Blog Archives Page 5 of 79 | Redefining Strength

7 Mistakes Women Make Trying to Lose Fat or Gain Muscle

by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 30, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

We’ve all fallen for the fads.

The promise of a quick fix to get lean and strong overnight. But real and lasting results take time.

Quick fixes often keep us trapped in a vicious cycle, making it harder and harder to see the results we want.

I say this having made almost all the mistakes myself.

That’s why I want to share the 7 most common mistakes I see my female clients especially making to help you not waste time falling into these traps.

And I want to start with what may be the hardest change in mindset to embrace..

The struggle to take days off when we really want results yesterday…

The struggle to give ourselves permission to take it easy at times…

But this is a HUGE mistake that will sabotage your results every single time…

Mistake #1: Under recovering.

You can only train as hard as you can recover from.

End of story.

But so often we label this as “over training” instead of under recovering.

And I feel this leads to us actually sabotaging our own success.

I’ve even seen a trend recently pushing people away from training hard.

A fear of cortisol levels rising because of working out intensely.

But exercise is a GOOD stressor.

It’s a stressor you not only want but NEED if you want to build muscle, be stronger and ultimately look leaner.

We WANT to challenge ourselves with intensity and loads.

But we can only do so in a way that actually allows us to push if our recovery is on point.

So we do need to cycle the intensity of our training.

We do need to vary how muscles are worked and even what muscles are targeted in sessions.

However, too often we only focus on the workouts, not all that we are doing, or not doing, between our sessions to help ourselves recover.

Instead of not pushing in your training, figure out ways you can go at that 100% intensity and truly maximize each session through how you’re fueling and recovering between workouts.

Focus on that quality of your sleep with a bedtime routine to wind down.

Focus on hydrating properly so your muscles can get the nutrients they need and repair.

And focus on making sure you aren’t depriving your muscles of the fuel they need to repair and rebuild.

Which is the next mistake I wanted to cover as it is very easy to fall for those diets with labels that lead to us not properly fueling to see results….

But jumping on that restrictive diet with a label train leads to us not only NOT truly seeing the body recomp we want happen, but ultimately sabotages our long-term success.

This mistake is what can lead to us feeling like our metabolism is broken and that we just have to accept the middle age spread.

We need to stop jumping into these diet programs that just completely restrict whole macros or food groups.

While yes, based on health concerns or activity level or goals, we may adjust our macros or the types of foods we include to move and feel our best…

We need to stop just DEMONIZING foods or macros because they may not be right for someone else.

Because this can lead to us not only sabotaging our fat loss or muscle building results,

but also lead to us creating hormonal imbalances that can impact our health.

Thyroid issues, adrenal fatigue, constant inflammation, low energy…

We blame our training too often for some of these things or even our genetics.

But often it is our diet.

We’ve cut out micronutrient diversity by eliminating whole foods groups.

Or we’ve even restricted a macro to the extent our body can’t handle based on our goals and activity level.

If you’re super active and want to lose fat and gain muscle?

Cutting your carbs super low even if you’ve heard it is better for a women in menopause may sabotage your results.

It may lead to you losing muscle and actually gaining fat as you see your thyroid health impacted and your energy and motivation to train severely decline.

Fear fats will make you fat?

That fear of healthy fats may be why you’re seeing chronic inflammation and constantly sore and not recovering from your sessions as well as you’d like. H

So stop just demonizing foods and realize that each of us may need different dietary preferences or macros to match our needs and goals even as our bodies change over time!

But eat to FUEL your body as you push hard in those sessions to see results and ultimately improve not only your functional strength but your cardiovascular conditioning.

This brings me to mistake number 3, which I find we often make because we’ve been scared away from pushing “too hard” in our training, especially as we get older.

But we NEED to challenge ourselves if we want to create change, ESPECIALLY the older we get and even as we go through menopause….

Our body doesn’t respond the same way it used to when we were younger.

That doesn’t mean we’re doomed. Or that we can’t build our leanest, strongest body ever.

It just means we can’t fear intensity in our training.

So stop skipping those SPRINTS!

Honestly this is a huge mistake not including sprint work often enough.

This doesn’t mean you should now start to do a bazillion sprints daily…

There is such a thing as too much of even a good thing.

But sprint work, and different sprint intervals should be included weekly.

So much love is given to Zone 2 training, and enough can’t be said about building that aerobic foundation…

But too often we fall in love with one form of training, one piece of equipment, one move and neglect other essential components that would make our systems more successful.

You want that diversity in your programming over the course of the week.

So include that short and killer sprint work!

Note I said SHORT and killer. Just because you have an hour to train doesn’t mean you always need to use it!

Too often we just focus on training longer, on doing more, over designing with a purpose.

Sprint work shouldn’t be stretched out into a long workout.

It’s generally a quick session, and often no longer than 30 minutes at LONGEST.

And honestly, the things that should impact the length of your sessions most aren’t even the length of the sprints themselves, but the rest between or the prehab work you include before and after!

Sprints really should be between 8-20 seconds, 30 seconds at longest.

Depending on what you’re working on you may do a work to rest set up of 2:1 up to 1:12 work to rest as intervals based on how much you’re working on true explosive speed.

And this variety of options can be used to your advantage.

Two amazing sprint protocols for women that are focused on body recomp while improving their cardiovascular health are…

20 seconds on, 10 seconds off or even 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off for 4-8 rounds.

The different work to rest intervals will help you target different energy systems over the week!

However, going back again to the biggest mistake I see people making, under recovering…

The harder you train, the more you need to make sure you’re truly getting your body what it needs.

So don’t make the mistake of NOT EATING ENOUGH to lose fat and gain muscle!

I know this was a mistake I made multiple times over the years.

Eating less to try to see faster results on the scale is a hard mindset to shift.

But as much as a calorie deficit is needed to lose fat, eating less will NOT yield better results faster and is often why we get stuck on that yo-yo dieting cycle never actually seeing the definition we want.

It’s what leads to metabolic adaptations and hormonal imbalances, especially as we restrict whole food groups or macronutrients.

If you want to see your hard work in the gym paying off, you need to fuel well.

And often that means eating more to ultimately lose fat and look leaner!

When you want to lose fat, you want to create a very small calorie deficit of only 100-200 calories off of what you’re eating to maintain your weight.

More than that and you do cause your body to find ways to conserve energy.

Our workouts can suffer, we can stop fidgeting or moving as much naturally.

Our body will even adjust other bodily processes to account for the reduction in energy coming in.

That’s why we don’t want to cut calories too low.

And if we’re training hard, we need to make sure we’re getting our body the fuel it needs to repair and rebuild.

Muscle requires more energy to be maintained.

So if you want to retain your lean muscle and even build more, you’ve got to eat enough to support the process to do that.

And the more muscle you then keep on, the more you then may find your calorie requirements increasing.

This is why you want to be conscious not to just cut your calories lower and lower, even if you do hit a weight loss plateau.

It’s also why you need to focus not just on calories but also on this essential macro everyone always wants to avoid prioritizing…

PROTEIN. Yup.

This is a big mistake we often make…Not prioritizing protein.

And while many of us hate being told we should eat more protein…

We should.

Especially if you’re a woman.

Especially if you’re feeling like your age is causing you to struggle to lose fat and gain muscle.

Especially if you train hard and “eat well” and aren’t seeing the results you want.

High protein diets are the only ones shown to help you build and retain lean muscle in a deficit and avoid gaining fat in a calorie surplus.

This gives you more wiggle room on your calorie intake and can help you make sure your hard work in the gym pays off.

And because we don’t use protein as efficiently as we get older, we need to make sure we’re getting bigger portions of protein in every meal to stimulate the same muscle building response.

So as much as you may hate being reminded of this tip, it’s a big mistake if you keep running from making this change in your diet.

And yes…It can be a challenge to start.

But instead of just saying it isn’t possible to eat more protein,

take one meal and your current protein source and just add one ounce. BOOM! More protein!

And if you’re still thinking “But I’m not a body builder. I don’t want to get bulky.”

Protein won’t make you bulky.

It can actually be key for seeing better fat loss because it raises your metabolic rate, aka requires more calories, to digest protein.

Which brings me to mistake number 6…and something too often also feared for making us bulky…

Heavy weights!

We need to stop fearing and avoiding low rep, heavy weight lifting.

And on top of this, which is mistake number 7, we also need to stop turning to doing more cardio when we want to lose fat.

This prioritization of steady state cardio or even only high rep, lighter load weight work is what can hold us back from truly gaining muscle or even losing fat.

Metabolic health, especially as we get older is key.

And while we may see a higher calorie burn on our fitness trackers from cardio workout, strength workouts may be more essential for our metabolism and body recomp goals.

Not to mention strength workouts can improve our cardiovascular health.

Workouts really don’t have to be only cardio or strength.

They can work a variety of energy systems while helping us build muscle.

But we can’t fear those heavy weights that challenge us for lower rep work.

Because the more we build that strength, the more we can lift to see better muscle gains and even then improve our strength endurance for any cardio endurance sports we do love!

But heavy weights are what help us truly challenge ourselves so our muscles are forced to repair and rebuild stronger.

And no, your age isn’t an excuse to skip those heavy weights. You honestly need them even more.

Use it or lose it!

We need to keep pushing ourselves to optimize our results.

So if you’ve been struggling to see the results you want, assess if you’re making one of these mistakes and focus on even a small habit adjustment you can make this week to start correcting your course!

Dial in your diet and your workouts to build your leanest, strongest body at any and every age!

If you’re looking for that custom program and coaching to help, check out my 1:1 Private Coaching.

–> Apply and Schedule A Consultation

3x The Effectiveness of Your Workouts (10 Tips)

by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 23, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Guess what 1 of these 10 tips isn’t…

DO MORE!

Because too often in doing more we make our workouts less effective.

We waste time and energy.

And then we blame a lack of time for our lack of progress or our ability to stick with our plan.

We even start to get frustrated with our lack of results for all the effort we put in.

And this is because we’re constantly just doing more.

Which is why I think this first rule is so key….

#1: Design With Purpose.

Everything in your workouts should be done with a strategic reason behind it that drives you forward.

We only add reps or sets because that volume or training density is needed.

We change up tempos or types of moves or where we hold the weights because it targets what we need to work in the way we need to work those muscles.

We aren’t just including supposedly best moves.

We’re including moves that match OUR needs and goals and current fitness level and progressing and evolving those over time as our needs and goals change.

And if your goal is weight loss especially, you don’t just want to have the purpose of your sessions to be “burn more calories…

Which is why rule number 2 is

#2: Set A PERFORMANCE Focus.

While yes, working out does help us burn more calories and can be a way to create that calorie deficit for weight loss, seeing our workouts only as important for the calorie burn undervalues them.

It is also what leads to use often just doing more or workout harder only to end up frustrated when results don’t happen faster.

We end up wasting more time and effort.

And we often then give up when we aren’t seeing quicker changes on the scale.

But true body recomp, losing fat as you gain or retain muscle, is a SLOW process.

To help yourself stay consistent, it is key you also set performance goals for your sessions.

This allows you to measure success in other ways to keep implementing the habits you need to reach your goals.

It also helps you design your workouts to have progression and build.

So even if your ultimate goal is to lose weight, consider setting a goal for your workouts to also lift more weight on your deadlift or master that push up from your toes.

This will keep you pushing hard in your sessions to see those results snowball and allow you to design everything with a clear focus that is even more trackable to adjust!

Then just because you have the time, doesn’t always mean you need to use it.

Third Rule…Don’t just let workouts fill the time allotted.

Whether you have 30 minutes to train or an hour, you can design a workout to work for that time.

But just because you have the hour doesn’t mean you’ll always need to use it based on your goals or current fitness level.

The intensity you want to train at and what you want to work on should dictate how long the session is…not just how long you have.

If you’re wanting to include sprint work, you may only need 20 minutes, especially if working on more speed or power.

You don’t want to do wasted volume training at a lower intensity just to do more and fill the hour.

And if you do really want to fill the hour, maybe you do so by adding in mobility work.

However, you may need an hour if you’re planning to work on 1 rep max lifts.

Having only 30 minutes to train wouldn’t be ideal for this as you need long rest periods and more time to really hit the volume you need.

Design for the time you have to make your schedule work and see results, but also don’t just use the time because you have it!

Don’t waste your time…especially if you’ve ever used the excuse “I don’t have enough time!” as a reason to skip your session!

And to help you get the most out of each session, you need to focus on pushing that progression.

You need to find ways to challenge yourself.

Which means you’re not always just doing the top reps listed!

This 4th rule is really about pushing that comfort zone and not just stopping at the top amount of reps assigned because…well it’s the top of the rep range listed.

Especially if you’re advanced exerciser, you may even really want to push that lower end of the rep range in your programming.

You may even find you want to error on hitting 7 reps to then STICK at that weight until you can do 10-12 reps with it before then again increasing.

But if you want better results, even if a weight feels hard for the top end of the rep range, GO UP as long as you can maintain form.

Do fewer reps with that heavier load to challenge yourself and add reps the next week to progress!

And then remember that adding weights, or even reps, aren’t the only ways to advance your workouts and drive those results.

Rule 5…Create Progression Through The Same But Different.

I think progression through the use of different movement variations is too often undervalued and underutilized.

The smallest of small tweaks is sometimes all we need to see results and bust through a plateau.

Because changes in movements can activate muscles to different extents, putting a different emphasis on what is working while challenge our mind-body connection in new ways.

Slight changes in our posture or position with an exercise can have an impact.

Like the chin up or underhand grip vs. the pull up or overhand grip.

The underhand grip emphasizes more bicep and requires less scapular control while the overhand grip emphasizes the back more, requiring more control of those shoulder blades to engage the lats.

Both can and should be used based on what you need!

Diversity when used strategically can be used to our advantage – it just needs to be included with purpose.

And we need to be intentional with those moves we use.

We can’t just seek to zone out and be mindless with our workouts if we want better results.

We can’t just try to get through or rush through the workout.

We need to truly focus on what we feel working and push ourselves…which is uncomfortable.

That’s why this next rule is…Is to be intentional and present.

This is something I harp on probably to an annoying extent with clients and one of the issues I have with follow along workouts.

With those workouts, people just try to keep up. Or do what the instructor is doing.

They aren’t focused on what they feel working or what they need to do.

They’re often just going through the motions, thinking even that doing a harder move is better.

But every move is earned.
And doing a harder move isn’t better if we aren’t working the correct muscles.

Honestly it can be worse, leading to overload and injury.

It can mean we’re doing a ton of moves that aren’t fully paying off!

If you want to get the most out of your workouts, you want to feel the correct muscles working. You want to be focused to truly push your boundaries and challenge yourself!

Because just going through the motions may mean we’re spending time training, but not maximizing that effort!

Because where our attention goes, our energy flows.

And this is even why rule #7 is to…

Pay Attention To Workout Order

This rule honestly means a few different things…

It means putting exercises in specific orders based on your goals, prioritizing lifts first that you want to be freshest for so you can lift heavier, while honing in on muscles with more isolated moves as you fatigue…

It means being strategic in how you include strength vs. cardio sessions, prioritizing what you value and want to be freshest for first…

Like if you’re training for a race, cardio should be done first.

However, if body recomp is your goal, strength work should be done first with cardio implemented strategically after or even on other days.

And even order how you split up what muscles you work and the moves you include should be considered for over the course of your weekly schedule.

For example, putting heavy barbell deadlifts earlier in your week may be key, especially if you’ve ever struggled with back pain as you want that move after you’ve had rest days and are fresh instead of later in your week when muscles may be tired.

You may even notice that by changing order of moves, you feel different things working!

Ever been sore from a previous workout, where maybe you did more core work, to only then realize how much your core is engaging during push ups later that week?

That exercise order has an impact!

But no matter what order you choose to include moves in…

There’s one thing you can’t skip to start EVERY single session.

And that’s your warm up.

But if you want to get more out of your training, a warm up isn’t just about “getting warm.”

It’s about actually MOBILIZING those joints and prepping your body for work.

Your warm up should be about addressing previous injuries, movement compensations and even daily postures that may impact your workout as you also warm up your body.

You want to make yourself get benefit out of that very first rep of your training session vs. feeling like it takes you a few rounds to get into things.

A proper warm up helps you make sure you’re able to strengthen through a full range of motion and engage the correct muscles so you don’t compensate, which can lead to injury.

So focus your warm ups on foam rolling to relax overactive and tight muscles…

Dynamic stretching to mobilize joints and improve your flexibility…

And then activation to establish that mind-body connection to get underactive muscles working and improve your stability.

You’ll be amazed at how much that warm up you want to skip now really pays off so you get more out of your workouts and aren’t being sidelined with injuries or feeling like you’re recovery is super slow!

Which actually leads me to the final 2 essential rules…and something that can be mentally hard to embrace when we equate feeling worked and working harder to better results faster…

But no pain, no gain is not the best attitude to have!

Rule #9…Soreness can’t be the goal and Rule #10…Low intensity sessions are essential!

We can only train as hard as we can recover from.

And if every session is leaving us feeling destroyed…

We will start to see our performance and results go backward as we aren’t giving our body the recovery it needs to rebuild
And…
We may end up burned out and injured struggling to find the motivation to get back into things

Basically we’ll be working hard to see lackluster results.

And I mentioned soreness because too often we seek to be sore and use that as a judgement of working hard enough.

But soreness doesn’t mean our workouts are moving us forward.

We can be sore because of the types of moves we include or even because we did NEW moves.

Soreness is even an indication that we aren’t creating clear progression but just randomly stringing things together that aren’t building or even that our recovery in between sessions, such as our fueling isn’t on point.

Not being sore isn’t a bad thing.

It may even be a good sign you’re progressing at an appropriate pace.

However, because of building and even moves like the deadlift that cause more muscle tissue damage, you may get sore at times even with proper recovery.

This though is why lower intensity sessions can be key.

They mentally help you recharge and allow you to move in a non-stressful way that can even enhance recovery.

So don’t skip the yoga or the mobility work or even that casual walk because it doesn’t feel as worth it…because it may be the key to getting more out of your other sessions!

SUMMARY:

The more purposeful and intentional we are with our training, the better and faster the results we will see.

Don’t just go through the motions or string together random free workouts that look hard.

Stay focused on your needs and goals and create a plan to move forward!

Want amazing workouts to help you rock those results?

Check out my Dynamic Strength program!

Why 93% Of Women NEVER Lose Belly Fat

by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 16, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

Alright so do you think those old fitness infomercials are as ridiculous as I do?

What’s the real reason why 93% of women never lose belly fat?

BECAUSE IT’S REALLY…

REALLY…

REALLY HARD!

And because when we feel like results aren’t snowballing,

when we don’t see changes happening on the scale, we feel like the effort doesn’t equal the outcome…

And we QUIT.

But to lose from those oh so stubborn areas…To lose that last little bit…

We often NEED to keep going past the point we want to quit.

We need to stay consistent, be precise with our nutrition and workouts and not give up just because it feels like nothing is happening.

Because the simple fact of the matter is…

It’s not easy to reach a new level of leanness…especially for the first time.

And stubborn areas are stubborn for a reason.

Literally we may see fat being lost from EVERYWHERE else FIRST before we shed that final bit.

We may not see the scale change at all as we are actually getting leaner.

But we will only lose that last little bit of stubborn belly fat if we don’t quit or let little inconsistencies and 1% deviations from our plan start to add up.

We’ve got to embrace the suck of doing something hard and outside our comfort zone.

Which is easier to do when we remember that what you do to reach a goal is not what you’ll do to maintain it.

While we don’t want to sabotage our long-term success with fad diets or crazy 2 a day workout routines, we do need to recognize that not everything we do will feel sustainable.

There is a hard we have to push through before we then transition into maintenance and more of a lifestyle balance.

So now that I’ve sold you on still pursuing your goal of achieving abs so you can be in that 7%, I want to share why some areas are so stubborn to lose from…

Then go over the 2 main struggles you will have to push through…

And finally highlight 4 key tips that can make that 1% difference when you already have the fundamentals dialed in.

So first, why are areas like our stomachs, especially often the lower abs and obliques, so hard to lose from?

First off…our genetics do have an impact on where we tend to store fat.

And as women we do have higher levels of body fat, and need those levels to be higher than men, to maintain hormonal balance.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t still lose that stubborn fat to see that definition.

This all just has an impact on what areas are most stubborn for us.

It just means these areas we often want to change the most will be the last to go…And consistency for longer will be key.

Sucky but key.

Fat loss from these areas, like specifically our love handles, lower abs or even our hips, thighs and butt, can be harder because there is generally less blood flow to these specific regions.

Less blood flow makes it harder to mobilize and utilize fatty acids from these areas.

And not only that, but these areas generally contain fat cells that don’t respond as well to the fat loss process.

Yup.

There are different types of fat cells in our body – alpha and beta – and both respond differently to the fat loss process.

Alpha cells respond better and accelerate the process while beta cells don’t respond as well and make it harder to lose the fat.

Of course guess which ones we tend to have more of around our middle?

Those annoying beta fat cells!

But notice I didn’t say they made it impossible to lose belly fat.

It just is why you have to truly go in prepared to be consistent and let TIME work its magic as you’re precise in making sure those systems work together.

You can’t out exercise your diet if you want abs.

You can’t try to rush the process to see the scale change quicker.

Both of those things will ultimately only sabotage your success.

That’s why I think it is key we go in with eyes wide open as to the struggles we may encounter when trying to get leaner.

Because the more we almost oversell the negative to ourselves, the less challenging we may find the process because we are prepared for the struggles.

We may even find ourselves thinking “That wasn’t so bad!” just because we knew it was going to pop up over being caught off guard!

So in terms of the challenges….

First, the areas you want to change the most will be the last to go and even though you’re progressing, you may feel like you look worse.

Yea you heard that right…

You may actually feel like you look WORSE as you lean down.

Where does your eye go when you look at progress photos?

The areas you want to change the most.

And as I already mentioned, those are the stubborn areas that often are the last to change.

This means we will lose off of other areas first.

As these areas get smaller, guess what looks bigger in comparison?

That fat around our middle!

Yet that area didn’t gain.

We just haven’t lost from there YET.

This is why we need to track measurements too from these other places.

Seeing losses from those other areas can help us know we are on the right track and just need to stay consistent.

So if you’re feeling like you look worse, and have seen loss from other areas, you need to buckle down and keep going.

Second, you’re going to get “burned out.”

Breaking a set point, getting leaner than you’ve gotten before will not be easy.

It’s new and oddly “scary” for your body.

Our body, and even our mind, doesn’t like or want change.

So your body will fight the process and you are going to need to be more precise in your systems.

You can’t guestimate your macros or calories.

You can’t randomly pick a workout.

You need a strategically designed plan.

And this plan will be uncomfortable and push your boundaries.

Because it will take a lot of focus to be consistent and prevent old habits and patterns from creeping in…

It will require WILLPOWER and not just discipline to sometimes do that workout on a day you’re tired and just want to watch chick flicks on the couch…

Or skip that cupcake or cookie when everyone else is having something on Friday night.

You’ll question is it worth it?

And you’ve got to say YES and keep pushing through.

Now you may be thinking…IS it truly worth it?

Honestly…

It is.

But it’s not the actual ab definition goal that is worth it…whatever losing the belly fat and achieving ab definition means to you and your aesthetic goals.

What’s worth it is you achieving something you thought you couldn’t.

Doing habits that are honestly good for you and your body and health.

It feels good to almost “overcorrect” and break patterns you thought were impossible to break to then be able to create new and sustainable habits and a lifestyle balance.

Because in achieving this aesthetic goal, yes we may love how we look…

But the confidence and strength is really built through what we overcome.

Life is the pursuit of goals…and about conquering the journey and showing ourselves all that is possible.

We train hard and make sacrifices in so many areas for goals that matter to us.

No shame in this being one of them!

Honestly, I can tell you that so many clients that realize their strength in changing lifestyle patterns not only achieve amazing body recomp but feel their most fabulous and confident inside and out of the gym.

They see so many wins in not only their health and functional fitness but also because they’ve gained pride in what they can push themselves to achieve, in the love and dedication they’ve shown this one body they have for life!

So if you’re like YES this is a challenge I want…

Yes this is a pride I take in my body and I’m going to own my goals, here are 4 keys I want you to focus on to help you push through and see results snowball.

#1: Macros matter most.

Not tracking when you want to get abs is like throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping something sticks.

Precision pays off and what gets measured gets managed.

Track your food. Sucks but it is the best way to make 1% changes that build.

It helps us avoid dramatic wrong turns in our program and makes sure our diet even matches our activity level, body and goals.

And then don’t be afraid to adjust as you progress.

Too often when we are trying to lose fat, we even first turn to cutting our calories lower.

But when a client has only that last little bit to lose, I avoid cutting calories as much as possible.

A bigger deficit often backfires and leads to more muscle being lost.

Instead we will do more cycling of macros, especially going higher on protein.

This is where those really high protein ratios of over 40% of your calories coming from protein pay off amazingly well, especially as you get older and even go through menopause!

#2: Progress your core work.

You better learn to love core work.

No you can’t spot reduce an area by just doing a bazillion reps of an exercise for that muscle group.

But your abs are muscle and you see better definition when you do build them to some extent.

No, you’re not trying to grow them like you may other areas…

But you do still need to progress your core training to see better results.

Focus on changing the range of motion, tempos, loads, resistance types all while keeping the reps in that even 10-20 rep range.

And even consider including this core work to END your workout before maybe some steady state cardio, such as walking.

I mentioned to start there is less blood flow to stubborn areas making them more stubborn.

But by working the muscles in an area, we can stimulate more blood flow to help mobilize more fatty acids.

The key is then making sure we USE those mobilized fatty acids which is where the walking comes in.

Now note…this is that 1% tweak…if your macros aren’t already dialed in…

If you aren’t already following a clear workout plan…

If you aren’t implementing proper recovery…

This isn’t going to be a magic fix to broken fundamentals.

#3: Focus on QUALITY.

Honestly this is quality in every component of the systems you are implementing.

Because losing belly fat isn’t about one magic food, one magic supplement or one magic move.

It’s about quality in all those systems working together.

And it’s about intentionality in your training and your fueling.

You want to make sure you’re focusing on nutrient dense foods.

Yup…as much as I preach including foods you love, you’ll see better results faster by focusing less on those fun foods and more on those nutrient dense foods that help maintain hormonal balance, make you feel fuller, help you recover and even have a higher thermic effect.

This will make the fat loss process easier.

Same goes for your workouts…

You need to focus on quality in those sessions. You need to push hard and truly drive progression.

You need to focus on what you feel working.

You need to work hard in the gym and then focus on that recovery between.

We want to focus on quality NOT quantity.

Doing more will only backfire.

Now last but not least…

#4: The process is never linear.

Note I didn’t say progress is never linear…

I said the process.

You’ve got to embrace ebbs and flows.

To lose that belly fat, you may not always be driving toward fat loss.

Diet breaks, maintenance periods…

Times you back off to keep doing the minimum…

May be needed to ultimately achieve your goal.

Self control is like a gas tank.

We can’t let it hit E while driving on the highway or we’re going to be in trouble.

At points, you need to pull into that gas station and refill…ideally when the light even first comes on, to keep being able to move forward.

Same thing goes for your fat loss goals.

Sometimes you need to strategically back off to keep pushing forward. So know when burn out may become I don’t care at all forget everything…

And proactively and strategically even plan in breaks!

So if you’ve felt like you’ll never lose belly fat…

Stop writing off your body recomp goals.

Yes it is hard but when we know the struggles we can plan for them and prove to ourselves so much more than we thought possible is possible!

If you’re looking for that support and programming to dial in your nutrition and workouts to see amazing body recomp, check out my 1:1 Coaching…

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Burn Fat and PROTECT Muscle (4 Tips)

by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 9, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

I know you don’t want to hear this but…

Fat loss is a slow process.

If you’re trying to lose fat faster, you might not like the result.

And when we strive to see weight loss faster on the scale, ultimately all we’re doing is LOSING MUSCLE.

Which is generally the exact opposite of what we are trying to do.

Especially as we get older!

Because guess what?

It IS a harder process as we get older.

It’s harder to build and retain lean muscle.

It’s harder to lose fat.

Now note…I didn’t say impossible.

I said harder.

Honestly part of why it is harder is because we’ve approached losing fat in the past in the wrong way.

We’ve tried to out exercise and out diet time.

Spending hours in the gym, as we slash our calories lower isn’t what “used to work.”

It’s why we’re now stuck.

It’s why we’re now seeking to lose fat and so worried about losing our muscle.

So don’t just accept muscle loss and weight gain.

But it is time to buckle down and embrace a true lifestyle change.

That’s why I want to first go over WHY we tend to lose muscle during a fat loss phase and what we can do to protect our lean muscle while leaning down as much as possible.

And for those of you thinking…

“I only have a few pounds to lose…It shouldn’t be that hard…”

WRONG!

It’s harder and a SLOWER process to try to avoid muscle loss as you lose those last few percentages of body fat.

Because the leaner we get, the more our body wants to avoid depleting its fat stores, which are basically stored energy to make sure we are able to continue surviving.

So we can’t just slash our calories lower or train harder to try to get the scale to budge faster.

Doing so will sabotage our success.

Because muscle requires more calories to be maintained.

That’s why we often WILL lose some muscle during a weight loss or fat loss phase…

We just don’t have enough fuel coming in.

But while some muscle loss can be expected, we do to so much to prevent this from happening and even at times GAIN lean muscle while losing fat IF we focus on those fundamentals and don’t rush the process.

Because slashing your calories lower as you train harder will make your body do what it can to function off of less.

We lose muscle because it becomes an optimal source of FUEL.

It not only provides amino acids our body may feel it needs, the building blocks of protein that contribute to so many functions within our body besides just building muscle, but it also COSTS us energy to maintain.

When we eat less and burn more calories, our body finds ways to conserve energy.

Losing muscle is one of those ways as well as our brain telling us to move and fidget less.

Even bodily process such as hormone production are impacted as our body conserves energy to function as efficiently as possible off the restricted energy intake.

What our body is NOT doing as long as possible, is utilizing our fat stores.

It wants to hang onto those as fast as possible.

So when we push to see faster results on the scale, often we’ve depleted stored glycogen that our muscles hold, we’ve lost water weight because of depleting the stored glycogen and we’ve even lost muscle…

What we haven’t lost is MORE FAT from what we would have lost had we not tried to rush the process.

And often we’ve even lost LESS…

Especially as we get older.

Because our body doesn’t have the optimal hormonal environment it did when we were younger…

Not to mention previous dieting and training practices like this have already created metabolic adaptations and put us into a position where we have learned to survive off of fewer calories.

Basically if we don’t commit to dieting and training in a new way that matches what our body needs now, we’re not going to see the fat loss results we want.

But there are diet and workout changes you can make to help yourself not only reverse what’s going on but also protect that amazing lean muscle and even BUILD IT….

The thing is…

What I’m going to recommend you’re probably going to hate.

And your brain will rebel against doing it.

So let’s look at 4 tips to burn fat while protecting your muscle.

Which is to EAT MORE.

Yes, lose fat by eating more.

Especially if you’ve slashed your calories super low in the past and never retrained your body to eat more, you’ve learned how to function well off of well…Nothing.

If you’re eating under 1000 calories and not losing, it’s especially time you eat more.

And while you may think you need less as you’ve gotten older because your metabolism has slowed down, the opposite is actually true.

You need to first increase your calories to help increase your metabolic rate.

I won’t lie to you…This retraining process stinks.

And it can make you feel like you’re going BACKWARD before you go forward.

But, by eating more, you’ll have the fuel you need to help your body feel like it can let go of the stored fat.

To move more. To train hard. To support all those efficient bodily processes and restore hormonal balance.

And most importantly, you’ll build lean muscle!

With eating more, we also BURN MORE.

You burn more calories to turn that food into fuel.

So by eating more you burn more. And of course, what you eat does have an impact.

You’ll even find you may become hungrier as you eat more as your natural hunger cues return.

Now the sucky part to start…As you increase your calories, you may gain weight.

You may see some fat creep on.

But you have to go through this slow process of retraining your body to eat more BEFORE you can then create a small calorie deficit to lose.

After increasing your daily calories 50-100 and maintaining each increase for a few weeks, you may then find you have then rebuilt to a point where you start to see the scale tick down.

Or you can even then try a small deficit of 100 calories off where you’ve built to.

But the key is first learning to eat more to then have an intake where you can even create a deficit from.

Because at 800 calories?! What can you really cut!?

Now if you’re thinking, “That’s not my problem. I eat a lot and am overeating right now.”

Eating more is still key. BUT in the way of not creating an extreme deficit off of your current intake.

Don’t then dramatically slash your calories lower.

Instead just create a calorie deficit of 100-200 calories from what you’re doing.

The more we can continue to fuel, the more we support our body maintaining that lean muscle while utilizing our fat as fuel.

And to help encourage that protection of lean muscle and even avoid gaining fat as we go through that hard retraining process to start, we want to then also focus on protein.

Yup. Protein.

The macro that some people say we get too much of and others say we don’t get enough of.

And the thing is, the situation matters for what our intake should be.

The older we get…

The harder we train…The more we want to lose fat and NOT lose muscle…

The more important protein becomes.

So focus on at least 30% of your calories coming from protein to make sure you’re fueling those muscles to recover and repair while having enough protein left over for other bodily functions even while in a small calorie deficit.

And while diet is key for fat loss and even protecting our muscle, we can’t ignore how our diet and our WORKOUTS work together.

If our workouts don’t match how we’re fueling, we won’t see the results we deserve.

Yet so often our training compounds the problem of under fueling because we see our workouts just as a chance to burn more calories.

Which is why we so often turn to doing more cardio.

But if you want to protect your lean muscle, you need to focus on strength work and be SMART about how you include your cardio.

I didn’t say you couldn’t do cardio, especially if you love your long runs or rides, but you do need to be smart about how you include it.

We always need to know the cost and reward of anything we include.

Steady state long distance cardio is catabolic to muscle mass, especially when in a calorie deficit.

So if you’re turning to cardio to see results faster, you may be sabotaging yourself.

If you love your endurance sport, make sure to account for that in how you fuel and strength workout.

And no, that doesn’t mean just more carbs. Actually increasing PROTEIN is again key.

But also consider, lowering your mileage for a time to focus on one primary goal.

Remember it is easier to maintain your results once you’ve achieved them.

And if you do include cardio, prioritize your strength work FIRST.

What we do when we are freshest, we get the most benefit from.

If you do your cardio first, you’re going to be tired for your resistance workout.

Your 100% intensity simply won’t be a true 100% because you’ll be fatigued. And progressing week over week is what drives muscle growth.

So if you want to protect your muscle and lose fat, do any cardio AFTER you lift.

Even put cardio workouts after strength workouts that target those stubborn areas.

This mobilizes more fat from the areas surrounding the muscles you worked to be utilized by your cardio finisher.

Also adjust the length and intensity of those cardio sessions.

Short sprint work or even walking may be better forms of cardio for fat loss without putting you at risk for losing muscle.

Both help you burn more calories over the week to create that deficit without slashing your calories lower (aka you can eat more) while also not being catabolic to muscle.

Walking especially can be great for recovery.

And sprints can improve your conditioning and power to improve even your strength workouts while helping promote an optimal hormone environment for muscle growth!

Now, the last and probably most important thing I want to cover to help you protect your lean muscle during fat loss is something that mentally may be the hardest to do…

Step off the scale.

Yup. It’s not a workout or diet tip but it is key.

Because too often we judge fat loss based on that number on the scale changing.

And fat loss, without losing muscle, is going to mean that scale changes VERY slowly, especially the closer to your goal you get and even NOT AT ALL especially to start.

Because the scale sucks at measuring fat loss.

The faster we want the scale to change, often the more we ultimately lose muscle.

So if you want to keep yourself focused on fat loss, take measurements, progress pictures and use clothing to monitor changes.

This way you won’t sabotage yourself by working harder and going to extremes to ultimately just lose muscle and not more fat and keep yourself stuck in that horrible yo-yo dieting cycle!

Ready to dial in your diet and your workouts to work together?

Learn more about my 1:1 Online Coaching.

What I Wish I Knew About Protein Sooner (The 20g Myth And More!)

by Cori Lefkowith | Jun 2, 2024 | Blog, Diet

Think protein is just for bodybuilders?

Think again.

Focus on increasing protein may be even more important if you’re…

Female
Over the age of 30
Training hard
Looking to lose weight
Looking to lose fat
Looking to gain muscle
Looking to stay functionally stronger
Looking to stay energized and recover faster
Looking to age well and stay mentally with it…

Basically protein is honestly even more key for those of us looking to feel, look and move our best at any and every age.

Yet many of us struggle with not only increasing protein, but wanting to increase it.

Too often we even search out anything we can to tell us we DON’T have to make a change.

But honestly, this desire to not make a change is what keeps us stuck.

And so often our unwillingness to embrace increasing protein, especially as we get older, is what keeps us from ever seeing the results we want.

We keep searching for a way around the hard change of increasing protein ultimately to never see any of our hard work pay off.

That’s why I wanted to share some things I wish I’d personally known earlier on about protein and dispel some common protein myths and highlight HOW it helps.

Because when we truly understand the WHY behind the habit changes, we are more willing to embrace hard habit shifts.

What we value, we prioritize.

And we value things more when we truly understand the benefit and purpose behind the changes.

So that’s why I want to highlight why increasing your protein is something you should value.

Starting with the fact that it isn’t just essential for our aesthetic goals.

This ties into a myth we often also hear that gives us an excuse NOT to eat more protein…

And this myth is “You can only utilize 20-30 grams of protein in a meal.”

I’ve heard this myth repeated in a variety of ways, arguing that eating more protein during your day will only “go to waste.”

But this amount is just the amount that our body can use in a single sitting for muscle protein synthesis.

However, when you eat protein, all those amino acids aren’t just going to your muscles.

Only a very small portion of that 20-30 grams you’re consuming is actually being used in that way.

Because proteins make up EVERY tissue in our body.

Protein is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage and skin.

And it’s involved in so many bodily functions including cellular repair.

So if you’re only eating 20-30 grams your muscles aren’t fully getting the maximal amount they can use.

Not to mention the studies done on this “ideal” protein intake don’t take into account that mixed macro meals, aka adding carbs or fats with the protein, can impact the rate of digestion.

They also don’t take into account that as we get older, we don’t utilize protein as efficiently.

This makes increasing our intake per meal even more key.

Consuming less in a meal when we are younger is something we can “get away with” because of the more optimal hormonal environment we have.

As we get older, we need more protein to elicit that same muscle building response.

Again…more protein is better.

And a recent study has even shown that consuming 100 grams of protein at a meal not only lead to BETTER muscle protein synthesis but didn’t go to waste.

So if you’ve been trying to tell yourself you didn’t need to eat more protein because it would only be wasted, think again.

And not to harp on this, but it’s probably one of the biggest reasons I push my clients to be so protein centric, but I want them to define how they age.

There is no denying our body changes with age. But we truly are in control of defining how we age.

And so much of what we just write off as getting older, is within our power to change and control.

Feel like you’re losing muscle?

Feel like you’re losing strength?

Feel like you’re not recovering as quickly?

Worried about falls and fractures and your bone health?

Seeing negative changes in your health, including an increase in your blood pressure during menopause?

Or are you frustrated because you’re metabolism is slowing down and you’re seeing the weight creep on no matter what you do as you even slash your calories lower and lower?

What if I told you focusing on protein may be the simplest solution to addressing these things you’ve written off as just getting older?!

Protein honestly is the fountain of youth we don’t often truly recognize.

Now if you want to focus on building muscle and strength, your workouts and challenging yourself with your training is key.

But so often we see the results we deserve from our hard work in the gym paying off because our fueling doesn’t match.

You can only train as hard as you recover from. And to recover, your body needs protein.

So if you want to stay functionally fit and strong as you get older, you can’t avoid increasing your protein.

And by building and retaining more lean muscle as you get older, when so often we see a decline in muscle with age, you’ll also help keep your metabolic rate higher.

Not to mention the thermic effect, or the energy required for the metabolism of food, of digesting protein itself is higher.

This means more calories burned without us doing anything differently!

And if we want to lose fat, increasing our protein not only helps with this process but helps us avoid losing more muscle, which we are at increased risk for losing already as we get older.

AKA by focusing on protein we improve our metabolic health and body recomp to be any age and freaking lean and strong!

But again, protein isn’t just about rocking those aesthetic results…

It is also key for our health as we get older.

It can help keep our bones strong and avoid fractures, and lower our risk of osteoporosis.

And it can even help lower our blood pressure, which is key especially during menopause when we can see our risk for cardiovascular disease rise.

Now I do want to touch on protein and “risk.” Because this is something I wish I’d realized sooner…

Protein is honestly the least risky food to include if you want to see fabulous body recomp and your hard work in the gym pay off.

And I wish I’d known this sooner because it would have helped me get leaner and stronger faster.

Of course there is too much of even a good thing…

And specific health concerns like kidney disease may mean that a lower amount of protein is key for you, although there are some interesting new studies even debating this exact amount…

But for anyone with healthy kidneys who focuses on quality fueling and hydration, higher protein intakes will NOT have a negative impact.

But I mention “risk” also because increasing our protein intake helps us see results in a much easier way.

A high protein diet is the only diet shown to help you gain lean muscle in a deficit and even avoid gaining unwanted fat while in a calorie surplus.

It gives you wiggle room in your calorie intake to still see results.

Not to mention, it can help you eat more and feel fueled while still seeing body recomp.

And being able to eat more will help you keep your metabolic rate higher and create a more sustainable calorie intake that doesn’t leave you feeling starving and deprived.

Not to mention, protein does improve our health, reducing our risk of so many health concerns…yet too often we only focus on the negatives it may have for specific populations.

But honestly, almost every healthy food can have a negative impact if not consumed based on what we need!

And there are also so many MICROnutrients in protein sources we don’t often realize and value.

We talk about getting more fruits and vegetables, which are 100% key…

But we don’t recognize that protein sources offer a diversity of vitamins and minerals that are essential as well.

And many found in protein sources aren’t available in other sources in the same form such as Vitamin A (Retinol), B12, Carnitine, Carnosine, Creatine, D3, DHA, EPA, Heme Iron, and Taurine.

These things are essential to optimal health.

So not only is protein essential as a macro, but it packs a micronutrient punch!

Now if you’re like “Ok Cori, I’m sold on increasing protein…But it’s just so hard! I’d like to, but how!?”

I’ll tell you…I get it.

We’re used to consuming foods in the portions we are currently eating.

And to change our macro split, we have to adjust those portion sizes which often means planning ahead.

Because otherwise we are just going to do what we’ve always done…and we’ve always not eaten more protein!

I also think we often simply get overwhelmed with the idea which makes our brain freak out and not think in terms of small adjustments.

Or we make changes to hit a number without focusing still on making it ENJOYABLE.

We go straight to the chicken and broccoli or force ourselves to choke down a protein shake we hate.

Instead our goal should be to consider ways we may ENJOY adding more protein.

When we are excited to do something, when it is enjoyable over a chore, we are more likely to truly embrace the habit change.

We need to feel like, and remember it is our choice, not something we HAVE to do.

Yes a protein supplement or bar can be used, but that is too often what we jump to.

And we want the benefits that whole, natural proteins provide.

So instead, try looking up dishes you may enjoy that have more protein.

Or take a day of meals you already love and search for small tweaks.

Massive changes aren’t made overnight.

But one small adjustment that you can build on will add up.

So even take your meals today and see where you can make one change to increase your protein.

Can you add an ounce more chicken?

Sprinkle nutritional yeast on something?

Swap greek yogurt of sour cream?

Those grams add up!

And this is something key I wished I’d found when I first sought to add more protein because it would have made the process so much easier to see the results I wanted sooner!

Focus on those small changes and really seek to understand the why behind the habit swaps you’re looking to make, like increasing protein.

It can help you truly value the changes to make them easier so you can see the results you deserve.

Because if you’re looking to move, feel and look your best till your final day on this planet, increasing your protein is the magical habit change that most of us avoid making but that truly makes all of our hard work add up!

Ready to dial in your diet to match your workouts and help you build your leanest, strongest body ever?

Learn more about my Metabolic Shred!

The Underrated Full Body Exercise (that looks a little silly)

by Cori Lefkowith | May 27, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Workouts

I know it looks a bit silly….

And I’m not expecting you to go into the middle of your commercial gym weight room floor and start doing it…

But the Towel Taz is an amazing, and deceptively hard conditioning drill that can be a great way to mix up your cardio sessions without all the impact and even put an emphasis on your upper body and core.

It can get you moving in every direction and be done no matter your fitness level.

And it doesn’t require fancy equipment.

Heck you can grab your comforter or even a sheet off your bed if you don’t have a moving blanket.

But I do want to break down the benefits of this amazing move because it can be done without any fancy equipment and is deceptively humbling!

The first reason I love this move, despite how silly it looks, is that it can be used with a variety of intervals to achieve different conditioning benefits.

You can use a heavier moving blanket and easily gas yourself out with quick 10-20 second sprints.

Or you can even learn to use it for more aerobic capacity building longer interval durations of even 1-2 minutes.

But no matter your fitness level you can vary the intensity and intervals you work in to get benefit from this exercise.

And it can really be tailored to what you want to work on – whether you want to focus more on intense quick bursts or more endurance!

And unlike so many of the conditioning drills we do, it gets you moving in every direction while being a full body drill!

When you often think about cardio, our first thoughts are often of running or biking.

If we’re thinking about bodyweight interval workouts, we may start to consider the basic burpee or jump squats, which really still are moving us only in one plane of motion.

And while I think there are some great variations of these moves that can be used to twist and turn and work in every direction, the Towel Taz is a great way to do this without the impact of jumping!

You shuffle laterally as you shake the towel up and down.

Or side to side.

You can circle.

Move forward, backward.

You’re not just moving in one direction like we are with running and riding and your whole body is working.

There is a lot of freedom to the movement, whether you want to make it more core intensive, rotating side to side as you move around…

Or you want to make it more shoulder and arm intensive, shaking the towel up and down.

And it conditions not only your lungs, but so many of the muscles that pay off for other sports.

That towel becomes way heavier than you’d expect and you’re going to feel your arms and shoulders.

This can be a great drill to help keep your shoulders healthy, while improving your conditioning for swimming, not to mention any fight sport.

You may even be surprised by how much it improves your upper body lifts, improving the strength endurance of your shoulders.

And by moving in every direction, you may feel your agility and even reaction times to cut, twist and turn improve. You see your balance and stability improve from your ankles up to your hips.

It also will add diversity to your routine as so many of the cardio moves we do are lower body focused.

While no, we can’t spot reduce an area and just do a thousand tricep exercises to try to lose the bat wing, this move does come in handy for that little extra fat loss benefit when our lifts and nutrition are dialed in.

Studies have shown that more fat is mobilized from areas AROUND the muscle we work. We just then need to UTILIZE that mobilized fat…and a little cardio focused on those areas strategically may make that 1% improvement.

Do your upper body lifting session then finish it off with a killer 30 on 15 off series of Towel Taz while making sure your nutrition is on point, and you may be surprised by how much that helps with that last little stubborn bit!

The Towel Taz can also be helpful if you’re not able to do some of the higher impact conditioning drills or lower body cardio exercises.

If you’ve had a lower body injury and have to reduce impact, you may feel limited in your conditioning drills.

This move can be done seated if needed or even by stepping or quick cuts to move around.

Honestly, this silly looking move is well worth the stares you may get.

And can be a great option if you’re training at home and looking to mix things up.

It is incredibly functional in how it asks us to quickly engage muscles and have so many things work in unison in every direction.

No it’s not a functional movement pattern you will directly do in everyday life, but the benefits of the mind-body connection, conditioning improvements and strengthening in every direction really will have you feeling fabulous.

Now I just wanted to add some quick tips to implement this move….

Use a big and heavy towel. Moving blankets are ideal as they won’t whip you and they have some weight to really challenge your upper body and core.

Focus on quick movements of both your upper AND lower body. While you may shake the towel up and down, shuffle and step in every direction.

If you even swing the towel side to side, focus on walking forward and backward.

Force your upper and lower body to work independently in different directions but together!

Make sure you focus on that exhale as you shake the towel and focus on a speed that challenges you for the intervals of work you’re performing.

If you’re doing 20 seconds, max out.

If you’re using this for 1 minute, consider more of a 65-75% of your max effort pace to push yourself to feel out of breath but be able to work the entire time.

But as much as you may be shaking your head no at your screen, give this move a chance.

It’s humbled many an MMA fighter and you may be surprised by how much it improves your conditioning to even be able to lift more, run faster and cycle further.

You may even be shocked at how much you see improvements in your ability to quickly react and move in every direction!

What untraditional exercises do you love?

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