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the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

by | May 12, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Warm Up

The stronger your mind-body connection is?

The more you can lift, the faster you can run and the further you can cycle!

Basically the STRONGER YOU ARE!

Strength is not just about brute force but also about neuromuscular efficiency – how quickly can you recruit the CORRECT muscles to perform a movement and produce force.

That’s why it is key we include exercises to really improve that mind-body connection and make sure we are able to engage the correct muscles whenever we need.

Because as much as we focus on form, proper form does NOT always mean you’re engaging the correct muscles.

Actually often the more experienced a lifter you are and the more athletic you are, the more you can mimic a proper looking movement pattern while compensating and recruiting the incorrect muscles to do so.

This can not only result in injury but often holds us back from lifting as much as we truly can.

It prevents us from being as strong as possible because we aren’t using muscles efficiently together. We aren’t making the correct muscles pull their own weight.

That’s why you need to include some isolation moves to activate those underactive muscles and make sure you’re engaging the correct muscles at the proper times.

One muscle that often needs to be the focus of our activation work is our GLUTES.

Our glutes are commonly underactive due to our modern lifestyle.

So focused activation work can help us improve our mind-body connection to better recruit our glutes during compound lifts and when we run or cycle.

One of my favorite moves, and a very basic and often underutilized move, is the Single Leg Bent-Knee Reverse Hyper.

This move is fundamental if you want to improve your hip extension and focus on isolating those glutes.

And it’s a really great way to test if your hamstrings tend to want to take over and compensate for your glutes.

Often our hamstrings can become synergistically dominant for underactive glutes and that can result in hamstrings strains, lower back, hip and knee pain.

So if you tend to feel your hamstrings even during moves like glute bridges? You need to give this reverse hyper variation a try.

To first test your glute activation, lie face down on the ground. You can relax your chin on your hands as you straighten both legs out. Then bend one knee to about 90 degrees. Flex that foot. Do not curl the heel in toward your butt as this will engage your hamstrings.

Then drive your heel toward the ceiling and extend your hip.

What do you feel firing first? Do you feel your hamstring first or your glute?

Do you feel both? Or can you just isolate your glute?

If you can just isolate your glute fabulous! Do 15-20 reps and pause at the top to really establish that mind-body connection and even get a little pump going.

If you can’t feel your glutes, try adjusting how you’re cueing and performing the move.

Here are a few tweaks to try.

#1: Focus on driving your hip down into the ground as you drive the heel back so you don’t rotate open. Think about almost pushing your hip bone down into the ground instead of just lifting up.

#2: Think about STOPPING the lift with your glute over just trying to lift up higher. You want to focus on that glute engagement over the movement itself.

#3: Kick just slightly out as you lift. Remember not to curl your heel in toward your butt. Our hamstrings are worked by that knee flexion so avoiding it can help. However, going too straight with your leg can also make it harder for some to focus on their glutes.

#4: Slightly abduct your knee or move it out to the side before you lift. This can better engage the glute medius to help engage that glute max. Just be careful you don’t rotate your hip open. Just slightly move the knee out to the side.

Try one of these tweaks at a time to see what helps. You may even find you need to combine all the cues to get that glute firing without the hamstring trying to take over.

As silly as it may seem, sometimes just changing how we cue ourselves to perform a movement with a very slight adjustment can really help us better establish that mind-body connection when we’ve struggled in the past.

Just don’t rush through the movement. Pause and assess. Be intentional with the exercise over just trying to get through the reps.

Doing the “right moves” without feeling the correct muscles working won’t get you the results you want.

Focus on activating your glutes.

SUMMARY:

Use this underrated glute isolation move as both an activation exercise but also a test of hamstring compensation. It is a great way to make sure your hamstrings aren’t trying to take over and work when your glutes truly should be.

Be conscious of what you feel working during your workouts and do not simply go through the motions.

The more we can truly create proper recruitment patterns and use the correct muscles efficiently and effectively, the stronger we will be.

Sometimes we need to take things back to basics to get results.

We are never above those simple fundamentals!

Working to improve your glute activation?

Check out my Booty Burner Program!

–> LEARN MORE

Macro Tracking For Beginners – 3 Macro Tracking Mistakes

Macro Tracking For Beginners – 3 Macro Tracking Mistakes

by | Apr 30, 2021 | Blog, Diet

Counting or tracking macros is overwhelming. It’s intimidating. It’s hard. It’s annoying. It’s boring. It’s tedious.

It’s really sucky to start.

But it’s also the best way to get results efficiently while learning how to create a sustainable lifestyle balance so you can adjust your nutrition even as your needs and goals change over time.

If you truly want to understand your own diet?

You need to start tracking macros.

Because I know it can be a super hard and frustrating change to make, I wanted to share 3 common mistakes I see people starting out making and what you should do instead.

But first a bit on what macros actually are and why tracking isn’t the restrictive thing we can often make it out to be.

So…what are macros?

Macros, or macronutrients, are the nutrients our body needs in large quantities they are proteins, carbs and fats.

How we dial in the portion of our calories that come from each nutrient can impact the results we get.

And we may adjust the ratios we use as our needs and goals change over our life.

Working to lose fat? You may use one ratio.

Working to build muscle? You may change ratios.

Dealing with menopause? You may select a different macro breakdown.

Working to fuel your workouts to train hard for your endurance sport? You may even adjust your macro ratios over the course of your training as your training intensifies.

The point is, when you understand macros, you can make sure you’re fueling correctly for your specific needs and goals even as they change over time!

Now…What about tracking being super restrictive and obsessive?

The simple fact is…What you measure, you can manage.

If you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re consuming, you don’t know what you need to change.

It’s why we can feel like we’re eating super “healthy” yet not seeing the physical or performance results we want!

If you were training for a race, you wouldn’t randomly run or ride what you “felt like” that day. You’d have your mileage for the week, and even month, planned out so you knew how you were going to progress. And you’d track how each run went to make sure you were progressing the way you wanted.

Why wouldn’t you want to give yourself the same data to adjust your fueling?

I think so often we feel that tracking is restrictive because we’ve only used it to count calories for restrictive weight loss diets that left us feeling like we had to cut everything out and be miserably hungry.

But tracking itself is not restrictive. Your tracker isn’t judging. It’s just giving you a picture of what you’re eating.

So stop judging yourself and realize the data is there to inform you and help you.

See it as the opportunity to better fuel your body and give it what it needs!

Of course if you do have an eating disorder you need to seek out professional help, but too often we simply use this as an excuse to not make the hard changes we need and truly invest in learning how to fuel better.

So if you’re ready to get started tracking macros, here are the 3 mistakes to avoid and what you should be doing instead!

Mistake #1: Not tweaking what you’re currently doing.

When we are motivated, we often go to extremes in an attempt to get the best results as fast as possible.

But the second our motivation and willpower fades?

We are left with unsustainable habits and end up right back where we started.

That’s why it’s best to use that initial motivation and willpower to create sustainable habits, making small tweaks to what we are currently doing.

So before you even attempt to change anything in your diet and hit any specific macro ratios, just start by tracking.

Track what you are currently doing.

Don’t make any changes. Just see where you are at. You can then start to tweak from what you’re currently doing so that you don’t physically, or mentally, rebel against extreme adjustments.

Part of why we often fall off of tracking our macros is the struggle to hit ratios that are far different than what we are currently doing.

It’s such a dramatic change it can feel impossible.

So if we instead start tracking our current diet, we can begin to make adjustments that dial everything in without feeling crazy restrictive or impossibly frustrating!

You’ll be surprised by how even simply being accountable you start to see results. Not to mention how eye opening it really is to see the breakdown of the foods you’re consuming.

Mistake #2: Not putting protein first.

The more changes we try to make at once, the more overwhelming an already complicated process can be.

Often we dive in, not only shooting for a macro breakdown far different from what we are currently consuming, but we ultimately have to adjust EVERYTHING in our diet all at once.

And that can feel impossible.

So when we can’t hit the ratio, we give up.

Instead of shooting for hitting a ratio perfectly where you have to adjust every macro at once, focus on one thing at a time.

Often the macronutrient we most need to focus on is PROTEIN.

Whether you’re plant-based, omnivore or straight carnivore, protein is often the macro we tend to under utilize in our diet.

Let’s face it, carbs and fats often taste better and make up the foods we love.

But protein is key whether we want to lose weight while retaining lean muscle, build muscle, recover faster or even age well.

It becomes increasingly important too as we get older as we become less able to utilize protein as efficiently not to mention we have a harder time building and retaining lean muscle.

So focus on hitting your protein amount FIRST. Let your carbs and fats fall wherever feels best to start.

You can then start tweaking those other macros based on your training and goals.

And by starting with protein, you can see great aesthetic changes.

You’ll find it a much easier process to get lean while feeling fueled if protein is your focus to start!

Mistake #3: Not tracking everything!

Measuring and tracking everything is tedious to start. But it’s the best way to really understand your portion sizes and the true breakdown of the foods you’re eating.

Plus, let’s face it, often we don’t want to track because we don’t want something to count.

But guess what?

Even if you don’t log it, you still ate it.

And it’s going to impact the results you get.

So while you may get more lax in your tracking over time, start by logging EVERYTHING so you know how it all impacts you and your results.

Little things do add up. It may only be a cracker here or a little taste of something there, but those calories add up more quickly than we realize, not to mention change the actual macro breakdown we end up consuming.

And it’s not just only the day that it changes. Often we don’t recognize how those little snacks and bites daily add up over the weeks and months.

So LOG EVERYTHING.

It makes you much more aware of some of the unconscious eating we do or the eating out of boredom.

Remember, what you measure, you can manage!

We can’t adjust if we don’t have an accurate picture of what we’re actually doing.

So give yourself that true data to make changes!

SUMMARY:

Creating a new lifestyle and making lasting changes isn’t always easy or comfortable.

Those fad diets that promise a fast and easy fix don’t work for a reason.

If you want to truly create a sustainable lifestyle and understand how to adjust your diet even as your needs and goals change, you need to start tracking your macros.

It may be boring and tedious and frustrating to start, but it’s far less frustrating than spinning your wheels working hard not to see the results you truly want!

Dial in your diet and your workouts to work together based on what is realistic and sustainable for you…

–> The 3-Step RS Recipe

 

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

by | Apr 22, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups

Push ups not only require a lot of upper body strength but also core strength.

They require you to properly recruit and engage everything from your shoulders to your knees so your body moves as one unit. You need to not only have amazing strength but also proper wrist, shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.

They are a much more complex movement than we often give them credit for.

That’s why I want to share 5 tips to help you not only dial in your push up form, but also strengthen all of the muscles involved in the movement so you can improve your push ups.

But first, I want to explain why it’s key we remember we may need to regress to progress to start.

And one of the best ways to do that is by using an incline over even the knee push up variation!

The knee push up variation is actually more challenging than we often give it credit for. And it doesn’t teach us to engage everything between our shoulders to our feet.

We need to train that full plank position to help us better engage everything as we build up toward that full push up from the ground.

That’s why the incline push up is a great way to modify the push up to start.

You can start off a wall and slowly lower the incline as you’re ready.

And by using an incline, we can even mix up the push up variations we include as we build up.

It can be boring feeling like you aren’t able to try some of those fun push up variations. But using an incline, you don’t have to stick with just the basic push up.

You can include other push up variations that may even be great accessory moves in and of themselves to improve your strength toward that first full push up.

Want to target your triceps more?

Try the close grip push up off an incline.

Or if you want to work on your core strength more as well as your shoulder stability?

Try the shoulder tap push up.

By mixing up your push up variations you can keep you training fun and interesting and even address your weak links to get stronger!

5 Key Tips To Help You Improve Your Push Ups

#1: Drive back through your heels.

Part of getting stronger is also about being more EFFICIENT in your movements. It’s about learning how to engage muscles correctly so it actually requires less effort to do the movement.

And one great way to make sure you have the proper tension during the push up to maintain that nice straight line from your head to your heels, is to cue yourself to drive back through your heels.

This will help you flex your quads for that nice plank position.

Because while this is an upper body move you need to have that proper full body engagement so you aren’t overloading your upper body but also making your lower body assist you in moving efficiently.

When you set up for the push up, push backward off the balls of your feet. Feel the change in how you flex your legs as you do this. Just make sure that as you drive back, you keep your hands outside your chest and don’t let them shift up above your shoulders.

Keep pushing backward off the balls of your feet as you lower down.

Feel those legs stay engaged to help you maintain that plank position!

#2: Push the ground away.

Want to engage your triceps, shoulders and pecs better while helping prevent elbow pain during push ups? Focus on your hands grip on the ground.

That tension we create through our hands down into the ground can really help us better activate the muscles of our upper body.

And it can help us prevent overuse from rocking out on our hands.

As you set up for the push up, spread your fingers with your middle finger pointing straight ahead. Grip the ground or incline with your entire hand, even pressing your thumb down into the ground.

At the top of the push up, think about pushing the ground away just slightly to even better stabilize your shoulders.

And do not lose this tension even as you lower down. Too often we just think about lowering down over maintaining that tension into the ground.

But this tension can also help us in that transition from lowering to pressing back up.

If you’ve ever felt like you struggle at the bottom to change to pushing back up?

This focus on your hands pushing down into the ground can make all of the difference. So even as you lower, push the ground away so that when you move to push back up, you’ve already created that tension.

#3: Feel your back assisting.

While yes, the push up is a move for our chest, shoulders and triceps, we can’t ignore the important role our upper back plays in this movement.

We often think about our scapular movement, or the movement of our shoulder blades, during things like rows.

But that scapular movement is essential to actually create a more powerful press.

Proper scapular movement can mean healthier, happier shoulders, elbows and even wrists. Not to mention you avoiding neck pain from push ups.

So as you perform the push up, think about your back working to support your shoulders.

Make sure that, when you set up, you very slightly pull your shoulder blades down toward your butt as you unshrug your shoulders. Think about feeling the sides of your back slightly engage to support your shoulders.

Then, as you lower down, think about your shoulder blades drawing together toward your spine.

As you press back up, focus on pulling those shoulder blades apart.

Use your back and that proper scapular movement to power your press!

#4: Use push up holds.

Push ups are basically a moving plank so often when we think push ups and improving our core strength, we turn to plank holds.

And those are great.

But you can actually work on that plank position from just about any point in the push up.

By holding even mid-way through the push up or at the bottom, you can really strengthen not only your core but also your upper body.

You can also help yourself overcome any weak points or stick points in the move.

If there is a point you feel you always get stuck at?

Hold there to strengthen everything.

When we hold, we can really focus on what we feel working because we aren’t distracted by trying to actually perform a movement.

We can stay in one position and run through the muscles that should be working to make sure we feel them. We have time to even assess our form and make small tweaks.

That time under tension can help us build strength as we work on that mind-body connection to use muscles efficiently.

So next time you include some accessory core work, try including bottom push up holds or mid push up holds instead of just doing even the high plank position to work your core!

#5: Quality over quantity.

Practice makes better. But only when you’re practicing the proper movement. If we get lazy with our reps and compensate or replicate improper movement patterns?

We are going to ingrain those bad habits through repetition.

So as you build up, make sure to focus on quality over quantity. Make every rep your best rep to really solidify those proper movement patterns.’

And focus on fewer reps of a harder variation to really challenge your body to progress.

Too often when we want to work toward that first full push up, we just make ourselves better at the modified variation by adding more reps.

Instead of doing more reps of a more modified push up, we need to think about doing fewer reps with more sets to keep attempting a more challenging variation.

So if you can do only 1 push up off a lower incline, but 5 off a higher?

It is better to include that 1 rep off the harder variation, simply resting longer between to create the volume over sets.

Because you need to use those harder variations to get better at them!

Summary:

Use the incline push up variation to help you build up toward that first full push up from your toes. You can even start off the wall and lower the incline as you feel ready.

As you build up, use these tips and cues to help you dial in your push up form and use muscles efficiently to perform the movement.

And don’t be afraid to use some fun variations off the incline to help you target those weak links and keep your training fun and interesting!

The BIGGEST Deadlift Mistakes (No One Talks About)

The BIGGEST Deadlift Mistakes (No One Talks About)

by | Mar 18, 2021 | Blog, Exercises

The Deadlift – This is personally one of my favorite exercises.

It is a challenging hip hinge movement that works your entire posterior chain or backside.

It is a move that is often demonized and feared for causing lower back aches and pains.

But while this move can be misused and end up resulting in lower back injury, it is actually a key movement pattern to learn to perform correctly if we want to avoid long term back, hip and even knee issues.

That’s why I want to share not only 3 tips to improve your deadlift but also one of the biggest problems I see people encountering when trying to recruit muscles correctly to perform this posterior chain move…

They think of this move as a PULL instead of focusing on the PUSH to initiate the lift.

And that focus on the deadlift as a pull is often what results in us overloading our lower backs instead of correctly bracing our abs and using our hamstrings and glutes to initiate the movement of the bar off the ground.

Instead of thinking about pulling the bar up off the ground, next time you set up to deadlift, think about PUSHING the ground away with your legs.

While a seemingly simply change in how we cue ourselves to do this move, this can change the entire sequencing of how we recruit muscles to perform the movement.

Think about it this way…

When you step up to the bar and think, “I have to pull this off the ground,” you may hinge at the hips to sink down to the bar and grab it, but your innate response is to then start to tug with your upper body and arms.

This often results in mistakes like the bar drifting away from our shins, us not engaging our lats to lock everything in, rounding of the thoracic and lumbar spine, not to mention our butt rising up far too quickly, resulting in what is often called the stripper deadlift.

This can all lead to over use of our back instead of our glutes being a driver of the lift.

This simple miscue in how to initiate the move can be the culprit of our improper recruitment patterns and result in compensations and injury,

When we instead focus first on this move as a PUSH, our attention shifts to our foot’s connection with the ground and the use of our legs to initiate the movement.

It allows us to create and maintain the upper body tension we need to hold the bar while focusing on the movement coming from our lower body.

So next time you step up to the bar, don’t think about pulling the bar off the ground. Focus instead on PUSHING the ground away with your legs!

Now what are 3 other tips to improve your deadlift so you can rock this amazing lift?

Tip #1: Don’t be married to one deadlift variation.

I LOVE….did I say LOVE!? The barbell sumo deadlift. Honestly if I could only do one move the rest of my life, that move would be it.

BUT as much as I love the barbell sumo deadlift, this is not the only deadlift variation I use personally or with all of my clients.

Not every deadlift variation will be right for us and our build and previous injuries.

And different variations may suit our needs and goals as they change over time.

Not only may we use different stances, different amounts of knee flexion and even different starting positions to activate muscles to different extents, but we may change up the equipment we use to load the moves down and provide resistance.

The key is using the hip hinge movement in a way that addresses our needs and goals instead of getting caught up in one version being the “best” or “right” way to do things.

If you have slightly longer legs?

You may find the sumo stance works better for you.

Whereas if you want to target your back in general a bit more? You may choose to do the conventional deadlift.

Or if you want to place an emphasis on working your hamstrings?

Maybe you do a Romanian Deadlift.

If you’re just starting out with deadlifting?

Maybe you use a kettlebell instead of a barbell. The kettlebell can be a great tool to use to learn how to hip hinge correctly.

It’s easier to set the kettlebell back between your feet to properly load your glutes during the deadlift whereas there is more risk with the barbell variation of it drifting forward in your efforts to protect your shins, which can lead to lower back overload.

You can even do band deadlifts or unilaterally loaded deadlifts to create more tension at the top of the move where the glutes are stronger or focus more on your core strength, creating an even anti-rotational element to the move.

The point is, there are so many different variations of this amazing hip hinge movement you can use to get the most out of the exercise and even use the move as its own accessory lift!

Tip #2: Create tension before you lift.

Bracing is key if you want to protect your lower back.

But it’s not just about bracing your abs and creating tension there when it comes to the deadlift.

While you want to engage your abs as if you’re about to be punched in the gut to help protect your lower back as well as exhale during exertion in the lift, you want to make sure you create tension in a few different places BEFORE you even attempt to move the bar off the ground.

This helps make sure that muscles work efficiently together.

Too often we see rounding of our back occurring because we lose tension or haven’t properly engaged before starting the lift.

Next time you set up to deadlift, think about your foot placement on the ground. Think about driving the two points in the ball of your foot and one in your heel down hard into the ground.

As you hinge and grab the bar, engage your lats and depress your shoulder blades so your shoulders feel locked in.

Even think about both hands fully wrapping around to grab the bar so that each finger has that connection.

Then create that tension not only down into the ground but also through the bar. While you won’t lift the bar, you want to think about removing any “slack” from your arms so that everything is locked in.

By creating this tension, you can then use your body as a lever to lift by driving the ground away.

While this sounds like a lot of things to focus on, the engagement will become natural over time.

But using this little checklist to set up when you’re learning can help you make sure you’re creating tension in the right areas to use muscles efficiently to lift.

Part of strength is using muscles efficiently together.

Tip #3: Remember every lift is PRACTICE.

Every time we deadlift, we are practicing the movement pattern.

And what we do consistently becomes habit.

Therefore improper form during our “practice” will lead to us consistently implementing improper form and recruitment patterns as we progress.

That can result in us not only not progressing as far as we’d like in terms of lifting more with this amazing move, but it can also result in overload which eventually results in injury.

It’s why, as hard as it is to check our ego, at points we need to regress to progress.

While there will be some form break down when you’re an experienced lifter testing those limits and attempting one rep max work, you need to remember that when you hit that compensation point, it’s key to then address those weak links.

Sometimes you have to lower the loads and go back to basics. You have to use accessory lifts to work on strengthening muscles or components of the movement.

Sometimes you even need to use other deadlift variations to help you build up.

Progress is never linear, and we have to remember that no matter how advanced we are, each lift is practice and teaches us things we need to go back and work on.

SUMMARY:

The deadlift is an amazing hip hinge movement to strengthen your entire backside.

Learning how to perform this movement correctly and control it can often be the key to even avoiding back aches and pains in the future.

Start focusing on that push away to drive the movement while using these 3 tips to help tailor this amazing move to fit your needs and goals!

What is your favorite deadlift variation?

Fix Your Squat – 3 Squat Myths That Need To Die

Fix Your Squat – 3 Squat Myths That Need To Die

by | Mar 12, 2021 | Blog, Exercises

What does it mean to have picture perfect squat form?

And is there really truly such a thing?

Or are we actually doing MORE damage by trying to force one version of proper form on every single person no matter their build, training experience or previous injury history?

Because I believe there SHOULD be variation to movement patterns, and even an emphasis placed on recruitment patterns, or the muscles that actually SHOULD be working, over just mimicking a proper movement, I want to discuss 3 squat myths, how they came to be and why they actually hold us back from getting the most out of this amazing compound move – the Squat.

But first, I want to discuss why we can’t force one version of form, or even simply one variation of the squat on every single person.

While I do believe we should have standards of form and seek to work on proper movement patterns, I think we also have to recognize that we will not all move the same.

We can’t see form as black and white, simply good or bad.

We have different builds, different postural distortions and even different goals. And this means that not everyone will squat with the same stance or even benefit from the exact same squat variation.

And sometimes forcing someone to fit a form mold you feel is correct can lead to overload and injury as their body compensates to mimic the movement you’re telling them to do.

Our bodies will seek out mobility from joints or areas not meant to provide it or even overuse smaller muscles in an attempt to replicate a movement.

So while you may love the barbell back squat, a client may not be ready for that movement or ever even need to do it. Instead a single leg squat to box or goblet squat may be right for them.

They may have more forward lean or even a wider squat stance.

They may need a mini band for that tactile cue to help them activate their glutes. Or due to limited ankle mobility, they may need to squat to a box to start to help them better load their glutes without their lower back engaging.

We need to see opportunities in slight variations of movements over ranking them as better or worse, good or bad.

3 Squat Myths That Need To…Die…

Sometimes simply using the same but different because of how it affects muscle activation may be key to our own progression!

So what are the 3 Squat Myths that may be holding you back?

Myth #1: Your knees can’t go past your toes.

Knee pain is an all too common complaint. And tight hips and limited ankle mobility are common mobility restrictions due to our modern lifestyle.

These things combined are part of the reason we saw the rise of the cue “Your knees shouldn’t go past your toes.”

This cue was meant to help remind people to actually sit back over first bending their knees forward while letting their heels rise up.

It’s intentions were good.

However, it’s perpetuated the belief that squats are bad for your knees or that your knees can’t travel forward and instead need to stay over your ankles.

But to achieve a deep squat or a full pistol squat?

This just isn’t possible.

Your knees can and, often even SHOULD, travel past your toe with no negative consequences.

The key is making sure you’re properly loading those glutes and sitting back.

You need to make sure you have the proper hip and ankle mobility to be squatting as low as you are while keeping your heels down.

If you can’t load your glutes and keep your heels down, you may then have issues with your knees traveling forward as the muscles around your knees become overloaded.

So while this cue was well intentioned due to mobility restrictions and injuries that were popping up, you simply may not be able to work through a full range of motion with proper form if you try to force your knees to stay behind your toes!

The key is working on your ankle and hip mobility so you can properly load while potentially even using a squat to box variation to help you control the movement and properly load.

Myth #2: You need to stay super upright.

A nice upright squat position looks beautiful. Unfortunately though many of us simply don’t have the build to do it and trying to prevent ourselves from leaning forward will result in lower back aches and pains.

While we want to work on core stability and hip and thoracic mobility as much as possible to improve our squat posture, we also do not want to force someone to keep their chest upright if their mobility and build don’t allow for it to be done with proper recruitment patterns.

Too often we try to force a proper looking movement at the expense of actually utilizing the correct muscles.

And while this cue came about to help people avoid turning the squat into a hip hinge, it can backfire if we try to force a position we can’t control.

We have to face the facts that some of us just aren’t built for picture perfect Instagram worthy squats and work to maximize our squatting form based on our builds.

Now this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on your mobility to get more upright, but it does mean you need to recognize there will be acceptable variations in the squat and that your squat movement pattern may involve more forward lean.

It’s why coaching people, you may want to avoid having them face a wall to cue “chest up.”

Especially if you have long femurs and a short torso, you may find that a slight lean forward as you squat allows you to get lower, load your legs better AND even avoid lower back aches and pains instead of trying to arch to stay upright.

You may also use box squats or front loaded squat variations to help you properly sit back and even brace your core to ultimately keep a more upright body position.

It’s key though that you don’t force an upright posture at the expense of arching your lower back and causing aches and pains there.

Myth #3: Your squat needs to be (insert depth here).

I’ve heard everything from “Don’t squat below parallel or your knees will explode” to “You need to squat ass to grass or it doesn’t count.”

The real answer to the proper squat depth question?

Is…it DEPENDS!

The difference of opinion on squat depth and cueing came about because one side feared the knee pain they often saw clients suffering from with squatting while the other wanted to help people strengthen through a full range of motion for better muscle gains AND to even maintain better mobility as they aged.

But we have to recognize that not everyone will be able to squat to the same depth.

Your structure, injury history and mobility may lead to you limiting your squat depth and even controlling it through use of a box or bench. Or it may allow you to squat into a nice deep squat very comfortably.

But whatever range of motion you can control, you want to work through it as fully as possible. Our goal is always to train through the largest range of motion we can properly control.

Which for some may be that full deep squat while for others it may be to parallel.

But we need to stop demonizing one or the other. And we even need to recognize that BOTH can be useful at points even.

Even someone who can easily perform a deep squat may limit squat range of motion strategically to work on weak points or stick points.

Form isn’t black and white.

But we need to realize when cues may be misused and perpetuate improper recruitment patterns or lead to everyone trying to force the same mold.

One size doesn’t fit all.

There is no one best move or movement variation.

Use these tips to help dial in your squat form to work with your build, needs and goals!

Ready to move and feel your best with workouts tailored to your needs and goals? Check out my 1:1 Coaching!

–> Apply Now

 

Why You’re Not Losing Weight (3 Mistakes You Might Be Making)

Why You’re Not Losing Weight (3 Mistakes You Might Be Making)

by | Mar 4, 2021 | Blog, Diet

“I’m eating so clean and training hard every day. Why am I not losing weight?”

There is nothing more frustrating than feeling like you’re working super hard and doing all of the “right” things but not getting the results you deserve.

It can make you feel like something is wrong with you.

But often it is very SIMPLE habit changes, those boring basics, that make the difference.

Too often we overcomplicate things in our search for a quick fix, instead of dialing in the fundamentals first.

We get focused on doing more and working HARDER over simply working smarter.

That’s why I want to share the 3 most common reasons people don’t see the weight loss results they want and how to correct them.

But first, I also want to discuss why you don’t want to let the scale dictate how you view your results.

The scale doesn’t tell us the full story.

It tells us how much we weigh on any given day at any given time.

But our weight isn’t just muscle and fat.

It’s glycogen and water storage.

It’s impacted by inflammation and food still left to be processed and disposed of.

The scale will fluctuate daily, not to mention even hourly.

While I know we can often want to see a specific number on the scale, we have to remember that the scale doesn’t really show us the full picture.

And often striving for faster weight loss on the scale will backfire.

The scale is a very poor indicator of body recomposition.

Your weight could stay the same while amazing body recomposition results are happening.

If you lose a pound of fat, but even gain 2lbs of muscle?

Guess what?

You could end up looking leaner BUT actually even see your weight increase.

Because as much as we say “I want to lose weight” what we really want is to lose fat.

And the scale as a data source for fat loss is very limited

So even if you are trying to lose weight, consider another form of measurement to help you truly track your body recomposition – whether it is a form of body fat testing, progress picture or even body measurements.

Now…What Are The 3 Most Common Reasons We Aren’t Seeing Results?

Often we need to focus on those BASICS and dial in those fundamentals first.

While they aren’t sexy or fun, they are often the reasons we succeed or fail!

Supplements, fancy moves may be the things we want to focus on, but we have to remember that what we measure, can be MANAGED!

If you don’t have a clear picture of what you’re doing, a clear plan in place? You can’t make accurate changes to your routine.

Reason #1: You’re Not Tracking And Measuring

I know I know…tracking sucks.

It’s boring and tedious and no one likes doing it.

But it gives us an unbiased picture of what we are truly doing so that we can adjust.

It’s a great learning tool to truly understand how to best fuel your body so your calories and macros are dialed in specifically to YOUR needs.

Because….

1. We are often very bad at estimating our own portion sizes, no matter how good we think we are at it.

And 2. You can still overeat healthy foods. It’s why you may be eating clean and NOT seeing results.

It’s easy when you’re hungry or simply even WANT the food to end up letting that portion size get a bit bigger.

I don’t know about you, but a tbsp of peanut butter gets exponentially bigger depending on how much I want it that day or even what I’m putting it on.

And with calorically dense foods like that, it’s easy for those calories to add up each day, not to mention over the week and throw us out of the deficit we need to see for results.

Not to mention, those calories can distort the macros we are actually hitting that day, which can dramatically impact our results.

And if you’re a snacker?

It’s easy to end up letting a snack or two here or there become 3 or 4 and add up to more calories throughout the day than we realize.

It’s why tracking not only holds us accountable, but measuring gives us an accurate picture of what is going on so we know what to change.

You may not do it long term. But why not set yourself up to truly understand your diet by having a clear picture of what you’re consuming so you CAN get better results without having to do more?

Reason #2: You’re Focused On Doing More

When we do more, we feel more in control of our progress.

We feel like we can speed up our results.

But doing more can often backfire.

It can lead to burn out.

Extra frustration because we are pushing so hard yet NOT seeing the results we want.

The simple fact is we simply can’t out exercise or out diet time.

And the more we try to? The more we often create habits that aren’t sustainable that we can’t be consistent with.

Too often we overestimate how much we can accomplish short term while underestimating what we can accomplish long term.

Not to mention, those fast fad results we sometimes do see happening?

Well those seemingly amazing results are often why we get caught in the same annoying weight loss cycle…losing and regaining the same weight over and over again.

We slash our calories ridiculously low as we add in extra cardio and spend hours in the gym.

We may then see a huge initial drop of 5lbs in those first few days or even the first week.

But guess what? That isn’t all fat that we lost.

It’s water weight. Glycogen depletion. Maybe a pound of fat.

BUT also a pound of muscle.

So while it may feel satisfying, it won’t keep up. Or we have to keep doing more and more in an attempt to keep the results rolling in as quickly.

And in our attempt to see those faster drops on the scale, we end up sacrificing muscle not to mention create metabolic adaptations and hormonal imbalances that hold us back.

We create issues that end up backfiring and we’ve built habits that are unsustainable.

So what happens?

All that doing more leads to us regaining the weight we worked so hard to lose. And often, we end up worse off because, when we regain the weight?

We aren’t regaining muscle.

So the next time we attempt to lose weight? The process may feel even more hopeless.

This is why we need to stop doing more and instead create a plan that is truly realistic for our lifestyle.

There is no perfect workout schedule. No one perfect diet.

The key is making small changes and doing something that truly fits the time we have.

If you only have 3 days a week to workout? Start with that schedule and design workouts that fit that routine.

If you’ve never tracked your food before? Just start by logging without other changes.

These small swaps allow you to build momentum and truly make lasting changes.

Reason #3: You’re Not Focusing On Strength Training

Yes, for weight loss diet is key.

I don’t think there is anyone at this time who hasn’t heard the phrase “Abs are made in the kitchen.”

But so often we don’t dial in our workouts in a way that truly complements our nutritional plan and works toward lasting results.

Most of the time when someone says they want to lose weight, they also say they plan to add in more cardio.

And this association between cardio and weight loss arose because often cardio workouts do burn more calories per session than strength workouts.

But thinking of our workouts only as a chance to burn more calories is really not utilizing them to maximize our results.

We also have to remember our body adapts.

It’s why we get stronger. Why we can run faster and ride further.

But because of these adaptions, we don’t continue to burn as many calories from our steady state cardio training sessions as we did to start.

It’s why we can feel like we just need to keep doing more.

It can also lead to us trying to out exercise our diet to create a great calorie deficit.

Instead we need to see our workouts as not only a chance to burn more calories but as an opportunity to keep our overall body healthy and avoid metabolic adaptations.

If you want to look leaner? You want to build muscle.

That’s why strength workouts are so key.

If you want to avoid more metabolic adaptations and burn more calories at rest?

You want to include strength workouts to build muscle.

So while you can and should include cardio training if you enjoy it, and for your overall wellness, we need to stop turning to cardio for weight loss.

Focus on lifting heavy and challenging your body through heavier loads and more advanced movements! Make more out of less time so you can even create a routine that is sustainable long term!

SUMMARY:

If we want to see amazing weight loss results, you can’t ignore the basics.

Stop spinning your wheels just trying to do more.

Instead think of how you can do less and get better results.

Start tracking and logging as you focus on creating a sustainable routine that includes strength training.

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

Learn to eat and train according to YOUR needs and goals:

–> Macro Hacks