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Don’t Skip This BICEP EXERCISE

Don’t Skip This BICEP EXERCISE

by | Mar 20, 2022 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Suspension Trainer

We don’t cheat intentionally, but it is easy at times to let momentum help us out. I see this happening a lot on bicep curls.

And while isolation exercises like bicep curls are key if you have a stubborn area and want to create better muscle hypertrophy or growth, if you can get a little extra core benefit from a movement isolating an area, why not!?

That’s why I love the Suspension Trainer Bicep Curls.

This move not only work the bicep from a more shoulder flexed position over the normal curl that works the Bicep with the shoulder extended, but it can also help you avoid using momentum while also improving your core stability!

The shoulder flexed position makes this curl a good one to include because, while we often think of the biceps impact on the elbow, flexing that joint, the bicep does also weakly assist in shoulder flexion.

And we’re missing out if we don’t consider all joint actions when training a muscle. Also, different degrees of shoulder flexion do impact the amount of bicep activation.

So while you may keep in your traditional bicep curls starting with your arms hanging down, starting from 90 degrees of shoulder flexion is a great complement to that basic move!

How Do You Do The Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl?

To do the Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl, hold a strap in each hand with your palms facing toward your head. Wrap your thumb around to tightly grip the handles and feel your fingers all engaged.

Walk your feet forward toward the anchor point so you are leaning back. The closer to parallel to the ground you get, the harder the move will be.

As you gauge your incline, start with less of one to focus on isolating those biceps, especially if you’re used to doing inverted rows and are close to parallel.

Lean back with your arms out straight in front of you and your shoulders flexed to 90 degrees. When you curl in, you will want your pinkies to end up by your temples.

Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels.

Do not let your hips sink toward the ground or your back arch. Keep your core tight and your chest pressed out.

Flex even your feet to engage your legs and help hold that plank position as you perform the curl.

Then, keeping your elbows at shoulder height, curl your hands in toward your forehead.

You want to focus on ONLY moving from the elbows, isolating those biceps to pull.

As you curl your arms, make sure your body stays in a nice straight line.

Once you bring the handles to your forehead, slowly extend your arms back out.

Do not extend your shoulders and lower your arms. You want to just extend at the elbows. Make sure to keep your body in a nice straight line as you move.

Then repeat the curl moving slowly.

Walk your feet forward more to move more parallel to the ground or slow the tempo of move down to advance it!

You can think even a 3-5 count in. Pause in at your forehead then a 3-5 count back out.

You can also advance it and make your core work hard to avoid rotation by doing a single arm curl instead of the bilateral move.

SUMMARY:

Isolate those biceps as you work your core with this amazing Suspension Trainer Bicep Curl.

It’s a great way to really force yourself to avoid using momentum or swinging to curl and a great way to work those biceps from a more shoulder flexed position.

What’s your favorite bicep curl variation to include?

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Target Your LOWER ABS – The Best Lower Ab Exercise You Aren’t Doing

Target Your LOWER ABS – The Best Lower Ab Exercise You Aren’t Doing

by | Mar 13, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

Now my favorite comment I get any time I post anything to work the lower abs is…

“You don’t have lower ab muscles.”

And that’s true. There is no specific lower ab muscle.

But you CAN target that lower portion of your rectus abdominis to a greater extent with specific moves, especially bottom up exercises.

Just like you can target the upper portion more as well with more top down focused moves.

So if you’re looking to target that lower portion of your rectus abdominis while even strengthening your pelvic floor and TVA more, I want to share a movement variation I think is often under utilized.

But before I do I do just want to mention a few bonus tips to help you really achieve that lean, flat stomach.

That lower abdominal region is an especially stubborn one to lose fat from.

And 100% diet is key. And consistency in dialing in our macros past the point we often want to quit as losing that last little bit of stubborn belly fat is hard.

But if you truly are struggling with losing that last little bit, this tip may be the missing piece from your training routine.

And it does involve something we’ve been told is impossible….

Spot lipolysis aka SPOT REDUCTION! GASP!

Yup. You can spot reduce an area…not in the way we’ve always tried to, but it may be that key little tweak when you’ve got everything dialed in.

How do you do this?

Try including this underrated ab exercise, or an exercise for the stubborn area you want to target in your strength workout. Include it even as part of a finisher.

When we work a muscle, we mobilize more fatty acids from the surrounding tissues.

So if we do this focused ab work to mobilize the fatty acids in the surrounding tissues and then include low intensity steady state cardio after, we can utilize the mobilize fatty acids.

Aka we can help ourselves lose more fat from our lower abdominal region!

(For more on Spot Lipolysis, clic HERE!)

If you’ve been struggling with that last little bit of stubborn fat and want to strengthen your lower abs, try this Hanging Posterior Pelvic Tilt with Squeeze as part of your workout finisher even adding in a nice walk after to cool down!

How do you do the Hanging Posterior Pelvic Tilt with Squeeze?

Hanging leg raises and knees to elbows are both great lower ab exercises. Yet too often we use them in a way that only ends up overworking our hip flexors.

It’s because we ignore the essential component that makes any leg raise movement really target our lower abs – the posterior pelvic tilt.

That’s why I love this hanging ab exercise – because it focuses on that essential pelvic tilt component.

And by adding in the leg squeeze, which in turn engages your adductors, you can even help yourself better activate your pelvic floor and lower portion of the rectus abdominis.

To do this move, start hanging from the bar from a ball or block between your upper thighs right above your knees. Grip the bar hard with all of your fingers evenly and engage your back to help you stabilize, slightly depressing your shoulder blades.

Then, squeezing the ball or block, tuck your pelvis toward your ribs. You’re basically rounding your lower back.

Your legs will come forward but you do not want to really bend at the hips.

You’re using your abs, and even your glute max to perform that slight spinal flexion to tuck your pelvis under.

Squeeze the ball hard as you tuck.

Think about pulling your core in as you tuck. You’re not just drawing your belly button toward your spine but even thinking about pulling your pelvis in toward each other as you tuck toward your ribs.

To help you really brace, focus on that exhale as you tuck.

As you do this move, focus on that exhale to expel all the air you have and contract that core as you perform the pelvic tilt to feel your TVA even engaging as a corset around your middle to brace.

Really pause with each tilt to focus on engaging your abs as hard as you can before slowly relaxing.

To help you really avoid too much swing, grip the bar hard and engage your lats.

This is a very challenging move as simple as it may seem.

To modify the fully hanging variation, keep your toes down as you hang, even losing the block or ball squeeze to be able to better focus first on the tilt.

If you have any upper body issues or simply can’t yet fully hang and control the exercise, you can also modify by doing this off the ground, holding onto a pole overhead or on a bench holding onto the end.

To progress the move when you’re fully in control of the posterior pelvic tilt, you can keep the squeeze and start to do even the full knees to elbows. But only progress as you can fully control the move and feel that mind-body connection being used to create that ab shakeage!

SUMMARY:

Remember you need to focus on feeling your lower abs working to get the full benefit of this move. If you instead only feel your lower back or hips, you need to modify.

Sometimes we need to regress to progress!

The 3-Step Fat Loss Formula if you’re ready to reveal those abs…

–> 3-Step RS Formula

Lose Weight And Keep It Off FOREVER! Try These 3 Tips

Lose Weight And Keep It Off FOREVER! Try These 3 Tips

by | Mar 6, 2022 | Blog, Diet

The faster we want to see results, often the more we set ourselves up for long term failure.

Because we ultimately implement habits and routines that simply aren’t sustainable.

And by trying to rush our results we also often create metabolic adaptations and hormonal changes that work against us or make rebounding back to what we started at even easier.

And while our lifestyle can, and should, change as our goals evolve, we have to stop going to extremes and instead focus on creating the healthiest version of our PERSONAL lifestyle.

In the end, this leads to not only the best results because we allow those results to compound and snowball, but also the most sustainable results.

Because we don’t want to look and feel our best for just a day! We want to maintain those results long term.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you lose fat and create those habits that will help you KEEP the weight off!

But before I dive into the tips to help you make sustainable habit changes I do just want to point out that making any change to start may not feel easy, comfortable or even sustainable.

Often changes feel exactly the opposite no matter how much they may evolve into our new routines and habits.

It’s because what feels easy, what feels sustainable and instinctual is what we’ve always done.

And what we’ve always done hasn’t moved us forward.

If we want a new and better result, we have to make a change and that means we have to embrace being a bit uncomfortable.

We have to give those changes time to become our new normal.

And then to KEEP that result, we have to keep replicating those habits. You can’t just simply achieve your goal then go back to what you were doing.

And that’s why these 3 tips are really so key.

They help you implement changes in a way that helps you build while also staying focused on what is realistic for you to do LONG-TERM so that the foundation of the new lifestyle you want to create is there.

Tip #1: STOP Saying Food Is Just Fuel.

So often when we’re striving for fat loss, we try to see food as just fuel. We eat for function. We willing cut out things and restrict.

We even except super bland meals and tell ourselves to “suck it up” and eat things we don’t really enjoy.

And while food for sure is fuel, that isn’t truly all it is for most of us.

It’s consumed because it often tastes good and is part of our social gatherings and events.

It’s part of the fun of traveling and experiencing a new place.

And honestly there shouldn’t be guilt for eating food for enjoyment purposes.

The more we try to deny that food is more than just fuel in our modern society, the more we hold ourselves back from creating a true lifestyle balance.

And that’s why ultimately often our fat loss results are short-lived.

We don’t know how to balance eating to just fuel, eating for function, with actually living the life we enjoy.

So at some point, when we either…

A. Can’t stand it any longer or

B. Have reached our goal and want to go back to normal…

We end up indulging in foods that don’t fall on an arbitrary clean “approved list” and then can’t reign things back in.

We almost REBEL against the restriction we’d self-inflicted.

Instead we need to recognize and understand what role food plays in our life.

Do we like having that happy hour out with friends on Friday?

Do we enjoy cooking for our extended family as we get together and celebrate around the table?

Do we enjoy a date night out with our special someone?

We need to strike that balance between aesthetic goals and the lifestyle we ultimately want to lead if we not only want to lose fat but KEEP IT OFF.

And while your exact balance will shift as your goals shift, the key is not forcing restrictions on yourself that only lead to rebellion later.

We need to LEARN how to work in the things we love.

Sure we may find there are foods we can’t have just one of so don’t include those as often, or we may find more macro-friendly variations at times to work into our macros, but we’ve got to embrace a balance.

Instead of restricting, work in things you love FIRST to your macros to balance everything else out around it.

This can help you not feel deprived of the things you love while embracing the ratios and habit changes along the way.

It can help you learn to include your bread or dessert to actually build a lifestyle change you know you can maintain!

Tip #2: Build Off Of Your Current Lifestyle.

Stop searching for a fad diet. A quick fix.

Stop just cutting out foods because someone said to.

If you have an allergy or intolerance, sure, you may not include certain foods in your diet.

But too often we cut out foods in a desire to “eat clean” to ultimately only end up eating more of those things over the year after feeling so deprived of them and restricted.

We feel guilty because we aren’t hitting someone else’s standards of what a healthy diet should look like.

But we’ve got to stop caring what other people think.

One size doesn’t fit all. And while I hear a ton of people preach that, I see those same people trying to make people feel guilty for eating foods they enjoy that aren’t as healthy.

And all this does is hold people back from ever making any sort of change.

We have to meet ourselves where we are at.

If we’re eating fast food for every meal and pizza, we’re only going to set ourselves up for failure by trying a diet that cuts all of that out immediately and forces us to eat chicken and broccoli.

Instead we need to take a look at our current lifestyle and make small swaps and changes to that.

To get the best results and then keep the weight off we have to stay focused on creating the healthiest version of OUR personal lifestyle.

This is why I encourage clients to stop just cutting out whole food groups but instead embrace the learning process and count macros.

By tracking what we are currently eating to start, without even making changes, we can see things we can tweak and adjust.

And then, from there, instead of cutting out the thing you love the most first, think about adding in something good. Or swapping out something easy.

The easier the changes are to start, the more we can get that momentum building through feeling successful in our implementation of the changes.

When we feel successful in making changes, we then want to do more.

Because it really is a case of the more you do, the more you do. And this can be both in a positive and a negative direction.

If we instead just made sweeping arbitrary changes completely unrealistic for our lifestyle, we may ultimately end up doing nothing or failing at the thing we try to ultimately do more of nothing.

As silly as it can feel, start with small changes based on what you’re currently doing so you can slowly build.

This allows us to create routines that are realistic for us and that we aren’t just constantly forcing ourselves to maintain through willpower.

So consider your current lifestyle as you being to make tweaks!

Tip #3: Set End Dates And Evolve.

I dislike saying that my diet or exercise routine is a lifestyle.

Because I feel like so often that is interpreted as I’m going to do this same thing forever.

We feel this pressure to embrace a way of eating as the thing we’ll do forever.

But nothing in our lifestyle is ever standing still.

Our routines and habits should change just like our needs and goals do!

We also aren’t really motivated to take action by the idea of doing something FOREVER.

So as you work toward your fat loss goals, set progressions and macro ratios you plan to cycle. Set “end dates” at which you’re going to assess and adjust and maybe even slightly tweak your goals.

This can help us stay focused and give us motivation to start today.

It can also help us be more patient in waiting for results to build because we know we can change at a specific point anyway.

It’s also why having a goal for your workouts and understanding macros is so key.

When you have a goal for your workouts you have that focus to drive you forward. Especially when there is an end date at which you want to have hit that performance goal.

And as much as we know “abs are revealed by what we do in the kitchen” being motivated to train and push hard will only help us get better results, especially when focused on building muscle.

It also generally keeps us motivated to do other healthy habits that lead to fat loss, like being conscious of how we fuel.

And by taking the time to learn about macros, we can learn what we need even as our needs and goals change over time.

So while losing fat, we may cycle specific ratios based on even how our training evolves.

But then when we work to maintain, we can adjust ratios and calories again.

Macros, and how we adjust them, are truly at the heart of every diet out there.

And when you understand macros, you can implement low carb, low fat, high protein in any way YOU need to not only create a sustainable lifestyle but see the fat loss results you want and then maintain those results long term.

Because not only can different ratios help you work toward different goals, but you may find that with different types of training, you need to fuel differently to maintain your results.

Or as we get older, we need to adjust again because we become less able to utilize protein as efficiently and struggle more to build and retain lean muscle.

Or if you’re going through menopause you may even find you need to tweak things again because of those hormonal changes.

The point is, if we take time to really learn the foundation of nutrition and understand macros, we then have the power to evolve.

And being conscious that nothing works forever, is what can help us adapt over time so we can KEEP the fat loss results we worked hard to achieve!

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that we can never stop doing what made us “better” and that even maintaining our results is a process with ebbs and flows.

So if you want to lose fat and keep it off, remember one size doesn’t fit all.

Take time to build habits off of your current lifestyle and don’t be afraid to set end dates at which you assess your results and adapt and evolve your routines!

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The Right Way To Get A Strong Lower Back (4 exercises)

The Right Way To Get A Strong Lower Back (4 exercises)

by | Feb 27, 2022 | Blog, Butt, Core, Exercises, Functional Fitness, injury-featured, Pain Relief

Many of us have thought to ourselves, “My lower back is so weak” when we’ve been suffering from lower back aches and pains.

We feel it during ab movements or deadlifts and think that we feel it because we need to strengthen it.

But what if the problem isn’t that your lower back is weak?

What if the issue is that it’s actually OVERWORKED?

This is all too often the case when it comes to our lower back.

The muscles there become overworked due to our daily postures which have created mobility restrictions and underactive abs and glutes.

So all of that strengthening you’re trying to do, all of those superman you’re doing, may actually be perpetuating the issues making them worse instead of better.

Instead you may need to be working on your hip and thoracic mobility while activating your abs and glutes to protect your lower back from being overloaded.

Remember the point of pain isn’t always where the problem started. And feeling a muscle work during a move may not be because it is weak. Instead it may be working when it shouldn’t and become overloaded.

So if you’ve been feeling your lower back during moves and thought, “I need to strengthen it,” try including these 4 moves in your warm up routine instead! And stop overworking your already overloaded lower back more!

Exercise #1: Thoracic Foam Rolling

If one area is lacking in mobility, we will seek out mobility from another area to compensate.

Because we often lack proper thoracic extension due to hunching over our technology or driving in our cars, we tend to compensate for this lack of extension by arching our lower back during exercises.

If you’ve ever felt your lower back during overhead pressing movements or bent over rows or back flyes, you may be arching your lower back in an attempt to maintain a neutral spine because of your limited thoracic extension.

That’s why it’s key we work to improve our thoracic extension to avoid seeking out mobility from our lumbar spine to compensate.

That’s why I love peanut foam rolling. It’s a great way to relax those muscles that may become tight along our spine while improving our thoracic extension.

To do this move, you can use a peanut, which can easily be made by taping two balls together or tying them in a sock. Lie on your back placing the peanut in your mid-back with a ball on either side of your spine.

Place your hands behind your head, pulling your elbows open as you relax over the peanut.

Breathe and hold for a second, then crunch up and relax back down. Do a few of the crunches, extending back over, before moving the peanut up your spine.

You can also reach your arms up overhead and sweep them open and out to your sides before crunching up to stretch out your chest further.

But focus on breathing to relax as you hold and allow your spine to extend over the roller.

To progress this move, you can use something like the Simple Mobility tool which has a larger diameter and will require more spinal mobility to relax over.

Exercise #2: Bench Hip And Quad Stretch with Rotation

Tight hip flexors, and a lack of hip and spinal mobility in general can lead to you overusing your lower back as you then aren’t able to properly engage your glutes or even your upper back and abs.

That’s why stretches to improve your hip extension and spinal mobility are key.

Too often if our hip flexors are tight, we end up feeling moves that should be felt in our glutes in our lower backs and quads. Not to mention we can develop hamstring synergistic dominance where our hamstrings start to become overworked instead of our glutes working when they should!

To address both limited hip and spinal mobility, I love this Bench Hip and Quad Stretch With Rotation.

To do this move, place one foot up on a bench or chair behind you and half kneel on the ground with that back knee down and front foot flat on the ground. Move out far enough that you can squeeze that back glute to drive your hip into extension while keeping that front knee aligned over that front ankle.

In this half kneeling position, place both hands down on the ground even with your front instep.

In this position it is key you squeeze that back glute to drive that hip into extension or you lose out on the hip flexor stretch. Having your back foot up on the bench flexes your knees to stretch your quads at the same time.

Then lift your hand closet to your front foot to rotate toward that front leg. As you rotate your chest open, don’t just move at your shoulder. Focus on engaging your upper back to rotate your chest open.

Reach up toward the ceiling then place that hand back down on the ground. Then lift your other hand up to rotate away from that front leg. You may find it harder to rotate one direction, especially away from the front leg.

Make sure to keep that back glute engaged the entire time to stretch your hips and engage your upper back to help you twist and rotate.

Do not let yourself rock out on that front foot and cheat, seeking out mobility from other areas!

Move slowly and work for about 30 seconds per side even before switching legs.

To modify, you can place your back foot on a block instead of up on a bench. You can also place that back foot on a wall if you don’t have a bench.

If you can’t kneel due to knee issues, do this from a runner’s lunge position, even modifying with your hands up on an incline.

Exercise #3: 3-Way Hip Circles

The best way to protect your back is to strengthen your glutes and your abs so they brace to help protect your spine so your lower back isn’t doing all of the work!

That’s why this 3-Way Hip Circle activation move is so important to include. It not only helps mobilize your hips, but also works on your core engagement, activating your glutes, abs and even obliques.

Avoid leaning away or rotating your pelvis as you focus on moving just at the hip joint.

In this drill you want to pause in each position as the donkey kick will target your glute max while the fire hydrant will target your glute medius and the knee tuck will engage both your hip flexors, but especially your abs if you focus on drawing in your belly button as you pull in to tuck.

By also fighting the urge to lean away you’ll feel those obliques working to keep your hips level toward the ground.

To do the 3-Way Hip Circles, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet.

Then, keeping your knee bent to about 90 degrees, kick one leg back like into a Donkey Kick. You may slightly abduct the leg to better engage the glute, but do not let the knee rotate open. Focus on stopping the move with your glute over arching your lower back to lift up higher.

Pause here even assessing if you feel your glute. If you feel your hamstrings, relax your foot or even kick slightly out. And make sure your hips stay level to the ground.

Then, without bringing your knee back down, circle it out to the side into a Fire Hydrant position. Do not bend your arms or lean away to try to get the leg up higher.

Pull your knee in line with your hip, keeping your knee bent to about 90 degrees. Focus on keeping your lower leg about parallel to the ground. Do not let your foot flare up higher. Feel the side of your butt working to hold the leg up.

Pause here then tuck your knee straight in toward the elbow on the same side.

Pull your abs in as you crunch and don’t be afraid to flex slightly through your spine. Focus on those abs working as you drive your knee into your arms.

Pause then repeat the move kicking back into that Donkey Kick position.

Move slowly focusing on avoiding rotation or arching of your lower back as you kick back.

Complete all reps on one side before switching.

You can not only modify this move but also simply add variety to it and a balance challenge, by doing this standing. You can also do a straight leg kickback if you really struggle with arching your lower back or your hamstring compensating.

The key is making sure you actually feel the glutes working. Because doing the right moves, without feeling the correct muscles working may only perpetuate the problem over correcting it!

Exercise #4: Pelvic Tilt Balance March

Improving your pelvic stability to properly be able to brace your abs during movement is key if you want to avoid lower back overload and injury.

It’s why the Pelvic Tilt Balance March.

It is far from an easy move but it is a great way to engage your TVA or transverse abdominis while working your rectus abdominis and obliques to stabilize.

Just make sure you advance it slowly over rushing it.

You don’t want your lower back to take over or your hip flexors to be doing all the work.

To do this move, place a larger foam ball or pilates ball right under the top of your butt.

You want to balance on this ball, pressing down into it with your arms down by your sides, palms pressing into the ground.

Then bend your knees to about 90 degrees, bringing them into that tabletop position. Better to have them slightly out than to tuck them more into your chest as that will make it easier.

Balancing here, slowly touch one toe to the ground, fighting the urge to rotate. Raise that leg back up then touch the other toe down.

Focus on bracing those abs and not letting your abs dome out or your lower back arch. If it feels like too much, bring the ball up slightly higher.

To advance from here, you may bend your elbows or even raise one or both arms off the ground. This will give you less of a base to assist with stabilizing.

But only progress as you’ve earned it. Better to modify and really feel those abs working!

Move slowly with this move and even consider starting without the ball to master that posterior pelvic tilt progression if you haven’t!

SUMMARY:

Too often our lower back becomes overworked due to hip and spinal mobility restrictions and weak or underactive abs and glutes.

But because we consistently feel our lower back during moves, we assume it is actually weak and instead try to do more to work it.

This only perpetuates the problem.

So make sure you’re also working to improve those mobility restrictions while strengthening supporting muscles so your back doesn’t become overloaded.

Remember where the point of pain is isn’t always where the problem started! And injury doesn’t only mean an area is weak!

Use these 4 moves in your warm up, even just spending 30 seconds per move to start to help you avoid those lower back aches and pains!

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The Worst Diet For Fat Loss – Why Intuitive Eating Doesn’t Work For Fat Loss

The Worst Diet For Fat Loss – Why Intuitive Eating Doesn’t Work For Fat Loss

by | Feb 20, 2022 | Blog, Diet

I was in a discussion about weight loss with a couple of people and one of my clients was listening in.

One person said that they believe the best way to lose weight is to listen to your body and eat intuitively.

When my client and I walked away, she said to me…

“What if my body is intuitively telling me to eat ice cream, pizza and cake every day?”

While she was joking, it did really highlight a key issue with the promotion of Intuitive Eating as a weight loss strategy.

Let’s face it…most of us honestly have destroyed any intuition we have about what we need to fuel.

And processed, hyperpalatable foods only create another challenge to “eating intuitively” as they are designed to work against our natural cues.

Now yes, you could say that we shouldn’t be eating those foods anyway, but the reality is, most of us WANT TO and ENJOY processed foods and will plan to include them long term in our balanced diet.

So we need to understand how to balance them in.

While the idea behind intuitive eating is a good one, and it has a very specific purpose and design, saying to just intuitively eat to lose weight is a recipe for disaster.

One that ultimately leads to a lot of frustration as we don’t get results and aren’t sure why.

It’s why we can even feel like we’re eating healthily and not seeing the results we want.

Because the simple fact of the matter is…most of us need to RE-LEARN how to eat intuitively.

And you can’t just do that by “listening to your body.”

So if you’re just starting your weight loss journey, the worst thing you can do for yourself is expect yourself to just instinctively know what you need. Because let’s face it, what is instinctual and easy is what got us to the point we’re seeking out something to lose weight.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to not only help you lose weight but actually learn how to keep it off by re-learning what proper portions and dietary practices are for you so can eat according to your needs and goals, even as they change over time.

But before I dive into those 3 tips, I do want to remind us to STOP the guilt around eating certain foods.

Too often what also derails our weight loss efforts is the feeling of guilt we inflict upon ourselves when we eat something “unhealthy” or “unclean” or “off plan.”

Let’s face it, so many of us eat for reasons other than purely fueling…socializing and having fun or even out of stress. And while we always want to work to understand our personal relationship with food to establish a healthier balance, we do also want to avoid making ourselves feel bad when we aren’t perfect with our plan.

Because it’s often those feelings of guilt that lead to us ultimately failing, not the one indulgence or overindulgence. The guilt makes us self-sabotage even more.

It’s like we get a flat tire and instead of calling a tow truck or putting on the spare, we slash the other three tires. And that ultimately is what holds us back from moving forward faster.

I know there are those clean eating crusaders out there who make you feel like a horrible person for not just eating healthy foods every day, but the fact of life for many of us is that we enjoy foods that aren’t the best for our health.

And finding our own personal balance for our lifestyle is key.

Because we have to be able to be consistent long-term. And constantly having to drain your willpower to fight your urge to have anything you enjoy just isn’t sustainable. It ultimately leads to us eating more crap over the year than if we’d just struck a balance in the first place.

So stop worrying about someone else’s version of a healthy lifestyle and start first by focusing on small sustainable changes to what you’re currently doing!

Now what are 3 tips to help you start to lose weight and ultimately understand how to eat according to your personal needs, goals and lifestyle?

#1: Embrace The 80/20 Rule.

Those processed foods you love, the candy, chips or other treats? They are designed to make you crave more and even overeat. They basically disrupt our natural hunger cues.

Let’s face it, they’re empty calories. And because they don’t really fill you up, you can consume more calories you need without feeling full. They also have a lower thermic effect than whole, natural foods, which means you won’t burn as many calories to process them.

Now you may be expecting me to say you have to cut them out to lose weight. But I don’t believe in doing that.

I believe in the 80/20 rule to eating well.

80% of the time you do focus on those nutrient-dense whole, natural foods. But 20% of the time, you just don’t care as you enjoy those foods and mentally they’re satisifying.

Within that 20% you do want to understand what foods you can have in moderation and those that just trigger more cravings.

If you find you just want more of a specific thing, since processed foods are designed to make you crave more, you may decide to keep that treat to specific days to strike an overall lifestyle balance.

Or you may even experiment with more macro-friendly variations of that treat, say Halo top over Ben and Jerry’s or even greek yogurt with granola, that satisfy the craving but without triggering your desire for more.

Also, I honestly believe the more you tell yourself you can’t have something, the more you want it. And the more you’re having to FIGHT against eating something, the more you ultimately just drain your willpower, eventually give in and then ultimately even overeat what you would have consumed to start.

Heck, often just telling yourself you can have something, even if you ultimately don’t eat it, makes you feel like you have the choice and over feeling forced to not eat it.

And then if you do want it, by focusing on macros you could work it. Plan in something you’re craving even first and work backward around that.

Ultimately, we strike an 80/20 balance because, to still hit our macros because we need to include a lot of nutrient dense, high volume foods around the processed treat.

And those other volume foods keep you feeling full even when enjoying the processed treat that doesn’t trigger make you feel full even when it’s more than enough calories.

You may even find you ultimately choose NOT to have the treat because the way you’d have to adjust other meals isn’t “worth it.” But the point is you are choosing your balance and creating something sustainable.

You need to assess your lifestyle and make small adjustments to that if you want them to be sustainable.

Small changes can add up.

Even swapping white bread for whole grain and a process cheese for a less processed cheese can increase the thermic effect of the foods you eat.

And as you make those tweaks you want to realize that processed foods may be a part of your balance BUT that they won’t make you feel full while being calorically dense and are hyperpalatable foods that make you want to eat more and more!

#2: Don’t Start By Making Changes

It may sound strange to tell you not to make changes when you’re first starting your weight loss journey, but too often we just jump into these all or nothing programs without assessing whether they will even be sustainable.

And part of what ultimately works for us is what will allow us to dial in our macros and our calories to meet our needs and goals long-term.

One size doesn’t fit all.

It’s why your friend could do really well on Keto while you feel horrible and ultimately gain weight.

If you want to create a sustainable version of your lifestyle and ultimately learn what you really need fuel, you need to create changes based on your current lifestyle.

One of the most eye opening things is to just track what you’re currently doing.

And the accountability of tracking helps us automatically start to make changes that aren’t forced.

Tracking begins to make us more aware of how we’re truly fueling and can even help us start to assess how certain foods make us feel.

It gives us true feedback as to what we are doing and the results we then get based off of specific habits.

And then from here we can make realistic and sustainable changes personalized to our needs.

Too often I hear people say, “I just don’t have as much willpower or discipline as (insert person/friend/family who got results).”

We feel like we don’t have the willpower someone else does because we aren’t creating small changes that allow ourselves to engrain the habits and mindsets need.

We cut out something we love most first. And feel deprived.

We create so many changes we’re constantly fighting against everything that is habitual and instinctive, even if it isn’t “right.”

The key to actually building lasting results isn’t some sexy extreme fad diet.

It’s small changes over time that build and allow us to make those habits so engrained they don’t really take willpower to replicate. They are our new normal.

So don’t start to try to lose weight by following some all or nothing plan.

Start by determining what your current lifestyle is and then make tweaks to it. For some that may mean setting a calorie cap or calorie intake range based on their goals. Even just 100 calories under what they’re currently doing.

For others it may be making small macro changes, increasing protein while not worrying about where carbs and fats fall.

For others it may mean making one simple swap and including veggies at a meal. The key is first assessing where YOU personally are currently to make small changes you can build upon.

#3: Realize that change is uncomfortable.

Most of us simply don’t like change. It’s hard going against what has become instinctual and easy even if we know its for the better.

But change requires change and that means stepping outside our comfort zone.

It’s why this idea of eating intuitively and whatever you want is false.

Because we will keep just repeating the habits we are comfortable with, the ones that aren’t moving us forward and may even be causing us to gain.

So as you start to track, and learn about the impact of the foods you are consuming, realize that there will be times you don’t feel comfortable. That there will be times you don’t want to do what is needed.

There will be times that things that ultimately are sustainable don’t feel that way to start.

But new habits will become instinctual and easy if we give them time and base them off our current lifestyle.

The key is even realizing our mindset behind the new habits.

We can’t just take actions we don’t believe in. We can’t just fake it till we make it.

We’ve got to recognize that we are CHOOSING to make these changes and believe in the process.

Your mindset has to back the actions you’re taking or you’ll set yourself up for failure and ultimately fall into old patterns.

So even recognizing before you start to make changes that things WILL be uncomfortable can help you embrace the process more.

Too often we make these sweeping changes and try to tell ourselves they are easy when they aren’t. And then when they aren’t easy, we feel discouraged and give up.

Instead lower your defenses against the changes and even tell yourself they’re going to be challenging. Honestly, you’ll be surprised by how much easier it ultimately makes the process of change that you aren’t surprised when you do encounter a difficult time!

SUMMARY:

Change requires change and if we knew how to eat intuitively for our needs, we wouldn’t be seeking out a weight loss solution.

Learning to better understand what we need is a process.

So if you’re starting out on your weight loss journey, start tracking what you’re currently doing and be ready to be a bit uncomfortable as you make those changes that build toward results!

Ready to create the healthiest version of YOUR lifestyle?

Schedule a call to chat about the program right for you!

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The Most Underrated BODYWEIGHT Leg Exercise

The Most Underrated BODYWEIGHT Leg Exercise

by | Feb 14, 2022 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Exercises, Functional Fitness

Too often we only think about progressing movements to build muscle by adding loads.

However, you can build muscle by creating progression in other ways especially if you don’t have any tools at your disposal.

If it challenges you, it will change you.

So if you’re only training with bodyweight but want to strengthen your legs?

You’ll want to try this amazing move, and one of my favorite bodyweight leg exercises we often aren’t doing – The Airborne Lunge!

Before I go over how to do this move, I want to highlight other ways you can create progression without loads all of which can be done with this great lunge variation.

One, you can use unilateral movements over bilateral moves.

Two, you can create more instability, through changing the surface you’re performing the move on or even the base of support you have, such as doing a fully single leg movement.

Three, you can change up tempo. You can slow down the whole movement, parts of the movement or even speed the move up and make it more explosive. You can even slow down one part and speed up another. Or you can even add a pause or hold.

Four, you change up the range of motion you’re working through. Increasing the range of motion of a move can make it more challenging. It is also a great way to make sure you’re working to maintain the mobility you build through your other prehab work!

It’s key to remember we can find ways to progress movements and build strength and muscle even when we don’t have weights.

So if you’re training at home or when you travel and need to progress the basic bodyweight leg exercise, try this Airborne Lunge Variation.

It’s a great move if you even want to build up toward that pistol squat!

The Airborne Lunge:

The Airborne Lunge is a great bodyweight glute and leg exercise that can help you build up to that full pistol squat even with a more hip dominant movement pattern.

It is however a deceptively hard move.

To do the Airborne Lunge, stand tall and shift your weight to one foot, bending the other knee to bring your heel up toward your butt. You want to keep that foot pulled toward your butt so you only touch your knee down when you lower.

Then sit your butt back to hinge at the hips as you bend your standing knee to drop your back knee down toward the ground. You will lean forward as you hinge, but do not round over. You are leaning forward to counterbalance your weight and sit back.

Touch your knee to the ground gently without letting that raised foot touch down.

Do not reach that raised leg back too far or you will get too spread out. Your standing knee may travel over your toes. This is NOT a bad thing and this ankle mobility is required to build up toward the full pistol squat. Just make sure you’ve pushed your butt back to load your glutes while keeping that standing foot, and especially your heel, firmly pressed down into the ground.

Lightly touch your back knee down, then drive back up to standing. Do not push off that knee or the raised foot.

You want the entire movement to be powered by that standing leg.

Stand tall at the top and squeeze that standing glute. Try not to touch the other foot down.

Repeat the move again, sitting your butt back to hinge as you bend that standing knee to lower down.

The range of motion on this move and the instability of the unilateral movement make it a challenge. To progress it further, you can increase the ROM, by performing the lunge with your standing leg up on something so you have to sink deeper.

Or you can change up the tempo, slowing things down, even pausing at the bottom.

However, you can also modify this movement by reducing the range of motion and touching your knee down to a block or box. You can also reduce the instability by holding on to something to help you balance.

But this unilateral move is a great way to build strong legs and glutes, correct imbalance and progress your bodyweight training WITHOUT adding loads!

And it’s a great way to perform a more hip dominant exercise that can help you even build up toward that full pistol squat as well!

SUMMARY:

Just remember, if it challenges you it will change you. Muscle growth and strength increases come from forcing our muscles to adapt to a challenge!