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7 Tips To Start Back in the Gym After a Layoff

7 Tips To Start Back in the Gym After a Layoff

by | Sep 29, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief, Workouts

Starting back to working out is HARD.

It’s easy to do too much too fast and prevent ourselves from getting into a routine or even end up injured.

It’s hard to regress to progress and even check our egos to do less than we were doing before.

But meeting ourselves where we are at to rebuild is key.

That’s why I want to share 7 tips to help you avoid the common training mistakes I see people making when starting back so you can rebuild even stronger and get that momentum going so results snowball!

And I will warn you…as you build back, it can be hard at times to not compare to where you were at before.

But this comparison can kill our gains.

Which is why tip number 1 is to remember every move is EARNED!

It’s tempting to try to go back to what you once did before you took time off.

But that is a recipe for injury or at least soreness that may sideline you for weeks, holding you back from getting consistent.

You have to build back. You have to earn those moves again.

And often it isn’t enough to just think “do less.”

You truly need to focus on modifying to match where you are at now.

It may mean taking more than one or two steps back to focus on fully re-establishing those movement patterns and that mind-body connection.

So when you first start back, go back to those basics. 

Focus on what you feel working with fundamental moves you can then build off of.

Even film your movements to check form.

Take pride in earning those exercises and weights back with slow progression.

But enjoy re-learning to move well first.

And note…I said SLOW progression with earning those moves.

A common mistake we make when building back is not only not having earned the moves we include and simply doing what we’d done before…

But also doing too much too fast.

We go 0-60. 

We jump off the couch and expect to be back to running half marathons right away.

Instead we need to take the approach of doing just enough that we CRAVE more and feel we could have done more.

This will help us ultimately not make ourselves so sore we can’t be consistent or compensate due to fatigue so we end up with injury.

We have to remember that everything is sort of NEW again.

And that new again can make us sore.

Being too sore can stop us from doing our weekly workouts as they are laid out, which can make it hard to build that routine and momentum.

Not to mention, being sore can change our recruitment patterns, impacting how muscles engage in other moves.

This can lead to us not getting the most out of our workouts or ending up injured so we’re starting over again.

So remember less is more starting back. Do just enough that you’re craving doing more but DON’T until you have a few weeks under your belt!

And make those progressions in moves incremental, tracking them over the weeks!

Which leads me to tip #3…Don’t jump to adding weights first.

Adding weights or using a form of resistance is the easiest way to progress a move often.

So our first thought as we build back is to simply load moves down.

And if we can do a weight, we add more!

But just because you can lift a weight doesn’t mean your body is truly ready to.

While you may be strong enough, we have to remember that our connective tissues aren’t as fast to heal and build.

So not only do you want to take your time and slowly add loads to give your body fully time to catch back up, but you may want to start with other forms of progression first.

Progression or advancement in moves can be achieved through the same but different!

Consider first increasing your range of motion for a movement. This can help you build mobility and stability as you progress.

Or work up toward the top of your rep range over hitting the bottom to create that strength but also muscular endurance.

Even consider adjusting the tempo of the move, speeding moves up to work on your mind-body connection and fast recruitment patterns and even power or slowing moves down to focus more on strength and control.

But don’t just jump to adding weights.

Too often we do this and then ego even starts to get in the way pushing us to do more than we’ve earned!

Then tip #4: Focus on what you feel working! Don’t just rush through!

Establishing that mind-body conenction to make sure we’re moving WELL is key.

We’re laying that foundation off of which we will build our future training.

This is an opportunity to make sure this foundation is extra strong.

Not to mention, the better we are able to activate muscles, the stronger and more powerful we will be.

This focus on muscle activation will also help us ultimately see better muscle gains more quickly!

So as you start back, stay intentional with the moves. Ask yourself, “What do I feel working?” doing each exercise.

Don’t just go through the motions. Just don’t rush through.

And if you don’t feel the correct muscles working, modify the movement. Swap in a different variation. Regress to progress.

Even assess if other mobility work, especially in your warm up is key to help you get the correct muscles working, especially ones that may be underactive from previous injuries or your desk job posture.

Which is why tip #5 is to prioritize your warm up.

Too often we want to skip our warm ups  to get to the “good stuff.”

We focus just on the calorie burn and muscle building benefits.

But our training sessions are a time to learn to move well and even address postural distortions we have from previous injuries and our desk job postures.

Especially when we’re just starting back, we want to build that strong foundation.

We don’t want to ignore cracks that will only add up more and more as we progress.

So especially as you’re starting back, prioritize that mobility work and get in the habit of a warm up that focuses on foam rolling, stretching and activation.

You want to foam roll to relax tight muscles and start to mobilize your joints. Foam rolling can even help you disrupt that mind-body connection to muscles that tend to want to take over when they shouldn’t, like your hamstrings for your glutes in bridges.

You then want to include dynamic stretching to further mobilize your joints and improve your muscle flexibility, stretching out tight muscles.

This dynamic stretching also begins to activate underactive muscles before you finish your warm up with activation exercises.

These activation moves isolate muscles to help you really feel them working.

This mind-body connection then allows you to better activate these muscles in the compound exercises you use in your workout. 

Like say for instance doing a fire hydrant in your warm up to activate your glutes before then having reverse lunges in your workout. You’ll be surprised by how much more you really feel your glutes working and see better muscle and strength gains faster because of it!

But your mobility work doesn’t stop at your warm up.

Not only do you want to then include moves to strengthen through a full range of motion, but you also want to make sure your workouts include exercises that move you in every direction!

Often when we start back we include those fundamental movement patterns which are key, but we also get stuck moving in really only one plan of motion.

This ultimately can fight against us truly improving our mobility and stability but also hold us back from becoming functionally more fit and building muscle as quickly as possible.

The more directions we press and lunge and pull in, the more we are hitting every aspect of a muscle group and really using a joint through a full range of motion.

And sometimes these simple tweaks in posture and direction can make a basic move harder.

You may find by including a side lunge, you feel your glutes and adductors more while improving your hip stability…all while even using lighter loads than maybe you could for something like a reverse lunge.

With a focus on moving in different directions we will also improve our core strength, including rotational and anti-rotational moves.

All of this is key to building back more quickly while creating that solid foundation from the get go!

It can also allow us to challenge ourselves with less volume and loads to truly address any weak links we may have!

And with all of this…tip #7…Stay consistent!

It is tempting when starting back to get distracted by all of the options out there and to want to try all of the different moves and tools.

Don’t.

Stay focused on your goals. Have a clear plan in place.

Avoid jumping around too much as this can lead to injury and results not building…not to mention you constantly feeling sore and like you aren’t progressing!

While you don’t want to repeat the same moves every single day, you do want to have a weekly schedule you repeat for even 3-8 weeks straight.

This will help you slowly progress moves week over week and be able to track your progress.

You will also find your body adapts more quickly so you can ultimately see changes faster.

We have to remember that we get good at what we consistently do…and this applies to our training and movements too!

So if you’re starting back to training, focus on meeting yourself where you are at, progressing moves with intention and purpose while following a clear plan that keeps you consistent and earning every move you do!

For more workouts designed to help you rock those results no matter your fitness level, check out my Dynamic Strength program…

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15 Years Of NO BS Fitness Advice (In Under 15 Minutes)

15 Years Of NO BS Fitness Advice (In Under 15 Minutes)

by | Sep 22, 2024 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Pain Relief, Workouts

I’m going to give it to you straight. 15 tips from about 15 years in the industry in under 15 minutes. Good thing I talk fast.

Tips that not only worked for me but I’ve seen work for people around the world to help YOU rock those results no matter your age.

So to not waste any time, Tip #1 and one of the most important keys to results…

Don’t Quit.

We most often don’t see results build because we never stick with anything long enough.

We give up at the first FEELING that something isn’t working…

That results aren’t happening fast enough.

And we jump to something new.

This constant jumping from thing to thing never lets us get GOOD at anything or be consistent enough with it for true changes to snowball.

Results are built off of those basic, boring habits repeated daily over not only weeks, but months and years.

But not quitting and trusting the process is hard, which is why Tip #2 is…

What gets measured gets managed.

If you want to bake a cookie and make sure it turns out, you follow a recipe.

This clear plan with everything tracked and measured, helps you guarantee a result.

If you randomly just throw things in a bowl, you won’t know why the cookies didn’t turn out or why they were the best gooey deliciousness ever.

Same principle applies to our health and fitness goals.

If we have that clear recipe and measure out everything, we can help ourselves make sure we’re working toward a focused outcome and more easily ADJUST if something goes wrong.

When we have that clear picture of what we’re doing, we don’t have to feel frustrated or like we are guessing at what works.

We also give ourselves true DATA off of which to make changes so we can trust the process more and not let feelings that sabotage us make us want to quit.

But even embracing tracking, whether it is your food or workouts or ideally both, is a hard thing at times for us to accept.

Which is why Tip #3 isn’t just to track but to jump into the changes you least want to make as soon as you can!

Yup. The changes you least want to make are the ones you probably need to make the most.

One of the most important things I harp on is increasing protein.

Guess what change most of us don’t want to make, researching even reasons why we shouldn’t increase it?

But also guess what changewe most often INSTANTLY see progress from and wonder why we didn’t make it sooner?

You guessed it…increasing protein.

Change requires change.

And the changes we least want to make are the ones that are often the hardest, most uncomfortable or furthest from our comfort zone.

But they are also often what is needed to reach a goal we haven’t achieved before and bust us out of the yo-yo dieting cycle.

So if you’ve been fighting a change, pause, ask yourself why, and then embrace an experiment where you track and see the true outcome!

It may surprise you!

And while embracing discomfort is part of achieving results, we can also sabotage ourselves with the “No pain, no gain” mindset!

Which is why Tip #4 is to ditch the all or nothing, work harder, no pain, no gain attitude.

This attitude keeps us stuck expecting perfection of ourselves, doing more and more until…well…

We ultimately run out of willpower, get injured and fall back into old habits.

We’re human and flawesome.

And when we make changes too hard on ourselves, we’re often just making our excuses grow too.

It’s Newton’s Third Law of Motion that says, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Keep trying to do more, and you’re going to get a push back against the changes equally as strong.

And the harder we work, the more we do, the more we EXPECT an outcome…when in reality we can’t out exercise or out diet time.

So ultimately we just make ourselves give up in frustration.

Instead we need to focus on small changes that build and that make change seem DOABLE.

Which is actually why Tip #5 is to stop the eat clean pressure.

There is no official definition of clean eating and trust me, no one agrees.

Vegans and Carnivores have vastly different opinions.

And trying to hit someone else’s arbitrary standards of clean can make you feel like you can’t even eat air.

It can make us feel guilty for enjoying food and even make us feel like it’s impossible to even make a change that will pay off.

But we can and should include foods we simply LOVE.

We just need to strike an 80/20 balance.

80% of the time focus on those whole natural foods. 20% include just foods you love with NO guilt.

This will allow you to create a sustainable lifestyle and truly build consistent habit changes that do snowball over leaving you feeling restricted and deprived so you ultimately fall off any plan you start.

And with embracing your balance, don’t just include foods you love, truly PLAN around them, even planning them in first.

Tip #6 is the secret that led to me ultimately finally achieving the body recomp I wanted.

Planning in the foods I wanted first and focusing on nutrition by addition.

Often the things we love most are the things we cut out first. They are the things that don’t make that “eat clean” list.

They are also the things we add back in as soon as we can, which lead to us ending up back where we started.

Basically we’re repeating a cycle of restriction we can never maintain.

And you can’t do one thing to reach your goal then go back to what you were doing before and expect to maintain your results.

Plus the second you tell yourself you can’t have something, you want it even more!

Instead, plan in the dessert you want, that snack you love, FIRST to your day and work your other meals around it.

Start by making small changes to your diet, adding in more veggies or protein or something you know is beneficial.

This focus on small changes that feel easy often is just what we need to lower our defenses against more changes and see the momentum build.

However, in including foods you love, this doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want in any quantity you want.

Which is why Tip #7 is to recognize your trigger foods.

No foods have to be off limits. But there are foods we will CHOOSE to include or not include.

We need to recognize those foods we can’t consume in moderation that only lead to us falling back into old patterns.

I know I can have just one peanut butter protein ball, but I know I can’t have just one Reese’s peanut butter cup.

I own this fact and include the protein ball on a regular basis but the peanut butter cup only when I’m ok with having more than 1..or like 10.

And if I do have peanut butter cups around and don’t want to eat them, I put them in the freezer.

For me, this shifts my mindset to be ok with waiting to have more.

While this is odd because technically they taste even more delicious frozen, this freezing of them helps me feel like they’ll be there when I want them in the future.

It’s the shift in environment and mindset.

For you this shift may come from not having the food in the house, or putting it into single serving bags so you can only easily eat one serving or even hiding it on a higher shelf.

The key is I recognize the foods I can work in and those I can’t to then determine a balance and even environment right for me and my goals at this time.

So CHOOSE to include foods you love but also understand the foods that may not fit your goals right now and find ways to address that!

The more we own who we are and what has and hasn’t worked for us in the past with our diet and workouts, the more we can meet ourselves where we are at and create the perfect plan for ourselves right now to rock those results.

That’s why Tip #8 is to assess and address your schedule shifts.

I most often talk about assessing your schedule when it comes to designing your workout, but you want to also assess your schedule to make dietary changes as well.

Not only in terms of determining how you meal prep and the meal timing best for you but also in how you handle WEEKEND EATING!

Too often we don’t see results and think, “But I was good all week!”

It’s that weekend eating that gets us. It changes our macros for the week and can easily throw us out of our deficit.

Some of us even recognize how hard it is to eat well over the weekend, but then we never really address that fact.

We force weekday habits on weekends that just aren’t the same.

Instead we need to own that often habits and schedules DO change over Friday, Saturday and Sunday and we need to PLAN for that.

That we do enjoy happy hour or are at home more lazing on the couch!

So instead of a strict macro ratio, maybe we just set a calorie cap and protein minimum.

Maybe we plan in restaurant dishes or cocktails to hold ourselves accountable but have a bit more food freedom on the weekend with boundaries.

The key is assessing why the same habits don’t work over the weekend and finding ways to address the changes in schedule and even routines to work with them instead of trying to willpower your way against them!

So many of these tips are about shifting the mindsets controlling our actions.

And Tip #9 addresses a hard mindset to often change but one that is so key for us seeing better results from our training….

We need to stop seeking to be sore.

Soreness is not an indicator you worked hard enough or you’re going to see better muscle gains.

I know it can feel satisfying and some of us sickly like it….

But honestly, it is really often a sign we don’t have a clear program in place that we’re strategically progressing or that our recovery and fueling isn’t ideal.

And constantly seeking to be sore may be why we feel like we’re working really hard yet not seeing progress.

Instead everything we include in our workouts should be designed with a purpose and repeated to progress.

But just because a clear progression or weekly schedule we repeat is key, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include diversity.

Actually diversity of movement is ESSENTIAL and that’s why it is Tip #10….

Exercise diversity helps us see better results faster.

Diversity of movements done over the weekly schedule can help us create progression through the same but different and target different aspects of muscles to different extents.

We can diversify the moves we use through different types of resistances…

Through adding instability, whether an unstable surface or even by making a move more unilateral, such as an 80/20 deadlift or single leg deadlift over a bilateral one.

Or even through slightly different postures, positions or ranges of motion.

We also have to remember that different muscles in a muscle group may have different joints they impact and control movement of and therefore will be worked by different joint actions.

For example, if you want to make sure you hit your entire hamstring muscle group, you can’t just include a deadlift, which is a hip hinge.

You also need to include a knee flexion movement like a lying leg curl.

So over the weekly schedule you create, don’t just reuse the same moves. Think about including a diversity to target the same muscles in different ways!

And guess what? Some of these moves you may not like and they may feel awkward. GOOD!

Tip #11 is to do awkward moves you don’t like.

Those moves we don’t like, that feel awkward, are often also moves that address our weak links.

They often improve our balance, stability and our mind-body connection so we ultimately get stronger, can run faster and see better muscle gains.

They are the moves that test our coordination. That make us check our egos with loads.

They keep us young and able to react quickly in every day life while recruiting the correct muscles efficiently in the right order to perform those lifts we may want to beast mode out.

So stop skipping them! They truly are the key to being functionally stronger and often even lifting more with our big heavy lifts.

And not only should you stop skipping these awkward moves, you need to stop skipping your warm up.

Yup Tip #12 is the oh so unsexy tip of – Don’t skip your warm up.

Feel like you’re getting older and just have to accept aches and pains?

You don’t. You just have to stop trying to get away with skipping your prehab work and warm up.

Honestly, this is something we shouldn’t have tried to get away with skipping in the first place and the fact that we did is why more aches and pains add up as we get older.

But we can change that by including a proper warm up now.

A proper warm up makes sure our muscles and joints are ready to work through a full range of motion from the first rep we do with weights.

Our warm up isn’t us wasting time before we get to the good stuff. It is what helps us get results from all the hard work we put in.

If you want to lift more, run faster, cycle further, a proper warm up with foam rolling, stretching and activation is what will help you do just that.

And I know this sucks to hear…I know a lot of what I’ve mentioned goes against some of what you’ve done in the past, but…

You can’t expect to see a new and better result doing what you’ve always done.

That’s why Tip #13 is to embrace being uncomfortable.

Stop fearing something different.

That different thing you’re resisting is probably what you need to get to a new goal.

Because if what you’ve always done worked, you’d have achieved results already.

But we have to step outside our comfort zone and risk being bad at something to learn and grow.

Don’t hold yourself back sticking with what you just feel comfortable with. Build off of that.

Now that being said, you also have to recognize that the more changes you make at once, the more of a cost you’ll feel before the reward.

That’s why I like clients to embrace being uncomfortable but also avoid the all or nothing attitude.

It’s why Tip #14 is to evolve YOUR lifestyle.

Meet yourself where you’re at to build small changes off of that and slowly push your comfort zone.

Because one size doesn’t fit all and there is no perfect plan.

Even what used to work for us will change as WE are constantly changing.

Your lifestyle, body and needs are not the same now as they were years ago.

Not to mention even our schedule shifts over the year as well as our priorities, impacting the habits that are actually realistic for us now.

That’s why we always need to assess where we are currently first to move forward.

When you set that GPS to get you to a new location, you don’t just enter your destination…

You enter your current location. We need that same starting point to map out our roadmap to results.

Which brings me to the boring but essential 15th tip…Plan ahead.

We wouldn’t just get in a car and drive around aimlessly hoping to get to our destination, yet that’s what we so often do with our fitness goals.

We say what we want then just start doing random moves and diets.

Without a plan, we have no direction.

We have no process we can trust.

And we don’t know what is and isn’t working.

So ultimately we get no where.

Failing to plan is planning to fail…cliche and oh so true.

Don’t repeat the same mistakes. Use these tips and plan our your program to achieve your goals. Which 1 tip will you focus on first?

Ready to build your leanest, strongest body EVER no matter your age?

Learn more about my 1:1 Online Coaching!

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How to Fix Muscle Imbalances (5 Tips!)

How to Fix Muscle Imbalances (5 Tips!)

by | Sep 15, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

We are human…we’ll never be perfectly symmetrical or balanced.

But that doesn’t mean we should ignore strength or mobility imbalances between each side.

Because imbalances are often worse than inflexibility overall when it comes to putting us at risk for aches and pains.

When we have a big difference in strength or mobility between each side, we will compensate to allow that weaker side to keep up.

We will seek out ways to achieve the range of motion we are asking our body to do even if only one side can truly do it.

And we will CHEAT to mimic a proper looking movement and proper form.

This creates overload of other muscles and joints to try and help out when they really shouldn’t be working in that way.

And it can end with either our weaker or our stronger side becoming injured.

That’s why I first want to dive into why addressing imbalances is so key a bit more and then go over how you can address these imbalances to improve your overall strength and mobility to avoid aches and pains!

So Why Is Addressing Your Imbalances So Key?

Because our body takes the path of least resistance to perform the movement we are asking it to do and will find a way to squat or twist or push, using whatever mobility and strength it can find easily.

This can mean using muscles not meant to carry the load they are asked to carry or joints trying to provide a range of motion they really aren’t capable of.

Constantly feel your lower back or knee is sore one side after you squat?

This may be because muscles or joints are being asked to carry a load they aren’t meant to, or able to, carry to perform those barbell back squats you’re doing!

And because we are asking areas of our body to work more than they should, they can become overloaded.

We can see this happen on both our weaker or even our stronger side. It’s why we can’t always just assume a muscle is weak and in need of strengthening when it is injured.

If you have one leg that is stronger, you may find you shift in that squat to that stronger side to try to help move a weight your weaker side really can’t lift.

This can lead to you overworking that stronger side and muscle not meant to work as much working extra.

If you do see yourself shifting with your squat, you may “force” yourself not to. This may mean your weaker side calls on muscles it shouldn’t to try to find the strength to keep up.

This can lead to injury on that side too.

This is why if you’ve constantly felt like you’re getting injured trying to go up in weight on your squat or deadlift or bench press or row or even bodyweight moves like the push up or pull up, it may be time to assess if you have a mobility issue or strength issue on one side causing you to overload other areas!

What Should You Do To Address Imbalances?

And this brings me to one of the most important things to include to address imbalances, unilateral moves.

While I will touch on the prehab and mobility components that are key to include in your warm up, and the fact that an imbalance may mean imbalance prehab work (aka doing moves only one side), I think something we so often shy away from in our workouts is those one-sided or unilateral moves.

But they are truly essential.

When you do unilateral moves, the stronger side can’t compensate or take over.

And the weaker side can’t try to cheat to keep up as easily.

Both have to work independently so you can really feel and see those weak links to address.

These moves also work on our stability and often strengthening through a full range of motion which really pays off and helps us avoid injury.

Not to mention, they force us often to ditch the ego and go lighter with the loads as they are awkward and coordination challenges often to start.

So if you have an imbalance, start to focus more on those unilateral moves so you can address each side independently.

But also recognize that some fully unilateral moves are harder than we give them credit for.

That’s why on things like the Single Leg Deadlift, you may need an 80/20 variation or a support to start so you can truly focus on each side working!

With those unilateral moves, you may find one side can’t do as much as the other side or can’t do as much weight or as hard a variation for the same amount of reps.

And you don’t want to just advance your stronger side while leaving your weaker side doing lighter loads. This will only perpetuate the issue.

But you also can’t let your form slide and not pay attention to what you feel working, and force your weaker side to do more than it can truly handle.

This is where you will have to use either Rest-Pause Technique or hold back your stronger side in your workouts…Maybe even using a combination of both at times.

Rest-pause technique is great when your weaker side can do a variation or weight that your stronger side can do BUT not for the same volume or number of reps.

With rest-pause technique, you’ll do the reps on your stronger side, say you do 10. You’ll then move to your weaker side and do the reps you can do properly, say that’s 6. You’ll then pause for 15-20 seconds and do more reps to complete the 10.

If you need to even do 2 reps, pause again and complete 2 more that’s fine. By keeping the rest so short though to perform the same volume as your stronger side, you will bring up your weaker side.

However, if your weaker side can’t do the same load or variation as your stronger side, you will need to modify the move to a variation you can perform correctly, holding back that stronger side for a bit.

With holding that side back, you will even want to potentially END your workout with some extra work for that weaker side. Just make sure you are tacking on this extra work at the end of your rounds so you don’t fatigue your weaker side more during it.

It can feel weird doing more for one side, but when we have an imbalance, we may need to do imbalance work to correct it.

We just want to make sure the work we do isn’t perpetuating the issues, strengthening the stronger side further.

And this is why in our warm ups and prehab work we want to make sure we’re addressing the underlying issues, even doing foam rolling, stretching or activation moves only on one side or even more on one side.

To address imbalances we want to use foam rolling to relax overactive and tight muscles, muscles that limit joint range of motion and even tend to want to take over.

We then want to stretch, especially dynamic stretching, to mobilize joints. Although you may find that if you have a big imbalance the occasional static stretch is needed at times.

While static stretching has been demonized in warm ups because it can have an impact on strength and power, these static stretches can be super beneficial for your flexibility and mobility and may be needed to first address the imbalances you have to allow you to lift more.

You then want to include activation work to activate underactive muscles. Any muscles that are weaker and struggle to engage especially will be the focus of your activation work.

You may find you only do glute activation for example on one side if one side is weaker.

It’s key to note though you don’t want to do so much activation work that you fatigue the muscle. You are just trying to create that mind-body connection and feel it start to work so you are better able to use it when you lift!

But this work prior helps prime your body to move well BEFORE you then go into your unilaterally focused lifting sessions.

These small tweaks to your routine and the addition of unilateral moves to your workout with either rest pause technique or holding back that stronger side can help you alleviate those aches and pains you often see building as you’re even able to do harder moves and lift heavier loads!

So don’t ignore if one side is weaker or less mobile! Work on it and see your results improve!

Working to improve your mobility and strength? Check out my Dynamic Strength program!

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The Most Underrated Hip Mobility Exercise (Not Stretching)

The Most Underrated Hip Mobility Exercise (Not Stretching)

by | Aug 18, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

If you’re frustrated not seeing your mobility and flexibility improve, it’s time to not just focus on your prehab and warm up but also how you’re truly using the moves in your workouts.

Because so often we do all of this work to try to have our joints be able to move in every direction as our muscles can stretch further…

Only to then go strengthen through a limited range of motion in our workouts.

We do half squats.

We don’t lunge all the way down.

And all this does is cause us to tighten back up because we are only strengthening muscles and building stability through a very limited range of motion.

We are training muscles to be shortened. Not to mention a huge part of what allows for greater joint mobility is a joint feeling STABLE through the range of motion.

And stability is muscles being able to power and control the full range of motion.

So if we are lifting in a way that isn’t working a joint through the range of motion we’re building, like our hips, we’re just going to end up frustrated feeling like we’re wasting time on prehab to just have our hips be constantly tight.

And increasing the range of motion you do your lifts through isn’t just going to pay off for mobility purposes….

There is amazing research showing that by putting a muscle under greater stretch with loads, we may see better muscle and strength gains faster.

That’s why one of the most important components of mobility you need to stop ignoring is your range of motion in your lifting sessions!

And this is why I want to share one of my favorite lunge variations for functional strong hips.

The bonus too of doing increased range of motion exercises like this lunge is that they will pay off in better strength gains, progressing moves without adding loads or fancy equipment.

You may even find you have to go lighter than you normally would by just adding a few more inches you’re working through!

Changing the range of motion can make exercises harder, changing postures, muscle activation and even adding instability.

It’s progression through the same but different.

Now it is key to note that a “full range of motion” will vary person to person.

This doesn’t mean you should be trying to force ass to grass squats if you can’t keep your heels down and load the movement correctly.

We will each have different builds that will impact what full movements are right for us.

It is though why you may want to check your ego at times, lower the weights and focus on instead increasing the range of motion you are working through.

It’s why you may want to swap in a single leg squat even to a lower box over your normal heavy back squat.

That focus on a unilateral move through a bigger range of motion can help you see huge improvements in your mobility and even your heavy lifts!

It’s also why performing a balance lunge or bulgarian split squat with your back foot raised can help you make the move harder while helping you better build and maintain the mobility you’re working hard for.

But if you’re going to use a tool that increases the range of motion, and often adds instability as well, you actually need to move through that now larger movement and fully control it.

Too often we do balance lunges and don’t drop our knee to the ground. We don’t use the range of motion we’ve added.

So while having our back foot up may have added instability, we aren’t really getting the full benefit. We aren’t strengthening the hip mobility and flexibility we built in our warm up.

It’s why we need to find ways to slowly increase the range of motion and work through it.

It’s why I wanted to share one of my favorite balance lunge alternatives to focus on improving hip mobility and stability – The Deficit Split Squat.

This is a very quad intensive move and often really gets you feeling that rectus femoris, or the only quad muscle that connects at both your hips and knee.

But it is a great way to take that split squat up a notch when you can complete the full range of motion from the ground.

Because moves like the split squat are basically hip stretches. Ones we just load down to strengthen muscles.

And the Deficit Split Squat is deceptively hard. So start with adding only a very small rise under your front foot.

This rise under your front foot over your back one, is a great way to work on your ankle and hip mobility in a very quad focused way.

It is also often easier for us to control and control without adding in a hip hinge.

Often with the balance lunge, we struggle to go as low and tend to include a bit more glute loading, hinging slightly at the hips.

While not bad, it does prevent us from training that hip extended position.

That’s where the Deficit Split Squat can be key.

Raising that front foot will help you focus on that back hip being extended as you sink deeper than you would if you were just lunging to the ground, putting those hip flexors under stretch.

And you’ll also find yourself loading your quads and feel that ankle mobility of your front leg being trained and tested as you keep that heel down.

You want to sink straight down not shift forward or backward.

When you stand up, you’ll also find your front leg stays slightly bent. This extra time under tension only serves to make your legs work harder.

This is why sometimes not just thinking about adding weight to moves can be so key to us seeing better results while progressing exercises to challenge ourselves.

As you can control the range of motion, you may add more of a rise or add weights. Sometimes if you can’t yet work through a slightly bigger range of motion, loads can be key!

But focus on that control through that full range of motion as you slowly build it up.

So instead of trying to add in more and more mobility work, swap in the Deficit Split Squat for your normal split squat or front lunge and see your mobility work finally paying off!

And if this range of motion is too much for you and you want to build up from where you’re starting from, you can use these same principles but in the opposite way.

If you can’t sink more than an inch or two in a split squat, give yourself a block to kneel down to as a guide to go lower.

Use a slight balance element to help assist you.

And for all of these variations, consider starting bottom up to make sure you’re set up in a range of motion you can control without momentum.

But don’t just excuse partial ranges of motion and then complain you’re not seeing flexibility and mobility improvements!

Strengthen through that full range of motion!

For more workout and nutrition tips, subscribe to my YouTube:

–> Redefining Strength On YouTube

 

10 Mobility Lessons I Wish I Knew Sooner

10 Mobility Lessons I Wish I Knew Sooner

by | May 5, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Foam Rolling, Functional Fitness, Pain Relief

I’ve made a TON of mistakes.

Made excuses to skip my warm ups that lead to overload and injury.

Slacked on my mobility work, which led to improper recruitment patterns and pain.

Ignored aches and pains until it was too late and I couldn’t train the way I wanted…

I’ve learned far too many lessons the hard way…

But I want to help you avoid the same frustrations and pain…

That’s why I’m going to share 10 key mobility lessons I’ve learned to help you avoid making the same mistakes and move and feel your best no matter your age!

Because so often what we even blame on our age is simply previous aches and pains and training practices coming back to bite us in the butt!

Sooo the first mobility lesson I wish I’d known sooner was…

#1: It’s Not Just About Form.

I’d always prided myself on having good form. 

But good form doesn’t mean you’re always using the correct muscles.

Actually mimicking proper form may be leading to you overusing muscles not meant to carry the load and seeking out mobility from joints that aren’t really meant to provide that range of motion.

The more advanced we are too, the more we know how a move SHOULD look so we force that movement pattern, using whatever is needed.

And this can result in overload and injury just as much, if not sometimes even MORE than improper form. 

Because we’re forcing a movement we can’t actually perform properly!

So focus not just on form and how the movement looks but your recruitment pattern and what you feel working!

If you can’t feel the correct muscles working, you haven’t earned that movement.

Instead you need to regress to then build up or you need to swap to a different variation you can perform properly as you address the underlying mobility restrictions and muscle weakness! 

#2: The Point Of “Pain” Isn’t Always Where The Problem Started.

When we end up with a shoulder injury, we blame our shoulder. 

Back pain, we blame our back. Often we even think, “Oh this area is injured because it was weak.” And then we overwork the muscle further trying to rehab it. 

But this only perpetuates the issue.

Because often injury occurs due to overload.

Our back becomes overworked because our glutes or abs are weak or not being used efficiently during movements.

Or a lack of thoracic extension leads to us seeking out mobility and stability from our shoulder during the overhead press that it isn’t meant or able to provide. 

Issues elsewhere lead to the injuries.

Often where the pain is isn’t where the problem started.

And this is why, when we are addressing aches and pains we can’t get so focused on the aches and pains only.

We need to assess movements and how joints and muscles are working together.

Because limitations in mobility or instability at one joint, say your ankles, can impact your movements all the way up your body, resulting in overload and injury.

That ankle injury from years ago, may now be why you have knee pain! 

This is also why resting a previous injury isn’t enough.

Which is actually the next big lesson I learned…

#3: Resting An Injury Doesn’t Make It Go Away.

When we have aches and pains or injuries, we first turn to rest to help the pain go away.

While resting an area can be a key first step in recovery, it doesn’t change why the overload occurred in the first place. 

So if you just take time off till something feels better then go back to training as you were, you may just end up injured again. 

You haven’t taken time to address where the mobility restriction was. Or what muscle was weak and led to overload.

You haven’t changed your form or your recruitment patterns. 

And if you don’t address what led to the injury and overload, often you’re just going to end up injured again from doing the same things.

Now you may be thinking, “But I’ll just avoid those movements.”

But this isn’t really a long-term solution.

So many of those movements we do in everyday life.

And at some point, that weakness or mobility issue is going to pop back up.

Instead of just resting, we need to take things back to basics and include the prehab work needed to truly address what added up in the first place.

This can help us from falling prey to this injury becoming chronic so we can consistently train the way we want to see results!

Which is why you need to see prehab as a 3-part process.

And this is lesson #4, which has been the biggest game changer for me so that I haven’t had another injury sideline me and I’ve been able to nip aches and pains before they add up…

#4: Prehab is a 3-Part process.

Addressing an ache or pain means not only relaxing overactive muscles, but improving your joint mobility and even activating underactive muscles to improve stability.

There are multiple components to making sure muscles are working as they should be and joints have the proper range of motion.

Not to mention, the longer we’ve potentially ignored an issue, the more that has built up as we’ve compensated.

It’s why the process of foam rolling, stretching and activation was the biggest game changer for me and I’ve seen it have the biggest impact on my clients functional fitness as well.

It’s why I even had a client say to me “I’m moving better now than I did in my 20s and 30s!”

None of these components alone have the same impact.

The system as a whole is what makes each part so effective.

The foam rolling helps relax overactive muscles we may even tend to overuse. 

The stretching, especially dynamic stretching used prior to a workout, helps mobilize our joints and return muscles to their proper length-tension relationships. 

The activation then continues to help mobilize joints, stretching muscles through a process called reciprocal inhibition as it works to activate underactive muscles. This activation helps improve our mind-body connection to better use these muscles to carry the loads they should when we train and move. 

This process works together to help address all components needed to avoid us perpetuating the overuse, overload and injury!

But even as game changing as this process really was for me and as much as I credit this with even helping me be able to lift more…

You can’t out mobility work your other movements.

Your workouts have to complement the mobility work you’re doing.

Lesson #5: Strengthen Through A Full Range Of Motion.

You’ve done that prehab work to be able to move through a full range of motion and use the correct muscles…

But if you don’t now do the work to actually strengthen the muscles through the range of motion you’ve prepped your body to be able to handle, you won’t maintain it.

If you lift and do half squats after working on your hip mobility, you’re going to only have stability and strength through that smaller range of motion. And you’re going to tighten things back up. 

So basically it’s going to feel like all of your mobility work isn’t adding up and is a waste.

But it isn’t.

Instead, you have to check your ego, and use lighter weights to move through the full range of motion you’ve established with the 3-part prehab process. 

But it’s key that we do adjust the range of motion of exercises to build strength through the range of motion we want!

Now…The next big lesson I learned was oddly a mindset shift….and something I think we too often just ignore…

And it has to do with IMBALANCES.

Every notice one side is weaker? Or that you have stronger muscles around a joint causing restrictions? 

#6: Well, Those Imbalances Are Worse Than Inflexibility.

Feel like the tin man over gumbi? 

Honestly just being inflexible, while something you may want to work on isn’t as bad as we often make it out to be.

If everything is tight, you’re at least EVEN in how you can move.

It’s less of an issue if you can’t touch your toes than if you can’t touch your toes but you can do the side splits. 

This imbalance of muscle flexibility around a joint can lead to overload and injury as you have more movement and potentially less stability in one plane of motion.

It’s why you may need to do imbalance prehab work to address the issues, relaxing only specific muscles while activating others.

It’s why you may need to pay attention to including movements in specific planes of motion and even working specific muscles more! 

And it’s not just discrepancies around a single joint that we need to pay attention to but imbalances between sides.

If one side is mobile and the other isn’t? If one side is stronger?

This can lead to overload of the stronger side when the weaker side can’t keep up. 

Or it can lead to the weaker side becoming overworked and muscles compensating as it tries to keep up with your dominant side.

Imbalances need to be addressed.

Whether it is holding back our stronger side, doing more reps using rest pause technique on the weaker side or even ONLY including unilateral moves so the stronger side can’t take over, we need to make sure we’re addressing those imbalances. 

#7: Flexibility And Mobility Depend On Stability.

Ever move a joint through a bigger range of motion and then go to lift and find you can’t really move through even half of what you had been able to do with your own bodyweight? 

This may be an issue with stability!

Far too often the emphasis is put on flexibility and mobility…

We talk about stretching and mobilizing joints to improve our range of motion and squat deeper or press overhead properly. 

But part of what allows a joint to move through that full range of motion as we correctly recruit muscles to power the movement is STABILITY.

If a joint doesn’t feel stable, your mind is going to restrict the range of motion you can work through.

So if muscles aren’t strong enough, the joint movement may be limited or your active flexibility may seem a lot smaller than what you’re able to do in a static or passive position.

And too often we ignore this signal and push through with heavier loads anyway.

This is then what leads to aches and pains and us seeking out strength from muscles not meant to carry the load or a range of motion from a joint not meant to provide it.

This is why that activation component or even some lighter load work and isometrics…the stuff that doesn’t seem as sexy or hard, may be so key! 

We also don’t want to ignore this instability because it may hint that we actually aren’t properly addressing muscle tightness as well…

#8: A Tight Muscle Doesn’t Always Need To Be Stretch.

Pull a rubber band and stretch it out and it’s going to feel tight.

Decide to stretch it further because it feels tight and you’re going to snap it.

Muscles don’t just feel tight when they’re shorten.

They can also feel tight because they are overstretched.

This is why paying attention to joint stability and even lesson number 2 (that the point of pain isn’t always where the problem is) is so key.

Everything is connected.

So we need to assess overall postures and movements to really see what is going on over just honing in and looking at a muscle in isolation at times.

Our hamstrings are a prime example of this.

Too often they are tight from being overstretched due to tight hip flexors from sitting so much. 

This daily posture can make us feel like we need to stretch our hamstrings, when actually it is our hip flexors that are shortened and in need of stretching.

And due to them being overly lengthened and this overall posture, our hamstrings may also be overworked.

This can create instability at our hip and even our knee, leading to more issues and not just putting our hamstrings at risk for being pulled.

And if we were to just say “My hamstrings feel tight” and stretch them more?

We may even be making matters worse.

It’s why we need to truly look at how muscles and joints function together and our overall movement and recruitment patterns.

Too often we don’t ask ourselves, “What do I feel working?” 

Because if we did, we may notice our hamstrings compensating in moves for our glutes only further perpetuating the feeling of tightness!

And if you’re thinking, “But I don’t have time to address all these things…”

#9: 5-Minutes Is All You Need.

So often we don’t do anything because we feel we can’t do enough.

But if we can just commit to 5 minutes a day of mobility work and do that daily, that time will not only add up but the daily consistency will help results build. 

This is why you need to stop skipping your warm up! 

Which is actually what I was originally going to call this lesson.

But even when it relates to your warm up, you don’t need 15 minutes or a ton of time to prep your body.

That prehab process can be used efficiently to mobilize and activate what you plan to work that day!

Doing a little each day to grease the wheel pays off over letting things add up so you have to peel back each layer that’s built up.

So stop stressing about doing full recovery sessions more frequently even. Just focus on 5 minutes, even if that 5 minutes is an intentional warm up that you don’t skip! 

You’ll be surprised by how even that warm up helps you move better in your workouts to get more out of each session and strengthen through that full range of motion to actually make your mobility work add up even more! 

Which leads me to biggest and most important lesson of all…

#10: Rehab becomes Prehab.

Let’s face it…many of us have had aches and pains and injuries in the past.

Things that are “better” now…

So we get lazy about continuing to work on our areas of weakness. And then when we least expect it, aches and pains rear their ugly heads. 

This leads to us feeling frustrated that we can’t ever fully seem to get momentum with things.

But this is why rehab becomes prehab.

What we did to make things “better” needs to be done proactively to keep things working well.

Otherwise we default back into old recruitment and movement patterns. 

So instead of having to spend a ton of time being reactive or not training the way we want, keep in that mobility work as part of your warm up.

And if you do notice things popping up, don’t be afraid to step back and address those weak links.

Honestly, with all of these lessons, it’s really about being aware and being intentional in our training so we can address things before they really add up!

The more aware we are of how our body is feeling and our movements, the more we can modify and progress as we need to keep training consistently while feeling and moving our best!

Ready for workouts that have the prehab work done for you?

–> Check out Dynamic Strength

 

The Limits of Age and Exercise (Control What You Can Control)

The Limits of Age and Exercise (Control What You Can Control)

by | Dec 18, 2023 | Blog, Diet, Exercises, Pain Relief

“I feel like I’m moving better than I did in my 20s and 30s!”

Want to know what led to my client saying this?

In this video I’ll go over not only the workout adjustments but also nutritional changes we made to help her feel her most fabulous.

Because we need to stop just blaming our age and ACCEPTING pain!

The simple fact is…you can’t change your age. You can’t stop getting older.

And yes, there are changes to our body as we get older.

But so often we just write off those changes as out of our control when so often there are lifestyle factors we can CHANGE that do have an impact.

Yes, as we get older, our recovery times change.

Aches and pains have had more time to accumulate…especially as often we haven’t truly taken care to rebuild from previous injuries.

Even the hormonal changes of perimenopause and menopause can lead to increased inflammation making our joints achier.

But through adjustments to our training and nutrition, we can reduce the aches and pains and even feel like we move better than ever!

That’s why in this video I want to go over controlling what you can control and adjusting your lifestyle to move your best at any age!

Let’s start with adjusting our workout routines. 

I wanted to outline the 2 key things I implement with clients in their workouts that have led to many saying…

“I feel better than I did in my 20s and 30s!”

First, We Include That Prehab Process Every Warm Up

Injuries…Daily postures… Daily posture

They can change our mobility and flexibility. They can change our recruitment patterns or how we use muscles to perform movements.

And so often, even when we’ve done rehab for previous problems, we STOP doing what made us better. 

This leads to us defaulting back into incorrect movement and recruitment patterns and can lead to aches and pains again adding up.

And while we may have “gotten away with this” when we were younger, it is also why aches and pains are adding up more now!

We start overusing muscles and joints not meant to carry the load. It’s why we may feel like lunges or squats only constantly hurt our knees!

That’s why that full 3-part prehab process of foam rolling, stretching and activation in every warm up is so key. 

It addresses any mobility, flexibility or stability issues we have, and preps our body to work that day.

And it’s key we use the system as a whole. Too often we pull out parts of things we “like,” and then are surprised when the benefits aren’t there.

But this process works because of all 3 components together and in that order!

Before you workout, foam roll tight and overactive muscles that may impact your workout or hinder you from performing moves fully. 

This then will help you better mobilize your joints with the stretches.

So if you’ve had hip pain and struggle to engage your glutes or squat deeply, you may roll out a hip flexor and quad muscle that is tight like the rectus femoris. 

Then include dynamic stretches to warm up your body and mobilize your joints. 

As you do these stretches, focus on the opposing muscle group engaging to drive the stretch.

To stretch out your chest in suspension trainer snow angels, focus on engaging your back to feel that stretch more.

Finally include activation moves that isolate muscles that are weaker or that you struggle to use correctly.

If you’ve had hip issues or lower back pain, you may focus on things like single leg reverse hypers or lying lateral raises to really target those glutes and engage them. 

But this prep work in your warm up, and even the rolling and stretching in your cool down, will help you not only move better in your workouts to get more out of those sessions but also recover better for the next workout!

However, we can’t just do our mobility work then rush through our workouts if we want to avoid aches and pains.

That’s why the second thing I focus on with clients is…

Seeing Every Movement As An Assessment! 

Every rep of an exercise is you practicing that movement.

If those reps are rushed and we aren’t focus on the quality of our movement, we aren’t going to get the full benefit of those exercises and may even end up injuring ourselves.

And if you’re thinking, “My form is great! I’m experienced with these moves.”

“Good form” doesn’t mean you aren’t cheating.

Often the more advanced an exerciser we are, the more we can cheat and overuse muscles or seek out mobility from other joints to mimic a movement.

We know what it SHOULD look like and our body is good at replicating what we want even if it means overloading muscles that shouldn’t be carrying the load.

It’s why you may be able to do that deadlift or pull up, BUT you’re also ending up constantly with lower back or neck and shoulder pain. 

That’s why I have every client see every movement as an assessment and always ask themselves…

“What do I feel working?”

Because the muscles we feel DURING the exercise, are what are powering the movement.

If the correct muscles are working, we’re going to see those results build.

However, if we are feeling muscles taking over that shouldn’t be the prime movers, we are going to end up with injury.

When we are able to feel this happening, we can regress to progress, adjust our form or cueing and even modify the movements to get the correct muscles working.

Even if we can do a squat with one weight, we may find increasing to a point then changes what we feel working. 

It’s why you want to be intentional in your training over just zoning out or rushing through.

Even changes in the TYPE of exercise, say a back squat vs a front squat, could impact how the move feels. 

The more we are conscious of what is working, the more we can make sure we are truly maximizing each movement and even working through the fullest range of motion possible.

Because we can’t out mobility work the movements we are doing in our workouts.

If you want to keep that flexibility you are working so hard on, you need to strength through that range of motion.

You can’t hope to improve your hip mobility while doing a two inch squat because you’re trying to go heavy! 

So be intentional with your training and you’ll see those movements improve and those aches and pains go away.

Not to mention you’ll even see improvements to your strength and muscle gains faster!

Next let’s talk about our nutrition and how we can adjust that as well to reduce those aches and pains. 

And I’m going to start by telling you something you don’t want to hear…

But that has been eye opening for my clients…

First and foremost…Track your food. 

So often we only think about tracking what we’re eating when we want to reach an aesthetic goal.

But tracking can help us truly understand the impact our diet is having on our health and even those aches and pains.

By tracking you may realize you aren’t eating enough protein to support optimal recovery or getting in the antioxidants or omega-3s you need to reduce inflammation and support optimal joint and muscle functioning. 

Protein is key. 

As we get older we are less able to utilize it as efficiently which means we need MORE of it to get the same muscle building response.

And protein isn’t just used to build muscle, it makes up all of the tissues of our body and even helps promote healthy bones and hormonal balance.

Without enough protein to properly repair, we are going to see more aches and pains add up!

Not to mention put ourselves at greater risk for other injuries such as falls and fractures.

And it isn’t just our macros we want to track but those micros and the types of each macro we consume.

Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, as well as beta-carotene, can help protect joint tissues from oxidative stress and inflammation.

This is why we want to track to make sure we’re consuming plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables, such as berries, citrus fruits, and leafy greens.

And then we don’t want to fear FATS in our diet either. Especially Omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce joint pain and stiffness. 

Tracking to make sure we’re including fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines as well as plant-based sources such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts is key! 

And then second, we focus on hydration and even tracking that water intake. 

Many of us have even set the goal to drink more water…and it’s a surprisingly hard habit to change!

It’s why I love to add this in as something clients also track in their daily logs for accountability.

What gets measured gets managed.

But increasing your water intake as you get older keeps those joints, as well as our other body tissues, healthy and happy.

It also helps us recover faster!

And it’s key we actually shoot for MORE water as we get older, especially if you’re increasing your protein intake to assist in better recovery and muscle gains!

When you increase your protein intake, you want to increase your water intake to help with absorption and digestion of the protein.

We also have to recognize that, as we get older and go through menopause, we simply need more water too to stay hydrated.

With decreasing estrogen levels, we often need to increase our water intake.

Not to mention during menopause you may find you do better on lower carb ratios.

Carbs help us retain the water we need.

So fewer carbs in our system may mean increasing our water intake and even being conscious or our electrolyte balance.

This is why shooting for 70% of your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces is key.

And you want to track to get this over the day.

You’re not seeking to have your pee be clear either with this. You want that light lemonade color.

But this focus on proper hydration helps keep cartilage, the cushioning material for your joints, lubricated and functioning optimally.

You can move and feel your best at any age. But it does mean addressing what your body needs right now instead of focusing just on what used to work.

But stop blaming your age.

Control what you can control and make these changes to your workouts and your diet to feel amazing at every age!

Learn more about how to create the perfect plan for YOU and see the results you deserve…

–> Schedule A Coaching Consultation