Underrated Bodyweight Back Exercise

Underrated Bodyweight Back Exercise

We get stronger and moves get easier.

We advance and earn harder, more complicated, more challenging moves.

But too often we write off the basics and think we are above them…when we’re not.

And those basic, bodyweight moves, we often think we are too strong or advanced for, we need to return to more often and even perfect.

They are a key component of us maintaining a strong mind-body connection and recruitment patterns.

Not to mention, we need to recognize how many ways there are often to progress those moves that we haven’t used in favor of just add weight to exercises.

Because often when we just add weight, we start to let ego get in the way.

And this leads with us compensating during exercises to try to not have to step back in our training.

It’s why on exercises like bent over rows we can start to feel our elbows or shoulders or lower back or even neck hurt as we cheat to keep progressing the weights.

It’s even why we can end up with injury or our biceps doing all the work.

It’s why we have to take time at points to go perfect those movement patterns with bodyweight moves like the Inverted Row!

That’s why in this video I want to talk about the importance of this fundamental movement as well as ways to progress it so you can even use this accessory exercise to lift more in your heavy back exercises or even deadlifts.

So why is the Inverted Row an important fundamental move?

The back row requires not only back and bicep strength but proper scapular control or shoulder blade movement if we don’t want to end up with neck, shoulder, elbow or upper or lower back pain.

Too often if we aren’t able to properly move our shoulder blades toward our spine or retract them without shrugging, we will feel ourselves only pulling with our biceps or other areas like our shoulders or neck becoming overworked.

And if we don’t have proper core control and thoracic or upper back spinal mobility, we will often also feel our lower back engaging when we add heavier loads to our rows.

The Inverted Row is a great way to change those rowing movement patterns and really train proper scapular movement and core control.

It provides a safe and easy way to do this because we can change the resistance and start from a very solid plank position with our shoulders stabilize and our back already engaged

When you set up for the Inverted Row, focus on engaging your glutes, flexing your feet to engage up your legs and even brace your abs as if being punched in the gut.

Then unshrug your shoulders and press your chest out.

If you run through all of these things you will feel your body lock in as one unit and you will feel your back engage to already support your shoulders.

This set up is key to having tension so you can already feel the correct muscles engaged while making sure you aren’t compensating.

It can help you make sure that you are truly extending your thoracic spine as well and not just arching your lower back, which is why we so often can feel bent over rows in our lumbar spine.

Then because you are pulling your chest up toward the handles of a suspension trainer or a bar, you can really focus on leading with your chest, opening it up more as you row.

This can help you focus on pulling with your back, drawing your shoulder blades toward your spine.

With this, focus on driving those elbows down and back and STOP the movement when you want to round forward over just pulling those shoulder blades toward your spine.

This focus on driving your elbows down and stopping the move can help you avoid shrugging so you are truly using your back to pull.

This will teach you that proper back engagement and scapular control that will lead to a more powerful pull.

You can then lower back down and avoid sagging at the bottom to keep that core engaged and working and even shoulders protected.

As you feel the correct muscles working and fully in control, then you can progress this move from here.

But still don’t write this basic version off as you progress. Focus even on this move on how you can mentally engage things hard to even challenge yourself through activation.

Now…How can you progress the Inverted Row?

While you can do the inverted row off of a bar set up in a rig or smith machine, I personally love the suspension trainer version most as you can use a variety of grips more easily.

With either though, you can adjust the height of the handles or bar to help you change the incline.

The closer to parallel your body is, the harder the move will be.

And if you’ve hit about parallel, you can continue to advance the move by lifting your feet up on a bench.

We so often don’t see opportunity in these small changes and instead just jump to adding weights. But different forms of progression are key to helping us really create strong recruitment patterns, which ultimately lead to better muscle gains.

And changing your body angle isn’t the only way to use this move to your advantage.

You can also include a unilateral or one sided row and make it rotational or anti-rotational.

By making this move unilateral, you can help yourself work on imbalances and even challenge your core in different ways. If you have a weaker side, this is a great way to correct that and strengthen both sides independently so your stronger side doesn’t take over.

Often when we try to keep lifting more and more, we can end up with injury if we do have an imbalance.

This happens as either our weaker side tries to keep up and becomes overloaded or our stronger side tries to carry more of the load and ends up overworked.

So unilateral moves are a great way to create balance as much as we can…we are human!

But with the anti-rotational row variation, you’re going to work on that core stability and challenge those obliques.

You will fight the urge to rotate open with the row which will improve your core stability and allow you to avoid overloading your lower back especially.

You may be surprised by how much rowing on one side ONLY makes this move more challenging.

And with the rotational row, you are going to work on that rotational core strength while also targeting those obliques more.

Being able to power rotation properly is so important to our spinal and even hip health.

Not to mention this move is also amazing for your shoulder health, but very challenging.

You may want to regress it a bit to make sure you don’t shrug as you row but feel your back and even the muscles around your ribs, your serratus anterior, work to help you control the move even as you open back up.

Both are more challenging than they seem and great moves to complement even your heavier lifts earlier on in your workout.

And both can be progressed by moving closer to parallel. Just remember though rowing with one side is harder than the basic two handed row, so start back a bit as you control the move before lowering the incline.

Never let ego get in the way of you always returning to the fundamentals.

These basics help keep us strong and using the correct muscles to lift more and build that lean muscle!

Looking for amazing workouts to help you rock those results?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

Exercise and Fat Loss (5 Things You Need To Know)

Exercise and Fat Loss (5 Things You Need To Know)

You can’t out-exercise your diet.

Boom. Mic drop. That’s it.

And yet we’ve all thought…

“I’m training so hard, why can’t I lose weight?!”

The simple fact is…our diet needs to be dialed in to match our training if we want body recomp to happen.

Now…you may be thinking, “But I HAVE lost weight before by just adding on to my training.”

But this attempt to out exercise our diet ultimately SABOTAGES our long-term success.

And it can be why we start even blaming our AGE for our lack of results.

I want to break down why you aren’t losing weight despite exercising longer and harder

and then how you can adjust your diet to lose fat while gaining muscle even if it has felt impossible in the past!

These 5 tips I’ll go over to adjust your diet are what helped me personally because honestly

…I tried to out exercise my diet for the longest time

I literally felt like I could do anything I needed in the gym to see results, but adjusting my diet felt impossible.

I even told myself I simply couldn’t adjust my diet because I liked food too much.

But I realized that was just an excuse.

That I was simply more comfortable being uncomfortable in the gym than I was with adjusting my diet.

However, once I got out of my own way and started adjusting my portions of protein, carbs and fats,

not only did I lose weight but I gained muscle and felt more energized in my training sessions and all around every day life!

But first…why trying to out exercise your diet fails.

And this all comes back to why it works initially…

We’re creating that calorie deficit by adding in more movement.

If you don’t eat more to compensate, by simply adding in extra movement, you’re going to burn more calories and create that calorie deficit.

But the exact same reason we can lift more, run or cycle further faster, is the reason why we ultimately DON’T keep burning more calories over time.

We grow stronger and our body becomes more efficient.

This means that unless we keep doing more, adding on more to our training, we won’t keep burning more.

And we will even start needing LESS energy to repeat the same activities.

Again this is a GOOD thing as it is why we get fitter.

But it is also why our weight loss will often plateau over time.

If we try to keep adding in more to our workouts, making them longer even, we often may see another little drop in weight but then can even see weight start to creep back on.

Not to mention suffer from burnout and injury, which can completely throw us out of any healthy habits we’ve built and lead to us not being able to train at all.

But we may see our weight go up despite trying to increase our activity level to burn more calories because our body will start to find ways to conserve energy.

The more extreme the calorie deficit we try to create through our training, the more our body will rebel.

Our body wants to maintain essential bodily functions which take energy.

And the more you push that calorie deficit to extremes through exercising more, the more our body finds ways to fidget and move less as well as down regulate other energy usage through the day.

It’s why we can even see muscle loss, or our muscle building efforts be sabotaged while working harder in the gym.

This is why if you really want all of your hard work in the gym to pay off, and to create a calorie deficit that leads to fat loss as you even build lean muscle, while keeping you feeling fueled and energized, you can’t avoid the hard of adjusting your diet!

And it isn’t just about cutting calories through how you adjust your nutrition.

While calories in vs. calories out matter for weight loss, macros matter most for body recomp.

The types of foods you consume can not only have an impact on your body recomp results but even how FUELED you feel and the energy you have to be active and alert throughout the day.

Your macros can even impact your recovery and sleep.

And the exact portions of proteins, carbs and fats may vary based on your activity level, needs and goals.

But for most of us, even knowing this…the process of adjusting our diet can feel impossible.

That’s why I want to go over 5 key things to help you embrace adjusting your nutrition to help you lose weight and keep it off!

Number 1 being something that truly was the biggest game changer for me…

Don’t cut out the foods you love first.

I love dessert. And every time I would try to adjust my diet to lose weight, I would cut out dessert.

I knew it wasn’t “healthy” and very calorie dense.

So it seemed like the “easiest” thing to remove.

The thing was…it was also the thing I loved the most and the hardest change MENTALLY to make.

Ultimately I always would have willpower run out at some point and end up overindulging in all of the foods I’d tried to restrict and resist.

Once I started planning in a dessert FIRST and working my other meals around it, I finally created something more sustainable.

Because often it is just the fact we’ve told ourselves we “can’t” have something that makes us want it even more.

There are even nights now where I don’t have dessert and I don’t feel deprived because I know that A. I can work it in if I want and B. I’ve recognized what I include or don’t include is my CHOICE.

But to start, making sure I wasn’t feeling like I couldn’t have things I loved helped make the changes easier and built that momentum to achieve results!

Which brings me to the next tip I feel is so essential to creating true nutritional changes…

Keep those adjustments SMALL.

Too often with our diet, we also make these sweeping changes that make us miserable and often leave us very hungry.

Our body doesn’t like change. So dramatic calorie adjustments or changes in our macros, going from high carb to low carb, can make us feel low energy, hungry, deprived and just off.

It makes us not want to stick with the changes for long.

So instead, we want to make small changes, meeting our body where it is at.

The more we focus on just one small tweak, the more we allow our body to quickly adjust so we want to add on more.

This process of small swaps and changes is less mentally uncomfortable and overwhelming, which can lead to us feeling more motivated to keep building!

It can be exactly what we need to ease into being more comfortable being uncomfortable with dietary changes and stop us from feeling like we just can’t adjust our diet.

Because one size doesn’t fit all. Just because a fitness competitor is eating only chicken and broccoli doesn’t mean you need to, especially to start!

Now…I mentioned earlier…macros really matter.

And specifically protein is key. But it is also something many of us struggle to increase, which is why tip #3 is to map in protein first to every meal.

I started to realize that protein was an afterthought in many of my meals instead of something I mapped in first and worked other foods around to create delicious dishes.

I also realized how many meals barely had any protein in them.

I’ve seen this same trend with clients.

We think we’re eating a lot of protein. But when we actually look at our meals, we realize how many don’t really have a main protein source.

So instead of focusing on cutting anything out, work to first add protein in!

Make sure every meal has a protein source and even add just one ounce of protein to meals that do contain a protein already.

This addition of protein can create satiety, and while you’re technically adding in more calories, often it leads to us eating less of other things, including snacking less,

and it can even help us burn more calories at rest because protein requires more energy to be used by our body to digest it.

And as odd as it sounds to add in something that could make you consume more calories, studies have actually shown that a high protein diet is the only diet to not cause unwanted fat gain while in a slight calorie surplus.

Not to mention, often in eating more protein, we will make it easier on ourselves to create a small calorie deficit without feeling super hungry and lower energy.

Which brings me to the 4th key tip…

Stop slashing your calories super low!

Often we feel we can’t stick with dietary changes because the first change we make is to cut our calories down and create as big a calorie deficit as we can.

If weight loss is about eating less than you burn, eating as little as possible should be better, right?

WRONG!

Not only does this lead to us losing muscle, creating metabolic adaptations and hormonal imbalances that fight against our weight loss goals, but we also feel miserable and often run out of willpower to keep restricting as intensely.

And when our willpower runs out, we can end up overeating which can lead to us regaining not only any weight we lost but even more.

In this process of regaining the weight, we also aren’t regaining any muscle we lost. Just fat. And this ultimately will only make any future dieting attempts even harder.

So instead of slashing your calories super low, focus on adjusting your macros, increasing that protein first.

Just by adjusting your macros, you may see body recomp start to happen.

From here, you may find that even just cutting 100 calories from your maintenance level can lead to amazing results where you still feel energized.

We just have to remember that super big calorie deficits mentally derail us and also don’t lead to true fat loss any faster!

The final tip I’ve found to be so key in helping clients make dietary changes is to stop saying that any change we make is a lifestyle.

While we want things to be sustainable so we embrace change, the simply fact is not everything we do that is new will feel comfortable.

And what you do to reach a goal is NOT what you will do to maintain it.

We don’t do ANYTHING in one form exactly for the rest of our life.

There are constantly changes and tweaks and adjustments we are making.

And we need to embrace that.

The more we recognize that evolution will happen over time, the more we also make it easier to embrace some short term sacrifices knowing things will evolve as we go.

We may choose to cut out cocktails for a bit to see better results,

while adding them back in as we reach our goals and transition to maintenance.

While we can’t go back to simply what we did prior to losing the weight, there is constant evolution in our diet to match our body where it is at.

And there will be a different balance we strike over time as we create that new weight set point.

Remind yourself that not everything will feel fully sustainable to start, like a “lifestyle,” but that over you can tweak and adjust to create your balance!

If we want to reach our goals, our diet and our workouts need to evolve to work together and we need to find a balance!

We can’t out exercise our nutrition and our nutrition can really help us feel, move and look our best!

If you’re ready to dial in your diet and your workouts to see fabulous results at any and EVERY age, check out my Private Online Coaching.

–> Learn more and schedule your consultation

FHP 653 – Seasonal Shifts

FHP 653 – Seasonal Shifts

LISTEN HERE

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WATCH HERE

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

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. We often think about shifting our habits, our diet, our workouts, when we have a new goal we’re working towards, but we also have to remember that we might need to shift it over the course of our year. It’s not just when our goals change, when our body changes as we get older, but every season might require a slightly different lifestyle balance, and that’s why I’m super excited to dive into how we can adjust our fall routine, specifically in this case, but our routines in general over the course of the year to really meet us where we’re at with my fabulous dietician, Brooke.

(01:00):
So Brooke, welcome and thank you for joining me today.

Brooke (01:04):
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

Cori (01:07):
So let’s talk about shifting those habits with the seasons. Why is this so important and where can it even add value if we are finding that we’re working towards our goals and maybe things are becoming stale or it feels like something’s just not matching what we need right now?

Brooke (01:24):
Absolutely. I love, love this topic. So seasonal shift, depending on where you are in the country, the seasons are starting to change, right? Next week is September, which is literally insane to be thinking about Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. So the seasons are changing, which honestly for me is so sad. I’m in Kentucky and last week it was in the fifties and sixties. This week it’s a little bit hotter, but as the seasons start to shift and change, I really want us to think about what our routines look like right as we exit out of summer, as we exit out of May, June, July, August, these hotter months. What are our routines going to look like headed into fall? Because I think, well, I don’t think with working with a lot of clients, I have seen this, and I even see this in my own life, it can become a big struggle headed into the colder months to follow our routines that we had throughout the summer, right?

(02:22):
It’s much more motivating to go outside and get in a lift or get in a walk when it’s hot outside and it’s sunny and it’s nice and it’s like, oh, this is so great. I’m getting a tan while I’m lifting or on my walk. But oftentimes when we head into the colder months, it can become really difficult to continue on with the same routines and the same habits that you once had throughout the summer. So I really love this topic solely for the purpose of, I think it’s important to really dive into not creating new routines necessarily for the colder months, but what can you do differently and what do you need to shift and adjust and change that might look a little bit different than what you did during the warmer months? So even for me, as we head into the colder months, seasonal depression is a real thing.

(03:08):
When it gets cold outside, all jokes aside, it can become really difficult to get motivated and stay disciplined, and oftentimes I see that’s when we start to fall off our habits, our consistencies, our routines. So I really want to start being proactive the last week of August headed into September. What can we do these last couple months of 2024 to really, really hone in on our goals and get to our goals and get to that end result and get to see that progress that we want to see without just slipping into that old habit of, oh, it’s getting colder. That’s okay. Maybe my workouts will decrease, my nutrition’s going to look a little bit differently, but get out of that head space and really get ourselves motivated to finish out that you’re strong,

Cori (03:55):
Strong. It’s owning our reality and owning the evolution of it, and you hit on something that’s so key. It’s a pattern. We’ve often repeated even whether or not we’re aware of it, we try and force a habit mold on ourselves that worked at one time of year on another. And I mean, I 100% agree. I even said to Ryan this morning, I’m like, it’s already getting darker when we’re supposed to be getting up and walking the dogs, and it makes it so much harder to get out of bed and in owning that our habits over the months where it’s darker earlier do change. And the more we’ve owned that and adjust for it, the better off my results have been, but also the better lifestyle balance we’ve created. So I think this really is an opportunity to say, Hey, what habits might work for next summer, but don’t work for this fall or this winter or next spring, and how can I constantly evolve over the course of the year and make 1% improvements that really do allow things to snowball over trying to force ourselves into some ideal mold we had out of habits at a different time that now doesn’t fit, makes us think we just don’t have the willpower makes us fall off.

(04:56):
Then we have the holiday habit slide even further and we’re starting over in January. So going off of that, what opportunities do you really see with pausing to assess right now going into the fall?

Brooke (05:08):
Yeah, absolutely. I think it’s key going off that a little bit to remember that this is for everyone. This is not for a certain population. This is not for one group of people. If you are listening to this, if you’re in this Facebook group, this is for you, right? This is for everyone. Whether you’re a stay-at-home Mom and your kids just went back to school and you’re like, yes, freedom. I have so much time now. Or if you’re a CEO of a company and you’re working from sunup to sundown, reassessing the habits that we had over the summer headed into the fall months, this is for you. So definitely don’t kind of count yourself out like, oh, my fall looks the same as it did in the summer. If it does, great, how can we build off those habits? But for most of us, a lot of that consistency and habits, they change with the seasons. So one thing that I really like to do, and this is just something that I’ve evolved in working with clients, is what can we do headed into September? That’s why this is so pivotal, the end of August to really focus on this the last couple months. So one thing that I think is going to be really important, kind of changing up or shifting gears if you will with the seasons is reigniting your motivation.

(06:15):
The season’s going to change whether we want it to or not. It’s something that we can’t control. It’s out of our control what the weather is doing outside, but what we can control is going to be really important. And a part of that is finding ways to reignite our motivation. We need to switch things up. This is very similar to a workout routine. You’re not going to stay on the same four week progression. You’re not going to do the same workouts your entire life. Why? Because our bodies change. Seasons change, life happens, things change. Same thing with the season. The season is going to change. You’re not going to do the same thing or what you’ve always done if it hasn’t worked for you. So I really think starting at the base and really starting there with, Hey, this is out of my control, whether I like it or not, the season’s going to change. How can I really reignite my motivation right now today headed into September to stay on track and get me to my goal? So I think the first thing is really focusing on how can we reignite that motivation,

Cori (07:17):
And this will be the case with so many different changes in life. You mentioned that maybe you don’t think the seasonal shifts will apply to you and maybe it doesn’t with necessarily fall, spring, winter, but there’s going to be changes in career changes in lifestyle balance. Maybe you were single and now got married or you had kids. There’s so many different evolutions in our life that might make us need to step back and reassess, and at that point we do have to step back and say, what will keep me motivated to keep moving forward because of the other priorities that might’ve come into play and reassessing that motivation. We might find like, Hey, during the fall because of other things going into the holidays, maybe I’m not as motivated to hit my weight loss goal. So now what could I do to keep in the habits that would keep me focused on the goal ultimately, but also add more motivation to what I’m doing, motivate me to get up out of bed when it’s still dark, or maybe say, Hey, if I don’t have this motivation, how can I change what I’m doing to then still want to implement that habit?

(08:11):
It’s assessing the pain of staying stuck and making that outweigh the pain of change. However, you can’t necessarily make that pain greater. So then you have to say, Hey, how can I make the pain of change less so to speak?

Brooke (08:26):
I love that. Yes, a hundred percent. Even when you touch on it getting colder outside and the sun starts to change, right? Maybe you don’t want to get out of bed as early and get your workout in, great. That’s okay if it works with your schedule, how can we readjust and get that workout in later in the day? So I think definitely that motivation’s going to be key, but when motivation fails us, what are we going to do then? So focusing on what’s inside your control is going to be key here as opposed to what is outside your control, which is the season’s changing. Another big thing that I really like to focus on with clients and myself is reevaluating what hasn’t worked for us in the past. We talk about this all the time, but if you can reflect back on last year, September to December, what did you do?

(09:10):
What did your habits look like? What did your workouts look like? What did your nutrition look like? And reevaluating what worked for you and what didn’t work for you, and moving into this new fall season with new goals, in alignment with your goals, maybe what you did last year during the season didn’t work for you, so you’re going to kind of start fresh with those habits. Maybe what you did last year you loved and it worked for you, so you’re going to continue to build off of that this season. But I think really reflecting is going to be a huge part in setting you up for success moving forward into these next couple months and figuring out where you’re at. One, meet yourself, where you’re at today, where are you at, what are your goals these next couple months? And then reflecting on what’s worked for you in the past and what hasn’t worked and slowly starting to build off that.

Cori (10:02):
I think you hit on something that’s so key. It’s meeting yourself where you’re at and reflecting on what did and didn’t work. Because I think so often we just think, oh, well, it was X plan that didn’t work, and we jumped to some new ideal plan instead of saying, Hey, okay, this plan worked for X, Y, and Z reason, and I like these things and it didn’t work for X, Y, and Z reason. So now can I think or look for some other program that has something that addresses the problems but also still has the good points, and that meets me where I’m at because so often we are just jumping from ideal to ideal versus truly reevaluating and owning where we’re at right now. And off of that it can be a struggle to make changes because we do get stuck on that ideal. How do you help someone embrace potentially doing a minimum or doing less than they think is perfect when a season calls for that?

Brooke (10:54):
Yeah, such a great question. I think, yeah, we all can learn from that question and just the reflecting off of that. So what do you do when that motivation fails you? You have to start somewhere, and I know we already touched on it, but the first thing that’s going to be important there is meeting yourself where you’re at. What is doable for you today? Is it tracking your macros and nailing your macros? Is it just increasing your water by five ounces, right? Start somewhere and continue to build off of that. So I think when we’re looking at, Hey, I’m overwhelmed, the season’s very overwhelming for me. I really don’t know how to set these goals in place. Well, stay tuned. We’re definitely going to dive into that, but the first thing you got to do is meet yourself where you’re at and focus on what you can do.

(11:39):
Right now, I have the star of water. I do struggle with water. If I don’t keep a class of water next to me throughout the day, I will not drink a thing of water. So I constantly have to remind myself to sit a glass next to me. That’s a habit that I’ve created. I didn’t start like that. It started by me realizing, Hey, I don’t drink any water and I’m sweating a lot throughout the day, so what can I do to increase that? So for you, maybe water’s applicable for you because headed into the colder months, it’s very easy for water to slip. If you’re constantly bundled up and freezing, what’s the last thing you want to do? Drink water. That doesn’t sound very nice. So focusing on those habits over time can be really key. So I think the biggest thing in a roundabout way of me saying all of this is meet yourself where you’re at and focus on one thing that you can do today, whether that’s starting with a protein minimum, right? Hey, I’m going to nail 15 grams of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Or maybe you’re along the path of already eating a lot of protein. You’re like, Hey, I’m going to nail 30 to 40 grams of protein at every meal. Meet yourself where you’re at and then continue to build off of that, especially headed into the colder months.

Cori (12:52):
It’s focusing almost less on what you can’t do that maybe you’ve done in the past and more what you can still do consistently that is better than what you did at this same time last year. It’s the 1% improvements over the seasons over the years versus comparing it to other times of year because we get good at what we consistently do, and the more we create that success mindset through being successful in our actions, the more we want to do, the more motivated we stay, the more changes we ultimately make and the more we see results snowball. We don’t recognize that sometimes by trying to force an ideal that we can’t maintain it in a specific season. We’re setting ourselves up for failure because we ultimately do less. I’ve seen it happen myself where I’ll have a routine where I’m like, okay, I’m going to do five times a week of working out, and then I do three, and I’m like, I only did three. It was a failure this week, and then all of a sudden next week I’m doing even less and then I’m falling off and I’m like, oh, I just need a break. Instead of saying, oh, well, I can only do three, and then I did three and built off of that, and it’s like, I still did three workouts either way, but it’s the mindset it creates because I do think so often we don’t think about what can I make myself feel successful with to want to do more of?

Brooke (14:00):
Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I think a big part of that as well is just staying grounded. Like you said, consistency is key here. Consistency truly is the backbone To accelerate you forward, you’ve got to be consistent. But for a lot of us headed into a new season, that consistency feels all over the place. It’s like, yes, I got my new workout progression set up for next week. I’m going to nail six out of the seven days a week. And then when you lose sight of that and then you miss one and life happens and work gets busy and the kids need, you count that as a failure, but completely reversing that and staying grounded and saying, Hey, no, that’s a huge win that I worked out four times this week. Did I hit all six days? No, but that’s okay, right? I can refocus and next week head into it, nailing four to five workouts and just continuing to build off of that. So really staying grounded and giving yourself shout outs for those wins because those daily wins of even adding five ounces of water to your day, that’s a win. Count it as a win and really focusing on staying grounded around that so that you can continue to build that consistency over time.

Cori (15:09):
Now, the question, how do we do all of this? How do we meet ourselves where we’re at? Because there is always an excuse going into fall, oh, well, it’s dark outside and I just want to stay underneath the covers. It’s so warm and the puppies are cuddling with me. Or in the summer, my excuse, oh, well, it’s so nice outside. I just want to have a margarita and just relax. Who wants to do these things? So obviously at every time of year we can make these excuses, so how can we really meet ourselves where we’re at and address any seasonal shifts that we need? That’s actually hard to say, but seasonal shifts that we need.

Brooke (15:42):
No, I love that. So a big thing that I want to dive into, and it was a challenge that I put out in the post on Monday, and it’s something that I really want to focus on now, is creating a mantra, as silly as it sounds, creating some type of phrase or sentence that you are always going to fall back to when that motivation fails you, when you don’t get all your workouts in, when you don’t eat how you thought you wanted to, what can we fall back to? And I think headed into the season a fun way, if you will, of doing that. Maybe a cliche way of doing that is creating some type of mantra that you have written down that’s on your bathroom mirror, that’s on your phone, screensaver, whatever it may be. You have some type of word or phrase that you always fall back to that keeps accelerating you forward.

(16:31):
And I honestly loved reading through Monday’s comments. You all have some awesome mantras that you’ve already been thinking through. It looked like headed into this fall season. But a big part of, Hey, where do I start with this? Right? The season’s changing. I know I need to reflect. I know I need to set new goals and habits for myself. Where do I start? I want to start with a mantra. So really setting that intention right now today, this week, whenever you have time to sit down and you’re listening to this, you’re like, okay, I need to really think through this. Sit down and think through it. I think it’s going to be really important headed into these last couple months of 2024, but starting with setting that intention, take some time to reflect on what you need most. What do you need most this season headed into September next week? What is it that you need? Is it more self-care? Do you need more consistency in your workouts? Do you need a renewed focus on your nutrition habits? Whatever that is for you because it’s going to be different for everyone, whatever that is for you. Identify that core focus for this challenge. Start there with that core focus, and that is how we’re going to build on this mantra.

Cori (17:43):
I think the mantra hits on so much more than we even realized too, in that it can help us assess the struggles we’ve had in the past. It can help us assess what we need as a reminder for the future, but it’s tying us back to our why we really feel this is important so that we keep prioritizing it during a time where maybe other priorities have shifted slightly. I think it’s also really key that you mentioned putting it somewhere you can see, because it’s not just the phrase that we can remind ourselves of or even repeat to ourselves daily. As silly as it might feel to say it every morning when you wake up to make sure that you’re focused on the things you want to accomplish, the priorities you want to have. But I think that visual is a super key thing to highlight because it goes back to environment.

(18:23):
Our environment triggers so many of the patterns that we repeat good and bad. And so by changing your environment with this mantra someplace you can see it, you are triggering a new action. You’re reminding yourself of the habit. It’s the same thing as putting out your clothes that you remember to go to the gym. It’s the same thing as having that water bottle out so you remember to drink the water. It’s a change in environment which triggers a pattern. So as you’re thinking about the mantra, think about what would trigger that pattern to be a positive thing. Think about how you even maybe self sabotage in the past and think about how you can oversell the negative of those things to create a mantra that will help you move past that. But I think really focusing your intentions on your why and changing that environment is so key to helping us handle the habit changes that we might need to have even.

Brooke (19:09):
Absolutely. And after we identify that why, that’s the base, right? Fully get into pyramid, the base of that pyramid, the largest part of that pyramid is your why. What is your why? But when we head into fall, identify that core focus that you want to focus on for yourself. Maybe you have a lot going on externally. Maybe your kids need you 24 7. Maybe you’re in communities that constantly just need stuff from you. How are you going to focus on you first to then go and serve and pour out on those other people? So identify that, why, identify that core focus and then start to craft your mantra right on Monday. Like I said, there was a lot of comments of people already putting their mantras out there and what they want to focus on, find what resonates with you. And maybe it’s you taking a mantra from someone else that you love, you’re like, that’s what I’m going to focus on.

(19:59):
But really start to craft this mantra, keeping in mind that you’re prioritizing yourself. This is for you to continually work and grow on yourself. I have a couple things that I want to throw out there, a couple mantras that I think are going to be helpful for people. I personally do fall in terms of the cozy vibes. I don’t love the weather. I’m not going to lie. So a lot of these are around cozy vibes, but some of these that I think of that I’m going to take for myself, so take it or leave it. One is harvest the best version of yourself. Find strength in the stillness. Embrace cozy, but stay active. Gratitude and growth, harvest, wellness, reap vitality. So as cheesy as those are as funny, honestly, they’ll probably make me laugh every day that I look at them, but that’s okay because they go back to my why. What do I need to be reminded of on a daily basis to motivate me, to accelerate me forward? Same thing for you. Craft your mantra around what you need to be reminded of on a daily basis to accelerate you forward and to get towards your goals and building those routines, right? We can’t build routines, establish consistency. If we don’t start with our why and crafting that mantra of going back to our core focus,

Cori (21:20):
It’s having the mindset in place so that we can then create the daily actions we need and have a reminder of why we’re doing them and also what we’re driving towards with them. So in terms of crafting those daily habits and routines, where would you recommend that someone start?

Brooke (21:38):
Yeah, great question. So go back to your why. So if you’re sitting down right now listening to this, or you’re in the car driving and you are around a pen and paper, or you’re just thinking through this, start writing it down. Start with number one, why? What’s my core focus? Number two, how do I craft my mantra? Then it goes back to that core focus. So let’s say you’re focused through the next month, two months, three months. The rest of the months in 2024 is to consistently hit three days in the gym. You have to start setting up that goal for yourself now in order to build off of those habits. So you have to start with your why. Maybe your why is headed into 20 20, 20 25. Wow, I almost said multiple numbers there, 20, 25, which is crazy. Maybe you are one that’s like, Hey, I don’t want to just let these last four months go to waste and start the new year with all these goals, and then by February I would’ve failed them.

(22:37):
Maybe you’re like, Hey, I’m starting that resolution now so that I head into the new year totally taking grasp and grip on my goals so that I don’t feel like I’m restarting the new year off like I do every year. Maybe you’re going to start that right now and make that a change for yourself. So kind of taking what you would’ve done in the past in terms of, Hey, new year, new goals, start now. New season. What are your goals? Where are you right now today? What is your why and what can you do to build off of that over the next couple months?

Cori (23:11):
It’s thinking about those silly simple habits that we could do that almost take no thought. I like to think of this as an opportunity to even strip away any fluff that I might’ve added to my routine that doesn’t necessarily need to be there. That while good might be a 1% improvement, also adds more willpower that I’m using or more energy that I’m expending or more mental space. So I like to think of this as a chance to say, Hey, how can I strip things back to those basics, make sure that I’m really good at those basics again, and then build off of it from there based on what the season allows. Because I do think a lot of times we adding in more as we go through and then we hit this point of overwhelm because we’ve been chasing new things, which isn’t bad. It’s potentially even why we’ve seen results happen, but we get distracted and we feel like we have to do all of these things when really if we go back to those basics, we can at least maintain our results, which might need to be our focus for that time of year.

(24:01):
And then from there, build towards whatever other goal we set. But I think it is taking this opportunity to strip away some of those things. Go back to your why. Go back to the habits that matter. Even assessing previous year habits to say, Hey, what did and didn’t work as you mentioned, and then say, Hey, how can this now build into the new year so that I don’t feel like I’m starting over? Because that is the key in life. There is no starting over, right? We’re just moving forward. So we’ve got to find a way to keep building and assessing what we need right now. Now, all this is all well and good. We put the habits in place, we have our why, but knowing isn’t doing, having that plan isn’t actually implementing it. How can we get ourselves to do all the things that we need when sometimes it’s a little bit harder and priorities have shifted and excuses are popping up while valid. There are always excuses, but how do we overcome those things?

Brooke (24:52):
I love that, and I think that’s huge because we can sit down and talk about goals and be motivational all day long, but the implementation, if that’s not there, it means nothing. Essentially. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you’re not doing it, what’s the purpose? What’s the point? So really taking time, yes, to set a game plan, you need those action steps. You need that game plan. That’s key. But now we’re in this phase. It’s like, okay, now you’ve set your mantra. Hopefully you have why you have your core focus. Now what are you going to do with that? Right? That implementation can be hard for a lot of people, including myself. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve headed into the colder months being like 6:00 AM I’m getting my workout in. I’m going to get up and get it in before the sun comes up.

(25:39):
Come on Brooke, let’s do it. And then what happens at 6:00 AM it’s cold. The sheets feel nice. I feel cozy, I feel warm, and I don’t want to get up because my warmup is going to take longer because I’m cold. I am prone to make excuses so I could make all the excuses in the world. But again, if that implementation isn’t there, it means nothing. So one thing that I highly recommend is something called a daily check-in. So ending the day, reflecting, oftentimes reflection, we learn more through reflection than we do through the actual process. So I’m a big believer in reflecting on things. Something that I always recommend to clients is a daily check-in. And for those in our coaching program, you get a lot of check-ins with our coaches, with myself, you are constantly being asked, how are you feeling? How did your goals go today?

(26:28):
Which is so key. So that accountability can be huge. But oftentimes if you feel like you don’t have that accountability, what can you do to really make sure that implementation step is being executed? And it’s really a daily check-in. So going back to yourself at the end of every day and be like, how’d the day go? Right? How did the routines go today? How did my workout go today? Did I get in a walk? How did my nutrition feel? How do I feel overall mentally? Did I enjoy the day? Did I have energy? There’s so many reflection questions that we could dive into, but the biggest thing here is just that you reflect and if you feel like, Hey, the day did not go as planned. I didn’t get my workout in and life got busy, set yourself up for success the following day. That’s the power of checking in at the end of every day is maybe you crushed it. Maybe you had the best day ever. Great. How can you repeat that? Or maybe you didn’t have a good day. Like I said, how can you set yourself up for success that following day? So really those check-ins and accountability and having a coach can be extremely pivotal in the next couple months and honestly throughout life. But really that daily check-in is going to be key.

Cori (27:38):
Reflection, helps us take ownership. And I think that’s such a key thing to remember. It’s not condemning yourself if something didn’t go right. It’s not even praising yourself if something did go right, although you definitely should, but it’s just helping you take ownership of your reality. And I think that’s what it comes back to with meeting yourself where you’re at shifting with the seasons, it’s all about ownership of your reality because in reflecting on what you did and how it worked out, you can see things that maybe you are not embracing fully. And so they might not feel sustainable right now, but they ultimately are needed. They are a sacrifice, a cost to get the reward that you want to have to own, that you have to find ways to embrace the changes. Or you might say, Hey, this is a habit or routine that I’m forcing on myself that simply is not realistic for me.

(28:24):
I’m not taking ownership of who and what I am and owning my reality. And I can tell you right now also that the reason I thought of this was because I know there is no way in the winter I am getting up at 6:00 AM and going to work out. Uhuh not going to happen. I will set myself up for failure. However, I know during warmer seasons, I am ready to get up, get out of bed, and get going. And so right there, I could say, oh, well, is this something that I’m just not embracing the sacrifice to get the reward? Or is there something I can own in my lifestyle, my reality that can make it something I need to adjust? Right? Okay, I’m going to shift my workout to later in the day and try that. Okay, is it not really the timing? Is it just that other priorities are creeping in? Is this now a suck I have to embrace, as I like to say, embrace the suck, or did switching the time actually help because I own my reality? So that reflection allows us to determine, is this a sacrifice we need to make and we need to own the hard or is this something we’re trying to force that really is just draining our willpower and not sustainable and not going to move us forward because it’s not matching where we’re at right now?

Brooke (29:25):
Absolutely. Yeah, I love that. Embrace the suck is a huge one. And oftentimes, I mean even in just coaching clients, it goes back to one, do you have the time in the day to complete the things that you want to do? Because that’s honestly one of the biggest excuses that I hear often is, well, there’s not enough time. If I don’t want to get up at 6:00 AM to get my workout done, it’s cold. Well, I need to do it later in the day. Well, I don’t have time. And often I go back and ask a question of like, Hey, almost all of us have the time in the day, but how are you actually managing your time? And that’s pushy, but honestly, it’s something that I often reflect on because I can be prone to that. I don’t have enough time in the day. I don’t have time to go meal prep.

(30:04):
I don’t have enough time to go do my workout in. Okay, well, let’s look at your schedule. What do you have time for? And oftentimes one a part of that. Yes, embrace the suck. Maybe you have to do a 6:00 AM workout and yeah, that sucks, but at least you’re getting to your goals, right? That’s all that matters. But a big part of it is also just, Hey, let’s look at the schedule. Let’s look at how much time we do have in the day. How can we better manage the time to get in the things that you truly want to prioritize? Because if it’s a priority for you, you’re going to find time to fit it in over anything. So honestly, overall, as we think about headed into New Seasons, creating these mantras, please throw your mantras in the comment section so we can go through them.

(30:49):
Honestly, I’ll probably steal some of them for myself because mine were pretty cheesy. But overall, really focus on your mantra. Go back to your why, what’s your core focus? And then really write out the things that you want to get out of this next season. Maybe it’s, Hey, I don’t want last season to become this season. I want it to be different. Okay, well, how do you want it to be different? What do you want that to look like for yourself? And slowly start to write down the things that you want to change and the goals that you have and continue to build those habits. Continue to build that consistency. Reflect on them daily so you can build them. But please, please throw your mantras in the comments as well, just so we can continue to empower and build each other up as we head into these next couple months.

Cori (31:33):
With all this, I have to admit, I was thinking about my own and someone actually asked in the unicorn group about what you need to hear this week. And one of the things I’ve been telling myself with this new season is obstacle or opportunity you decide, and I bring this up right now too, not only to share what I’m sort of keeping as my focus, but also because as you’re shifting habits, there’s always pushback. There’s always a pain to change. And as I mentioned, you can’t change the pain of staying stuck at times to make you more motivated, to want to conquer some of the challenges that you’re going to face and the changes you’re going to face. But you can always change that pain of change. Maybe you have to work out at that 6:00 AM despite saying, this really doesn’t feel good for me, but I just know I won’t get it in at other times.

(32:16):
And maybe you say, Hey, this is too hard right now in this form. So maybe you shorten your workouts or you do slightly different workouts, or you work out from home because it’s too much to go to the gym. Find different ways to meet yourself where you’re at while working within the parameters that you have, but also see that you always have a choice in how you choose to perceive the things that you’re faced with. They can be obstacles or opportunities. The is really yours. You just have to step back. And I say this as someone who is very stubborn, has a hard time sometimes pausing the brain, but the more we do reflect, the more we can always be moving forward and meeting ourselves where we’re at. Brooke, thank you so much for joining me today. I can’t wait to see all the different mantras. Make sure to share yours guys. Really looking forward to how you are shifting with the seasons. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free work, 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 somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes, and it would mean the world to me and possibly change life of someone.

 

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

FHP 652- Balancing Blood Sugar Through Nutrition and Workouts

FHP 652- Balancing Blood Sugar Through Nutrition and Workouts

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WATCH HERE

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TRANSCRIPT

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OPEN TRANSCRIPT

Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast. This is a show where I share all my free work, 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 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. Let’s talk about balancing blood sugar. What does this even mean? Why is it important? Why do some people really stress over this? Let’s talk about everything going on. Julia, thank you so much for joining me to really dive into this subject today.

Julia (00:44):
Of course, I’m so thrilled to be here.

Cori (00:47):
So first off, what is blood sugar in the first place?

Julia (00:52):
So blood sugar or blood glucose as we hear, is the main sugar that’s found in your blood. So when you eat carbohydrates, they are broken down into glucose which your blood transports to your cells to be used as energy. So the way we can think of this is after a meal, our blood sugars are going to be a little bit higher, and then our pancreas is going to respond by releasing what we call insulin, which then stimulates that uptake of glucose into our muscle cells. And then a few hours after a meal, our blood sugar is going to run a little bit lower. And during these times, our pancreas will release what we call glucagon, which stimulates the breakdown of those of that glucose storage known as our glycogen for our body to use for energy when we need it.

Cori (01:36):
And so when we hear this term high blood sugar, what does this really mean?

Julia (01:42):
So with diabetes, we know with type one diabetes they are insulin deficient, meaning that their bodies do not make enough insulin and with type two diabetes they are insulin resistant. So this is really important because when we talk about high blood sugar, insulin is really a key player here. I always explain it that insulin acts as the key that unlocks those muscle cells and allows glucose to get in there for us to use as energy. So when our cells become resistant to insulin as they do with type two diabetes, this process doesn’t run as smoothly, which causes glucose to remain in our blood, hang out in our bloodstream, and that shows up as high blood sugar.

Cori (02:21):
Now this being said too, and I like to bring this up because I think we can hear about a health concern, an issue, and then we start to demonize things. I just want to touch on the fact that insulin is not a bad thing. People will just demonize it. Can you talk a little bit about that because I think it’s really important we do understand the nuance of things and just don’t write something off.

Julia (02:43):
Yeah, of course. It’s totally normal to have insulin in our bodies throughout the day, like you said. I think it can be something that becomes a little bit demonized because that term insulin resistance, we get nervous and with speaking of type two diabetes, our bodies do continue to produce insulin to try to get that glucose into our cells. But for even healthy individuals, we need insulin to be able to use it every day. So it’s definitely kind of thrown around sometimes and not talked about in the best life, but it is definitely still essential for living a healthy lifestyle overall

Cori (03:19):
Or we understand these things, the more we can make sure that we’re meeting ourselves where we’re at. Because there are some negative side effects, so to speak, of having high blood sugar. Can you tell me a little bit more about those and what we need to watch for with that?

Julia (03:33):
Sure. So long-term, some of the consequences that we’ll see, things like chronic diseases, things like cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney disease, metabolic syndrome. We can also run into hormonal imbalances. So high insulin levels can lead to increased estrogen. So in women, this can manifest in things like estrogen dominance, which leads to lower progesterone, which we can see in things like polycystic ovarian syndrome. And similarly in men, this also has consequences. So this high estrogen can lead to decreased testosterone levels. And then finally, just if you’re someone out there who maybe you don’t struggle with blood sugar necessarily, maybe you’ve never gotten any bad news from your doctor, but you’re just someone who wants to lose weight and you want to live a healthier lifestyle overall, managing your blood sugar is really important for weight management. This is because insulin helps your body store glucose in the liver and muscles to fuel your body. So if you’re someone who you want to complete a body reup, this is also going to be so key that extra glucose is stored as fat, which can lead to weight gain and trouble losing weight. So also super key there.

Cori (04:41):
So whether we want to lose weight, improve our health, what can we do to balance our blood sugar?

Julia (04:49):
First off, nutrition building balanced meals. This is going to mean consuming adequate fat fiber and protein at meals. And this is because these foods really increase the time required for digestion. So that rate of gastric emptying into the small intestine is slowed, which ultimately reduces blood sugar spikes. And then in addition, since these foods are all pretty satiating, you won’t experience cravings soon after mealtime and kind of get thrown on that blood sugar roller coaster that most people feel. So you have steady energy throughout the day and you don’t have those kind of crazy sugar cravings that some people may experience. And then the second step is building the muscle mass. So increased muscle mass increases skeletal muscle glucose uptake and improves our insulin sensitivity as well. So building balanced meals and improving lean muscle are really the two best things we can do from a lifestyle perspective for managing our blood sugar.

Cori (05:42):
I love that you mentioned building lean muscle because I think that’s something that’s so often overlooked to and building lean muscle has such an impact on even our metabolic health in terms of seeing better body recomp. And when we think about, oh, I burn more calories because I’ve built lean muscle, it’s not just the actual muscle that you’re maintaining, it’s all the other bodily processes that it is promoting that also increase your energy expenditure. So I love that you bring that up because muscle’s so magical for so many different reasons. But on top of that, we are balancing our meals, we’re focusing on building lean muscle. What other little habit changes can we make that can really pay off?

Julia (06:18):
Sure. So some other things, even just walking after meals, a simple walk can help blood, that immediate glucose spike that we experience and lower those overall levels of insulin research has shown that even just walking 10 minutes has been shown to lower your blood sugar by 22%. So a pretty drastic amount. Other things to look out for managing stress when we’re stressed or insulin levels fall and more glucose is released from the liver at the same time growth hormone and cortisol levels rise, which cause the body tissues to be less sensitive to insulin. And then finally, aside from nutrition, lifestyle, all of that, something we hear so, so often but is so key, so I have to touch on is prioritizing sleep. We know that not getting enough sleep has been linked to increases in our hunger hormones or stress hormones and other things leading to an increase in glucose levels throughout the day

Cori (07:15):
And adding in more walking is only going to help us potentially sleep better. We can do a last thing in the evening after dinner. It can keep us from gnashing on other things, which might be good too to help our weight loss or body recomp efforts, but it can help us relax before going to bed sleep better, which then promotes better blood sugar balance overall, better body recom. So all these things are interconnected and we can really use them to our advantage. Going back to diet and nutrition, low carb diets are definitely popularized when it comes to balancing blood sugar. If anybody has any sort of different health concerns. Can you talk a little bit about the nuance to that and the benefits, but also the downsides

Julia (07:56):
Of course? Yeah, I mean we see so much about low carb diets today, and of course it is going to help if we’re talking in terms of blood sugar management, insulin resistance because it is essentially lowering carbs, whether it’s restricting them completely or managing the amount that we’re having to a very small portion size. So essentially, yes, it’s going to help with balancing blood sugar, but it’s important to recognize that with any low carb diet or any restrictive diet for that nature, there will be some drawbacks. So with low carb diets, we know that carbs provide fiber and energy, which really work to support our gut health, our hormones, our liver and gallbladder health, our thyroid health, our muscle growth in our body recomp efforts. So cutting out carbs completely might not necessarily be the answer for you, but instead focusing on quality and the quantity of the carbs, we can make sure that we’re managing our blood sugar and supporting our health overall versus just cutting them out completely.

(08:55):
So as far as quality, focusing on really fiber rich carbs, things like whole grains, whole wheat or sprouted bread, quinoa, brown rice, oats, beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables. And then as far as quantity, focusing on the amount that we’re having and making sure that we’re including them in balanced meals. So if you’re someone who hasn’t counted macros, this is where this can be so, so key because you can dial in on those carbohydrate amounts and make sure that you are managing that typically anywhere from a 20 to 30% or even more if you’re training really hard, can really help you at make sure that you’re managing that quantity factor of the carbohydrates.

Cori (09:34):
I think you touched on something that’s so important, and it goes back to the not demonizing anything, but understanding the nuance to it. It might not be that you even need to cut back on your carbs depending on your carb intake, it might be that you need to adjust the timing or the type, but also low carb doesn’t mean no carb and low carb can be very different for different people. Low carb for one person because of their activity level could be different than someone who’s not as active. So understanding that there might be some variation in what’s right for us is super key, but also understanding the drawbacks to something as we might try and address another health concern that we have. Now off of this, if we are looking at adjusting our carbon intake, if we’re looking at adjusting our training to building muscle, all these different things to balance our blood sugar, what are some ways we can maybe monitor our blood sugar levels if we feel we really need to?

Julia (10:21):
Of course. So first off, just asking your doctor to run some basic tests, a great one to get would be a glycosate hemoglobin A1C. This shows really a snapshot of the past two to three months of your average blood sugar over time. So a lot of times we’ll hear people say, I just got blood work done and my blood sugar was a little bit high or something. But it’s important to note that that just shows one kind of point in time, whereas that A1C really shows a snapshot of how blood sugar is controlled over those two to three months. And then you can also monitor them throughout the day. So I know some people have access to a continuous glucose monitor through their healthcare, and what this does is it tracks your glucose levels 24 7 throughout a tiny sensor that is inserted under your skin. So you can review how your blood glucose changes after meals over a few hours or day to day to really find those trends and find those things that may be spiking it or help you balancing it a little bit better.

Cori (11:18):
So off of this, there are a lot of things that we could stress over, which again, we’ll only raise our stress levels and potentially negatively impact a lot of things we’re trying to work to control, but there are a lot of different things that we could focus on or worry about or get tests done for. Who would you really recommend maybe focus on this aspect or this type of testing?

Julia (11:41):
I would say, I mean first off, obviously if you are someone who has gotten some news from your doctor regarding high blood sugar levels, a high A1C, either pre-diabetes or diabetes diagnosis, or if you are someone who maybe you’re around that menopausal time period, you are really struggling with weight gain, we know that we do become a little bit more insulin resistant during that time due to the change in hormones. So that would also be a really beneficial time to focus and dial in on balancing your blood sugar.

Cori (12:11):
I love that. I think knowing even where we can sort of bring some of these things in or pay more attention to specific things can help us not feel like we have to stress over everything. And it is remembering that the more we take things back to basics, the more we’re going to hit on a lot of different health concerns or even help ourselves avoid having certain things pop up. So don’t stress all the details before you need to, although be aware of where some of these things can come in and really play a part if you aren’t seeing the results that you want. Snowball. So final takeaways, Julia, if someone’s considering really diving into balancing their blood sugar because they have gotten some news from their doctor or they might be worried about the results and the fact that they’re not seeing them as quickly as they want, so they might think that this is part of the issue, what would you tell them to really start to focus on?

Julia (12:57):
Just main key points that you can balance it through nutrition, focusing on building balanced meals like we talked about with protein, fat, fiber and complex carbohydrates. And then secondly, maintain lean muscle mass, whether that be exercising daily, even going for the walks after meals. There’s other little things that we talked about that’s also going to be really, really huge to improve that insulin sensitivity. But also just going off of what you said, don’t feel like you need to override everything you’re doing. For some people, just focusing on one simple thing like just adding more protein into your diet, that in itself will help balance out those meals and balance blood sugar. So it doesn’t need to be a complete override of your diet. Just focusing on those small things and taking it one step at a time.

Cori (13:42):
You as a dietician, I’m sure are all about the diet. Not that I’m not all about the diet, but I have to admit I really like the tip of adding in the walks even right after meals when we can, because I think that can also be a pattern interrupt into other habits like snacking that we might be struggling to control. So a lot of these things can have other benefits in terms of changing our environment, changing our other habits, creating new routines and patterns that really help us see the results we want. Thank you so much, Julia, for joining me today. This was fabulous. Guys. If you do have any questions, comments, or concerns, don’t hesitate to comment. We will go back through and link out to any other helpful resources, answer any questions you have to really help you make sure that you’re balancing your blood sugar and seeing fabulous results. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free work, 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 somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change life of someone you know

 

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

Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Density Intervals

Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Density Intervals

Too often we only use one very specific rep and set range in our workouts because we’ve heard it’s ideal for strength or muscle hypertrophy or strength endurance…

And we stay within this SINGLE rep range because it is supposedly best for our goal.

But this narrow view of how we SHOULD train holds us back.

It even prevents us from truly pushing ourselves or that progression to create results.

It prevents us from building endurance which could enhance our recovery to see better muscle growth.

It prevents us from increasing our maximal strength to see better muscle gains.

And when we don’t use DIVERSITY IN DESIGN to our advantage, which is even more key the more experienced we are, we often see our results plateau.

We find we aren’t gaining muscle while still putting in hours at the gym. And even our fat loss results seem to go backward.

But by embracing other training techniques, not only can we improve our results, but we can be more efficient in our training, which is good if you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have enough time!”

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite efficient training techniques so you can see better fat loss and muscle gains from your workouts.

And that training technique is Density Intervals!

When we hear INTERVALS, many of us instantly think about cardio workouts.

We think HIIT and our blood pumping and fat crying…

Not muscle being built.

But intervals are a great way to help ourselves increase our training density, or the amount of work or weight lifted in a set timeframe, to see better muscle and strength gains with shorter workout sessions.

That’s why I want to break down why interval strength workouts can be so amazing and how to use Density Intervals specifically to your advantage.

So first…why can intervals be better than just set rep ranges for building strength and muscle?

Using timed intervals in our strength workouts can help us push past the point we usually want to quit.

Think about your workouts…Have you ever just stopped at the top of a rep range because you hit the top number you “should” be doing?

Have you ever thought, “I could have done more but MEH it’s hard enough and I want to just get the workout done?”

Intervals can help us push past that point because we have to keep going until the timer beeps.

It can make us do an extra few reps we normally wouldn’t have and push a bit harder than we would have otherwise.

Even if we have to PAUSE during the interval to keep going, it helps us get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

And it can even help us lift a greater overall load for the session than we would have just counting reps.

Especially if we are a bit pressed for time, intervals stop us from losing mental focus and just rushing through.

We can’t just stop when it feels hard with reps, think “Good enough” and go on to the next thing.

We have to work the entire interval.

And often this keeps us more intentional and focused on the movement. We aren’t worried as much about counting reps.

We can’t be done faster.

So we stay focused on what we feel working.

And when you use the same intervals of work week over week, you can focus on progressing the moves you use or the weights you lifted or even try to get out an extra rep or two with the weight or variation you used the week before in that same time frame.

This can drive progression without increasing your workout time.

You can even time your workout exactly to fit your schedule because you know how long each set will take!

And if you’ve ever felt like you just can’t do another rep or add more weight to a move, this is also where intervals can help you out.

Often if we fail with a weight we just stop there and move on.

But with intervals, you may drop the weight to keep going. Or you may pause then pick back up to finish out the interval.

And Density Intervals even add another layer to this…

While you can use intervals in so many different ways, with Density Intervals you will want to do back to back intervals of work for the same muscle group but using two different forms of progression or movement variations.

Like if you’re working your legs, you may do an interval of front lunges then an interval of split squat pulses.

This helps you take a muscle closer to fatigue in a fast and efficient way.

It can also help you use all 3 drivers of muscle growth and create progression when you can’t do another rep or add more weight with your traditional workout designs.

With Density Intervals, you’ll set two intervals of work for the same area back to back.

In one, you may perform a hold or isometric to pre fatigue the muscle before you then go into reps.

Because you are already tired, you may find the same loads or movement variations you can usually do become exponentially harder. You max yourself out and push past failure with even lighter loads!

Or you may do Density Intervals, where you do that heavy compound lift first, followed by more of an isolation move after to fully fatigue the big muscle worked in your lift.

And you aren’t just limited to these change ups.

You can use two different tempos back to back.

Or even ranges of motion.

And the options go on on and on.

This is also why this workout design can be especially useful when training at home with only bodyweight or limited loads if you’re struggling to see the muscle strength and gains you want from your training.

All of this allows you to use diversity to your advantage while getting in more work for an area without your workouts getting longer and longer.

It helps you fatigue a muscle using different techniques combined. And this is what drives better results.

It can help you truly push yourself to challenge your body while staying focused and intentional.

Because too often we waste time in our workouts just going through the motions.

We want to be able to ask ourselves…

“Have I pushed myself forward and challenged myself today? Have I felt uncomfortable a bit in my training using the time I have to get in quality work?”

And have the answer be YES.

Because that is what leads to results and what Density Intervals can truly help us achieve.

So if you’ve felt like your results have plateaued and your training sessions just aren’t pushing you any more, consider mixing up your traditional reps and sets for timed intervals of strength work.

You’ll be surprised by how the same but different really drives you forward and challenges your body in new ways!

Want killer workouts you can do anywhere to help you build strength and muscle while losing fat?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!