This is the most frustrating thing - doing ALL the THINGS but not seeing results. 

You feel like you're doing things that should be getting you results and doesn't, which is when you go into desperate mode for quick fixes.

When we just pick and choose healthy foods or random workouts, the problem with that is it isn't a structured program. Being more active is always great for your health first and foremost BUT if you have specific goals such as weight loss or muscle tone, you need to make sure you are doing workouts that are in a progressive tone to get you those results.

Pairing that with proper nutrition that again, matches your set goals is what will get you to the place you are striving for. Part of figuring that out is getting real with yourself and realizing that there may have to be a method to what you are eating. 

Everything can be figured out but sometimes in order to do that, you need to bring in help - Hey, that's what I did!!

When I started getting into...

Nutrition is the topic of the day! This category has been a hot topic with clients.

Tools to put you in a calorie deficit:

No. 1 Intermittent fasting

No. 2 High/Low Carb or High/Low Fat diets

No. 3 Meal timing tricks 

KEEPING YOU IN A CALORIE DEFICIT

Eliminate all the above rules mentioned and just focus on what matters the most and that is "Are your calories in the right range to put you in a calorie deficit?"

Keeping in mind that you don't want to create a deficit that is so low, you are going to downgrade your metabolism, you're going to have low energy, it's going to effect your hormones or you're going to hungry all the time.

A tool to accomplish this includes tracking your food. The point of this is to learn what amount of food will equal your specific target calorie intake and to eventually be able to intuitively know when you have reached your limit.

Once you learn how your calories play out in a day, you can start playing around with your foods and having all...

Today I wanted to do a tutorial on LOWER ABDOMINALS. 

This is a question that has popped up with my 1:1 clients about how to engage that lower part of your core.

Lower Abdominals are the ones we would label as our "pooch", between your belly button and your pelvis. 

They are challenging to engage because we have more dominating muscles that can take over a movement and engage faster. So I am going to show you some exercises to better engage your lower abs.

When we crunch or do a v-sit up our upper abdominals and our hip flexers will both take effect before our lower abs. So the key is to start mentally being aware of your lower abdominals. What I mean by this, is you need to concentrate on pulling those muscles inward toward your spine. 

To get started I will demonstrate some exercises to get you connected with your lower abdominals. 

No. 1 - A simple breathing exercise to engage and connect with your lower core

No. 2 - A 90 degree crunch

No. 3 - Reverse...

It is time to break up with dieting FOREVER!!

Anyone who diets, has probably gone on and off either the same diet or has tried every fad diet under the sun. This of course leads to either never seeing results or not being able to sustain them.

When I was 15 or 16 years old I started trying all sorts of diets that never got me to my goals and instead left me feeling defeated and with a feeling of being weak minded. That maybe this was something I just couldn't do.

Generally when we go on a diet, it is always about exclusion and eliminating the "bad foods", which means the first thing you are going to think about when you start this new diet, are ALL the foods you are NOT supposed to have! That is just how our brain works. So when our will power breaks and we finally have one of those "naughty" food items, we feel completely off track and then throw the whole plan and diet out the window.

You want a flexible meal plan that includes all those things that we crave. If we go to a...

*Pre-recorded video, live training series has already aired and giveaway mentioned is no longer valid.

It's time to BREAK-UP WITH YOUR SCALE!

We are always so hell bent on seeing the scale number going down and that is a mindset we create for ourselves.

Anyone who has been following me, knows that I HATE the scale and think that it is a terrible piece of equipment - why is this even a thing to have in your bathroom?

We are so attached to the number on the scale and it effects our self worth and can set the tone for our entire day and that is NOT how we should be living our lives. 

We need to understand why we are so attached to it and then we can start to let go of that attachment. 

No. 1 There is no magic number that is going to fix everything. Chasing that number is going to take away from the things we should actually be doing in a weight loss and fitness journey. Chase a feeling not a number! If you are hoping to watch that number go down every day, you are either...

These are some personal trainer foundations to help get the most out of your workouts and each rep.

We will break down how each exercise you have ever done, can be broken down into 3 parts and used to your advantage.

Part No. 1 - Concentric part of the movement - where you are actually doing the lift of the weight and movement. 

Part No. 2 - Less talked about and glorified- Isometric! The moment and split second pause when you change direction.

Part No. 3 - Eccentric part of the movement. Control against gravity and keeping the tension to manage the load, which will give you a greater benefit vs just running through reps. 

When you feel you are getting too strong for the weights you have at home, you need to slow your movements down. That is what is going to challenge you and give you a better workout with each rep. This applies to any movement. 

Take your time to really feel each part of every movement! You may be surprised how heavy 10 lbs can actually feel. 

...

No. 1 - MINDSET

Any sort of mindset of self-hate or punishment that keeps you continuing to beat yourself up over any set back or that working out is a punishment has to go. That has to be swapped for a more self loving position and it has to be more about building our health and not punishing ourselves. Focus on balance!

No. 2 - UNSUSTAINABLE METHODS

Stop with any sort of methodology that is not going to be sustainable. Specifically time sensitive goals - like a 30 day challenge. That will not bring you lifelong changes. We need to incorporate the foods you love into a balanced diet that will allow you to stop "dieting" and instead live a healthy LIFESTYLE. Science and health focused my friend!

No. 3 - STUFF THAT DOESN'T WORK

What do I mean here? This is all about the juice cleanses because your body needs ACTUALLY FOOD, hours of cardio because that just messes with our metabolism and actually works against what we are trying to achieve. Oh and let's...

I get so fired up about BS "Fitness Challenges" - especially by those claiming to be a Fitness Coach.

A challenge that keeps popping up for me is something called 75 Hard, where there are something specific they have to do on the challenge every single day. I will come back to this later...

The biggest problem with this, is we are asking people to do the same thing every day - however our lives aren't always the same each and every day. So even though it is working to create healthy habits, this is an unrealistic plan and is not sustainable for 99% of people. 

As a Fitness Coach I feel a sense of integrity to ensure I am showing my clients balanced systems that work and are sustainable, which is why it is frustrating to see "Coaches" teach methods that are not healthy and not sustainable. This challenge is not going to impact your life long-term. 

If you are using a method that is telling you to do something for 75 days, then you will have to repeat what is being...

So excited and fired up about my last group call, where we drank wine & champagne - that I had to jump on and share how wonderful it was to work with this group of ladies and how one of the big takeaways was their shift in their MINDSET - let me explain...

This inspirational group of women all shared how their mindset held them back from really progressing, prior to joining the Bring Out Your Badass program. They were finally able to get out of the All-or Nothing Mindset.

The All-or-Nothing mindset means, you create the notion in your head that if you don't stay on track and maybe you miss a workout or your diet takes a wrong turn one night or one weekend that you feel your whole path, is now just a complete wash. Leaving you doing nothing! You let everything go for the rest of that day or that week or maybe just let it go forever.

The first step my group took to get out of the "in-and-out" mindset was joining my 8 week program. They committed to a specific...

Not making the progress you want? Here are some sneaky concepts that could be sabotaging your efforts.

No. 1 - CONSISTENCY

 I know, I know, you have probably heard this but hear me out. To much fluctuation will effect our hormones and metabolism, so we want to create a more moderate range and keep consistent with our activity and diet. This will keep our metabolism more even in order to reach those goals - what does that mean? It means you need balance. Create a routine that you can maintain - if you go too hard with your workout routine and then stop or your calorie intake spikes and drops at an aggressive level than your body isn't getting  the consistency it needs to function in a way that is going to work for you.

No. 2 - SLEEP & STRESS

The human body needs 7-8 hrs as an adult for proper rest and recovery. If you aren't getting enough rest your body is operating at a heightened state of stress, you will feel fatigued and your body is going to want to eat...