing they at least wanted to do. It was the thing that was most uncomfortable. So they were finding reasons not to do it. We do ourselves with doubt in that way. We go to the thing that we at least want to do, but we don’t say, Hey, what other things could actually be at work? Could be the true culprit. And so then tweaking their water intake or in tweaking the mealtime or in tweaking the fiber intake because that dropped with trying to increase the protein, which again, shifts do happen. Then there’s still high protein ratio if they maintain that, they would see results. So we have to really ask yourself, why is something happening? Why am I feeling this way?

(04:07):
Why might I be seeing the result? And I even bring this up because effort doesn’t equal outcome. And a lot of times what feels like a lot of effort is just something very different, something very against what we want to do or what we’ve always done. And so in even just tracking what we’re currently doing, that can feel like a lot of effort because tracking alone is hard. But if we’re tracking what we’re currently doing, even though it feels like we’re giving a lot of effort, we haven’t made one change right there. We’re just assessing right now our current lifestyle. Yes, sometimes in tracking we are holding ourselves more accountable, so we will see changes snowball because we’re becoming more aware. So we’re making changes, but a lot of times we’re doing a new habit but not truly making a change with that new habit.

(04:45):
And it’s hard to do that new habit and even bring those unconscious habits we’ve been currently repeating to light to try and start to break them. But that effort isn’t true, changes that lead to a true outcome. So we have to assess, okay, why am I feeling like I deserve more? Why is this feeling like so much effort? Am I actually making the change? And then from there, we can build off of it and sometimes the effort doesn’t fully feel worth it. So we have to change how we’re approaching those habit changes, but we need to assess why to get to the heart of the change we actually need to make or what may be going on that may not be working. Sometimes even assessing, Hey, is it really that I think I’m being better than I am? Are there deviations I’m not owning? Because while we think of that as like, oh, I am doing it.

(05:23):
Oh, see, opportunity maybe in the fact that you’re not doing it as perfectly as you could be, or there is room for improvement. I mean that growth is so key, but assess why something truly happened. Don’t just write something off as not working before you really dive in because that can make us throw out habits that we really need or that would really work for us. Number three, we only judge success based on one outcome. I know you want to lose weight. I know you want to gain muscle. I know you want to PR in that race, but a lot of times we have to see success in other ways in order to keep it the habits that will earn us that outcome. So if we see how much further we have to go to our goal, like, oh no, I have this much further to increase my time or improve my time for that race, or, oh no, I haven’t gained this much muscle.

(06:04):
I have so much further to go. We ignore all the progress we’ve truly already made, but we also sabotage ourselves from doing the habits that we need to keep moving forward towards that goal. Just because we’re not getting there fast enough, but inch by inch, we’re still moving forward. So we have to find other ways to measure success, to make us keep wanting to do the habits. It’s actually an interesting example, and this came up in a conversation with Michelle, but a client was like, well, I’m not losing weight as fast as I’d like. I’m not losing weight right now. She had hit a plateau and we were starting to focus more on quality foods, so adding in those fruits and vegetables, and she’s like, I don’t even know why I’m making the effort to add in the fruits and vegetables. And it was sort of an eyeopening thing because yeah, you haven’t seen the result necessarily pay off yet in weight loss, but this is improving your health.

(06:46):
You’re sleeping better, your energy is better, you’re feeling more full and satisfied all these other things were happening that she was ignoring. So we have to realize that in order to keep herself doing the habits that we often need to do past the point we want to quit, we have to measure success in other ways. We have to track our numbers and our workouts to see the improvements. We have to assess, am I feeling more energized? Am I sleeping better? How am I feeling? Or is my skin looking clear? What are the other things that could be a payoff from the habits that I’m doing? Because the more ways we measure success, the more ways we have to be successful, the more we’re going to embrace the process. Because habit changes aren’t always fun, process isn’t always fun, but we have to find ways to enjoy the journey, and that’s often in seeing success in other ways.

(07:27):
Number four, we never start at the wrong time. This is a very unpopular one, but I think it is truly the secret to success. I can’t tell you how many times over the last few years I’ve really embraced being like, I don’t want to do this right now. Okay, so I’m going to do this right now. And in doing that, a lot of times I make sustainable habit changes. I see results snowball more because there are going to be points where motivation is higher, where things are working for us so that we can do things optimally based on some ideal that we have or go full steam ahead, implementing more changes at once because we don’t have other life priorities getting in the way. But in order to capitalize on those times even better, we have to learn to move forward during the times that aren’t as ideal.

(08:06):
A lot of times, if you think about the weight loss cycle we see for people over the year, and even with ourselves a lot of times January, we’re more motivated. We make changes based on having that motivation based on having potentially a time where we’re not traveling, there’s not the holidays, there’s not all these different things going on. And so we implement habits based on the time and then summer hits where we’re on vacation or the holidays hit where we’re celebrating more of family and all of a sudden we can’t do what we were doing during that time. And now we have no habits because we didn’t really build that stack. We just sort of forced ourselves in the mold. So even starting during the holiday season and learning how you can handle and navigate those times to then be able to capitalize on the January motivation with those habits already stacked up.

(08:43):
So you further ahead going into the summer and shifting your habits based on that time can help you really keep moving forward because we have to make our lows less low. If we want our highs to be higher, we have to have that solid foundation off a witch to build. And if we’re not ever embracing doing the minimum doing those 1% improvements during the wrong time, we’re not going to truly see lasting results. So I would tell you, if you’re always waiting for the perfect time to start, you’re probably never starting fully or you’re ending up giving up on something that might be working because the habits just don’t fit instead of finding a way to do the minimum. But we have to shift our mindset, and this really goes back to even something is better than nothing. A 1% improvement over the holiday season this year is going to make a difference.

(09:22):
It’s not a 1% improvement over what you did in January in the holiday season. It’s a 1% improvement on the holiday season from the holiday season the last year. We have to measure times based on that same time and the habits and priorities that mattered at that time. Number five, we never embrace the new us. When you are reaching a new goal, you are becoming a new person. You are implementing new habits, you are building a new lifestyle. This is not a bad thing. We act as if, oh, you’ve changed and we see this as a bad thing. But all growing up we were constantly changing. And honestly, every single day you’re alive. You are constantly changing. Don’t you just want to control the direction of that change? I do. And so that’s why I always think, okay, with this I’m stepping into a new identity.

(10:04):
It all goes back to the act as if instead of faking it till you make it. Because if you’re just faking it until you make it, you’re implementing habits potentially they don’t really believe in, they don’t really feel like will become part of your lifestyle. And then the second you get into that same situation and you’re going to default back into handling it the way you’ve always handled it. And I’m not saying that we don’t want to go out and celebrate girls’ night like we’ve always done, but finding our new balance, understanding how that impacts our new lifestyle and the goals we want to achieve is really key. And I’ve had clients even say, Hey, I really sat down and said I usually have this croissant when I go out to this one place, but this time I was like, I want results in this way.

(10:38):
I’m choosing not to have it. And that’s the amazing thing. We’re not restricting things. We’re choosing what we’re going to include and not include, and we can make a different choice at a different point. But it’s also realizing is this really part of who I am and what I want? Do I really get enjoyment or have I gotten enjoyment in the past out of this because I didn’t have the other things I now have? So it’s assessing what truly makes me happy. Now realizing there’s always going to be the pullback to who and what we were. We can feel it. Even today, you can think about things from your childhood patterns that you repeated, holidays you celebrate in specific ways that you’re drawn to. There’s always that pull back to the old us. But a lot of times we have to say, Hey, how does this fit into the new lifestyle and building?

(11:17):
I don’t think we consider that enough about thinking about us as a new us with these things and not in a bad way. We’re changing to be our best selves. That’s what we’re always seeking to have is growth. Number six. We try to force one standard all the time. And this goes back to never starting at the wrong time and always waiting for the right time to start, but your life is going to ebb and flow. Your motivation is going to ebb and flow. Your priorities are going to shift. And the more we own these things, the more we can plan around them. But the more we try and force one mold onto ourselves the entire time, the more we’re going to feel like we’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Because what you do in January through the season where you’re maybe not traveling as much or it’s colder, and so you’re not wanting to go out and party, at least maybe that’s me, but during January, February, March, I’m like, all right, I’m a little bit more motivated to dial things in.

(12:05):
I’m going to do it. But in the summer, I want the chips and guac. I want to go out for that margarita a little bit more frequently. So my habits are different during the holidays, I know my habits are going to be different. I even know that I have to approach things in different ways. I can maybe get away with not tracking quite as rigidly during the summer and doing more protein minimums, calor caps. But during the holiday seasons, I use that as an excuse to not see what I’m doing and then eat a whole heck of a lot of things that sabotage my results and make me feel like I’m starting over. So I don’t like that. So I know I have to have a different habit then even though I, maybe I’m not doing the same habits I’m doing during January. So the more we can meet ourselves where we’re at and realize that our priorities will shift, and if we get busy at work, maybe we have to go back to three workouts a week.

(12:42):
The more we can make ourselves feel successful, the more we can meet ourselves where we’re at, and the more we’re going to see that growth through those 1% improvements. And then you might be surprised by how much your habits ultimately even out over the year because of taking this approach. And you’re not always relying on motivation, but you’ve built that discipline through doing those minimums. But just realize you can’t force one standard all the time. You’re going to feel unmotivated at points, stare into it, but do something because steering into it over trying to force something that ultimately makes you feel burnt out so you don’t do anything. Number seven, we fall prey to believing we deserve more. You don’t deserve anything. I tell this to myself a lot because I’ll be like, I deserve to see results. I’m working so hard. We don’t deserve anything.

(13:23):
That’s the sucky hard truth of the matter. Yes, putting in the effort, we want the outcome, putting in the effort and the daily habits does build the outcome generally, but exactly how that outcome looks. We can’t fully control. We can’t control some things that come up in our life, but we can see those things as opportunity or obstacle. And so often if we sabotage ourselves by just saying, I deserve more, and letting that feeling get in the way, we won’t take that step back to assess, Hey, where maybe am I not putting in as much work? Or where am I saying this feels like a lot of effort, but I’m not truly making changes. How can I break things down to make it feel less like I’m putting in so much effort to not the results I deserve? So how can we make that pain a little bit less so that it feels like the outcome we’re getting is worth the effort we’re putting in?

(14:06):
Or how can I just say suck it up buttercup and keep pushing through? Because I think this is where we often encounter the hard I deserve results. I’m pushing into this hard thing I don’t want to be doing. Instead of saying, Hey, that is what success is, struggle. And I am hitting that point where I want to quit, and I know if I push through that hard, I feel so much better. Because sometimes just even saying that stepping back and pushing through we’re like, I feel so good. I mean, think about that workout you don’t want to do when you make yourself do it, a lot of times you’re like, yeah, you feel even better for having done something you didn’t want to do. So I think we have to recognize that feeling like we deserve more often comes just because we are putting in a lot of effort.

(14:40):
We’re doing it on days we don’t want to do it, but those are the days that really make or break us, and those are the days we need to push through even more. So if you’re starting to feel like, Hey, I deserve more, take that step back. Assess why, see what can do to potentially steer into the skit if things are too much right now, but also just even say, Hey, I am going to tell myself to suck it up. Buttercup, push through the hard and I’m going to feel even better for it. Number eight, we don’t pause to appreciate how far we’ve come. I am incredibly guilty of this. I’m like, but I want to go over there. And I’m like, oh, I accomplished that check. Okay, now what’s the next thing? If we don’t pause to appreciate how far we’ve come though, we can get very discouraged by how far we often have to go.

(15:18):
And really life is a never ending journey of improvements. When you reach one goal, you’re probably going to set another one and setting one, potentially other habits are going to slide. And then you’re going to be like, oh, well now I want to work more towards this goal. So you might say, oh, I got a little leaner. Okay, now I want to add a little bit muscle. Okay, now I want to get a little bit leaner. Okay, now I want to add a little bit muscle. Okay, now I’m going to just see what I can get away with while maintaining my goal. But there’s always some focus, something we want more out of. And I think being okay with that is key, but that’s also where we have to pause to appreciate all the changes we’ve made. At times we have to reflect on how good we truly have it.

(15:50):
You’re not going to be happy all the time. Happy is a fleeting emotion. A lot of times we’re sort of just existing as negative as that sounds. It’s not meant to be negative, but you’re just existing. And I think even embracing that happy is a feeling that you’re going to have to strive to feel is also important in this journey. But that comes from pausing to appreciate at times, and maybe you said on your calendar, I’m going to pause to appreciate it. Maybe you set vacations where you have a little time to reflect, but set times to really recognize how your hard work has already paid off all the changes you made. Heck, even celebrate the strength that you have now in what you’ve overcome and how much more comfortable being uncomfortable in certain ways you are. Those are all wins. Those have all made you grow in some way as a person and improve this life that you have and this journey that you’re on.

(16:31):
But pause to appreciate how far you’ve come, not just always staying focused on what’s ahead of you. And then number nine, we ignore 1% deviations. Things add up more than we realize. All of a sudden we’ve sort of reached our goals and we’re like, okay, well I don’t have to track as strictly. And that little snack that we grab as we’re going past the cabinet, that handful of nuts we don’t log, and then one handful of nuts becomes a little extra sauce here or a bigger portion, or it’s 32, 33 grams versus 30. And while all these things are small, they start to add up and they start to lead to a mental slide. Oh, well, I skipped one workout. So who cares about being perfect with my macros today? And while it might seem small and it is small, if we catch it, those little deviations can quickly lead us off course.

(17:16):
I think it’s the airplane going from JFK to Japan can end up in the ocean if it’s one degree off when it takes off. Don’t quote me on that one. I had some debate about this analogy at some point, but I think that’s the analogy. But basically, we can end up completely off course through those 1% deviations that do snowball. So sometimes if you feel like you’re losing progress or the results aren’t adding up the way you want, look at where there’s areas for growth in the current systems you’re doing. It’s a lot easier to tweak than to freak out and go find something new and try and implement that and all the changes that will come with that new system. So think about how can I use what I’m already doing and make it even better? Use it to its fullest, get that little bit extra out of it before I have to go make a dramatic change.

(17:56):
And if you’re saying, Hey, there really is nothing to adjust, that’s where you try and make the 1% improvement off of that. Even slightly switching macro breakdown, slightly adjusting workout progressions changing up a move, but the smaller the change, the better. But don’t ignore those 1% deviations. Or if you’re starting to feel like nothing’s working, assess if there were 1% deviations that you just have ignored that are snowballing. And last but not least, number 10, we think we’re beyond the basics. The more advanced you are, the more you need to return to the basics. I think a lot of times the more we know, the more we think, okay, there’s got to be something else, or we search for something advanced or we search for some aha moment. And ultimately there really isn’t any. The longer I’ve been in this, the more I realize that everything goes back to the basics and tweaks to them to match what we need right now.

(18:38):
A lot of times if something isn’t working any longer that used to work, it just needs to be adjusted because our body isn’t in the same position. Our lifestyle isn’t in the same position. But results are really built off of tweaks, not massive overhauls of things. We don’t want to be knocking down the building to rebuild it. We want to fix whatever little cracks we can to make it even better. So don’t ever think you’re beyond the basics and the more you think, well, I’m advanced. I don’t need to watch this, or I’m advanced, I don’t need to do this. No, you need to do it even more because probably in searching for new and more advanced techniques, you’ve forgotten a lot of the basics or they’ve slid in their implementation, or you could optimize them a little bit more. I always go back to that basic body weight loo bridge.

(19:11):
No matter how much I can hip thrust or do a weight GL bridge, because I want to go back to that basics of making sure that everything is correct, focusing on the pressure in my feet, focusing on my upper body engagement, focusing on that posterior pelvic tilt. We want to take things back to the basics to make sure that foundation is solid and also knock ourselves down a peg. I think we lose that appreciation for being that learner, which also makes it hard then to be coachable, to embrace a new program to embrace change. So the more we can sort of say, I’m always going to be that beginner, I’m always going to be that learner of new things and see it as an opportunity to improve things that are below what my ego wants to tell me. I’m now above the more we’re going to see results.

(19:49):
You’re never above those basics, and the more you can say, Hey, I’m really advanced. I need to go back to step one, the more you’re going to see amazing improvements because hearing something said that you’ve heard said a thousand times, just set it a different time in a different context, all of a sudden, a light bulb can go off. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had that happen, but just to reiterate, all the reasons we often fail aren’t really because we don’t have a perfect plan, a right macro ratio, a right workout routine. It’s because we haven’t assessed how all the systems are working together and our mindsets behind our actions. Because a lot of times it is mentally that we are letting things slide, that we are letting ourselves out the hook that we’re not pushing through. So a lot of the work we often need to do if we want to see better results is asking why question ourself, building that self-awareness, and really stepping back at times to look at the overall system and how it’s all working together. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

Cori (00:15):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in.

Cori (00:28):
Alright, we’re talking muscle gains, overrated versus underrated. Of course, when I made the note about gains, I had to have the Zs on there to make it extra gnarly, but I’m so excited for Michelle and I to really discuss what we feel are the best practices and the worst practices, things that we often turn to that maybe aren’t as valuable as we think. So Michelle, jumping right in. Let’s talk about creating that calorie surplus to build lean muscle overrated or underrated.

Michelle (01:00):
So I’m a ruffle some feathers, but I think it’s one of the biggest things that’s majorly underrated When your goal is to actually gain muscle, you have to have the energy or the calories to be able to do so. It requires material to be able to build.

Cori (01:18):
So my feathers are ruffled by that. Just kidding. But I totally see your perspective in that. Often it is hard to increase calories if you’ve been in a calorie deficit prior to lose fat. It’s very hard to increase, but you need to gain muscle. However, I am actually going to argue the opposite and say that it is overrated, and this is coming from background. Seeing a lot of people do the dirty bulks and go into these extreme calorie surpluses saying, Hey, I need extra calories to building muscle. You don’t need as many extra as you think and your glycogen stores can only store so much glycogen. So I will argue overrated because there is nuance to it. Yes, you need extra energy as you build muscle. What used to be a surplus will probably shrink and become a deficit even potentially, or at least maintenance. And so you’ll need to increase further to add more lean muscle, but you don’t need to go crazy with it. So breaking things down, you mentioned underrated, I mentioned overrated. We both agree that you need to be strategic in it. How would you recommend that someone strategically creates that calorie surplus so that they aren’t making it overrated or not eating enough to actually fuel that growth?

Michelle (02:27):
Well, and you bring up an excellent point because the bottom line is you still have to have the building material right to actually be able to repair the muscles because as we build the process of building muscles means we’re going to actually tear the muscles and then have the repair come in, and that’s how we actually grow the muscle. So the biggest issue is a lot of people I think confuse body recomposition with muscle gains. And you can do both. You can have both, but if your sole focus is truly that pure muscle gains and you’ve lost the fat and you’re ready to build it is going to require that surplus. And as you mentioned, what is that surplus? How much does it actually need to be? And this is where people kind of mess up because they start looking online at what someone else is doing.

(03:14):
And a lot of times they’re looking at people that already have a high amount of muscle on them. So they’re trying to compare their eating habits to someone that they want to look like. And the problem with that is is they already have the muscle that’s requiring more metabolic demand. So they’re burning more with that. So their calorie surplus, even though they probably are eating way more than what you are right now, is probably not as big of a surplus as you actually think given the amount of muscle they have on. So you have to be a little bit strategic here. And it truly, like you said, it really doesn’t take that much again to be anywhere from 200 to 300 calories extra, which let’s be honest, that’s really just an added snack to your day. But we do also of course want to make sure that we’re adding the right calories from the right sources. So this is really where we’re looking at making sure we’re getting those necessary amino acids from protein sources, we’re getting the correct amount of carbohydrates so that we can protect that muscle mass when we are working it even further.

Cori (04:20):
And going back to your underrated, because as much as I said overrated, I totally get that underrated perspective, especially if someone has been in a deficit, it’s scary to first come out of it because you feel like you do see that scale jump, which you will because you now are no longer depleted. So when you’re coming out of the deficit, especially if you’re fearing gaining fat, you’re fearing increasing those calories, but you want those muscle gains, you got to do it slowly because you do have to retrain your body to eat more. As you mentioned, someone who already has more muscle on who’s eating higher calories might have been at maintenance and is now going into that calorie surplus from their maintenance to add more muscle on top of that. But they have transitioned first to maintenance. So simply coming out of that deficit, moving towards maintenance slowly might be your first step. And in that process you might even see muscle being built because you somewhat trained your body to function off of less. So with the increased calories, your body has the extra fuel to be able to add that lean muscle. And then with adding lean muscle, your body will need more. So just know that it is a slow transition out of that deficit if you’ve been in a fat loss phase. But you can’t fear seeing that scale go up a little bit because you’re no longer depleted.

Michelle (05:30):
Yes, and I think that’s honestly one of the biggest things is when you are truly solely focusing on the gains and not necessarily body recomp, the scale is not going to be your friend. Measurements are, but the scale won’t be.

Cori (05:46):
And macro is still matter a lot. There is no debating that. I’m not even going to give Michelle an opportunity to say overrated or underrated. Macros still matter a lot. We’re actually going to touch on once macro specifically in a second, but before that I want to jump to a workout overrated or underrated heavy weights for building muscle. Michelle, your opinion

Michelle (06:06):
Underrated.

Cori (06:09):
Alright, and so I’m going to argue with you here just a little bit and for a good reason because I do agree weights are very important and I’m doing this more to present the nuance in things and the opportunity in things, but I’m going to say overrated. And the reason why is weights are the easiest way to create progression, especially when you’re starting back, especially as an advanced lifter. Yes, you need to challenge yourself with loads, but the more advanced we are, the more we’re going to be hitting that upper limit potentially in what we can lift with different moves. So we’ve got to see opportunity in other progressions to keep driving that same stimulus for muscle growth. We’ve got to use different training techniques, different tempos, different tools. We can’t just get caught up in lifting heavier because there might be a point where we can’t truly add that much weight or add that many more reps with the same weight. So we can’t lift that many more loads without unique training techniques or equipment. But I do want you to break down why you very aptly said underrated because heavyweights are very important when we want to create that easy progression.

Michelle (07:08):
And I think I took it kind of from the perspective of someone that’s new to trying to gain muscle. So when you are new to the game, of course everything you’ve said was absolutely a hundred percent correct and there’s a lot of different ways that you can grow muscle. It doesn’t have to just be heavy lifting, but I think a lot of women specifically shy away from heavy lifting. And the problem with that is you do have to be a little bit more smart about how you go about trying to gain muscle if you are not trying to lift heavy. So it’s maybe a little bit, I don’t want to say the lazy route, but it makes it a little bit easier if you’re new to the game and you are just starting to try to lift heavier and progress with your weights that way.

(07:50):
And this is really just because it is going to create that muscle tension or even that time under tension that your body requires to actually be able to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. So by just creating that heavier lift or doing a heavier lift, you are going to be able to get there quicker. And it’s the same with also just having that progressive overload, being able to lift heavy and as you mentioned, progress and, sorry, excuse me. Get to that next point where you’re even lifting heavier that is going to be able to actually have a bigger effect on your body to be able to signal for muscle growth. And of course you’re going to have more muscle tears, which is going to require more rebuild or more repair. So there’s a lot of benefits to lifting heavy, but as you mentioned, we can’t get completely stuck into it’s the only way. But if you’ve been shying away from it for fear of that you’re going to get too bulky or for fear or just women in general who sometimes we don’t always lift heavy things, I would definitely encourage you to start lifting heavy and challenge yourself at actually trying to progress to heavier weights.

Cori (09:05):
I love that you mentioned that specifically because not even talking just about purely muscle gains. Heavy weights are so important for us being functionally fit to our final day on this planet. And I think as women fearing getting bulky or even the fearing of getting older and lifting heavy, that is definitely a fear I’ve seen popping up, oh, I’m too old, I shouldn’t lift as heavy. No, you need to challenge yourself even more because if you’re not creating that stimulus for growth, that stressor in your training, you are not going to cause your body to build and repair because as we get older, it does get harder to build and retaining muscle. So we need that same stimulus. We cannot fear lifting heavy, it’s use it or lose it. And so the heavier we lift, the more we can handle loads in everyday life. So not even just talking about muscle gains from an aesthetic standpoint, but that functional strength we need. Lifting heavy is so important even as we become more advanced and might have to use those other drivers of muscle growth, the other forms of progression to really see those muscle gains Going into the next topic, meal timing, overrated or underrated?

Michelle (10:06):
I’m going to go overrated on this one.

Cori (10:09):
I really wavered on this one as to whether or not I was going to say overrated or underrated because I think meal timing in general is very overrated and paid far too much attention to other than finding the meal schedule that’s right for you. But I also think that in this day and age where people are really pushing intermittent fasting and different things like that, it can be something that we ignore as holding us back from seeing the muscle gains we want because we did a specific meal timing potentially to lose the fat and that same meal timing doesn’t work now for muscle gains. So I’d love to sort of hear why you said overrated

Michelle (10:45):
And you brought up good points. Honestly, truthfully, I wasn’t even thinking that intermittent fasting route where so many people are doing that. So I’m really interested to hear that perspective. Now you’ve got my brain thinking on that one as well, but I went with overrated only because again, when people first start trying to gain muscle or even any health journey, they start looking at areas that aren’t the most important pieces. So when it comes to eating overall, yes, timing can affect things, but the biggest thing is at the end of the day, are you actually getting your needed macros? Are you actually hitting your needed caloric goal? And everyone’s a little bit different. What’s going to work for someone isn’t going to work for someone else? And a lot of times it’s really this niche area that I see a lot of people trying to follow because that’s what an athlete does and it’s because they’re trying to perform at their peak performance during their workouts or during a game or a race or whatever they’re doing athletically.

(11:50):
And the biggest problem I see is we get so up in the surrounding of like, oh, I need to eat this right two hours before or I need to recover within 30 minutes with this. And we get so stressed out about that that we’re forgetting about the rest of the day. Those things are great and I definitely want to encourage people to do those things, but at the end of the day, if all you did was take care of what surrounded your workout, but you didn’t adequately fuel the rest of the time, you’re not going to do yourselves any favors. And it’s almost like, okay, yeah, you had a couple good meals around your workouts, but we still aren’t hitting what we need to hit and we’re not providing the proper fuel by the end of the day for your body as a whole.

Cori (12:32):
I love that you mentioned we stress ourselves out with details that aren’t as important because that is really why I sort of wavered in my opinion on this because I think we turn to meal timing or we freak out about, oh my gosh, my muscles are going to melt off if I don’t eat within a certain time. And that’s really not the case. Meal timing is about optimizing, about allowing us to hit our macros more easily, feel fueled for our workouts, which I think is where I also wavered on saying it was a little underrated because often if someone has done intermittent fasting potentially for their training, they can yes, still time enough carbs, enough calories that at night to be fueled for that workout, but are they fueled optimally? Especially if they find that they’re a hard gainer if they’re first coming out of that deficit and especially based on the training that they’re doing, sometimes we’re not as energized as we could be.

(13:21):
And to really build a muscle, especially the more advanced you are, you have to have that fuel to push and be very uncomfortable in your training. So it might be a time where we have to adjust the meal timing or let go of a previous meal timing we’ve done to now have that pre-workout meal or adjust our meal timing to now break our fast a little bit closer or even extend our eating window out because we’re having to eat more calories and it’s harder in that fasting window. So I think that’s where my brain went of there’s so much nuance to what mealtime is really best, that it’s both overrated and that it’s the first thing we turn to over just hitting our macros. But it’s also underrated in that we don’t think to adjust it with a new goal where it can really pay off.

Michelle (14:05):
And I completely agree with that too. There’s definitely a lot more nuance to it.

Cori (14:11):
So next topic, jumping back to the training, training frequency, like training more than once a week, only once a week, is training frequency overrated or underrated?

Michelle (14:22):
I went underrated on this one.

Cori (14:25):
I have to 100% agree, especially because I’ve seen so many of the bodybuilding type workouts where people are training a body part once a week popping up and studies have truly proven that two to three times a week is optimal to stimulate muscle growth is especially for stubborn areas. And I think so often we think do more in one day over spreading that volume out over more days so that we can really be fresher and do more quality over the course of the week hitting those stubborn areas a little bit more frequently to drive that stimulus from muscle growth in different ways. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts too as to why you mentioned underrated. I was not surprised that we agreed on this because of the progressions we create, but

Michelle (15:07):
Yeah, so definitely you have to be able to progress. The point is, again, we have to be able to tear the muscle down to be able to build it up and one time once a week isn’t going to be enough. But what I also wanted to add for this too is the importance of actually being able to not just hit the body parts but also make sure that you’re giving the correct amount of recovery. So you mentioned three to five times a week of lifting and actually working the muscle groups, but the flip side of that is making sure that you’re having the correct recovery in between so you’re not just constantly tearing your body down without giving it the opportunity to repair. So often when I hear people are ready to hit and gain muscle, they try to put themselves through these really vigorous workouts every single day.

(15:59):
And while I’m not here to rain on anyone’s prey, that working out is fantastic. But if you’re jumping into that, there’s a couple of issues. One, the sustainability of it because you are going to beat yourself down if you’re not allowing yourself that proper recovery. But on the flip side of that, you are also probably not doing it with a game plan. And I think this is the most important part is actually having that game plan of what muscle groups you’re going to work and laying it out so you’re not just hitting not only just one area over and over again so that we’re able to stay balanced, but you’re able to give that area recovery time as you work a different area

Cori (16:44):
That is truly so key. If you’re training five days a week, how you’re going to break things up is going to be very different than if you’re training three days a week. And in that training frequency, you have to consider training intensity, training volume because doing a ton of volume, just thinking well more is better is not really the case because again, you’re going to hit a point of diminishing returns, you’re not going to be able to recover from it. But you want to think about how can I vary the intensity and the way I’m working areas. So this isn’t like I’m going to train my glutes, my hamstrings and I’m going to do deadlifts the same deadlifts three times a week. You want to think, okay, I want to train my glutes and my hamstrings. What are the joint functions? What are the muscle actions?

(17:21):
Okay, I might do a heavy barbell lift to start the week knowing that’s going to make me more sore, but do that when I’m freshest. And then later on in the week I might do a unilateral variation. Maybe I’m going to do more of a metabolic stress movement that uses a band to work my glutes or a move that is a shorter range of motion for my hamstrings or instead of the hip dominant movement to work the hamstrings, more of a knee movement. So if you think about the hamstrings, because they are worked by both hip extension and also knee flexion, you think about how could I include maybe something that’s in an extended hip position with knee flexion or in a flex hip position with knee flexion. So there’s a lot of different ways to work a muscle and we want to include that diversity over the week. So now jumping into the next topic, bringing it back to nutrition and bring it back to macros, carbs, overrated or underrated.

Michelle (18:11):
I went underrated on this one.

Cori (18:15):
Same question. I 100% agree not to interrupt you, but I 100% agree because I think especially in this day and age of low carb diets being all the fad for weight loss, we got to let go of what worked for one goal to move to another. So please share underrated why.

Michelle (18:31):
Yeah, I was ready to fight you on this one if you went overrated. Mainly as you mentioned, a lot of people just fear carbs when we’re trying to be in a deficit, when we’re trying to lose weight, that’s usually the first area that people start to restrict and I totally get why because we do live in a world where carbs are very easy to over consume. And the problem with that is once we have that fear and you have that transformation, you’ve achieved weight loss and all of a sudden we are really trying to focus on that muscle gain, we tend to leave out the carbs still. And the problem is, is it is our primary source of energy. I mean your muscle is full of glycogen, which is carbs. Your body is going to break it down into, and so it’s that energy for your muscles to actually be able to use for you to go into a workout and push yourself, you are going to be using up that glycogen.

(19:27):
Now the biggest problem with this is as we use up that glycogen, once it’s depleted, your body’s actually going to turn to a protein source. And one of the biggest things in your body is your muscle. So if we’re not giving our body that adequate amount of carbs to protect our lean muscle tissue, then your body’s going to start actually utilizing it for energy. And this is two things, right? This is why we focus so much on a higher protein diet because of course we want those amino acids to be able to rebuild the muscle, but it’s also to kind of help protect ourselves from when we do push things too hard and all of a sudden our body has depleted that muscle glycogen. We want to have that extra cushion with the needed amino acids. But again, this is why it’s so important to focus on that carbs because it is a protein sparing energy source as well.

Cori (20:22):
I think carbs often get demonized, especially for someone looking to lose weight. But I’ve had comments say, well, there are no essential carbs, there’s essential fats, there’s essential amino acids, but they’re not essential carbs. And I thought that was an interesting thing because it is an energy source and it is protein sparing and you do need it to really be able to push in your training. But we also see as people push in their training, this fear of cortisol levels rising. And we also see women especially having different hormonal issues because of trying to push really hard in their training and not only under fueling but potentially restricting carbs too much and in different stages ages, we might find that different carb intakes work for us and that timing our carbs becomes something we strategically need to do if we do function better on lower carb ratios.

(21:10):
But I can tell you I see so many women saying I’m suffering from thyroid issues like adrenal fatigue because they’re pushing hard on their training but not truly giving their body the fuel that they need. And a lot of these issues can be solved by yes, valuing that calorie surplus, but also by valuing carbs to truly fuel the training that you’re doing. And it’s not just that we’re doing this for weightlifting, but a lot of times we’re doing the weightlifting to try and gain muscle. But if you are an endurance athlete, if you are doing a little bit more cardio and you want to keep those things in, we hear you can’t gain muscle and do your cardio, but it’s also about the way you fuel to find the balance in doing things you enjoy while trying to reach your aesthetic goals.

Michelle (21:50):
Yeah, I love that you brought up the fatigue issue. That’s probably one of the most common complaints I hear is that people are feeling tired and they’re worried about like, well, is it my macros? What is it? And it’s usually that they’re restricting their carbs. And I did find it interesting that you mentioned that there’s no essential carbs and the reason why is because carbs all break down to something pretty similar in the body that your body’s going to use. So it doesn’t necessarily, there are good, better, best carb sources and we want to have quality carb sources, but it is true, there is no essential carb, all carbs are going to be utilized in pretty much a very similar fashion. The reason why I love that is because I’m going to probably again cause some issues here, but a lot of times people get so stressed on the type of carbs that they’re consuming that they forget that the type of carb needs change depending on how close you are to your workout or if you are in a workout.

(22:56):
So for example, you mentioned the cardio person. If you are someone that is doing a lot of cardio because you’re training for something and you are avoiding carbs, not only is this going to be detrimental, but if you’re not consuming quick carb sources during your training, you are going to have more detrimental effect on your muscle itself. So that’s really where what others would consider a bad carb choice, like a quick Jolly rancher or something or hard candy or even candied, something that’s going to break down fast into glucose is going to be a bigger beneficial for you or the biggest benefit for you. So the biggest thing I just wanted to add to that is the source of your carbs is going to be dependent on what your goal is and when you’re working out and the type of working out you’re doing that we do want to make sure that we are having adequate carbs

Cori (23:55):
And micros are very important, but you bring up a super important point that there’s got to be a balance and that so often we just demonize something without seeing the value in it and the opportunity in it. And it actually made me think about how a lot of times bodybuilders different athletes would eat jelly beans because they were a quick carb source and I was like, oh, jelly bellies are delicious. Anyway, complete side note, but moving on to number six, I want to talk about progression. How key is it? Is it overrated or underrated? And we’re talking about workout progression and designing that weekly schedule.

Michelle (24:29):
So I went underrated on this one

Cori (24:33):
And I one a hundred percent agree and I am very biased in saying this, or maybe not biased, but very adamant in saying underrated because I see so many people saying I’m working hard, I’m doing really hard workouts, I’m doing workouts of the day and there’s no clear progression. And then they’re wondering why their pull-ups aren’t improving or they see improvement one week but not the next week or they don’t fully see muscle gains. And it’s because when you don’t have something you can track, when you don’t have something you’re doing consistently that you can build off of, you can’t really know if you’re increasing weight because if you do a deadlift on one day and deadlift on a completely different day after other moves and other workouts, what you can lift might be very different, but it’s impacted by what you’ve done. But you can’t create that clear progression to know if you’re truly challenging yourself in the way that you need. So throwing it back to you, you mentioned that it’s also underrated you thoughts.

Michelle (25:20):
So my biggest thing with this, and I was the type of person that was like, I get bored with doing the same workout for multiple weeks in a row. I wanted that changeup, but then I really did discover that that consistency and the stimulus to that specific muscle doing that specific move is really going to be what’s going to cause your muscle to adapt and to actually grow. So by repeating the workouts, you provide that consistent stimulus to encourage that muscle adaptation and changing workouts just too frequently. It can actually prevent you from seeing some of that, those big gains. So again, this is coming down to, well, how quickly are we wanting to get you to that end goal? And I truly believe if you’re not approaching it with a progressive plan, you’re going to find that it’s going to take you a lot slower because as you mentioned, you’re not going to be able to really know how to even or what you’ve done so that you can push yourself and lift a little bit heavier. So it’s really about also being able to track that progress so that you know how to push yourself to get that gain

Cori (26:28):
And then pair your nutrition with it. Not to mention going back to your whole, I get bored with things thing. I think that is a common feeling. You can create a weekly schedule that is very interesting over the week and has a lot of diversity over the week. You just want to repeat that and it doesn’t have to be repeated for months on end, even just three weeks can build and then a strategic change and maybe some of the variations you’re implementing or slight training techniques. So it can be that slow progression where it doesn’t have to be super rigid, but it has to be something week over week where you do repeat it for a few weeks to see that progress but also not make yourself as sore or broken down because the first week of doing something new, you are going to be sore from all that new.

(27:06):
And if you aren’t conscious of that, you’re not going to repair from it or recover from it. And that’s going to make you see a point of diminishing returns. Constantly being sore is not an indicator that you worked hard enough, it’s an indicator that you’re potentially have under recovered or that you’re just doing a ton of new things and in that soreness you change the way the muscles are activating, you change the way that you’re able to push in subsequent workouts. So while something might feel tough to truly create muscle, you have to create progression. And that means working in what’s truly your a hundred percent intensity, not 90% because you feel burned out. So when you’re doing different things feeling sore and you’re feeling burned out, yeah, you’re pushing hard, but is it as hard as you really could push to truly create that growth? So it’s something we want to consider that that progression allows us to recover. It allows us to not feel as sore. It allows us to see those incremental adjustments and know that we’re truly doing what we need to challenge ourselves to create that change. So moving on to the final topic we have for today, supplements for muscle building, and I did bring up creatine with this, but I want to touch on some other ones if you have any thoughts on them. Are they overrated or underrated for gaining muscle?

Michelle (28:16):
So this is the one that I was really flip-flopping on because truthfully I think they are overrated, but I also think they’re underrated. So just to kind of explain really quickly, you can get the results you want without any supplementation, however supplements are there to supplement a diet so it can be easier on you if you are supplementing and specifically protein and creatine itself. Those are two very well tested, very well researched supplements that do help with muscle gains. So it’s one of those things like do you have to have it? No. Does it make it easier? Yeah, it can make it easier specifically if you are someone that is struggling a little bit with your nutrition intake.

Cori (29:03):
I wavered on this one too because it goes back to the, it’s overrated in that it’s things that people worry about first when they don’t have their macros dial in when they don’t have a clear workout progression and supplements will not change a broken system. That’s like putting a piece of gum in a dam that’s busting open with this hole, right? It’s not going to stop the water from coming out. You need to truly patch it. Don’t go do that anybody, but you do want to consider it because if you are a more advanced exerciser, if you are getting older going through hormonal changes where there is more chronic inflammation or you are not utilizing protein as efficiently because you’re getting older and you’re struggling to gain that lean muscle supplements can be that boost and that fixing of those nutritional gaps that despite our best efforts, we can’t always address because we simply need more even while eating in that calorie surplus, even while tracking our macros. So I think it’s a lot of opportunity to make improvements and things that we should look at. But you cannot out supplement a bad diet. You can’t out supplement a broken workout plan.

Michelle (30:09):
Yeah, exactly. And I think that’s so key to keep that in mind is, and I know it’s cliche, but I’m going to say it again. Supplements are there to supplement. They are not there to fix, like you mentioned a broken system. And I am going to kind of touch a little bit more on creatine specifically because that is something that I do think a lot of people don’t actually utilize when it can be very helpful for muscle protein synthesis. And again, there’s a lot of research out there that’s going to back this up, but having creatine does actually help stimulate the muscle protein synthesis itself because it does draw in water. Now having said that, that means if it’s drawing water into the muscle, your muscle actually will look a little bit larger because you are drawing in that muscle. But again, and I said this earlier, this is not a time where the scale is necessarily your friend because if you are also drawing in that extra water, you are going to probably see some bump in the scale if all of a sudden you start supplementing with creatine. So that’s something to be aware of that it’s water, but it’s also doing a lot of good things for you. It does improve recovery. There is some research that actually does show that it helps with the insulin-like growth factor. So the hormone that actually is relevant to muscle growth is going to improve as well

Cori (31:34):
Improve. So I have to throw in an extra one because it’s come up a couple times and I think it’s really important that we slightly harp on this. The scale for muscle gains overrated or underrated.

Michelle (31:48):
I’m going overrated on that one.

Cori (31:50):
I am going to 100% agree and I honestly brought it up because I knew you were going to say that, and I think that that’s a really important point. Going back to even the creatine in that we have to embrace the scale going up because if you add muscle, even if you don’t add fat and you just maintain your level of leanness, you’re going to see the scale increase. If you gain two pounds of muscle, even as you lose one pound of fat, you’re going to see the scale increase as you come out of that deficit and you’re no longer depleted. You’re going to see the scale increase with creatine and water retention, which you need, especially as you store glycogen to then fuel your workouts, help muscles repair and rebuild, you are going to see the scale increase. So if you get caught up in that number, you’re going to hold yourself back from seeing those muscle gains. So I would recommend you step off the scale, you don’t worry about it until you’re at the weight you want to be or the look you want to be at, and then you can step on it and see what that is to now represent the body comp you want. But you track with measurements, you track with the clothing items and see how they fit your thoughts

Michelle (32:47):
And track with the picture. The picture is going to be the biggest thing. I am going to say this, and it’s actually, you mentioned this before to me, we get, even with clothes, you have to recognize that your clothes are probably going to fit differently. So I know you had mentioned a story about, I think it was a client or maybe you, I don’t remember where they were saying that their pants didn’t fit and eventually you came to the realization that it was because they had been working on their glutes, so their butt was bigger, but if they actually looked at their waistband, the waist itself was smaller. So you have to recognize there’s going to be changes even in your measurements, but the goal is to gain. So you’re looking at hopefully gaining a larger bicep at some point, probably a bigger glute. So clothes are going to fit differently on you and that’s not always a bad thing. So as you mentioned, looking at yourself physically via picture or just being able to look at yourself in the mirror and realizing and putting a more emphasis on this is how you want to look versus this is what you want the number on the scale to say.

Cori (33:58):
I think it’s so key to bringing back to the point you mentioned about the close fitting differently because often people will be like, well, I gain weight. How do I know if it’s fat or muscle? And the measurement changes in the right areas, the muscular areas that you’re working on increases there show that you’re gaining muscle increases, say in your waist circumference where you’re not trying to necessarily build that out. That’s where you might want to say, okay, am I putting on a little bit of fluff? Do I need to assess my progression? Do I need to assess my macros? Do I need to assess my calorie surplus or deficit? Well in this case surplus, but potentially even take it back a little bit, maybe even do a mini cut for a deficit, which is a conversation for a whole nother day, but assessing where you’re seeing those measurement changes can really impact how you might interpret the results. Michelle, any closing thoughts in terms of tips if someone’s really seeking those muscle gains?

Michelle (34:52):
Just really quick because I feel like we covered a lot and definitely a lot of good information for everyone, but if you are someone that is sitting there and you’re being like, okay, they talked about progressions, they talked about the training frequency and you were struggling with even kind of understanding when we were talking about how you would actually plan that out, that is not something, it’s not the easiest thing to learn on your own. You can, but it’s going to take a lot of time and trial and error. That is really where I think the best education you can have is actually going and getting that coaching so that you have someone in your corner who’s also able to provide that guidance for you. And even with nutrition too, because you mentioned it’s so hard, the hardest thing I have with clients that have lost and they’ve gotten to the point that they want as far as being able to lose the fat and now they’re looking for that muscle gain is it really is a complete mind shift. And you’re going to have days where you are really struggling on the mental side knowing that you are doing things correctly. And so just having that person that’s in your corner or that community that’s in your corner that’s going through the same process is really going to benefit you and getting you to your success a lot sooner.

Cori (36:14):
I think that’s such a key point, the mindset behind it. Because a lot of times in our society there is an emphasis on fat loss, weight loss, and I’m all for looking exactly the way you want, whatever that means in terms of your body recomp. But I think there is a emphasis on looking smaller. And so with that being said, it can be hard and challenging to embrace seeing the scale go up when you’ve always been taught to look for it to go down. It can be hard feeling bigger or seeing changes in your body that you’re not used to. So the more you do have that security to trust in the process and not throw out something that’s working because you see something you’ve kind of always fought against in a weird way, like the scale increasing, that can be very helpful. And I want to bring it back to the progression for just a second because when I was talking about training techniques in the group the other day, someone mentioned, oh, I see these in the workout progressions sometimes the best way to learn the training techniques that work for you as you research them is to have a plan laid out.

(37:08):
The best way to learn what macro breakdowns is to have macro ratios laid out because then you’re testing with a strategic way of implementing. So don’t be afraid to follow a program, see what works for you, and then take from that as you’re learning about different things on your own because it can help you sort of narrow your focus so you’re not distracted by every option out there because there are a lot of different things that can work in a good way, but you don’t need all of them, and especially you don’t need all of them all the time. So make sure to stay really focused, track what you’re doing, but set that clear plan in place before you get started.

Cori (37:40):
Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript