Why you might be getting back pain in your lifts

Don’t get me wrong. Back pain is *wildly* multifactorial. Different things can cause the same pain in two different people’s backs.

But I would be willing to bet that a big reason for your back pain has to do with your core set up (at least for women, extension based athletes, and new lifters–and probably even some older lifters who “cheat” on form but may not even know it). I see it in people’s videos online, with my own clients when they start out, and walking around commercial gyms (sports training facilities are a bit better at catching this).

Think the Kardashian butt pose. In coach speak, it’s called anterior pelvic tilt. It tends to be more common in women because of our anatomy, and it becomes much more pronounced as we go through pregnancy, but it’s also seen in men–especially athletes like pitchers because of the demands of their sport.

Ok so I didn’t have a champagne bottle or glass to balance but let’s pretend I’m that glamorous here, ok?

Often times, people can get away with it for a while. For some people, it’s what makes them so good in their sport. I know a number of professional baseball players who are heavily extended and it’s the reason they can throw 98 miles per hour (to my baseball dads out there, please don’t think is how to get your kid throwing 98–pitching mechanics are different for everyone and like, maybe let your kid play and have fun, k?). But when you start to load the movement in the gym, it can create some bad habits that wear on your back over the years, and it can absolutely cause back pain because of the shear on both the bony structures (like grinding of the facets in your vertebrae) and on the soft tissue like muscles, tendons, and ligaments that bear the brunt of the weight.

Basically, when you’re in the Kardashian butt pose position, you’re putting a lot of strain on your low back. Period. Adding weight INCREASES that strain.

When I start working with a client, one of the *first* things I do after an assessment is teach the canister position.

We start on the ground because it provides feedback on the person’s position. Lay with your feet flat on the ground, knees bent, and push your ribs and your lower back into the ground. You can also put your thumbs on the bottom of your rib cage, and pinkies on the top of your hip bones, and draw the two together. In that position, we then “brace,” as though we are pushing out preparing to be punched in the gut (rather than sucking our bellies in, which is what most women think bracing is).

We work on it in supine (laying on the ground on our backs) and then work on it in standing. And we reinforce it throughout our workouts.

This position, as minor a change as it seems, can make a huge difference in lifting. Think of it as your foundation–a strong foundation will allow you to build a sturdier home on top that is less likely to crumble at some point.

You see this position in nearly every exercise. Planks. Thrusts. Deadlifts. Squats (the top part). Even when hips are bent, the pelvic and rib positioning should be the same for everything from lunges to arm care exercises.

Try lifting (a light weight, y’all, don’t go getting hurt here) while holding a canister position, and try it without doing so. You’ll notice the difference in your low back.

Less “what’s your why” and more “what’s your HOW”

We all say it.

“What’s your WHY?”

Why are you making these changes to your fitness and dietary routines? Why are you on a fitness journey?

Knowing your why does matter–it’s something to go back to when your motivation dips (it always will). But, to be honest, your why doesn’t matter as much as your how. 

Your how is your road map. Planning out your workouts, your meals, plans for the weeks that you know will get you off of your routine (vacations, exam weeks, big due dates for work, holidays)–knowing what steps you will take is more important than knowing your why.

Try filling this out:

I will work out ___ days a week, at ____ time, doing ____ for my workout. (It helps to have your workouts written down for a month at a time, or, if you prefer classes, having them scheduled in advance and in your calendar).

I will prepare ____ meals for my week, and focus on ____ (a behavior/habit…drinking x amount of water, including an extra vegetable at each meal, stopping eating when I’m 80% full, etc.)

To make these things happen above, I will _____ (go food shopping with this list, schedule classes ahead of time, follow x workout plan).

If I fall off track, I will _____.

I cannot mess this up. Keep going.

Good luck 😉

Core Considerations During Pregnancy

Hey! You’re pregnant! Congratulations! (Or maybe you’re a trainer/coach with a pregnant client). Either way, I’m guessing you’re googling a ton of things right now, including, if you’re reading this, how on earth to train your core during pregnancy (and if you even should).

There’s a lot of information out there, some good, some bad. (Shoot, I was reading an old article I wrote on training while pregnant on another site YEARS ago at the start of my career in training and I sort of cringe at it now). Training in general has come a long way in a few years as the science keeps evolving, and it’s no different with training during pregnancy. Feel free to skip down to the bottom if you just want the exercises and not the anatomy lesson, but it’s worth reading to understand why we do this. 

Let’s start with SHOULD you train your core during pregnancy.

Short answer: YES, but talk to your doctor first (and if they tell you no working out, ask why; some OB’s stick to the old school don’t-workout advice, some just tell you to “keep doing what you’re doing”–but sometimes you really do have a reason not to work out).

Long answer? Training in general throughout your pregnancy is highly beneficial for a number of reasons, including making the pregnancy AND the delivery easier on you, and potentially making your recovery easier as well. Giving birth is ABSOLUTELY the hardest workout you will ever go through in your life–it doesn’t hurt to prepare for it. Core work, when integrated properly, can help with posture (and thus back pain), as well as appropriate tone (as in, your muscles engaging and relaxing appropriately, not being “toned”–you need to be able to relax as well as engage during labor).

Before we get to “what’s appropriate,” let’s talk about what your core is and what it does.

Your core is more than your abs. It also includes your hip musculature (booty included), your pelvic muscles, and your thorax (back included). Your abdomen consists of your rectus abdominus (your “six pack abs” muscle), your internal obliques, your external obliques, and your transverse abdominus (the “corset” muscle). Your diaphragm is in there under your ribs, and your pelvic floor muscles are (duh) in your pelvis; together those regulate intraabdominal pressure.

Ultimately, the core is designed to provide us stability, as well as to transfer movement between our lower and upper halves. A lot of coaches have moved away from a TON of rotational ab exercises over the years because of this (and I’m one of them–if we’re going to do rotational ab work, it’s about moving power from our hips to our shoulders, not mindlessly twisting our abs around). The focus has moved into doing anti-extension, anti-rotation, and anti-lateral flexion movements. (We’re also moving away from a lot of flexion aka sit ups; the research and work done by Dr. Stuart McGill goes into much more depth on why, and please feel free to do the research yourself if you want to, but it essentially comes down to sparing the spine from constant wear and tear on the facets, disks, and nerves).

During pregnancy, our body changes pretty drastically to make room for this tiny human we’re growing. Our ligaments and tendons get a little looser, our hips shift a bit, our pelvis tips forward as the tiny human grows out in front of us, and our abdomen has to make space for them (not to mention our insides literally get pushed out of the way–you’re welcome, kid). This NATURALLY means our abdominal muscles are put under a bit more pressure and are stretched out. It ALSO means the linea alba (the ligament running down the middle of our “six pack”) may stretch a bit–what we know of as diastasis recti. This is a pretty normal response to making room for our babies–and by normal I mean we all experience it to some extent. Some only have a small one, some have a larger one, and there’s no guarantee that training during pregnancy will prevent one from occurring. Don’t worry about that. Core training is about more than DR prevention.

Now that we have the spark notes version of what the core does, let’s chat about how to train it, and what modifications we need to make, when, and why, during pregnancy.

One of the big things to start doing early in pregnancy is working on connective breathing, to learn how to engage and relax ALL of your core musculature, your pelvic floor included. The jury is out on whether kegels help or hurt (your pelvic floor gets worked all day long with every breath you take, and there’s some debate over whether overworking the muscles makes them tire more easily or forget how to relax), but these aren’t quite kegels. This is more about learning about your core, and breathing, when done properly, is wildly important.

How do you do connective breathing? You can do it sitting, standing, laying on your back–however you’re most comfortable. As you inhale, relax everything. Let your belly expand. As you exhale, imagine drawing four corners of a diamond between your legs up and in together (like with a Kegel–trying to stop the flow of pee). Repeat for 6-8 slow, long breaths. Do them when you’re brushing your teeth, or at the start of a workout, or whenever you’ll remember them.

During your first trimester, you don’t need to change much. Planks are fine. Deadbugs are fine. It’s all fine. The biggest thing is to make sure you are hitting all three of those earlier categories. Some examples include:

Anti Extension:
-Planks
-Deadbugs, Leg Lowering
-Roll outs (with TRX, stability ball, ab wheel, barbell–wherever you’re at, really)
-Hollow Holds
-Reverse Crunches (not sit ups, amigas)
-Bird Dogs 

Anti Rotation:
-Pallof Presses
-Wide Stance Anti Rotation Chops
-Cable lifts
-Cable chops
-Landmine abs/rainbow/arc

Anti Lateral Flexion:
-Suitcase carries
-Side Planks
-Oblique holds off Bench

There are a lot of ways to do this, but if you’re doing three total body workouts a week, it doesn’t hurt to do one from each category during a workout. For a full body workout, I like to write them in with a lower and upper movement as part of a tri set, and I typically work my way through them in the order they’re in above. Three sets of 8-12 reps is plenty.

Once you get into your second trimester and that baby is starting to grow and put pressure on you, it’s time to start considering some modifications. Some women find that planks (and pushups along with them) put too much pressure on their already-stretching linea alba. While some may be fine with them through to the end of their pregnancy, it’s one of those risk/reward things–there are so many other exercises to choose from, that you really don’t NEED to do planks.

Another thing to start moving away from in your second trimester is any exercise that has you laying on your back. As baby grows, they can put pressure on your vena cava, which is a major vein in your body. It supplies both you and baby with blood flow. While you’re likely never going to be doing exercises on your back long enough for it to be an issue, it can still make mama dizzy, nauseous, and uncomfortable, and potentially be a disruption for baby, so it’s worth it to move away from dead bugs and leg lowers. (This is also why moms are recommended to stop sleeping on their backs in their second trimester).

If you notice doming/coning, it’s a sign that your abdomen is under too much unregulated pressure, and perhaps it’s time to move away from that particular exercise during your pregnancy.

For me, personally, I scaled back all of my anti-extension movements to essentially just bird dog variations by the end of my pregnancy, largely out of comfort factors (everything else was just wildly uncomfortable). I relied heavily on other movements instead–chops, lifts, carries, side planks, and Pallof presses specifically, and that worked for me.

The biggest key in all of this is to listen to your body. Some women do GREAT with one movement during pregnancy, while others feel terrible doing the same exercise.

Questions for me? Drop them below 💛

Ask Ash: “Fat loss? Thirty hit me really hard!”

Oooo gurl. Okay.

Things that promote fat loss:

Calorie deficit. There are a lot of ways to go about this; I personally choose to track my food in an app, and adjust as need be. Want to figure out your daily calorie goal? Take your weight (in lbs) and multiply it by 11, then take your weight and multiply it by 12. That’s your calorie range. If you prefer to have high/low days, you can mess with how many you have each day but your weekly total should be the same. I like to focus on my protein intake (shooting for your body weight x .8 AT LEAST) and let my fats/carbs fall where they lay (lazy macros but hey, life is too short to meticulously count this stuff).

Eat your dang veggies.

Don’t like counting calories, or become obsessive doing so? Use the hand portion guide (I like this infograph from Precision Nutrition).

Either way, focus on getting the bulk of your food from lean meats like turkey or skinless chicken or fish, and fruits and vegetables (but more colorful ones like greens and less of the starchy ones like potatoes or corn). CARBS AREN’T BAD (in fact it’s the preferred fuel of the brain and muscles)—we just USUALLY eat too much of them.

Second, start lifting weights. Weight training WILL NOT MAKE YOU BULKY. What it does is build muscle, which marketers everywhere have dubbed “toning up” because apparently women are afraid of building muscle? Muscle takes up less space than the same amount of fat. Know what else muscle does? Gives you defined shape. So I’m not sure why building muscle is a bad thing. Nobody wants pancake ass—everyone wants a curvy booty (ok, maybe there are some out there who want a flat butt but they’re probably not the type to read this so…). You GET that shape by lifting.

Built by lifting weights, not by cardio (actually like no cardio 😂)

Another solid reason to lift weights while you’re in a caloric deficit (but also eating your protein, because that’s your building blocks for your body)? You’re helping preserve that muscle, and direct the nutrients to them.

Oh, and muscle is what we call “metabolically expensive.” It burns more calories just to maintain than fat. So, you can actually boost your metabolism (slightly) by lifting weights. Not an excuse to eat like an a-hole but it’s a nice perk.

Toss in some metabolic workouts (check out Jordan Syatt’s 101 metabolic workouts–they’re FREE, you’re welcome) and you’re golden pony boy (girl?).

In all honesty, the hardest part is sticking to it. There’s no real secret to what we need to do—the trick is finding ways to stay with it when we’re no longer motivated (motivation is just a mood, and it passes pretty fast).

That’s why I usually suggest hiring a coach if you’re really struggling to make it happen—they offer guidance and accountability (plus while I love the whole free info thing and think fitness should be accessible to EVERYONE regardless of financial situation, people tend to find paying for it to be an added bit of motivation/accountability).

For the Mamas: Comparing Nursing Sports Bras

I don’t know about you ladies, but I basically live my life in sports bras (mostly Nike and Lululemon because, let’s be real, they work best for me and I LOVE the back details on the Lulu ones). I’m not even sure why I own real bras, because if I’m given a choice, 11/10 I’m going to pick a sports bra.

That being said, as I crept closer and closer to my delivery date, it dawned on me that—while I’d invested early in some regular maternity/nursing bras, I hadn’t even thought about sports bras. And what makes me think I’ll choose regular bras over sports bras just because I’m breast feeding?

So, I ordered a few. Here’s how they stacked up.

For the record, I ordered larges across the board—I’m a 32C/D pre-pregnancy/36-38DD during…and just more now that I’m nursing. Just. A lot more.

Things I cared about: material, comfort (cough cough, support), and style, because let’s be real, maternity stuff isn’t always cute, and bras in general for bigger “girls” are almost never cute.

Senita:

Speed Feed Nursing Sports Bra $32 in Blush

Senita is based out of Arizona and I have to say, I’m wildly impressed (and really want to try out some of their leggings eventually as well). This bra fits AMAZING, providing decent support but also room to grow as milk came in. In all honesty, I probably could have ordered a medium band wise (I was torn because I‘m borderline medium/large so I figured I’d order up and be on the safe side) but the large fits well now while nursing. I absolutely love the material (thicker but wicking), easy snap opening (can totally do one handed), and I adored the color (ordered in blush). I liked the bra so much I wound up buying two more (nautical stripes, which was $28, and black, also $32). As far as impact exercise goes, it ranks up higher than others I tried, though I doubt I’ll ever find one I’m comfortable running with as long as I’m nursing. These ALSO have padding, which makes them SUPER convenient (I don’t need pads to prevent leaking through shirts). I’ve recommended these to ALL my pregnant/new mama friends.

Cadenshae:

Playtime Bra $50 in white

Breastfeeding Sports Bra $50 in Smoothie Crop

Cadenshae is a NZ based company so these took a while to come in (roughly 11 days and I’m impatient what can I say), but my shipping was only $10 which I found crazy and also awesome (I’d looked at another international brand and their shipping was almost as much as another bra…didn’t want it THAT badly). I. Love. The. Material. On. The. Breastfeeding. Bra. It’s basically the same as Senita, and just like Senita, I’m comfortable doing “higher” impact exercise in these (although again, not sure about running). Plus, the pattern on the BF sports bra is adorable. I love the back on the playtime bra (got it in white so I could wear it wherever, whenever). The material is a little more cottony than wicking, and the cup size isn’t really made for the BIG girls but I found it fits well enough. Both have padding, like Senita, and the playtime bra comes with an extra extender for the back.

Love and Fit:

Strappy Back Nursing Bra $55 in coral and in periwinkle (yes I needed both)

I mean, look at the backs, I couldn’t NOT order it to try out. They remind me of my Lulus (still sad those are packed away for the time being). The material is softer and more cottony than the other bras I ordered (similar to the playtime bra material), but again, are very comfortable. Like all the other bras, they have, they provide good support, BUT I’m still not sure I’d run in them. (Keep in mind I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t run anyway, these all have great support if you’re into running; I don’t think I’d be comfortable in ANY sports bra running right now). These also have padding in them, making them super convenient and comfortable.

Motherhood maternity:

MiMi Racerback Clip Down Nursing Bra: $16.98

Of all the bras, I’m surprised how much I like this bra, especially since I wasn’t sold the first time I tried it on. It’s SUPER comfortable for wearing around but only provides light support, with its very light material. I probably could but wouldn’t lift in it, definitely wouldn’t run in it, might do yoga in it, but I 100% wear this as an every day bra or at night to sleep in. It’s unlined/no padding, so pick up some nursing pads if you do wear these.

Ask Ash: “where to start when trying to jump into a healthy lifestyle?”

I’ve recently started asking my IG followers what topics they want covered in blog posts. If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer, head to @the_fit_witt and shoot me a DM, and I’ll cover it in an “Ask Ash” post.

Excellent question. The answer? Wherever you think you’ll find success to start.

Do you think it’ll be easier for you to start going to the gym a few times a week? Start there!

Is tackling nutrition easier? Try that first.

Think all that’s too much? Start with whatever small steps you can.

Go for a short walk each day. Make it a goal to drink more water and eat a vegetable with each meal. Try out a fitness class. Take the stairs.

The idea behind starting small and with something you KNOW you can succeed at is twofold.

For one, small steps are easier to incorporate into your daily life now, which means you’ll probably keep doing it, until it becomes a routine and then you forget it’s even a conscious change and you can move on to the next step.

Secondly, success breeds success. If you can do something successfully, you feel GOOD about it. It builds your confidence that you CAN in fact do this (which, you can). That also makes it easier to take the next step.

So, pick something you feel confident you can do, and start there. And don’t worry if you “mess up” and miss a meal, a day, a week. Just hop back on it. You’re in this for the long haul.

How to Build a Workout

When I first started to get into the fitness world, my biggest question was “how do you build a workout,” and—no surprise here—it’s one of the most often asked questions when I do polls or chat with new coaches/trainers. So, let’s look at some basic ideas, keeping in mind that there are a lot of ways to skin a cat (I’m still not sure why anyone would want to do that but that’s the saying).

How many days a week can you absolutely do?

Let’s be real here. How many days can you ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT A DOUBT make it to the gym? Not ideally, not in a perfect world—in THIS world.

Four or more? You’ll probably do best with an upper and lower body split (2 upper, 2 lower) with 1-2 optional movement or metabolic days.

Three or fewer? You’re likely looking at full body workouts.

How long do you have at each workout session?

Are we looking at a two hour window each time? Or are you lucky to get 30 minutes each time? If I only have 30 minutes, I tend to do more density style work, to get my volume in (circuits are great; I’ll also do tri sets if I’m doing a more structured program so I can crush upper/lower/core or corrective). If I have an hour, you can bet I’m doing more strength stuff to start out (heavy deadlift), followed by accessories (reverse lunges, hip thrusts, etc), and maybe a finisher. Two hours? Might go to Starbucks for 30 minutes first.

What are your goals?

Are you looking to get super strong? You’ll want to start off with a heavier complex movement like a deadlift, squat, bench. Do you want to build muscle (or, ladies, “tone up”)? You’re going to be looking at more volume—more sets and reps at a lower weight than your heavy moves.

Want the best of both worlds? (My personal favorite, and it gives you some great results). Start with a heavy movement as your A exercise, and follow it up with higher rep moves as your B, C, D movements.

How to structure a workout?

Like I said, there are a lot of ways to structure a workout, and it largely rides on what your goals are, what your experiences are, and who you learned from.

Some BASIC guidelines to follow:

1. Start with a good warm up. I prefer dynamic warm ups that begin with a core movement and work their way out. They don’t have to take long—mine is about 5-8 minutes long.
2. IF you are going to do a plyometric or power move (sprints, jumps, Olympic style moves), DO THESE FIRST. These work on your nervous system to move quickly. They are NOT best done when you’re tired (just not how your nervous system works). That’s how people get hurt. Take advantage of a primed and nonfatigued state. Do these first. They’re done in LOW REPS AND LOW SETS.
3. Do your heavy/compound movement here (or first if you’re not doing any plyo/power moves). We’re looking at deadlifts, squats, bench presses. I call these “A” exercises when I talk about a program. They’re best done in sets of 3-5, in reps of 3-5. Just starting out? Go lower sets (to limit your volume) with higher reps (because you use less weight with higher reps). IF YOU’VE NEVER LIFTED BEFORE OR ARE RETURNING TO LIFTING AFTER A BREAK, your sets/reps will look more like 3×10 with MUCH lower weights. You’re not trying to crush yourself to the point you can’t walk for four days, ya know? I’d rather see you able to train again in that time.
4. If you’ve got the time, an A exercise is paired well with a mobility drill or a corrective exercise. It lets you rest between heavy sets (in order to really get after a heavy set, you need several minutes to fully recover. Yes, you read that right) but still make good use of your time.
5. Typically, you do a push before you do a pull. A heavy bench press comes before pull ups or rows. A squat GENERALLY comes before a deadlift (not always…this one example is more flexible).
6. Try to do an equal number of pushes and pulls. Unless you sit at a desk all day. Then add an extra pull exercise to your workout.
7. Go from bigger muscle groups to smaller ones. Don’t be that guy who starts off with bicep curls and skips legs altogether.
8. Your B-D exercises, generally, are going to be in the 8-12 rep range. You MIGHT do a set of 20 or more at the end of a workout to burn out or get a “pump.”

So, what might a full body day look like? FOR ME, generally:

Warmup:

Breathing drill (5-6 breaths)

Core activation drill (8 reps)

Glute activation drill (8 reps)

Adductor mobility drill (8 reps)

Thoracic rotation drill (8 reps)

Ankle mobility drill (8 reps)

Shoulder mobility/stability drill (8 reps)

Dynamic movement drill (5-6 reps/side)*

*this mimics whatever I’ll be doing that day

Workout:

A1) Deadlift variation (sumo, usually, maybe hip thrusts if I’m not loading my spine) 3-5 sets, 5-6 reps

A2) Upper body push (push-up, dumbbell bench) 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps

A3) Core movement 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps

B1) Single Leg exercise (step ups, Bulgarian split squats, lunges) 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps per side

B2) Upper body pull (pull ups, rows) 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps

B3) A different core movement 3-4 sets, 8-10 reps (if I did a plank before, maybe a side bridge here)

C1) Lateral leg movement or hamstrings, 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps

C2) “Arm Farm” (either bis/tris/shoulders) 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps

C3) Another, different core move (chop? Lift? Carry?) 3-4 sets, 12-15 reps

If I’ve got time, I might do a 5 minute finisher.

A lot of that is personal preference, so take what you will from it. It takes roughly 40-50 minutes if you’re not messing around. And, right now, my workouts don’t look like this. They’re mostly 15-20 minute density style or metabolic style workouts (do as much as I can in a short amount of time) because I have a peanut (the cutest, but he loves and needs all of my attention) and I work out at home during naptime while my husband is on the road.

Before You Start Working Out Again After Having A Baby…

Congrats! You’ve given birth to a sweet little bundle of snuggles and love. If you’re like me, you can’t WAIT to resume fitness again (because let’s be real, it feels so good to move again, right?).

My tiny human being skeptical about that.

Slow your roll. You’ve just spent 40 weeks (give or take) CREATING a tiny human being. Your body has changed drastically, and giving birth is no easy feat. You shouldn’t just jump right back into your fitness routine where you left off (whether you lifted throughout your pregnancy, or didn’t lift a finger for nine months). So let’s talk about what to do BEFORE you return to fitness.

For the first six to eight weeks, your ONLY GOAL should be adjusting to life with a new person in it. Sleep as much as you can. Try to shower every day. Figure out your baby’s cues. Listen to your own body (that’s probably telling you to sleep). Stretch or walk if you feel up to it, but understand, your body is healing right now. Let it. Don’t put pressure on yourself to lose weight or jump back into a routine during this time. Trust me–your body will LET YOU KNOW if you overdo it. Go slow.

At the 6 (or 8 if you had a c section) week mark, you’ll likely go see your OB or midwife to get cleared to return to activity. And this is where there’s a lot of gray area. They’ll “clear” you, but don’t always give you guidance on where to start over again.

Ask for a referral to see a pelvic floor therapist. You’ve just had a child sit on your pelvic floor for nine months, so whether you delivered vaginally or through a cesarean, it’s probably worth your time to go see one. Unless you’re into that whole cross-your-legs-tight-and-hope-you-don’t-pee-your-pants-every-time-you-sneeze thing. I don’t judge.

They’ll also be able to assess you for a diastasis recti and begin working with you to heal it as best they can (some cases do require surgery, but some don’t, and either way, you should give the conservative non surgical route a shot first).

What can YOU do as well during this time?

*Please note, for ANY of these, if they don’t feel good or cause any pulling inside, hold off on them for now. There is NO NEED to rush this.

Connective breathing: lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Push your back flat against the ground. Breathe in, relaxing your pelvic floor and filling your belly (push out on your abs in all directions like you’re filling a balloon inside you). Exhale fully, drawing your pelvic floor up towards you.

A good tip for “drawing your pelvic floor up”: imagine a diamond shape between your legs, and try to pull the four corners of it together and up into you.

Cat Camel: on all fours, arch your back like an angry cat, and then reverse the curve of your spine, bringing your belly button down and your butt up.

Pelvic Tilts: lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of your back into the ground, flattening the arch in it, then relax and allow the arch to return. Repeat.

Glute Bridges: lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of your back into the ground. Push your heels into the ground, and, without losing that flat back, bring your butt up into the air. Your booty is doing the work here, not your back, so if you find yourself arching your back to get height, reset, and shorten your range of motion.

Heel Taps: lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Push the small of your back into the ground. Bring one knee up towards your chest and return it to the ground. Repeat on the other side.

Side Lying Windmills: lay on your side, knees bent, with your shoulders, hips, and knees all stacked left directly over right (or right over left, if you’re on the other side). KEEP YOUR KNEES AND HIPS STACKED, reach out in front of you on the ground with your top arm, and draw a big half circle around your head. Return to start, repeat.

Side Lying Clamshells: lay on your side with your knees bent (fetal position but not as bunched up), shoulders, knees, and hips stacked again. Brace your core (aka push out on it in all directions like you’re filling a balloon inside you/like you’re preparing to get punched in the stomach). Keep your feet together and raise one knee up towards the ceiling without letting your hips move.

Pec Stretch in a doorway

Managing Excitement versus Expectations in New Clients

If you work in the fitness industry, you know that–especially at this time of year–you have some VERY excited clients who are ready to take on the world to reach their goals, some of which are very high or unrealistic given genetics, time frames, or the commitment involved. You don’t want to crush their excitement by starting them off too slow (slow and steady behavioral changes have been shown to work best long term), but you know you need to help reset their expectations (“I’ll hit all my goals in six weeks! And then I can stop and it’ll all be fine!”) so that when things DO take a while, they don’t crush your client’s enthusiasm.

So, how do you go about doing this?

Get them excited.

Get them involved. It’s their program, their diet, their goals. This provides them the opportunity to find things that work for them, that they like, and it gives them a sense of ownership over a program. Find things they LOVE doing and work them in to your sessions. They’re more likely to stick with something if they enjoy it. Do they hate salads? Don’t tell them to eat salads all the time. Ask them to try cooked or raw vegetables instead–to find things that they like and will eat. Do they LOVE heavy deadlifts and HATE high reps? Include both within your programming. Get their feedback. They won’t love everything you ask them to do, but find a happy mix.

Then, leverage that excitement and enthusiasm. Are they super motivated? Use it–give them some AMAZING sessions at the very start to hook them. Have them leave feeling better than when they arrived. Allow them options–do you want them to do a strength day but they want to feel tired? Let them choose a finisher (preferably from a pre-selected set of options that you provide) so they leave feeling tired but still did the work you know will help them reach their goals. Set performance based benchmarks together to aim for–and celebrate hitting them, even if it’s with a quick shout out on IG or a “I’m really proud of you for your consistent hard work–look at what you’ve just achieved.” Introduce them to other clients, put them into a support group online, give them positive feedback and encouragement (and stay consistent with that throughout your time with them).

Manage their expectations. 

You don’t have to crush their dreams by telling them the reality of working out–that it can become really mundane, that their expectations that they’ll crush 5-6 lifts a week when they’ve never lifted before or have not been lifting consistently recently are probably unrealistic long term, that it takes a really long time and sometimes genetics just aren’t going to allow you to look like that celebrity you come in pointing to as your ideal goal (I will never look like Jennifer Lawrence, for many reasons, not least of which is because there’s a 3″ difference in our heights). But don’t be afraid to sit down with them and discuss these things.

Let them know that if they really want results, it’s about consistency, not trends or fads or 6 week plans or 21 day challenges. Talk to them about the reality of burning out fast (those “resolutioners” who disappear from the gym after 3-6 weeks because their plans were unsustainable)–by explaining you want to make sure they feel successful in everything they do. They say they want to work out 5-6 times a week? Is it something they can see themselves doing long term? Is it actually feasible for them? What might stand in their way? Ask them what they see as potential roadblocks, ask what they can 100% commit to at first, and go from there. Let them know that their bench mark is maybe 3 times a week, and anything beyond that is a bonus. Let them know you can always add days down the line. Provide them with options for their other days–at home workouts, long walks, yoga, something else they really enjoy.

Continually encourage them. 

I’m not going to lie–that motivation is going to dip REAL fast for most people. Accountability is a HUGE part of being successful with your clients. And no, it’s not always easy to keep them accountable. They drop off the face of the earth sometimes, or come up with excuses (real life does happen). Find a way to continually check in with them. If you’re an online coach, have a system in place to chat with them and check in regularly. If you work with them in person, ask them how they feel each time you see them, or if you’re willing to, text with them. Keep your message consistent–that consistency is key, that perfection is unneeded (and unrealistic anyway), that just by showing up they’re doing something, that one or two bad days does not define their process.

At the end of the day, it’s a balancing act, and one that you’ll hone over time. Keep communication between you and your clients open and two-way, and see what happens.

I hate packing, but…

The last two weeks, I’ve been packing and cleaning in preparation for our sixth move in the past two years. 
It’s no secret that I despise packing. I don’t mind unpacking and settling in, because it means we’ll be stationary for long enough that yes, I do in fact want to hang some pictures on our walls, and it’s a new beginning. But packing? Packing is another story. Packing is a headache, and I don’t know many people who would disagree with that. 

There is a silver lining in all of the packing, though, that I have to admit I do love. 

Every time we move, rather than pack up and move EVERYTHING, we go through all of our stuff and purge unused items. Old scrap papers that I’ve kept around? Gone, unless they are, in fact, important. Costume jewelry? (Waves bye). And clothing? Yup, if it hasn’t been worn, it either gets tossed or donated (depending on condition). 

Packing and moving is a really good time to decide what belongs in your life still and what is very literally unnecessary weight. It’s a very physical representation of something we should do in every aspect of our lives–learning what to let go of so we can move forward onto the next stage of our lives. 

Maybe it’s a toxic relationship that you need to move on from. Maybe it’s a job that doesn’t offer you much potential for growth that you need to leave to in order to expand your career. Maybe it’s negative thoughts towards yourself that are holding you back from being your best version of yourself. Maybe it’s expectations of what life should be, that are preventing you from appreciating what life is. 

Whatever the case is, maybe it’s time to stop holding onto things that are holding you back, and decide on what’s really worth keeping…even if it takes you two weeks of moving things from one pile to the next before you make that decision.