5 Golden Rules to Lose Belly Fat

by Cori Lefkowith | Jan 5, 2025 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

I’m going to give it to you straight – the places we want to lose from first are often the LAST to go.

And in the process of losing fat, they often look WORSE before they look better because areas around them shrink as they stay EXACTLY THE SAME.

This makes losing belly fat even more frustrating on top of the fact that the area is scientifically more stubborn!

Yup…I say scientifically more stubborn because the lack of blood flow and the breakdown of alpha and beta fat cells in the area, make this area very hard to lose from.

Not to mention changing hormones levels can impact where we store fat, causing us to gain more around our middles!

So all in all…belly fat is annoyingly challenging to lose and while it’s the first place we gain, will be the LAST place we lose from.

That’s why I wanted to share 5 golden rules to help you lose belly fat.

I call them “golden rules” because these aren’t the shiny object, magic pill, quick fixes we get distracted by…

They’re the basics we need to go back to. The foundation off of which our healthy lifestyle is built.

Because too often the longer we’ve been working to see results, the more advanced and knowledgeable we even are, the more we get distracted by new things and details that only take us away from a focus on the fundamentals.

1% deviations in our habits add up. And 1% deviations can make all the difference in where you end up.

1% off in your heading on a flight from New York to Japan lands you smack in the middle of the ocean drowning.

So let’s refocus on these 5 golden rules to lose that belly fat…

Starting with our mindset.

And while some of you may groan at this or consider clicking back because you just want to be told WHAT to do, some magic tactic…Pause. And don’t/

This desire to just DO without reflecting on your mindset or attitude is why you’re stuck.

You’re stuck constantly trying to find an easy fix. Some magic program.

You’re stuck forcing yourself into habits you can’t maintain long term so ultimately give up on because they just aren’t sustainable.

And this is why you lose the weight only to regain it. It’s why you feel like you’ll just never lose the belly fat.

Don’t repeat this cycle…

This is why Golden Rule #1 is Ditch the all or nothing attitude.

We get super motivated…we see a picture we don’t like of our midsection or have that beach vacation coming up.

So we go all in.

We make a bazillion and one changes.

And then when the effort doesn’t feel worth the outcome, when we don’t see results fast enough…

We quit.

Or maybe the changes just even feel so overwhelming we never actually get started.

We don’t feel it is worth it to do something.

But A. Something is better than nothing.

And B. We have to make changes that build if we want to create something we can do consistently.

Because not only do we get good at what we consistently do….

We ARE what we consistently do.

Your current situation is a result of the habits you do daily.

So in order to get leaner and stay leaner, we need to create habits and changes we can repeat consistently day in and day out.

While not all changes will be easy, especially to start, we need to ditch this all or nothing mindset and instead focus on what we can do today to build.

And then even own that at times, less is more!

We can’t out exercise or out diet time.

Trying to is what leads to that feeling that the effort just isn’t worth it.

Not to mention, you can’t see true fat loss any faster by trying to train for longer or eat less.

These practices honestly only lead to worse results and burnout.

Which leads me to Golden Rule #2: Macros matter most.

You can’t out exercise your diet and you can’t out diet time but just cutting your calories lower.

Honestly we often need to go less extreme with the calorie deficit and eat more to fuel our muscle.

Because while calories in vs calories out matters for WEIGHT LOSS, macros matter if you want to truly focus on FAT LOSS and retain that amazing magical and metabolically beneficial muscle.

If you think I’m about to now tell you that protein is key, you’d be right.

Especially the leaner we are, and the more we want to lose those last few pounds, the more we need to avoid a more extreme calorie deficit and focus on protein.

This is where having 40% of your calories or even slightly more coming from protein is key.

Because protein will protect your lean muscle and actually cause you to expend more energy to digest it.

Now…as important as protein is, we can’t demonize other macros.

Fats don’t make you fat. And carbs don’t make you gain belly fat either.

Extreme restriction of either is actually holding you back from losing that stubborn belly fat, and putting you at greater risk to regain the weight you lost faster than you lost it!

Healthy fats are the building blocks of hormones, especially sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. They also help regulate inflammation and keep cortisol (a stress hormone) levels in check.

And carbs play a critical role in thyroid function, providing glucose for energy and regulating cortisol levels. Eating enough carbs helps balance insulin and cortisol, providing your body wtih the energy it needs without spiking stress hormone levels.

So focus on tracking your macros and, while keeping protein high, cycle higher or lower carb over the weeks and months to create balance!

Now, as much as I am a huge advocate of including foods you love and not demonizing any foods, and I practice what I preach, I also know the importance of focusing 80% of my diet on whole, natural foods.

Because the quality of our food has an impact!

That’s why Golden Rule #3 is Focus on quality fuel.

Not only are whole natural foods more micronutrient dense, providing the vitamins and minerals we all know we need for our body to function well and recover quickly, but they also often make the weight loss process easier for 3 other big reasons…

They have a higher thermic effect, meaning we burn more calories at rest to digest them over processed foods.

They are often less calorically dense and more nutrient dense, meaning we can eat larger volumes of them to make us actually feel fuller and more satisfied even while in a deficit.

Whole natural foods promote optimal gut health, containing fiber and pre and probiotics, among other nutrients, that are essential to a balanced gut bacteria. And a healthy gut is key for fat loss as it improves fat metabolism and our metabolic rate overall!

So while you want to work in foods you love to create something you can be consistent with, as the second we feel restricted we often find our willpower and motivation fading very quickly, we also want to recognize that this focus on whole natural foods will improve our results.

And we need our body functioning optimally to embrace losing that hard to lose fat while allowing us to train intensely.

Especially with being in a deficit to lose, we want to be conscious we aren’t creating nutrient deficiencies so pay attention to eating that rainbow.

And then don’t forget to focus on fiber!

Fiber will help you keep your gut healthy which can often pay off more than we realize in reducing inflammation and bloat that causes us not to see the ab definition we want!

For fiber, focus on 25g for women (or 21g if you’re 50+) or 38g for men (or 30g if you’re 50+) is the fiber intake you want to shoot for!

While diet is key for fat loss, the best results happen when your diet and workouts work together.

And so often we adjust our diet, lose weight, but never truly see the definition we truly want.

This is because we so often turn to more cardio in our workouts.

Instead we need to follow Golden Rule #4 and remember that muscle is magical.

We need to focus our workouts on building muscle and strength.

Because muscle is not only how we stay functionally strong till our final day on this planet, it is really the secret to overall health and looking more defined.

Less muscle means we look softer even when we’re thin.

Not to mention, muscle keeps our metabolic rate higher, helps keep our blood sugar levels more balanced, promotes optimal hormonal levels and even better recovery.

More muscle means we will maintain better body recomp!

Yet so often we do actually sabotage our own results by turning even our strength workouts into cardio sessions.

We do this by trying to get out of breath, feel worked in our sessions and cut out rest.

Instead we need to focus on feeling the muscles truly be worked and having a purpose for everything we include.

Whether you train at home or at a gym, you can challenge yourself to build strength and muscle.

The key is truly creating that challenge in our training. And the more advanced you are, the more you have to seek ways outside of just adding weight to really push that progression.

Use different training designs, combining rep ranges and compound and isolation moves.

Use different tempos.

Vary the types of moves you include and how you break up the areas worked in workouts.

But find ways to challenge yourself and your muscles, not just make you feel sweaty and out of breath!

Now that I just said to focus on strength over cardio, there is one form of cardio that is honestly super essential when our focus is fat loss and especially losing belly fat.

And that’s why Golden Rule #5 is To Walk Daily.

Go on a casual walk for even just 15-20 minutes every.single.day.

You’ll be amazed at how much this movement helps you see better results faster without stressing your body or mind any more.

Not only is the non-stressful movement helpful to the fat loss process, especially even timed after a meal to help with digestion or after a workout where you worked your core to utilize more of the fatty acids mobilized in your training…

But it is so good to help you change patterns that may lead to mindless eating or eating out of stress.

Instead of lazing on the couch mindlessly eating at night or going to the cabinet for those mini candy bars after a stressful day at work, go for a walk.

Break those habits by swapping in MOVEMENT!

You’re not only changing behaviors to help yourself stay consistent, but you’re burning more calories in a non-stressful way for your body!

Plus, you can use this activity to spend time with friends and family and destress!

And lowering our stress levels can help us lose fat more easily and even recover faster to be able to push hard in our training sessions.

But I’ll tell you, adding in walking was super key for me even personally to see the fat loss I wanted and maintaining those results long term!

Now the final tip I want to leave you with, that isn’t a golden rule, but something I think is so key…

Measure progress by tracking your habit consistency.

I mention this as UBER important for 3 big reasons so you don’t sabotage yourself and quit on habits that WILL work if you give them long enough…

True body recomp and fat loss is slow. Painfully slow. And the scale may NOT change.

And you’re going to have to stick with it when the scale and measurements aren’t changing.

Because those last few pounds you feel you have to lose, may not be lost on the scale while fat is.

And that’s because you’re not losing muscle or even managing to gain it through a small deficit and protein focus!

If you try to make the scale change quicker or get caught up in your goal weight, you’re going to ultimately do diet and training practices that cause you to lose muscle, not fat and still have that stubborn belly fat.

Areas will look worse before they look better.

Progress photos are key. But you’re going to look at your belly fat or the areas you want to change and they’ll be changing last. They’ll even look bigger as you lose off of other places first.

So if you use photos, you need to also acknowledge the changes in these other places.

Your workouts may at times suffer.

I love lifting heavy. I hate when I don’t feel super strong or see improvements in performance goals.

But I’m aware that during a mini cut or fat loss phase, my performance goals may take a backseat.

So only measuring progress to help you stay consistent with your gym performance may make you want to give up.

Don’t!

In the fat loss process, to get past a stick point you have and to reach that leanness level you’ve never achieved before, you do need a calorie deficit.

This can mean our gym sessions aren’t always PR setting workouts. So we need to be mindful of this fact when setting gym goals so you don’t give up on training sessions that are working!

But this is why celebrating those habit wins, the hitting of your macros, the focus on fiber or micros, the consistency that weekly training schedule, the daily walks…are all so key to celebrate!

Because we have to find ways to help ourselves STAY CONSISTENT past the point we want to quit if we want to reach a new goal!

Want a custom plan to dial in your diet and your workouts to work together and build your leanest, strongest body at ANY age?

–> Learn more about my 1:1 Online Coaching

FHP 666: Destination: Beastette

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 30, 2024 | podcast

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

TRANSCRIPT

OPEN TRANSCRIPT

(00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free workout and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating, or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. What are your goals? Let’s call your goals destination bte, because I want to talk about what it really takes to achieve the success we want and how we often get really focused on only our destination, only a perfect plan, only the habits we think we need to get there.

(00:47):
And we never assess what the journey actually will look like, how we’re stepping into that new identity. So part of reaching destination bte, reaching our goal means truly understanding where we’re starting from, yet we don’t often take a look at that yet. If you think about how you enter in to get directions from your GPS, you set not only the destination but your current location. Yet when we are really looking at destination B stat, we think, okay, this is my goal. I want to lose weight. I want to be here. And we think, okay, what’s the perfect plan for weight loss? Not, Hey, I have all these other things going on in my life right now. What’s a plan that actually fits my current location? So I want you to take a step back if you are setting goals and think, okay, destination bte. What is the roadmap to get there?

(01:33):
And where am I starting from? Currently, I call this assessment of where you are currently, the BTE origin story because you want to understand your hero’s origin story because you are your own hero, as cheesy as that sounds. You are becoming the bte, the hero of your story, and there’s someplace you’re starting from some struggle you’re overcoming. And the more we own the struggles we have, the more we own the priorities we have right now, the more we can overcome those excuses. And as weird as it sounds, we want to embrace the pain that we’re suffering from right now. And you might think, well, it’s not really that painful. I just have five vanity pounds, sls, okay? But there’s something that’s driving you to want to make a change to lose those five pounds. And generally even a goal we deem small or inconsequential because potentially someone else has told us it’s not that important or we feel vain in achieving it has farther reaching ramifications than we really realize and more pain attached to it, be it even just the pain that we feel like we haven’t been able to achieve something we really want.

(02:32):
We haven’t seen that strength to be able to overcome. And so we haven’t built that confidence, that strength and in overcoming a goal that might seem vain or silly or inconsequential in the grand scheme of all the amazing things that life has and all the horribleness or good things out there, we can build so much strength to even pursue more other things. I can tell you for me, as much as I sort of wrote off wanting to get abs like, oh, this is just a vain goal in achieving that goal, I found so much strength to overcome. I challenged myself to be uncomfortable in new ways, and that had such far reaching impact in what I believed I was capable of because I showed to myself that if I really wanted a goal, I was going to find a way to learn what I need to do to overcome the obstacles in the way.

(03:14):
So I want you to take a look at where you are right now. I want you to think about your origin story. What is the pain of staying stuck? Because the more you understand that pain of staying stuck, the more you can use that motivation to overcome the pain of change, but also even recognize when the pain of staying stuck doesn’t outweigh the pain of change and where you have to change the habits to meet you where you’re at. And I bring this up because in looking for a perfect plan to reach that goal that we have, and thinking about what plan is supposedly perfect for weight loss or gaining muscle or this or that, we don’t assess who and what we are. And so we do all these different things at once, and this is where we start to think tracking is restrictive. I can’t do macros.

(03:49):
I can’t work out for an hour six days a week. Instead of saying, okay, so that’s too painful a change for me to make right now instead of doing nothing, what is a change I can make that isn’t too painful? That might mean right now saying, Hey, I’m going to do three days a week, 15 minutes. Hey, I’m going to do three days a week, five minutes. Hey, right now tracking macros or even thinking about macros in general or tracking my food just feels like too much. I’m just going to add in vegetables to one meal or increase my protein at just one meal by adding one more ounce. Think about how you can change the habit to really fit you, because so often we get this very, this habit is good, this habit is bad, this is right and this is wrong. And this binary view doesn’t serve us because habits are, they’re able to be implemented in so many different ways to meet us where we’re at.

(04:36):
So really assess where am I currently? What is the pain that I am suffering from? What does my lifestyle truly look like? When am I waking up in the morning? How do I feel with how I’m waking up? Am I energized in the morning? How is my sleep? How do I feel with my workouts? How do I feel with my habits? How do all these different patterns and behaviors that I’m repeating truly make me feel? And then even think, where do I feel the pushback when I think about the perfect plans I’ve tried to implement in the past that have left me stuck? Where do I see myself running into the same hard that I’m running back from, that I’m turning around from? Because I think in assessing that, we start to realize we always hit the same hard point. It might be at six weeks, it might be after the January motivation wears off.

(05:18):
It might be with keto because we restricted carbs, but there’s some underlying thing below the surface value. And it’s that we’re always running into the same hard and we’re never continuing forward because we’re never doubling down and stepping back to pause and assess what hard we’re hitting and how we can overcome that, or how other priorities have shifted. In January, you might have the perfect time, but in February you might start to travel or work might start to pick up or something else starts to come into play. That by not assessing the evolution in your lifestyle, you’re hitting that hard and you’re turning back because you’re not evolving those habits. But the more you understand your current situation, your current lifestyle, where you’re starting from and the pain involved in that and the habits involved in that, the more you can plan out that roadmap and even have different paths forward.

(05:59):
It’s almost like you have that GPS that can tell you ways around the traffic. You want to find that same ability or way of giving yourself guidance in your own fitness journey. And so that means assessing where you are currently, not just where you want to go or the perfect plan for that. And I bring this up because I had someone email me and they were like, I really want to lose weight. I’m really struggling. And I asked them about their diet and they’re like, well, I love all these different carbs, and they go out for pizza and do all these different things. And so I’m like, okay, well, what do you think is a change that you might use? Or what program were you thinking about going with? And they’re like, well, I think I’m going to do keto. Everything they had outlined was processed food, more eating out, more carb heavy.

(06:38):
And I asked, I’m like, why are you going to do keto? And they said, because my friend did it and it really worked for them. And I’m like, well, do you think that’s realistic for your lifestyle? Well, I think I could cut these things out. And it’s like, but for how long are you forcing a mold that really doesn’t fit? Are you forcing a round peg into a square hole? And in really having her step back, she started to realize like, oh, this is why I haven’t seen the results, because I keep going after a perfect plan, something I think I can use short term. And not that we don’t use certain things short term, and what you do to reach a goal isn’t what you’ll do to maintain it. But there has to be some change in actual lifestyle habits, mindsets, the underlying actions we’re taking.

(07:15):
We have to find ways that we’re learning something about ourselves to move ourselves forward and create that discipline, not just forcing a mold that we can maybe willpower our way through for a little bit. And so in having her step back, she realized that keto wasn’t the way, and that by actually tracking what she’s currently doing, she could work those things in find evolutions in our habits that moved her forward and see sustainable results. Now, it’s not the overnight quick fix that some of these fad diets promise us and even give us, but it’s the lasting results because we don’t want to look good for just one day, and we don’t want to just lose 10 pounds to gain it back. We want to truly see changes, and we want to reach that destination B stat. So I would really urge you, as you’re setting goals, don’t just look at the goal.

(07:55):
Don’t just look at a perfect plan. Look at where you are right now to evolve habits to meet you where you’re at. And then recognize as you reach that goal, you’re stepping into a new identity. Think about what that lifestyle truly looks like to be there. Because I think even in assessing that, and when I questioned her more about the keto, I’m like, does your destination have that same lifestyle that you’re now trying to use to get there? And again, there’s evolution in it, but she realized, no, I wouldn’t be maintaining this long-term. Okay, well, what would you need to be maintaining long-term to maintain the results that you’ve built? And then assessing the actual lifestyle and not just the goal, not just having lost the 10 pounds, but what is the lifestyle that person’s leading to then maintain that loss? She started to see how we could sort of backtrack to her current location and make the habits that she needed now eventually evolve into the habits she would need to sustain.

(08:46):
So I would urge you, as you’re setting goals, take a look at your current location to meet yourself where you’re at, and do the habits you need right now to move you forward knowing that they can evolve over time. Don’t force a perfect plan. And then as you look at your goal, really assess the lifestyle you’ll be stepping into with that, because that’s what helps us connect all the dots and really have that GPS, that roadmap laid out in a way that moves us forward and moves us forward in sustainable ways. So I would really tell you reflect, don’t just seek a perfect plan. Don’t just seek to take action immediately and force yourself into all these habit changes. Really draw upon where you are right now and outline the lifestyle you’ll need to be living and assess what identity you’ll be embracing, because I think that will help you take a different perspective when you make changes this time and see the results that you actually deserve versus jumping from thing to thing, hitting the same, hard to only turn back. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack Podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free work, workout in nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating, review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes, and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone you know

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

The 3 Best Back Exercises (YOU CAN DO AT HOME)

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 29, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Travel Workouts, Workouts

You can get in a killer workout without going to the gym. You can see amazing results training at home or when you travel.

So don’t try to use the fact that you can’t get to the gym as an excuse!

However, we need to recognize that there is often one muscle group overlooked and underworked in our bodyweight workouts, especially when we don’t have any equipment on hand.

And that muscle group is our BACKS.

We do push up variations for our chest, shoulders and triceps and even core.

We can lunge and squat and stair step ups and single leg deadlifts and glute bridges to work our legs, including our glutes, quads, hamstrings and even adductors.

We can do planks and crunches and sit ups to work our abs and core.

But our backs are often overlooked in our programming.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 of my favorite ways to target your back, and even your biceps, when training at home WITHOUT a pull up bar!

The first way requires your own bodyweight and a wall or floor…which thankfully all of us have on hand at any time.

So no matter what, we can all do forms of the Scapular Hold or Scapular Reps.

This move is honestly something I even include for my clients at the gym as well because of how amazing it is for back activation and scapular control.

And you can do it either as an isometric or hold to focus on what you feel working and engage as hard as possible or even for reps.

If you do it for reps, unlike traditional rows where your biceps can take over, the scapular wall or floor reps prevent your arms from assisting in that this move is actually a PRESS over a PULL for your back.

You’ll push off your elbows, pressing your chest out as you draw your shoulder blades toward your spine to row up and out.

Standing against a wall make sure you don’t walk out too far and end up shrugging.

And off the ground you can have your legs out straight or knees bent, but make sure you aren’t turning this move into a sit up.

The move needs to be powered by the back and pushing away through the elbows.

To do reps, you’ll lower back to the wall or floor each time. To do the isometric, you’ll simply hold in that pressed position.

But focus on feeling your back engage to press your chest out and open. And brace your abs as you flex your glutes and quads to keep your core engaged and that nice plank position, especially off the wall.

You will find too that the wall is a bit easier to control than the floor and the less you walk your feet away from the wall, the more modified the move is, making this easy to adapt to every fitness level!

And these aren’t the only back moves you can do with just your own bodyweight.

Plank Rows, scapular push ups and even scapular wings are all great options to really focus on that back engagement through targeting that shoulder blade movement toward your spine.

The Plank Rows and Scapular Push Ups have the added benefit of more core work too!

And if you do need to modify, they can be done off a couch edge or table and the scapular push ups can even be done single arm off the wall! This truly is an amazing move for ALL fitness levels!

The second home tool you can use to work your back is a doorway or stair rail to perform Doorway Rows, both single arm and two-arm!

With this move, your bodyweight will be your resistance. And you’ll feel not only your back and bicep but even your legs and core with this move.

It is a great way to work that full pulling movement. The key is not just pulling with your arms, but actually driving your elbows back.

You want to as feel your shoulder blades move toward your spine to engage you back to power the pull.

You can do this as both a single arm or two arm pull, but the single arm will often be more challenging.

You can also do this as an anti-rotational or rotational single arm row.

You can choose to fight any torso movement…

Or actually consciously include it, rotating toward the stair rail as you row in and opening up and toward the ground as you extend your arm out.

And to progress this move further, slow down the tempo of the pull, even pausing when you row in!

Just make sure you are truly feeling your back engage and not just pulling with your arm with this row!

The third tool I love to use when training at home is a towel.

Using a towel you can actually work your back in so many different ways – from rows to flies to even pull downs.

With using a towel, you can do self-resisted movements. This means you are creating tension through the towel to create resistance for the movement.

This can allow you to do single arm flies and rows, resisting the move by pulling with the other hand.

Or you can create tension by pulling out on the towel to do a bent over row or pulldown.

This pull out to create tension helps you better activate the muscles and you’ll feel them working as you perform the pull with a slow tempo. Just don’t let the towel lose tension!

Bonus, you can also get in that bicep isolation work, another muscle group that doesn’t get as much love at home, with a self resisted bicep curl.

And not only can towels be used to help perform a self-resisted movement, they can be used as sliders on the ground to help you work your back.

Side lying slides are great for your lats and a killer unilateral move that also hits your obliques.

Just make sure you’re really pulling the towel down to power the slide up with your lats over ONLY using your obliques.

And if slide lying slides are a bit too much to start, or you just want extra pull up type work, you can always use the towels to do lying w pulldowns too to work more on that vertical pull and scapular control and movement.

But no matter what, whether you have literally just your own bodyweight, a doorway, stair rail or hand towel, you can make sure you target this often overlooked area in your home workouts or when you travel!

There is always a way to get results training with what we have! Have fun being creative with tools you have around your home.

For amazing workouts you can do anywhere, check out my Dynamic Strength program!

10 Harsh Truths You Probably Need to Hear

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 22, 2024 | Blog, Mindset

Progress is never linear. Achieving results is hard even when it looks easy.

And the more we even oversell the negative and prepare for the setbacks and struggles, the easier it is ultimately to overcome the obstacles and keep going.

That’s why I want to share 10 sucky truths you need to own if you want to see better results faster.

1: Simple doesn’t mean easy.

Every time I post something about the fact that success is struggle or change is hard…

I get at least one comment of…

“No, it’s simple! Just do this!”

But that “simple” thing they say to do…

A. Isn’t easy for everyone.

B. Isn’t simple for everyone.

And C. Is it an oversimplification or not the habit someone else needs for results ultimately leading to others feeling like something is wrong with them because that isn’t easy for them to do…

Because what is “simple” boils down to us FINDING the change that meets us where we are at.

And it takes time to find that for some of us.

Not to mention…knowing isn’t doing.

And getting ourselves to DO the simple thing isn’t easy, especially if the simple thing is very different from what we’re doing now.

Instead we need to focus on not some ideal, not something “simple,” but instead something that seems so easy we could do it on our worst of worst days.

Focus on the smallest of small habit changes that meets you were you are at.

This isn’t sexy. But this is how results build!

2: The habit changes we need the most are the ones we fight against the hardest.

Think about how many habits you’re told to do that you immediately find reasons NOT to do.

And the later, when you’ve finally embraced the change you think…

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?!”

It’s because often those changes are far outside our comfort zone. And we simply don’t want to do them.

I see this all the time, especially when I tell people to increase protein or cut out cardio for fat loss…

They find all of the reasons why high protein isn’t good or cardio is essential.

We seek out reasons to validate our own desire not to act or make the uncomfortable change yet what we’re doing currently isn’t working.

This desire to find a reason NOT to do something should instead trigger us to know that this is EXACTLY the change we probably need to see a new and better result.

Instead of finding ways to reinforce what we don’t want to do, we need to assess WHY we’re pushing back against the changes so much.

We need to ask ourselves, “Why am I so resistant to taking this action?”

Then instead, we should research all the reasons WHY it would be good for us and break down the change to meet ourselves where we are at!

Often we can lower our defense against the change by taking action to build the habit that meets us where we are at and is closer to our comfort zone!

3: We stand in our own way.

It’s cliche but true – whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.

We tell ourselves things aren’t possible.

We tell ourselves we don’t have the willpower or self control.

We doom ourselves with doubt.

We don’t commit 100% to a change and ignore our own deviations and inconsistencies, letting ourselves off the hook.

We CHOOSE not to make a hard choice and take action, keeping going when it would be so easy to quit.

We are ultimately the one in control of our own success and our own failure.

We are the only ones that can prove what is truly possible by taking a risk and taking action to try to move forward.

We are the only ones that can act.

But that means we need to stop telling ourselves no and limiting ourselves and instead say…

“Hey, let’s do this and see what is possible!”

4: Success is failure.

The most successful people have often also failed the most.

This is what makes them successful.

They learned from those experiences as often our mistakes are the ones that teach us lessons that really stick with us.

Now don’t get me wrong…It sucks to make a mistake. To feel bad at something. To feel like you look stupid even.

But those things we deem as failures are really just learning experiences with a side of frustration.

Those experiences are often the most essential to our success.

Because we don’t succeed despite failures…we succeed because of them…

That is as long as we choose to learn from them.

So don’t run from the discomfort of learning and making mistakes. Embrace this as opportunity.

Make sure that every time something happens that didn’t go as planned you pause to reflect.

Because often that reflection is what truly teaches us and moves us forward, helping us even achieve more than we thought possible.

5: Nothing works forever.

We are constantly changing whether we realize it or not. Nothing in life is ever standing still.

Our goal is to recognize this and evolve to meet ourselves where we are at to control the direction of that change.

Yet too often we get complacent with things and cling to habits and routines that now don’t fit what we need to move forward.

Instead we need to embrace that nothing works forever and what helped us even reach one goal may be holding us back from the next.

The more we are open to change and don’t get so married to a tool or tactic it becomes a part of our identity, the more we allow ourselves to always grow and move forward!

6: Effort doesn’t equal outcome.

Effort relates to how a habit or change feels. Not to the actual magnitude of the change and how much it is moving us forward.

Like we could be tracking what we’re eating and feel like we’re doing so much to lose weight because it feels like a challenge to track while not actually having changed our food portions at all.

So while something feels hard, it doesn’t always mean we’re doing enough or truly making a change to achieve a goal.

Not to mention so often we do overwhelm ourselves in how we make changes in our attempt to see results faster.

We do so much we kill our motivation quickly and then all of the habits feel like too much. So we give up when results aren’t happening fast enough.

We need to be aware of all of this and how our feelings of effort can sabotage us.

This is why sometimes LESS IS MORE!

We need to assess what is actually realistic for us right now and what changes even feel EASY to make and start there.

Because the more you do, the more you do. And as you make changes you’ll feel more motivated to add on over feeling overwhelmed and like you want to do less!

And don’t be afraid to even REASSESS what feels doable at different times.

Sometimes LIFE can make what did feel good feel like too much effort.

And the more we own this to back off and take ownership of what matches what we need now, the more we actually keep moving forward!

7: Someone always has it easier.

Yup. The thing is…that doesn’t matter.

But I won’t tell you not to compare. Comparison is in our nature.

We just have to recognize when the comparison isn’t serving us and isn’t relevant.

Or if we find ourselves comparing, see the opportunity in learning all we can from what that person did.

But ultimately we have to put the blinders on and stay focused on just what WE need.

Like a race horse. Put the blinders on and RUN. Because no one else has an impact on the time YOU run the race in. Just on their own.

Focus on meeting yourself where you are at to move forward.

What matters for your success is your current situation, the goal you want and the actions that will take you from point to point B.

8: There’s no one best thing.

Not only is there no one best thing out there…no one magic move or magic food…

But searching for a single habit or tactic that will fix everything is often what holds us back from realizing how everything in our lifestyle needs to work together.

Because results are built off of systems not habits in isolation.

And one size doesn’t fit all!

It’s built off the boring basics done daily and creating a plan we can be consistent with.

Your diet has to match your workouts and both have to work together with your recovery and schedule if you want to create something that allows you to put in the work and build.

Because what worked for your friend, may not work for your lifestyle. 6 days a week of workouts may be fabulous, but not if you can realistically do 3.

There is no perfect plan, just the perfect plan for us.

So stop searching for a new best thing…some ah-ha magical epiphany.

Instead focus on small tweaks you can make to make everything fit a little bit better together!

Go back to those basics even and search for 1% improvements you can make over something new!

9: You have to think outside the gym. Outside your plate.

Simply put, your mindset matters most.

We want to take action. We search for new things to do and want to know WHAT to do and so often try to skip the WHY.

I even get that comment on videos often, “Just tell me what to do.”

But this quest for just WHAT to do keeps us stuck, never really making changes that are lasting.

Heck it even causes us to make changes that are ultimately a ton of wasted effort because they weren’t really what we needed…they were just “best” for someone else.

Instead we need to take a step back and look not only at our mindsets and beliefs about things, but even take a look at our lifestyles as a whole.

We need to own our priorities and lifestyle because, if we don’t, these things so often become our excuse.

They make changes to our diet or workouts harder.

Not to mention they make us ignore other things that are important to us and other areas of our lifestyle that may need changes and adjustments like our sleep or recovery.

So don’t get caught up in only looking at the actions you can take to adjust your diet and workouts if you want lasting results.

10: Do it anyway.

Yup. Do it anyway.

When you hit something you don’t want to do…

That day you really don’t want to do what you should…

Do it anyway.

Because those days are the days that matter most.

And you’ll feel so good for conquering that hard.

Those days are what create success and discipline.

Those days are what build your strength and confidence.

So on those days you really don’t want to, think, “I’ll just do one minute.”

That’s often all you need to get started and do even more.

Just remember, there is a cost to every reward.

There isn’t success without sacrifice.

But if we embrace these sucky truths and own them, we’re setting ourselves up to acheive better results faster and navigate the ups and downs along the way!

Build your leanest, strongest body at ANY age…and if you need that PUSHY trainer and straight shooter to help…

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4 Hamstring Exercises For A Powerful Lower Body

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 15, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness

When we get caught up in a single best move to work a muscle group, we miss out on the opportunity in all of the options out there.

Often we need different movements to work different areas or muscles in a muscle group.

So including a diversity of exercises over our weekly training schedule is key to help us see the best results as fast as possible.

Especially when it comes to muscle groups like our hamstrings that control movement at multiple joints like our hips and knees.

That’s why I want to share 4 moves to help you target all 3 hamstring muscles, working them with different positions and movements at your hips and knees.

But to truly value the different moves, and even include the ones we most need, it’s key we know a little bit more about our hamstrings first!

Your hamstrings are a group of 3 muscles on the back of your thigh that control movement at your hips and knees.

They extend, or straighten, your hips and flex, or bend, your knees.

Two of the hamstring muscles on the inner portion of the back of our thing can also turn our lower leg in, or internally rotate, when our knee is bent.

While the hamstring toward the outside back of our thigh can turn our lower leg out, or externally rotate, when the knee is slightly bent.

That hamstring toward the outside of our thigh, the bicep femoris, has two heads, a short and a long one.

This is also key to know as the long head can also turn our thigh out, or externally rotate, when our hip is straight.

While the short head can’t as it actually only controls and works to bend the knee.

These slightly different functions all mean that different moves can be more valuable to target different portions of our hamstrings.

It’s why considering our toe angle in moves can have an impact as well as the position of our hips and knees during the exercises.

It’s also why if you only do deadlifts with a straighter leg where you’re only moving at the hips you aren’t targeting your hamstrings fully since they also work hard to bend the knee!

This is truly why there is not just one best move!

And it’s why I want to share these 4 hamstring moves that cover both knee flexion and hip extension but also while performing these movements with different degrees of both included!

I’ll start with a common hamstring staple of any routine…

#1: The Romanian Deadlifts or RDLs

While there is some different terminology sometimes used when it comes to deadlifts with a straighter leg position, RDLS are commonly a top down version of a straighter leg deadlift.

You will focus on pushing your butt back with soft knees as you lower the bar down just below your shins to feel a big stretch on your hamstrings.

You will not bend your knees more to lower down further or touch the bar down.

You may also want a slight anterior pelvic tilt, or almost to act like you’re lifting your butt up as you lower to stretch your hamstrings and sit back further.
Then to stand up, you’ll really focus on pushing the ground away.

Keep the bar close to you as you lower and stand back up.

This focus on the lower down and hip hinge movement is what targets and works your hamstrings.

Just make sure you sit back and don’t round your back but keep your lats engaged to push the bar back into your body.

If you struggle with the barbell variation, dumbbells or even a kettlebell that you drop down between your feet can be great options.

You can also slightly tweak this deadlift to hit more of that bicep femoris long head by turning your toes out! Remember this aspect is worked by that turn out of the lower leg and thigh!

And you can always do a straighter leg deadlift variation as a single leg deadlift too if you don’t have weights to further progress this move.

The next amazing hamstring move focuses on working the hamstrings while the hips stay extended unlike the deadlift that works them through hip movement.

The Glute Bridge and Curl makes the hamstrings work by bending the knees instead to curl your heels in toward your butt.

The thing I love about this move too is it is so easy to use even when training at home.

And you can progress it through the use of different tools or even by making it a single leg over a two leg variation.

Sliders, stability balls, towels, suspension trainers are all great tools to use.

But I will warn you, this exercise is much harder than it seems.

You want to focus on engaging your glutes to bridge up and extend your hips as you brace your abs with a very slight tuck your hips up toward your ribs.

This is key to protect your lower back.

You will then extend your legs out from this bridged position fully without relaxing on the ground before using your hamstrings to curl your heels back in toward your butt.

That curl back in as you bend your knees while you keep your hips straight will have you feeling those hamstrings working.
Really focus on that pull back in with your hamstrings.

Just make sure your lower back doesn’t engage or hips don’t sag.

Because this move is deceptively hard, you may need to start with just sliding one leg out at a time and alternating sides or even holding the bridge as you work on just one side.

While the single leg variation with one leg raised can progress this movement and make it even harder, this single leg variation with stability can help you modify and build up!

The next exercise will also work the hamstrings through powering that knee bend but this time with your hips bent.

The Seated Hamstring Curl is an amazing exercise you can do with a band, machine or cable.

This seated position with the hip bent actually puts the hamstrings under more stretch.

And studies have shown that working the hamstrings while stretched can actually improve your muscle and strength gains for this muscle group.

Not to mention, the focus on knee flexion of both this move and the bridge and curl make sure you hit that short head of the bicep femoris which isn’t worked by the hip extension of the deadlift.

Make sure to sit so that you can extend your leg out in front of you with your hips bent then curl your heel in toward your butt while seated against the resistance.

You can even change your toe angle to target the different hamstring muscles slightly more or less. Turning your toe in will hit the two hamstrings on the inner portion of the back of your leg while turning your toe out will hit that outer hamstring muscle.

You may also find that flexing your foot makes you stronger with this movement to really focus on your hamstrings.

But don’t be afraid to still start light to really isolate that curl in with your hamstrings and perform a full range of motion,

And if you are at home you can even get away with a seated single leg towel curl which is just a bent hip variation in a way of the bridge and curl.

The 4th and final move I wanted to share goes back to targeting the hamstrings with a hip hinge but this time with your knees flexed unlike the deadlift.

This move is a variation of the Glute-Ham Raise that looks very simple but is oh so deceptively destructive.

It’s the Glute Ham Hip Hinge.

To do this move you will need someplace to sort of lock your heels under with your knees on padding. You’ll want to be able to really flex your feet as you lock your heels down.

If you have a partner they can hold your feet even.

You’ll set up kneeling and lean slightly forward to create that tension up your hamstrings.

Then keeping that position, you’ll simply hinge forward or bend at the hips.

This won’t be the biggest of movements but you’ll lean forward, about half way to parallel, just only bending at the hips.

Then use your hamstrings and your glutes slightly to come back up and extend at the hips.

You don’t want to sit back or change your knee bend. You want that slight lean forward to be maintained.

All the active movement comes from leaning forward then straightening your hips.

You’ll feel your hamstrings work isometrically with maintaining that hold and knee bend but also to power that move to come back up after leaning forward.

What seems like a very small move is incredibly hard without any weight.

And it’s even a great move to include for higher rep with very light or even no loads.

All 4 of these moves address different postures and positions to really hit all aspects of your hamstrings.

And even little variations in them, such as foot positioning, can help you truly adjust them to what youneed!

But use all 4 of these moves to target all aspects of your hamstrings and utilize both compound and isolation movements to really make sure you’re seeing those strength and muscle gains!

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