by Cori Lefkowith | Sep 19, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises
There are some moves we really feel working our abs and core when we do them. But there are others we don’t realize worked certain muscles until we are sore the next day!
These 3 compound exercises are a great way to strength multiple large muscles at once while also really working your core.
They are part of any core program I create because they not only help you burn more calories during your workout by working more muscles at once, but they also help you build strength while targeting your core.
Because a strong, lean core means doing more than just crunches!
Try using these three moves in your routine. The first two are even perfect as part of your upper body day!
Pull Up Holds:
Yup. Pull Up Holds. Now you may be thinking, “I can’t even do one pull up. How am I supposed to HOLD at the top!?”
A. Often if we set at the top we can perform short holds even if we aren’t yet able to complete a full one.
B. These holds can be done at the top, middle or even as an active hang at the bottom.
C. You can do them with your foot down for assistance so you take on as much weight as you can handle!
But pull ups are a more core intensive movement than we give them credit for. It’s why if you want to improve your pull ups, you also need to work on your core strength.
Or if your goal is a strong, lean core, you should also include some pull up work in your core routine. They will work not only your biceps but also your lats, serratus anterior and abs!
To make a hold even more intensive, if you’re ready for a challenge, you can add in bicycles or leg raises or knee tucks as you hold at the top!
The three basic Pull Up Holds are:
- Dead Hang – To do the Dead Hang, grab the bar with your hands about shoulder-width apart. Your palms can be facing toward you or away. Then hang from the bar with your arms straight. Your shoulders will be a bit raised as you hang from the bar. Press your chest up and out as you draw your shoulder blades together. Feel your shoulders sink down and your neck elongates as you retract your shoulder blades and hold. You should feel your back work as you hang. If you struggle with this, you may need to start with just a basic hang.
- Mid-Pull Up Hold – The Mid-Pull Up Hold is where you hold with your arms bent to about 90 degrees. Grab the bar and either pull up or set up with your arms bent to 90 degrees. Then hang, keeping your arms bent and chest pressed out. Don’t shrug or tuck your head as you hold. Really try to lead with your chest and feel the muscles of your back working. You can do a “mid” hold from really anywhere between the Dead Hang and full Pull Up and Hold.
- Pull Up and Hold – To do the Pull Up and Hold, set up at the top of the Pull Up with your chin above the bar and your chest pressed out. Hold here with your chin over the bar or even the bar at your chest. Keep your core tight and let your legs hang down as you hold your chin above the bar. Make your back and core really work with this move. Do not let your shoulders start to shrug as you hold. If you start to lose the hold, lower yourself down as slowly as you can and then perform a dead hang for a few extra seconds. If you can’t yet handle your full weight for the hold, lightly touch a foot down to the ground.
Push Up Holds:
Push Ups are basically moving planks that also work your chest, shoulders and triceps.
And when you HOLD at different points in the push up, you force your abs, and core in general, to work hard to maintain that nice straight line from your head to your heels.
Not only will you feel your abs and upper body working, but you’ll even feel your quads, inner thighs and glutes potentially working!
And if you can’t yet do a full push up from your toes, you can do these off an incline even for the best results OR potentially set at the position and perform shorter holds! Knee push up holds are also an option, BUT an incline is better for a more core-intensive movement!
The three basic Push Up Holds are:
- High Push Up Hold – Use this hold to improve your lockout and strengthen your core and shoulders. To do the High Push Up Hold, set up at the top of a push up with your feet together and your hands under your shoulders but outside your chest. Your body should be in a nice straight line from your head to your heels (with your legs straight). Engage your abs, glutes, quads and back. Do not shrug your shoulders. Make sure your legs are engaged and you are driving back through your heels not coming forward onto your toes. Do not tuck your chin. To regress this move, hold from your hands and knees.
- Mid Push Up Hold – This is a great move to work your core, chest, shoulders and triceps. This move will be harder on your core than the high hold because you have to keep it even as your chest, shoulders and triceps ares struggling to work. Set up at the top of a Push Up with your feet together and your hands under your shoulders and just outside your chest. With your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels, bend your elbows to about 90 degrees and lower and hold. Do not let your hips sink or your butt go up toward the ceiling as you hold at that mid-point. Do not tuck your chin or let your elbows flare way out. You want your arms and body to create an arrow shape. Hold as close to 90 degrees as you can. Regress the hold by doing it from your knees.
- Bottom Push Up Hold – This is the hardest of all three holds because you’ve got to keep everything engaged while holding an inch off the ground. This hold is great if you struggle to keep your core engaged as you press back up from the bottom of a Push Up. This is actually a great hold for any beginner looking to achieve their first full Push Up from their toes. To do the Bottom Push Up Hold, set up at the top of a Push Up and then, keeping your body in a nice straight line and everything engaged, lower down until your chest is an inch off the ground. Make sure to engage your glutes and quads to keep your body in a nice straight line. Do not tuck your chin, let your hips sag toward the ground or your butt go up in the air. Do not let your elbows flare way out as you hold. You can also do this from your knees or off an incline even. Really focus on engaging your entire core as you hold.
Jack Burpee:
Burpees are not only killer cardio moves, but can also be used to target a variety of muscles. And the Jack Burpee is a great way to work your abs more as well as even your glutes!
Because you have to hold that plank position to perform the plank jack, your core is going to spend extra time under tension. And the plyo jack at the top will not only help get your blood pumping but also even work your glutes a bit more.
Beginners may modify the move by stepping instead of jumping and may perform a basic jumping jack or even step jack.
To do the Jack Burpee, start standing with your feet together. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a high plank position with your feet together.
From that high plank position with your feet together, jump your feet out wide. Do not let your butt go up in the air as you jump your feet out. Jump your feet back together then jump your feet into your hands and come up back up to standing.
As you lift your hands and come back to standing, perform either a basic Jumping Jack or a Plyo Jumping Jack. If you do the Plyo Jack, you will jump up off the ground as you spread your legs wide and swing your arms up to the side and overhead.
To regress the movement, step back into a plank position instead of jumping back. You can also step your feet out to the side and back in when doing the Plank Jack. And at the top, perform a Basic Jumping Jack or even no Jack at all.
The quicker you do the movement and the bigger and higher your Plyo Jack is at the top, the harder the move will be.
There are 3 parts to a proper core training routine – Activate, Integrate and HIIT. These three moves are perfect to Integrate. To learn more about all three components, click here.
Learn how to Activate, Integrate and use HIIT to build a strong, lean core!
by Cori Lefkowith | Sep 17, 2018 | Blog, Workouts
Sometimes you just want a little something to ENHANCE your results – to give you that little edge without you completely having to change your routine.
This is when you add in what I call BURNERS.
What Are Burners?
Whether you call them a finisher or burnout instead, these quick routines are done at the end of a workout.
But if you’re designing a workout, why would you add in something “extra” instead of just including all the work in a normal circuit or as part of the routine?
Because when you set aside time for a Burnout, your primary focus isn’t on increasing the weight you use. It isn’t on increasing reps or sets or improving your endurance.
It is purely on BURNING OUT your body.
Whether you’re using it to blast fat, improve your work capacity or make sure no muscle fiber is left untrained, it can be that quick intense blast to make sure you’ve used all the time you have to workout to the max!
How To Design A Burner:
Burners should be about 5-10 minutes long. They may be shorter the more isolated your focus.
They can use everything from isolation exercises, if your Burner is meant to focus on a specific muscle, to compound and hybrid moves especially if you want metabolic benefits.
You will minimize rest during your burner because you want to create a high training density to end your workout. And your intensity should be high if you want metabolic benefits.
Timed Circuits and Intervals often work best.
When Should You Include A Burner?
When you add a Burner to a workout, you want to have designed the workout KNOWING you planned to add a burner in.
Too often Burners are an afterthought, but for them to work and complement the routine and our goals, they need to be designed with a purpose.
Especially if burning fat is your goal!
Burners can be done to help you burn fat through using intense exercises and interval training.
So if you’ve worked areas earlier in your workout you wouldn’t mind losing fat from, adding a metabolic Burner at the end could be a great way to make spot reduction work for you as much as possible!
Or say you’re struggle to build muscle in specific areas?
Planning in a Burner for extra work on those muscle groups can be helpful.
You may use this targeted muscle burnout on the same day those specific muscles are worked or you may even include it on a day you’re working something completely different. Using the Burner on a different day, helps you get in extra training frequency during the week WITHOUT overtraining.
For example, the glutes are a large, powerful and strong muscle. If you are really trying to build and strengthen them, an extra targeted session for them can be helpful.
Even if you don’t have extra days to workout, you could increase your training frequency for your glutes by including a Glute Burner even at the end of an upper body day!
So while Burners can target muscles worked during your workout, they can also work opposing muscle groups or even a different hemisphere altogether!
So if you want that little bit EXTRA to get better results FASTER, consider adding in a burner!
Try this Burner if you’re looking for a little extra core work –> The Lower Ab Burner
OR if you’re ready to start designing your OWN burners and workouts that help you train SMARTER to reach your goals FASTER, check out these tips from my Training Black Book!
by Cori Lefkowith | Sep 10, 2018 | Blog, Recipes
Whether your a vegetarian, or just not that huge a fan of chicken or meat in general, you can still get in your protein AND lots of vegetables.
Eggs, or even egg whites if you want something a little lower fat to hit your macros, are a great source of protein!
So if you’re looking for a delicious protein-packed meal, try this Spinach And Sun-Dried Tomato Omelet Sandwich from my 6-Week Macro Cycling Shred!
Spinach And Sun-Dried Tomato Omelet Sandwich
Servings 3
INGREDIENTS:
1 Jalapeno Pepper
3 slices of 100% Whole Wheat Bread*
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Salt
50 grams Sun-Dried Tomatoes
6 cups Organic Baby Spinach Leaves
2 1/4 cups 100% Liquid Egg Whites
DIRECTIONS:
Coat a medium (10″) non-stick pan with olive oil or coconut spray and heat over medium heat.
While the pan is heating up, cut the jalapeno in half, remove the seeds and chop very finely. Also chop your sun-dried tomatoes and place it all to the side.
Add the egg whites to the now hot pan and swirl it around a bit to spread the egg whites evenly over the entire surface of the pan. Sprinkle in the jalapeno, tomatoes, salt and pepper, covering the entire surface of the omelet.
Swirl a bit more then lower the heat and cover loosely while cooking for 3-4 minutes. You want the egg whites almost completely set and opaque.
While your omelet is cooking, chop up your spinach finely and even put the leaves in the microwave for about 25-30 seconds to wilt slightly. Now would also be a good time to toast your bread if you want it toasted.
When your omelet is fully cooked, remove it from the heat and add in the spinach, placing it in the center. Fold the omelet over the spinach to create a little “package.”
You can then cut the omelet and spread evenly over the 3 pieces of toast to enjoy!
* If you are gluten-free you may select a gluten-free bread or even place over sweet potatoes. Just make sure to adjust your macros for any swaps!
MACRO BREAKDOWN (for ingredients listed):
Calories: 251
Protein: 28 grams
Carbs: 27 grams
Fat: 2 grams
Enjoy!
Want more delicious macro-friendly meals to help you increase your protein and get the lean, strong body you’ve always wanted? Learn more about Macro Cycling HERE!
by Cori Lefkowith | Sep 4, 2018 | Blog, Butt, Core, Workouts
There are 4 pieces to a proper workout routine – foam rolling, stretching, activation and strengthening.
If you want results, especially if those results involve strengthening your glutes, you need to make sure your workouts include all 4 parts!
Below is a possible combination of a foam rolling, stretching and activation series from my Glute Camp Cards.
Try out this workout today!
The Strengthen Your Glutes Workout
Below are each of the four parts. Do them back to back, following the instructions for each series.
Foam Rolling Series (Hip Foam Rolling Series in the Glute Camp):
Complete 1 round through the series, holding on any tight spots you find instead of rolling quickly back and forth. If something isn’t tight, you don’t need to roll it. But if something is tight, don’t hesitate to spend an extra 10-15 seconds on that area.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds per side Psoas Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Quads Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side TFL/Glutes Foam Rolling
30 seconds per side Seated Hamstring Foam Rolling
Stretching Series (The Prevent Knee Pain Stretching Series):
Complete 1 round through this series, spending more time on any tight areas. You can do these for about 20-40 seconds per move or side or up to 10 reps per side. Your focus is on improving your range of motion over the reps or time.
CIRCUIT:
5-10 reps per way per side 3-Way Leg Swings
5-10 reps per side Crescent to Hamstring Stretch
5-10 reps per side Standing IT Band Stretch
10 reps Frog Stretch
4-6 reps per side Pigeon Pose Circles
Activation Series (The Prevent Knee Pain Activation Series):
Complete 1-5 rounds through the circuit below. Rest 30-45 seconds between rounds if needed, especially if you are doing an activation only workout.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Mini Band Wall Sit
30 seconds Mini Band Alternating Side Steps
30 seconds Mini Band Glute Bridge
30 seconds Close Stance Glute Bridge
Strengthening Series (The Glutes And Abs Strength Workout):
Complete 3-5 rounds of the first superset, resting up to 90 seconds between rounds so that you can go heavy every round. Then rest 1-2 minutes and complete 3 rounds of each Triset, resting 45-60 seconds between rounds so that you don’t start to compensate.
SUPERSET:
15-20 reps Seated Mini Band Abductions
15-20 reps Weighted Glute Bridges
TRISET #1:
10-15 reps per side Standing Mini Band Lateral Raises
8-15 reps per side Single Leg Deadlifts
4-8 reps per side Side Plank Hip Dips with Rotational Reach
TRISET #2:
8-15 reps per side Walking Lunges
10-15 reps Glute Bridge and Curl
8-12 reps per side Stability Press
Ready to create Glute workouts to prevent injury as you strengthen and tone your glutes? Ready to have over 700 glute workouts literally at your fingertips?
Join my Glute Camp!
by Cori Lefkowith | Aug 25, 2018 | Blog
I often hear people say, “I want to lose weight. I need to do more cardio.”
And when they use the term “cardio” in this case, they usually mean long distance steady-state cardiovascular activity.
Guess what though?
Steady-state cardio, while it may help initially with weight loss, is often why people hit a PLATEAU in their progress.
Have you gotten immediate results by upping your cardio only to hit a plateau while you’re still logging the same miles?
It’s frustrating, right?!
I mean…How is that possible?!? If you’re still working hard, why aren’t you getting results still?
It’s because your body adapts! Which ultimately IS your goal. It means you’re getting stronger and more efficient.
BUT that adaptation is what can also make steady-state cardio less effective for weight loss over time.
So either you need to up your miles or your speed so that your body is forced to keep adapting.
The problem is…with this steady-state, long distance cardio, often we don’t necessarily have the time to up the miles. And we can only increase pace so much.
So then what do you do if you want to continue to get great results?
ADD IN INTERVALS!
Yes, strength training is a HUGE important piece of the puzzle if you want to lose weight. BUT just focusing on the “cardio” side of things, there are changes you can make to improve your results.
And adding in intervals is one way that you can make your cardio workouts work for you so your body is constantly challenged and forced to adapt.
Now I’m not even telling you that you need to start doing HIIT workouts at the gym. You can use intervals or tempo training even with your runs or rides.
Heck, they can actually even BENEFIT your longer distance rides or runs and may be the missing link in your program. AKA even if weight loss isn’t your goal, if you want to hit a PR next race, you should add in some interval training!
Intervals can be as short as 12 second bursts or even 5-10 minute in length. You can also vary rest, shortening or even LENGTHENING the rest, based on your goals.
But by cycling your intensity you can challenge your body in new ways to bust through those plateaus. You can also work all three energy systems to improve your speed, lactic acid tolerance, endurance and work capacity.
Intervals allow you to cycle intensity to work on specific “weak links” in your conditioning!
It’s not just about logging more miles. It’s about making the miles logged work for you!
If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you!
So if you’ve hit a plateau in your progress with your current cardio, don’t necessarily feel like you need to up your miles OR spend more time working out.
Instead add in some interval training and vary those intensities and how you challenge you body DURING those miles!
Ready to dial in your workouts and use interval training?
Learn more about how shorter workouts using just your own bodyweight can help you get lean and strong!
by Cori Lefkowith | Jul 23, 2018 | Blog, Diet, featured
We hear all the time…
“It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle!”
But let’s face it…With anything where we can’t just do whatever we want, whenever we want, we are going to have some “slip ups.”
We are going to wake up late because we accidentally turned off our alarm.
We are going to skip our workout because we are stressed.
We’re going to buy that outfit we don’t need just because we really really want it!
There really are very few places in life where we can do exactly what we want all of the time.
YET somehow we expect that with our diet.
We think we can “go on a diet,” lose weight, then go back to eating what we were eating before and keep the weight off.
We have this delusion that we can eat whatever we want all of the time.
But it doesn’t work that way.
HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean that we need to continue this cycle of extreme calorie deprivation and cutting out all of the foods we love.
We need to instead realize that it is all about balance and finding something we can do consistently.
Dieting doesn’t have to suck; however, just like everything in life, there will be times we have to do things we don’t fully want to do!
AND I think it is important to recognize that there will be periods where we will be more diligent and times we will…well…”fall off.”
Everything goes in cycles. Here are 5 tips though to help you make dieting suck less!
5 Tips To Make Dieting Suck Less:
1. Find meals you love. Plan those in first.
Dieting has come to mean bland, boring foods. Chicken and broccoli. Bland white fish and asparagus.
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
If you want to stick with a diet and make it something you actually ENJOY doing, you have to be able to make meals you love.
I always tell people starting my Macro Cycling programs that they should plan in meals with their family or meals they really love first. If you really crave salmon or steak, plan it in. And work your other meals around it.
Really crave chocolate or something sweet at the end of the night? Plan it in first. That way you can work everything else around it!
Remember it is 80/20 not perfection that gets results. Perfection might lead to faster results, but it generally also leads to incredibly short-term results!
2. Stop making it about perfection. Give yourself one focus.
We go in with this all or nothing attitude that often leads to us “falling off” before we really even start.
And if we do get in a routine, at the first sign of life getting in the way, aka work stresses, family pressures, the HOLIDAYS, our goals and diet go completely out the window.
We struggle to stay consistent because we’ve put so much pressure on ourselves to be “perfect.” To only eat whole natural foods. To be within a gram of our goal. To always be under our calories.
But it isn’t about perfection.
It’s about knowing our goals and being consistent.
Especially during those busy times, don’t worry about the details. Give yourself just ONE THING to focus on to keep you on track.
I always tell clients that if they can do just one thing, make protein your focus. If you make protein your focus, you’ll see results.
Or if they’ve even struggled with that, I’ll tell them to simply start by LOGGING. There is accountability in that AND it can help us then slowly make changes as we feel ready.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Those small tweaks, that consistency adds up!
3. Stop cutting out foods you love first.
Ok we all know certain foods are bad for us. But we love them anyway.
Those foods that we love are often also the first things we cut out. And then all we can think about is how much we want those foods.
So what happens?
We end up binging and then struggle to get back on track.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
What if instead we first focused on adding in other things? Or making tweaks to those foods we love so they fit our macros better?
What if we got rid of the other fluff so we could even still indulge in those foods we love?
A. Consistency is about balance. It isn’t all or nothing and even unhealthy foods can have a place in our lifestyle!
B. When we make those other changes FIRST, often making the bigger changes. aka sometimes reducing or even eliminating those unhealthy foods we feel we “need,” becomes EASIER because we aren’t then cutting out the things we love first. We don’t feel as DEPRIVED because we’ve made other changes that have created new habits.
So when you’re getting started, start with easy and small tweaks. And even consider how you can make meals more macro friendly!
4. Fuel your body instead. Less isn’t always more.
A big reason why we think diets suck is because we are ALWAYS hungry.
There is legitimately a term for this hunger, and the resulting ANGER from it…HANGER.
So of course feeling hungry and low energy all of the time isn’t going to make us want to stick with our eating plan.
Nope! But it may make you reach for the quickest and most unhealthy thing in sight!
And not only can this constant starvation cause us to fall off our diet, but it can also actually cause our results to stall or plateau. LESS ISN’T ALWAYS MORE!
Yes, a calorie deficit is key. But too little and you can’t workout hard and your body starts to try to conserve energy.
PLUS, it is NOT just about calories in vs. calories out. The quality of those calories matters! And that doesn’t just mean healthy vs. unhealthy foods but even the MACRO ratios that you consume.
Even though you may want to lose weight quickly, don’t starve yourself. Make sure to fuel your activity and it will not only make eating well more pleasant but help you stay consistent long term!
5. Plan for the worst.
It’s easy to eat well and stick to your goals when you aren’t stressed, have full control of your schedule and are 100% motivated and even getting results.
However, that all happens at the same time like maybe 5% of the time if we’re lucky.
Most of the time we are stressed, or tired, or have family obligations…Or heck…we just want to go out and have fun!
But most often we only PLAN for the times that it is easy. We don’t prepare for the times that we are going to have other things going on that may make it seem impossible to prep or stay on track.
That is why it is key that we consider and plan for the “worst.”
How can we provide ourselves with guidance to stay on track even when things aren’t easy? How can we create consistency and balance so we can keep ourselves moving forward or maintaining even when “dieting” isn’t our main focus?
Often I think this means giving ourselves one thing to focus on. One clear and easy goal that we know will keep us on track enough.
I also think it is about remembering it is about CONSISTENCY and not perfection that truly matters in the long run.
And I think it is important that we come up with ways that allow us to diet with balance. Find easy meals out. Plan around the things you love and enjoy.
Find quick snacks that, while maybe not perfect, are way better than the alternative and will keep you feeling fueled and on track.
Dieting may not always be fun but it shouldn’t detract from your life. There will be periods where you will want to be stricter and others you will do the bare minimum. The key is finding a way to make it “not suck” so you can remain consistent and find balance!
And it is also about remembering EVERYTHING goes in cycles. Don’t feel guilty or beat yourself up. Just make small little tweaks to always be getting better and preparing yourself to make the most out of what you can!
With these 5 tips you can get on track and make dieting…well…suck less!
Learn more about the 5 reasons why diets have failed you in the past!
But A. These things don’t have to be bland and boring. And B. There has to be a balance which includes foods you enjoy.
But what if we didn’t first cut out those foods we love the most?
