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The MOST Underrated Plank Exercise You’re Not Doing

The MOST Underrated Plank Exercise You’re Not Doing

by | Aug 3, 2025 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness

Planks are an amazing core stability move.

And you’re never above that fundamental basic front plank.

However, too often we just stick with one variation of an exercise instead of seeing the opportunity in the different options.

To progress and build on your plank and core work, it isn’t just about holding longer.

It’s about holding harder and even slight changes in your posture or position that can help you see better results faster.

That’s why I want to share how one tweak to your plank can not only improve your shoulder stability and health by strengthening your serratus anterior, but also target your abs and especially your lower abs even more…

And this one tweak can make your planks look kind of weird…It even feels kind of wrong…

It’s round your back.

Yup.

Rounding your back.

By rounding your back to perform a plange plank, you can activate your serratus anterior or those muscles around your rib cage as well as your lower abs even more.

The key to targeting these two areas is in how you round your back which is why I first want to go over form and then ways to modify and even kick the plange plank up a notch to be even more challenging!

First, how do you properly round your back with the plange plank?

Start by setting up in that basic forearm front plank.

From this position focus on pushing the ground away with your forearms to pull your shoulder blades forward and around your rib cage.

This engages your serratus anterior through the protraction of your shoulder blades, which is your shoulder blades moving away from your spine.

With rounding your mid back up toward the ceiling, your chin should slightly tuck vs straining to keep your head straight out.

As you round, think about not only tucking your ribs toward your hips, but even slightly tucking your pelvis up toward your ribs.

This posterior pelvic tilt with the round is what really engages those lower abs and even your glutes more.

Use that mind body connection to focus on what you feel working and pulling your ribs in and down toward your belly button as your pelvis is pulled up and in toward your belly button as well.

This is a great way to focus on that ab engagement as you hold.

Too often we just go through the motions with exercises, mimicking form.

Instead we want to focus on holding harder to create that shakeage and get everything working.

This mind-body connection to better recruit muscles efficiently is what helps us improve our stability and strength.

So don’t focus on holding this plank just for longer – focus on holding harder.

To modify this move and really focus on that rounding and serratus anterior and ab engagement, start off an incline.

While you can do this move from your hands and knees in a variation I call the vomiting cat, an incline is best to train that full plank position and engage everything from your shoulders to your feet.

If you need to do the modification off your knees, remember to focus on that big round up and ab engagement. I call it the vomiting cat because you want to draw in your abs as if coughing up a hairball.

This ab engagement makes this move different than the cat cow stretch you may be used to doing.

Focus on that push of the ground away to round up as you tuck your pelvis toward your ribs.

If you have a bench or can use even the edge of a couch, table or stair, you can perform the full plank variation but with less resistance on your upper body which can help.

Now if you’re feeling the plange plank and want to progress it further, there are two options I really love and both can also be modified off an incline to add diversity to your routine.

One is the Dolphin Plank and the other is the Extended Plange Plank.

The Dolphin Plank challenges your core with not only the round up to engage your serratus anterior and lower abs, but also works your abs to fight extension as you lower your hips toward the ground.

It challenges your core with movement and really works your core with both flexion but also to fight extension of your spine.

To do this variation, you’ll perform that plange plank but then lower down through a front plank to drop your hips toward the ground. Your abs will have to fight to protect your spine from extending as you dip.

Then your abs will work to bring your hips back up and as you round back up.

The Extended Plange Plank on the other hand will challenge your serratus anterior and lower abs more by extending out the length of your plank.

Walk your feet back so your elbows are out in front of your shoulders.

Your lower abs will work to really fight that spinal extension and maintain a slight posterior pelvic tilt with a longer lever.

And your serratus anterior will be challenged by not only the protraction but also elevation of your shoulder blades because of the placement of your elbows out in front of your shoulders.

Just be careful you don’t end up shrugging or overloading your shoulders. This does require more shoulder strength and stability to do.

Both of these moves can be modified off the incline.

So while they are progressions of the basic plange plank, they can also be adjusted to be used by any fitness level!

Too often we feel if we need to modify moves that we’re stuck with only certain variations BUT that incline can be a great tool to help us ultimately regress to progress all the different planking postures.

Do not write off a move just because you can’t do the full variation yet!

And see opportunity in slight changes to your postures and positions with fundamental moves to tailor them to match your needs and goals.

Do you like the plange plank? Which variation will you try next?

For fun moves and workouts you can do anywhere, check out my Dynamic Strength program.

–> LEARN MORE

How to Build Muscle Faster WITHOUT Weights (10 TIPS)

How to Build Muscle Faster WITHOUT Weights (10 TIPS)

by | Jul 27, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

Want to build muscle?

Create progression in your workouts.

Note, I didn’t say “add weight.”

Because while weights are an amazing, and EASY, way to create progression in your training to optimize muscle growth, you can still build muscle without having access to them.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

So you’re not doomed if you’re training from home or with limited equipment.

But you do have to get created and design your workouts with purpose and strategy.

That’s why I want to share 10 tips to adjust those training variables to help you see muscle gains even when weights aren’t an option.

You won’t use all of these in every workout, but there is opportunity in the options.

Tip #1: Vary exercise postures and positions.

If a move is starting to feel too easy, you can make slight adjustments to that movement pattern to create progression and even target different muscle groups to different extents.

Take the basic push up.

You can place your feet up on a couch to make them more challenging and even target your upper pecs more.

You can lift one foot to make them more core intensive.

You can bring your hands closer in to a narrow grip to challenge your triceps even more.

You can do a pike push up over a standard to create a killer shoulder and arm variation.

All of these changes in your exact positioning and posture with the basic push up can help you progress the move and challenge your chest, shoulders and triceps in new ways.

Another way to change your posture is Tip #2: Make moves unilateral.

A unilateral move is a move done on one side or a single arm or leg exercise.

Think single leg squat or airborne lunge. Or even the tricep push up.
When you are only able to use one arm or leg, you’re basically adding weight without having any weights as that one limb is now carrying your entire bodyweight!

Unilateral moves also create more instability which can make moves harder as well.

And even if you can’t yet do a fully unilateral move, you can progress an exercise through an 80/20 variation.

You can do a stagger stance squat to build up to that single leg squat.

Or you can do an 80/20 glute bridge instead of the full single leg glute bridge.

All of these start to shift the weight to one side and not only make moves harder but also help you correct imbalances.

Tip #3: Change the range of motion of an exercise.

Increasing the range of motion of an exercise makes it more challenging while also improving your mobility.

An example of this is going from the basic split squat to the balance lunge.

By placing your back foot up on something, you create more instability but also a bigger range of motion you have to work through, challenging your legs more.

But you can also shrink the range of motion to keep muscles under constant tension.

Instead of that split squat becoming a balance lunge, you could do split squat pulses.

You’ll keep those legs muscles under constant tension without a break to challenge them.

Both can be used to your advantage and you may even find use both variations in a workout even back to back!

Which leads me to tip #4: Don’t be afraid to work the same muscle with multiple exercises in a row.

When you combine multiple moves for the same muscle back to back, you can help yourself work a muscle closer to fatigue and recruit more muscle fibers to drive that amazing muscle growth.

This is different than just doing more reps of the same move because you can use different types of exercises or even different training variables to target the muscle group in different ways and even isolate it.

It’s why I mentioned using multiple ranges of motion back to back. You may do split squats then pulses or even pulses then the full balance lunge.

That uses the change in range of motion to even further isolate a muscle group and work it to fatigue.

But you can also work an area back to back with completely different moves.

You may do a balance lunge and combine it with a single leg squat or front lunge to further target those quads.

But you also don’t have to do another compound move. You could use an isolation exercise.

Tip #5: Don’t forget about isolation moves.

Working a muscle with back to back moves, and honing in on a specific muscle with a more isolated movement, can be a great way to really push to failure and see those amazing muscle gains.

This can be especially key with a stubborn muscle group you want to grow.

Instead of a squat with that balance lunge, you could do the balance lunge and a lean back.

But you can use those isolation exercises to target a muscle that may not be fully fatigued during a compound exercise.

And you can vary when you include the isolation move doing it BEFORE the compound exercise for a bit of pre-fatigue to go into the move tired so you max out with fewer reps or an easier variation.

Or you could do it after as post-exhaust technique, to work it when already tired from the compound move.

Both can be beneficial and used based on how challenging you find the compound move you’re including!

And all of these moves you’re using, both the isolation and compound exercise can be done at different tempos, even using holds!

Tip #6: Change exercise tempo.

Not only can you speed a move up or slow it down, but you can do both through different portions of the movement and even include holds.

You could do a push up, lowering down slowly. Hold at the bottom for a count. Then push back up quickly.

Or you can choose to just emphasize one tempo or one portion of a move.

You can even include the same move done at different tempos back to back to combine it with tip #4 and work a muscle group with back to back moves.

For instance to work your legs with squats, you could start with a wall sit, then do slow 5 count eccentric squats after.

You could even throw in tip #3 and follow the slow eccentric squats with pulse squats.

But realize that the pace at which you do moves can have an impact and we don’t want to just rush through!

One of my favorite ways to perform the wall sit series I just mentioned too actually implements Tip #7: Used timed sets to increase training density.

This tip also helps you implement tip #8, use volume to your advantage

You will find when you’re training with more bodyweight based movements, more reps and sets are needed to challenge you even as you implement these other training techniques.

Own this and focus on increasing your volume, the reps and sets you do, in your training. This doesn’t mean you want to keep just adding more, but it does mean to not fear higher rep ranges.

And it’s a great reason to even use some time sets and circuits.

This can help you pack in more work but without just adding more time to your workouts.

You will also find you push past failure with moves when focusing on working for a set amount of time over just completing within a rep range listed.

With timed circuits and sets, you want to even pick a variation of a move you have to PAUSE during the interval of work to complete.

And you can increase training density for an area by doing intervals of work back to back that work the same muscle group.

This is where you could do that wall sit series I mentioned with the eccentric squats and pulses for intervals of work back to back.

Density interval workout designs like that with back to back intervals of work for the same muscle group can really help you work a muscle to fatigue and force you to do more reps than you would have if you just had a rep range to hit.

Part of working a muscle group with more volume over the week isn’t just about doing more in a single session either. It’s also about working a muscle more frequently over the week.

Tip #9: Increase weekly training frequency.

With more bodyweight based training, you can increase the volume of work you do for a muscle by doing more frequent training sessions.

Work a muscle group 3-4 times a week even to create that challenge.

Without weights, you may find your recovery time between sessions doesn’t need to be as long allowing you to get in more volume with more frequent sessions for the same area!

This can also help you be very efficient in your workouts and use a great diversity of movement types and training techniques for the same area since you have more sessions to use!

Tip #10: Get creative with equipment!

Too often we write off other tools besides weights to create progressions. But bands, sliders, suspension trainers are all amazing ways to progress moves.

They even work to challenge muscles at different points than weights do.

Like bands can create more resistance when a muscle is strongest because resistance increases as stretched over a move like the bicep curl.

They can even really make you fight to control the eccentric and slow down the tempo of that portion of the lift.

And you can even make use of certain things you have around the house to create instability or add resistance or a new challenge.

Towels for instance can reduce traction and allow you to challenge your inner thighs more with a side lunge or kneeling adduction.

But have some fun thinking of other ways to create a challenge in new way.

All 10 of these training techniques are opportunity and options. You may use all of them over the course of your week in different ways or even just a few. But they can all help you create that challenge to build amazing strength and muscle!

Want amazing workouts you can do anywhere? Check out my Dynamic Strength Program…

–> LEARN MORE

How To Increase Metabolism At Any Age (7 Tips)

How To Increase Metabolism At Any Age (7 Tips)

by | Jul 20, 2025 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

Your metabolism does slow down as you get older.

But age is NOT an excuse to just accept metabolic decline and weight gain.

Because your metabolism adapts – it doesn’t just break.

And you can increase your metabolic rate and improve your metabolic health at any and every age.

However, too often our lifestyles, training and dieting practices do the opposite.

To try to see better weight loss and fat loss results faster, we implement training and dieting practices that actually sabotage our metabolic health and backfire.

That’s why I wanted to share 7 tips to help you increase your metabolic rate and fuel and train to become leaner and stronger as you get older!

Because we can feel our most fabulous till our final day on this planet and that starts with us focusing on strength training!

Yup, tip number one is to focus on lifting or strength building in some form – even with your own bodyweight.

We want to put our focus on building muscle with our workouts.

This is a tip you’ve heard before but something we so often still don’t prioritize enough. And if you’re wondering where cardio fits in, don’t worry, I’ll touch on that too.

But muscle increases our metabolic rate as it requires more calories to be maintained.

It also often upregulates other bodily processes which require more energy to be used as well.

This means our body burns more calories at rest, which is an increase in our metabolism.

Not to mention muscle allows us to be more active overall while improving our overall health.

The better our body functions, the better our body functions!

So focus your workouts not just on getting out of breath and being cardio or even on how many calories you can burn in a single hour…

Focus on pushing that progression in movements to challenge your muscles to grow!

This will not only increase your metabolism but help you PREVENT adaptations in the fat loss process to make maintaining your results easier too!

Tip #2: Prioritize gut health.

Just like you want to give a car quality and take care of the engine so it runs well, you want to give your gut the fuel it needs to be healthy.

This helps your metabolism function optimally and can improve your body composition.

So take care of your gut by focusing not only on fiber but also prebiotics and probiotics.

Probiotics and prebiotics help improve lipid metabolism and studies have shown that people with a greater variety of gut bacteria have a lower risk of belly fat as well!

And while I mentioned strength work being key, we can’t ignore the importance of cardio.

But we do have to recognize which forms of cardio are right for our needs and goals.

When it comes to metabolic health we want to go fast AND slow!

That’s why tip #3: is to Walk AND Sprint.

So often I get asked, what’s the best cardio for fat loss and metabolic health. And honestly, it’s using both ends of that cardio continuum to some extent.

Walking is probably hands down the most underutilized tool for overall health and fat loss. It truly helps us maintain hormonal balance, keeps your metabolism healthy and is a great fat burning activity.

And on the other side of the cardio continuum, sprinting, or SIT protocols, has been shown to decrease fat mass, increase muscle mass, and even aerobic capacity. Sprints have been shown to help with a reduction specifically in abdominal/visceral fat.

So shoot for 8,000-10,000 steps a day and include sprints 2-3 times a week. Even just 5 minutes of sprint work can have a huge impact!

To complement your training and to make sure your hard work in the gym does pay off with fat loss without sacrificing your muscle, you also want to focus on the dietary change most of us struggle to make to start…

Increasing protein. Yes tip #4: is Protein. Protein and oh yea…protein.

Protein, those amino acids, are the building blocks of muscle.

And as we get older, we struggle more to build and retain lean muscle, which is why we can see our metabolism slow down.

We also don’t utilize protein as efficiently, with some research showing nearly a 40% reduction in the efficiency of muscle protein synthesis with age-related anabolic resistance.

This is why increasing our protein, especially as we get older is key.

Not to mention, protein can help us feel fuller in a calorie deficit to lose fat while protecting our muscle and even helps us burn more calories at rest because it uses more energy to be digested.

This higher thermic effect, the increased energy expenditure to digest protein, naturally raises our metabolism.

So really it’s a win win and also why a high protein diet has been shown to be so great for losing fat while even GAINING muscle in the process.

As much as we often focus most on our diet and workouts for fat loss and metabolic health, we can’t ignore all of the other lifestyle factors that contribute – like sleep.

Tip #5: Is focus on sleep QUALITY.

Notice I said QUALITY not just QUANTITY.

Because so often we aren’t optimizing the sleep we’re already getting to be as restorative as possible and instead try to pressure ourselves to try to get more which can feel impossible when we’re busy.

And when we aren’t getting quality sleep, we can see hormonal shifts that negatively impact our metabolism not to mention end up craving foods we shouldn’t.

Those cravings can lead to us overeating and sabotaging your fat loss goals.

So first, focus on getting quality sleep from the second your head hits the pillow till you wake up.

Now you may be thinking, great but HOW?

And while strength work and building muscle can actually improve our sleep quality, our diet plays a huge part.

When we are trying to see better fat loss results faster, we often create big calorie deficits and even opt for low carb as it can lead to quick drops on the scale.

But too big a deficit and dropping carbs too low when we are active may be exactly why you’re not sleeping well and even why you’re constantly waking up at 3-4 am.

So if you note those issues, tweaking your macros may be key!

Increasing protein may help as you will also get more tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid that can improve sleep quality.

Also, pay attention to those micros like magnesium.

Taking it 30 minutes before bed can help calm your nervous system, relax muscles, and regulate melatonin and cortisol levels to improve your sleep quality.

Micros in general can be key to track and adjust for overall metabolic health outside of just improving our sleep, which is why tip #6: is to Optimize those micros.

It isn’t always just about “getting enough” or “eating clean” either.

Sometimes we have little nutritional gaps or imbalances that mean getting MORE of a specific micro, especially based on our activity level and age.

And if you are in a calorie deficit for fat loss, this can make it even more key to not ignore your micronutrient balance.

To improve your metabolic health, prioritizing and optimizing our intake of specific vitamins and minerals like Vitamin B complex or Zinc may be helpful.

B vitamins play a crucial role in energy metabolism by helping convert food into energy, including those involved in the metabolism of glucose.

A deficiency in B vitamins can lead to fatigue and a decrease in overall metabolic efficiency.

Zinc has been suggested to play a role in insulin signaling and insulin sensitivity and is a powerful antioxidant which can help reduce levels of inflammation and protect metabolic processes.

Improved insulin sensitivity can contribute to better glucose utilization and overall metabolic health.

Vitamin D is a 3rd micro to pay attention to as well.

People with high levels of vitamin D have been shown to have a lower risk of developing belly fat.

Vitamin D may prevent new fat cells from forming and increase levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that’s associated with regulating appetite.

Higher levels of vitamin D also help maintain and increase testosterone in the body which promotes muscle mass growth and retention.

Testosterone speeds up the rate of metabolism in muscle cells, which is what can also improve our metabolic health so we burn fat as we build muscle.

With all of this though, there is no magic pill. No fat burning metabolism magic supplement you can take that will fix everything.

It’s all about creating those healthy lifestyle habits and addressing your nutritional needs.

That’s why my final tip is to Stop searching for a quick fix.

Fat burners. More cardio. Caffeine to keep us going. Bigger calorie deficits.

These things can seem like a good idea at the time and yield some short term results. But they are also what ultimately backfire and sabotage us.

We end up seeing our metabolism slow down more and more over the years as those quick fix practices add up.

Break the cycle.

Focus on these first 6 tips to make true and lasting changes that will help your body function optimally. They’re not sexy. Some are super basic.

But they’re key.

When we give our body what it needs, it will heal and adapt to the amazing new training and fueling practices and we’ll see our body composition improve!

Ready to kickstart your results with a custom plan and guidance?

Learn more about my 1:1 Coaching.

MINI CUTS – The Smartest Way To Lose Fat Quickly

MINI CUTS – The Smartest Way To Lose Fat Quickly

by | Jul 13, 2025 | Blog, Diet

Want to look leaner and always feel fabulous for that big event or vacation?

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

And it’s not a cleanse or detox. It’s not a magic pill…

The secret is MINI CUTS.

In this video I’m going to explain what mini cuts are, why and when to use them and how to design your own.

Because they are the perfect way to kickstart your fat loss progress when you’ve hit a plateau or even when you want your muscle definition extra on point to feel your most fabulous.

Now a word of warning…

Mini cuts are NOT sustainable.

They’re not easy or fun.

They’re not the time you include the foods you love or strike a lifestyle balance.

They’re intensive and restrictive with a purpose.

You’re going to feel hungry. You’re going to feel a bit fatigued.

They aren’t meant to be done long term but as that quick fat loss phase that really pushes you to that next level of body recomp.

And they’re done for 1-2 weeks, 3-4 max.

While they can be amazing for that fast progress, doing them longer than a month will sabotage your success and backfire.

Their magic is in their short duration.

But if you need to see that quick progress on the scale for motivation…

Want to strike a balance around vacation and even to feel extra fabulous in your swim suit…

Or want to lose a bit of fluff you’ve put on after focusing on a muscle building phase for a bit…

Mini cuts are the perfect way to strike a balance.

And before I go into how to do one I want to touch on WHEN to use them.

I do NOT recommend using a mini cut if you’ve already been in a calorie deficit especially for an extended period of time.

Slashing your calories lower when you’ve already been in a deficit can lead to metabolic adaptations.

If you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a few months, consider a diet break BEFORE using a mini cut.

This is also why mini cuts can be great even after a vacation when you may have been eating more at maintenance and with more relaxed macros.

This is also why mini cuts are great during a maintenance or muscle building phase for that little extra shred to stay leaner overall.

But ideally you are using a mini cut after eating at maintenance at least for 1-2 weeks.

And you will even want to build BACK to maintenance after a mini cut for a couple of weeks before returning to your regular calorie deficit.

Now how do you determine what calories and macros to use for a mini cut?

You are going to use an “extreme” deficit and intensive, high protein macro ratios for 7-14 days ideally, but you can use them 21-30 days max. Just note that longer isn’t always better.

For this short timeframe, you want to push your calorie deficit without going past the point of diminishing returns.

That means you want to consider cutting 300-500 off your maintenance calorie level.

If you aren’t fully sure where maintenance is for you and you have more weight to lose, multiply your goal bodyweight by 10.

If you are leaner already and extremely active, this may be more like 11-12 x current bodyweight.

You will then want to cycle macros every week, using 2 ratios over your 2 weeks.

While these ratios may vary slightly based on your activity level and needs, you want to use ratios that are about 45-50% protein.

Two common ones I use are:
45% protein, 25% carbs, 30% fat
50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat

This keeps protein extremely high but helps avoid any hormonal issues during this quick sprint by cycling fat and carbs slightly up and down.

These ratios are extreme. It’s part of why you are NOT using this long term.

Carbs and fat are not evil but for fast body recomp, keeping protein this high while pushing the calorie deficit works magic.

Preserve lean muscle as you lose fat.

It’s a huge win but NOT a fun diet to do.

So pick one ratio after setting your calories to start with and use that for 7 days. Then switch to the other for the second week.

You may notice a huge drop not until the end of the mini cut or even once you actually finish it and start bumping calories back up.

To return to higher calories, add 100 calories to your daily total and increase each week as you cycle your protein down to 30-40%.

Now a few more tips to make this work so you go in 100% prepared for the challenges and see the results you want from this quick fat loss protocol…

#1: You have to be precise.

You can’t allow for 1% deviations. You can’t excuse fluctuations day to day.

You want to be within 5 grams of your macro numbers DAILY and no more than 50 calories plus or minus.

This precision is key.

It may be a good time to really meal prep, keep prep simple and NOT plan in meals out.

Precision really is key.

Again, this is NOT a time to focus on sustainability or balance. It is a time to go all in so you can then go back to more of a fat loss lifestyle balance after or even return to maintenance.

#2: Plan ahead.

These ratios aren’t easy. Precision is key. And you’re going to be hungry.

So you need to plan ahead to help yourself navigate the challenges.

Plan more carbs around your workouts and even if you usually train fasted, consider a small snack prior so you aren’t starving after.

This also helps you protect your lean muscle during this quick protocol.

But plan ahead to make sure you’re getting a balance and not getting to the point of being so hungry you cave and overeat.

#3: Be boring and focus on high volume meals.

While you may love diversity in your meals, now is probably not the time to make meal prep more complicated. It only makes things more challenging.

And studies have even shown that reducing food diversity during a fat loss phase can help cut back on cravings.

You don’t necessarily want more of the boring foods you have to eat. While adding in more diversity can make you want more of…well different things.

So consider simplifying meal prep and really focus on those low calorie foods that fill your plate and make you feel fuller.

Lots of veggies, low carb fruits like berries, lean proteins and such are key. The more bites you get, the more you’ll find you stay satisfied while in this intensive deficit!

#4: Don’t do this if you aren’t ready to track macros meticulously.

If you’re not a macros math person already, don’t force yourself to start with one of the hardest macro protocols out there.

This mini cut works best if you are super comfortable adjusting and hitting macros meticulously and not going to be frustrated figuring out what fits.

These ratios are HARD. They don’t allow for a ton of fun foods or flexibility.

And precision is key.

So if you aren’t an advanced macro tracker, this may not be the place you start.

Don’t set yourself up for failure trying to force something not realistic for your lifestyle…yet.

If you’re looking to take your results to that next level, or simply want to feel extra fabulous for a big event, consider implementing this advanced macros technique.

It’s a great way to strike balance over your year especially around times you may be more lax to avoid falling back into the yo-yo dieting cycle!

Not everything we do is meant to be a lifestyle but through adjusting as we go we can overall create an amazing balance!

Want a plan to help you rock a 14-Day Mini Cut? Check out this amazing special on my Mini Cut Challenge!

–> LEARN MORE

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

The Perfect Mobility Routine (FULL BODY FIX!)

by | Jul 6, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Stretches, Workouts

Feel like it would take you hours to address ALL of the little aches and pains you have?

Like your age is just making you creakier and creakier?

This doesn’t have to be the case!

I want to share how you can use the 3-step prehab process to address aches and pains up and down your body and improve your mobility by targeting just 3 main key areas with 9 exercises.

These 9 moves include all 3 parts of the prehab process – foam rolling, stretching and activation – to have you feel like a well oiled machine.

And the best part?

They can be combined into a routine you use almost daily that takes just about 10 minutes!

Before I dive into the moves, I want to explain why the full prehab process is so key so you understand the benefits of combining these 9 moves in this specific order – foam rolling, stretching then activation.

And because this makes for even a perfect full body warm up, I’ve focused the stretches on dynamic stretches (ones with movement) over static stretches (where you just hold) to help make sure you improve your flexibility without any impact to your performance.

But you first want to foam roll to relax overactive or tight muscles. Foam rolling is like a massage and helps release knots and relax muscles so you can better engage weak or under active muscles and properly mobilize joints while stretching muscles.

This first part is key to getting everything to work better together.

Then you stretch to improve muscle flexibility but also joint mobility.

With stretching, you want to focus on the muscle driving the stretch, not just what is stretching. This helps you not only better stretch the muscle but begins the activation process – engaging muscles that are weak or often don’t want to work when they should.

Then with activation, you are continuing to mobilize but also stabilize joints. You’re strengthening weak muscles and almost “waking them up” to help them be primed to work during your workouts and more compound exercises and heavier lifts.

This process addresses all key components to injury prevention – mobility, flexibility AND stability.

And bonus, it not only helps you avoid injury, but helps you see better strength and muscle gains for improved body recomp from your workouts!

So now, let’s dive into the 3 areas you’ll want to target, including your:

  • Shoulder blades
  • Hips
  • Feet and ankles

I focus on these 3 areas because if we address immobility or weakness in those places, you’ll be amazed at how even that knee or elbow pain lessens.

Everything is connected and that often where the pain is, isn’t where the initial problem started!

So let’s start with foam rolling, stretching and activation for your shoulder blades to improve scapular mobility and stability.

#1: Scapular Mobility And Stability

Have you ever had neck, shoulder or upper back aches and pains? Even elbow pain?

Addressing the movement of your shoulder blades may be the key to alleviating these aches and pains.

Too often we only focus on our shoulder mobility and forget how much the shoulders and shoulder blades really work together to power movements.

From pulling exercises to even pressing movements, we need to have proper scapular control if we want to use the correct muscles to power the exercises and prevent overload of smaller muscles like our rotator cuff.

To improve your scapular mobility and control, try including these 3 moves before your upper body workouts. It will help improve your pressing as well as your pulling!

The first move you want to include in that prehab or warm up process is Lat Foam Rolling.

While the lat more indirectly impacts your scapular movement, it can really contribute to that rounded shoulder posture, causing aches and pains.

Not so fun fun fact it can even create issues into your lower body because of its connection to your glutes through the thoracolumbar fascia.

And this muscle can often become tight, leading to us not efficiently engaging our backs.

To roll out your lats, a roller works best. Lie on your side with the roller at the side of your back behind your armpit. Reach your hand overhead with your palm facing up to stretch your lat as you roll.

Hold on any tight spots as you work your way down the side of your back, rocking back more as you go lower on your ribs.

Reach your arm overhead then lower it down in front of your chest as you hold on any tight spots you find.

The second move you want to include is a stretch to open up your chest as well as even mobilize your shoulders and shoulder blades – the Suspension Trainer Snow Angels.

Find yourself hunching forward a ton when sitting?

A tight pec minor contributes to anterior tipping of the shoulder blade while a tight pec major can contribute to that internal shoulder rotation – exactly that bad posture we want to reverse.

That’s why this stretch, especially before any overhead pressing, is key.

To do the snow angels, hold a handle in each hand, facing away from the anchor point and walk out so the suspension trainer is pulling back slightly on your arms as they are straight down by your sides.

Engage your upper back and feel your chest open up and stretch as you swing your arms out straight and open overhead from your sides.

By focusing on engaging your back to drive your chest open, you make sure you actually stretch your pecs instead of just seeking out more range of motion from your shoulders.

Feel your shoulder blades move as you raise your arms overhead and then lower them back down to your sides.

The third move you will want to include is an activation exercise – the Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions.

The serratus anterior is a muscle too often ignored and overlooked but it’s been linked to neck, shoulder and even upper back aches and pains as it is a primary scapular stabilizer.

So this activation move is key to create that strength and stability.

To do the serratus anterior extensions, place a roller under your wrists with your palms facing in toward each other at about eye height against a wall.
Walk your feet back so you’re angled into the wall and resting a bit of your weight against the roller just to be able to push into it as you extend up.

Brace your abs and roll your arms up, thinking about pulling your shoulder blades “out and around” forward on your rib cage as you slide up.

Then slide back down, pulling with your back. You want to focus on feeling around your rib cage as you reach out and your back as you pull back down.

Because everything is connected, you may be surprised by how using these 3 moves can even improve your spinal health and have an impact at your hips and pelvis.

But if you do have lower back, hip or knee pain, or have struggles with tight hips in general and hamstring strains, you’ll also want to address these 3 prehab moves to improve your hip mobility and stability next.

#2: Hip Mobility And Stability

Many of us have heard we’re spending too much time seated leading to hip flexor tightness. And this hip flexor tightness can create compensations and imbalances that lead to our lower back hurting during deadlifts or our knees hurting during lunging.

It’s why we want to use these 3 moves to relax those hip flexors, mobilize our hips and spine and even activate our glutes so they’re working properly when they should be.

This starts with relaxing a hip flexor and quad muscle, the rectus femoris, that can perpetuate lower back, hip and knee pain.

It is the only quad muscle that impacts joint movement at both the knee and the hip.

To roll out your Rectus Femoris, you can use a roller or ball. The smaller and harder the trigger point tool, the more it will dig in.

Find the middle of your thigh about half way down and lie over the foam roller or ball. As you hold, flex and relax your thigh to help the muscle relax and release.

You can move up higher or lower on the front middle of your thigh to find any tight spots and hold.

The second move to include is one that addresses not only your hips but also your spine. It’s a stretch that really has that far reaching impact and great when your short on time – the World’s Greatest Stretch.

This dynamic stretch will warm your body up and prepare everything to work, working on thoracic rotation while stretching your glutes, hip flexors, adductors and hamstrings.

To do this stretch, start in a high plank position with your hands then step one foot up and outside the hand on the same side. Squeeze your back glute to stretch that hip flexor.

Drop your elbow on that side down to the ground near the instep of your foot. Do not worry if you can’t touch the ground. Focus on not rocking out on your foot just to touch to make sure you’re really stretching your glute and adductor.

Reach that arm up toward the ceiling, opening your chest up toward that front leg and the ceiling. Focus on your back opening your chest up as you rotate.

Place your hand back down then drop your back knee to the ground to sit back on your heel, straightening your front leg out. Feel a stretch down your hamstring as you hinge, leaning over that front leg while pushing your butt back.

Then repeat the movement.

With this stretch, and all of the others I mention, focus on what is driving the stretch, not just on the muscle stretching.

This focus on what you feel working is also key as you do glute activation moves like exercise number 3 – the Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise.

You can do this move with bodyweight or progress it with a band.

Lie on your side a few inches from the wall with your back to the wall.

Lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground. Drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

Slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg, feeling your glute working to push back and lift.

And last but not least, you want to address your feet and ankles. They are your foundation. Instability or immobility there can lead to changes in your movements up your entire body.

#3: Feet And Ankle Mobility And Stability

Far too many of us have also had ankle or foot aches and pains that we simply rested then went right back to what we were doing, never addressing the underlying culprit. This may be why we now have knee, hip or even lower back problems.

So taking care of our foundation is key with these prehab moves.

And one often overlooked muscle group of our lower leg are the peroneals, which is why peroneal foam rolling is so key!

Peroneal tightness can lead to what looks like a leg length discrepancy or even a weight shift during squatting. This muscle has a far reaching impact so it can’t be ignored in our prehab.

To roll it, place a ball on the ground and relax your lower leg onto the ball, pressing the outside of your lower leg down into the ball and hold as you even circle your foot.

You want to focus on the side of the meaty part of your calf, holding as you push down and tense and relax the muscle with the foot movement.

The second move to include, the Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch, improves both the mobility of your ankles but also your hips, activating your glutes and stretching your adductors.

It is a great stretch if you’re struggling with knee pain or find you can’t squat down low.

To do this stretch, set up half kneeling and open your front knee out to the side so your foot and leg is perpendicular to your back kneeling leg.

Bring that front foot back so it is turned out but in line with your back knee and move that foot out so your knee is behind your ankle. Engage your glute then shift your weight, rocking that knee forward over the ball of your foot without your heel coming up.

Don’t lean forward as you rock forward or back. Adjust how far out that foot is from your back knee, shifting it closer for more of a focus on ankle mobility or further out to stretch your groin more.

Then the third activation move will help you strengthen through the range of motion while addressing the too often ignored soleus calf muscle.

By using a plate weight for the Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, you are working this muscle through an extended range of motion.

The seated position helps you target the soleus over the gastrocnemius which we so often focus on with our calf raises.

Strengthening this muscle improves our gait mechanics which can help us walk and run more efficiently without pain!

To do Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises, sit on a bench with the plate weight on the ground in front of you and the balls of your feet on the edge of it.
Your heels should be on the ground aligned about under your knees so you feel a slight stretch in your calves.

Drive through the balls of your feet and toes to lift your heels up off the ground.

Pause at the top to feel your calves then make sure to lower all the way back down to use the increased range of motion.

Combine all 9 of these moves for a quick full body prehab routine.

Setting a timer for 30 seconds per move or per side and completing all foam rolling then stretching then activation can make for an amazing mobility series or warm up.

For this quick prehab routine written out, check the video descriptions.

But a little goes a long way when done consistently! Consider using this routine even 3-4 times a week! It takes under 10 minutes!
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Prehab Routine:

FOAM ROLLING:
30 seconds per side Lat Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Peroneal Foam Rolling

STRETCHING:
30 seconds Suspension Trainer Snow Angels
30 seconds per side Ankle Mobility And Groin Stretch
30 seconds per side World’s Greatest Stretch

ACTIVATION:
30 seconds Roller Serratus Anterior Extensions
30 seconds Seated Plate Weight Calf Raises
30 seconds per side Side Lying Wall Lateral Raise

For mobility work included with EVERY workout, check out my Dynamic Strength program:

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Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

Lose Fat + Keep Muscle (5 Training Tips That WORK)

by | Jun 29, 2025 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

To look your leanest, you want to lose fat while not losing muscle.

Heck if you can even gain a bit of muscle in the fat loss process, even better.

And while this is hard to do, and diet is 100% key, too often the way we design our workouts actually sabotages our fat loss results.

We turn to cardio over strength, favoring the calorie burn.

And that deficit we create from doing more cardio while eating less can yield some fast immediate scale changes.

It is also what leads to us ultimately hitting a plateau, even feeling like we look softer and deciding all the hard work isn’t worth it as we become burned out and restricted and hungry.

Then the scale rebounds and we gain even more fat as the habits we were trying to implement just weren’t sustainable and our body adapts to the amount of cardio we were doing because we couldn’t keep trying to add on more to progress it.

That’s why I wanted to share 5 tips to help you accelerate your fat loss results while preserving your lean muscle mass to help yourself avoid metabolic adaptations and see lasting recomp.

And that starts with prioritizing strength work over cardio.

But then it isn’t enough to just focus on strength work, you want to be strategic and intentional which is why these 5 tips can help.

Because how you design your strength workouts when in a fat loss phase is different than during a muscle building phase.

While at both times you want your workouts focused on maintaining and building muscle, your fueling and therefore energy levels may be different making different training techniques even more beneficial.

It’s why my first tip is especially key to help you push that progression while in a calorie deficit…

#1: Use Rest-Pause Training Technique

To build muscle, you need to challenge yourself to progress and push in each workout. But sometimes we can’t just do a harder variation or more reps or more weight of an exercise.

Especially when we are in a calorie deficit, we can feel a bit depleted and like we aren’t as strong.

That’s where this rest-pause technique can help. It can help us use heavier weights or do a few more reps by implementing a short rest period or PAUSE in a single set.

Basically, where you feel like you’d have to stop, pause for 15-30 seconds and then complete more reps with the same weight and move.

You can then end up moving more weight in your workout while maintaining heavier loads and more advanced exercise variations for more volume.

An example of this could be a lunge. If you can only do 8 reps with the weights you’re using, and you’ve even been stuck at this amount for a bit, you may do your 8 reps. Pause for the 15-30 seconds.

Then do 2-4 more based on what you can do before fully resting.

This way you get out 12 reps with a weight and lunge variation you could only really do 8 reps with.

It helps you push that progression when stuck and even focus on maintaining quality reps instead of getting sloppy just to try to do more.

Then next don’t only focus on progressing moves through adding weight or reps. But also Vary Your Exercise Range Of Motion.

Increasing the range of motion you’re working through can help you improve your mobility and strength.

It can help you even load a muscle under more stretch to see better muscle gains faster.

But you don’t have to just increase the range of motion to load a muscle under stretch or drive growth.

Sometimes you also want to shrink the range of motion and do partial reps or pulses.

This can keep the muscle under tension for longer and even keep you just working the muscle while under stretch.

An example of this may be something like pulse RDLS.

With this move you’re keeping the hamstrings stretched and working in a smaller range of motion.

Combining this even later in a workout after a full range of motion RDL may be just what you need to really work your hamstrings to fatigue.

On the flip side of this, you may do a full range of motion or even extended range of motion abduction exercise to then include pulses at the end range of motion after.

Combining different ranges of motion can help you really fully work muscles while creating progression without just adding loads.

So don’t fear increasing the range of motion but also including partial reps at times strategically to isolate muscles further!

And not only do you want to play around with exercise range of motion, but you may want to adjust exercise order.

Often we think just compound moves to more isolated moves over the course of our workouts.

But sometimes by putting those isolation moves first, we can pre-fatigue an area to actually max out with lighter loads on those compound moves.

This can be key during a fat loss phase when we are a bit more energy depleted.

It’s why tip #3 is to include Pre-Fatigue Moves.

Try putting that leg extension exercise BEFORE your front lunges or squats.

You may be surprised by how much more you feel those quads working then in the compound move and by how heavy a lighter weight than usual feels.

This can really help you especially if you feel slightly stuck at a weight where you can’t do more BUT the weight isn’t fully maxing you out unless you keep adding more reps.

It can be key if you don’t feel those stubborn areas fully getting worked the way you need.

That little bit of fatigue helps you work a muscle closer to failure with the compound lift.

It can be that little gasoline on the fire to accelerate those muscle gains!

So for especially stubborn muscle groups you really want to target and grow, consider at times a little isolation work first in your workout to really feel those areas already working before you go into those compound lifts.

Just be conscious when you do the pre-fatigue work you don’t then compensate in the lift.

This may mean starting a bit lighter than you think with the compound exercise because the areas are already tired going in!

With all of these techniques, it is about maxing what you’re doing. We don’t just want to keep adding more.

While volume is key, too often we just add more to our training, which becomes slightly wasted work as we are too tired by the end of the session to be as intentional and maximize every rep.

So instead of just trying to add in more moves for an area to a single session or do more rounds, consider less work per session but more training frequency for especially stubborn muscle groups over the week.

This is why tip #4 is to Favor Weekly Frequency.

If you have a stubborn area you want to build muscle in, train it 2-3 times a week.

Don’t do 8 moves on one day, spread out your volume over the week.

This can be key during a fat loss phase as we are in an energy deficit so tend to fatigue more quickly.

That move you’re doing right now at the end of a long upper body day for your shoulders may FEEL like it is getting 100% effort, but your 100% at that time is far less than it would be if you did that move second on another day.

This volume spread out means we can do less on a day so we aren’t just going through the motions on the final rounds to get in more work on a single day.

Think about that 4th exercise you’re doing…you’re way more tired for it than the first exercise.

So instead of doing more on a single day, spread that work out.

Give yourself still days to recover between, but allow yourself to be fresher for those moves by not just stacking more into a single session.

If your shoulders are a stubborn muscle group, include 2-3 shoulder days a week.

Make one the more intensive one, with maybe two other days you even include just a single move for your shoulders over adding those two extra moves onto one day.

It will surprise you by how much more you are actually able to do with certain exercises when you aren’t tired trying to cram them in at the end of a session!

This will also allow you to include more diversity of movement for muscle groups over the week to really hit every aspect and see better muscle gains!

And by increasing training frequency over just doing more for a muscle group in a single session, you can often also be more strategic with tip #5…

Stop Skipping Rest.

Our body only rebuilds when it has time to repair and the fuel to do it.

When in a fat loss phase, your gas tank is already low. You need to allow for proper recovery to optimize how you do use the fuel coming in.

So do not skip days off.

But also don’t skip rest during your workouts.

The rest allows you to optimize each set and really maximize your output on reps.

Because the more fatigued you get over your workout, the more you feel like you’re working hard but not able to push progression in the same way.

And cutting out all rest, while it can make you feel like you worked harder in a session because your heart rate gets up, can also turn your strength workouts into more cardio sessions.

While this may feel good, it can also backfire and hinder the muscle gains you’re working hard for.

It can put you into that viscous cardio weight loss cycle.

So include rest and allow yourself to recover to lift heavier. Even just 1-2 minutes between moves or rounds depending on the workout design can be key.

And don’t forget about even the short rest of rest-pause technique to really push yourself.

But this is also why favoring weekly training frequency can be key.

Doing less for one area on a day and even hitting a few large muscle groups in a session can allow you to get in more rest while continuing to work and be efficient with your time. By cycling what is working, another muscle group can rest as you continue to use your gym time efficiently.

Rest doesn’t have to mean just scrolling on your phone. Heck, even get in some extra steps moving around the gym instead.

But don’t demonize rest if you want to push to build muscle.

Remember, muscle is key to metabolic health and ultimately looking leaner as we lose fat.

For amazing workouts you can do anywhere to build strength, muscle and improve your metabolic health to see fabulous recomp, check out Dynamic Strength!

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