Rest isn't just about self care.
Building muscles requires resistance to them- whether you do that by swinging kettlebells or running or bodyweight exercises. This resistance causes tiny tears in your muscle tissue. You’re muscles get stronger and bigger when the rebuilding of them happens. And that only occurs when you let them rest!
There’s also the whole mental aspect of working out without enough rest.
It can be really difficult to bring your ‘A’ game day in and day out. Eventually it’ll catch up with you, and you’ll show up to your workout tired and disengaged, and that’s when your form goes to shit and you get hurt .
SO WHAT ARE THE SIGNS YOU NEED SOME REST?
You have trouble sleeping- getting up and/or falling asleep
.
You’re super irritable
.
You find it harder to concentrate or focus on your everyday tasks
.
You feel unmotivated for many days/weeks in a row- you can’t get out of it
.
You’re always sore (although if you’re a beginner this is kinda true-...
Not being on a diet can be a lonely place.
Friend and family can be the worst offenders when you’re done with diets and want support.
If I had a dime for every person who told me about their loved ones who ‘didn’t get’ them not dieting anymore, well…I’d have a LOT of dimes.
The casual way in which people share their diet tricks and offhand comments about how ‘bad’ they were for eating the brownies last night can be overwhelming sometimes.
And can make you feel like you’re the only one who isn’t avoiding gluten or carbs.
Diet culture and the ‘wellness’ industry is LOUD. And EVERYWHERE. And no one is unaffected by it.
Not even those closest to you.
Three ways to offset these messages…
Diversify your media. Do you see people of all shapes & sizes doing the things, or is your view of health on your screen presented by mostly thin, white humans? No judgement; there’s a huge lack of diversity when it comes to the wellness industry and who gets a...
Strengthen Your Glutes and Hamstrings with a Mini Band
There are plenty of ways to get strong glutes and hamstrings.
You can hit them by using Hip Dominant exercises, like Deadlifts and Kettlebell Swings.
And you can also strengthen them with KNEE Dominant exercises, like this move right here:
Mini Band Donkey Kicks/Donkey Kick with Leg Extension
All you need is a small band.
HOW TO:
DONKEY KICK: Begin with wrists under shoulders, knees under hips, a band placed around the middle of your foot. Keeping a stable spine, bend your knee, flex your foot, and raise your leg so it's even with our hip- squeeze your glute here.
Progress to this one...
WITH LEG EXTENSION: Once you get to the top position, extend your leg, and re-engage your glute before re-bending and lowering.
The racist roots of the diet industry.
There's a history behind how you feel about your body shape and size.
I’m white, thin, non disabled, & cis gender- and those are just a few of the many privileges I have that must be acknowledged to be an effective coach who works with humans. Period.
And I continue to learn from people of color with lived experiences and knowledge in this field- and you should too.
So here’s just a quick synopsis of why I coach the way I do, and a list of resources at the bottom. The more education you have, the easier it is to see how racism and fitness are linked to each other ...
Why do we idealize thinness?
A big part of it stems from the 1800’s, when white European men felt they needed to create a bullshit evolutionary hierarchy to place themselves at the top. So they ranked people according to physical traits and catalogued them to fit their narrative.
These men decided that fatness was a sign of ‘savagery’- only because it was a trait they were seeing...
Exercising to exhaustion isn't a sign of a good workout.
Water and food. You need plenty of both to swing and lift heavy shit.
If you have to drag yourself off the floor after your workout, there’s a good chance you need to be better hydrated and energized (in the form of calories).
Yes, there’s a number of other reasons why a workout would be tough- from sleep to stress and all things in between.
But water and food? A great place to start.
And in my nearly two decades as a coach, it’s one of the most common reasons I see.
Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.
Sometimes you SHOULD miss a Monday.
When working out DOESN’T help you de stress….
This post comes from a shit ton of personal experience, as well as a common topic of conversation with the lovely humans I get to work with everyday
Obvious reasons you shouldn’t push it:
it hurts to do it (remembering that uncomfortable is a different feeling)
you’ve never done anything like it before
you haven’t done any movement like it in months
Less obvious reasons you shouldn’t push it:
you’re emotionally drained from that thing you’ve been stressing over/that challenging relationship you’re dealing with/ that work situation you can’t figure out
you’re physically drained from that thing you’ve been stressing over/that challenging relationship you’re dealing with/ that work situation you can’t figure out
Exercise itself is a stressor that raises your stress hormone cortisol-which isn’t always a negative. Raised cortisol from exercise can actually...
The squat variation you should be doing.
Kettlebell single arm suitcase squats are one of the best squat variations out there.
Yup, I said it.
And here's why...
Any exercise where you have weight on one side of your body (as opposed to a double suitcase squat) and not the other creates instability.
And being unstable means your core needs to work that much harder to keep you from tipping over.
So core stability, balance work, grip strength!, and of course, lower body fire .
How to do it:
To get the most out of this move, keep your weight as balanced as you can between your two feet and keep your shoulders square (words can't express how difficult this can be!).
Keep your chest up, navel drawn to spine, and squeeze your glutes as you stand.
Enjoy!
Let's talk about minimalist shoes and hiking...
You might know by now that I love a good barefoot training session…
But what about other activities?
Your feet have more nerve endings per square centimeter than any other part of your body.
They constantly supply our brains with information about the surface below our feet, and in turn our brain sends back info on how to navigate it.
The more experience you have connected to the ground, the move info you have and the bigger potential to improve how you move overall.
No, going minimalist isn’t for everyone. Especially if you’re working through acute pain.
But a long, gradual switch from most stable to less stable shoes can do a lot- to not only improve how you move, but prevent pain from your feet to your whole body.
When you feel like the only one not on a diet...
Friend and family can be the worst offenders when you’re done with diets and want support.
If I had a dime for every person who told me about their loved ones who ‘didn’t get’ them not dieting anymore, well…I’d have a LOT of dimes.
The casual way in which people share their diet tricks and offhand comments about how ‘bad’ they were for eating the brownies last night can be overwhelming sometimes.
And can make you feel like you’re the only one who isn’t avoiding gluten or carbs.
Diet culture and the ‘wellness’ industry is LOUD. And EVERYWHERE. And no one is unaffected by it.
Not even those closest to you.
Some ways to offset these messages?
Diversify your social media feed. Do you see people of all shapes & sizes doing the things, or is your view of health on your screen presented by mostly thin, white humans? No judgement;...
What is Animal Flow?
I have always looked at animal movements as the cornerstone of just moving better.
Crawling, rolling, reaching in all the ways and directions makes for a strong body. And not just strong in the traditional sense- like being able to squat 300lbs- but building the kind of strength that prevents you from hurting yourself when you squat that 300 (or 30 ).
The kind of strong that allows you to stay away from sprains and twists when you fall. Or pick up something at an angle. Or reach behind you to get something heavy. You know, the kind of strong we need in everyday life.
Animal Flow (AF) is a system of putting moves together that I’ve used with clients my whole career, but in a more streamlined way (here's a more in depth post breaking down all the components of Animal Flow).
I became an AF instructor to learn their system of this type of movement- and then I integrated what I found most useful into my own programs.
When I'm working with clients one on one, we use AF move that are...
Author
Gretchen
Coach
Growing up I was a half-hearted athlete who struggled with my relationship with both food and exercise. I smoked for over a decade and spent much of my youth either binging or not eating at all. But after breaking my leg in a car accident, months of physical rehab and years of psychological counseling lead me to a renewed appreciation for my health and my ability to just move-something I'll never take for granted again. I overcame a lot and have spent much of my life sharing what I've learned. I became a NASM personal trainer over 16 years ago. The type of clients I've trained and my own personal interests lead me to attain many other certifications. These include Sports Specific and Orthopedic exercise specializations, Pre and Post Natal exercise, MMA conditioning, and ACE Mind Body Specializations. I've taken 2 TRX qualifying courses in general and functional fitness. I am Kettlebell certified through both NETA and Kettlebell Kings, also completing an independent study facilitated by Steve Cotter, founder of the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation. I am also a certified Animal Flow Instructor. In the fall of 2021, I became a Certified Intuitive Eating Facilitator, as IE was integral to my own ability to divest from diet culture. I think this was the missing piece to be able to put together a holistic, meaningful training program for all my clients.
