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The Best Push Up Exercise (You Aren’t Doing)

The Best Push Up Exercise (You Aren’t Doing)

by | Aug 13, 2023 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Push Ups

No matter how much equipment I have available, I still love including a push up variation in my upper body workouts.

They are an amazing move to target your chest, shoulders, triceps and core.

And not only are they an amazing way to build strength and muscle, but there are so many push up variations you can include to target different muscles more or less based on your needs and goals.

Want to work on shoulder stability or anti-rotational core strength?

Try the push up with shoulder tap.

Want to target your triceps more?

Include a close grip variation.

Want to work your upper pecs extra?

Try a decline variation.

But in thinking through all the different options out there, there was one variation that came to mind as often being underutilized…

The push up plus!

In this video, I want to go over how to do this essential push up variation and ways to modify the move if you can’t do a push up from your toes on the ground. 

But first I want to explain why I think this variation is so important to include….

This push up isn’t the fanciest variation out there, but it is one of the most essential to include if you want to be a push up rockstar, improve your overhead press or bench press weights or even avoid neck, shoulder or upper back aches and pains.

It is so important to include because of that simple rounding and scapular protraction at the top of the push up.

This seemingly simple extra movement added on to the basic push up works an often overlooked muscle – the serratus anterior.

The serratus anterior is an essential muscle when it comes to keeping your shoulder blades, shoulders, neck and upper back healthy and happy and functioning correctly! 

And the push up plus is an amazing move to work this muscle as it is easier often to target this muscle without letting your upper traps compensate.

Too often our upper traps take over in movements meant to work our serratus anterior, which only perpetuates the aches and pains we have.

This scapular control, and serratus anterior strength, will also translate to better movement of your shoulder blades during overhead pressing and even a better ability to support your shoulders during bench press. 

This push up variation is a great way to keep everything healthy and strong as you include more pressing!

So how do you do the push up plus? 

While you will be performing almost just a basic push up, you want to give extra attention to the movement of your shoulder blades and even your hands pressure down into the ground.

Our hands are our foundation and better tension through them into the ground can increase muscle activation of our upper body. And by also being conscious of fully gripping the ground with our entire hand we can help avoid wrist, elbow and even shoulder aches and pains.

To do this push up, set up with your feet together and hands just outside your chest. Spread your fingers and flex your quads as you drive back through your heels.

You may even find it helpful to ever so slightly turn your hands out. This can even further help you engage your serratus anterior.

Then pull your shoulders down feeling them unshrug as you engage your back.

With your body in a nice straight line, lower down keeping tension.

Feel your shoulder blades draw toward your spine.

Then at the bottom, push the ground away and feel your shoulder blades move away from your spine.

As you reach the top of the push up, push the ground away a bit extra as if pulling your shoulders forward.

Feel your thoracic spine round up as you try to pull your shoulder blades around your ribs.

You may tuck your chin as you round up to go with the natural spinal flexion.

But do not let your butt go up in the air. You may slightly tilt your pelvis under instead to engage your abs more with the posterior pelvic tilt.

But you really want to focus on pulling your shoulder blades around your rib cage as you push that ground away.

This action really works that serratus anterior.

You’ll then move back into that full plank position and perform the push up again.

Working your press with the freedom to move your shoulder blades and be able to control that full range of motion is what makes this move so amazing for your upper body.

Not to mention you get that little extra core work with the pelvic tilt on top of the fact that the push up is a moving plank!

Now what if you can’t do a full push up from your toes? How can you modify this move?

An incline variation is always a great way to modify while allowing you to train that full push up plank position. 

Too often we do turn to knee push ups but this doesn’t teach us to properly engage our legs and drive back through our heels. It can keep us stuck getting stronger at only a modified variation.

It’s why that incline and working down in reps as you lower the incline is so key. 

You can use a rack, adjusting the barbell height or even boxes, lowering them down as you progress. 

If you are limited on incline options, you can select one that is a bit too high and slow down the tempo.

If you only have one that is too low, consider just the eccentric portion of the movement and start with the “plus” BEFORE you lower down for the rep. 

A final tip to modify if you need to work around wrist pain, is to put a mat folded up under the heel of your palm. This reduces the wrist extension demands to make it easier on your wrist. 

Bonus Tip:

And one bonus tip if you’re ready for a bit more of a challenge with this move and to test your core strength and stability, try including a dead stop or even hand release at the bottom.

This forces you to really engage prior to pressing back up and even makes sure you work through the fullest range of motion possible without using any momentum! 

That press back up from a dead stop is harder than we give it credit for, especially if we are super conscious that everything moves together as if our body were a solid board.

But even as you add in this dead stop or hand lift, don’t rush through the protraction at the top of the push up. Really focus on feeling around your rib cage even working!

So whether you’re looking to mix up your push up work, improve your upper body strength and stability to lift more while avoiding injury or just want to build up to that first full push up from your toes, this is an amazing push up variation to include in your workout routine!

And for more tips to improve your push ups, here are two videos to help!

10 Tips to Increase Your Push Ups (in 7 Minutes) 

Things No One Tells You About Push Ups 

How To Build Muscle (Using The 6-12-25 Protocol)

How To Build Muscle (Using The 6-12-25 Protocol)

by | Aug 6, 2023 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

You want to see some serious strength gains, build lean muscle and improve your body composition? 

Then this workout design is something you’ll want to consider for your next training progression…

It’s the 6-12-25 training technique. 

In this video, I’ll break down what this method is, how to use this workout design, why it works so well and even share a workout you can try implementing the technique!

First…What Is The 6-12-25 Method? 

The 6-12-25 is shorthand for the reps you will perform for three different movements.

You will design a set with 3 exercises for the same area of the body.

For example, you may do all 3 moves for your lower body with a glute and hamstring focus.
The first move should be a super heavy compound lift that you can only do 6 reps for. 

The second move should be another compound, but more accessory lift for the same area of the body that you can only perform 12 reps of with the weights you select. 

Then the third move will be done for 25 reps and should be an isolation exercise that really creates that pump and burn, fully fatiguing a muscle group worked with the first two compound moves. 

After completing all three moves basically back to back, you will rest 2-3 minutes before repeating the series.

You do not want to rest between moves so that you’re fully fatiguing the area you’re targeting but you do want enough rest between rounds so you can lift heavy to start the series over again! 

You will want to include no more than two 6-12-25 series in a workout. And you will want to perform about 3-4 rounds through each.

You can design either more full body workouts using this, focusing on one area in each series or you can do an hemisphere split, targeting just your lower body or upper body in a workout. 

But make sure each series, and all 3 moves, are working only one area of the body, instead of alternating areas worked!

So Why Does The 6-12-25 Design Work So Well?

This training method was popularized by Charles Poliquin but isn’t just for bodybuilders. 

It’s actually a great training technique for any experienced exerciser looking to build strength and muscle while losing fat. 

This method is so effective because of the combination of 3 different traditional rep ranges, compound and isolation movements and the fact that we hone in and target specific muscle groups to create full fatigue in an area. 

The combination of so many training techniques into one design, and the training density this method creates, leads to massive lactate spikes, increasing growth hormone production, which is why it is thought to work so well!

It’s why this method can not only lead to amazing muscle gains but even better fat loss results! 

Each rep number is included for a specific purpose and done back to back without rest.

With the heavy compound exercise done for 6 reps, you are really working in that maximal strength range. Consider as you progress with this design even selecting a move you have to PAUSE at 5 reps for a few seconds to complete the final one over being able to do more reps with that weight. 

You never just want to stop at a rep number because it’s what the workout said. You want to feel that is all you can do.

Then with the exercise done for 12 reps, you are selecting a compound move that is a great accessory exercise to target the same muscle groups. This will allow you to really utilize that hypertrophy rep range and continue to fatigue the muscles you worked in the first move.

The higher reps and slightly lower, albeit challenging loads, allow you to recruit more muscle fibers as you fatigue. 

Then with the final move you are going to fully isolate a muscle group to work it fully to fatigue. This helps build that strength endurance which will ultimately help you recover faster and do more quality of work in future workouts and progressions.

This isolation move is a great way to help you build muscle in those stubborn muscle groups, increasing your volume of work. Make sure this move really isolates the muscle you want to target. You even want to feel that pump or burn add up at 15-20 reps so you have to pause for a second to complete all 25! 

This combination of different movements and drivers of muscle growth while working an area to fatigue is what makes this series so challenging and leads to such amazing muscle and strength gains.

It makes it a super efficient training design as well when we are short on time. 

And can be especially key if you are struggling with toning up stubborn areas!

Next I wanted to share some – Tips To Use This Effectively:

It’s key we remember that we need to challenge ourselves no matter the reps listed. No weight should feel light, no move should feel easy.

You want each exercise to challenge you while you push through to the next. 

And make sure when you design the series that all 3 moves target the same area.

If you’re doing lower body with a quad focus, you want to hone in more and more on those quads. 

If it is a chest, triceps and shoulders workout, you may hone in more and more on any of those three muscles, especially if one is more stubborn than the others. 

But make sure you are choosing one area to target and fatigue over the moves.

Then do NOT cut out rest between rounds. You want to be able to push through all three moves while kind of feeling like you don’t fully want to do the next so that you’ve earned that rest. 

But if you aren’t resting those 2-3 minutes, consider going heavier and advancing the movements. That rest should help you keep lifting heavier or maintaining the loads over the rounds to push at a true 100% intensity.

That ability to push hard and create a quality volume of work is what makes this design work so well! 

Do not be afraid to also use rest-pause technique to make sure you’re feeling like you’ve really pushed those loads while performing quality reps. 

If you, you need to pause to complete the rep range, even resting for 10-15 seconds, do it! That little pause can help you ultimately move more weight over the course of your training and push past that initial fatigue to see amazing results!

I do want to give you one WARNING before implement this:

This is an advanced training technique and you’ll be surprised by even how out of breath during the 3 moves you can get. And mentally it can be taxing to do another move for an area when it is already tired. 

Be ready to really push yourself and not just lower loads to make it easier to make it through all three moves.

Make yourself CRAVE that rest. 

And make sure all 3 moves are done back to back targeting only ONE muscle group! Although remember you have flexibility to choose the exact stubborn area to target with that isolation move.

Like you may choose to target your biceps with an isolation exercise on a bicep and back series in one workout while doing more for your lats on another day!

So How Could You Design A Workout Using This Method?

Let’s look at an anterior split workout, you would create one 6-12-25 set for the lower body, more of a quad focus, and one set for the upper body, more of a chest focused series.

You will do 3-4 rounds per series with 2-3 minutes of rest between rounds and even series.

ANTERIOR CHAIN 6-12-25 WORKOUT

SERIES #1:
6 reps Front Squats
12 reps per side Front Lunges
25 reps per side Seated Quad Flexes

SERIES #2:
6 reps Barbell Bench
12 reps Dumbbell Overhead Press
25 reps Cable Tricep Pushdown

One final note…

I do show this using more gym tools as that is honestly ideal for this set up. However, if you are training at home, as long as you use tempo changes or exercise variations that challenge you for each rep number, you can utilize this technique. 

I often even slightly adjust the reps for more bodyweight based workouts, knowing a bit more volume can be helpful using more of a 10-15-25 layout.

But if you’re looking to build strength, gain muscle and lose fat, try this amazing workout design in your next progression! 

For more amazing workouts to help you rock those results, check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

Is It Menopause? Perimenopause? The Symptoms and 4 Nutrition Tips

Is It Menopause? Perimenopause? The Symptoms and 4 Nutrition Tips

by | Jul 31, 2023 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

“I feel like my hormones have been super out of whack.”

“It’s freaking frustrating I’m gaining weight around my middle! I’ve never gained fat there before!”

“I just don’t have energy to do anything and my sleep has been HORRIBLE!”

“I don’t know what’s going on with me!”

“But…I’m too young for menopause!”

The struggles and symptoms we often blame on menopause can start over a decade before as our hormone levels begin to change with PERIMENOPAUSE.

That’s why I want to share some common symptoms of perimenopause and how you can best manage them with 4 nutritional tips.

Because…

The changes are REAL.

And it can be hard to navigate them and focus on controlling what we can control if we don’t understand why we’re gaining weight, and in different places, feeling demotivated and fatigued, and even struggling with anxiety and self confidence!

What Is Perimenopause And What’s Happening To My Body?

Peri-menopause has earned the nickname “midlife puberty.” 

This is because of the hormone fluctuations and emotional and physical rollercoaster it can feel like we’re on. 

While we think of menopause as something that most often starts in our 50s, perimenopause can start as early as our late 30s although most often it will start in our 40s.

It can last anywhere from 2-10 years. 

Perimenopause is truly a transition not just an “event.”

And while it can feel like our bodies are starting to go berserk, this is the PERFECT opportunity to learn how to manage the changes we see with menopause so we can learn how to adjust our nutrition to match what our body will need moving forward.

Perimenopause hits everyone differently and there are a wide range of symptoms we can experience. Basically all the good stuff about having your period and going menopause:

PMS
Sleep disturbances
Hot flashes
GI disturbances
Food cravings
Joint pain
Menstrual irregularities
Longer cycles
Missed cycles
Heavy cycles
Mood disturbances
Depression
Fatigue
Mental Fogginess
Decreased libido
Weight gain (even shifts in where fat is stored)
Water retention

Exciting, right?

NO…it’s really not…

BUT while we can’t prevent this hormonal change from occurring, we can make some dietary changes to help us manage these symptoms as best as possible. 

The more informed we are about what is going on and what actions we can take, the more we can make sure we’re adjusting our fueling and training to see results and be lean and strong at any and every age.

And while you may be feeling down right now, and that may be due to the hormonal changes, yes this can impact our anxiety levels, confidence and even body image, we have to remember that 1% improvements add up. 

The more we focus on making the changes that can benefit us the healthier we will be no matter what.

Studies have actually been conducted as well to show the impact our MINDSET has on aging.

It was found that women who were more comfortable with aging and didn’t find it shameful actually suffered less from perimenopausal symptoms. 

So MINDSET MATTERS!

Of course it is easier said than done to change our mindset about things that make us feel down but the more we can stay focused on the habit changes we can make the better.

So what are 4 nutritional changes you can make to help manage those symptoms of perimenopause?

#1: Drink More Water

Increasing your water intake during perimenopause is key.

Estrogen and progesterone influence your body’s hydration levels, and when the two are fluctuating dramatically during perimenopause, increasing your water intake can be helpful as you may find even your skin is drier.

Making sure you are hydrated can help you manage hot flashes, reduce GI disturbances to keep you regular and reduce gas and bloating and even reduce fatigue.

It can even help you avoid the dreaded menopausal weight gain and lose weight while retaining lean muscle.

We often ignore the importance of hydration for fat loss but the body needs water to burn fat.

So not only is staying hydrated key to better lipolysis or fat loss, but it also improves your workouts and helps us maintain our lean muscle, which promotes more optimal body composition. 

When cells aren’t properly hydrated, they break down protein more quickly and build muscle more slowly.

This can hinder us from seeing the full benefits of our training. 

Not to mention dehydration can lead to us fatiguing more quickly with our training so we aren’t able to work at our full capacity to see results!

While it is often recommended to get 50% of your body weight in ounces, I’d recommend at least 70% of your body weight in ounces during perimenopause.

This higher intake can address these hormonal changes and also help especially if you’re training hard, increasing your protein and trying to lose weight!

#2: Love Your Fats. Focus On Omega-3s

During perimenopause, our estrogen levels drop which can not only impact where we start to store fat, leading to more belly fat being gained even if we never used to gain around our middle, but it can also mean we become more insulin resistant. 

This doesn’t mean we should just demonize carbs and cut them all out.

But it does mean that a higher fat and protein macro breakdown may help us lose weight more efficiently.

Just be conscious not to overly restrict carbs if you are an endurance athlete or training super intensely. 

Those carbs help fuel our training and preserve our lean muscle mass, which is key as it does become harder to build and retain lean muscle as we get older! 

But focusing on getting more healthy fats in our diet is key, specifically focusing on increasing our Omega-3 intake. 

Increasing our omega-3 intake can help reduce hot flashes, especially night sweats, to improve our sleep, improve our mood, reduce anxiety, and even help with GI system disturbances like constipation by reducing inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3s can also help reduce joint inflammation and pain and improve our recovery while also helping us see better fat loss results. 

Because estrogen levels drop, inflammation increases in the body which is why many women going through perimenopause can start to deal with chronic inflammation to some degree.

This inflammation can impact not only our body but also our mind.

Reducing inflammation can help eliminate brain fog and improve our mood and cognition.

Inflammation can also make it harder for us to lose weight as our hormones fluctuate so make sure to get in enough omega-3s by including foods like salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, trout, walnuts, macadamia nuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds is key! 

And even consider a supplement during this time if you need the boost!

#3: Don’t Fear Fruits

Often when we lower our carb intake, we cut out fruits. 

We may have even heard that we should avoid fruits for weight loss because of the sugars.

But there are some key fruits we want to include during perimenopause that can help us manage the symptoms and even stay full and fueled. 

Fruits are a great way to get a diversity of micros, enzymes, and fiber while serving as a carb source that can be very filling and satisfying even curbing our cravings for sweets.

Consider including fruits like berries, kiwis and even pineapple. 

Berries are a great source of antioxidants and lower in carbs. They also are a high water content food, which can help us stay hydrated and increase our water intake without us even having to drink more water! 

Kiwis are great if you are suffering from GI issues such as constipation. 

Their water balance and the enzyme they contain actinidin help get things moving. Plus, they are a good source of fiber. 

They are also rich in Vitamin K which can help keep our bones healthy, which is extra important as we go through the hormonal changes of perimenopause.

Pineapple is another key fruit to help you reduce hot flashes and help with bloating. 

Pineapple contains bromelain – a protein-digesting enzyme that can relieve an upset stomach and digestive issues, which is extra helpful if you are increasing your protein during perimenopause to help with body recomp and to lose that stubborn belly fat! 

The final fruit I want to mention is a juice.

While I’m not usually a fan of juice because it is easy to over consume a ton of sugar and calories when we drink it, tart cherry juice can be super key if you are struggling to get quality sleep. 

It naturally contains tryptophan which is required for the body to produce melatonin, and it also does have naturally-occurring melatonin as well magnesium and potassium to improve the quality of your sleep naturally. 

Its antioxidant properties can also help reduce inflammation and improve your muscle recovery.

#4: Focus On Those Amino Acids. Especially Tryptophan And Leucine

Increasing your protein intake during perimenopause is key.

We are less able to utilize protein as efficiently as we get older, which means we need to increase our intake to support our training and help us build and retain lean muscle.

We want to do everything we can during perimenopause to focus on muscle as it not only keeps our metabolism healthy and prevents the slowdown we often associate with age and menopause, resulting in weight gain, but it also keeps our bones healthy and strong and helps us stay functionally stronger till our final day on this planet! 

But not only do you want to focus on getting about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (you can use your goal bodyweight if you are working to lose weight or if you are overweight), you also specifically want to make sure you’re getting more tryptophan and leucine.

Tryptophan can help improve the quality of our sleep as well as our mood because it is involved in the production of melatonin and serotonin. 

A few great sources of tryptophan are turkey, chicken, tofu, milk, and pumpkin seeds. 

Leucine is also key for us to focus on during perimenopause to improve our protein synthesis and muscle gains.

Leucine taken in something like a BCAA or branched chain amino acid supplement can be a very calorie efficient way to get more of this essential amino acid. 

In combination with isoleucine and valine, BCAAs can help counter some of the central nervous system fatigue and brain fog that are common symptoms of perimenopause.

It also keeps amino acids we get from complete protein sources circulating and a higher level in our blood to work with the other foods we’re eating to stimulate better muscle protein synthesis.

But whether you do supplement or focus on increasing your protein overall, do not fear protein! It can really help you stay leaner and stronger through this phase!

The key thing to remember as you go through these hormonal fluctuations is that things will balance out.

This is a phase and one that will have ups and downs.

The more we track what we are doing to see how things are impacting us, the better off we will be.

Tracking our food especially during this time allows us to make changes to meet our body where it is at right now.

It can help us identify foods that may not work for us as well any more and even know how to best create the calorie intake and portions we need to stay lean and fueled while feeling our best. 

So as you implement these tips, track how you feel to see what works best for you!

Ready to learn how to address what your body needs NOW to see the results you deserve?

Schedule a coaching consultation today to feel your most fabulous!

STUDIES:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12150226/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4901052/

3 Workout Tips To Lose Fat Faster

3 Workout Tips To Lose Fat Faster

by | Jul 17, 2023 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

You want to lose fat and actually keep it off?

Stop thinking of your training as a chance to burn more calories.

The benefits of working out for fat loss aren’t in the calories burned during our training sessions.

Training helps us see better results faster through building muscle, improving our movements and increasing our resting metabolic rate.

Because the calories burned from our training sessions are minimal compared to the calories we burn over the course of the day.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you get better results from your workouts and see those fat loss results build faster!

To start off – Don’t Repeat Movements Over The Week.

Your workouts don’t need to be boring to get results.

While there are some fundamental movement patterns you want to include in your training, you shouldn’t be so married to only one form of a movement that you only use the same exercise over and over again.

You should include a diversity of movements over the course of your weekly progression but repeat those same workouts for 2-4 weeks at least.

That repetition of the same workouts allows you to see growth in the movements.

But it’s key you include a diversity of movements during the week to create progression through the same but different and avoid your ego getting in the way.

Like including not only the barbell hip thruster but also the single leg foot raised variation as well.

This diversity in the exact form of a movement pattern you include allows you to target and work all aspects of a muscle and in different ways.

It also allows you to use the same movement pattern both as a primary heavy lift and even an accessory move.

You can even change up the types of resistances you use or the exact range of motion and tempos on a movement to drive muscle growth more efficiently over the week.

And this will allow you to see progression each week in these different ways and address any weak links you may have.

If you instead repeated the same barbell back row twice in a week, you may find your ego pushes you to try to lift more each workout, when you can’t. 

That second time using the row, your back may be fatigued from previous workouts. So you need to use less weight. But it can be hard to go lighter on the same move you did earlier with more.

By simply even using a single arm dumbbell row as that second row variation in the week, you now won’t force out more weight than you can control AND you’ll get the benefits of a unilateral move.

You’ll allow yourself to use more ways of creating progression to drive muscle growth while keeping your workouts fun and challenging.

You’ll see quicker gains in strength and even feel functionally more fit from your workouts! 

The second tip is – Start Global. Go Local.

In other words go big to small.

When you’re looking to include a variety of movement variations over the course of the week, you don’t want to just think about different tools or tempos or postures. 

You also want to think about how many muscles and joints are involved in the movement.

Include heavy compound lifts, like the deadlift, but also more isolated movements, especially to target those more stubborn areas, like the bicep curl. 

This combination of both types of movements leads to the best muscle gains.

While compound movements are more time-efficient and should be our focus when we have less time to train, isolation exercises help us work a muscle closer to failure to promote optimal growth. 

You want to be strategic in how you combine these movements over the course of your workout to get the best results from each type.

Generally, you want to start with big, heavy compound lifts, more global movements before you progress on to smaller, more isolation exercises to work local muscles. 

This way you are fresher to maximize those big lifts and lift heavier weights before you push a muscle to full fatigue and create a bigger volume of work with the isolation focus. 

Movements like the bench press are a great option to start your training.

Because you are fresh for this lift by including it at the start of your workout, you’ll be able to work more at your true 100% intensity and lift heavier for quality reps. 

Exercises that allow you to lift heavier weights build strength which allows you to move more weight not only over the single session but also the weeks and months.

By working from heavier compound lifts toward more accessory moves and isolation exercises, you can fully fatigue the muscles worked during that primary exercise and use all 3 drivers of muscle growth. 

With isolation moves, you aren’t focused on low reps and maxing out on loads, but instead of creating more of a pump or burn in the muscles through higher reps with loads that make you want to stop 5 short of where you do. 

These weights shouldn’t feel light for the reps you perform even though the loads will be lighter than you may use for a compound exercise.

Moves like the leg extension done later in your workout should fully fatigue your quads after you’ve done other exercises like squats and front lunges earlier on. 

Even if you’re short on time or only training 3 times a week, consider adding in a finisher to your workout with an isolation exercise or two to target your stubborn muscle groups! 

The third tip is – Don’t Turn Your Strength Workouts Into Cardio

Stop trying just to feel tired and out of breath from your workouts. Don’t just seek to feel the burn every training session. 

Too often to burn more calories and feel more worked, we end up turning our strength workouts into cardio sessions. 

We cut out all rest. We rush through movements. We add more volume or more reps and sets.

And I know this makes us feel like we’re working harder, which makes us believe we’re going to see better results faster, but ultimately this is what holds us back.

By turning our strength sessions into cardio workouts, we aren’t going to see the muscle growth we want to improve our metabolic health and lose fat faster. 

We can even end up losing muscle by doing this and find it harder to keep our nutrition dialed in and our calories in check.

Muscle growth is dependent on a stimulus that challenges the muscle and forces it to grow and adapt. 

These sessions may feel hard but they aren’t tearing down your muscle so that it has to regrow stronger. 

As you rest less, rush through moves and add more and more volume, your intensity drops.

What “feels” like you giving 100% isn’t a true 100% for very long.

This means you aren’t able to lift as heavy or do the quality repetitions you need to create that progression in your training to create those muscle gains. 

And often in making our sessions more cardio, we deplete our glycogen stores more and simply make ourselves hungrier. This can then make it more of a mental battle to keep our nutrition in check!

Don’t cut out rest. Don’t just add in more reps. Slow down your movements even. 

But stop seeking to just feel out of breath from your training and like you’re exhausted each and every session.

Realize that resting between rounds so you feel ready to go to work at a true 100% intensity for longer, and even like you’ve EARNED the rest from lifting heavy the round before, is what you need to build that lean muscle!

Be strategic in how you design your workouts to build muscle and help you burn more calories even at rest. This will help you see better fat loss results and maintain them long term.

We have to remember that systems work together to produce results which is why we can’t just randomly string “good moves” that “feel hard” together without a purpose!

 For workouts to help you reach your goals, check out my Dynamic Strength program!

The Most Underrated Plank Exercise

The Most Underrated Plank Exercise

by | Jul 2, 2023 | Blog, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

The plank is an amazing core move and a fundamental we need to include. 

But holding longer only helps us build strength to a point.

And just because a move is a must-do basic, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun using other variations especially to target specific muscles of our core more. 

Because the basic plank doesn’t help us work on that rotational core strength nor does it include any lateral flexion.

And learning to power and control both of these movements is key if we want not only a toned, strong core but also to improve our shoulder, hip, knee and even ankle stability.

So if you want to work those obliques and glutes even more with both a rotational and lateral flexion movement, while improve your shoulder stability try this amazing plank variation – the Plank with Oblique Knee Tuck! 

In this video, I’ll show you how to perform this move and modify it to fit your current fitness level so you can build a strong core!

And I’ll share my “secret” to finding a way to modify ANY exercise to fit someone’s needs and goals. 

How To Do The Plank With Oblique Knee Tuck:

This plank variation actually combines the basic front plank with the side plank as you transition from side to side with this rotational exercise.

And then it advances the basic side plank by adding in that oblique knee tuck.

Because you are stabilizing on just one arm and one leg, this move needs to be built up to slowly so that you aren’t overloading your shoulder or knee.

It is a challenging plank variation to work on your shoulder, hip and knee stability and will really work those obliques and glutes!

To do the Plank with Oblique Knee Tucks, set up in a forearm front plank from your elbows and toes.

Stack your elbows under your shoulders but outside your chest and focus on engaging your back to really lock your shoulders in place. Your hands will be in toward each other as your elbows are wider. This will feel more comfortable as you rotate.

You can even start with your arms fully perpendicular to your body under your shoulders.

Flex your quads as you drive back slightly through your heels and perform a small posterior pelvic tilt to feel your abs light up.

Maintain a nice straight line from your head to toes.

Then rotate to one side. Make sure your elbow stays stacked under your shoulder and your hips don’t drop as you twist.

As you move into that side plank, also make sure your foot that stays on the ground is flexed. This protects your knee and ankle to create better tension up your leg to engage your glute.

Squeeze your butt forward as you lift your top leg up and reach your top hand overhead.

Then tuck your elbow and knee together. You will crunch them together slightly in front of you, but do not allow your bottom hip to sag.

You want that bottom oblique and glute working!

After performing the tuck and reaching back out move back to face the ground and rotate into a side plank on the other side to perform the oblique knee tuck.

Do not rush this move. Take it slow to really stabilize and feel those obliques and glutes working!

So How Can You Modify This Move?

Adding movement to a plank exercise creates a new stability challenge. And side planks themselves are already very challenging.

You do not want ego to get in the way. So just because you can do a full plank from the ground, doesn’t mean you’ve necessarily earned this variation. 

The rotation into the side plank and then supporting yourself with only your bottom leg as you tuck the top leg, requires more strength and stability than we realize. 

If you find yourself losing balance or rushing, try first modifying with your elbow up on a bench, stair or incline. 

By lifting up your elbow, you reduce the resistance on your upper body and put less strength demands on your entire core. 

I prefer the incline to modify because it allows you to learn to engage everything down to your feet. 

When you do a knee plank variation, you don’t learn how to create tension into your lower leg.

As you build up and get comfortable with the movement pattern, you can move back to the ground. 

We have to remember it isn’t just strength sometimes but that mind-body connection we first need to work on with movements. We need to build that smooth coordination and get muscles engaged efficiently and correctly to progress.

So slow things down and use that incline.

However, if you find that you can do the full plank off the ground but that you lose balance as you alternate sides, you can even modify by doing one side at a time. 

Just rotate from that front plank to the same time to help you maintain that balance. Then after all reps are complete, switch to the side plank on the other side.

Now what if due to injury, an incline variation still isn’t right for you?

Because I know that not every move is right for every person, I wanted to share some tips to help you learn how to adjust any moves you ever need… 

So my secret to modifying moves?

Not being married to an exercise and instead always prioritizing the muscles I need to train and movement patterns I want to work on.

With this plank with oblique knee tuck, I always want to first see how I can simply regress the exact movement. 

But when this isn’t possible, I go back to why the move was being used in the first place.

Was it that I wanted rotational core work? That extra oblique and glute medius work? That lateral flexion?

When you have a goal for every move you include, you can easily swap in another move or moves that achieve those same goals whenever you need. 

If you did still want a balance and stability component while working on that lateral crunch, but that didn’t require strain on the shoulders, maybe you include a standing oblique knee tuck where you stay balanced on one side. 

Or maybe you wanted more of the rotational element to target your obliques and glutes unilaterally but can’t get down on the ground so you include a cable hip rotation. 

The point is, when modifying, you aren’t as much concerned with the exact exercise as the GOAL for the movement.

And whenever possible, you keep the exercise as close as possible to train that exact movement, build the mind-body connection and build up. 

But when that isn’t possible, you simply stay focused on the goal for including the move so you can see the same benefits!

There is always a way to find a movement variation to match our needs and goals. 

That’s why I love this amazing plank with oblique knee tuck when you want to work your glutes and obliques even more. 

And the rotational movement and lateral flexion are a great way to target your core in multiple planes of motion.

But if you can’t get down on the ground to enjoy this amazing plank move, give these non-floor core moves a try.

–> Non Floor Core Moves

Can’t Build Muscle? Try These 5 Strength Training Techniques

Can’t Build Muscle? Try These 5 Strength Training Techniques

by | Jun 25, 2023 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness

So often we focus on progression only through adding loads or doing another rep with a weight.

But at some point, you can’t just keep adding 5lbs every week.

You can’t do another rep.

That’s why creating progression through the same but different is so key.

You don’t need a crazy fancy new device or some new secret exercise.

You can make small tweaks to the moves you’re doing to see those strength and muscle improvements.

So stop getting caught up in only lifting more.

Here are 5 training techniques to help you create that progression through the same but different and see those better muscle gains!

The first way to use the same moves you love and create a new stimulus for growth is to…

Mix Up Equipment

Barbells vs. dumbbells vs. cables vs. bands can all be used to apply tension and create instability and resistance in different ways.

They often even require you to use a different loading placement which can help you change which muscles get more emphasis during a move.

While dumbbells are a great way to load down a step up and challenge your legs, you can emphasize your glutes more during this move by using cables instead.

The cable being anchored down low and the consistent tension as you drive up and then control the lower back down, can help you really feel those glutes more than even your quads.

It can help you keep progressing that step up if you feel yourself starting to cheat with the dumbbells while allowing you to shift how you use the move in your progression because of the shift in muscle emphasis.

You may even find you combine two types of resistances to get the different benefits each provide when you feel you aren’t able to just add more weight.

If you find you can’t really keep progressing loads with a dumbbell chest fly, try lowering the dumbbell weight you’re using while adding in a band for the movement.

The band applies resistance in a new way and even applies more resistance throughout the arc of the movement while forcing you to really control the fly open.

Just by adding in the band, you may be surprised how much lighter your dumbbell weights have to get, allowing you new room for progression.

Not to mention you can even increase the band tension over time as well.

The second tweak you can make to the exercises you’re already including to create progression is to Adjust Your Posture.

Good form isn’t a simply good or bad as we often act like it is.

There are slight changes in our form we can make to emphasize muscles involved in the movement to different extents while also even hitting different aspects of the same muscle.

You could take the same walking lungeand make it more glute intensive by adding in a more vertical shin angle and slightly angled out wide stride or more quad intensive by keeping it more narrow and allowing your knee to travel further forward over the ball of your foot.

Just like you can change your hand placement on push ups to make them more tricep intensive while requiring less scapular control with a narrow grip or slightly less tricep intensive while requiring more scapular control with a standard grip.

Even super small adjustments like slightly different degrees of hip flexion during seated abduction can help you better establish that mind-body connection and engage different aspects of the glute medius.

So often it isn’t even that we need a crazy new move to work an area, we just need to adjust our form slightly to change how it is working!

The third technique is one most of us often avoid because it can really force us to lighten loads and it can be a bit frustrating since it can make moves awkward…

It’s To Change Our Base Of Support.

If you’ve maxed out on a bilateral or two-limbed move, make it a unilateral or one-sided move.

This can create instability, challenge your core more and requires you to even change how you recruit muscles to improve your mind-body connection.

It can also help you address weak links or a weaker side, which may then allow you to lift more when you thought you’d hit your cap with the bilateral variation.

And even when you’re doing a unilateral variation, you can easily mix things up, because many unilateral moves are more challenging than we give them credit for even with lighter loads.

With something like the single leg deadlift, you may find that starting out you don’t have the balance to do the fully unilateral variation. Or you don’t like how much you really have to drop down in weight.

So instead, maybe you try an 80/20 option, or a bench supported option.

This can help you target each side independently while still going a bit heavier than you may be able to with the fully single leg variation.

And changing your base of support doesn’t always have to mean just creating instability or a new challenge for the exact muscle you want to target.

It doesn’t even always mean making that base of support one sided…

It can even be something as simple as doing a chest supported row over a bent over row so that you can’t bounce the weights or use any momentum.

This can be key if you are finding yourself starting to cheat as you’re getting up in weights to try to eek out more.

Sometimes we want to limit what other muscles can be used to get up more weight to help us better hone in on the areas worked.

This can force us often to even go down in loads to start.

With the chest supported row, you may find that having your core locked into the bench allows you to even better focus on that scapular movement!

The 4th way to create progression and even improve your mobility and flexibility in the process is to…Adjust The Range Of Motion

The best way to make sure your flexibility and mobility work sticks is to then strengthen in your workouts through that full range of motion you’ve worked hard to build.

It’s why progressing from a split squat to a deficit split squat may help you improve your hip range of motion while also giving you a new challenge.

That bigger range of motion will make the move more challenging and create extra stretch on muscles under load to help you drive muscle growth.

However, changing the range of motion to drive muscle growth or hypertrophy doesn’t always mean increasing it.

Because metabolic stress is another driver of muscle growth, shrinking the range of motion at times to keep a muscle under tension can also be helpful.

So instead of just doing dumbbell bicep curls, you can combine that move with a resistance band top only curl where you never release tension and only go halfway down in the movement.

This will create fatigue and push you to failure in a new way and help you get more out of your original basic curl without having to progress the weights past the point you’re able to!

With this curl option you’re also using a new tool to help drive growth as well!

Another way to adjust the range of motion to create a new challenge is to actually change the direction or plane of motion you are moving in.

If you’ve been including a single arm suspension trainer row, you may try a rotational row instead.

This changes the range of motion and plane of motion you are working in to not only target the same muscles in different ways but even get new muscles involved to make sure you’re building functional strength in every direction.

The 5th and final technique that can help you drive that muscle growth even using the same moves and weights you are currently is to….

Emphasize the Eccentric.

Small tweaks to what we are currently doing can really add up! Too often we make massive changes over seeing the 1% opportunities.

And emphasizing the eccentric portion of an exercise is a great way to even use your current workouts while pushing growth.

To emphasize the eccentric, you’re going to focus on the portion of the move that is stretching the prime mover or main muscle driving the exercise.

With a pull up, you will want to focus on slowing down the lower down from the bar.

On the squat, you want to slow down the lower down to the bottom of the squat.

This focus on slowing down the stretch of the muscle to spend more time under tension has been shown to be a great way to drive muscle growth.

And it can be used with so many moves.

Just realize you may find that this can make you VERY sore, especially starting out.

Focusing on the eccentric can also help you tackle movements or weights you can’t yet fully use, especially if you change the move to eccentric only with a reset at the start.

With the push up, if you’re including those to build muscle, but can only currently do them off an incline, you may find you can do an eccentric only version from your toes off the ground.

We are often stronger in that eccentric portion of the move.

And that progression to that full version, plus the time under tension, could help you progress a move you are stuck on to build muscle!

We have to remember there are so many ways to create progression that aren’t just about adding more weight or doing another rep.

And the more advanced we are, the more we need to see opportunity in creating progression through the same but different.

So even using your current workout progression, see how you can use these techniques to make small tweaks and see those muscle gains improve!

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