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FIX 93% Of Your Problems With 4 Diet Changes

FIX 93% Of Your Problems With 4 Diet Changes

by | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog, Diet

The changes we least want to make are the ones we need the most.

And often we already know the answer to the question of “What diet changes do I need to make to see results?”…we just need to be REMINDED of what to do.

We need to be reminded to take our ego out of the equation and go back to basics.

We need to be reminded to Suck It Up Buttercup and do the hard habits that lead to results.

That’s why I’m going to start by telling you the change you need to make the most but will most want to avoid, and probably have even listed out tons reasons not to do like…

It’s restrictive
I don’t want to be obsessive
It’s too time consuming
It’s too hard
I can’t because I cook fresh
I can’t because I eat out and travel
I can’t because I have a family
I can’t because…

You can probably come up with 100s of reasons why you don’t need to do this and shouldn’t have to…

But guess what?

All of those reasons haven’t moved you forward toward your goals.

They’ve held you back from making the change you need the most to see your hard work in the gym and your “healthy” diet paying off in the fat loss and muscle gains you want…

And that change is…

Tracking what you’re eating.

Tracking gets a bad rap for being restrictive and obsessive.

But guess what?

It’s not.

We may have a restrictive or obsessive mindset when tracking, but we can have that mindset without doing either.

Eliminating whole food goods while not tracking is restriction.

Fearing foods and believing you can’t eat “unclean” foods or that foods are bad for you can become an obsession.

Neither of these revolves around tracking and can happen even if you aren’t.

And the more we recognize that it is our mindset and how we’ve used the TOOL of tracking in the past, like to cut out foods and make ourselves feel guilty, not tracking itself that is restrictive, the more we can take back control and use this tool to our advantage.

That being said, one form of tracking isn’t right for everyone, BUT we’ve got to see the opportunity in the options.

Because what gets measured gets managed.

If you don’t accurately know what you are consuming and the portions you’re consuming those foods in, you can’t make an accurate change.

And this is where we can get frustrated FEELING like we’re doing everything right when actually our calories and macros aren’t in line with what our body needs right now.

This can be over eating or even undereating.

But we don’t know unless we track.

And while yes, measuring out everything and recording it isn’t fun, it truly helps us create a repeatable recipe for results and ultimately NOT over restrict.

So if you’ve been frustrated by your lack of results while trying to eat clean, while trying to increase protein or lower your calories…

Stop wondering what is and isn’t working.

Record your food and see the opportunity in small changes you can make off of what you’re currently doing.

It can often help us actually stop cutting out foods we love as much and even see small portion size changes or swaps that can pay off so we can build a lifestyle we enjoy!

It can even help us fuel to feel more energized and address food intolerances we may have, leading to other symptoms such as bloating or hormonal imbalances!

Which brings me to the second change we often need to make…

And that’s to stop demonizing foods and whole macronutrients.

Too often when we think about making changes to our diet to “fix” problems, we think there are magic foods to include and magic foods to cut out.

We start to DEMONIZE foods even, which ultimately just leads to a whole bunch of food guilt and self sabotage.

Are there foods that are healthier and less healthy?

Are there macro ratios, such as lower carb or lower fat, that work better or worse for certain people?

Are there foods that people can have intolerances to so we need to eliminate them?

Yes and yes and yes.

But one size doesn’t fit all.

And even what may be bad for someone else may be GOOD for you.

No, I’m not arguing that doritos chips are healthy for anyone…

BUT they may be part of your 80/20 balance so that you are actually consuming more nutrient rich food overall.

Having a little of something less nutrient dense actually allows you to stay more consistent overall and WANT to eat more fruits and veggies.

It helps you avoid feeling guilty for foods because they are “bad,” which only leads to one off plan indulgence completely derailing your healthy changes.

That guilt we create for eating specific foods or macros that have been demonized is what keeps us stuck in this horrible yo-yo dieting cycle where we feel we just don’t have the willpower to maintain the habits we “should.”

But a lifestyle balance looks unique to each person.

And our activity level, previous dieting history, age, goal and genetics, among so many other factors, can have a huge impact on what is right for us and right for us even just RIGHT NOW.

For example, low carb may be better for someone, especially if they are less active or going through menopause, while holding you back if you are super active and working on building more muscle as you lean down.

Going low carb may sabotage your body recomp efforts and even lead to thyroid issues and hormonal imbalances because your body isn’t getting the fuel it needs.

Yet carbs are so often demonized.

They are just simply labeled as evil and blamed for belly fat especially.

But that simply isn’t the case.

Macros must match our needs even as our needs shift.

We need to stop this all or nothing attitude toward foods and instead learn the upsides and downsides to things to strike our own balance.

Because even healthy foods can be “bad” for some with food intolerances too them.

Need a low FODMAP diet? You may find there are lots of supposed “healthy” fruits and veggies you even can not eat!

Another change most of us avoid that everyone needs to make, even though one size doesn’t fit all…

Is to focus on PROTEIN.

Many of us know this. But we still fight against it.

And while increasing and focusing on protein will look different for each person, this focus on quality protein is key.

That’s why I’m giving you this reminder…

Because often we need to be reminded more than we need to be taught.

The more we know the basics, the more we get distracted from them thinking we are above them and need some other 1% improvement.

When really, we just need to make small adjustments to those basics as our body, needs and goals change.

Especially as we get older, a focus on protein becomes even more key.

And if you aren’t focusing on protein and finding your healthy diet isn’t yielding the recomp you want?

Time to start tracking your protein.

Honestly, if you just track your protein and your calories, letting carbs and fats fall where they will, you’re probably going to see steady and sustainable results.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the changes you COULD make, start by just focusing on tracking protein.

You’re already hitting all three things on this list…

Tracking.

Not demonizing foods as anything can fit and your carbs and fat can fall where is enjoyable.

And focusing on protein.

And when I say, focus on protein, make it the star of every meal.

Map in that portion of protein first and diversify what you’re eating. Check out different cuts of chicken to see the fat to protein content.

Embrace learning about plant-based options for seitan to tofu to tempeh.

Look at the diversity of seafood, and dairy and cuts of beef and pork and even vegetable amino acid profiles out there.

Have some fun finding new recipes and tweaking them to add just an ounce more protein when you make them.

But realize that your body is LITERALLY made up of proteins and increasing protein, especially as we get older and are less able to utilize it as efficiently, is not only key to amazing body recomp results but even more important for our brain, bone, immune and even cardiovascular health!

Now, how you go about increasing protein, how you go about finding your balance, how you go about tracking…
That will all depend.

Yet all too often we don’t consider what we need to reach our goal and where we are at currently.

We just search for a perfect macro ratio. A perfect workout. A perfect plan to get us there.

We force a mold.

And this prevents us from ever creating LASTING changes.

Because we can’t just constantly willpower our way through changes that really don’t meet us where we are at.

Think about the things you are most likely to push through the hard with?

They are things that are either somewhat enjoyable? That you truly see the value in to prioritize…

Things that somehow FIT the pain you are willing to embrace.

They are changes that you are comfortable being uncomfortable with.

Which is why, as weird as this sounds, change number 4 I recommend is a mindset one in how you approach dietary adjustments…

I call it Grit is Fit.

We are more willing to embrace the hard of something that somehow “fits” us and our lifestyle.

Want to increase protein as a vegetarian? You’ll never make that change if I tell you that you have to eat meat.

But to have you add nutritional yeast to things? Increase your portion of tofu or tempeh?

Those changes you may be more willing to embrace even if you find it uncomfortable to adjust your portions overall and would rather eat more fruit or rice or potatoes.

Same thing goes for tracking.

Full tracking and measuring and weighing may be something you just can’t sustain…that doesn’t feel doable.

But maybe it is the way you are tracking.
Instead of just writing off the tool and principle, what’s a way you could embrace and use tracking that you’d be willing to do even if not your favorite thing?

Could you write down what you’re eating on a piece of paper and use a visual portion guide such as sections on your plate?

Could you take pictures of everything you eat for the record to give you perspective and accountability?

What is something you can embrace the discomfort of to push your comfort zone and start making changes that add up?

But we need to be open to exploring the versions of habits that are the best fit for us.

Because when we find habits that “fit” we often have the ability to have more “grit” and push through with them to make changes that snowball.

We need to realize the power our diet has in building our leanest, strongest body at any and every age.

Because we can’t out exercise our diet and as our body changes, needs and goals change, our diet needs to adjust as well.

What you do to reach one goal, isn’t what you’ll do to reach another or maintain your results.

So be open to constant evolution and realize the power these 4 diet changes have to make sure you’re meeting yourself where you are at no matter what!

Ready to build your leanest, strongest body and create your lifestyle balance?

—> Learn more about my Metabolic Shred

7 Tips To Start Back in the Gym After a Layoff

7 Tips To Start Back in the Gym After a Layoff

by | Sep 29, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Workouts

Starting back to working out is HARD.

It’s easy to do too much too fast and prevent ourselves from getting into a routine or even end up injured.

It’s hard to regress to progress and even check our egos to do less than we were doing before.

But meeting ourselves where we are at to rebuild is key.

That’s why I want to share 7 tips to help you avoid the common training mistakes I see people making when starting back so you can rebuild even stronger and get that momentum going so results snowball!

And I will warn you…as you build back, it can be hard at times to not compare to where you were at before.

But this comparison can kill our gains.

Which is why tip number 1 is to remember every move is EARNED!

It’s tempting to try to go back to what you once did before you took time off.

But that is a recipe for injury or at least soreness that may sideline you for weeks, holding you back from getting consistent.

You have to build back. You have to earn those moves again.

And often it isn’t enough to just think “do less.”

You truly need to focus on modifying to match where you are at now.

It may mean taking more than one or two steps back to focus on fully re-establishing those movement patterns and that mind-body connection.

So when you first start back, go back to those basics. 

Focus on what you feel working with fundamental moves you can then build off of.

Even film your movements to check form.

Take pride in earning those exercises and weights back with slow progression.

But enjoy re-learning to move well first.

And note…I said SLOW progression with earning those moves.

A common mistake we make when building back is not only not having earned the moves we include and simply doing what we’d done before…

But also doing too much too fast.

We go 0-60. 

We jump off the couch and expect to be back to running half marathons right away.

Instead we need to take the approach of doing just enough that we CRAVE more and feel we could have done more.

This will help us ultimately not make ourselves so sore we can’t be consistent or compensate due to fatigue so we end up with injury.

We have to remember that everything is sort of NEW again.

And that new again can make us sore.

Being too sore can stop us from doing our weekly workouts as they are laid out, which can make it hard to build that routine and momentum.

Not to mention, being sore can change our recruitment patterns, impacting how muscles engage in other moves.

This can lead to us not getting the most out of our workouts or ending up injured so we’re starting over again.

So remember less is more starting back. Do just enough that you’re craving doing more but DON’T until you have a few weeks under your belt!

And make those progressions in moves incremental, tracking them over the weeks!

Which leads me to tip #3…Don’t jump to adding weights first.

Adding weights or using a form of resistance is the easiest way to progress a move often.

So our first thought as we build back is to simply load moves down.

And if we can do a weight, we add more!

But just because you can lift a weight doesn’t mean your body is truly ready to.

While you may be strong enough, we have to remember that our connective tissues aren’t as fast to heal and build.

So not only do you want to take your time and slowly add loads to give your body fully time to catch back up, but you may want to start with other forms of progression first.

Progression or advancement in moves can be achieved through the same but different!

Consider first increasing your range of motion for a movement. This can help you build mobility and stability as you progress.

Or work up toward the top of your rep range over hitting the bottom to create that strength but also muscular endurance.

Even consider adjusting the tempo of the move, speeding moves up to work on your mind-body connection and fast recruitment patterns and even power or slowing moves down to focus more on strength and control.

But don’t just jump to adding weights.

Too often we do this and then ego even starts to get in the way pushing us to do more than we’ve earned!

Then tip #4: Focus on what you feel working! Don’t just rush through!

Establishing that mind-body conenction to make sure we’re moving WELL is key.

We’re laying that foundation off of which we will build our future training.

This is an opportunity to make sure this foundation is extra strong.

Not to mention, the better we are able to activate muscles, the stronger and more powerful we will be.

This focus on muscle activation will also help us ultimately see better muscle gains more quickly!

So as you start back, stay intentional with the moves. Ask yourself, “What do I feel working?” doing each exercise.

Don’t just go through the motions. Just don’t rush through.

And if you don’t feel the correct muscles working, modify the movement. Swap in a different variation. Regress to progress.

Even assess if other mobility work, especially in your warm up is key to help you get the correct muscles working, especially ones that may be underactive from previous injuries or your desk job posture.

Which is why tip #5 is to prioritize your warm up.

Too often we want to skip our warm ups  to get to the “good stuff.”

We focus just on the calorie burn and muscle building benefits.

But our training sessions are a time to learn to move well and even address postural distortions we have from previous injuries and our desk job postures.

Especially when we’re just starting back, we want to build that strong foundation.

We don’t want to ignore cracks that will only add up more and more as we progress.

So especially as you’re starting back, prioritize that mobility work and get in the habit of a warm up that focuses on foam rolling, stretching and activation.

You want to foam roll to relax tight muscles and start to mobilize your joints. Foam rolling can even help you disrupt that mind-body connection to muscles that tend to want to take over when they shouldn’t, like your hamstrings for your glutes in bridges.

You then want to include dynamic stretching to further mobilize your joints and improve your muscle flexibility, stretching out tight muscles.

This dynamic stretching also begins to activate underactive muscles before you finish your warm up with activation exercises.

These activation moves isolate muscles to help you really feel them working.

This mind-body connection then allows you to better activate these muscles in the compound exercises you use in your workout. 

Like say for instance doing a fire hydrant in your warm up to activate your glutes before then having reverse lunges in your workout. You’ll be surprised by how much more you really feel your glutes working and see better muscle and strength gains faster because of it!

But your mobility work doesn’t stop at your warm up.

Not only do you want to then include moves to strengthen through a full range of motion, but you also want to make sure your workouts include exercises that move you in every direction!

Often when we start back we include those fundamental movement patterns which are key, but we also get stuck moving in really only one plan of motion.

This ultimately can fight against us truly improving our mobility and stability but also hold us back from becoming functionally more fit and building muscle as quickly as possible.

The more directions we press and lunge and pull in, the more we are hitting every aspect of a muscle group and really using a joint through a full range of motion.

And sometimes these simple tweaks in posture and direction can make a basic move harder.

You may find by including a side lunge, you feel your glutes and adductors more while improving your hip stability…all while even using lighter loads than maybe you could for something like a reverse lunge.

With a focus on moving in different directions we will also improve our core strength, including rotational and anti-rotational moves.

All of this is key to building back more quickly while creating that solid foundation from the get go!

It can also allow us to challenge ourselves with less volume and loads to truly address any weak links we may have!

And with all of this…tip #7…Stay consistent!

It is tempting when starting back to get distracted by all of the options out there and to want to try all of the different moves and tools.

Don’t.

Stay focused on your goals. Have a clear plan in place.

Avoid jumping around too much as this can lead to injury and results not building…not to mention you constantly feeling sore and like you aren’t progressing!

While you don’t want to repeat the same moves every single day, you do want to have a weekly schedule you repeat for even 3-8 weeks straight.

This will help you slowly progress moves week over week and be able to track your progress.

You will also find your body adapts more quickly so you can ultimately see changes faster.

We have to remember that we get good at what we consistently do…and this applies to our training and movements too!

So if you’re starting back to training, focus on meeting yourself where you are at, progressing moves with intention and purpose while following a clear plan that keeps you consistent and earning every move you do!

For more workouts designed to help you rock those results no matter your fitness level, check out my Dynamic Strength program…

–> Learn More

15 Years Of NO BS Fitness Advice (In Under 15 Minutes)

15 Years Of NO BS Fitness Advice (In Under 15 Minutes)

by | Sep 22, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Pain Relief, Workouts

I’m going to give it to you straight. 15 tips from about 15 years in the industry in under 15 minutes. Good thing I talk fast.

Tips that not only worked for me but I’ve seen work for people around the world to help YOU rock those results no matter your age.

So to not waste any time, Tip #1 and one of the most important keys to results…

Don’t Quit.

We most often don’t see results build because we never stick with anything long enough.

We give up at the first FEELING that something isn’t working…

That results aren’t happening fast enough.

And we jump to something new.

This constant jumping from thing to thing never lets us get GOOD at anything or be consistent enough with it for true changes to snowball.

Results are built off of those basic, boring habits repeated daily over not only weeks, but months and years.

But not quitting and trusting the process is hard, which is why Tip #2 is…

What gets measured gets managed.

If you want to bake a cookie and make sure it turns out, you follow a recipe.

This clear plan with everything tracked and measured, helps you guarantee a result.

If you randomly just throw things in a bowl, you won’t know why the cookies didn’t turn out or why they were the best gooey deliciousness ever.

Same principle applies to our health and fitness goals.

If we have that clear recipe and measure out everything, we can help ourselves make sure we’re working toward a focused outcome and more easily ADJUST if something goes wrong.

When we have that clear picture of what we’re doing, we don’t have to feel frustrated or like we are guessing at what works.

We also give ourselves true DATA off of which to make changes so we can trust the process more and not let feelings that sabotage us make us want to quit.

But even embracing tracking, whether it is your food or workouts or ideally both, is a hard thing at times for us to accept.

Which is why Tip #3 isn’t just to track but to jump into the changes you least want to make as soon as you can!

Yup. The changes you least want to make are the ones you probably need to make the most.

One of the most important things I harp on is increasing protein.

Guess what change most of us don’t want to make, researching even reasons why we shouldn’t increase it?

But also guess what changewe most often INSTANTLY see progress from and wonder why we didn’t make it sooner?

You guessed it…increasing protein.

Change requires change.

And the changes we least want to make are the ones that are often the hardest, most uncomfortable or furthest from our comfort zone.

But they are also often what is needed to reach a goal we haven’t achieved before and bust us out of the yo-yo dieting cycle.

So if you’ve been fighting a change, pause, ask yourself why, and then embrace an experiment where you track and see the true outcome!

It may surprise you!

And while embracing discomfort is part of achieving results, we can also sabotage ourselves with the “No pain, no gain” mindset!

Which is why Tip #4 is to ditch the all or nothing, work harder, no pain, no gain attitude.

This attitude keeps us stuck expecting perfection of ourselves, doing more and more until…well…

We ultimately run out of willpower, get injured and fall back into old habits.

We’re human and flawesome.

And when we make changes too hard on ourselves, we’re often just making our excuses grow too.

It’s Newton’s Third Law of Motion that says, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Keep trying to do more, and you’re going to get a push back against the changes equally as strong.

And the harder we work, the more we do, the more we EXPECT an outcome…when in reality we can’t out exercise or out diet time.

So ultimately we just make ourselves give up in frustration.

Instead we need to focus on small changes that build and that make change seem DOABLE.

Which is actually why Tip #5 is to stop the eat clean pressure.

There is no official definition of clean eating and trust me, no one agrees.

Vegans and Carnivores have vastly different opinions.

And trying to hit someone else’s arbitrary standards of clean can make you feel like you can’t even eat air.

It can make us feel guilty for enjoying food and even make us feel like it’s impossible to even make a change that will pay off.

But we can and should include foods we simply LOVE.

We just need to strike an 80/20 balance.

80% of the time focus on those whole natural foods. 20% include just foods you love with NO guilt.

This will allow you to create a sustainable lifestyle and truly build consistent habit changes that do snowball over leaving you feeling restricted and deprived so you ultimately fall off any plan you start.

And with embracing your balance, don’t just include foods you love, truly PLAN around them, even planning them in first.

Tip #6 is the secret that led to me ultimately finally achieving the body recomp I wanted.

Planning in the foods I wanted first and focusing on nutrition by addition.

Often the things we love most are the things we cut out first. They are the things that don’t make that “eat clean” list.

They are also the things we add back in as soon as we can, which lead to us ending up back where we started.

Basically we’re repeating a cycle of restriction we can never maintain.

And you can’t do one thing to reach your goal then go back to what you were doing before and expect to maintain your results.

Plus the second you tell yourself you can’t have something, you want it even more!

Instead, plan in the dessert you want, that snack you love, FIRST to your day and work your other meals around it.

Start by making small changes to your diet, adding in more veggies or protein or something you know is beneficial.

This focus on small changes that feel easy often is just what we need to lower our defenses against more changes and see the momentum build.

However, in including foods you love, this doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want in any quantity you want.

Which is why Tip #7 is to recognize your trigger foods.

No foods have to be off limits. But there are foods we will CHOOSE to include or not include.

We need to recognize those foods we can’t consume in moderation that only lead to us falling back into old patterns.

I know I can have just one peanut butter protein ball, but I know I can’t have just one Reese’s peanut butter cup.

I own this fact and include the protein ball on a regular basis but the peanut butter cup only when I’m ok with having more than 1..or like 10.

And if I do have peanut butter cups around and don’t want to eat them, I put them in the freezer.

For me, this shifts my mindset to be ok with waiting to have more.

While this is odd because technically they taste even more delicious frozen, this freezing of them helps me feel like they’ll be there when I want them in the future.

It’s the shift in environment and mindset.

For you this shift may come from not having the food in the house, or putting it into single serving bags so you can only easily eat one serving or even hiding it on a higher shelf.

The key is I recognize the foods I can work in and those I can’t to then determine a balance and even environment right for me and my goals at this time.

So CHOOSE to include foods you love but also understand the foods that may not fit your goals right now and find ways to address that!

The more we own who we are and what has and hasn’t worked for us in the past with our diet and workouts, the more we can meet ourselves where we are at and create the perfect plan for ourselves right now to rock those results.

That’s why Tip #8 is to assess and address your schedule shifts.

I most often talk about assessing your schedule when it comes to designing your workout, but you want to also assess your schedule to make dietary changes as well.

Not only in terms of determining how you meal prep and the meal timing best for you but also in how you handle WEEKEND EATING!

Too often we don’t see results and think, “But I was good all week!”

It’s that weekend eating that gets us. It changes our macros for the week and can easily throw us out of our deficit.

Some of us even recognize how hard it is to eat well over the weekend, but then we never really address that fact.

We force weekday habits on weekends that just aren’t the same.

Instead we need to own that often habits and schedules DO change over Friday, Saturday and Sunday and we need to PLAN for that.

That we do enjoy happy hour or are at home more lazing on the couch!

So instead of a strict macro ratio, maybe we just set a calorie cap and protein minimum.

Maybe we plan in restaurant dishes or cocktails to hold ourselves accountable but have a bit more food freedom on the weekend with boundaries.

The key is assessing why the same habits don’t work over the weekend and finding ways to address the changes in schedule and even routines to work with them instead of trying to willpower your way against them!

So many of these tips are about shifting the mindsets controlling our actions.

And Tip #9 addresses a hard mindset to often change but one that is so key for us seeing better results from our training….

We need to stop seeking to be sore.

Soreness is not an indicator you worked hard enough or you’re going to see better muscle gains.

I know it can feel satisfying and some of us sickly like it….

But honestly, it is really often a sign we don’t have a clear program in place that we’re strategically progressing or that our recovery and fueling isn’t ideal.

And constantly seeking to be sore may be why we feel like we’re working really hard yet not seeing progress.

Instead everything we include in our workouts should be designed with a purpose and repeated to progress.

But just because a clear progression or weekly schedule we repeat is key, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include diversity.

Actually diversity of movement is ESSENTIAL and that’s why it is Tip #10….

Exercise diversity helps us see better results faster.

Diversity of movements done over the weekly schedule can help us create progression through the same but different and target different aspects of muscles to different extents.

We can diversify the moves we use through different types of resistances…

Through adding instability, whether an unstable surface or even by making a move more unilateral, such as an 80/20 deadlift or single leg deadlift over a bilateral one.

Or even through slightly different postures, positions or ranges of motion.

We also have to remember that different muscles in a muscle group may have different joints they impact and control movement of and therefore will be worked by different joint actions.

For example, if you want to make sure you hit your entire hamstring muscle group, you can’t just include a deadlift, which is a hip hinge.

You also need to include a knee flexion movement like a lying leg curl.

So over the weekly schedule you create, don’t just reuse the same moves. Think about including a diversity to target the same muscles in different ways!

And guess what? Some of these moves you may not like and they may feel awkward. GOOD!

Tip #11 is to do awkward moves you don’t like.

Those moves we don’t like, that feel awkward, are often also moves that address our weak links.

They often improve our balance, stability and our mind-body connection so we ultimately get stronger, can run faster and see better muscle gains.

They are the moves that test our coordination. That make us check our egos with loads.

They keep us young and able to react quickly in every day life while recruiting the correct muscles efficiently in the right order to perform those lifts we may want to beast mode out.

So stop skipping them! They truly are the key to being functionally stronger and often even lifting more with our big heavy lifts.

And not only should you stop skipping these awkward moves, you need to stop skipping your warm up.

Yup Tip #12 is the oh so unsexy tip of – Don’t skip your warm up.

Feel like you’re getting older and just have to accept aches and pains?

You don’t. You just have to stop trying to get away with skipping your prehab work and warm up.

Honestly, this is something we shouldn’t have tried to get away with skipping in the first place and the fact that we did is why more aches and pains add up as we get older.

But we can change that by including a proper warm up now.

A proper warm up makes sure our muscles and joints are ready to work through a full range of motion from the first rep we do with weights.

Our warm up isn’t us wasting time before we get to the good stuff. It is what helps us get results from all the hard work we put in.

If you want to lift more, run faster, cycle further, a proper warm up with foam rolling, stretching and activation is what will help you do just that.

And I know this sucks to hear…I know a lot of what I’ve mentioned goes against some of what you’ve done in the past, but…

You can’t expect to see a new and better result doing what you’ve always done.

That’s why Tip #13 is to embrace being uncomfortable.

Stop fearing something different.

That different thing you’re resisting is probably what you need to get to a new goal.

Because if what you’ve always done worked, you’d have achieved results already.

But we have to step outside our comfort zone and risk being bad at something to learn and grow.

Don’t hold yourself back sticking with what you just feel comfortable with. Build off of that.

Now that being said, you also have to recognize that the more changes you make at once, the more of a cost you’ll feel before the reward.

That’s why I like clients to embrace being uncomfortable but also avoid the all or nothing attitude.

It’s why Tip #14 is to evolve YOUR lifestyle.

Meet yourself where you’re at to build small changes off of that and slowly push your comfort zone.

Because one size doesn’t fit all and there is no perfect plan.

Even what used to work for us will change as WE are constantly changing.

Your lifestyle, body and needs are not the same now as they were years ago.

Not to mention even our schedule shifts over the year as well as our priorities, impacting the habits that are actually realistic for us now.

That’s why we always need to assess where we are currently first to move forward.

When you set that GPS to get you to a new location, you don’t just enter your destination…

You enter your current location. We need that same starting point to map out our roadmap to results.

Which brings me to the boring but essential 15th tip…Plan ahead.

We wouldn’t just get in a car and drive around aimlessly hoping to get to our destination, yet that’s what we so often do with our fitness goals.

We say what we want then just start doing random moves and diets.

Without a plan, we have no direction.

We have no process we can trust.

And we don’t know what is and isn’t working.

So ultimately we get no where.

Failing to plan is planning to fail…cliche and oh so true.

Don’t repeat the same mistakes. Use these tips and plan our your program to achieve your goals. Which 1 tip will you focus on first?

Ready to build your leanest, strongest body EVER no matter your age?

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How to Fix Muscle Imbalances (5 Tips!)

How to Fix Muscle Imbalances (5 Tips!)

by | Sep 15, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

We are human…we’ll never be perfectly symmetrical or balanced.

But that doesn’t mean we should ignore strength or mobility imbalances between each side.

Because imbalances are often worse than inflexibility overall when it comes to putting us at risk for aches and pains.

When we have a big difference in strength or mobility between each side, we will compensate to allow that weaker side to keep up.

We will seek out ways to achieve the range of motion we are asking our body to do even if only one side can truly do it.

And we will CHEAT to mimic a proper looking movement and proper form.

This creates overload of other muscles and joints to try and help out when they really shouldn’t be working in that way.

And it can end with either our weaker or our stronger side becoming injured.

That’s why I first want to dive into why addressing imbalances is so key a bit more and then go over how you can address these imbalances to improve your overall strength and mobility to avoid aches and pains!

So Why Is Addressing Your Imbalances So Key?

Because our body takes the path of least resistance to perform the movement we are asking it to do and will find a way to squat or twist or push, using whatever mobility and strength it can find easily.

This can mean using muscles not meant to carry the load they are asked to carry or joints trying to provide a range of motion they really aren’t capable of.

Constantly feel your lower back or knee is sore one side after you squat?

This may be because muscles or joints are being asked to carry a load they aren’t meant to, or able to, carry to perform those barbell back squats you’re doing!

And because we are asking areas of our body to work more than they should, they can become overloaded.

We can see this happen on both our weaker or even our stronger side. It’s why we can’t always just assume a muscle is weak and in need of strengthening when it is injured.

If you have one leg that is stronger, you may find you shift in that squat to that stronger side to try to help move a weight your weaker side really can’t lift.

This can lead to you overworking that stronger side and muscle not meant to work as much working extra.

If you do see yourself shifting with your squat, you may “force” yourself not to. This may mean your weaker side calls on muscles it shouldn’t to try to find the strength to keep up.

This can lead to injury on that side too.

This is why if you’ve constantly felt like you’re getting injured trying to go up in weight on your squat or deadlift or bench press or row or even bodyweight moves like the push up or pull up, it may be time to assess if you have a mobility issue or strength issue on one side causing you to overload other areas!

What Should You Do To Address Imbalances?

And this brings me to one of the most important things to include to address imbalances, unilateral moves.

While I will touch on the prehab and mobility components that are key to include in your warm up, and the fact that an imbalance may mean imbalance prehab work (aka doing moves only one side), I think something we so often shy away from in our workouts is those one-sided or unilateral moves.

But they are truly essential.

When you do unilateral moves, the stronger side can’t compensate or take over.

And the weaker side can’t try to cheat to keep up as easily.

Both have to work independently so you can really feel and see those weak links to address.

These moves also work on our stability and often strengthening through a full range of motion which really pays off and helps us avoid injury.

Not to mention, they force us often to ditch the ego and go lighter with the loads as they are awkward and coordination challenges often to start.

So if you have an imbalance, start to focus more on those unilateral moves so you can address each side independently.

But also recognize that some fully unilateral moves are harder than we give them credit for.

That’s why on things like the Single Leg Deadlift, you may need an 80/20 variation or a support to start so you can truly focus on each side working!

With those unilateral moves, you may find one side can’t do as much as the other side or can’t do as much weight or as hard a variation for the same amount of reps.

And you don’t want to just advance your stronger side while leaving your weaker side doing lighter loads. This will only perpetuate the issue.

But you also can’t let your form slide and not pay attention to what you feel working, and force your weaker side to do more than it can truly handle.

This is where you will have to use either Rest-Pause Technique or hold back your stronger side in your workouts…Maybe even using a combination of both at times.

Rest-pause technique is great when your weaker side can do a variation or weight that your stronger side can do BUT not for the same volume or number of reps.

With rest-pause technique, you’ll do the reps on your stronger side, say you do 10. You’ll then move to your weaker side and do the reps you can do properly, say that’s 6. You’ll then pause for 15-20 seconds and do more reps to complete the 10.

If you need to even do 2 reps, pause again and complete 2 more that’s fine. By keeping the rest so short though to perform the same volume as your stronger side, you will bring up your weaker side.

However, if your weaker side can’t do the same load or variation as your stronger side, you will need to modify the move to a variation you can perform correctly, holding back that stronger side for a bit.

With holding that side back, you will even want to potentially END your workout with some extra work for that weaker side. Just make sure you are tacking on this extra work at the end of your rounds so you don’t fatigue your weaker side more during it.

It can feel weird doing more for one side, but when we have an imbalance, we may need to do imbalance work to correct it.

We just want to make sure the work we do isn’t perpetuating the issues, strengthening the stronger side further.

And this is why in our warm ups and prehab work we want to make sure we’re addressing the underlying issues, even doing foam rolling, stretching or activation moves only on one side or even more on one side.

To address imbalances we want to use foam rolling to relax overactive and tight muscles, muscles that limit joint range of motion and even tend to want to take over.

We then want to stretch, especially dynamic stretching, to mobilize joints. Although you may find that if you have a big imbalance the occasional static stretch is needed at times.

While static stretching has been demonized in warm ups because it can have an impact on strength and power, these static stretches can be super beneficial for your flexibility and mobility and may be needed to first address the imbalances you have to allow you to lift more.

You then want to include activation work to activate underactive muscles. Any muscles that are weaker and struggle to engage especially will be the focus of your activation work.

You may find you only do glute activation for example on one side if one side is weaker.

It’s key to note though you don’t want to do so much activation work that you fatigue the muscle. You are just trying to create that mind-body connection and feel it start to work so you are better able to use it when you lift!

But this work prior helps prime your body to move well BEFORE you then go into your unilaterally focused lifting sessions.

These small tweaks to your routine and the addition of unilateral moves to your workout with either rest pause technique or holding back that stronger side can help you alleviate those aches and pains you often see building as you’re even able to do harder moves and lift heavier loads!

So don’t ignore if one side is weaker or less mobile! Work on it and see your results improve!

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Underrated Bodyweight Back Exercise

Underrated Bodyweight Back Exercise

by | Sep 8, 2024 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises

We get stronger and moves get easier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So why is the Inverted Row an important fundamental move?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then unshrug your shoulders and press your chest out.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now…How can you progress the Inverted Row?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking for amazing workouts to help you rock those results?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

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

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

by | Sep 2, 2024 | Blog, Diet

You can’t out-exercise your diet.

Boom. Mic drop. That’s it.

And yet we’ve all thought…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But I realized that was just an excuse.

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

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

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

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

And this all comes back to why it works initially…

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

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

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

We grow stronger and our body becomes more efficient.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your macros can even impact your recovery and sleep.

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

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

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

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

Don’t cut out the foods you love first.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep those adjustments SMALL.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now…I mentioned earlier…macros really matter.

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

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

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

I’ve seen this same trend with clients.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Which brings me to the 4th key tip…

Stop slashing your calories super low!

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

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

WRONG!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And we need to embrace that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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