Tough Cookie Talks

This conversation with Diana May left me feeling seen and understood in ways I didn't even realize I needed. I recently re-connected with Diana on Instagram as a result of my quest to clear out a lot of the noise on my feed. I unfollowed a LOT of big accounts and the result was me getting to see content from people in my real life who I had lost touch with. One of them being Diana--who was one...

This week's episode is brought to you by. . .the fucking world. And also what my clients seem to need right now in terms of fitness. Here's one thing I've been telling almost everyone lately: If you don’t feel like working out because everything feels pointless right now, stop looking for motivation. You won’t find it. Instead see where you can find momentum to get yourself to do liter...

This episode is airing on Halloween and I decided to do something silly and fun. Because the world is a dumpster fire and while I posted something very heartfelt on Instagram , I decided to lean into something more trivial on here. On this episode we talk about Weird Barbie and all the reasons why I feel like I'm the Weird Barbie of coaches! And of course how that applies to you and your fitne...

Today I have my first ever male guest on the podcast! I vet my podcast guests carefully, and I know you're gonna love our conversation today. Angel and I originally connected over an Instagram post, and when I realized there was another anti-diet personal trainer in the Chicago area, we immediately decided we needed to meet up in real life. After hearing about his very unique story and having...

In real life, I have had at least 5 sobbing meltdowns since last Friday. And I decided to share it with you not because I want a pity party, but because I have a really hard time being inauthentic. This week I cried because: My husband criticized my parking. Then because my toddler wouldn't poop. Also because he wouldn't nap. And again because the restaurant put dressing on my take-out salad and I...

Today I'm so excited to be talking with Maya Bryant! I originally connected with her on Instagram because as a fellow dancer, I LOVED the way she called out the bullshit in the barre industry. One of my biggest pet peeves as a personal trainer with a dance background is seeing barre instructors online selling lies in the form of "the 4 best exercises for a thigh gap", because that&#3...

Last Friday I woke up SO dead tired and was trying to rally and get myself to go lift. But then I was like, why?! Knowing that the whole reason that I work out is to feel better and move about my life with more ease. Forcing myself to lift when I was every possible kind of tired would have pushed me farther away from that feeling on Friday. So I skipped it. So many of us work out for mental health...

Today's episode is such a fun and mind blowing conversation with my friend Shohreh Davoodi. Seriously. The original plan was to talk about self-trust in fitness but we went in so many interesting directions (as two people with ADHD would). I had so many lightbulb moments when talking to her. Shohreh and I originally connected several years ago as two of the only HAES personal trainers in Faceb...

I decided to record an episode that is essentially a love letter to kettlebells. But first I wanna share a bit of my backstory around them. Kettlebells were my intro to strength training. My friend Ashleigh taught me how to use them (see Season 1 Episode 44 "Toning Is For Printers" An Unfiltered Convo With Ashleigh Brodhead (the Friend Who Taught Me To Lift Heavy Shit)" They were my...

This week I'm talking Holly Myers--again! If you're on Instagram, you might know her as the barbell pistol squatting queen, and half of the strength coaching duo @liftwithhollyandarryn . Our first episode together, "Balancing Strength, Softness, and Silliness" was one of my most downloaded ever, and today she's back. Over the past few years I've gotten to know her as a cl...

This is another bonus crossover/collab episode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! If you missed the memo, Christina and I are each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we feel like it. We've got all sorts of things to talk about that aren't related to our work...

Today we have another bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we feel like it. We'...

Is it bad to work out when you're injured? I've been seeing this floating around as a red flag for a "bad" or "disordered" relationship with exercise and we need to talk about it. Long story short: don't think it is, depending on the context. Long story long: listen to the episode. There are ways to do it well and not so much... On this episode I talk about: Why nua...

A few months ago I recorded a podcast episode with one of my clients about my half baked theory that training from a diet culture mindset is making us feel "old". (That was Season 1, Episode 39) . We talked about this from the perspective of our own lived experiences as millennial and Gen X women. The idea was that of COURSE you're gonna feel like you're "too old" to do...

Today we have another bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we f...

Today's episode is a guest interview with my good friend and physical therapist, Dr. Melissa Cioffi! I have mentioned this before, but people like Dr. Mel, as I call her, are half the reason I decided to start a podcast. I wanted to share the expertise of providers like her who do things that are not in my own scope of practice as a personal trainer, but still very much relate to what we do in...

I took almost 2 weeks off from lifting by choice. At least that was the plan. I was feeling better and ready to go. I was even gonna record a podcast episode about it. But then life got life-y and I was forced to take more time off. First I re-injured my shoulder/pec moving boxes. Then I got sick. And then I fell down the stairs. Then I got sick again. It's just a season of beginning again and...

Today we have another bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we f...

Today we're talking all about Intuitive Eating! Something that I'm a big fan of and allude to a lot, but I haven't shared an episode about it yet. Today is the day! Many of my clients and listeners are kind of on board with it (you too?) but haven't completely gone all in or mastered it yet. Or maybe you have, but you gained weight and now you're wondering "how can this be...

Today we have another bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we f...

Today's podcast episode is the conversation you didn't realize you needed to hear. It was absolutely cathartic to record this, and I know so many of you are going to feel a sense of hope after listening. Especially if you're going through some shit. Today I'm talking to Laura Jawad all about what it means to make a comeback, and also navigating life's tough transitions. She has...

Today we have another bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it and whenever we f...

I'm so excited for today's podcast guest, Summer Innanen! Her work was absolutely instrumental to my own journey in letting go of diet culture. Without her help in dealing with my own body image shit and her encouragement to start doing my own thing online, I would probably still be trying to make nacho cheese out of sweet potatoes and sending Jillian Michaels quotes to the people in my 6a...

Today we're trying something new. A bonus crossover/collab epsiode with my friend, business mentor, and fellow likeminded coach, Christina Montalvo! I'm gonna keep these show notes short & sweet because we're all about making these bonus episodes easy and fun. We're each releasing them on our own podcasts on the same day and will continue to do it for as long as we feel like it...

This week's episode is inspired by MANY conversations I've been having with clients lately. It seems that improving cardiovascular endurance is a common goal for a lot of us. And there are so many questions surrounding how to do that. Especially if you've previously had a complicated relationship with cardio. My friend Liz Brinkmoeller seemed like the perfect person to have this conver...