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!
by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 16, 2018 | Blog, Diet, Recipes
Yes…We want to eat whole, natural foods as often as possible.
But guess what!?
If all we are doing is constantly DEPRIVING ourselves and telling ourselves we CAN’T have the foods we love, we are going to end up binging.
That is why I love finding a way to balance cravings with staying on track. It’s why I like making Macro-Friendly versions of the not-so-healthy meals I love.
This helps me satisfy cravings while still making progress and remaining CONSISTENT.
Remember it’s not perfection but consistency that leads to long-term results.
So here is one of my favorite macro-friendly pizza recipes – The Thai Chicken Pizza!
The Macro-Friendly Thai Chicken Pizza
SERVINGS: 2
MACROS (in ½ pizza):
Calories: 384 Protein: 57 grams Carbs: 18 grams Fat: 9 grams
“I’ve always loved Thai Chicken Pizza so wanted to find a way to make it macro-friendly and healthier. It’s the perfect way to curb cravings and keep yourself on track.” – Cori
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces Cooked Chicken Breast
1 Joseph’s Whole Wheat Lavash Bread
66 grams Baby Carrots
18 grams (about 3 stalks) Green Onions
4 tbsps Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari
12 g (2 tbsp) PB Fit Peanut Butter Powder
4 tsp Chili Garlic Sauce
46 grams (3 tbsp) Egg Whites
20 grams Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place lavash on a baking sheet lightly greased with cooking spray. Place in the oven until it begins to crisp and brown.
As it browns, cook chicken if needed or tear up precooked chicken. Shred or thinly slice carrots and chop up green onions.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the carrots and most of the onions (leave a few to top the pizza with). Let them begin to soften and brown.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine (soy sauce, pbfit, garlic sauce).
Then add chicken and the sauce to the skillet and heat. Let it bubble and make sure it soaks into the chicken.
When everything is heated through, add egg whites to the skillet. Let them cook and stir in. Then top the lavash bread with the mixture and sprinkle with the cheese.
Place in the oven until the cheese is melted and the lavash is browned to your liking.
Want a diet that allows you to still indulge in the foods you love while finding a balance that leads to long-term results?!
Learn more about Macro Cycling –>
by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 11, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Workouts
Ready to get the sweat dripping and blood pumping?!? Heck yes, right!? 😉
Then try this Bodyweight 30/10 Cardio Killer!
It will take you just 20 minutes if you complete all 6 rounds so you can get your workout in even on a busy day! No need to spend hours in the gym or even buy expensive cardio equipment. All you need is your own bodyweight for killer results!
The 30/10 Bodyweight Cardio Killer
Set a timer for 30 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest. Work as hard as you can for 30 seconds on a move then rest 10 seconds while you transition to the next exercise. Regress moves as needed, but do not rest during the 30 seconds on each move. Beginners may rest up to 30 seconds more between rounds if needed. Complete 4-6 rounds of the circuit below.
CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Snowboard Hop Burpees
10 seconds Rest
30 seconds Push Up Leg Kick
10 seconds Rest
30 seconds Squat Jump Bulldog
10 seconds Rest
30 seconds Inchworm Plank
10 seconds Rest
30 seconds Bicycles
10 seconds Rest
Love this workout?
It’s part of my Cardio Killer series available with my 28-Day Core Burner program! It pairs perfectly with my Bodyweight Booty Burners and Core Burners. Learn More –>
by Cori Lefkowith | Feb 6, 2018 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Exercises
Have you ever noticed you have a stronger and weaker side?
Have you ever been told your hips are uneven? Your SI joint is “out of whack” or you have an upslip or even rotation?
Or maybe you’ve just noticed you always get low back or hip pain on one side?
Heck…maybe you’ve even noticed a leg length discrepancy you weren’t born with!?
All of these things show imbalances and compensations that need to be addressed….
Addressed by UNILATERAL moves.
All too often with bilateral movements, we can compensate and our dominant side takes over for our weaker side.
We can often “hide our weakness” and make it hard to activate the right muscles when we do bilateral moves.
Plus, because one side is stronger, we compensate so our weaker side can “keep up.”
But if we don’t want to risk compensating, which can lead to injury, we first need to correct our imbalances.
And by correcting those imbalances, especially when it comes to GLUTE ACTIVATION, we can create lumbo-pelvic-hip stability so we can prevent injury and lift more.
This is where unilateral activation comes into play.
It helps us address those imbalances so that right muscles are working and we can shrink the gap between our weaker and stronger side!
So if you have hip issues, low back issues…even knee pain…unilateral glute activation is especially important!
And not only doing unilateral, or single sided glute activation, but even potentially more reps, on that weaker side.
So if you’re ready to build hip stability, try these 3 Unilateral Bodyweight Glute Activation Exercises to correct those imbalance and get both glutes firing!
1. Glute Bridge with Rocks:
Unilateral moves are essential to correct imbalances because you can isolate one side at a time and focus in on the muscles that need to be working. And glute bridges are a must-do activation move to improve your hip extension.
HOWEVER, Single Leg Glute Bridges are an advanced move that could lead to you using your lower back or hamstrings to power the lift instead of correcting the existing imbalance.
So how can you get the benefit of a Single Leg Bridge if the move is too advanced? Do a Glute Bridge with Rocks! This move allows you to use both sides to bridge up WHILE pausing to activate each side a little extra individually.
To do the Glute Bridge Rocks, set up like you are going to do the Basic Glute Bridge. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground. Your feet should be about hip-width apart and your knees should be in line with your feet and hips.
Bend your arms to 90 degrees and then drive through your arms, upper back and heels to bridge up. Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs to bridge up. Then slightly release the contraction in one glute and rock to bridge one hip up slightly higher. Really focus on contracting that glute. Release that side and rock your other hip slightly up to contract that glute harder. Keep your abs braced as you rock slightly and alternate contracting each glute a little bit extra at the top of the bridge.
Do not let your low back take over as you hold at the top and work to contract each glute a little bit extra. Also, do not let your hips sag down toward the ground. Alternate rocks until all reps are complete then lower down.
2. 3-Way Hip Circles:
Activation moves can not only activate but also MOBILIZE. And the 3-Way Hip Circles do just that – they activate your glutes as you open up your hips.
You will work your glute medius with the Fire Hydrant and your glute maximus with the Donkey Kick portion. And you will even activate your abs with a Knee Tuck! It’s the perfect move to build hip stability!
To do the 3-Way Hip Circles, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet.
Then, keeping your knee bent to about 90 degrees, kick one leg back like into a Donkey Kick. Hold there for a second. Make sure to keep your arms straight and squeeze your glutes as you extend your hip and drive your heel up toward the ceiling.
Then, keeping your knee bent, bring your leg up and out to the side into the Fire Hydrant position. Do not lower your leg down as you move from the Donkey Kick to the Fire Hydrant. Keep your foot flexed and knee bent to 90 degrees.
Without touching your knee down, then drive the knee forward and in toward your elbow. Feel your abs engage as you hold.
Repeat the circle, kicking your foot back to repeat.
3. Warrior III Squats:
Work on your balance, core stability, hip mobility AND glute activation with this Unilateral Activation Exercises – The Warrior III Squats. You’ll feel this move working from the ground up!
To do Warrior III Squats, set up in the Warrior III position. Start balancing on one leg then hinge over so that your chest is parallel to the ground. Reach your raised leg back toward the wall behind you as you keep your hips square to the ground and straighten your standing leg as much as you can. Then reach your hands overhead toward the wall in front of you or out to the sides or even back toward your feet.
From this Warrior III position, bend your standing leg to perform a small squat. Make sure to keep your raised leg up and reaching toward the wall behind you as you stay in that hinged over position as you squat. Do not start to stand up as you squat.
Straighten your standing leg back out and then repeat the small squat. The lower you squat as you maintain that Warrior III position, the harder the move will be. Also, the more you completely straighten your standing leg, the harder the move will be.
Complete all reps on one side before switching. Do not let your hips open up as you squat. Also, do not go forward onto your toes or round your back. The move doesn’t have to be super big to have benefit!
Ready to correct those imbalances with 15-minute booty burner workouts? Learn how here –>
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.
This is where unilateral activation comes into play.
