Redefining Strength Podcast

Gaining muscle can be HARD. There are also those of us that tend to struggle more than others. And it only gets harder as we get older because we can become anabolic resistant and we don’t utilize protein as efficiently or effectively (just another reason increasing our protein and tracking our macros is key!).  That’s why I want to share 4 tips to help you dial in your diet and your training to g...

There never really is “balance.” Life is a constant balancing act. We are always learning how to improve things and I think there will always be times we steer too much in one direction. We’re human after all. But part of mastering “balance” is realizing it will be a continual work in progress. So how can you help yourself strike more of a balance over going to extremes…which…..let’s face it, is f...

I think most often we hold ourselves back. Plain and simple. It’s not that we didn’t have the ability. It’s not that we couldn’t learn the systems. It’s not that we weren’t strong enough, smart enough…insert the “enough” here…. Honestly…Most of our limits are truly self imposed. And I think part of that comes out of fear of failure. Out of fear of judgement from others. But if you want to achieve...

Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities - The Power Of Perspective We can’t always control what happens, but we CAN always control our attitude about what happens. We can see it as an opportunity or an obstacle. It’s all about our PERSPECTIVE. So instead of dwelling on the event you can’t control, focus instead on what you can do….and that means CONTROL YOUR PERSPECTIVE. However, this is easier said...

What we measure we can manage. If you don’t have clear data about what is going on, you can’t make accurate changes. Tracking provides us that data.  However our data is…well…only as good as our data collection methods. So if tracking isn’t working? You need to take a look at how you’re collecting data as one of these 4 things may be going on… And note…I’m not saying we are trying to intentional d...

I think often when we're struggling, we feel like we're failing. But that honestly isn't the case. To succeed, you have to face struggles head on and keep on going. If there are no struggles, you're probably not making the changes you need. And you're probably closer to failure than you realize. Because change is hard. Doing what you "should" isn't always fu...

It’s so easy to fall into the “more is better” attitude. Because taking action, “doing more,” allows us to feel like we have more control over our results…like we can get things to happen faster. But that’s simply not how things work. We can’t out exercise or out diet time. So often doing more creates unsustainable routines and habits not to mention pushes us the point of training or dieting so ha...

I did a podcast a while ago about “how long does it take to achieve (insert result here)?” since I get that question a lot.  And I said in that podcast that the annoying answer is… “Your entire life.” Often we equate what we are doing RIGHT NOW to the results we have RIGHT NOW. Even though we do know results take time to build. The simple fact is, our current results in life are truly an indicator...

I was thinking about what most often leads to a client being successful…and honestly it never boils down to the fact that they really have more willpower. Or better macros or better workouts. It boils down to the fact that they truly take OWNERSHIP of the process. They focus on finding a way through the ideal, and not so ideal times. And they recognize the power of their mindset. Because so often...

Guess what?  You’re human. You’re never going to be perfect. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. And honestly, if you ever look back at a project you’ve done and there is nothing you would change? You’re either… A. Not being honest with yourself… Or… B. You’ve stopped learning and started standing still. Because as we learn and grow, we will always find flaws in earlier plans. And it’s key...

Ok so we all do this…when talking with someone, looking back on the path we had to take for results, we’ll say, “It wasn’t that bad.” Because in the end it was worth it AND we’ve adjusted to the new habits so they feel easier. But I guarantee many of us to start did some whining about how sucky or hard or confusing the process was. Because, guess what? Change IS hard. Reaching a goal we’ve never r...

The simple truth is, you can work really hard and not achieve the results you want. And I see this becoming more and more the case as people want to post about how hard they’re working. About how they’re spending hours in the gym. Doing some crazy restrictive diet where they cut out a ton of stuff. But then they’re frustrated by their lack of results at the end of it. The thing is…they’ve almost p...

Feelings aren't data.  How we "feel" about what we are doing often isn't the same as the actual data showing what we are doing. And data doesn't lie.  It's why it's so key we track our macros and our workouts so we have that impartial data to use to help us tweak and adjust. Because often when we don't have that data? It's easy to lie to ourselves about...

Don’t Quit Before Results Add Up! It can be hard to keep putting in the work when we don’t feel like results are adding up. But the sucky part is…often those times where we feel like nothing is happening, we’re moving forward and potentially only inches or even days away from our goal. Those are often the times we just need to KEEP GOING. A great way to think about this process is this one image I...

I often get asked, "How long did it take you to get to (insert the result I've achieved that they want here)?" My answer is, "My entire life." This isn't meant to be flippant. But it's the honest answer. Sure maybe I "cut" for 6 weeks to get leaner. Or maybe I did a workout progression that built my pull ups over the last 4 weeks.... But these things ar...

It’s easy to start a new program and get overwhelmed by all of the changes you feel you have to make. And so..well…we freak out and never end up moving forward. But before you let your brain go into freak out mode…start by focusing on small tweaks! Or as I’ve liked saying “Tweak before you freak!” Because small changes add up. And they help us create something actually sustainable. Too often we fe...

I think often in our workouts in an attempt to do more or that harder variation and last the entire interval of work, we CHEAT ourselves out of the full benefit of moves. We don’t try to work muscles as hard as we can. We actually just try to survive the time we are “supposed” to work in the follow along. And this leads to us CHEATING on moves. Letting our hands shift out in front of us as we do m...

I refused to demo the moves and made friends or co-workers do it. I was comfortable sharing my knowledge behind the scenes. But I also really really really (did I say REALLY!?) wanted to share my passion and knowledge and help others. So Ryan kind of gave me an ultimatum... Ryan basically told me at one point, "If you really want to do this thing, you need to suck it up and get over it and be...

You know that urge to do MORE? To make more changes? Search for a new macro ratio?  Workout longer? Train harder? I think this focus on doing MORE stems from the fact that A. Yes we want results faster but B. We also feel more in CONTROL when we do more. The feeling that we are “acting” or taking action gives us a sense of control. Even though we may not actually be moving ourselves forward and ev...

Tracking our macros isn’t just about restricting what we’re eating to lose weight. It’s about truly learning how to FUEL. Because no matter what result you want to get, from losing weight to body recomposition to gaining muscle to fueling your endurance sport to even simply feeling more energized throughout the day, the macronutrient ratio you are consuming MATTERS. And by understanding macros, yo...

Legend-wait-for-it-dary I love hearing Barney say this in How I Met Your Mother. And almost every time I try to repeat the line, I somehow butcher it haha Anyway, the simple fact is… Not every day can be legendary or no days end up being legendary. You can’t know the good without the bad! BUT even on those not so ideal days we can take something out of them that moves us forward. Here are 4 questi...

So on my Unicorn coaching call this last week, I was trying to figure out another way to describe what I see as the issues we often blame on “age.” Because while, yes our body does change as we get older, so often so many of our issues are from well…a leaky ceiling we didn’t address. If you had a leak and over the years the water kept dripping in that same spot, you wouldn’t be surprised when, fin...

One of my amazing Unicorns  Ellen commented this in the group last week..."Maybe things are not going a 100% as I want them to go, maybe I am not doing as much as I would like to do....but I have a lot of lemons at the moment and not enough glasses to make lemonade in so I just make lemonade out of the lemons where I have the glasses for." So often we have a ton of things going on and si...

Progressions are earned… Often we feel like because we “can” do something? We should do it or we deserve to do it. But the question is…are you really doing it WELL? Are you actually optimizing the movement or doing it just for the sake of doing the “harder” variation? Are you putting a “bandaid” on the true problem? Applying a quick fix just to get through the workout? I don't like doing some...

Motivation that will burn out…especially often the more intense and restrictive we are to start. As cliche as it is…it really is true you’ve got to find a way to enjoy the journey. And that means creating new habits that do fit your lifestyle to some extent. Habits that you enjoy enough to keep repeating until they require no self control to do. Now…You won’t enjoy every habit to start that you ha...