by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 29, 2018 | Blog, Pain Relief
You get injured…
What is often the first thing you are told to do?
REST!
When someone gets injured, the “safe” thing to say is “Rest it.”
But REST is OVERRATED when it comes to preventing and alleviating injuries.
Now I’m not talking about recovery from workouts or days off during the week.
I’m talking about the fact that anytime someone gets injured, the answer is “Well rest it.”
And don’t get me wrong, certain injuries do need rest.
But rest doesn’t CORRECT the problem. It doesn’t deal with the initial compensation and movement distortions that LED to the injury.
Resting until it feels better and then returning to the exact same poopy movement patterns you were doing before?
Well that is just a recipe to end up injured again!
But that is what happens.
When we are prescribed “rest,” it SHOULDN’T mean doing nothing.
Rest should mean going back to basics and starting to CORRECT the movement patterns that lead to imbalances and compensation and OVERLOAD.
Yea…take time off from the things you are doing wrong. Take time off from OVERLOADING the same area.
But during that time off, work on FIXING the problem.
Start foam rolling overactive muscles. Start working on mobility of other joints that may not have the mobility they should.
Build up supporting muscles and start getting the right muscles working with basic, fundamental movements.
Take this time when you’re RESTING as time to go back to basics, which we never seem to want to do when we are healthy. (Or at least we often get lazy about doing.)
You know how clients don’t actually want to take time off even when they should? Well use that to your advantage and make them do the stuff they need to do to move better!
They can feel like they are at least doing something then AND you’ll make their “REST” actually help prevent the injury from returning!
Plus, exercise actually PROMOTES tissues healing!
Tissues need to be loaded to get stronger and handle day to day tasks and loads. Resting completely takes away any loading to basically every part of your body.
And guess what that means if you aren’t doing any work or load for your body? Your tissues actually get smaller and weaker, which is the OPPOSITE of what you want to happen.
On top of working to correct the imbalances and compensations, you also need to keep your body strong by adding appropriate amounts of load as you are ready so the areas can rebuild strength and stability.
For instance, rehabbing a shoulder injury?
Maybe a plank from the ground isn’t right at that time, BUT instead of doing nothing, your trainer or physio may have you do a plank off an incline. This can train you to engage muscles correctly and add a load your shoulder can handle!
The point is to fix poor movements to prevent future overload, restore proper mobility and regress to REBUILD those weak areas NOT just take time off so everything gets weaker and the pain goes away.
So remember REST doesn’t have to mean sitting on your couch doing nothing. Rest can mean correcting the poor movement patterns and imbalances that led to your injury in the first place!
And if you need help with the 3-part process to eliminate aches and pains, you should check out my RStoration program.
by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 22, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Workouts
Building a strong core means getting your abs and glutes firing properly. It means using moves that target your abs and glutes in a way that you can focus on them working before integrating them into more compound moves.
BUT it isn’t just about activating and then integrating.
It is also key that you correct imbalances to make sure your lumbo-pelvic-hip complex is stable and you can prevent compensations and injury!
That is why using some unilateral movements in your core training is so key.
If you’re ready to build a strong, stable core, try this Bodyweight Unilateral Core Burner. It uses 3 simple moves to get your abs, glutes and obliques firing!
The Bodyweight Unilateral Core Burner
This quick workout focused on unilateral moves is just under 15 minutes and can be shortened and used as part of your warm up or even as a burnout to end your workout! Or if you’re short on time, it’s the perfect quick workout to do ANYWHERE!
WORKOUT:
Set a timer for 30 second intervals of work with about 3 seconds to transition from move to move. Do not rest during the 30 seconds of work. Modify if needed to keep moving. Make sure you feel your abs, obliques and glutes working. If your lower back takes over, modify the move. Do not just push through. If you want results, you NEED to get the right muscles working! Complete 2-4 rounds. Beginners may rest up to 30 seconds between rounds.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds per side Side Plank Clams
30 seconds per side Mountain Climber Turkish Bridge
30 seconds Glute Bridge with March
More advanced exercisers can even sub in the Single Leg Glute Bridge, but this is an advanced move and you don’t want your lower back or hamstrings to take over for your glutes. Moves like the Glute Bridge with March are a great way to get the benefits of a unilateral move without fully having to do a unilateral move!
Ready to build a bulletproof core and get flat abs using just your own bodyweight?
Learn more about my 28 day Core Burner!
by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 18, 2018 | Blog, Recipes
I don’t know about all of you, but I LOVE apples and peanut butter!
But I’ve gotten asked, “Is fruit healthy?”
My opinion – HECK YES!
Do I believe that carbs need to be dialed in like all macros?
YUP!
But can fruit provide nutritional benefit and be included in our diet, especially if we ENJOY it?
HECK YES!
And this quick snack is a great way to enjoy your fruit AND even add in a little PROTEIN to that carb and fat heavy snack of apples and peanut butter.
The Greek Yogurt Apple Dipper!
SERVINGS: 1
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Fat-Free Plain Greek Yogurt*
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp All-Natural Peanut Butter
1 small Apple
DIRECTIONS:
Mix yogurt, honey, cinnamon and peanut butter together.
Slice up your apple, dip and enjoy!
MACROS:
Calories: 297
Protein: 15 grams
Carbs: 44 grams
Fat: 7 grams
*You can sub in a diary-free or full fat option. Just adjust the macros
** On occasion, I’ve even added a scoop of vanilla or peanut butter whey protein to this or even an unflavored collagen to boost protein further!
Feel like you’re eating well, but not getting the results you want?
Ready to enjoy the foods you love while getting results?
Learn the 5 Reasons Diets Usually Fail –>
by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 16, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups
Stop wasting time on bicep curls and isolated tricep extensions. If you want strong, and sexy arms, it’s time you started focusing on HYBRID exercises.
These moves will get you better results in less time because they work more muscles at once, including the larger muscle groups of our upper bodies!
And as much as I love weights, you don’t even need weights to build killer functional upper body strength.
Using your own bodyweight, you can get in a great upper body workout AND even work your core! Try these 5 Hybrid Bodyweight Upper Body Exercises that you’ll be sure to feel the next day!
5 Bodyweight Upper Body Exercise (no equipment needed!)
Below are 5 Hybrid Exercises to work your arms, chest, shoulders and even back. Try including these in your next upper body workout, especially if you need something quick at home!
These are some of my favorite moves from my 6-Week Bodyweight Shred to not only work the upper body, but also the CORE!
Climber Push Ups:
This core-intensive push up variation will work not only your chest, but really target your triceps and shoulders as well!
To do the Climber Push Up, start in a plank from your forearms. You can set your feet wider apart if needed to create a more stable base. Make sure your body is in a nice straight line from your head to your heels and that your shoulders are stacked over your elbows while on your forearms.
Engage your abs and, keeping your body in a nice straight line, climb one hand at a time up to a plank position from your hands. Place your hands right below your shoulders, but outside your chest as you climb up. Try to wiggle your hips as little as possible as you climb and don’t let your butt go up in the air or your hips sag toward the ground as you climb up.
Then at the top perform a push up. Keep your body in a nice straight line as you drop your chest between your hands and down toward the ground. Press all the way back up.Then climb back down, placing your elbows right below your shoulders. Repeat, climbing back up. Make sure to alternate or switch which hand leads the climb at some point.
Beginners can do the whole thing from their knees or even just drop to their knees for the push up.
Push Up Leg Kick:
This Push Up is a great way to work your obliques and really toast your entire core!
To do the Push Up Leg Kick, set up in a high plank position with your hands under your shoulders and outside your chest and your feet close together. Your body should be in a nice straight line with your abs braced and glutes and quads engaged.
Then lower down to the bottom of the push up, keeping your body in a nice straight line. Press back up and at the top, kick one leg out to the side toward your elbow. Your hips may rotate slightly as you kick, but your butt shouldn’t go up in the air.
Kick your leg up as close to your elbow as you can and then lower it back down and place your foot back on the ground. Once your foot is back down, repeat the push up then kick the other leg out to the side toward your elbow. Keep your leg as straight as you can as you kick it out. Place your foot back and repeat the push up before repeating on the first side.
You can modify the move by doing it from your knees then come up onto your toes for the kick. You can also do it with your hands up on an incline. To advance the move further, perform the kick at the BOTTOM of the push up!
Scapular Wall Hold/Reps:
This move is a must-do if you have a desk job. Whether you perform the isometric or the reps, it is a great way to work your back and open up your chest.
To do the Scapular Wall Hold Reps, stand with your back relaxing against the wall and your feet about six inches away. Bend your arms and drive your elbows back into the wall. With your body in a nice straight line, drive off the wall with your elbows, pressing your chest out and pinching your shoulder blades down and back. Brace your core and squeeze your glutes so your body moves as one unit.
Relax back into against the wall, keeping your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Do not let your hips drop. Then repeat the press out, driving off your elbows. Do not arch your low back as you press out. Also, make sure not to shrug your shoulders. The further from the wall that you walk your feet out, the harder the move will be.
To do the hold, you would simply hold pressed out. That is a great activation move even before your pull up work!
Row Push Up:
This anti-rotational core move will work not only your abs, but also your chest, back, arms and shoulders. Talk about a move that works EVERYTHING!
To do the Row Push Up, set up in a high plank position with your feet about hip-width apart and your hands outside your chest (beginners can do this from their knees). Then perform a push up, lowering your chest to the ground as your body moves as one unit. Do not let your butt go up in the air or your head jut forward. Also, make sure your arms create an arrow shape (–>) with your body instead of flaring way out.
Press back up, again keeping your body in a nice straight line. At the top of the push up, row one arm up. Lift the hand off the ground as you drive your elbow down and back toward the ceiling. Feel your back work to lift your arm. Bring your hand to about chest height then place it back down and repeat the push up.
At the top of the push up, row the other hand up. Try not to let your body rotate as you row. Also, do not let your butt go up in the air. You want to keep your body square to the ground as fighting the rotation works your core more.
If you have weights and really want to use them, you may also do the Renegade Row Push Up.
Push Up Walk Back:
This push up variation is going to work your arms, shoulders and abs and get your blood pumping. It is also a great way to work on your mobility with the walk back! (Hey a little extra lower body work never hurts!)
To do the Push Up Walk Back, start standing with your feet close together. Then bend your knees and squat down slightly. Rock forward to “dive out” and extend into a push up.
As you dive out and catch yourself, bend your elbows to absorb the shock of landing. You will perform a push up as you catch yourself and lower your chest to the ground. Push back up to a plank position and then, keeping your legs straight, walk your hands back in toward your feet.
Stand all the way back up and then squat down to repeat the dive back out and push up. This is an advanced move. Beginners may need to walk out instead and go down to their knees for the push up.
Ready to build full-body strength as you burn fat WITHOUT using any equipment?
Learn more about my Bodyweight Shred!
by Cori Lefkowith | Mar 10, 2018 | Blog, Pain Relief
First off, I just want to say that you are never going to be perfectly balanced. Heck, if you brush your teeth with only one hand twice a day or press the gas pedal with your right foot…right there you are already creating an imbalance!
And we do way worse things than that on a daily basis to create imbalances!
We sit hunched over a computer. Spend hours commuting in a car. We walk and text.
These all create muscle imbalances between opposing muscles. For instance, our hips get tight, our glutes are underactive and then our hips, hamstrings and low backs try to do the work our glutes should be doing.
But it isn’t just imbalances between opposing muscles, but also imbalances between our right and left halves that can cause problems!
Ever notice when doing a glute bridge that you feel one glute but not the other?
Or ever notice you tend to struggle to keep one shoulder down during pull ups or rows?
That is also an imbalance!
And while we will never be perfectly balanced, there is a difference between normal strength discrepancies between dominant and non-dominant sides and imbalances that put you at risk for injury.
And the more you can NOTE any imbalances, the more you will just be aware of any compensations you may have so you can prevent those imbalances from becoming INJURIES!
So say you know you have more than the normal slight difference between your dominant and non-dominant sides…
How can you start to correct that imbalance?
A. Do you do more reps on the weaker side?
B. Do you use less weight on that stronger side based on what your weaker side can do?
C. Do you do what your stronger side can do and force your weaker side to do it?
Want to know the answer…D. All of the above! 😉
All of those can be implemented and all can work. Exactly what you may need will depend AND you should probably even use a combination of them all to get the fastest, and best, results possible.
When doing activation, I’ll often have clients do extra reps, or even ONLY reps, on the side that doesn’t activate as easily or may be weaker. That helps establish the mind-body connection.
Then often when they start out with a new move, I’ll tell them to start on their weaker side and base what they use off of what that weaker side can do. You want to make sure you don’t overload yourself and then start compensating on that weaker side!
So sometimes slightly holding that stronger side back is necessary so that weaker side can work correctly.
BUT if their form is good and they’ve been working out with a move for awhile and really want to build strength, sometimes I’ll have them do what their dominant side can do.
HOWEVER, this is only possible as long as the weaker side can maintain good form and recruit the right muscles. If you do this, you will simply PAUSE briefly (10-20 seconds) as needed until you complete the same number of reps on your weaker side as you could on that stronger side.
So say you can do 10 on that stronger side, but 5 before you start to compensate or fail on that weaker side.
Do 5, pause as briefly as possible, keeping it for sure under 30 seconds, then complete another round.
If you can get out the rest, great. If you need to pause again after doing 3 to finish the final 2 that is fine too. The point is to pause so you can finish with good form using the right muscles.
This is great if you’ve gotten the activation down and can move some weight but just don’t yet necessarily have the “endurance” on that side.
All of these different techniques though help correct the imbalance while still challenge your body so you get results and everything grows stronger.
They key with all of these though is using some UNILATERAL EXERCISES in your training. This helps you isolate each side to correct the imbalances and even help improve your bilateral lifts!
And heck, if you’re a runner, you need unilateral training even more because running is a unilateral exercise!
So if you’re working to correct imbalances, start implementing a combination of these techniques!
Here are even more posts to help you correct those imbalances, including unilateral training, activation workouts and why imbalances are worse than inflexibility!
–> Why Unilateral Glute Activation Exercises Are A Must-Do!
–> Unilateral Booty Burner Workout
–> Why Imbalances Are Worse Than Inflexibility
–> Unilateral Training – Why you should do it and 23 Unilateral Moves!
by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 27, 2018 | Blog, Diet
Meal timing…Should you eat 6 small meals a day or fast for days at a time?
There is so much conflicting information out there, especially with the popularity of Intermittent Fasting (IF) on the rise.
And I’m going to tell you the answer right up front…
I believe that meal timing should be based on what makes YOU feel best.
I don’t think you need to eat every 2 hours. And I don’t think you need to fast.
Your muscles will not melt away if you don’t eat super frequently. And you don’t need to stress over eating perfectly timed meals around your workouts.
What you DO need to do is LISTEN to your body and learn when you are ACTUALLY hungry and respond to it.
Because we’ve become so OUT OF TUNE with our bodies, I think trying Intermittent Fasting can be a great self “experiment.”
I did IF strictly for a year. Loved it overall. BUT I’ve now found the balance that makes me happy. And it isn’t strictly doing IF or eating 6 small meals a day.
There are some days I’m not hungry and will fast till 3 pm easily.
Other days?
Well other days I wake up at 6 am and need to eat instantly.
But because I did IF, I now respond to my hunger cues.
(And I’ll tell you right here and now…there is no MAGIC cut off time at night that you need to stop eating or you’ll get fat. If you need the food, you need the food..)
Anyway, I think Intermittent Fasting is a great thing to experience and really makes you learn to listen to your body.
But really quick…What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting isn’t so much a “diet” as more of an “eating schedule.”
Basically you will give yourself an “eating window” and outside of that window you will fast. While there are different length fasts you can include, a very common form of IF is the 16/8 set up.
You will fast for 16 hours and then have an 8 hour eating window.
For many, this is really just skipping breakfast (or dinner if you’d prefer).
An example of this would be fasting until even just 11 am before eating and then stopping at 7 pm.
But won’t I lose muscle mass if I don’t eat for awhile? And isn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day?
To put it simply….
No.
And…No.
Our muscles don’t just “melt off” if we don’t eat for two hours.
As long as we get them the fuel they need, we will retain our lean muscle. And actually by fasting we can switch to burning FAT vs. the readily available fuel we’ve just eaten.
Plus, even if you eat every 6 hours, if you eat too little, you could lose muscle. So being careful not to cut calories too low is actually more key than eating frequently. And you need to make sure, no matter how frequently you eat, you’re getting enough PROTEIN each and every day!
But what about breakfast being so important?
Well, all of those super influential and often sited studies about breakfast were funded by KELLOGG and…well…other food companies with a vested interest in people eating breakfast foods.
So…there’s a lot of debate about their validity as more and more studies come out proving that by actually eating LATER, you may be get better weight loss results.
Plus, who’s to say when breakfast time has to end!?! Breakfast food at 1 pm!? Count me in! 😉
Ok so breakfast doesn’t matter and your muscles won’t melt off…but…Why do it?
Well…besides what I consider to be the top reason – learning to respond to what your body needs so you can LEARN to eat intuitively…
There are lots of studies showing health benefits…everything from improved lipid profiles and blood pressure to improved fat burning and cardiovascular functioning.
Health benefits of Intermittent Fasting are that it:
- Promotes stronger insulin sensitivity and increased growth hormone secretion, which are two keys to losing weight and gaining muscle.
- Reduces your risk for cancer.
- Reduces blood lipids…the bad kinds, including decreased triglycerides and LDL cholesterol and inflammation markers.
- Reduces blood pressure.
- Improves cardiovascular function.
- Improves your brain functioning and can even help prevent conditions such as Parkinson’s, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Other benefits people often find from doing IF:
- You can EAT TILL YOUR FULL because you’re eating fewer bigger meals.
- Less meal planning.
- Easier way to create a calorie deficit.
- Improved fat burning, especially in later stages of the fast.
Well this all sounds great…Why not do it?
I’ve found some interesting debates about whether the benefits above can be accomplished simply by calorie restriction and other healthy eating habits or if IF is the only way.
Frankly, those debates don’t really sway me one way or the other because I do believe that by eating quality foods and dialing in your macros, you can see great results no matter what your meal timing.
The real reason I’m not adamantly in favor of Intermittent Fasting… something I even use myself?
Because I think that any time you FORCE a specific meal timing or restrict when you can eat, whether that is forcing you to eat 6 meals a day or only 1, you create unnecessary headaches AND prevent yourself from learning to listen to your hunger cues.
While fasting can help you create a calorie deficit, all too often people use it to STARVE themselves. And when you get to the point that you are too hungry? Well when you get too hungry, you get too hungry to care.
You reach for whatever is around and generally end up binging. So all that “fasting” to get a calorie deficit and the fat burning benefits of fasting? Well it goes out the window.
And generally we don’t make the healthiest food choices when we are starving so we’re probably not even going to get the benefits of whole, natural foods.
Plus, forcing yourself not to eat when you’re hungry can lead to hanger and low energy.
And the whole point of eating well is so that you FEEL GOOD while working toward looking the way you want!
HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t TRY IF even if you feel hungry from a change in your eating schedule initially.
All too often we get hungry at specific times a day because we are CONDITIONED to based on our routine!
Ok so again…WHY TRY IT?!
A huge reason why I believe IF is a good experiment is it teaches us what are true hunger cues and what may actually be us wanting to eat out of fatigue or boredom or simply even ROUTINE.
It can help us recognize if we do better with less frequent meals OR if we are one of those people that like to snack and eat every 2 hours.
It helps us not feel forced into a rigid schedule and learn what works best FOR US!
You may find that more frequent meals help you prevent overeating and avoid becoming hungry while on a calorie deficit. And if you know that you’re a snacker, eating more frequently can be key.
Or maybe you’ve always forced 6 small meals because you thought you needed to, which only adds to the stress of your already busy schedule…And with IF you can have just have 2 big meals in the afternoon and evening and make everything work so you can see results.
The key is….meal timing shouldn’t cause you added stress. OR cause you to feel low energy or hungry!
Meal timing should be used to enhance how you feel throughout the day.
It should be you RESPONDING to what your body needs and making your diet fit your lifestyle and your needs.
So whether you feel best snacking all day or eating one big meal, I think it can all work. BUT you need to experiment to find what helps you feel energized and on top of your game.
Don’t feel like you NEED to eat at certain times!
It’s why Meal Timing is one of those things to play around with AFTER your macros and calories are first dialed in.
I have clients doing Macro Cycling who fast for 24 hours once a week. Others do the 16/8 Intermittent Fasting every single day. Still others eat 6 small meals.
And some…well some are like me and they simply eat when they’re hungry or when their schedule allows and just focus on hitting their macros for the day no matter what their eating schedule looks like that day.
They key is not to let meal timing stress you out because anything can work especially when you dial in your macros first!
Dial in the quality of your food so you can be flexible with your meal timing and make your diet work for YOUR lifestyle!
Learn more about how you can make your meal timing work for you.
–> Check out my Macro Academy!
Yea…take time off from the things you are doing wrong. Take time off from OVERLOADING the same area.
But it isn’t just imbalances between opposing muscles, but also imbalances between our right and left halves that can cause problems!
There is so much conflicting information out there, especially with the popularity of Intermittent Fasting (IF) on the rise.
Well, all of those super influential and often sited studies about breakfast were funded by KELLOGG and…well…other food companies with a vested interest in people eating breakfast foods.
You reach for whatever is around and generally end up binging. So all that “fasting” to get a calorie deficit and the fat burning benefits of fasting? Well it goes out the window.
