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10 Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises (+2 WORKOUTS!)

10 Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises (+2 WORKOUTS!)

by | May 1, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Push Ups, Travel Workouts, Workouts

There is always a way to keep moving forward consistently toward our goals working around the challenges life throws our way.

And while it may not be our ideal workout or schedule, doing SOMETHING is always better than nothing and can keep us moving forward toward our goals.

That’s why I wanted to share 10 upper body bodyweight moves to help you build strength even when you don’t have access to a gym or you’re short on time.

These moves will target your arms, shoulders, chest, back and core and can easily be done at home, with a few bonus moves using a towel.

I share quick tips on how to do these moves then 2 amazing workouts you can implement them in! 

 

10 Upper Body Bodyweight Moves:

1: Doorway Row

It can be challenging to target your back and perform pulling movements when we don’t have equipment. But by using a simple doorway or even stair banister, we can really challenge our back using our own bodyweight.

And this move is amazing because you can make it unilateral or bilateral to not only challenge one side at a time but even make it harder by using only one side to pull your weight.

Just make sure to stay in that squat and focus on your shoulder blade moving so you’re really initiating the pull with your back!

To modify, start with both hands instead of a unilateral pull.

2: Downward Dog Pike Push Ups

Push ups are not only a great chest, shoulders and tricep exercise, but also a great core move. And you can adjust how much you activate each of those muscle groups based on the exact variation you use.

If you want to get your shoulders and get in movement to mimic that vertical press or overhead press, the downward dog pike push up is the perfect move to include.

When you do this move, make sure you don’t turn it into a horizontal press but actually lower your head straight down between your hands to mimic that vertical pressing movement.

To advance this move, place your feet up on a bench or stair. The higher the platform, the harder it will be!

3: Scapular Wall Row

When we think about back exercises, we think about pulling movements. But this amazing back move is actually a press.

If you struggle with engaging your back and that scapular movement, and often feel your biceps taking over, this is a key back exercise to include. And all you need is a wall!

When you do this move, focus on driving off your elbows to push away from the wall and feel your shoulder blades move toward your spine to drive your chest out. Focus less on walking further away from the wall and more on that mind-body connection to engage your back.

To vary this move up, you can also do the press lying on the ground as well.

4: Tricep Push Ups

This amazing unilateral push up is a great way to target each arm independently to correct imbalances and really work those triceps.

It is also easier on the shoulders than the bench dip, which can make it a great option especially if you’ve had shoulder aches and pains in the past.

When you do this move, make sure to press through your entire hand. Move your hand up higher to modify or lower down your side to advance. And make sure not to let your legs flop around.

You can further modify this move to start by pressing off a bench or wall over doing the push up off the ground.

5: Lying W Pull Down

Even when we don’t have equipment, we don’t want to ignore the importance of vertical pulling exercises. Moves like the Lying W Pull Down can help us improve our back strength, working our lats while helping us improve our scapular control and stability.

Really focus on your shoulder blades drawing together and down toward your butt as you pull your arms down from extended overhead as you lie on the ground. Even slightly extend your spine to lift your chest and hold as you perform the movement.

If you do feel your neck during moves like this, rest your head on a towel or even modify this move standing.

6: Chest Fly Push Up

The chest fly is a great move to really work your pecs, which is exactly what muscle you’ll work more with the Chest Fly Push Up.

All you need are two small towels to use on a hardwood floor or even paper plates on carpet.

And bonus, you’ll also really work your core.

When you do this move, really focus on sliding out with control then your pecs working to pull your hands back in as you come up out of the push up.

To modify, try sliding one side out at a time or even move to your knees. You can also modify this move off an incline, sliding one hand out at a time while using your stairs to create that incline.

7: Plank Row

This bodyweight exercise is a great way to target your core, especially your obliques, improve your shoulder stability and even work on your scapular control and strengthen your back.

Really focus on avoiding rotation as you row your hand up toward your chest and make sure to initiate the row with your back.

This move is an anti-rotational core exercise so do not rush it but really flex even your quads and glutes to fight opening up as you lift your hand.

To modify, try the plank off an incline, placing your hands up on a bench, couch, table or stair.

8: Climber Plank

Target those arms and shoulders as you work your entire core with this plank variation.

When you do the Climber Plank, really make sure to place your hands under your shoulders over letting your hands sneak out in front of you as you climb up. And as you lower down, place your elbows under your shoulders.

This not only really makes your arms and shoulders work, but it will protect your neck and help you avoid shrugging.

To modify this move, try the plank off an incline.

9: Self Resisted Bicep Curl

You can apply your own resistance when bands or weights aren’t available. And one great way to do this and get in some bonus isolation work for those biceps is using a towel!

To do this curl, loop a towel and hold the ends in one hand to resist your other hand as you curl. You can then make it as easy, or as challenging as you want by pulling against your curl.

Focus on making yourself really fight to curl against the tension. Don’t make it too easy on yourself!

You can even include holds at different points in the move to spend more time under tension.

10: Body Saw

If you want a challenging plank variation that is going to work your triceps and lats, you’ll want to include the Body Saw.

While you can do this move by just walking your feet back, a great way to really make it challenge not only your core to protect your lower back during the extension but also your lats and arms, is to add a towel under your feet.

Instead of walking back, slide back. Do not let your hips sag but focus on lengthening through your arms and shoulders before you pull back in.

Think about pulling back into that plank by feeling the sides of your back working to bring your elbows back under your shoulders.

How Can You Use These Moves In 2 Amazing Workouts?

Workout number 1 is the 1 Minute Max Out. Set a timer for 1 minute and perform as many reps of a move as you can in that time. Move through the 5 exercises, working for 1 minute on each (30 seconds per side) before resting for a minute to repeat for 3-5 rounds through.

1 Minute Max Out

CIRCUIT:
1 minute Doorway Row
1 minute Downward Dog Pike Push Up
1 minute Plank Row
1 minute Tricep Push Up
1 minute Lying W Pull Down
1 minute Rest

The second workout option is the 20-16-12-8 Ladder. You will start with 20 reps per move in the Triset (or per side) then go down to 16 reps the next round, 12 the third round and finally 8 on the last round through the moves. Once all 4 rounds are complete on a Triset, move onto the second set of exercises. Time how long it takes you to beat that time next time through!

20-16-12-8 Ladder

TRISET #1:
20-16-12-8 Doorway Row
20-16-12-8 Chest Fly Push Ups
20-16-12-8 Body Saw

TRISET #2:
20-16-12-8 Scapular Wall Row
20-16-12-8 per side Self Resisted Bicep Curls
20-16-12-8 Climber Plank (perform HALF the reps per side)

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Eat MORE And LOSE Fat?! Here’s How

Eat MORE And LOSE Fat?! Here’s How

by | Apr 24, 2022 | Blog, Diet, fat loss-featured

I know we’ve always heard calories in vs calories out is all that matters. And that you need to eat less and create that calorie deficit if you want to lose weight.

However, more is not better when it comes to a deficit, and trying to eat less and create a bigger deficit may backfire if we want to achieve sustainable fat loss results and our ideal lean aesthetic.

Because as much as your goal may be weight loss, you want fat loss. And fat loss can’t be rushed by eating less.

Actually forcing an extreme deficit may be why we’re even GAINING weight while under eating not to mention losing muscle instead of just focusing on fat loss.

I’m going to break down what happens when we undereat and why cycling ratios over cutting calories is key! And then I’m going to go into how to create the appropriate deficit for your needs and goals and why we may have to RE-TRAIN your body to eat more before we can focus on cutting!

Our Body Fights Weight Loss

The reason we need a deficit to lose weight is because we need to force our body to use its own energy stores to fuel. When we have less energy coming in than we need to fuel our activity and survival, we utilize stored energy. This is how we lose weight by using stored glycogen and mobilizing fat stores to fuel!

However, our body wants to maintain balance, even if the balance isn’t necessarily healthy or ideal. And the longer we’ve been at a certain weight, or above our ideal, the more our body doesn’t want to change from that point.

Our body wants to resist change and protect its fuel stores and avoid “starving” which is what it is so to speak “scared of” when you go into a deficit and start consuming less. It’s why our body resists losing weight.

And this is even when we do it in a HEALTHY way with a small deficit, nutrient dense foods and macro ratios matched to our needs and goals.

 Now…What Happens In An Extreme Deficit? Why Can It Backfire?

When you try to create a more extreme deficit and slash your calories extra low, you may see results faster to start initially. Your body immediately is depleted and needs to tap into stored energy.

However, your body adapts as quickly as it can to avoid this extreme deprivation impacting overall survival. While annoying for our weight loss efforts, this is a natural protection response.

When our body is continually under fed, ghrelin increases, which is the hormone that triggers hunger, particularly for sweet and fatty foods while leptin decreases, which is the hormone that regulates energy intake by telling the brain to stop eating. 

We also start to expend less energy to conserve our stores. So even if you’re trying to train harder to lose weight, you may find your workouts suffer and your output decreases.

Even if you do manage to train hard and push through, our bodies compensate by actually starting to burn fewer calories at rest.

Not to mention, underfueling especially if you aren’t conscious at all of macros, very quickly will lead to muscle loss. 

And losing muscle only further slows our resting metabolic rate.

If we’re under fueling and over training, our basal metabolic rate drops and non-exercise thermogenesis, or the calories burned from things like fidgeting decreases. 

Basically, we suffer from metabolic adaptations that allow us to function on the reduced calories. Which ultimately means that us starving ourselves with 900 calories a day becomes all our body thinks it needs to survive as it regulates all other functioning to match the intake you’re giving it. 

It leads to us NOT losing weight while under eating and feeling the need to slash our calories lower to get results. It also leads to us feeling extra hungry.

And when we then do overeat, we ultimately store this energy as fat because our body doesn’t “need” it to fuel. It’s adapted to the lower calories despite the hunger signals!

Have You Destroyed Your Metabolism?

The short answer is…not permanently. Yes you’ve created metabolic adaptations, BUT these can be reversed.

Will it take time and be uncomfortable and require you to sometimes go backward with your results before you move forward? 

Unfortunately, yes.

But if you don’t take time to reverse these adaptations, you’re going to keep undereating and still gaining. Your going to keep perpetuating the same cycle and not be moving forward anyway. 

While it’s hard to go against things we’ve been taught, like eat less to weigh less, you’ve got to step back and EAT MORE to reverse the metabolic “damage”

It’s the only way. 

And yes, it may lead to you gaining weight to start.

But A. This can be muscle you actually are starting to gain, which will ultimately HELP your metabolic rate and lead to better results faster.

And B. You’ve got to allow your body time to return to hormonal balance to then move forward if you ever want to see progress, and maintain those results long term.

So as sucky as it is to honestly take actions you know may move you further away from your goal to start, it’s the only way ultimately to truly move forward and see results.

So how do you get yourself out of this cycle of starvation and re-train your body to eat more?

Step Back – Re-Train Your Body To Eat More!

Variations of this retraining process are called Reverse Dieting.

Depending on your mindset with it all and how many big changes you feel you can handle at once, you may start by adjusting your macros before changing and increasing your calories.

First track what you’re currently doing no matter what. This allows you to make accurate adjustments based on your needs.

One way to approach first making changes is to adjust macros at your current calories, increasing protein, and then, as you dial in that ratio, start to slowly increase calories, 100 calories at a time.

A lucky few actually see weight loss during this, especially with the ratio change. But most, will see weight steadily creep on, even multiple pounds in the first few days, with the calorie bumps.

This will slow. 

Most of the time you should seek to increase by at least 500 calories from your starting point, maintain that for a week or two before considering re-creating a deficit. 

Adjusting your macros, and using specific higher protien ratios as you increase calories, helps use this extra fuel to build muscle and balance out your hormones. With the higher protein ratios, you will benefit from the thermic effect of that macro as much as possible to avoid you gaining any more fat than necessary.

Once you’ve gone through this process to train your body to use more calories, you will start to do small deficit adjustments, often only 100 calories lower than where you’ve built to. You will also adjust macros to more weight loss focused ratios to help kickstart those results.

Now occasionally if you’re super ready to just embrace the gain and risk more coming on quickly to help be able to jump back into losing faster, you can do a fast bump up right away. This also works out better if you’ve tracked in the past and are willing to potentially go higher protein or make a more dramatic macro change as well.

The downside, is your body doesn’t like change and this can lead to bloating or energy shifts and such. These can go away quickly BUT it’s something to be aware of.

This will often also lead to massive jumps on the scale to start but also a quicker leveling off. 

Neither one is really wrong, part of it is mentally what makes us feel best with the process, how far we have to go to really re-train our body and also appetite and activity level. 

The more active and hungrier we feel, the easier it is often to increase calories quickly.

If you have less of an appetite and are less active, it can be harder to increase calories dramatically all at once, making the slower increases more beneficial.

You need to be aware that it WILL feel like taking a step back at first and that often you feel like you’re losing ground, even having to start over so that you can ultimately progress forward.

Now Don’t Say You’re Too Old…

Often this whole process actually becomes more important to do the older we get, and especially during menopause.

As much as re-training our bodies is hard and uncomfortable and will especially lead to weight gain to start during menopause, we need to do it NOW to set ourselves up for long term success.

During menopause our apettite may also already increase as our metabolic rate slows. Throw in under fueling and overtraining in our attempt to reverse the menopausal weight gain and we have a recipe for disaster.

So as hard as it can be when you already see the scale increasing, it’s increasingly important you embrace learning to eat more!

Eating more and dialing in those macros will preserve your lean muscle mass and even help you build muscle. This is essential as we get older as it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle, which is part of why our metabolism slows with age.

If you under fuel, you put yourself at great risk for muscle mass loss which can not only impact your quality of life and lead to a whole host of other issues including great risk for fracture, but it can make the weight loss process more and more of a struggle as you get older.

So do what you can as soon as you can. And realize that with getting older, learning to fuel correctly and eat more is even more key!

If you want help with this process to create a sustainable plan, click the link below to learn more about my 3-Step Recipe For Results!

–> The Simple Recipe For Results (note I didn’t say “easy”)

15 FAT LOSS TIPS That Changed My Life

15 FAT LOSS TIPS That Changed My Life

by | Apr 17, 2022 | Blog, Diet, fat loss-featured

Struggling to lose weight? Need that little tip to kickstart your results?

Well let me save you a lot of wasted time and effort experimenting to find what works and share 15 tips I’ve found to make all the difference in my results.

CHECK OUT THE FULL VIDDEO BLOG BELOW:

1: Working In Foods You Love First

For me this is dessert.

Often the thing we love most is the least healthy for us so we cut it out first. But we need to do the opposite and actually PLAN IT IN FIRST to work everything else around it and create a lifestyle balance.

When we cut out the foods we love, we sabotage ourselves. Restricting them just leads to us wanting them more and ultimately binging on them and falling off our plan.

Work in the foods you love so you want to stay consistent with the healthy lifestyle you are building!

2: Quality Does, And Doesn’t, Matter

Obviously whole natural foods are best for our health.

But you can STILL overeat healthy foods.

If you’ve been frustrated not seeing weight loss results while thinking “My diet is healthy and clean,” realize that your portions could still be off.

And we also need to stop making ourselves feel guilty for enjoying some not so quality foods as we strike the balance right for us.

Follow the 80/20 rule, consuming whole, natural, nutrient dense foods 80% of the time while still enjoying the not as quality foods you love.

And remember, portions still really matter!

3: It’s Not Forever

Nothing works forever.

While we want to make true habit and lifestyle changes, we need to realize that our needs and goals will change with time and our diet and exercise routines will need to adjust and adapt as well.

You’re building a foundation with the changes you’re making but you can’t get so tied to something you aren’t willing to adjust with time.

Focus on truly LEARNING the fundamentals and basics so you understand how things work for you so you can adjust as you need when your lifestyle and goals change.

4: Keep It Simple, Butthead

It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the options out there. And it isn’t stupid to want to overcomplicate things.

But we do need to keep it SIMPLE if we want the best results. As the more details we add all at once, the more our attention gets divided and the harder we make it on ourselves to dial in the big picture plan, which matters most.

We’re being a butthead, and I mean that as a slight term of endearment, if we start worrying about details like meal timing and supplements and best foods for fat loss before we first simply get consistent with our workout routine while dialing in our overall macros and calories for the day.

So set a few big picture things to start with and get consistent with before you worry about anything else!

5: Stop Overcorrecting

We’re human.

There will be days that don’t go as planned, days we just aren’t motivated, days that we just “mess up.”

But instead of feeling guilty, instead of trying to do more the next day to make up for it, we just need to get right back to those habits.

We need to do what we can as soon as we can to just MOVE FORWARD.

It’s like if we get a flat tire, we don’t slash the other three! Nope. We fix the flat or call a tow truck so we can get moving forward as fast as possible. Don’t make the situation worse.

Don’t try to do more to correct it as that will also often backfire.

Just move forward.

6: Focus On Strength Training Over Cardio

Our workouts should be about more than just burning calories. So while we may burn more calories in a single cardio session over a strength session, this shouldn’t really be our focus.

Training is about becoming functional stronger and moving our best.

And if we want to really improve our weight loss efforts, we need to focus less on how many calories we burn in a single session and more on how we can increase our lean muscle mass to raise our metabolic rate and burn more calories even at rest.

So focus on strength training to actually see better results faster, especially as we get older. Since it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle, we want to do everything we can to promote better muscle hypertrophy!

7: You Can’t Just Listen To Your Body

We wouldn’t be struggling to lose weight if we could just eat intuitively. Intuitive eating needs to be learned.

So if you’re trying to achieve body recomposition, you won’t be able to just listen to your body and eat according to its cues.

Our body don’t like change and they believe the state they’ve been in, the weight you’ve been at, is normal. So your body will resist any weight loss efforts.

You’ll feel hungry.

There will be mental struggles as you make changes to habits you’ve always done.

But change requires change.

8: There’s No Quick Fix

Plain and simple, change doesn’t happen overnight. And even expecting to reverse 10 years of weight gain in a single year, is truly overnight results.

The longer we’ve had the weight on, the longer we’ve been repeating habits that don’t work, the longer it will take to see changes.

And often the closer we get to our goal, the slower the progress will be especially if we are trying to see true fat loss and not just quickly lose weight on the scale through glycogen depletion and water weight being lost!

So get ready to focus on consistency over doing more to get results faster. We can’t out exercise or out diet time!

9: Recovery Is Key

Often we try to do more by training longer and harder and cutting out more from our diet.

But often the MORE we really need is more rest and recovery.

Those “easy” recovery sessions, when we relax and sleep and de-stress, that is when we are actually repairing and seeing the benefits of our hard training sessions and changes in macro ratios.

Without recovery time, you are just going to keep beating yourself down instead of ever allowing your results to build up!

So prioritize sleep. Plan in rest days. Do that rehab work! It may not “feel” beneficial but it is truly what makes your hard work add up!

10: Avoid Restriction

Often we cut out more in an attempt to get results faster. But all this does is make our habits unsustainable.

It’s what makes us feel like we just don’t have the discipline, self control or willpower to see the results we want.

When really we just aren’t being realistic. We aren’t basing things off of our needs and goals.

Don’t focus on cutting out. First focus on small swaps that feel like the smallest changes and realize there can be a balance.

Even start by doing the MINIMUM, knowing results will snowball.

11: Be Active

The more you do, the more you do. And when we stay active, we often want to do more things that keep us moving in a positive direction.

It’s much easier to get lazy and eat extra crap when you’re just lazing around.

So get moving.

Go out for walks. They’re a great way to burn more fat and get in more movement without stressing your body.

But get active and stay.

Especially the leaner you get and closer to your goal you get, as you’ve been in a deficit for longer, the more your body may actually move less to conserve energy.

Be conscious of this and make sure to make an effort to stay active throughout the day!

12: Macros Over Calories

Macros matter most for sustainable results. The ratio you use may impact the calories right for you and impact how full you feel.

And higher protein ratios can help prevent unwanted fat gain if you are in a surplus while helping aid in muscle mass retention during a deficit.

Actually high protein ratios are the only ones shown to even help you build muscle while in a deficit.

So let your macros then dictate how you dial in your calories. Don’t just focus on calories in vs. calories out!

13: You’re Not An All Or Nothing Person

Often we think if we can’t do everything at once, there is no point in doing anything.

This not only gives us an excuse not to start but it makes us feel like we’ve failed if one thing doesn’t go as planned.

But results don’t happen because of what we do when we are perfect. From doing more for a week.

They happen because we stick with the minimum consistently day after day.

Remember that small changes build. And that the more we can ingrain one habit, the easier it becomes to replicate even on days we don’t feel like it.

So focus on those small changes and set some minimums you know you can hit so results can snowball.

14: Stop Doing More

The simple fact of the matter is, you can’t out exercise or out diet time.

And often the more we try to rush results, the more we simple deplete our self control and willpower so we can’t stay consistent long term.

Many of us have repeated this restriction, binge, guilt cycle.

We do so much, burn ourselves out with the restriction, end up binging, feel guilty, fall off, then can’t get back on track for a bit and even dig ourselves more of a hole to crawl out of.

Focus on small sustainable changes. Realize results simply take time and get ready for the long haul celebrating those daily habits as wins themselves.

And I saved the best for last…

15: Tracking

I know people hate on tracking for being restrictive, tedious, boring, annoying, time consuming, frustrating.

But what we measure, we can manage.

Tracking gives you an accurate picture of what you’re doing both diet-wise and in your workouts so you can make accurate adjustments.

If you want to create the right portion sizes for you without having to cut out the foods you love, you need to track.

If you want to make sure you’re getting stronger and progressing in your workouts, you need to track.

So as unsexy and annoying as it is to start, it truly is the best way to avoid wasting time and know what is and isn’t working!

SUMMARY:

So if you’ve been struggling to see results, start with even just one of these tips as your focus and BUILD. Because the hardest part is getting started and the more you do, the more you’ll want to do.

We just often need to get that ball rolling!

Ready to create your own recipe for results?

–> The 3-Step Recipe For Fabulous Fat Loss Results

The Best Inner Thigh Exercise You’re Not Doing

The Best Inner Thigh Exercise You’re Not Doing

by | Apr 10, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

Do you want to tone and strengthen your inner thighs?

Then this move is exactly what you’re looking for!

While we want to make sure we include compound leg exercises in our workout routines that work our entire leg while targeting those adductor, or inner thigh muscles, we also want to make sure that we complement that training with some isolation moves to really hone in on this stubborn muscle group.

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite moves so you can target your inner thighs and really feel them working while improving your knee and hip stability as well.

And bonus!, you’ll work you’re entire core, especially those obliques and even that glute medius, to target two other stubborn areas the love handles and side butt!

So what is this amazing inner thigh and core move?

It’s the Bench Side Plank Adductor Lift or the Copenhagen Plank!

This move is deceptively hard though so be conscious of the cues as you set up and watch for the modifications so you can make sure you adjust the move to fit your current fitness level, needs and goals!

Better to regress and build up than to use a variation we haven’t yet earned!

Bench Side Plank Adductor Lift Form:

To do this move, set up on your side with your elbow under your shoulder and the inside of your top foot on the bench.

Dorsiflex that top foot hard, pulling your toe up toward your shin to create tension through that lower leg. This tension will protect your knee as you hold the side plank.

Lift up into a side plank from your forearm with your bottom foot on the ground and your top foot on the bench, pressing down hard into the bench. Make sure your shoulders aren’t shrugged and your elbow stays under your shoulder so you can properly engage your upper back.

If your elbow sneaks out beyond your shoulder, it will put more strain on your neck and shoulder.

Engage your upper back and feel your bottom oblique and glute medius working even to slightly allow that bottom leg to hover off the ground. Make sure you aren’t twisted to face toward the ground.

Feel the adductor of your top leg working already as you hold in this position. Again do not relax that top foot.

Then holding the side plank position, lift that bottom leg up to meet the bench. Feel the adductor or inner thigh of that bottom leg working to lift.

Move slowly lifting and lowering back down. You can touch the foot down, but do not disengage your core at the bottom. Feel your bottom glute medius and oblique working to keep you lifted in the side plank.

Perform all lifts on that side then switch sides.

Modifications:

The first way to modify this move is to hold the side plank with your knee on the bench or even upper thigh.

This reduces the strength and stability demands, especially if you’ve had knee issues in the past.

If you don’t have a bench, you can of course always use a stair, couch or table, but you can also completely modify this movement off the ground.

From the ground you will just stagger that bottom foot in front to then be able to lift.

One further modification if the side plank is a bit too much currently on your shoulder and core, is to switch to an incline variation using the bench with your elbow up on the bench. You will then stagger your bottom foot in front to perform the adductor lift.

Using the incline reduces the load on your upper body and can be good to help you build up.

If you’re fully starting at the basics, you can even perform this movement fully lying on your side; however, this does reduce remove the core bonus you get from that side plank position.

SUMMARY:

Remember that doing a harder variation is not better if you can’t focus on the correct muscles working.

Often people end up demonizing moves not because the moves are bad but because they didn’t use the proper recruitment patterns or did a harder variation they haven’t yet earned.

But pick the variation that matches your needs and goals to work those inner thighs while improving your hip and knee stability and core strength!

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The 3 Best LOWER AB Focused Planks

The 3 Best LOWER AB Focused Planks

by | Apr 3, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Travel Workouts, Workouts

Looking to mix up your core training and find something you really feel working those abs, especially the lower abs, while also helping you avoid an achy lower back?

Then you’re going to love these 3 amazing plank variations.

Planks can be both great isometric exercises, but also more dynamic movements to target and strength our abs.

And with some specific variations, we can target that lower portion of the rectus abdominis even more!

That’s why I want to show you 3 ways to use planks to target those lower abs…including one move that is a great untraditional and challenging plank option even if you can’t do traditional planks due to shoulder issues!

And at the end I’ll share a great quick burner layout so you can use these 3 moves at the end of your workout!

 

3 Lower Ab Focused Planks

1: Dolphin Planks

If you really want to target your lower abs, you need to include exercises that utilize the posterior pelvic tilt.

This tilting of the pelvis, tucking the hips toward the ribs, really engages that lower portion of the rectus abdominis while also working your glutes. And it is a great way to learn how to brace to protect your lower back from aches and pains as well.

While you can use the posterior pelvic tilt in a plank as an isometric hold, doing a plange plank, you can also include this tilting as a dynamic movement during the plank.

This dynamic plank variation using the posterior pelvic tilt is the Dolphin Plank and a great way to challenge your abs.

You will use that tuck up to engage those lower abs, but also challenge your abs to protect your spine as you test out your spinal extension, slightly dropping your hips toward the ground.

This forces your abs to brace as you extend, but be mindful you don’t end up simply engaging your lower back!

To do this move, set up in a plank from your forearms and toes with your feet together. Make sure your shoulders are stacked over your elbows and your upper back is engaged so your shoulders aren’t shrugged.

Drive back through your heels as you flex your quads to hold in a nice straight line. To improve your base, you can widen your feet out to shoulder width.

Then tuck your pelvis under toward your ribs, rounding through your entire spine even to tuck. Do not push your butt up in the air and end up shifting your shoulders back behind your elbows.

You really just want to round through your spine as you tuck your hips toward your ribs, engaging your abs and glutes.

Even think about drawing your belly button in as you exhale to pull your abs in hard.

Then begin to lower back down into that plank position. As you lower though, try to go a little past that straight line as if extending to slightly drop your hips.

You want to feel your abs almost FIGHTING against you lowering to prevent your back from really arching.

You’re testing out your ab brace as you extend.

Then tuck right back up, tilting your pelvis again.

Do not push backward as you do this movement. Keep your shoulders stacked over your elbows.

Pause in each position to really feel your core working. Really move slowly through the movement to focus on feeling your abs.

If you feel your lower back, either modify to the static plange plank hold or use an incline.

To modify this move an incline works best. The higher the incline the less pressure or strain there will be on your shoulders and even core so you can really focus in on those abs working.

You can also do this starting on your hands and knees but be conscious that, while it may look like the cat cow stretch, you are truly engaging your abs to round up. I like to call this variation the vomiting cat because I want my clients drawing in their abs as if trying to really hollow out their belly!

2: Lower Ab Plank

This move is not a traditional hands and feet or forearms and feet plank. But it is an amazing core isometric hold and a move that is great to target those lower abs.

I personally call it a Lower Ab Plank so wanted to include it as an option because often when people have shoulder injuries and can’t do planks they feel a bit lost about what options are out there.

So if you need to take your upper body and shoulders out of the equation, this is a great option to target those lower abs…although don’t forget about using the incline as well to regress moves and build up!

This exercise is advanced though and you need to have mastered that basic pelvic tilt hold to brace so you don’t feel your lower back or hip flexors only working.

To do the move, you will lie on your back with your arms down by your sides or hands behind your head.

To start you can raise your legs straight up toward the ceiling and tilt your hips towards your ribs to press your lower back into the ground. Or you can start with your knees bent to really set up the posterior pelvic tilt before extending your legs.

Maintaining that pelvic tilt, lower your legs down so they are only an inch or two off the ground and hold. Better to even hold up a few inches higher to keep that ab brace and even squeeze your glutes.

Focus on really bracing those abs as you hold.

If you feel your lower back taking over, raise your legs up higher or even bend your knees. You can even start with just one leg extended.

Lifting your head to perform an upper body crunch can both make the move harder, but also help by flexing your spine.

Make sure to breathe and focus on engaging those abs, keeping that tilt. You do not want your lower back taking over. If it does, your lower back and not your lower abs are getting worked by this move.

Better to modify and focus on those abs than do a harder variation where you compensate!

3: Body Saw

Extended planks or long lever planks have actually been shown to increase ab activation over the traditional plank, especially of the lower portion of the rectus abdominis.

That’s why it’s key to include some extended plank positions in your routine.

You just want to be very conscious you don’t overload your neck and shoulder OR let your butt start to hike up in the air as you do these moves.

One great dynamic way to include the extended plank position in your routine over simply holding is with the Body Saw.

The great part about this plank variation, like with all plank variations, is you can also modify this move off an incline.

And if you have wrist issues you can do it from your forearms or you can also give yourself more space and change things up by doing this movement from your hands to work your arms more!

To do the basic Body Saw plank from your forearms, set up in a plank position from your forearms and toes with your feet close together and elbows under your shoulders.

You want a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Make sure to engage your back to support your shoulders and make sure they aren’t shrugged.

Then begin to walk your feet backward, taking small steps. Keep your body in a nice straight line and don’t let your hips sag toward the ground.

Lengthen through your triceps and shoulders as you walk back.

Walk back as far as you can while keeping your core engaged.

Then walk your feet back forward until you are back in the standard plank position. You do not need to walk more forward than simply back so your shoulders are over your elbows.

Make sure you feel your abs bracing as you extend back. Do not push your butt up in the air or let your hips sag toward the ground.

Repeat walking back out.

Remember you can modify the move off an incline to reduce the strain on your upper body and core.

To advance this move as well, you can also add in sliders, sliding back instead of walking. That reduces traction and even makes that pull back in so much harder! Just make sure you can control the move before progressing!

SUMMARY:

Using these 3 plank variations you can really work your abs while targeting that lower portion of your rectus abdominis even more!

To use these as a workout….

Lower Ab Burner:

Set a timer for 20 seconds per move starting with the Body Saw then the Dolphin Plank and ending with the Lower Ab Plank.

Rest 20 seconds between rounds to make sure you can really focus on bracing hard each round and complete 2-3 rounds through.

You want to focus on short intervals so you can engage everything hard over just focusing on holding for longer and letting your lower back or hips become overworked!

The BEST results happen when our diet and our workouts WORK TOGETHER!

Check out my RS Formula for FABULOUS results:

–> 3-Step RS Formula

 

Meal Plan To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat (3 TIPS PLUS MEALS)

Meal Plan To Lose Stubborn Belly Fat (3 TIPS PLUS MEALS)

by | Mar 27, 2022 | Blog, Diet

I’d always wanted defined abs.

I would diet. Be super restrictive. Lose weight. Get skinny.

And ultimately rebound.

I came to the conclusion I just would never truly get definition.

I had muscle, but just felt abs were never going to be possible for me.

That’s when I finally stopped making excuses and embraced tracking macros.

Through tracking macros, I learned exactly what I needed to get defined abs.

If you’ve ever tried to get your abs to show I think you’ll agree that the struggle is real! It took consistency past the point where you want to quit.

In this video I’m going to show you 3 tips you can implement to see YOUR abs.

But first first things first you might need a mindset shift. You’ve got to get over the mindset that you can’t track. That it’s too tedious and boring and overwhelming and simply impossible to do every day.

I get the whole mindset against it. It’s a big change. And it is annoying to track everything you eat.

But it’s data you NEED to achieve something you’ve never achieved before.

Plain and simple.

Think about it this way, if you’ve never made a cookie recipe and aren’t a baker, you wouldn’t just randomly throw things into a bowl hoping cookies come out of the mess.

You wouldn’t even eyeball portions of ingredients on the list.

Nope.

You’d weigh and measure everything if you wanted to guarantee the cookies turned out.

Same thing goes for creating a recipe for aesthetic results.

As annoying as it is, tracking helps us have the data we need to get the results we want.

So embrace the suck of tracking so you don’t have to suffer through the frustration of never achieving your goal!

Now what are 3 tips to help you lose that stubborn belly fat and how do I implement these into a full day of eating?

 

3 Tips To Dial In Your Macros For Stubborn Belly Fat Loss:

With clients I like to cycle ratios, and ultimately the ratios and calories they use will vary based on their metabolic rates, their activity levels, their needs and even their previous dieting histories.

BUT, no matter what, I implement these 3 tips when they’re struggling to overcome that hurdle and lose that last bit of stubborn belly fat to reveal abs.

Tip #1: Go High Protein.

If you want to get super lean and achieve ab definition you’ve never seen before, get ready to increase your protein.

High protein helps us build and retain lean muscle while in a deficit. Because it preserves lean muscle mass, which is metabolically costly to maintain, aka you need more energy to maintain your muscle mass, you will tend to burn more calories even at rest and your metabolic rate will stay higher.

Protein also keep us feeling fuller for longer, which is key when we’re eating in a deficit.

And protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fat.

The thermic effect of food is the calories you expend to digest and process different macros.

Protein takes the most energy to digest with about 20-30% of the total calories in protein eaten going to digesting it. Then carbs take about 5-10% while fats take 0-3%.

Studies have shown protein to have a thermogenic effect 5 times greater than carbs or fat!

And unlike carbs or fat, protein’s thermic effect is much more constant regardless of your current body composition. While fat’s thermic effect may be LOWER in obese individuals, protein’s is not.

It is also important to note that consuming more protein can increase levels of glucagon, a hormone in your body that can help control body fat.

When glucagon is released, the liver breaks down stored glycogen into glucose for the body to use.

It can also help liberate free fatty acids from fat tissues aka provide fuel for cells and make that body fat do something useful instead of hiding our six pack.

And the final reason you’ll want to use macro ratios that really favor protein is simply because your calories have to come from somewhere.

While that sounds weird, it’s the simple fact. You need enough calories to not start catabolizing your muscle tissue, and protein helps prevent this. But because of the thermic effect of protein, you are also keeping your daily energy expenditure higher while getting to eat more.

So basically, since your calories need to come from somewhere, protein is a “safe” somewhere to have them come from to promote better fat loss results so you tap into those fat stores!

Tip #2: Embrace The Deficit. Realize Your Mind Will Try To “Trick” You.

Your body doesn’t like change. And you’re going to feel hungry, not only due to the changing source of energy with the macro ratio change, but also because you DO need to be in a deficit to really cause your body to tap into those fat stores.

Now you want to be conscious to increase this deficit slowly and not then try to out exercise your diet further or you’ll create metabolic adaptations that work against you.

But because your body adjusts to the fuel it’s given, over time you will have to adjust your calories.

Do this slowly and even find that balance of occasionally lowering your calorie intake from food, but also at times by making sure you’re moving more in general as we do tend to fidget and move less as our energy intake goes down.

Our body adapts and becomes more efficient and that can mean moving less to conserve energy.

But however we are doing it, we do have to embrace that deficit and know that hunger will be a part of it especially as our body adapts to a new energy intake and even macro breakdown.

And the leaner you get and get closer you do tread toward that essential body fat line, not to mention the longer you’ve been in a deficit, the more your body and mind will start to work against you.

Your body wants to survive and you’re taking it to a leanness level it has NEVER been at.

You’re going to get more cravings for things and be tempted to overeat even when you don’t truly need as much as you’re craving.

I think it is key to recognize this and have strategies in place to help you handle it.

Whether it is knowing it may be time to back off the deficit and do a diet break, include the occasional cheat or drink extra water and push through, you need to recognize that there will be points you will be hungry and have cravings to start.

Focus on finding a balance though too in your ratios, including very nutrient dense foods that give you a lot of volume, but also macro-friendly variations of treats or dishes you crave so you don’t add to those cravings!

Tip #3: Precision Is Key.

As much as I’m a big believer in creating something sustainable and balance and focusing on progress over perfection, if you want to see abs for the first time, you need to be precise.

This is NOT the time to focus on the lifestyle balance but work toward your goal, knowing that using macros you can transition into maintaining your results in a healthy and sustainable way.

But if you have this goal, you need to be precise and consistent past the point you want to quit.

You need to weigh and measure everything. No bites, licks or nibbles can go unlogged. You want that tedious perfection and precision to make sure you have 100% accurate data.

You want to be able to know you’re doing everything right not only to achieve results but to stay mentally focused on those things when you feel like results aren’t building.

Because there WILL be a dead zone where you even feel like things look worse because you’ve lost off of areas you don’t care about or don’t see and the areas you want to change haven’t yet.

So often we simply don’t see the results we want because we give up before they’ve had time to snowball.

That’s why you need to track everything to KNOW you’re being precise for results to build.

So What Does A Full Day Of Eating For Fat Loss Look Like?

I’m going to share with you a ratio that I’ve found works best in these situations. It’s extreme and not fun but what’s often needed to get rid of that belly fat that just won’t let go.

And that ratio is 50% protein, 30% carbs and 20% fat. Depending on the client I may switch the carbs and fat, and I will cycle this every 1-2 weeks with other ratios to maintain hormonal balance and even prevent more than necessary mental drain. But this ratio is almost always in that 6-pack cycle for clients no matter what at some point.

Now I want to show you what a meal plan for that may look like.

For calories you need to consider your activity level, previous dieting history, genetics, age and so much else. Too often we say a calorie intake is too low or too high judging what someone else is using without realizing that some of us are metabolically more or less efficient or may have even created metabolic adaptations from previous dieting practices.

So stop the judgment and figure out what you need! Often for cutting I will do 10-12x goal bodyweight for a client. If they don’t have a “goal” we may start with current weight even.

I will show a full day of eating for 50/30/20 at 1400 calories, which is over 12 x my weight.

For me, perfection in hitting those macros is no lower than 49% protein with 2-3% deviation from the ratio.

I shoot for 175 grams of protein, 105 grams of carbs and 31 grams of fat.

BREAKFAST:

While I love fasting, I will often break my fast prior to my workout when on this ratio to make sure I have that little boost in energy and get some protein in prior to my training for fuel.

I love having a pre-workout, or breakfast, Coffee Protein Shake. The extra boost of caffeine never hurts and the whey is quickly and easily digested to fuel muscle repair and growth from my lifting session.

I’ll combine water with whey and shake to make sure it’s fully combined. I’ll add ice then two shots of espresso or coffee from the Keurig with even a little sugar free flavoring. I’m about creating meals that taste good and strike that 80/20 balance. I don’t want to restrict myself focusing on someone else’s arbitrary standards of eating clean!

SIDE NOTE – During My Workout:

During my workouts when I’m cutting, I’ll often also include BCAAs in my water. I’ll be 100% honest here…I love the taste of my personal ones and it encourages me to drink more water which is key with high protein and part of why I do it.

But I find it also valuable to improve my recovery because I’m more aggressive with my calorie deficit.

And while some feel that BCAAs aren’t beneficial if eating high protein already, when you’re in a deficit instead of a surplus, often you aren’t getting too much of anything. So bumping up your amino acid content to only aid in recovery and repair is never a bad thing!

Muscle is metabolically costly and helps us avoid metabolic adaptions so I want to use every tool I can to maintain and build it!

LUNCH:

Post workout I may have a shake, but often because I train late morning or mid-day I’ll simply eat lunch right after.

I try to include more carbs post workout with higher protein and lower fat in that meal. This allows me to replenish my glycogen stores post workout and aid in better recovery. And the lower fat helps allows for faster digestion and absorption of nutrients.

I love having fish or seafood whenever possible so I’ll do something like halibut with rice and a veggies like broccoli or Brussel sprouts. I try to include a diversity of protein options, and actually carb sources and veggies as well for a better micronutrient diversity.

I love mapping in a meal of 8 ounces of halibut, 5 ounces of white rice and about 200g of broccoli because when I’m feeling lazy I can easily get this same plate at a local fish spot and actually sit out looking at the ocean! Not a bad mid-day break!

DINNER:

For dinner I love a slightly fattier protein source since I generally fast and skip breakfast. I may use steak or ground beef even. Sometimes making a quesadilla using a low carb tortilla or even a dish in the air fryer with veggies and potatoes.

I’ll usually do about a 6-10 ounce portion of protein, in this case steak. In the air fryer I may also do sweet potato and a veggie like asparagus.

I even like pre-cooking and prepping these things at times to just then reheat in the air fryer when I’m short on time!

DESSERT:

Often I will plan in the thing I want most first. Because I love dessert, this is often dessert. Although I now have a few go-tos I like to cycle and pick one based on even other meals I really want that day.

While a staple has always been my greek yogurt with granola, I’ve fallen in love with the MegaFit protein snacks. Today because I wanted a bigger portion of rice at lunch and potatoes at dinner, I went with 2 protein balls for dessert. Just a nice little balanced way to end the day!

SUMMARY:

This puts my total for the day at….

TOTAL:
1405 172p 105c 30f (51/30/19)

The key thing to remember is we need to work in things we enjoy while focusing on those nutrient dense, high volume foods that keep us feeling full and satisfied. There is something to be said for meals that have more bites when really trying to cut that body fat!

But just remember, if you’re going to push your body to achieve a level of leanness you’ve never achieved before, there is going to be some sacrifice. You need that precision in tracking your macros while focusing on protein to get rid of that stubborn belly fat for those of us who tend to carry our weight around our middles!

My 3-Step Fat Loss Formula…

–> LEARN MORE!