Cori Lefkowith, Author at Redefining Strength Page 48 of 160

FHP 519 – 5 Workout & Diet MISTAKES

by Cori Lefkowith | May 19, 2023 | podcast

Have you ever felt like nothing you’ve tried in the past has worked when it comes to you achieving the results you’re looking for? Join me in this episode as I share my personal journey and uncover the reasons behind this struggle.

Together, we’ll explore five common workout and diet and how to correct them. Get ready to gain valuable insights and practical solutions from my amazing team of dietitians who will share their perspectives.

I’ll also reveal a significant mistake I personally made, which kept me from maintaining results and falling back into that yo-yo cycle.

00:00 – Intro
01:10 – Nothing is Working
08:37 – 5 Nutrition Mistakes
40:20 – 5 Workouts Mistakes
50:29 – My Personal Mistake

Meal Plan To Lose Fat Faster (Without Ruining Your Metabolism)

by Cori Lefkowith | May 14, 2023 | Blog, Diet

Wish you could look lean whenever you wanted?

Like always be at your most fabulous for a vacation or big event?

Well I’m going to share how you can actually accomplish this and stay leaner all year around.

The secret is MINI CUTS.

And I’m going to explain what mini cuts are and how you’ll be able to design your own by the end of this video.

What Is A Mini Cut?

Mini cuts are NOT something you do long term.

They are hard.

They are miserable. They aren’t fun. You’ll feel hungry. Your body will be a bit mad.

But the point of them is to kickstart those results.

And to feel extra fabulous for that vacation or event.

To stay lean, you can’t be in a deficit forever.

And, even if you aren’t yet at your goal, if you’ve been dieting for longer, you need to take a break at points.

Because you will hit a plateau or reach a point of diminishing returns.

The longer and stricter we’ve been dieting, the more our body and our mind will fight against us.

That is why at points you have to shift into maintaining your results, even if you aren’t yet fully at your goal.

During these times you want to increase your calories and focus on more balanced macro ratios.

These are a BREAK for your body and mind but ESSENTIAL if you want to see the full benefit of mini cuts.

By maintaining your results for a time, you create a new set point off of which you can build.

You can then strategically use more intensive deficits and macro breakdowns to achieve amazing results very quickly and get that extra definition whenever you want.

And these strategic deficits and intense macro breakdowns are called mini cuts.

And you’ll only use these strategically for 1-3…4 weeks max.

They are to look extra fabulous for that big event or even to overcome a plateau when you’ve been stuck.

Mini cuts are times where you are going to go to an extreme that you know is NOT sustainable but with a purpose and an exit strategy.

You are doing this built off of those key fundamentals not just doing some shake or detox fast fix.

And because the mini cuts are short, you won’t sabotage your metabolic health or feel restricted for so long you can’t get back on track after!

So…How Do You Set Your Macros And Calories For Your Own Mini Cut?

Yup. You’re going to have to track to really use these mini cuts to your advantage. Precision is key so we don’t lose muscle and focus on that recomp quickly.

We need that data to help us avoid the cut backfiring because we are going to be going to a strategic short-term extreme.

To set your calories, a good starting place is 10x goal bodyweight (which may even be your current bodyweight if you’re already lean).

This number is going to be low.

If you are super active and super lean, you may simply cut 500 off of your usual maintenance if you track consistently.

But you are pushing the most extreme deficit here for a very short term!

Then adjust your protein.

You want your protein intake between 45-50% for this mini cut.

You can then divide the rest between carbs and fat, but the more active you are and the leaner you want to be, the more you will want to keep carbs higher while dropping fat closer to 20%.

Often for a mini cut with clients I recommend something like 45% protein, 35% carbs and 20% fat.

I’ll show you how I would hit this ratio with a full day of eating at 1400 calories.

Full Day Of Eating – 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat at 1400 calories

Pre-Workout:

Because my calories are low and I want to maintain my lean muscle mass, I will often train earlier in the morning after a protein shake and some coffee.

I love this morning routine and find the coffee allows me some time to wake up and gives me a bit of an energy boost while my calories are low.

The protein shake is also key so that I have those amino acids available to help me repair and rebuild from my lifting.

During my workout, I’ll consume my BCAAs.

I find because I’m in an extreme deficit and not getting “enough” of anything, these help me recover faster from my training and protect my lean muscle.

I also am very strategic during these mini cuts to focus my progressions on lifting over cardio.

Post Workout/Breakfast:

After my workout, I’ll head home and have breakfast. I generally make an egg white omelet with smoked salmon as well as oatmeal.

I love using the Everything Bagel seasoning and Melinda’s hot sauce on the omelet.

Because sauces often pack a calorie punch, hot sauces and seasonings will be your best friends to make meals still tasty so you aren’t completely miserable with your calories so low and macros being stricter.

I also love the oatmeal packets that have a bit of flavoring.

If I don’t have one, I may add my own sugar free syrup!

Lunch:

I then have lunch before I get too hungry.

The exact timing may vary based on what I’m doing, but I like to make sure I’m never starving when I next eat or I find it easier to end up wanting to overeat or eat so fast I don’t really taste it.

I also try to drink some tea or water before I eat to feel a bit fuller from the meal.

For lunch, I keep it simple, pan-searing some chicken with some frozen sweet potato chunks and broccoli.

I’ll use some sugar-free bbq sauce on my chicken as well as garlic salt on the potatoes and veggies.

Finding things that give your food flavor is key. Trader joe’s has some amazing seasonings for diversity and there are tons of sugar-free sauces to bring some fun to boring chicken!

Yes, it is more processed BUT because of the low calories and intensive macro ratio, your overall food quality will have to be high with lots of whole natural foods anyway so that 80/20 balance to not make yourself feel extra miserable is key!

And if I’m in a pinch, I often even get the Good And Gather cooked chicken to reheat. Always good to have options for when you’re on the go!

Dinner:

For dinner I love shrimp. They are easy to get frozen and basically have on hand no matter what.

I’ll cook them with rice and a stir-fry vegetable mix.

I’ll add in sesame oil and soy sauce and top off with sriracha because I love the spice and flavor. Adding in some garlic as well can be good to make things tasty.

Bonus if you are a spicy food person as well, capsaicin is a chemical that has been shown to increase the rate at which the body burns calories. So an extra metabolic boost is never bad while adding flavor!

Dessert:

Next is dessert. And yes, even in a cut I need my sweet treat to end the night.

I’ll usually have a greek yogurt and rice cake with peanut butter and fluff.

I often have a few brands of yogurt in the fridge to hit whatever macros and calories I need. And I have pre-planned a few rice cake variations as well.

Always key we have options we can adjust if something does pop up during the day or we are craving something specific!

I also personally have a diet soda with dinner or dessert. I find it extra satisfying and a bit filling when you know you’ve slashed your calories low strategically.

All about finding that balance so you can maintain the aesthetic you want without constantly being on a diet!

SUMMARY:

They aren’t fun. Or easy.

And they are intense.

But they are a short term pain to be able to look the way you want, whenever you want and stay leaner all year around.

Mini cuts are a great option if you need that extra kickstart or want to feel extra fabulous for an event.

Just remember you are using these short-term and strategically.

Make sure to really plan ahead as these calories are low and the macro ratios are intense!

Learn how to create YOUR lifestyle balance…

–>The 3 Phase Strategy Built For Your Body and Your Goals

FHP 518 – 5 Excuses Sabotaging Your Results with Lauren Tickner

by Cori Lefkowith | May 9, 2023 | podcast

There is always a reason not to do something. But there is also a way to address any excuse we have and manage it to move forward.

In this episode of the Fitness Hacks Podcast, you’ll learn:

How to focus on small changes while embracing the learning process
What it takes to overcome your excuses and hold yourself accountable even on days you don’t feel like showing up thanks to the amazing Lauren Tickner and her tips.

How to hold yourself accountable with this 15-day challenge
Why cutting out the foods you love is sabotaging your results and what to do instead

And I’ll share my favorite moves to steer into the skid and give your body and your mind the break they need at times preemptively!

Thank you to everyone who has left a review. If you haven’t please leave a review. It really helps spread the fitness love and keeps my podcast sponsor free so you don’t have to listen to any sponsorships!

00:00 – Intro
01:36 – Small Steps
06:18 – Lauren Tickner Interview
29:50 – Accountability Challenge
32:10 – Cutting out Foods You Love
36:28 – Take a Break!

Take The Free Accountability Challenge:
https://redefiningstrength.com/15-day-accountability-challenge/

connect with Lauren:

https://instagram.com/laurentickner

🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Fitness Hacks Podcast! 🎙️

If you enjoyed this video and want to learn more, be sure to check out our podcast on your favorite streaming platform 🎧 at
👉 https://redefiningstrength.com/fitness-hacks-podcast/.

If you’re enjoying the podcast and found it valuable reviews are super helpful to help this reach more people🙏.

I really appreciate your support and look forward to bringing you more fitness hacks and tips in the future!

How To Do The Pelvic Tilt Exercise (And SHOULD You?)

by Cori Lefkowith | May 7, 2023 | Blog, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

The pelvic tilt…

How can you use this amazing move and progress this exercise to build a stronger core?

And why has this move received some hate in recent years?

Let’s break down the pelvic tilt progression and when and how to use it!

This exercise is a great way to learn to brace your abs and protect your lower back during core work

If you’ve ever felt your lower back or hips during crunches or leg lowers, Leg Raises you want to master this movement.

It will even help you better engage your glutes during moves like the glute bridge or other activation exercises. And it is a great way to target that lower portion of the rectus abdominis even more aka work those lower abs!

To learn the basic pelvic tilt engagement…

Lie on your back on the ground and take a deep inhale.

As you exhale, tuck your hips up toward your ribs, focusing on pulling each side of your pelvis in toward each other and up toward your ribs.

You want to focus on engaging those abs through that exhale as you tuck. You will feel the space between your lower back and the ground go away.

You should also feel your glute max engage with the tuck.

Hold here for a 3-5 count then relax.

Learning this engagement is key.

It helps you learn to control that spinal flexion as you progress to leg lower exercises and even progress your planks.

And if you’ve ever had lower back pain and feeling your back during glute bridges, hip thrusters or other glute activation movements, using the pelvic tilt can help you better engage your glutes during these moves without your lower back taking over!

Now, before I go over the full progression and how to master that double leg lower exercise we see in so many workout routines…

I want to touch on why people are against using the pelvic tilt exercise.

And it relates back to bracing during lifting and even the ability to maintain a neutral spine.

During lifting exercises, such as the squat and deadlift, you do not want that posterior pelvic tilt. This can lead to overload of your lower back.

And daily excessive posterior pelvic tilt posture can have a negative impact just like excessive anterior pelvic tilt can.

But this doesn’t mean the move is bad.

It just means you have to understand WHY and WHEN to use it.

Improper implementation of any exercise, using a move we haven’t earned even, can lead to issues.

While you may focus on that forceful exhale like you’re being punched in the gut to brace during heavy lifts, you do want to know how to engage through that posterior pelvic tilt to better use those intrinsic core stabilizers and even activate your glutes during prehab work and those floor core moves.

Our spines are MEANT to flex and posterior pelvic tilt is an action we want to know how to control using our abs while disengaging our hip flexors and back.

This is why you want to focus on building up through the posterior pelvic tilt progression instead of just jumping into those double leg lowers you can’t control.

So how can you progress the pelvic tilt and what are three of my favorite moves using it that aren’t part of this progression?

To progress the posterior pelvic tilt, you will want to start with a march Single Leg March from this basic position. From here you can progress to a double knee tuck.

Then you can go to a single straight leg lower Single Leg Lower before a full double leg lower.

You only want to progress though as you can truly control the move.

If you start to feel your lower back lifting or your hip flexors are doing all of the work, stop and reset or regress the move.

While the leg raises and lowers are going to involve your hip flexors since they are movement at the hip, you want to feel your abs bracing the movement.

To help yourself check your engagement through this progression, place a towel under your back and hold the other end in your hand.

You can then give it a slight tug to see if it stays pinned as you progress. This helps you double check you’re maintaining that tilt.

And make sure you don’t hold your breath. You want to exhale to help you brace as you lower a leg down or both down.

Once you’ve gone through this progression, you are never above those foundational variations but you may find you start to include other leg lower variations like flutters or criss crosses or even that full hollow body hold I love to call the banana!

Three other uses of the pelvic tilt I love are…

The dolphin plank, the hanging pelvic tilt and the glute bridge.

Dolphin Plank:

The dolphin plank is a great variation to add movement to your basic forearm front plank and will help you learn to engage your abs to power spinal flexion but also avoid unwanted spinal extension.

You will use the posterior pelvic tilt as you round up in the plank and then you will fight the urge to extend your lower back as you allow your hips to sink toward the ground.

This is a killer anti-extension plank option. And you can modify it by holding a plange plank or by doing what I like to call the vomiting cat from your hands and knees.

This is NOT that cat cow stretch.

The reason I call it the vomiting cat is you want to round up and draw your abs in as if coughing up a hairball. That hollowing out of your stomach is what really engages your abs.

Hanging Pelvic Tilt:

The hanging pelvic tilt is a great way to advance the pelvic tilt and really learn to control hanging ab exercises like knees to elbows.

Too often with knees to elbows and even leg raises, we let our hip flexors take over or really start to swing and lose control.

By first learning to do the hanging pelvic tilt, we can learn to start that engagement with our abs!

Really focus on pulling down on that bar as you tuck your pelvis toward your ribs!

Glute Bridge:

I want to mention the glute bridge as well because of the impact that the posterior pelvic tilt can have on our glutes.

That pelvic tilt can help us better activate our glute max which is key if we are struggling with feeling our lower back or even our hamstrings take over during our glute work.

So if you even feel your lower back when trying to do weight glute bridges or hip thrusters, make sure you aren’t arching but instead starting the move with this tilt.

This helps you also focus more on true hip extension.

Too often with bridging we lift up higher and don’t realize we are actually getting the extra range of motion from our backs, not by actually fully extending our hips.

When you start with the pelvic tilt, you help yourself focus just on true hip extension using your glutes!

And learning to use the pelvic tilt during moves like this is especially a win win if you’re rebuilding post-partum.

Bonus Tips:

I did also want to include just a few extra tips, especially if you are using this move to rebuild after lower back injury or pregnancy…

If you are rebuilding your core strength after having a baby, make sure you roll onto your side before lying on your back over just lying back.

And make sure you only progress the pelvic tilt as you are able to control your abs and avoid them doming out.

You may also find it easier to engage your ab and even your pelvic floor by also engaging your adductors.

If you’re struggling with that brace, consider squeezing a ball or block between your knees.

This squeeze can really help you stay focused on that tension.

And do not hold your breath!

Use the pelvic tilt exercise to better brace your abs and build a strong core!

How To Build Muscle At Any Age (5 PROVEN Tips!)

by Cori Lefkowith | May 3, 2023 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

If it challenges you it will change you. This is ultimately what building muscle at any and every age comes down to.

Whether you have heavy weights and tons of equipment or simply your own bodyweight you can create that challenge.

But there are 5 key training techniques and tips I want to share that can help you challenge your muscles in a way that forces them to grow as efficiently and effectively as possible.

And ladies, if you want to stay lean and strong as you get older, don’t fear those heavy loads!

While diet is key to build muscle you need to make sure your workouts are designed to aid in muscle growth.

Here are 5 training techniques to improve your workout designs and help you strategically use moves to see results more efficiently.

Tip #1: Start your workouts with heavy compound lifts.

Start your workouts more global before you slowly hone in and isolate those more stubborn areas.

Include big compound movements like the deadlift or bent over barbell row to start your workout.

The heavier and more complex the lift, the more it benefits from us being fresher.

The more fatigued we are, the more we can tend to compensate.

It’s not only our muscles but also our mind-body connection that can fatigue over the workout.

After the heavier lifts you can focus more on stubborn areas with lighter loads for slightly higher reps.

Tip #2: Use Rest-Pause Technique

This technique helps you build muscle by basically allowing you to work to failure multiple times in a set.

This leads to great muscle activation and can help you break through a plateau.

You can actually even use lighter loads with this increase in volume and hit near failure because of how you’re adjusting your rest periods.

While there are many ways to do this technique, the key is starting with a set to almost failure, then short rest periods of no more than 20-30 seconds max before completing another few sets.

One of my favorite designs to include with a big compound movement is the 10-7-3-1 set.

Pick a weight that you can do for about 12 reps.

Do 10 reps with that weight. Rest for a 10 count.

Then do 7 reps with the same load.

Rest 7 seconds then do 3 reps.

Rest 3 seconds and then do a single rep of the movement.

This lets you do 21 reps with a weight you could technically do no more than 12 reps with.

Tip #3: Include fast-paced power movements.

Part of why we can lift more is that neuromuscular-efficiency or the ability to recruit muscles to the correct extents efficiently to lift a weight or perform an exercise.

That is why you may want to include a little explosive power work in your routines even if your focus is on building muscle.

This is especially key as we get older as our reaction times tend to slow, putting us at an increased risk for falls and fractures.

You can add explosive work to start your workout or as interval work during a cardio day between lifting sessions.

You aren’t just trying to get out of breath.

Think lighter loads, lower rep ranges and training for speed.

med ball slams, sprints and battle ropes are all great options.

Think all out explosive then stopping before your pace slows and resting till you are fully recovered.

Intervals should be no more than 20 seconds with 3-5 times the rest!

Tip #4: Focus on total loads lifted.

Lifting heavier isn’t just about the weight you use for a single rep or even set.

So while yes, you want to use heavier weights for that set of lunges, it isn’t just that single set where you lifted heavy that pays off.

It’s about moving more weight in total during each training session and over the course of weeks and months.

More quality weight lifted overall is what really creates that muscle growth.

Your Training density, or the amount of work performed in a certain amount of time is key.

With Density Training, you’ll want to set a timeframe for your set – 10-15 minutes is usually good.

Pick 2-3 heavy compound lifts to include per set and do 2-3 sets per workout. It’s best to do these for different areas so one area gets rest as the other works.

For example you might pair Squats and Overhead Press together. Pick a weight you can do no more than 10 reps with at max.

Start with 5-8 reps of each movement so you feel like you have no more than 2 left in the tank when you put the weight down and change exercises. As you fatigue, instead of going down in loads reduce your reps. By the end you might only be doing 1-2 reps alternating back and forth.

You’ll do MORE reps with heavier loads over the 10-15 minute training time.

That volume of weight moved over weeks and months adds up.

Tip #5: Focus on what you feel working.

What you feel working during an exercise is what is benefiting from the movement.

If you only feel your quads instead of your glutes during lunges you may find your quads are growing but not your butt isn’t despite all of the “glute work” you’re doing.

This is why you need to focus on consciously trying to contract the muscle and load it during a movement.

By shifting your focus to trying to recruit and contract the muscle harder, you can actually even aid in better muscle growth for even the most stubborn of areas.

Focus on contracting a lagging muscle even before increasing loads as if you were trying to make it almost cramp.

You may even find that, if you struggle during compound moves, like lunges, to activate your glutes, that a little activation work prior to help establish that mind-body connection through a slight pump pays off.

And don’t be afraid to vary postures or positioning during movements, for example using a slight bit more of a hip hinge when you lunge backward to help yourself better engage the muscles you want to target. Little movement variations and tweaks can pay off!

Using these 5 training techniques you can take your programming to the next level and see more efficient muscle gains no matter your training experience!

Remember it isn’t just about lifting more or doing a right move, it is about making sure everything in our training is included with a purpose and helping us be intentional to make each and every session of the highest quality.

For more tips to help you build muscle check out these 5 habit changes you will also want to make…

–> How To Build Muscle ( 5 HABIT CHANGES)