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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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Can’t Do Push Ups? Try These 5 Tips

Can’t Do Push Ups? Try These 5 Tips

by | Jun 18, 2023 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Push Ups

You’ve been working at them and working at them…

But you just don’t feel like your push ups are progressing no matter how hard you try.

Yet you feel like you’re soooo close!

That’s why I wanted to share these 5 tips to help you adjust your workouts and push up work to finally get over that hurdle and bust out picture perfect push ups from your toes.

Because we don’t just want to do one beautiful push up…we want to look like a push up rockstar!

First, don’t just include push ups for only reps and sets – use intervals instead to work on your push ups! 

A big part of improving our push ups is our mind-body connection, not just our overall muscular strength.

Often we are strong enough already, we just aren’t able to fully recruit the correct muscles in the correct order to work together as efficiently as we need.

It’s why our hips sag as we focus on pushing back up or our elbows flare or we can’t engage our back to support our shoulders.

That’s why interval work over counting reps can help.

Intervals allow us to focus on what we feel working during each and every rep. 

Because we don’t have to care how many we do.

We are just working for that set amount of time. We also don’t get to be “done” any faster by rushing through the reps.

So having that set time frame to work allows us to focus on each rep.

AND it allows us often to do a higher volume of work with a harder variation over getting focused on doing more reps while using a more modified variation.

Often when we see 3 rounds of 8-12 reps listed, we modify the push up to do more reps each round.

But this often only helps us improve our strength endurance to do more reps of that modified variation.

Using intervals, if you know you have 1 minute to work, you can do a rep of the hardest variation, pause. Reset and do another rep of that same challenging variation. Pause again and repeat. You can then modify if you can’t keep the rest about 10-15 seconds between reps.

This allows you to create a great training volume while using that harder variation to build up!

And you can stay focused on what you feel working over just trying to get a certain amount of reps done!

Next, don’t be afraid to mix up the push up variations you use! Push ups can be their own best accessory exercise! 

Often if we can’t yet do a full push up, we don’t consider mixing things up.

But different grips and push up variations can help us target our weak links and strengthen them while also allowing us to get in more push up work.

So instead of just using the standard push up multiple times over the course of the week, vary up the types of push ups you include.

Try close grip to work those triceps more while requiring less scapular control.

Try shoulder tap push ups to work on that anti-rotational core strength and shoulder stability.

Mix up the variations you use, modifying them even to target those weak links while still working on your mind-body connection overall for push ups.

And don’t be afraid to also change up tempos and ways of modifying. If you always use an incline, try a band assisted push up instead!

Which brings me to tip #3….Try doing push ups but ONLY the lower down. 

Often using even just one single aspect of a movement can help us strengthen it.

And when it comes to our push ups, we can see great gains by just focusing on the eccentric portion of the movement, or the lower down, because we are actually stronger during that part.

This means we may be able to slow down the tempo and spend more time under tension while doing a more advanced push up variation than we would be able to if we had to press back up.

So if you’re feeling stuck on an incline or modified variation, try going to that next advanced step up and do only the lower down, focusing on a slow 5-6 count.

Once you lower all the way down, simply reset at the top, don’t try to push back up.

Complete even just 3-5 reps this way or even an interval of work.

But focus on what you feel working and everything engaging correctly as you just control the lower down of the most advanced version you can!

And then even include PAUSES in your push ups, especially in this variation. 

While you can pause at points in any push up variation you include to work on those points you tend to get stuck, it can be extra beneficial to include pauses during the eccentric only push ups at the very bottom.

Hold in that perfect plank an inch or so off the ground. Focus on engaging everything as hard as possible and even run through a checklist of what you feel working in your head.

Hold here for a 3-5 count then relax down and reset.

This ability to hold tension at the bottom of your push up will ultimately help you maintain tension to do the full press back up.

Often when we hit the bottom of the movement, we struggle to shift from lowering down to pushing the ground away to press back up.

This ability to maintain that plank position at the bottom is key.

It’s honestly often the missing component in our mind-body connection and where we lose tension, holding us back from full range of motion perfect push ups!

So try using that pause at the bottom. Although you can also implement pauses throughout the movement if you find there are other points you tend to fail.

Like if you get stuck when your elbows are bent to 90 degrees, try holding there too!

But don’t be afraid to included these pauses to create more time under tension and even give yourself the mental ability to focus on what you feel working without having the movement factor in!

Then stop just trying to do more reps in a row. 

Often to build strength, we do want to do one more rep with a weight.

One more rep of that challenging movement to create progression and build strength and muscle.

But when working to progress a SKILL, simply doing more volume of a more modified variation can keep us stuck.

Instead we want to focus on fewer reps in a row of a harder variation.

We can build up volume by resting even 15-20 seconds between 1-3 reps to get the 8-12 reps we want to complete.

But we can’t just shoot to keep trying to do 10 reps in a row.

Or we will end up continuing to need to use the modified variation and only continue to get stronger with the modification.

Often when we get focused on hitting a higher rep range for a move too, we rush through the rest. This doesn’t allow us to fully recovery and requires us often to modify even more over the rounds.

Instead, rest more and do fewer reps in a row!

Seek to use a variation you can only do a single rep of. If you can even do 2-3 reps, try something harder!

If you’ve been stuck, feeling like you’re just at that tipping point to be able to do a full push up, try implementing these 5 tips in your workout progression.

Use intervals over counting reps.

Use different push up variations.

Focus only on the lower down and even include pauses.

And then don’t be afraid to do single reps in a row, building up that volume over the interval of work!

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Squat Challenge! What Happens When You Do 100 Squats a Day for 30 Days?

Squat Challenge! What Happens When You Do 100 Squats a Day for 30 Days?

by | Jun 11, 2023 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises

I get the draw of these challenges.

They are simple and hard and often not too time consuming.

And something is always better than nothing to get us moving and motivated.

BUT…

Honestly, these challenges are also what sabotage our long-term success and adherence to a workout routine.

They can even make us feel like we’re working super hard, staying super consistent, making ourselves super sore and not seeing results build as quickly as we would like.

They can lead to us feeling like we are finally getting back into a groove but them BAM! Always hit with an injury.

That’s why in this video I want to go over what results you can truly expect from these 30 day challenges – the good, the bad and the simply ugly…

So let’s break down these 30 day challenges and the results you’ll get over the weeks…

Starting with that first week…

In that first week, if you haven’t been doing anything in terms of training, and this is your motivation to get moving…

Be prepared to be VERY VERY SORE.

Did I say you’ll feel SORE?

Because you’re going to feel sore those first few days.

If you break up those first 100 reps over the day, you may deceive yourself into thinking it “wasn’t that bad,” but that volume will sneak up on you.

You’re going from 0 to 100 reps and doing a repetitive movement for a high volume of work. 

You’re also doing this movement daily so not giving yourself fully enough time to recover from the previous session.

So those first 4 days, you’re going to feel sore and even a bit beat down.

If you haven’t checked your squat form or are feeling a bit stiff and immobile from a lack of activity, you may also find your knees and hips and even lower back are extra achy. 

This may pass with movement or it may be the start of the end.

Too often we sabotage ourselves from getting in a routine by simply pushing too hard in that first week.

We need to rebuild slowly to make sure we’re doing moves correctly and using the correct muscles. 

Not to mention just because you can “do” a move and for that volume, like your muscles are strong enough, doesn’t mean your connective tissues, such as your ligaments, are truly ready for it.

It’s why doing too much too quickly leads to injury. 

Also if our form is off we overload joints and muscles also putting us at risk.

And squats, like a fundamental movement pattern are often blamed for knee pain because we don’t use them correctly! 

However, if we can stick it out for those first 4ish days, often we feel like we get stronger overnight.

While our muscles haven’t grown, our body starts to become familiar with the movement and we become more efficient at repeating it. 

It’s why toward the end of that first week we may feel like things got almost easier overnight.

While you are getting stronger by creating a challenge for your body, you haven’t really built muscle this quickly.

It is simply that mind-body connection first improving. 

We may also see some weight loss initially with the challenge.

You are moving more which can mean you’re now burning additional calories during the day.

But just like our body adapts to make the reps feel easier in that first week, our body adapts to be more efficient which means this deficit through added movement will be short lived.

If we don’t add on to our training, move more or change our nutrition, we won’t keep losing weight. 

In that second and third week, the weight loss benefits will stop as your body adapts.

And you’re going to start feeling more burned out from the daily repetitive movement and see yourself hit a point of diminishing returns.

You may feel more worn down. Weird places may hurt again. Despite you feeling just a little bit before like you are getting stronger, you may feel like you go backward.

You’re not giving yourself enough time to rest and recover from a high volume of the same move, over and over and over again. 

And as things hurt or feel sore, you’re going to start compensating.

Your form may break down more from fatigue and even from you starting to rush through just to get things done. 

Doing the same thing every day gets tedious and boring!

We start to just want to be done with it.

It isn’t the same fun mental challenge it once was.

So often this is where we stop. We go back to our previous workout practices and we end up feeling like nothing will ever be sustainable. 

Or we keep pushing through. Maybe finally at the end of week 3 our body starts to adapt and we do see those muscle gains if we’re fueling well.

But often we just start to see knee and hip aches and pains add up more and more. 

We also haven’t built up any other muscle groups. We haven’t worked our core or our upper body. 

And we have no plan in place to guide us.

We have no “exit strategy” from this challenge except to do another challenge. 

And at some point this pattern leads to burnout.

We never really create clear progression, a clear BUILD for ourselves with a road map to take us to the goals we want.

So what may have seemed like an “easy way” to get started ultimately is also what keeps us stuck!

Now maybe you’ve powered through to week 4. And honestly, that is freaking awesome. Most don’t make it past that 3 week hump. 

Injury. Boredom. Fatigue. Time. Some excuse gets most of us as we lose that initial motivation.

We’ve been doing the same thing day after day after day. 

And not only does that get tedious so we become less careful and conscious of our movements, not to mention we aren’t as intentional to maximize each rep, but often the challenge really isn’t there for our body any longer.

We won’t keep seeing muscle gains as we’ve adapted to the volume and load of squatting our own bodyweight.

So ultimately we NEED to do more or at least create progression through the same but different. 

And many of us reach the end of the 4 weeks with no plan. 

The same challenge of creating a program we faced at the start, we are now faced with.

The good part about having committed to the 30 days though is we’ve created a workout habit and gotten in a routine, prioritizing some time each day for us and taking care of our body with movement.

We’ve also hopefully built some muscle and even lost a bit of weight from the added activity. 

Because something is better than nothing when starting out.

But nothing keeps progressing if we don’t adapt as we grow stronger and fitter.

And if we are unlucky, this repetitive movement could have led to injury and overload. 

We went all in from the start over giving ourselves time to build that solid foundation and slowly build up.

We may see more aches and pains even adding up over the following weeks if we aren’t careful.

It also hasn’t prepped our body necessarily for other movements. 

We may still be starting out at ground zero when it comes to our upper body or even core training. 

We can’t skip building that foundation and these challenges don’t help us become well rounded.

They so often lead to us just doing too much too quickly over easing in.

Not to mention we may feel like the daily movement is unsustainable long-term but not be sure now how to design a schedule that actually fits our busy lifestyle.

And as simple as these challenges seem, they are deceptively inefficient at getting results. 

You could see better results from LESS volume and even less frequent sessions designed with the appropriate intensity and recovery.

You could have found something more sustainable!

And you could have even found something more FUN to do weekly that would have led to better results faster. 

Including a diversity of movements for your legs over the week would have targeted every aspect of your lower body and hit the muscles to different extents while moving you in every direction.

This could have created faster muscle gains, better recovery and all while avoiding injury and being fun.

By repeating that weekly routine for 3-4 weeks with a clear build to movements, you may have seen your results snowball faster while avoiding boredom that lead to you just rushing through the squats to get them done!

If you’re considering a challenge like the 100 squats a day for 30 days challenge, I urge you to seek out a clear plan that includes diversity and focuses on your entire body instead.

This will truly help you build that strong foundation. 

The more you rebuild safely, slowly and while addressing any mobility restrictions, the faster you will actually progress with less risk for injury.

So while something is better than nothing, and these simple challenges are tempting, find a plan laid out for you even if it is just 5 minute workouts to start back! 

Ready to have a plan in place to reach your goals? Check out my Dynamic Strength program!