But you just don’t feel like your push ups are progressing no matter how hard you try.
Yet you feel like you’re soooo close!
That’s why I wanted to share these 5 tips to help you adjust your workouts and push up work to finally get over that hurdle and bust out picture perfect push ups from your toes.
Because we don’t just want to do one beautiful push up…we want to look like a push up rockstar!
First, don’t just include push ups for only reps and sets – use intervals instead to work on your push ups!
A big part of improving our push ups is our mind-body connection, not just our overall muscular strength.
Often we are strong enough already, we just aren’t able to fully recruit the correct muscles in the correct order to work together as efficiently as we need.
It’s why our hips sag as we focus on pushing back up or our elbows flare or we can’t engage our back to support our shoulders.
That’s why interval work over counting reps can help.
Intervals allow us to focus on what we feel working during each and every rep.
Because we don’t have to care how many we do.
We are just working for that set amount of time. We also don’t get to be “done” any faster by rushing through the reps.
So having that set time frame to work allows us to focus on each rep.
AND it allows us often to do a higher volume of work with a harder variation over getting focused on doing more reps while using a more modified variation.
Often when we see 3 rounds of 8-12 reps listed, we modify the push up to do more reps each round.
But this often only helps us improve our strength endurance to do more reps of that modified variation.
Using intervals, if you know you have 1 minute to work, you can do a rep of the hardest variation, pause. Reset and do another rep of that same challenging variation. Pause again and repeat. You can then modify if you can’t keep the rest about 10-15 seconds between reps.
This allows you to create a great training volume while using that harder variation to build up!
And you can stay focused on what you feel working over just trying to get a certain amount of reps done!
Next, don’t be afraid to mix up the push up variations you use! Push ups can be their own best accessory exercise!
Often if we can’t yet do a full push up, we don’t consider mixing things up.
But different grips and push up variations can help us target our weak links and strengthen them while also allowing us to get in more push up work.
So instead of just using the standard push up multiple times over the course of the week, vary up the types of push ups you include.
Try close grip to work those triceps more while requiring less scapular control.
Try shoulder tap push ups to work on that anti-rotational core strength and shoulder stability.
Mix up the variations you use, modifying them even to target those weak links while still working on your mind-body connection overall for push ups.
And don’t be afraid to also change up tempos and ways of modifying. If you always use an incline, try a band assisted push up instead!
Which brings me to tip #3….Try doing push ups but ONLY the lower down.
Often using even just one single aspect of a movement can help us strengthen it.
And when it comes to our push ups, we can see great gains by just focusing on the eccentric portion of the movement, or the lower down, because we are actually stronger during that part.
This means we may be able to slow down the tempo and spend more time under tension while doing a more advanced push up variation than we would be able to if we had to press back up.
So if you’re feeling stuck on an incline or modified variation, try going to that next advanced step up and do only the lower down, focusing on a slow 5-6 count.
Once you lower all the way down, simply reset at the top, don’t try to push back up.
Complete even just 3-5 reps this way or even an interval of work.
But focus on what you feel working and everything engaging correctly as you just control the lower down of the most advanced version you can!
And then even include PAUSES in your push ups, especially in this variation.
While you can pause at points in any push up variation you include to work on those points you tend to get stuck, it can be extra beneficial to include pauses during the eccentric only push ups at the very bottom.
Hold in that perfect plank an inch or so off the ground. Focus on engaging everything as hard as possible and even run through a checklist of what you feel working in your head.
Hold here for a 3-5 count then relax down and reset.
This ability to hold tension at the bottom of your push up will ultimately help you maintain tension to do the full press back up.
Often when we hit the bottom of the movement, we struggle to shift from lowering down to pushing the ground away to press back up.
This ability to maintain that plank position at the bottom is key.
It’s honestly often the missing component in our mind-body connection and where we lose tension, holding us back from full range of motion perfect push ups!
So try using that pause at the bottom. Although you can also implement pauses throughout the movement if you find there are other points you tend to fail.
Like if you get stuck when your elbows are bent to 90 degrees, try holding there too!
But don’t be afraid to included these pauses to create more time under tension and even give yourself the mental ability to focus on what you feel working without having the movement factor in!
Then stop just trying to do more reps in a row.
Often to build strength, we do want to do one more rep with a weight.
One more rep of that challenging movement to create progression and build strength and muscle.
But when working to progress a SKILL, simply doing more volume of a more modified variation can keep us stuck.
Instead we want to focus on fewer reps in a row of a harder variation.
We can build up volume by resting even 15-20 seconds between 1-3 reps to get the 8-12 reps we want to complete.
But we can’t just shoot to keep trying to do 10 reps in a row.
Or we will end up continuing to need to use the modified variation and only continue to get stronger with the modification.
Often when we get focused on hitting a higher rep range for a move too, we rush through the rest. This doesn’t allow us to fully recovery and requires us often to modify even more over the rounds.
Instead, rest more and do fewer reps in a row!
Seek to use a variation you can only do a single rep of. If you can even do 2-3 reps, try something harder!
If you’ve been stuck, feeling like you’re just at that tipping point to be able to do a full push up, try implementing these 5 tips in your workout progression.
Use intervals over counting reps.
Use different push up variations.
Focus only on the lower down and even include pauses.
And then don’t be afraid to do single reps in a row, building up that volume over the interval of work!
Want amazing workouts to build full-body strength?
Want to level up your running game? Then this episode is for you! Join me as I chat with one of my amazing coaches and fellow endurance athlete, Pamela, about the top three strategies to enhance your running experience: easy running, fueling, and strength training. Prepare to learn how these tips will make you a more efficient, stronger, and faster runner!
We dive deep into the importance of easy running, discussing how training by time and effort is more beneficial than solely focusing on pace and distance. Pamela shares her expertise on balancing strength training and running, providing creative scheduling solutions for both beginners and experienced athletes. We also tackle the significance of proper fueling, tracking your data, and adjusting your caloric intake as your training evolves.
In the latter part of our conversation, we explore the benefits of tracking macronutrients for optimal performance and aesthetics. Pamela and I emphasize the importance of focusing on the hip and ankle joints when doing mobility work, and how this can help prevent injuries and improve your running gait. Don’t miss this insightful episode, packed with valuable advice to help you unlock your full potential as a runner!
They are simple and hard and often not too time consuming.
And something is always better than nothing to get us moving and motivated.
BUT…
Honestly, these challenges are also what sabotage our long-term success and adherence to a workout routine.
They can even make us feel like we’re working super hard, staying super consistent, making ourselves super sore and not seeing results build as quickly as we would like.
They can lead to us feeling like we are finally getting back into a groove but them BAM! Always hit with an injury.
That’s why in this video I want to go over what results you can truly expect from these 30 day challenges – the good, the bad and the simply ugly…
So let’s break down these 30 day challenges and the results you’ll get over the weeks…
Starting with that first week…
In that first week, if you haven’t been doing anything in terms of training, and this is your motivation to get moving…
Be prepared to be VERY VERY SORE.
Did I say you’ll feel SORE?
Because you’re going to feel sore those first few days.
If you break up those first 100 reps over the day, you may deceive yourself into thinking it “wasn’t that bad,” but that volume will sneak up on you.
You’re going from 0 to 100 reps and doing a repetitive movement for a high volume of work.
You’re also doing this movement daily so not giving yourself fully enough time to recover from the previous session.
So those first 4 days, you’re going to feel sore and even a bit beat down.
If you haven’t checked your squat form or are feeling a bit stiff and immobile from a lack of activity, you may also find your knees and hips and even lower back are extra achy.
This may pass with movement or it may be the start of the end.
Too often we sabotage ourselves from getting in a routine by simply pushing too hard in that first week.
We need to rebuild slowly to make sure we’re doing moves correctly and using the correct muscles.
Not to mention just because you can “do” a move and for that volume, like your muscles are strong enough, doesn’t mean your connective tissues, such as your ligaments, are truly ready for it.
It’s why doing too much too quickly leads to injury.
Also if our form is off we overload joints and muscles also putting us at risk.
And squats, like a fundamental movement pattern are often blamed for knee pain because we don’t use them correctly!
However, if we can stick it out for those first 4ish days, often we feel like we get stronger overnight.
While our muscles haven’t grown, our body starts to become familiar with the movement and we become more efficient at repeating it.
It’s why toward the end of that first week we may feel like things got almost easier overnight.
While you are getting stronger by creating a challenge for your body, you haven’t really built muscle this quickly.
It is simply that mind-body connection first improving.
We may also see some weight loss initially with the challenge.
You are moving more which can mean you’re now burning additional calories during the day.
But just like our body adapts to make the reps feel easier in that first week, our body adapts to be more efficient which means this deficit through added movement will be short lived.
If we don’t add on to our training, move more or change our nutrition, we won’t keep losing weight.
In that second and third week, the weight loss benefits will stop as your body adapts.
And you’re going to start feeling more burned out from the daily repetitive movement and see yourself hit a point of diminishing returns.
You may feel more worn down. Weird places may hurt again. Despite you feeling just a little bit before like you are getting stronger, you may feel like you go backward.
You’re not giving yourself enough time to rest and recover from a high volume of the same move, over and over and over again.
And as things hurt or feel sore, you’re going to start compensating.
Your form may break down more from fatigue and even from you starting to rush through just to get things done.
Doing the same thing every day gets tedious and boring!
We start to just want to be done with it.
It isn’t the same fun mental challenge it once was.
So often this is where we stop. We go back to our previous workout practices and we end up feeling like nothing will ever be sustainable.
Or we keep pushing through. Maybe finally at the end of week 3 our body starts to adapt and we do see those muscle gains if we’re fueling well.
But often we just start to see knee and hip aches and pains add up more and more.
We also haven’t built up any other muscle groups. We haven’t worked our core or our upper body.
And we have no plan in place to guide us.
We have no “exit strategy” from this challenge except to do another challenge.
And at some point this pattern leads to burnout.
We never really create clear progression, a clear BUILD for ourselves with a road map to take us to the goals we want.
So what may have seemed like an “easy way” to get started ultimately is also what keeps us stuck!
Now maybe you’ve powered through to week 4. And honestly, that is freaking awesome. Most don’t make it past that 3 week hump.
Injury. Boredom. Fatigue. Time. Some excuse gets most of us as we lose that initial motivation.
We’ve been doing the same thing day after day after day.
And not only does that get tedious so we become less careful and conscious of our movements, not to mention we aren’t as intentional to maximize each rep, but often the challenge really isn’t there for our body any longer.
We won’t keep seeing muscle gains as we’ve adapted to the volume and load of squatting our own bodyweight.
So ultimately we NEED to do more or at least create progression through the same but different.
And many of us reach the end of the 4 weeks with no plan.
The same challenge of creating a program we faced at the start, we are now faced with.
The good part about having committed to the 30 days though is we’ve created a workout habit and gotten in a routine, prioritizing some time each day for us and taking care of our body with movement.
We’ve also hopefully built some muscle and even lost a bit of weight from the added activity.
Because something is better than nothing when starting out.
But nothing keeps progressing if we don’t adapt as we grow stronger and fitter.
And if we are unlucky, this repetitive movement could have led to injury and overload.
We went all in from the start over giving ourselves time to build that solid foundation and slowly build up.
We may see more aches and pains even adding up over the following weeks if we aren’t careful.
It also hasn’t prepped our body necessarily for other movements.
We may still be starting out at ground zero when it comes to our upper body or even core training.
We can’t skip building that foundation and these challenges don’t help us become well rounded.
They so often lead to us just doing too much too quickly over easing in.
Not to mention we may feel like the daily movement is unsustainable long-term but not be sure now how to design a schedule that actually fits our busy lifestyle.
And as simple as these challenges seem, they are deceptively inefficient at getting results.
You could see better results from LESS volume and even less frequent sessions designed with the appropriate intensity and recovery.
You could have found something more sustainable!
And you could have even found something more FUN to do weekly that would have led to better results faster.
Including a diversity of movements for your legs over the week would have targeted every aspect of your lower body and hit the muscles to different extents while moving you in every direction.
This could have created faster muscle gains, better recovery and all while avoiding injury and being fun.
By repeating that weekly routine for 3-4 weeks with a clear build to movements, you may have seen your results snowball faster while avoiding boredom that lead to you just rushing through the squats to get them done!
If you’re considering a challenge like the 100 squats a day for 30 days challenge, I urge you to seek out a clear plan that includes diversity and focuses on your entire body instead.
This will truly help you build that strong foundation.
The more you rebuild safely, slowly and while addressing any mobility restrictions, the faster you will actually progress with less risk for injury.
So while something is better than nothing, and these simple challenges are tempting, find a plan laid out for you even if it is just 5 minute workouts to start back!
So you want to see your abs…Here’s what you need to know.
I’m going to tell you right now that often the first time you attempt to get leanlean the process is often more difficult than you’d expect.
There are going to be mistakes, frustrations and it’s going to take a lot longer than you’d like because your body will fight against you.
Our body, just like our minds, doesn’t like change and will resist it.
Sounds fabulous, right?!
But honestly, as much as we like to try not to focus on the negative,
I think it is key we face the obstacles and struggles going in so we are prepared for them.
Too often we try to ignore that there will be challenges and that ultimately sets us up for failure.
So I want to share 5 things to be aware of in the process of trying to reach a new level of leanness you’ve never achieved before so you can be prepared to stick with the process!
But before I dive into those tips, I just want to remind you of the importance of MACROS for body recomp.
Macros matter most when we are really trying to lose that last little bit and do everything we can to preserve our lean muscle mass while losing fat.
You need to focus on increasing your protein, but you also can’t fear carbs the more active you are.
Your body will need the instant fuel.
And by cycling macros every couple of weeks, you can also help give yourself a wider diversity of foods, maintain a better hormonal balance and even MENTALLY feel more in control and motivated to keep moving forward because you have little mini “end dates” and points at which you know you get a little shift!
Now, here are 5 things you need to know about getting abs for the first time…
#1: Realize you may feel like you look worse before you look better.
Often the areas we most want to change are the LAST to go.
And often in the process of even losing off of other areas, the areas we want to change that haven’t look BIGGER and worse.
Not to mention, fat loss and body recomp are a slow process. Especially toward the end, results can feel like they aren’t happening when things are building and changing.
This is why it is key we use more than the scale.
Use pictures of a ton of different angles NOT just the areas you want to lose so you can see fat coming off of other places.
Use measurements to track changes.
And then even focus on tracking your consistency so you can trust in the process.
But realize that things will be coming off at a snails pace and you may even at times look SOFTER in the process.
You may have times where the scale doesn’t change…doesn’t change…doesn’t change…then BAM! It drops dramatically.
It wasn’t just the eating right around it that did it.
You’d probably been losing fat slowly over time.
However, you didn’t lose until you dropped the water weight being stored in your fat cells.
Which may have even been why you looked SOFTER for a bit!
One common time you can look softer is if you have been slightly lower carb.
YUP!
So often we fear carbs BUT you can sometimes need to add them in to lose water weight.
This phenomenon is known as the Whoosh Effect. And while the science on it is limited, it is something we’ve seen happen time and time again.
The hypothesis as to why this happens goes back to our body not liking to lose weight.
We each have fat cells and the size of these fat cells change as we gain weight, increasing in size, or lose weight, shrinking in size.
Fat cells are filled with triglycerides, which will be used as energy for the rest of your body.
Working out, being in a calorie deficit, all make your body need to call on these stores to fuel.
You’d think this would mean steady decreases as you draw from these stores during your diet.
But instead, water is often stored in these fat cells as your body tries to maintain your current weight and avoid depletion of its energy stores.
They store water to anticipate more fat filling them soon.
So because of this water storage, your weight plateaus even though you are technically losing fat.
And often it’s why we can feel like we look extra soft and squishy during the fat loss process at times. We will see this especially around our middle or thighs. It’s why you can hit dead zones where you feel you look WORSE even.
Then BAM! We get that Whoosh Effect and you wake up the next day and your body has let go of the stored water!
And often the cause of this water release comes from kicking our body out of the deficit temporarily so it no longer feels like it is “starving” and in need of holding on to the water weight to keep those fat stores ready to be filled!
It’s why we may see this release after a cheat meal or day or even a carb refeed where our energy stores are “refilled” even if we still keep ourselves in the overall deficit for the week.
But it’s why sticking with the process despite not seeing results immediately is so key!
#2: Know your whyS and set a motivational deadline.
The closer you get to your goal, the more cravings will probably have increased and your mind will work against you.
You’ll want to eat. You’ve been in a long, consistent deficit and there are probably foods you’ve cut out for a period of time because they weren’t easy to work into your macros.
As much as you may think you want abs, well, just getting abs for the sake of…well…getting abs won’t keep you truly motivated for long.
Especially when your friends ask you to go out for happy hour after a long and stressful week.
But precision is key.
And especially if you’re pushing yourself to a level of leanness you’ve never been able to achieve before, you’re going to have to be ready to sacrifice.
That’s why you need not only a why but WHYS and a deadline to keep you motivated.
I’d wanted to achieve a six pack for years before I did.
What finally got me to actually commit was setting a photoshoot, announcing it to all of my clients and wanting to be able to create a nutritional program to help clients no matter their goals. But I felt I couldn’t talk about getting lean if I didn’t personally know the struggles.
So having that hard photoshoot deadline, public “pressure” and accountability and even a big investment of money in the process, helped me stay consistent when I 100% wanted to quit.
Thankfully I’ve now learned a ton to make the process easier for myself and clients and even know how to maintain so my set point is lower, BUT that outside accountability and motivation beyond just wanting abs made all the difference.
So give yourself no way to wiggle out of your goal if you want to succeed!
#3: Plan ahead…With EVERYTHING.
You can’t be guesstimating. You can’t not track a bite of food.
You can’t be skipping random workouts or randomly stringing routines together based on how you’re feeling that day.
You need to have everything planned out. Planning .
A clear plan of action gives us added accountability and motivation to stay the course. It also allows us to make more accurate adjustments based on how we are progressing.
It let us see what truly works, and what doesn’t.
Planning ahead also removes a lot of the stress involved in the precision required.
It’s hard in the moment, when you’re hungry or tired or stressed from a long day to figure out what workout to do or what to eat.
Because, often you don’t want to do what you know you should in those situations.
It’s why planning ahead, having meal prep frozen or having fast restaurant go-to options is so key. It takes the thought and guesswork out of it.
It even takes the stress and emotion and CRAVINGS out of it.
The food is there. You know what you have to eat.
Even already logging it in your food tracker adds accountability and makes things easier so you aren’t just having to track as you go!
And by having your workout pre-planned, you are making sure you’re progressing. You’re not just doing what you feel like, as your energy at times may dip as you adjust and tweak ratios and calories.
It’s easy when we are tired to slack. But everything in your programming needs to work as a cohesive system. Your macros are based on your training and visa versa. So both need to go together.
You can also see if your performance is truly decline because you have that clear progression you repeat to compare and track numbers against.
Data is key to helping you achieve results as efficiently as possible as well!
#4: Find ways to move more.
By being in an extended deficit to lose that last little bit of stubborn fat, your body is going to find ways to conserve energy.
That means you’re going to naturally fidget less and want to move less.
You want to be conscious of this and do little things to keep your NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis higher.
You want to burn more calories during your normal day.
This does NOT mean making your gym sessions longer. It does NOT mean even doing 2-a days.
It just means being conscious to move more.
Too often we try to train harder or length out our training sessions which actually leads to less results and more metabolic adaptations.
Plus, the quality of these training sessions often decreases and we end up doing a lot of wasted volume we can’t recover from. This actually ends up diminishing our returns.
Plus when we train harder as we try to cut calories lower, the deficit we are in grows.
And our body fights that weight loss for survival purposes.
This trying to do more in our training could actually lead to more metabolic adaptations and muscle loss instead of aiding our weight loss process.
And I know we often think, well I won’t lift more, I’ll just add in even a quick HIIT training session.
But just recognize, these intense sessions can deplete our glycogen stores and actually sometimes even make us hungrier. Plus they can add more to our fatigue.
This is why walking can be such a great thing to add in.
It doesn’t detract from our energy for future training sessions. And it is low intensity so we can do more of it without causing further cravings.
It can also really assist in fat loss, especially when included after workouts that have targeted our stubborn areas to increase blood flow to those areas and mobilize more fatty acids to be utilized.
So be conscious of when you start to feel like doing less to not fall into the couch but still include some fun activities over the week to move more!
#5: Progress will feel slow. Your body will fight you.
I know I slightly mentioned this already, but I think it’s key we oversell the negative to ourselves so we stick with things when we want to quit and challenges arise.
We’re almost ready for them if we do make ourselves aware early on.
PLUS, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the same reason progress is slow…
The longer you’ve been above the weight or leanness level you want to be at, the harder it will be to reach that new point.
Your body doesn’t like change. It wants to maintain balance and balance to it is where you’ve currently been at, especially if you’ve been at that weight for awhile.
Your body will do what it can to stay there.
The positive part of this is that, once you get lean and start to transition into maintenance practices, it becomes easier and easier over time to maintain a leaner physique.
But the initial getting there is often not easy.
Progress will be slow. And this is actually a good thing.
When we try to see dramatic results, often we aren’t really losing more fat.
Often we are simply losing water weight and glycogen that’s been stored.
Plus, the faster we attempt to lose weight, the more we often lose muscle and not just fat.
Muscle is metabolically more costly to maintain.
So when our body is in a deficit and looking to conserve energy, it will use muscle as fuel.
That not only provides the energy it thinks it needs, but it also helps it conserve energy overall.
So embrace the slow process.
The easiest way to do this is by focusing on those daily habits as goals themselves.
Put your focus on doing what you know will lead to results. Celebrate the consistency in those habits as wins.
That will help you stay focused on the actions that will build toward results.
SUMMARY:
These 5 things are key to be aware when you commit to a program to get abs for the first time.
The process will be slower than you’d like, and your mind and body will fight against you as you seek to achieve something you’ve never done before.
But remember, maintaining gets EASIER!
Just focus on those daily habits and don’t freak out and do more when results are slow!
Ready to see the results you deserve? Learn more about my 1:1 Coaching:
Hey there busy Moms! Struggling to find the balance of prioritizing your health needs and goals with everything you do for everyone else? Then this episode is what you need! In this episode you’ll learn some amazing tips from my team of trainer moms to help you prioritize your needs and goals and realize it isn’t selfish to do so.
They’ll share meal prep and workout tips whether you’re a mom of young children, teenagers, just recently an empty nester or doing it all on your own as a single parent! I’ll also share an amazing accountability hack to help you stay focused on your goals, 5 ways to help you pack in those micros to those family meals (even if your kids don’t like veggies) as well as one of my favorite ways to get in a killer workout in under 15 minutes.
Because there is ALWAYS a way to own our priorities and work around them! But first I just want to remind you that prioritizing yourself is NOT selfish. It may actually be what inspires everyone else in your life to make the changes THEY need.
0:00 Intro
01:43 – Feeling Selfish
04:36 – RS Super Moms
32:47 – Accountability
35:27 – Hidden Veggie Tips
43:23 – I don’t have time
Transcript
Jamie:
I love that you guys brought up flexibility is the fact that it looks different, right, when you have your kids. And you don’t have your kids. All of a sudden you go from being the Uber driver, like Andrea said, and you know, having all this like no time to yourself to a lot of time where your diet looks a little bit different and it’s like, holy cow, i can spend any time I want at the gym, right, so it’s like it’s very, very different. So flexibility is huge.
Cori:
Hey guys, this is Cori from Rita Finding Strengths. Welcome to the Finish Hacks podcast. So busy moms, busy parents this episode is for you. If you’ve been struggling to prioritize your needs, your goals, you know, find something sustainable that actually helps you move forward while allowing you to be there for everybody else in your life. I’ve got some fabulous tips to help, and I’m so excited to share my team of trainers and their advice as well, because I have some fabulous moms on my staff that just have great perspectives, whether they’re now an empty nester or they’re a mom of young kids single parents as well. So I’m excited to share that segment with them so they can share all of their fabulous tips through their different stages of being a parent and how they’ve managed to navigate them, still prioritize their needs and goals as well.
I’ll also share some amazing macro hacks to help you work in those veggies, make family meals that your family will enjoy, and then also share some amazing workout tips that help you dial in your training so that you can see results no matter your busy schedule. So let’s dive right in, But before we do again, i just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has left a review. This helps me keep the episodes sponsorship free, so please go leave a review if you haven’t yet. All right, let’s dive into the tips and how you can prioritize your needs and goals to see results. I feel selfish doing that. I’ve heard this phrase said by multiple parents in the program when they’re doing the coaching trying to put in their workouts, trying to meal prep.
It can feel selfish when we’re focusing on our needs and goals. But I think it’s really key we realize the importance of leading by example telling your kids not to do something, telling your friends to do something or not do something, that’s all well and good. Like we’ve all seen ourselves do it right When a friend is saying, oh, i feel guilty doing this, oh, you shouldn’t feel guilty, you need to get in your workouts at the same time that we feel guilty and don’t prior or ties our workouts right. So we tell people to do things. But I think the leading by example it inspires more people than we realize. It allows our kids to know that is okay to have needs and goals and prioritize those, even while they’re taking care of other people. And I think if there’s one thing I want you to get out of this episode. It’s how important it is that you do really prioritize what you need and lead by example.
It is not selfish, as much as it can be hard, to take that step back, but if we’re drawing from an empty cup, if we’re not taking care of ourselves, we can’t really truly take care of other people. It’s like one of the analogies that uses even workouts right, if you’re not resting in between rounds, as much as we want to skip the rest because it doesn’t feel like we’re actually doing anything If you’re not resting between rounds, you’re not able to go at a true 100% intensity.
Each and every time It might feel like we’re giving everything, but we’re not actually able to give everything. So if you’re not taking care of yourself, you are drawing from an emptier and emptier cup and not able to truly take care of everyone else in your life. So if you’re starting to feel guilty with making some changes, i want you to pause and think what would I tell a friend in this situation If they’re saying oh, i feel, you know, so selfish, like I should be doing this, this and this? you would be like no, you need to take care of yourself. No, you deserve these goals. No, you are a person too. No, you are inspiring other people. All those things you would say to your friends, pause and say them to yourself. Remember you need to take care of your house so you can be there to support everybody else. Not to mention, you are representing a lifestyle you want your kids to live.
You are leading by example And I can tell you that was incredibly important in my life. I’ve seen it incredibly important in my clients life and how they’re inspiring their families, their friends, to make changes. My trainers, their kids, the lives they’re inspiring through how they’re acting. But with my mom, seeing her take care of herself, seeing her train, seeing her fuel, no matter what was going on, the fact that she was a busy mom, a single parent, working, you know, and taking care of us And all these things inspired me to be strong and prioritize myself too.
So remember that it is not selfish. You need to take care of yourself, to be there for everybody else. But you’re also leading by example and inspiring more people than you realize by prioritizing your needs and goals, and I’m excited to share some tips and even jump in with my trainers to how you can make sure that you’re prioritizing yourself in a way that truly is creating even a healthier, happier lifestyle for all of those around you.
I’m super excited to chat about the challenges that parents, and specifically moms, face when they are trying to make dietary changes. It’s very easy to not prioritize yourself and not make your needs, your goals, important, so I’m excited to share some great tips for my coaches and how they have prioritized themselves at each stage of parenting. So we’re going to start with Kathy and we’re going to talk about being an empty nester and how that has changed. How you approach your diet and exercise routine. Any tips for women balancing, you know, their new parenting status in an even maybe, jobs as well.
Cathy:
Well, yeah, so I am a fairly new empty nester. I have three kids, and my youngest left for college last fall and actually just came back home and I ran out of hot water yesterday morning when I went to take my shower and then was told that there was no freeing the house. So all the things that you get to kind of rearrange those things I missed last fall, i’ve kind of like, okay, when do you leave again? But for me, as far as for exercise, i’ve kind of built my habit and that has never really changed. Even when I was working you know, not from home or in a coaching position, but was working out in a gym I got up every morning, i went to the gym early. Now I work from home, i get up every morning, i go to the gym early. It’s just kind of what works for me.
So, finding that time, if you are now kind of like, okay, what do I do? Think about those times that maybe you would have been running a kid somewhere or, you know, on a Saturday morning, if you would have been at some sort of a competition or a meet with one of your kids, that’s a great time to try and build that in And I think, too, one of the things that can really help is, i think exercise can be a really good catalyst for new relationships, because I think it’s really hard for women. We’re all friends with our kids’ friends’ parents, and then we all go different ways and we go different directions, and maybe some of those people still have kids at home, so they’re still doing some of those.
You know high school things and I’m not. So you know, getting into a gym, if that’s something you know that interests you, trying to take a class, maybe something different, that you haven’t taken before. Looking for a sport, whether it’s a sport, maybe you did when you were younger. Or you know pickle ball is now everywhere. I know it is in Ohio, i’m assuming it is everywhere. But you know, meeting people that way, exercise that way, can be a great way to kind of build some of those new relationships. As far as food, you know the one thing that I’ve always done When I go to log my food or track my food, i always put my dinner in first. I might be totally happy eating like a salad every night or something.
You know, my husband, my son, when he was home, my family, they would not be, they’d be like nope, we’re not doing that. So we actually do a meal service And when I get that I put it in first And if it’s, you know, a little higher in fat, then maybe I don’t get peanut butter with my breakfast And I just kind of make those swaps out. But that has really worked for us in keeping everybody kind of happy.
Cori:
That’s such an interesting shift in mindset I think that you don’t even think will happen right, you’ve had these other priorities and so your life has been focused on those things and a lot of your relationships. Your scheduling has come out of your kids And all of a sudden you got time back. But it’s like what do you do with that? And finding this new purpose can be harder than we realize, and seeing exercises that opportunity to build relationships is really awesome.
Cathy:
Yeah, you know, the other thing that I’ve run into and you know I wish that, you know, wish this on anybody of course, but everybody’s your parents are also getting older and you may be done raising your kids, but it’s also an opportunity to step in. I know I hadn’t. My father fell last August and broke his ankle and it’s kind of created a. Every Tuesday I go clean for him and hang out and maybe just watch TV if there’s not that much to clean. But I think exercise and taking care of yourself gives you that opportunity to kind of give back. You know you’ve gotten your kids out of the way a little bit, but you know, giving back to your parents or to those older influences that you’ve had in your life has become a bit of a focus for me as well.
Cori:
But on the flip side, it can be easy to replace all the things you were doing now with those other obligations and still not take care of yourself. So it’s very key you find that balance.
Cathy:
It is. It’s very key to find that balance. But I also find you know my dad fell. He healed. That’s great For some people. They you know their parents may require a little more help. If that’s something that you wanna be able to be there for, then you need to make sure you’re taking care of yourself so that you can actually physically inform those things. If there’s any of that, you know, physical involved.
Cori:
We’ve gotta be strong at every stage to be there for everybody else in our life, and not just ourselves. It’s not a selfish thing to wanna exercise.
Cathy:
No, it’s not. No, it’s not at all.
Cori:
So if you still have kids at your house and maybe they’re in that very interesting teenage phase, can we talk about tips now for taking care of your teens, balancing their social lives and their obligations as well as our own as moms?
Andrea:
Yeah, so I have two teens and I feel like I have one that’s a Kardashian, because he’s got such a busy schedule. All I do is Uber drive him all over the place. So I feel like I have two jobs, not only just a parent and coach, but also an Uber driver. But I’ve always, like Cathy, i have very similar routine where I get up before life starts, so to speak, before the kids get up. I get up and I go under the rooms and I say guys, i’m going to the gym, i’ll be back in a little bit at the alarm set, make sure you guys get up with the alarm. And I usually call them while I’m at the gym just to make sure that they’re up and get moving.
But, yeah, so I’ve always ingrained that that time is important to them. But I also want them to understand that this is part of a lifestyle that’s not. They’re both in sports. My youngest one is a runner as well, and he used to be a lacrosse player too. So I want them to understand that this is how you take care of your body and this is what you need to do to prevent injuries and that so not. So they’ve come with me to the gym as well and worked out, and they understand the importance of working out to make sure that they are injury free as well as ready to face the challenges of running and doing the sports that they do.
Cori:
And I know of course you do not let them beat you, Andrea, but you show them how it’s actually done in the gym.
Andrea:
Yes, yes, i mean, they’ve told me many times like mom, i don’t think, am I doing this? Or I know they’re like boy, do you need to do it this way? And they be like you know? and so, yeah, i do get the challenge of does mom really know? But on the offside, I really feel bad that they have me as a mom too, because they’re like, oh, this hurts. I’m like, do it, keep doing it. You’re fine, keep going.
Cori:
It’s a good thing You’re teaching them to push, to embrace the being uncomfortable or being comfortable being uncomfortable Yeah.
Andrea:
Exactly exactly. They don’t get the sympathy from me when I’m like nope, 30 more seconds, let’s go.
Cori:
And you’re showing them that it’s OK to prioritize yourself and have your own things that are not negotiable in your life, and it’s not a selfish thing, but it’s something you’re doing for a purpose.
Andrea:
Absolutely. They know that that time at the gym, if they’re not with me, that that is my time to only bother me for emergencies. I mean, they’re older now that they’re a little bit more independent One’s driving, one’s not So they can take care of themselves where I don’t have to be at their beck and call, so to speak, although I think they would like me to be at their beck and call. But they know that when I’m there or when I’m out for a run, only call me if it’s an emergency kind of thing.
Cori:
But I think it’s hard to set those boundaries And I think it’s very easy to become a time martyr, whether or not it’s for kids, for our job, for whatever else. How do you go about setting those boundaries and not just letting your time become everyone else’s?
Andrea:
That’s one of my biggest things. I mean, everyone says they’re busy, everyone’s busy. I get it, we are all busy. How about? how many times do we sit there and scroll and scroll and scroll? Stop with the time waste or the time sucks, and really figure out what you want to do within your day. I figure out that my exercise comes first because I know I need to get it done first, otherwise I can’t take care of anyone else. I’m irritable, i’m cranky. I didn’t get my time to fill my cup, so to speak, so I need to make sure that I fill my cup first before I can help them.
Cori:
And in terms of balancing foods. OK, teenagers maybe aren’t as picky as little kids, but they can have their opinions about food, and sometimes it’s not the healthiest opinions about food. How do you balance teaching them to fuel fueling yourself, creating that good representation for them but also not forcing them into habits that might not align with what they need?
Andrea:
Absolutely, i think, having good food and focusing on protein. We do that a lot. We make sure we have a protein shake before school, even if we’re drinking it on the way to school. We bring disposable toothbrushes So that way we can at least get that done before that happens. But we focus on protein here. But also I make sure that they have a decent dinner. I know what they’re going to eat at school is school food, and when they come home they’re ravenous. I make sure that there’s some things for them to eat, but I’m a vegetarian. I don’t force the kids to be vegetarian and that’s fine, but I make sure that they have their protein. But a lot of times they’re picking off on my plate too, so they like to have. Their palates are pretty expanded, which I’m pretty proud of, but I make sure that they always have a vegetable, a good protein and a good source of carbohydrates, so to speak, and they make sure that they’re full throughout the day. But lots of snacks. I mean, i’m at Costco every week getting whatever I need to get.
Cori:
And in terms of balancing that meal prep and getting them involved, because teenagers are going to be going off to college and then they’re going to be responsible for their own meals and taking care of themselves And you don’t want them gaining the freshman 15. How are you reinforcing those healthy habits to make sure that you’re sort of saying, ok, now you’re off on your own, but I know you’re going to feel well?
Andrea:
Absolutely. We do meal prep on Sundays And I have them do it. I’m like, ok, guys, this is what we’re going to have for the week. What are you thinking? What do you want most of? They love tacos. It’s a big thing. So we make sure that we make tacos. We make sure we cut up the vegetables, those type of things. We have protein bars that I make. So they have those things and they see that I’m doing it and they know that that day is dedicated to that specifically. But that’s been something that’s non-negotiable as well. That I you know. Nope, we’ve got a meal prep tonight. I know we’re all tired, but we got to get this done.
Cori:
I love that And I love tacos too, so I’m all for the taco meal prep. Now diving into even younger families, starting those healthy habits early on. How can we find that balance of educating our kids as early as possible while creating not even a pressure around food, not a pressure on exercise? Because I think it is that difficult balance of I want you to have these healthy habits but I also don’t want to force something on you. Can we talk a little bit about that, erica?
Erica:
Yes, absolutely So. Just to give you a background of me, i have two beautiful children. I have a boy and a girl. I have a nine year old and a soon to be seven year old. So I am in the nitty gritty of childhood, i guess, so to speak. As you can see, i’m in my basement because I am hiding from my family right now to have this podcast. So part of motherhood is not always pretty and that’s okay. I feel like a lot of times we had to be okay with it not being pretty and not being perfect. Now going back to nutrition and how I tackle this of my children, i know at this age it gets people get really sensitive about talking about food to children. They don’t even want to talk about it, they don’t want to bring it up And I feel like at this age this is the wonderful time when they’re actually listening to you, right Prior to the teenager years, when they’re really not listening to you all the time, right. So at this time they will ask you really wonderful questions and you’re there as their source of truth to give them those answers. You’re there to help tell them that protein, fat and carbs are all important.
Nothing should be demonized at any time. Calories, it’s just a number, right. So, like, how do we focus on educating our children at this age? that way, as they get older, they can make smarter choices themselves, and I like to lead by example. So this is why I love when people come in and they have this age group, because they say I don’t want to track in front of my kids. I feel like I’m pushing something on them and you’re not right. In your way of educating yourself, you’re also educating them as well, and by improving your diet, you’re more than likely going to improve theirs as well. And this is at a time when they’re growing. They’re growing big time, right? So if you need to work on your own diet, then you probably need to work on your kids diet too, right? And you can all come together to learn about it, to grow about it and to come together as a family about how you’re going to approach it going forward. Now, like I said, i have young children, so workouts for me are also interesting. Sometimes My schedule fluctuates month to month, season by season.
So right now, my kids are in school, so I can do my workout in the morning the way that I want to, but they’re about to not be in school anymore. So this is an example of those transition periods that we have to be okay with and we have to plan for, because just because my kids are home doesn’t mean that I can forget about filling my own glass even though they’re home. It just means that I have to flex and I have to change my scheduling so that way I can still accommodate what they need to do as well.
Cori:
So so many key tips there and I just want to break apart a few different things because I think there’s so many points that you really touched on, one being that we can, at this age, influence the mindset they have towards tools. Right, because I do think there’s a lot of power given to towards tools because of how we’ve approached dieting the past or how we were taught dieting and the influences that we had. So we can change tracking from being something that’s restrictive and only about losing weight and negative to something that’s about learning to fuel better. Right, we can change these different mindsets around these different tools to encourage our kids to lead their healthiest, happy lives and not get to that point. And then I also love that you touched on having to flex as the schedules change, because I think you know whether we have young kids, old kids, no kids, bazillion kids, parents that have become our, you know, adopted kids. Now, whatever it is, our schedule will evolve over the year and being okay with that and embracing that there are going to be seasons to the year, to our lives is really key that we’re always meeting ourselves where we’re at.
Erica:
No, absolutely. And I just want to talk about that first thing that you said about like breaking old habits and going back in terms of like how we educate them. So I know I’m not alone that I saw my mother like diet incorrectly I guess the quote is saw her stepping on the scale and always feeling down about herself about that number. And for me, i try to spin it the other way. I step on the scale and I tell my kids, wow, your mom has gotten really strong, right. Or I’ll even bring them to the gym with me. Instead of using workouts as being something that I’m beating myself up about, i’ll let them try to lift up the weight and they’ll say, mal, you are really strong, i can’t believe you lift that up, i can’t believe it, right. So this is that age that you can really influence them positively about not only food, but workouts too. So just be open about sharing that with them.
Cori:
I think you ensured a picture at one point, and it was the ab wheel that they were rocking, because you had them doing that. Yeah, that’s a killer.
Erica:
My kids have been in Iraq as well, So they are learning these things, they’re experiencing these things. they’re lifting no weight at all, but they’re having a lot of fun doing it.
Cori:
And in terms of someone struggling right away, right now, to make that time for themselves with their young children, what would you recommend is the first step to helping build in that focused time for you?
Erica:
Absolutely So. First I would talk to the family, have a mini family meeting and just say this is what mom wants to prioritize. Mom wants to spend, even starting with 15 minutes a day to be alone. It doesn’t have to be a full hour, it can be 15 minutes, and when they’re little they understand that, they can understand that piece of it And after you get started there you can start pushing it out like mom’s going to go for a walk. It’s okay to do that. You have to give yourself permission to do that, but you also have to loop in the family as well and let them know why you’re doing that as well.
Cori:
Awesome, and making time for yourself gets potentially even more difficult when you are the only one even doing the parenting, jamie. So can you talk about the struggles to be a single parent? balance your goals, your priorities, with making you know family life a priority for yourself as well.
Jamie:
Yeah, i think the biggest balance is the. I love that you guys brought up. Flexibility is the fact that it looks different, right, when you have your kids. And you don’t have your kids. All the sudden you go from being the Uber driver, like Andrea said, and you know, having all this like no time to yourself, to a lot of time where your diet looks a little bit different and it’s like, holy cow, i can spend any time I want at the gym, right. So it’s like it’s very, very different. So flexibility is huge And as a mom that’s raising daughters as well, that’s really big too.
So for me, like when time is limited and I have to get that work out on right, that’s a non negotiable for me. Fill my cup up. First, getting them involved going downstairs, little have like a mini gym. They do gymnastics, they see mom working out. It’s something that we can do together and it’s something that’s done consistently so it doesn’t feel hideous for them. They know that they can have fun doing it as well. They do little plank challenges with me and things like that. So I think that’s super fun. And then knowing that it’s going to look different and I can go to the gym and have my lifting days when I do have time right.
So a big thing is meal prep, meal prep, meal prep and Costco, i think, buying things in bulk, having things that are not going to go bad, so having, you know, emergency frozen vegetables and things like that on hand. So when you do, when you’re running to softball or cheerleading or something like that, you already have your stuff to go. I have it to go with me and I’m eating at the softball field or things like that, just making those things a priority because, yeah, we’re all busy, right like it’s just time is limited. But I always keep in mind that I’m a better person and I’m a better mom when I do an hour of me time and have that non-negotiable time for myself.
Cori:
I love those tips to make it budget friendly as well, because I do, and I’ve actually seen this a lot on recent videos where I’ve talked about increasing protein, where people will be like, well, that’s super expensive. How do you approach shopping? I know you mentioned getting a lot of frozen things, which I love too, because I hate when things go to waste but how else do you really make your meal prep as budget friendly as possible?
Jamie:
So Amazon subscriptions are really great, right. So having that on rotation and also knowing sales, so going to your local grocery store and kind of knowing, okay, when something is buy one, get one, free capitalizing on those things and buying the fruits that are in season, going to local grocery stores I like shopping local and buying from local farmers and farmers markets That’s also a great option. And getting your kids involved too within that and within meal prep. I know for me, meals for me look different right Than the kids. But it’s funny because now all of a sudden, mommy’s food tastes really good And now they’re asking for things that mommy’s eating without me even asking, and now the lunches are looking a little bit different. So it’s funny full circle how that comes into play.
Cori:
Yeah, And I know sometimes it’s a struggle where you have your specific goals. You want to fuel your kids and give them what they want. How do you balance potentially making slightly different things for yourself While not feeling overworked to make two different meals, or feel like you’re doing prep for days and days on end to balance their needs and your needs?
Jamie:
Yeah, so tacos are a big thing in our health too, right? So I love implementing cauliflower rice I’m a bulk volume girl, so kind of having little tips and tricks with that to where I can make tacos for them and I can make my taco bowl and making it a little bit more protein heavy. For me, spaghetti is another one that’s huge in the health as well. So having the things that we have like one common food item that we like and then having little substitutes within that that I know are go-to’s for me as well as them, is a huge thing, yeah.
Cori:
I love that The build your own plate right. You can have a lot of different dishes where each person and then if anybody doesn’t like a specific food you’re not prepping even different things for them. They can all do whatever they want. Yeah, and then in terms of encouraging your girls to see exercise even as something that they want to do, that’s promoting strength, because I think, especially when we’re raising that next generation of females, promoting strength over just going to cardio or feeling like it has to be all about weight loss and aesthetics is super key. How do you have that conversation with them when they see you also training?
Jamie:
Yeah, They see how much fun I’m having with it. It’s not a stress thing for me. They see that I’m having fun doing it. Downstairs, we put on the loud music. We have a dance party afterwards. They’re involved because they’re doing your gymnastics. So it’s something that it’s not tedious in the fact that like, okay, now we’re going to the gym, hurry up, we’ve got to make it. It’s not daunting for them. It’s something like let’s go downstairs, let’s get our speakers on, we’re going to turn on Taylor Swift and we’re just going to jam out. So I think knowing them, seeing the value that it adds to me and to their life, I think creates a funness and a curiosity for them to want to kind of get involved.
Cori:
Yeah, And then for all of you busy moms, eating out with kids. Okay, kids don’t necessarily. Sometimes they have more advanced palates, but you know, sometimes they don’t. How do you balance the restaurant choices, your healthy lifestyle goals, even teaching them to want to fuel well and make good decisions? Let’s talk about eating out in general.
Erica:
I can start things off. So I have two little ones, our medium children. I guess I actually love going to the restaurant because this is the time where they can pick whatever they want on that menu and I can still pick what I need from that menu. So it allows them to have that free choice. It allows them to have a little bit more fun without putting that stress on myself. But, knowing ahead of time, it allows me to choose, like that, chicken salad instead. Right, that way I can plan the rest of my day around that and they can still have fun and eat the things that I necessarily may not be able to fit in my meal plan for that day. So it allows them to have a little bit more freedom.
Jamie:
And kind of to umbrella under that too, erica. I think it allows them to try things that maybe you want them to try. But all of a sudden it looks like enticing. Because you’re out of restaurant and like, oh my gosh, like mommy’s chicken didn’t look so good, but ooh, at this restaurant you know it’s really good, right? So I think it’s an opportunity that you’re not feeling like you’re not wasting food because it’s just coming from your plate, right.
Cathy:
But then it’s like, with all the fancy lights and stuff, all of a sudden it looks so yummy, so you know, on the other side of that I would say, like when my kids were younger, we would go, you know, maybe it was, we were traveling and it was fast food and I’m not a big fast food eater, you know. But what kid doesn’t like, you know, a McDonald’s french fries or whatever? But I would go along and I would make the best possible choice and then I would just say we’re on vacation, it’s okay, Like finding that balance.
Because I don’t think, you know, obviously we want on that every day, for our kids to see that those good, positive things, we want them to make the better choices, we want them to know that that’s really where they should be on for the most part. But you know, every once in a while it’s not a problem, it’s not, it’s moderation. So I think that plays into that. Even, even mom will have, like, you know, surprise or mom you know, so that it doesn’t seem like we’re just really super rigid about it.
Cori:
I love that you’re striking your balance. Not to interrupt you, Andrea, but I was like that is striking your balance, Like that’s showing that it’s it’s good to have other foods and it’s not always just about having to focus on aesthetic goals or health goals or whatever other goals. You can sometimes just say, yeah, I want some french fries.
Andrea:
So I was just going to piggyback off of what everyone says. But my, my, our experience is a little bit different. There’s no more leftovers. I, i’ll like have something left in the lake, mom, can I have that? And we went out to celebrate my mom’s birthday, this big Italian restaurant, and I think my, my youngest, the rest of my food, the rest of my sister’s food, the rest of my mom’s food, and my sister went to the bathroom. I felt so bad. She went to the bathroom and Reese is like do you think that Chrissy’s done with it? And I’m like, well, let’s wait till she gets back, let’s not just dive in. So I think it’s a little bit different. It’s like how much more food we can order, kind of thing, you know. And they, they get the uh, they don’t order from the kids menu anymore. They order the big, extravagant meals. So, which is fine, you know, we go out to eat and it’s, it’s a good time.
Cori:
Well, i love that, although it does stink to not have the leftovers. If you do want the meal prefer later, you know, but I guess you can order even extra. But these tips have been amazing for moms at every stage And I appreciate you all sharing them. Any closing thoughts for parents really looking to prioritize their needs, their goals, that have been struggling to find that balance with, you know, even feeling guilty with family life and potentially also their job as well.
Erica:
But I just want to say that it’s really important to recognize that prioritizing yourself and your needs will not negatively affect your family at all. And it’s not being greedy, it’s not being selfish, it’s about putting your line in the sand and saying this is where my boundary is, this is what I want for myself And this is everything else that I can give to you, and so recognizing that that’s okay, giving yourself permission to feel that and giving yourself permission to do that I totally agree with what Erica said, and I think, erica, you had mentioned this too.
Andrea:
It’s nothing’s perfect, nothing’s ever going to be perfect, but do it in small chunks. Change is hard, change is always hard, and if this is a new habit you’re trying to create, like you said, erica, state your family down. This is important to me and mom needs this time, and you’re going to be a much better mom for it.
Jamie:
Yeah, and I was going to say kind of reflecting after that, like once you get out of the gym and feel like how that feels and you go back and you’re like this, like you know mom 2.0 or whatever, and like recognizing that, like stepping out of your, outside of yourself, and seeing that I think kind of takes the selfishness, like feeling that we all feel out of it, and go, wow, i have more patience today, like I’m being more compromising and things like that. The acknowledging those small wins for yourself kind of makes it the guilt kind of go away.
Cathy:
I would just say, especially as your kids get older, you have this whole other life now, Like you have all these other things that all you know. like I said, my son came home. I have a daughter graduating from college tomorrow. My oldest daughter is getting married in the fall. There are so many fun things to look forward to, and prioritizing yourself so that you can enjoy those things, that you could be a part of those things, is not the least but selfish.
Cori:
Well, i love all this, and there have been so many great tips for all the moms out there looking to make healthy changes for themselves who might have been struggling with the balancing act that is parenting. So thank you all so much for coming on and discussing this with me today. It can be incredibly hard to hold ourselves accountable. It’s easy to say I want to do things and then let all these other things get in the way during your day and have your workout that you were going to do in the morning, get pushed the evening and then you’re tired and you don’t do it. So I wanted to share a really important accountability hack and something that I’ve seen pay off personally and with a lot of my clients as well, and it’s actually scheduling something on the calendar and putting it in a public place and announcing it Okay. So that’s a lot of things, i guess, but it’s the accountability of having something written out that is so key.
If we’ve mapped out our workouts for the week, we know what we’re going to do. Then we’ll get into the workout and be like, oh well, maybe I’ll do this because this equipment’s in use, or only have this. No, you know what you’re supposed to do And there’s accountability in that It’s a lot easier to skip something when there’s nothing solid. So if you have that thing written out, if you post that, even someplace public, like if you put it on your fridge where you can see it, if you have it on your Google calendar where it alerts you if there’s something that’s holding you accountable because there is a visual to it and it is firmly written out, there’s going to be extra accountability in it. It’s why I am going to link in the video description and the show notes as well, to an accountability calendar. This allows you to map out your weekly schedule so you can write out I’m doing anterior this day, posterior this day, i’m going for run this day and have that accountability.
And then, yes, you’re going to want to make sure that you schedule on your Google calendar So it gives you alerts. Maybe you put on the family calendar so that it’s out in public and people know when you’re going to be training and you don’t have to feel guilty about making that time for yourself. But you want someplace that it’s firmly announced and really there in your face, especially to start, so that you have that solid plan.
You have that firm commitment because, as silly as it might seem, it’s a lot easier when you just say I’m going to work out today, i’m going to maybe do something in this realm, than when you actually have it written out and that firm plan in place that allows for a lot better implementation. So, summarizing how this accountability hack works use the schedule that I’m going to link to in the show notes to write out what workouts you’re doing on what days. I highly recommend you put the time on there, the time you’re actually going to go. Do it Once you’ve completed it. Check that thing off. If you’re like me, it feels really good. I actually put a star on there so you can color it in gold. Give yourself a gold star, but have that then put out on the fridge. Put on your family calendar. Put in your Google calendar with alerts, but give yourself those reminders and that firm plan written out so that you have no excuses.
You can’t make any deviations. There’s something to make you even feel guilty if you don’t do it, because I think that can really help us become more conscious of unconscious habits and make those changes on learning things that we were doing and learning new things that we want to implement. So go, download that try implementing it. I’d love to even hear what kind of splits for your workouts that you’re planning to use and how many gold stars you got this week using this implementation. Your healthy lifestyles can really impact the entire family, and this can be both in a positive and feel sometimes like a negative. Okay, when you’re trying to map out your macros, it can feel like you have to make two meals. It can feel like you’re forcing your family to eat different things, so it can feel a little challenging, but it can also have a very positive impact if we choose to see it that way And if we choose to really adjust our lifestyle to be sustainable for us.
Okay. So this when you’re changing your macros, it doesn’t have to mean changing every meal you’re making for your family. However, it can also be a way that now you’re exploring how to add in more healthy foods to your family’s diet And if you’re thinking, well, that’s all well and good, but my family doesn’t really like vegetables. My kids are anti vegetable. I wanted to share some tips to actually hide vegetables in more meals to get that diversity, help yourself, even potentially hit your macros better, get that micronutrient intake that you all want to be healthy. Okay, and just remember when you are making those macro changes again, it can feel like we’re making changes that are negatively impacting our family. But instead of trying to force changes on them, remember you can adjust other meals around it and then plan in that family meal you do love so that it doesn’t have to be a negative. You can do build your own tacos or build your own salads, so that way you can hit your macros in a way that doesn’t impact other people. Okay, so there can be totally no impact on the rest of the family without being also crazy extra work for you.
But if you are like, this is my opportunity to add in those other healthy foods. I wanted to give you some ways to hide vegetables and things and also hit your macros. So number one is blend them into smoothies, sauces or mashes. You can hide a lot of different things by adding in other flavors. So if you’re using like a smoothie, think of a two to one ratio of a sweet fruit to also adding in something like spinach or kale. By blending that in, you can get in those extra micronutrients. You can give your kids even that bump in a smoothie that they won’t necessarily notice. Things really work well to mask it are berries, tropical fruits or even nut butters, and that way you’re getting a lot of micros into something that can pack a really nutritional punch.
You can also add your protein powder to help yourself better hit your macros to that while getting a lot of micros. Okay, you can also blend things like cauliflower into Alfredo sauce or tomato sauce. It can beef up your your sauces, make things more flavorful, potentially even allow you to take out some of the carbs, but add those micros to things and help you even reduce the calories to hit your micro macros as well. But it can also hide that vegetable flavor if you have some anti vegetable eaters in your family. The second thing is to pull out the crock pot by allowing things to marinate a lot longer and a lot of different seasonings and spices and sauces.
A lot of times we can end up hiding the flavor more So if you are making like a chicken dish, you throw some vegetables in there. A lot of times it can take on the other flavors of the dish in that marinating in the crock pot for longer. Or if you’re making a sauce in the crock pot, when the vegetables are allowed to sit in it, they’re going to take in a lot more of that sauce from what you’re making. So allow things to marinate in there, even adding broths to the different vegetables to hide the flavor a little bit more. And again that can allow you to then work them into masses and different things like that where you can add or potentially take away a little bit of the carbs.
So, if you like, use cauliflower with potato. You can cut the carbs in half, reduce the calories in that by adding cauliflower and potato and also increase the micronutrient intake. So you did marinate everything together with a little bit of broth, butter, whatever else you want. And this is also where swapping your sarches can come into play. So I am big on. You want to make swaps where you don’t sacrifice something that really matters to you. So for me, i’ve tried the cauliflower crust, the cauliflower different things for breads, and I actually did find one that I like, but it’s not a bread replacement. It tastes like potato lacquets to me, which actually tastes really good, but I use it for something separate.
So I am not going to swap in my pizza dough for a cauliflower pizza crust. Most of the time I found a couple I sort of like, but for me, that swap isn’t something sustainable. It’s not the real thing. However, i do find that a lot of times like swapping in, you know, some cauliflower with some potato. I don’t mind that mash. To me that tastes the same, it’s the same flavor. I still get my potato, but I also have that cauliflower, the extra micronutrient intake. I’ve lowered the calories, lower the carbs. It finds my balance. So for me, that is the balance.
So think about where you can swap your sarches. Maybe you don’t necessarily swap all your rice for cauliflower rice because it doesn’t taste like the same thing, but you feel like you can cut your rice in half while adding in that cauliflower. So think about ways that you can find a balance, because it doesn’t have to be that all or nothing cauliflower, rice or potato. It can be little half swaps where we’re getting more of the vegetables and cutting back on carbs where we need or cutting back on calories where we need, but we’re not sacrificing the feel or the flavor or the overall like dish for ourselves. So we’re feeling like we’re having to eat diet food. Right, we don’t want that, okay. So we’ll find that adding in like a little butter to those masses can really help And you might think, okay, well, that’s calories too.
Yes, but it can be good calories. If you’re on a higher fat ratio, it can be really helpful as well, and we do want some fats when we are taking in those vegetables to help us absorb more of the nutrients. We forget that a lot, right, But those fats are really key to make sure that we’re actually getting the nutrition that we need from those vegetables that we’re consuming. You can also think about swapping in things like chickpea or lentil pastas if you do want to make a pasta, or even trying some baked carrots and something along with sweet potato fries. Again, it doesn’t have to be sweet potato fries or baked carrots, it could be half and half, and that way you’re short of getting the feel of both And you might find you even like that mix better.
I even like doing zucchini noodles. They don’t replace pasta for me, but they’re an extra different dish that I can work in And I think it’s having fun sometimes experimenting with those new recipes where you like the flavors even of those different things, and you might find that your kids thinking it’s, you know, a fun noodle thing to slurp on.
They might like it as well, even if it doesn’t taste at all like actual pasta. So it’s seeing where you can even work things in hiding them, even if they know they’re actually taking in vegetables. Just because it’s a fun new method of taking in the vegetables. Like, sometimes the chips are fun and they’re different because they can dip them in different things. And that’s actually tip number four is dip into things or dip them, create dips even So, dips like guacamole, hummus, spinach, artichoke dip. Not only can you mix vegetables actually into those different dips and hide them in the dips, but it can make vegetables more tasty if you do bake them into chips to then dip them into that. So you can do a lot of fun things. You might even find mixing like ranch seasoning with Greek yogurt.
Then you can even dip carrots into it or even cut up the carrots really small like dice them up, blend them up and put them into that mix, and no one is the wiser and they enjoy it as well. And then you can even dip pretzels into it and hide them that way and get little pretzel fix And you can also help your carbs if you do have more carbs to use and have a fun snack for your kids as well. The last thing is just to make it fun, because I think so often. Instead, we feel like it’s a chore or we feel like we have to eat things instead of saying, hey, how can I have fun with my meals? How can I get creative? How can I make little tweaks that allow me to still enjoy my pizza, enjoy my pasta, and even have a new recipe that I like, potentially even more than the old recipe, or, alongside it, to make whatever macros I do have as they shift work. But think about different ways that you can hide things.
Make it a fun, creative challenge to see what you can do in terms of it. How can you put vegetables into tacos in a way that tastes good? Can you put them in the air fryers and roast up some cauliflower there and then add it to a taco with some meat? Or can it be a fun side? Or can it be dipped into something different? Can you add different vegetables to a fried rice, even? or to a casserole or into a pizza? What can you do that can make things fun and tasty and also help you hit your macros? Then impact your family’s health in a positive way when you’re making these changes for yourself, because I think there is really a way to find balance where we’re hitting our macros, achieving our goals And, again, us sort of leading by example.
We’re also then improving our family’s health and making them see that adjusting our nutrition doesn’t have to feel like we’re on a diet. It can be something that we’re doing for our health, to move and feel our best to really fuel our body and honor our body as much as possible. So I hope these tips helped. I love to hear how you pack in more micronutrients to your dishes and the things that your family enjoy them in. I don’t have time.
A lot of us have said this excuse. This comes up very often And I think it stems from the fact that a lot of us want to do what we consider to be the ideal. We hear an hour a day in the gym, six days a week, is like this ideal, and so we try and shoot for this, and if we can’t do that, we just don’t have enough time. But ultimately, what leads to success is us designing for the time we realistically have, and I can tell you that, while I might even have my ideal progression written out, each and every time there are things that come up and I can’t do it. So I always have that plan B in place. I always have that 15 minute option that I can go to.
And when you’re thinking about designing those quick workouts for yourself, i want to give you one of my favorite tips to make sure that you actually then do them. Because I think what can happen is we think, oh well, i’m going to cut out these different things and then this will be short enough. But then either we don’t start it, because we feel stressed, wondering if we’re actually going to be able to get it in, and we rush through everything in it because we’re like, okay, well, if I get it done faster, i’ve gotten it done faster. So if you say, have 15 minutes to train and you want to design exactly for that 15 minutes, use intervals or use time circuits, okay, this is my hack to always making sure that I’m able to use whatever time I have, because that way I don’t have to wonder if I’m going to be able to fit in in the 15 minutes, the 10 minutes, the five minutes, the 20 minutes, whatever I have. I know that everything is mapped out to be able to fit into that time.
I might time my foam rolling, stretching and activation. Or I might do a time circuit where I know I’m going to flow through a few different things to address whatever is tight and say five minutes and then go into the other workout. But by timing it I’m less likely to rush through or skip things because I know I have the time for it. I’ve mapped in this is what I’m doing in this time and I have this time to do that. So I’m not going to rush through the reps. I’m going to be able to be more intentional with the moves, versus if you say you have to do eight to 12 reps if you’re short on time, you really tempted eight to do eight, but B to rush through as fast as possible, which is where we start to compensate. We don’t push ourselves as hard with the movement, we don’t take the time and give the workout the intentionality we should.
So time circuits and intervals And often we do use intervals when it comes to our cardio workouts, but we don’t think about them in terms of our strength. But you can still use them in terms of your strength and they can be very, very effective if you are more short on time, because what you can do is you can do a harder move and build up the volume over that one minute rate Instead of feeling like you have to do more rounds. Add in more rest. You can really use training density to your advantage where you’re trying to get in one more rep of a very hard exercise to that one minute. Or if you have a five minute circuit, try and choose a move that you can really only do five reps of and then cycle between body parts being worked to be able to come back to that move and end up working up in volume over the rounds of it, even though you can only do three reps of it at a time.
So think about the most challenging moves you can use and then creating the volume. If you have that minute of work, don’t pick something you can do for that full minute. Pick a pushup variation that you have to stop 20 seconds in, go like a couple of seconds of shaking out your arms and then go back to doing it, so that you have to sort of pause and use that rest pause technique to actually work for the entire minute. But you end up busting out a lot more reps than you would if you just even said eight to 12, because you’re potentially going to get 15, 20, 25 in that one minute with a few intervals of rest, or if you’re like, okay, i’m going to have to rest for like 30 seconds to be able to recover. So let’s clarify do reps, past failure and that you started from your toes and now you’re off the bench and now you’re even off the wall because you’re trying to keep moving through that entire minute.
But don’t give yourself something that you can do for the entire five minutes of work that you just stop at for the minute. Right, you want to do something that challenges you, that forces you to have to do the lower reps and build up the volume over that time. But that is one of my most important focuses when I am short on time is creating a workout that doesn’t allow me to rush through, that allows me to be secure in knowing I can get it done in whatever timeframe I have. So if you are really looking to design for 15 minutes, consider intervals, consider time circuits.
That works for five minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes And if you are looking for things laid out, guys, i am going to link to my dynamic strength app that does have a fab in 15 progression that comes along with it in that first month so that you can make sure that you’re getting in a workout, because I know we have that tendency to think, oh well, if it’s not the ideal it’s not good enough, but something is better than nothing and it keeps us in the habit. If you design for the time you have, trust me, that is going to make you see results far faster than trying to shoot for some ideal. So I hope that tip helped of using the intervals or time circuits. It’s a great hack if you are short in time but you want to be intentional with your training. Well, that is a wrap for this episode of the Fitness Hacks podcast. I hope, if you are a busy parent, a busy mom, that these tips really helped you not feel selfish, prioritize yourself and find ways to really match your needs and goals while creating a sustainable lifestyle and owning your priorities.
