I took a hike with my daughter and her friend recently.

And yup, we talked about fitness, food, and some of the misinformation about both out there (obvi).

They asked me about some of the stuff they see on social- ‘can you get rid of hip dips?’- to the consistent talk about calories in calories out.

When we came across a group of older woman having a snack break- who commented about hiking SO they could eat- we talked about never needing to earn your food.

And because they got weighed in gym class and sent home with a BMI report card last year, I know what messages they’re getting there (my son is currently watching ’Super Size Me’ in health class and every day is a debrief of that bullshit. If you don’t know how harmful that movie is @maintenancephase) has a fantastic episode that breaks it all down).

Your children, your nieces and nephews, your friends kids- they are paying attention.

Not just to how you talk about food, but what YOUR...

The idea that you need to be working to a certain pain point is rooted in targeted body shaping workouts- something that has been disproved time and time again.

But the fitness industry continues to sell programs based on achieving a certain body shape anyway.

So let’s get clear on why you could feel sore after a workout:

You’re doing something new
You’ve increased your weight/reps/sets
You haven’t done that particular movement in a while
You’re overtraining

Soreness, shaking, that burning feeling- it happens.

But the goal of strength training is to ADAPT to the exercises you’re doing, not throw something new at your muscles every workout.This is, in part, the concept of Progressive Overload- a training principle with actual science behind it.

To get good at something you need to do it time and time again- and building muscle is no different.

The Kettlebell Collaborative is a progressive, intentional fitness program that not only allows you to...

Recently I’ve been thinking about all the ways I used to eat, train, coach, and well, just be.  All in the name of ‘health’.  Here’s just a few…

 -Make sure every workout is at least an 8 out of 10 on the challenge scale

 -Only do yoga if it’s power yoga

 -Keep foods out of the house that I think I should avoid

 -Get up for a workout even if I had a horrible nights sleep

 -Make sure every lunch and dinner has veggies

 -Do cardio 3-4xs week

 -Always portion my food less than my male partners

 -Try to make my body look like it did when I was 20

The not so secret secret of the fitness industry is a large percentage of fitness professionals  have eating disorders and/or body image issues. 

 And it’s absolutely true that I became a trainer as a means to ‘manage’ my own disordered eating.

 And even though it been years since I had last I binged or started...

My goal this week is to read 30 pages of my non fiction book.

(I can crush one fiction book a week or so- I read before bed nightly- but non fiction makes my brain work too hard at that hour).

Do I want to read the whole book?

Of course.

But I know that setting smaller, attainable goals- in an attempt to reach a bigger one- will not only give me confidence that I can do it, but will physically takes me one step closer.

See how that works?

There are usually a TON of other goals we could set that would make the big one a reality, but we get so focused on the end result, that the little steps get lost- and the dream becomes something that’s unattainable, that feels too out of reach.

Leaving us frustrated and disappointed.

I see this a TON in movement.

People come in with big goals of being able to do THE THING, only to get frustrated when they struggle.

They don’t focus on the things to do before THE THING.

The movements that CAN be achieved right now, that...

There's a real lack of quality kettlebell programs out there. 

I see plenty of KB programs out there that either use them as dumbbells (completely missing out on all the fun kettlebells can be) or programming that's kind of all over the place.

Many are without clear instruction or ways to modify the exercises.

Risk of injury goes up when you’re bouncing around workouts (you want to ADAPT to your exercises- that’s how you build strength), or don’t have tips on how to make a move work for you.

That's where this program comes in. 

I want people to feel like they know exactly what they're doing when they pick up a kettlebell, and to feel the confidence that comes with owning your movements. 

Each week you'll have the opportunity to really refine your skill and build for the next workout, with a full breakdown of the move of the week and a whole lot of ways to modify it.

Plus a follow along bodyweight mobility workout to not only increase your range of...

If anything you might be LESS strong for having them…

For most of us, to maintain one means to keep your calorie count very low- and that’s leaves you with little energy to expend.

Being thin doesn’t mean you can squat without pain, or have strength to pull up flooring and drywall for hours if say, your house floods unexpectedly.

Listen, I get why body goals are a thing.

We all know society values thinness- and looking a certain way means you’re treated a certain way (a whole topic for another day). 

And.

If your entire reason for exercise is to get ready for swimsuit season- to burn off your calories and put your body into a ‘shape’- you’re missing out on the real value of the work you’re putting in.

And you’re confusing what a body looks like with what it’s capable of.

If you want to know what it’s like to work with a coach who knows the difference, I’ve got spots open for one on one coaching....

Since I know many of you are/will be dealing with a house full of candy- maybe for the only time this year- I thought it’d be a good time to talk about this.

First, it's important to note that the biggest predictor of binge eating is restriction. 

Second, no matter where you are on your path of having a healthier relationship with food, there's no morality in eating the whole bag (or more).  

AND there's likely a reason (especially if you're in camp only-once-a-year).  

Sometimes there's more to it- not just restriction, but lack of enough food during the day or week, high stress levels, not enough sleep, etc.

And sometimes, we just want it all and eating the whole thing is a conscious choice.

The thing that make both situations neutral is AWARENESS.  

Binging gives us an opportunity to look at the self care pieces we might have missed (like eating enough, sleeping enough, keeping stress levels in check).  

And figure out what we needed in that...

Being sore after a workout is a sign that you're doing something new, moving in a different way, or you've increased your weight...and that your body hasn't adapted to the movements you're doing.

The actual point of exercising?

To ADAPT TO THE MOVEMENTS YOU'RE DOING.

And if you're constantly switching up your workouts, your body is constantly being challenged by something new.

If you're being challenged with something new every workout, you won't get the opportunity to get good at the thing, to adapt.

I say all this as someone who chased soreness for years- and who taught fitness to others who also wanted the satisfaction they felt leaving a class completely spent.

And yes, I still love to be challenged.  By how heavy a weight is to move, by moving it in a challenging way, and by feeling my heart beat hard and fast.

But now, I understand how it all works.  

And my assignment has changed.

One that doesn't involve pushing myself in my workout so much that I have nothing...

Have you mastered the Double Handed KB Swing?

The Single Arm Swing requires a bit more skill- but still has all of the same mechanics of the two handed.  So feeling good and confident with two hands on the bell will make one hand that much easier...

Holding the bell in one bell is an instant game changer, requiring more of your core muscles to stabilize the offset weight, and more of your upper back and shoulder muscles to keep your shoulder locked back and down while you swing.

It can be helpful- especially in the beginning- to place the opposite hand of the swinging arm on that shoulder, as a physical reminder to not disengage.

Keeping the bell high between you legs will help with this as well.

And remember, the swing is a hinge, not a squat.  So think about sending your tailbone to the wall behind you as you swing the bell back, and keep your knees soft.