Most women start exercising for a change in body composition. This goal is to lose fat and build muscle. They sometimes don’t know this is what they are looking for. Their goals sound like “I want to tone up,” “I want to look like this fitness model,” I want to lose weight,” or “I want to lose 10 pounds.” All of these goals are pretty elusive, besides that last one. That’s a good, measurable goal but also has its flaws. The one thing all of these goals boils down to is these

New to a gym? Or maybe you are getting a lot of shade at the gym and you don’t know why. Either way, read through this list to make sure you are getting the most out of the gym experience and to make sure that the gym isn’t stuck with a sloppy creep for a member. Perverts and Haters Prohibited All kinds of bodies frequent the gym. Keep your eyes and your judgment under control. While it is totally normal to take a few extra glances at someone bodacious doing squats, don’t lin

If you are a gym hopper, travel a lot or are new to a gym, you are familiar with the experience of walking into a new place and hoping to god you don't look like a fool Ok, actually I think we are all familiar with that feeling... But I digress, today we are going to have a short lesson on walking in like you own the place - like you belong there because you certainly do! Here are our goals, every time we walk into the gym but special when we walk into a new gym or unfamiliar

Finding a new gym, visiting a new gym and going to a gym for the first time can be an intimidating experience for many. It is only with some time served and thought that you know what you want out of a gym and how to walk in with purpose. Good thing you are reading this. I have been in probably HUNDREDS of gyms and talked to THOUSANDS of gym goers - both happy and unhappy - and I know what you need to consider before choosing a gym. Before you sign on the dotted line, know th

Your period. Yay! Not the thing most women think of but coming from a woman who has lost her period for two years, I am grateful every time I have it. We should really honor out cycles as it tell us SO MUCH about what we are capable of, our current hormonal health and it gives us a tell about our bodies performance. It is a signal of our super power as women. So start working with your period and make it work for you. For women, making your training work for your cycle is jus

We all have them: imbalances and injuries the affect our daily lives.. Learning how to push through a certain amount of pain is an important part of weightlifting and fitness in general. The fact is, there are no outstanding figures that are not the product of hard, consistent work, pain and sweat. Don't let that scare you. The fact is, not only is the work worth it but you will also learn to enjoy it. People of all ages have imbalances and these tend to multiply themselves a

You have moved past the beginner stage. You have gone to the gym for over 8 months, showing up at least 3 or 4 times a week CONSISTENTLY. For a real beginner, you can follow the same program for two years, only increasing the weights used, and you will most likely still see results. Once you are past this, past 6-12 month of consistent work, you can start to play with your program and incorporate other things. This is when we start playing with supersets, metcons and 1 RM. Ye

There are many theories on training and a lot of them are pretty good. No, really, they are. Because most people are over-fat and under moved, Literally anything they do will be useful and benefit them greatly. Physical fitness is 80% you DOING SOMETHING and 20% WHAT you do. When we get into weightlifting, we want to work the body evenly and towards our goals. So lets go over how to plan your training for the week. A well thought out training program will have some guidelines

The second question you will have when starting weight lift is How Many? In Part 1 we went over exercise selection and what are the moves that will fit your overall life and bring you closer to your fitness goals. Here, we will talk about how to do those exercises. Not all bodies and brains are the same, therefore not all goals are the same. That being said, most women do have the same goal: lose fat mass (aka “lose weight”) and gain muscle mass (aka “tone up”). For those of

Let's talk about exercise selection. Most women do ridiculous, complex movements that include a lunge twist, press and toe tap ("thats ONE") with 4 pound weights. They are told that this will target you bum and slim your waist and tone shoulders, when this move in fact does NONE of that. Most likely, this kind of advice will give you shoulder impingements and be tiring without changing one thing on your body. Listen Ladies, I love you and respect you so here it is: For the

Unless I am doing a mental exercise, I am always working out with music. I dance as I lift and run, because working out is my happy place. When small iPods were a thing I used to just fold up my key and Nano in the waistband of my short and go run. That was easy and light. No giggling and stayed everything stayed safe. But now we use phones for streaming our music and those things are a lot bigger. Since the glory days of teeny tiny pod are over, I seem to always be looking f

Numerous studies have been done on this subject; Does music help performance? Well, that is a more complex question than we think. There are two kinds of performance: perceived and actual. Perceived performance is how you think you performed or how easy it was to perform the task at hand. Actual performance is, you guessed it, how much work, speed, distance or volume was measurably achieved. While in many cases, test subjects increased their cadence in cycling when the tempo

I’m a gym junkie and need to make routines on the fly with little to no equipment. Here is what I ALWAYS have with me. This stays together at all times. In my bag. Always. Notebook and pen: You can stop reading now. This is the number one thing to have with you at the gym. This means that you have taken ownership of your health and fitness. This is so important, I keep my gym membership card in it. Write your workout down, record the weights used, distance logged and after yo

Ladies, please share with your awesome, single, fit guy friend! Get that dude a loyal lifting girl! So, you know how to get the woman at the gym, but what if your Artemis is at work? Or friends of friends? Then we need a different strategy. If you see her around a lot, it behooves you to take it slow and get her to be curious about you. Fit Chicks are fun babes, focused and loyal - but also protective of themselves. Hey, great glutes don’t come without a price! Get her walls

Ladies, please share with your awesome, single, fit guy friend! Get that dude a loyal lifting girl! Hey, Gentlemen. So there is this woman, right? You see her all the time at the gym, at a Crossfit class, maybe you just see her around the office. She is the Fit Girl, The Gym Junkie, The Artemis, the apple of your eye. She is the only female doing tricep pulls, bench presses, full squats and working hard. She has one of the fastest Grace times at an Rx weight. You can see her

When we workout your mind and body goes to a different place - a place that takes primal concentration and focus to maintain. All of our senses are heightened and our thinking could not be any more in the moment, thinking only about the task at hand. This is Flow, The Zone, Tunnel Vision and sometimes a happy place inside ourselves. Unfortunately life does typically not allow us to be in this state of bliss and sensual concentration all the time. We have to talk to others, pl

Having an a hard time sticking with your healthy lifestyle mission? Here are some cheats to help you focus on winning. Hint: Go slow, steady and accumulate small wins. Reverse Calendar: This is my favorite method for making new habits. Instead of planning ahead, look back. It is so much easier to stay motivated when you see how many days you have done right instead of dreading the challenges ahead. Buy a wall calendar or print out sheets of calendar. Put a big X for the days

Summer starts on the 21st of June – but most of us have been drinking beer and eating Gelato in the sunshine long before that date. If you are just getting started to get fit for the season, you might be a bit behind schedule. That’s ok. Trust me, as a health and fitness practitioner, I know that ANYTIME is a good time to start getting fit. Here is a summer cheat sheet you can use to help give your motor a boost, burn more calories and enjoy the season a bit better. Bursts o

This topic really digs in deep. I could give you a bunch of band-aid answers like “make a great playlist, get a buddy or sign up for a race, or watch a video of powerlifters, dancers and crossfitters.” Those are sparks to light a match - but what is the match made of? All of those things may get you out the door and to the gym, but they are never THE REASON why you KEEP going to the gym, keep exposing yourself to pain on a regular basis. The truth is: you have to find your re

Save your body from injury, perform better and burn more calories by warming up. Quick and dirty workouts are all the rage these days. It is becoming well known that it is the intensity of your workout that has an overall impact on your body shape and fitness levels rather than long hours on the cardio machines. More people are turning to short, intense workouts that last under 20 minutes with great results. What nobody talks about is the warm up. Do you go to work without yo