Exercises Archives Page 5 of 53 | Redefining Strength

10 Unique Healthy Habits I Wish I Knew Sooner

by Cori Lefkowith | Oct 20, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Mindset

I’m not even going to waste your time with an intro…Here are 10 Unique Healthy Habits I Wish I’d Started Earlier….

Habit #1: Stop labeling foods as good and bad.

I pressured myself to eat clean…in a whole host of different variations for the longest time and sabotaged my own success.

And every time I went on another diet that cut out some “bad” food, I would ultimately be consistent for 30 days or 6 weeks, see some results, then feel so deprived and restricted I would ultimately fall off.

And then I’d feel guilty.

So of course, since I’d already ruined the day or week, I’d eat everything bad for me possible to only have to “start over Monday.”

Then Monday would come and I’d restrict again.

But this labeling of foods as good or bad stopped me from finding balance. And it ultimately led to me eating more foods not as nutrient dense over the long term.

Not to mention it stopped me from seeing results.

Now instead, I focus on an 80/20 balance. I work in foods I love 20% of the time and fully enjoy them. Then focus on whole natural foods 80% of the time.

I never now feel guilty and realize if I don’t include something it is my CHOICE, not something I have to do to hit someone else’s arbitrary standards of clean eating!

Habit #2: Reflection breaks.

I’m a do’er. I get something I want accomplished and I just want to get to taking action.

But this approach leads to a lot of wasted time and energy and often a lot of frustration as we work harder without moving forward.

It’s why I think it is so key we realize the importance of reflection breaks.

Times we step back and actually look at our habits, how we’re truly implementing them and then assess our progress.

Because often we are doing a lot of things we don’t need to be doing and not paying attention enough to the habits we do need to be focusing on.

We’re letting little deviations in our nutrition creep in. Ignoring missed workouts. While putting a lot and time and energy into other things that aren’t as essential.

But honest reflection can help us notice a gap between what we say we want and what we’re doing.

And even help us assess what we’re actually optimizing our habits and lifestyle for.

Because we won’t stumble our way into results. We have to be clear on where and what we’re spending our time on and why!

Habit #3: Set end dates.

Any time I create a plan, I set an end date. This also helps me take time to reflect, making that second habit easier.

And not only do end dates give us that time to reassess and adjust but they help us embrace and trust the process when trying new things.

We know there is a point we can make a change if things aren’t working.

End dates also give us motivation to start now. It’s easy to say, “I’ll start tomorrow.” when there is no deadline.

It’s also easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of FOREVER.

We honestly get BORED with that idea.

We want to test out new workouts. We want to try new foods. We like searching for some improvement.

Instead of shying away from that, set those end dates to give yourself the opportunity to make tweaks and still have fun testing out new things while keeping yourself focused.

Habit #4: Cycling macros every few WEEKS.

I tried carb cycling, variations of daily cycling of macros and calories.

I tried sticking to one thing for months upon months.

The first led to my energy being all over the place and frustration trying to hit different numbers while prepping different foods daily.

It was too much work. Made me feel sluggish.

And it made it so hard to know what was and wasn’t working.

When I switched to sticking with one thing for extended periods, I found I got bored. Results weren’t as fast.

And if my workouts or activity level shifted, I found myself either starving at times or even gaining fat because my fueling didn’t match.

That’s why I began cycling every 2-3 weeks most consistently with small changes over cycles.

It allowed me to simplify meal prep. Keep my energy consistent. Adjust with changes in my workouts. Use different macro ratios to work toward different goals.

And I could even use the ratios to build better off of each other to take advantage of the different impact going lower carb after higher carb or higher carb after lower carb could have on body recomp goals!

It was my balance of diversity with consistency.

And without being too complicated or requiring the extreme precision cycling daily, like carb cycling, required!

Finding my balance of diversity with consistency was key for me not only with my diet but also with my workouts.

Habit #5: Repeating a weekly workout progression.

It’s easy to want to jump around. Or even want to repeat things because they are comfortable.

But you need a balance of both and repeating workouts is key to creating progression.

It’s hard to track progress when there is no clear build and every workout, every day of every week is a bit different.

If you do pull ups one week on Tuesday when your back hasn’t been worked that week you may get out 10 pull ups in a row versus if you did them on Friday of the next week after doing rows on Wednesday, you may find you struggle to get 6.

You didn’t get weaker. The muscles were just fatigued from previous work.

You’d be able to track progress better if you repeated the same schedule and workouts weekly for a few weeks in a row.

And to keep this from becoming boring, implement diversity in your workouts over the week. Don’t just do pull ups multiple times or the same workouts multiple days in a week.

Use different types of moves and even different training techniques and workout designs and tools to create unique and fun sessions.

This combination of even different forms of progression will help you see faster results while helping you not get bored!

Habit #6: Do that prehab!

I wasn’t always the prehab or foam rolling, stretching and activation obsessed person I am today.

But injuries made me face the facts and I’m so glad I did.

Not only am I moving better with fewer aches and pains, but honestly my fat loss, muscle grains and lifting performance all improved by just committing to this system every single warm up.

And it doesn’t have to be a lot. Some days it’s barely just 5 minutes, but the consistency with that flexibility, mobility, and stability work pays off.

We get good at what we consistently do. And the more we stay consistent with this prehab work the less we have to do extra to address movement compensations and imbalance that build up.

That feeling that we used to get away with something just means we shouldn’t be trying to get away with it.

And the longer we try to avoid the prehab work, the more we’re just creating bigger issues that will sabotage us later.

So focus on that prehab work and be intentional with your training. Don’t just rush through. Don’t just think of your workouts as a chance to burn more calories.

Focus on moving well in your sessions and you’ll not only feel and move better but you will see the payoff in those aesthetic goals too!

Habit #7: Prioritize protein.

This habit was something I resisted just like prehab. But when I started prioritizing protein, I finally got to the leanness level I wanted while also FEELING my best.

I saw my workouts and strength improve as well as my recovery.

And this prioritization of protein, I know will serve me well in years to come so I can look, move and feel my best!

I think this focus on protein is essential as we don’t just want to train to look and feel good for a day…we want to feel our best till our final day on this planet!

To help myself focus more on increasing my protein, I began to log it first and build meals around the portions I needed.

I even researched different protein types to find opportunity in the options out there.

I also at first didn’t worry about my ratio of carbs to fats. I just focused on calories and protein.

This allowed me to start to learn how to increase my protein while also making meals I enjoyed.

And I stopped even just focusing on ONE protein source at a meal.

By seeing how I could use two different types of protein in a meal to hit my needs, I found I enjoyed my meals more and didn’t get that protein fatigue!

Habit #8: Embrace my laziness.

This sounds weird to say as a habit but I think it’s a key thing to point out.

Because too often with habit changes, we try to focus on hitting an “ideal.”

We don’t think about how the habits can be adjusted to realistically fit our lifestyle. And that’s often what makes habit change so hard.

We’re trying to force a habit mold.

Instead we need to think, “How can this adjustment work for me and what is one small step toward bigger changes that I can make even on my worst days?”

This focus on embracing what I call my “laziness” with things, allowed me to build healthier habits that have evolved more and more over time.

Like I buy tons of frozen veggies and fruits. I know they won’t go bad and they are easy to prep.

I’ll buy pre-cooked chicken breast. I’ll get frozen meal prep from places.

I’ll plan in restaurant meals out so I don’t have to cook.

I get canned goods.

I have 5 minute workout options or even home workout options when I just know I won’t be motivated or have the time to get to the gym.

The more we can embrace our own “laziness” or desire to not give MORE or prioritize something more, even if just not right now, the more we can actually make healthy habit swaps that add up!

Habit #9: Brain dump before bed.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

The night before I make sure I have everything laid out for the next day.

This pre-planning, or last minute opportunity to adjust my plans, helps me make sure I have my to-do list set for the next day in a way I can accomplish the main things I need to do.

It helps me so that I’m organized in a way I’ll put first in my day the things that will get skipped if not done immediately.

It also helps me clear my mind before bed of anything that may keep me awake at night.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m not conscious to do a little brain dump of thoughts or tasks before going to bed, they’ll be spinning around my mind all night, making it hard to not only fall asleep but stay asleep.

So I use this brain dump into a list to close loops from the day to relax before bed while setting the next day up for success!

Habit #10: Take breaks.

I struggle HARD to not be doing something…like all the time.

So I honestly steered into that even with how I take breaks.

Because breaks don’t mean you aren’t doing something. They are really just a break from what we WERE doing.

So on weeks my body needs to back off the workout intensity, aka needs a break from the heavy lifting or killer cardio, I plan in things to do that are recovery.

I plan in a ton of mobility work and restorative movement. That way I don’t feel like a couch potato.

I use that time if I do shorten my workouts as an opportunity to even make other changes or habits shifts I haven’t had as much time to focus on.

I give myself a new focus while taking the break.

Because our body and mind can’t just go at 100% in the same way forever. And our priorities at times do need to shift.

And if we don’t own this, we never end up actually giving our all to anything.

We can also see our motivation completely fade and burnout hit.

It’s why sometimes even proactively scaling things back when you know priorities have shifted can be key.

So give yourself the break at times and shift your focus. It can help you feel like you’re still getting to take action but in a way that helps you stay motivated while giving your all to what you truly can!

Build your leanest, strongest body no matter your age while creating SUSTAINABLE habit changes and a true lifestyle balance with my Private 1:1 Online Coaching.

–> APPLY AND SCHEDULE A CALL

7 Tips To Start Back in the Gym After a Layoff

by Cori Lefkowith | 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)

by Cori Lefkowith | 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?

Learn more about my 1:1 Online Coaching!

–> Learn More

How to Fix Muscle Imbalances (5 Tips!)

by Cori Lefkowith | 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!

Working to improve your mobility and strength? Check out my Dynamic Strength program!

–> LEARN MORE

Underrated Bodyweight Back Exercise

by Cori Lefkowith | 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!

Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Density Intervals

by Cori Lefkowith | Aug 25, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Too often we only use one very specific rep and set range in our workouts because we’ve heard it’s ideal for strength or muscle hypertrophy or strength endurance…

And we stay within this SINGLE rep range because it is supposedly best for our goal.

But this narrow view of how we SHOULD train holds us back.

It even prevents us from truly pushing ourselves or that progression to create results.

It prevents us from building endurance which could enhance our recovery to see better muscle growth.

It prevents us from increasing our maximal strength to see better muscle gains.

And when we don’t use DIVERSITY IN DESIGN to our advantage, which is even more key the more experienced we are, we often see our results plateau.

We find we aren’t gaining muscle while still putting in hours at the gym. And even our fat loss results seem to go backward.

But by embracing other training techniques, not only can we improve our results, but we can be more efficient in our training, which is good if you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have enough time!”

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite efficient training techniques so you can see better fat loss and muscle gains from your workouts.

And that training technique is Density Intervals!

When we hear INTERVALS, many of us instantly think about cardio workouts.

We think HIIT and our blood pumping and fat crying…

Not muscle being built.

But intervals are a great way to help ourselves increase our training density, or the amount of work or weight lifted in a set timeframe, to see better muscle and strength gains with shorter workout sessions.

That’s why I want to break down why interval strength workouts can be so amazing and how to use Density Intervals specifically to your advantage.

So first…why can intervals be better than just set rep ranges for building strength and muscle?

Using timed intervals in our strength workouts can help us push past the point we usually want to quit.

Think about your workouts…Have you ever just stopped at the top of a rep range because you hit the top number you “should” be doing?

Have you ever thought, “I could have done more but MEH it’s hard enough and I want to just get the workout done?”

Intervals can help us push past that point because we have to keep going until the timer beeps.

It can make us do an extra few reps we normally wouldn’t have and push a bit harder than we would have otherwise.

Even if we have to PAUSE during the interval to keep going, it helps us get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

And it can even help us lift a greater overall load for the session than we would have just counting reps.

Especially if we are a bit pressed for time, intervals stop us from losing mental focus and just rushing through.

We can’t just stop when it feels hard with reps, think “Good enough” and go on to the next thing.

We have to work the entire interval.

And often this keeps us more intentional and focused on the movement. We aren’t worried as much about counting reps.

We can’t be done faster.

So we stay focused on what we feel working.

And when you use the same intervals of work week over week, you can focus on progressing the moves you use or the weights you lifted or even try to get out an extra rep or two with the weight or variation you used the week before in that same time frame.

This can drive progression without increasing your workout time.

You can even time your workout exactly to fit your schedule because you know how long each set will take!

And if you’ve ever felt like you just can’t do another rep or add more weight to a move, this is also where intervals can help you out.

Often if we fail with a weight we just stop there and move on.

But with intervals, you may drop the weight to keep going. Or you may pause then pick back up to finish out the interval.

And Density Intervals even add another layer to this…

While you can use intervals in so many different ways, with Density Intervals you will want to do back to back intervals of work for the same muscle group but using two different forms of progression or movement variations.

Like if you’re working your legs, you may do an interval of front lunges then an interval of split squat pulses.

This helps you take a muscle closer to fatigue in a fast and efficient way.

It can also help you use all 3 drivers of muscle growth and create progression when you can’t do another rep or add more weight with your traditional workout designs.

With Density Intervals, you’ll set two intervals of work for the same area back to back.

In one, you may perform a hold or isometric to pre fatigue the muscle before you then go into reps.

Because you are already tired, you may find the same loads or movement variations you can usually do become exponentially harder. You max yourself out and push past failure with even lighter loads!

Or you may do Density Intervals, where you do that heavy compound lift first, followed by more of an isolation move after to fully fatigue the big muscle worked in your lift.

And you aren’t just limited to these change ups.

You can use two different tempos back to back.

Or even ranges of motion.

And the options go on on and on.

This is also why this workout design can be especially useful when training at home with only bodyweight or limited loads if you’re struggling to see the muscle strength and gains you want from your training.

All of this allows you to use diversity to your advantage while getting in more work for an area without your workouts getting longer and longer.

It helps you fatigue a muscle using different techniques combined. And this is what drives better results.

It can help you truly push yourself to challenge your body while staying focused and intentional.

Because too often we waste time in our workouts just going through the motions.

We want to be able to ask ourselves…

“Have I pushed myself forward and challenged myself today? Have I felt uncomfortable a bit in my training using the time I have to get in quality work?”

And have the answer be YES.

Because that is what leads to results and what Density Intervals can truly help us achieve.

So if you’ve felt like your results have plateaued and your training sessions just aren’t pushing you any more, consider mixing up your traditional reps and sets for timed intervals of strength work.

You’ll be surprised by how the same but different really drives you forward and challenges your body in new ways!

Want killer workouts you can do anywhere to help you build strength and muscle while losing fat?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!