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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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Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Density Intervals

Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Density Intervals

by | Aug 25, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Too often we only use one very specific rep and set range in our workouts because we’ve heard it’s ideal for strength or muscle hypertrophy or strength endurance…

And we stay within this SINGLE rep range because it is supposedly best for our goal.

But this narrow view of how we SHOULD train holds us back.

It even prevents us from truly pushing ourselves or that progression to create results.

It prevents us from building endurance which could enhance our recovery to see better muscle growth.

It prevents us from increasing our maximal strength to see better muscle gains.

And when we don’t use DIVERSITY IN DESIGN to our advantage, which is even more key the more experienced we are, we often see our results plateau.

We find we aren’t gaining muscle while still putting in hours at the gym. And even our fat loss results seem to go backward.

But by embracing other training techniques, not only can we improve our results, but we can be more efficient in our training, which is good if you’ve ever thought, “I don’t have enough time!”

That’s why I want to share one of my favorite efficient training techniques so you can see better fat loss and muscle gains from your workouts.

And that training technique is Density Intervals!

When we hear INTERVALS, many of us instantly think about cardio workouts.

We think HIIT and our blood pumping and fat crying…

Not muscle being built.

But intervals are a great way to help ourselves increase our training density, or the amount of work or weight lifted in a set timeframe, to see better muscle and strength gains with shorter workout sessions.

That’s why I want to break down why interval strength workouts can be so amazing and how to use Density Intervals specifically to your advantage.

So first…why can intervals be better than just set rep ranges for building strength and muscle?

Using timed intervals in our strength workouts can help us push past the point we usually want to quit.

Think about your workouts…Have you ever just stopped at the top of a rep range because you hit the top number you “should” be doing?

Have you ever thought, “I could have done more but MEH it’s hard enough and I want to just get the workout done?”

Intervals can help us push past that point because we have to keep going until the timer beeps.

It can make us do an extra few reps we normally wouldn’t have and push a bit harder than we would have otherwise.

Even if we have to PAUSE during the interval to keep going, it helps us get more work done in a shorter amount of time.

And it can even help us lift a greater overall load for the session than we would have just counting reps.

Especially if we are a bit pressed for time, intervals stop us from losing mental focus and just rushing through.

We can’t just stop when it feels hard with reps, think “Good enough” and go on to the next thing.

We have to work the entire interval.

And often this keeps us more intentional and focused on the movement. We aren’t worried as much about counting reps.

We can’t be done faster.

So we stay focused on what we feel working.

And when you use the same intervals of work week over week, you can focus on progressing the moves you use or the weights you lifted or even try to get out an extra rep or two with the weight or variation you used the week before in that same time frame.

This can drive progression without increasing your workout time.

You can even time your workout exactly to fit your schedule because you know how long each set will take!

And if you’ve ever felt like you just can’t do another rep or add more weight to a move, this is also where intervals can help you out.

Often if we fail with a weight we just stop there and move on.

But with intervals, you may drop the weight to keep going. Or you may pause then pick back up to finish out the interval.

And Density Intervals even add another layer to this…

While you can use intervals in so many different ways, with Density Intervals you will want to do back to back intervals of work for the same muscle group but using two different forms of progression or movement variations.

Like if you’re working your legs, you may do an interval of front lunges then an interval of split squat pulses.

This helps you take a muscle closer to fatigue in a fast and efficient way.

It can also help you use all 3 drivers of muscle growth and create progression when you can’t do another rep or add more weight with your traditional workout designs.

With Density Intervals, you’ll set two intervals of work for the same area back to back.

In one, you may perform a hold or isometric to pre fatigue the muscle before you then go into reps.

Because you are already tired, you may find the same loads or movement variations you can usually do become exponentially harder. You max yourself out and push past failure with even lighter loads!

Or you may do Density Intervals, where you do that heavy compound lift first, followed by more of an isolation move after to fully fatigue the big muscle worked in your lift.

And you aren’t just limited to these change ups.

You can use two different tempos back to back.

Or even ranges of motion.

And the options go on on and on.

This is also why this workout design can be especially useful when training at home with only bodyweight or limited loads if you’re struggling to see the muscle strength and gains you want from your training.

All of this allows you to use diversity to your advantage while getting in more work for an area without your workouts getting longer and longer.

It helps you fatigue a muscle using different techniques combined. And this is what drives better results.

It can help you truly push yourself to challenge your body while staying focused and intentional.

Because too often we waste time in our workouts just going through the motions.

We want to be able to ask ourselves…

“Have I pushed myself forward and challenged myself today? Have I felt uncomfortable a bit in my training using the time I have to get in quality work?”

And have the answer be YES.

Because that is what leads to results and what Density Intervals can truly help us achieve.

So if you’ve felt like your results have plateaued and your training sessions just aren’t pushing you any more, consider mixing up your traditional reps and sets for timed intervals of strength work.

You’ll be surprised by how the same but different really drives you forward and challenges your body in new ways!

Want killer workouts you can do anywhere to help you build strength and muscle while losing fat?

Check out my Dynamic Strength Program!

 

3x The Effectiveness of Your Workouts (10 Tips)

3x The Effectiveness of Your Workouts (10 Tips)

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

Guess what 1 of these 10 tips isn’t…

DO MORE!

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

We waste time and energy.

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

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

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

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

#1: Design With Purpose.

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

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

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

We aren’t just including supposedly best moves.

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

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

Which is why rule number 2 is

#2: Set A PERFORMANCE Focus.

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

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

We end up wasting more time and effort.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You need to find ways to challenge yourself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rule 5…Create Progression Through The Same But Different.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because where our attention goes, our energy flows.

And this is even why rule #7 is to…

Pay Attention To Workout Order

This rule honestly means a few different things…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That exercise order has an impact!

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

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

And that’s your warm up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dynamic stretching to mobilize joints and improve your flexibility…

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

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

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

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

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

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

And if every session is leaving us feeling destroyed…

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not being sore isn’t a bad thing.

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

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

This though is why lower intensity sessions can be key.

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

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

SUMMARY:

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

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

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

Want amazing workouts to help you rock those results?

Check out my Dynamic Strength program!

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

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

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

I know it looks a bit silly….

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

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

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

And it doesn’t require fancy equipment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Or side to side.

You can circle.

Move forward, backward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you’re doing 20 seconds, max out.

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

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

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

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

What untraditional exercises do you love?

Want more workout and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my YouTube Channel…

–> Redefining Strength On YouTube

 

15 Reasons To Build Muscle

15 Reasons To Build Muscle

by | May 12, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

While cardio is important, we NEED to focus on building muscle with our training as well. And no, challenging yourself with heavy weights will NOT make you bulky…

But it may be the secret to you feeling like your leanest, strongest self till your final day on this planet…

Whether you’re a runner…

Want to achieve that six pack…

Or simply want to chase after your grandkids…

You need to prioritize building and maintaining muscle in your training.

Here are 15 reasons why you should care so much about that strength work and those muscle gains at any and every age.

#1: Muscle helps you look leaner.

If you’ve ever felt like you lose weight but don’t see any more definition and even just look skinny but soft, it’s because you’re not focusing on building muscle as you lose fat.

You may even be sabotaging yourself from looking more toned by seeking to lose faster on the scale. 

Because when we look to lose weight faster, we often do so at the cost of losing muscle.

And muscle is what helps us see that definition and look more toned. 

So even if your goal is fat loss, you want to focus your workouts on building lean muscle. 

Don’t slash your calories lower or turn to only cardio workouts!

#2: Muscle helps you KEEP the fat off.

Ever lost weight to feel like it just creeps back on? 

Getting older and feeling like your metabolism has slowed down?

This is often due to the fact that we’ve lost muscle!

And in losing muscle, we aren’t burning as many calories at rest. Not to mention resistance training also increases our metabolic rate.

So to help maintain your results, focus on building muscle to train harder, tackle more physical challenges and even better use the nutrients in your food, especially as you get older!

#3: Strength training protects and strengthens your skin.

With aging, we may find our skin becomes more papery and thin. 

But resistance training has actually been shown to improve our skin health. It increases our skin’s elasticity or the ability for it to bounce back as well as even our skin’s thickness!

This not only keeps our skin looking younger, and helps us fight against loose skin, but also even avoid seeing an increase in cuts and bruising as we get older. 

But focusing on strength training and building muscle isn’t just about looking fabulous, it’s also about moving your best! 

#4: Muscle powers our movements!

If you want to be functionally fit till your final day on this planet, you need to focus on building muscle.

It helps us maintain our capacity to move well and remain independent, decreasing our risks for falls and fractures.

Muscle is really the key to be able to conquer any physical challenges that come our way! 

Whether we want to get down and up off the ground playing with our grandkids or we’re an endurance athlete looking to set a PR and improve our speed and our endurance, muscle is the magic we need! 

#5: Muscle keeps our joints healthy.

Muscle supports our joints.

The stronger our muscles, the better the joint support and protection we have. 

Focus on building muscle with exercises that move you in every direction to keep your joints stable so you avoid the range of joint injuries we see adding up as we get older. 

This strength work to build muscle is especially key if you want to be able to train hard to build your leanest, strongest body ever or continue to even compete in sports you love. 

Not to mention this stability improves your balance, which helps you avoid falls and injuries!

And this strength work can even help ease the discomfort of any arthritis development as you get older.

#6: More muscle means stronger bones! 

Too often we just let ourselves get old.

But through building muscle, we can really keep ourselves feeling younger and stronger. 

We can help ourselves prevent so much of what we just write off as happening with age…like osteoporosis and a greater risk of fractures.

Do your resistance training, even if your strength work is more bodyweight based. 

Because not only does this strength work build strong muscles to protect your bones, it can actually improve your bone mineral density and promote bone development! 

This is even more essential for us ladies as we go through menopause!

And not only does muscle help you look fabulous and move better, it also improves your health in so many other ways… 

#7: Muscle improves your blood sugar levels.

Muscle helps increase insulin sensitivity.

Basically through resistance training and building muscle, you are then better able to handle carbs and move sugar into your muscles for storage.

This can be especially key during menopause when we are at greater risk for insulin resistance and even diabetes.

Along with being able to regulate your blood sugar levels better…

#8: Muscle also helps keep your heart healthy!

Strength training and building lean muscle can help you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and issues. 

It can help lower your blood pressure, lower LDL or bad cholesterol as well as your triglycerides, increase HDL or the good cholesterol and even improve blood circulation.

And while, yes, cardio workouts are key for heart health, too often we don’t recognize the importance of resistance training and building lean muscle. 

Recent studies have found a link between lower muscle mass and higher risk of cardiovascular issues.

So include resistance work and focus on building that lean muscle for your heart health. 

#9: Muscle improves our immune system!

More muscle means a larger reserve of amino acids, or the building blocks of protein which helps your immune system respond quicker to infection or disease.

This helps you not get as sick or stay sick as long. 

Muscle also helps reduce inflammation as weird as that sounds, since building muscle is about creating trauma to the muscles so they have to repair and grow stronger. 

But having on more muscle can help us reduce levels of chronic inflammation, which not only helps us stay healthy, but helps us reduce our risk for age related diseases, such as some cancers.

Now the important thing to note with this is…you can only build muscle and train hard if you are paying attention to your recovery. 

Under recover and you’re going to sabotage your immune system health instead.

#10: Muscle also aids in better recovery from injury and even disease.

Part of this goes back to the benefits muscle has for our immune system.

Muscle also plays an important role speeding up our recovery because it promotes blood circulation and aids in efficient nutrient transport or getting the areas of our body what they need quickly to rebuild. 

And while it’s great that muscle can help us recover, more importantly it can help us better AVOID injuries and illness in the first place.

In the process of building muscle we strengthen other connective tissues such as tendons and ligaments.

But if you are currently injured, don’t keep pushing through the pain.

Training around the injury or issue, to keep your system strong, is key.

This strength training releases myokines, which are messenger molecules from muscles released during and after your workouts. 

These molecules boost the immune system and have anti-inflammatory properties, which is why muscle can be so key in our recovery!

#11: Strength training improves mood and anxiety.

While I know we often hear about the “runner’s high,” and many enjoy running for the mental benefits, strength training also has been shown to really improve mood and reduce levels of anxiety and stress. 

Part of this is due to the fact that our muscle plays an important part in our overall endocrine system function. 

And that system helps control and regulate our body’s metabolism, energy level, growth and development, reproduction and even our response to injury, stress and mood.

This is even extra reason to include muscle building workouts in your routine, especially during menopause when changing hormone levels may impact our mood and anxiety levels, not to mention make it harder to build and retain lean muscle. 

#12: Muscle helps you feel more energized.

Having more muscle means you are better able to create fuel from the carbs you consume. 

And this is partly because more muscle means more mitochondria.

Mitochondria create fuel to energize you from the glucose you eat and the air you breathe.

More muscle also means improved circulation. 

And this allows your body to function better and use your energy supplies more efficiently.

Not to mention, you’ll also see improvements in your energy levels because muscle and strength training can also positively impact your sleep. 

Which is my next big reason you should care…

#13: Building muscle improves your sleep.

Some interesting research has shown that resistance training may not only improve the quality of your sleep but even the quantity you get. 

So not only may it help you sleep longer, but get more deep, restorative sleep.

One reason it is believed that resistance training may even beat out aerobic training for sleep benefits, although both help, is that lifting stimulates growth in muscles cells boosting both testosterone and growth hormone levels in the body. 

Both of these hormones have been linked with better, deeper sleep.

This again can be an extra reason to focus on building muscle, especially during menopause or as we get older, where we may see our sleep quality and quantity decline. 

And can also contribute to better brain function as well! Which brings me to my second to last key reason…

#14: Muscle helps keep our brain healthy.

From the mental challenge that resistance training provides…

To the benefits that muscle has on our circulation and blood flow…

To even the release of myokines which can have an impact on overall brain function…

More muscle has been shown to be connected to improved cognitive functioning or brain health. 

And maintaining more muscle, while continuing to strength train, as we get older has been shown to decrease our risk of dementia.

Not to mention if you’re experiencing brain fog during menopause, you may find this symptom reduced by focusing on strength training and building muscle. 

Basically, more muscle means you’re going to feel, look and move your best till your final day on this planet.

And this is the most important overall reason to care about building muscle…

#15: More muscle means a longer, healthier, better life! 

Whether it is conquering any physical challenges you set for yourself…

Whether it is moving well to stay independent till your final day on this planet…

Whether it is avoiding illness, injury or disease…

Or even simply feeling more energized, healthier and happier…

Muscle is truly magical.

So focus on that strength work at any and every age to feel your most fabulous!

Ready to build that lean muscle and feel your most fabulous at any and every age? Check out my 1:1 Online Coaching!

–> Learn More About Redefining Strength’s Coaching

JUST A FEW STUDIES:
Skin: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10290068/
Resistance Training Benefits: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22777332/
Sleep: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7718168/
Muscle-Organ Crosstalk: https://academic.oup.com/edrv/article/41/4/594/5835999?login=true#323027942

 

#1 Reason Your Workouts Aren’t Working (And How To Fix It)

#1 Reason Your Workouts Aren’t Working (And How To Fix It)

by | Mar 24, 2024 | Blog, Exercises, Workouts

Stop stringing together random moves. Stop just pulling random workouts that feel hard.

If you want results, your training sessions need to be designed with purpose.

You need to create routines that are actually focused on your goals.

Because training hard and training hard in a way that pushes you forward aren’t the same thing.

One is wasted effort.

The other is progression.

That’s why I want to go over the key factor in creating a workout plan that actually works as well as 3 amazing training techniques to help you build your leanest, strongest body ever!

Because there isn’t just one way to do things or one best workout.

No one best move.

No one best training split.

We need to stop ask what we “should” ideally be doing to start.

Instead we need to ask ourselves, “What is realistic for me based on where I am RIGHT NOW?”

Because even what used to work, may not fit our body or lifestyle now.

Ultimately what dictates what we need as much as our fitness goals is our schedule.

To see results, you have to design for the time you have.

DESIGN FOR THE TIME YOU HAVE:

Many of us have thought, “How many days a week do I need to train? For how long?”

We’ve sought out some ideal, but this stops us from designing for what is actually realistic for our schedules.

When we design for the time we have over getting caught up in some ideal of 1 hour a day, 6 days a week, we can create a routine we can actually be consistent with.

And consistency is key.

Honestly…Inconsistency is the biggest results KILLER.

Yet so often we set ourselves up for inconsistency in our workout routines by focusing on doing more or some ideal over first assessing what is truly realistic for our routines.

And that inconsistency has such a huge impact because your weekly schedule is built on everything working together.

When you design for 6 days a week, you’re using training splits, workout designs and even moves based on having all 6 days a week to train. 

Miss one of those days and the whole system isn’t going to give you the same benefit. 

That’s why you want to first ask yourself…

“What schedule is realistic for me?” 

When you’re looking to start a new routine.

Once you know your timeframe, how many days a week and for how long, you can then select workout layouts, moves, training variables that make the most out of your timeframe.

Because if you have 3 days a week to train you can use full body splits to hit areas 2-3 times whereas you may use more hemisphere splits alternating upper and lower to get the same volume and frequency over the week if you have 6 days to train. 

Design so that you don’t miss things and the system can work together!

Not to mention so often just because you have an hour to train doesn’t mean you should just add in MORE to fill the time.

If you have an hour, that can allow maybe for isolation moves for stubborn areas or extra rest to lift heavier.

But an intense speed or power workout still shouldn’t be made longer just because you have the time.

A intense sprint or HIIT workout SHOULD be short. 

So once you know your schedule, don’t forget your goal for your training progression. Sometimes you won’t need to use the time just because you have it!

That’s why, with designing for the time we have, it’s key we also stop seeing our workouts as strength OR cardio.

We will often even BLEND both to see the best results based on our schedule and goals!

STRENGTH-CARDIO CONTINUUM:

When thinking about our workouts, we need to think of strength and cardio not as an either or thing in our training, but more as a workout design continuum we can use to our advantage.

Because whether you’re doing what we more traditionally call cardio, which is that steady state endurance type activity….

Or even that more traditional, more low rep slow lifting we call strength…

You’re working an energy system, which is technically having an impact on your cardiovascular health AND your strength and muscle.

And working along this continuum can help you see amazing body recomp while truly designing for the time you have!

It can also help you work not only on your aerobic base but on your speed, power, work capacity, lactic threshold, recovery and so much more.

So we don’t want to see our workouts as either or to get better results.

We also need to be conscious of this continuum so that we aren’t just turning every strength workout into a cardio session, which could be fighting against our muscle gains.

When you design your workouts, stay focused on your goals, not just on making a session feel harder.

Because while a more metabolic strength session that’s more circuit based or even a timed set may be amazing for losing fat while retaining lean muscle during a fat loss phase, that same lack of rest or more metabolic element may be hurting your focus on muscle hypertrophy. 

Instead you may need to add in a bit more rest or switch it up to a superset or compound set design. 

The key is understanding that how we vary rest and cycle exercises in a workout, the overall workout design we use, and not only the types of moves we use, can impact the results we get – from the strength to cardiovascular benefits.

Not to mention we can use workouts that are a combination of some conditioning and strength work to our advantage, especially when we are short on time.

Because most of us DO need more efficient workouts to fit our busy schedules.

And too often not having enough time is our excuses for not being consistent with our training or seeing the results we want.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 training techniques that can help you not only get BOTH cardio and strength benefits but also be super effective in allowing you to see results while designing for the schedule that is realistic for you….

First, Use Interval Workout Designs For Your STRENGTH Workouts.

When we think of an “interval workout,” we think of a cardio session.

And, yes, this can make your lifting sessions a bit more metabolic.

You may find you get more out of breath.

But intervals can also be a great way to increase your training density, especially when you’re short on time to improve your strength and muscle gains.

By using intervals with more strength based lifting exercises, you can help yourself achieve amazing body recomp, building muscle, improving your work capacity and even your recovery.

You can use interval workouts whether you’re doing more of an anterior/posterior split or even full body routines.

But set an interval of work, generally a minute for more strength exercises is good, using an exercise and load that challenges you so that you are almost working past failure in that time. 

In back to back intervals even alternate areas worked so one muscle group can rest as you continue to use the time you have efficiently to work another area. 

But during each interval of work, because the goal of this session is still building strength and muscle, challenge yourself so you need to pause for a second or two.

This pause to completely more reps means you were challenging yourself with loads. And generally at that pause with traditional reps and sets, we would have STOPPED and moved on. 

But because we still have time in that interval to work, we do more!

This ultimately helps you lift more quality loads in a shorter amount of time, creating an amazing stimulus for muscle growth even when you need a quicker training session!

Interval strength work done this way, also implements the second training technique that can help you be more efficient in your workouts…

#2: Rest Pause Technique.

Rest-Pause Technique has many offshoots and usages.

But in its most basic form, you will perform reps until you need to pause, then rest for generally 15-30 seconds, before trying to eek out a few more reps with the same loads. 

In the interval work, you want to rest no more than a few seconds to keep moving.

With things like cluster sets, you may use this brief pause but with smaller sets that don’t fully take you to failure, but allow you to lift heavier than you would be able to had you just done all reps straight. 

But using this brief rest allows you to not only increase your training density, doing more reps in a shorter amount of time, but also often lift MORE weight in that same timeframe as you can go heavier for the same volume because of the rest.

You will find this improves not only your strength but also your muscle gains and even strength endurance.

And you may be surprised too by how much you see your recovery times improve in your other conditioning work even!

Now, this final technique I want to share goes against what we often think to do when we’re short on time and designing efficient workouts…

But I want to share it because it highlights how many opportunities and options there are out there to make things match what we need and progress over time.

Too often we get stuck feeling there is only one right way, and then miss out on an option that is different but could be the switch up we need.

Usually when we are short on time, we design our workouts to cycle areas worked. 

This allows one area to rest as another is worked.

So in a circuit or set back to back moves may be one upper then one lower body exercise instead of back to back moves for the same muscle group. 

But you may want to break this rule at times if you are really focused on those muscle gains, especially for stubborn areas.

This is where Post-Exhaust technique can come in handy, especially for more advanced lifters!

#3: Post Exhaust

With post-exhaust technique, you are working the same muscle group with back to back moves, usually using a compound exercise even followed by an isolation move to hone in on one of the muscles that was just worked. 

This can help you work past failure in another way and recruit more muscle fiber to improve your muscle growth and strength gains.

But because you’re doing a high volume of very focused work for an area in a short amount of time, it can help you see better results even when you’re workout schedule is more limited.

You aren’t giving an area a chance to recover yet you’re working at an intensity with the change up in moves that allows you to keep that quality of work.

By pairing these two moves together back to back as then you even cycle between pairing that target different areas, you’ll be able to use all 3 drivers of muscle growth very efficiently. 

BONUS: You can even do post-exhaust in an interval design, working the same muscle in back to back intervals!

And you may be surprised by how much you feel your blood pumping without doing anything you’ve usually thought of as remotely cardio! 

So just remember, there are lots of ways to use different moves, techniques, and workout designs to our advantaged based on the time we have.

And we don’t have to see our workouts as just cardio or strength.

But we need to make sure we design everything with purposed focused on meeting ourselves where we are at to move forward toward our goals.

And be realistic with what you need.

Design for the time you have!

Want amazing workouts designed to help you rock those results no matter your fitness level, schedule or the equipment you have?

Check out my Dynamic Strength program!

–> LEARN MORE