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EVERYONE has doubts, fears, times of insecurity. We all need reassurance at points. Feel down about our progress. We all have a better and worse.I know it can seem like someone else has all of the answers, never has a moment’s doubt about themselves. But I’m sorry.We’re human.Pobody’s Nerfect.I was musing over this the other day when one of my coaching clients was talking about feeling down about her recent progress. Talking about how she still sees the areas she really wants to change.And I said I totally get it.Cause we were on a zoom call I could see her fascial expression of, “Uh huh.”You will always want to improve something. It’s human nature.Even if you reach the goal you think will make all the difference, even if you really like your results, you’re still going to have better and worse days. You’re still going to have times you wish you could change or improve something.You’re still emotionally human and have those insecurities.Being happy all of the time. Feeling perfect? It just doesn’t exist.I mean we have flaws, some of which make us both amazing and really difficult human beings at the same time. You can just ask Ryan!I think we just have to remember that when we get a bit down about how things are going and start the comparing game.The grass is always greener on the other side.Social media only shows one angle. It’s the scrapbook often.There is always hard work and struggles going on behind the scenes. Here are 3 tips to help you embrace the process of change, loving your journey but always wanting more:# 1. Just being AWARE. I think admitting to our fears and doubts is key. Recognizing that they are THERE and real. We also need to recognize that with any positive quality comes a dark side. The more you want to strive to improve? The more you’ll get out of life BUT also the more you’ll have to quiet the internal doubts. The internal hater so to speak. #2: Results will never happen fast enough nor be linear. You’re always going to be tempted to focus on the things that “still aren’t there yet.” You’re always going to feel like someone else got there faster. #3: Don’t be afraid to admit your own insecurities. Too often we try to hide or bury negative emotions instead of dealing with them. I think sometimes admitting to the doubts and fears helps you face them and work through them. It even helps you change your thought processes behind them.And then remember that sometimes you need to ACT AS IF.Confidence comes from knowing you’re doing what you can. Taking the right actions. Not from being perfect. And the more you start doing the habits of the person you want to be? The more you FEEL like that person and become that person!

Movement is medicine.Now I’m not saying that if you have an injury to just keep pushing through, but too often we simply do NOTHING.Then after some time off, we jump right back into what we were doing and wonder why we end up injured again. Why nothing changed.And it’s because we never addressed what lead to the injury in the first place. We never addressed postural distortions, compensations and imbalances that lead to overload. We never addressed the mobility restrictions and muscle weakness.If we want to move and feel better? We need to train our bodies to know how to move well. And that means returning to basics and focusing on that prehab work.If we want to see a change? We have to make a change.And simply resting changes nothing.So if you’re injured what can you do to help prevent future issues and even get to still train?Address the rehab work you need. Seeing someone is good if this isn’t just a minor ache or pain. But even with those, you need to include the proper prehab work. Like if your wrists hurt with push ups. Do the mobility work needed so you don’t just have to deal with that annoying pain any time you have floor work. You need to foam roll to relax overactive muscles, stretch to lengthen shortened muscles and mobilize your joints and then activate those underactive muscles so that weaker muscles not meant to handle the load don’t have to. We do this work to establish proper recruitment patterns to help make them automatic during compound, faster paced movements. And as you address the underlying causes? Modify around the pain. While we don’t want to avoid moves forever if possible, we do often need to work around as we correct the problem.And then we need to REBUILD. We need to retrain those movements with tweaks to help us load the correct muscles. It may be using different cues, or slightly different variations. Or even just adjustments to form. Slow things down and focus first on what you feel working over just mimicking proper form. We want to learn how to control as many movement patterns as possible so we then don’t get injured twisting or turning in everyday life!Need help with that prehab work? Check out my RStoration!--> https://rstoration.com/rstoration41013342?sl=podcast

While we want to work toward a new and improved version of ourselves, we have to remember…IT’S STILL US.Same flaws. Same struggles. Same reactions to things like restriction.So we need to remember who and want we are to address our needs and goals as we work to create changes. We can’t go in thinking all of the sudden everything is just going to change because it is a new year.I actually think this is often why our resolutions fail.We aren’t basing how we do things off our “old” self.So I wanted to share some tips to help you create a realistic program for yourself to start moving forward toward that new and improved you.1. Assess thy self. Are you really an all or nothing person or does the slightest sign of restriction send you running for that food you now can’t have. If you KNOW YOURSELF, you can design a plan around this. You may be that person that cuts out everything at once. Or you may be that person that needs to make changes slowly. Don’t force a plan that doesn’t fit who you are.2. Celebrate habit changes. You want a new you? You have to create a new mindset. One of VICTORY. You have to try to ACT AS IF you are the thing you want to be. And that means ingraining those habits. To build that momentum, it means seeing each habit you complete as a win vs just focusing only on those long terms goals. So if you set a goal of 10lbs to lose this year? Also really break down those action steps you need to take to get there and make those habit goals something you celebrate.3. LEARN about what you’re implementing. When we understand the WHY behind things? We are more likely to trust the process, especially when results don’t add up as quickly as we’d like…because, let’s face it, they never do.4. Don’t expect perfection. Focus on doing something. I know it can feel stupid to do something that’s half-assed or just 5 minutes. But often it is more the fact that we stayed in the routine, that we actually took action that matters more than exactly what we did. It just keeps us in the habit. It mentally makes you feel more successful. And 5 minutes is still more than no minutes. It’s what honestly keeps the ball rolling and gaining momentum even though you won’t see or feel instant dramatic results!

This year was definitely….interesting. And there is a lot we can learn from the challenges to help us move forward and get even better results in 2021!Here are some key takeaways and tips to help you rock your goals and learn from the past.You can’t control what you can’t controlSomething is better than nothingDon’t delay, start today! There will be ups and downs, but our goal is to make the lows less low.Don’t try to go it alone.What are the biggest lessons you learned in 2020? Comment below!

With any goal comes sacrifice.Plain and simple.And the more "elite" the level you want to reach? The more sacrifices you'll probably have to make.Especially if you want results faster.While of course we can't out work time to some extent, the more we want results...well...now...the more sacrifices we will have to make.Versus the longer we are willing to commit to the process?Well the less "perfect" you often need to be because you are willing to be in it for the long haul.And consistency goes a long way when we give it time.However, while we may not have to be as "perfect," we then do need to sacrifice more "time."There is always a "catch." ;-)But, anyway, I bring this up because I think too often we set ourselves up for failure when it comes to reaching our goals because we aren't willing to endure the sacrifices.We don't face them before getting started.Instead we look for a magic pill. A quick and easy fix.And the second we hit that difficult situation, that sacrifice? We give up.But sorry...there really is no magic pill. That's not really how life works hahaSo the more we can go in with our eyes wide open about the "cost" of reaching our goals?The better off we will be.It's not being negative. It's being realistic.It's about facing the "worst" and knowing whether the cost is worth the reward to us.It's also about realizing that "sacrifices" aren't really sacrifices if you want something that much.Is the goal WORTH IT to you?We have to remember that with every decision we make, we are "missing out" on something else. We also have to recognize that what we see as a means to reaching our goals, others may call OBSESSION.But sometimes we have to risk being a little "obsessed" to reach our goals. We have to go that extra mile that others aren't willing to go.It really comes down to...what do you value most?There is no right or wrong choice or goal.Life is about pursuing what matters to us.It's just always key we understand there is a cost to every decision we make.That we are always sacrificing something in favor of something else.

"I'm too old."I call BS on this. Do our goals change?Yup.Does our body change?Yup.But so much of what we state that we are too old for, we actually need to be doing more of.We also have to remember that fitness is always about ability.Our needs and goals do change. And they always will over time, But more importantly, we have to recognize that lifestyle factors add up. And the longer we ignore them the more they can build up to create overload.And that is the real issue.Not our age.Those lifestyle factors, and how we address them, may make us feel old at 25. Or not old at 105.Think of your body like a plate.There may be no cracks in the plate to start. But through a lack of attention to proper movements, or prehab….and constantly sitting hunched over textbooks and at computers….well…we start to build cracks in that plate.But as we are creating cracks in this plate, we’re also stacking more and more stuff on it.We’re training harder without warming up. We’re not sleeping well. We’re drinking. Eating crap food. Stressing at work.We’re adding weight constantly to this plate as we even add more cracks.And then when the plate finally breaks and everything falls off, we claim it’s because it is too old.But it wasn’t the age of the plate. It’s all the stuff we did too it while ignoring the cracks.It’s why if you start younger creating habits that don’t create such dramatic damage OR you take time to try to REPAIR the damage you can avoid feeling old and like you now can’t do the things you love.Sure does wear and tear happen? Will we want to adjust our training methods because of different goals and the fact that with age our body does change.100%But too often we hold ourselves back from training the way we want because of age when it’s really INJURIES or our fitness level or our goals that are dictating what we need.Studies have shown time and time again the importance of lean muscle to longevity, only reinforced by the importance of grip strength as an indicator of health and longevity.So stop saying you CAN’T do something because of your age. Your goal should always be to rebuild so you can clear yourself to do more.And the younger you start addressing your postural distortion…the younger you stop thinking you’re invisible, well the less old you’ll ever feel.We’re not too old. If anything we just have to stop being stupider when we are younger.Tips to help you adjust your fitness to feel young forever.Include prehab work.Use every move as an assessment and focus on those recruitment patterns.Use variations that fit your goals.Stop having the attitude of no pain no gain. This creates the cracks. You’re not being paid to train through pain. You can work around.

Change requires change no matter how you look at itAnd often the changes we need the most?Well they're uncomfortable.Changes that make us uncomfortable don't feel sustainable. They feel so against everything we've been doing we find excuses not to make them.We even find ways to try to VALIDATE not doing them.We waste time putting up more mental barriers against the changes instead of just trying them, truly testing the changes by committing to them 100%, and seeing it as an experiment to gain a better understanding of our body.Often those uncomfortable changes are necessary to achieve a new and better result.Often those changes we least want to make, are the ones we need the most.And once we actually mentally GET ON BOARD with the changes? Once we stop trying to find reasons NOT to do it?Well we realize it isn't actually that hard after all.That NEW becomes habit.And amazingly sometimes we even think after awhile, "How was I not doing this before?!It is in our nature not to want to change.Change is uncomfortable. And we don't really like being uncomfortable.Plus, with change there is a fear of failure.That's why it's key we ADMIT why we truly don't want to make the change. We lower those mental barriers by RECOGNIZING them.We need to say to ourselves, "Ok I know this is going to be uncomfortable. I know I won't like it to start BUT I've got to take this risk and LEARN if I want a better outcome."By recognizing what holds us back from at least TRYING something new, we can then better move forward and commit 100% to the plan.Because if you don't test something new? If you keep doing what you've always done?You can't keep expecting things to turn out better.STOP trapping yourself in a hamster wheel working really hard without getting anywhere. You have the power at any time to step off that wheel by making an uncomfortable change.And once you do?You'll be amazed often how much BETTER things are and how that new lifestyle builds into something sustainable.We just often have to be willing to dive in and trust the process!Recognize why you are resistant to the change. And remind yourself that change requires change.Choose to recognize it as an experiment.Don’t shut yourself in a bubble. Be willing to see the other side.Recognize that you truly need to give something your 100% effort to know if it will or won’t work.

Something is better than nothing and often it is the habits we still want to be consistent with.But also recognizing at times you need even just a MENTAL break can be key.You have 300 other days of the year to dial things in. Focus on your consistency around the holidays.Go in with a plan. How are you going to get back to it after? Meal prep before? Have healthy options on hand?Stay active! It may not be your usual workouts but find ways to stay active.

Every move is an assessmentWe constantly need to assess and reassess what we feel working and how we are moving.Because things add up from our daily postures and new injuries impact things.Even different variations included in a new progression can fatigue and affect things.That’s why I utilize these 4 techniques to help me get more out of my training and use each move as a chance to assess and learn.Use video.Use both internal and external feedback.Change your prehabAdjust your exercise variations.

Progress…we have this vision of this straight line forward.When in reality it’s this super curvy all over the place line that eventually moves “forward.”And we all “know” progress is never linear.Yet we all too often expect it to be.We get upset at even the slightest set back or plateau.We get upset at maintaining the amazing results we’ve already made.And when we get frustrated?We don’t keep moving forward. Nope we do things that are SURE to set us back.And I think part of this comes from how we even measure progress.We measure it only in terms of our overall, ultimate goal.And we never take that step back each week to reflect.It’s why I like to do weekly goal check ins with my one on one clients.What did we do well this week? YUP! Recognizing the sometimes even super small habit changes that happened.Because that consistency is PROGRESS.What maybe didn’t you do well this week?Because guess what?Recognizing those mistakes or slight deviations? Well that self-awareness we can gain from that is progress.And all of these things can keep us focused on what actually matters to progress.All of these things can keep us in the moving forward mindset.Progress is really just embracing the learning process.A process we will truly be involved in the rest of our life.So how can we change how we perceive progress to enjoy the process?Complete weekly checkins Celebrate those other small victories. Realize nothing will EVER happen “fast enough”And recognize that progress is progress no matter how small. And that even by learning from something that didn’t directly move us forward? We can end up moving forward! Don’t give up because things aren’t happening fast enough. Talk about a way to to for sure set yourself back.

I get asked all of the timing about what meal timing is best.Should I fast?Do I need to eat 6 small meals a day?Do I need to eat before I workout?What’s key to eat post workout?When is too late to eat?There are so many concerns around meal timing, that I wanted to address 4 of the most common myths I hear…Eating late at night leads to weight gain.If you eat too much protein at one meal you won’t use it.You need to eat X amount of meals to see results.You need to eat pre-workout.

Whether we succeed or we fail, ultimately?Well ultimately we are to blame.However, it isn’t easy to accept that we are at fault.It’s way easier to blame outside factors…We didn’t have enough time.The plan was flawed.Work or life obligations got in the way.But guess what?It’s still your fault no matter how “real” or valid the excuses are.And that should actually be a positive thing if we truly want to make a change.Because it then means that ultimately YOU are in CONTROL.When we blame outside forces, we give them the power.We give them power, because we don’t want to be at fault.It sucks admitting you failed.It’s hard to realize we sucked at something. Or didn’t stick to the plan.It’s suck to admit we have a weakness.But when you admit it’s your own flaw?You also gain control of your future.You then have the power to CHANGE your situation.That control, and the acceptance of your failures, is what ultimately leads to your success.Those that succeed honestly often don’t really have a better plan. They didn’t have perfect timing.Shit got in the way and they had countless setbacks.But they owned their failures. Blamed themselves and not things outside of their control.And they put in the work to make the changes.Stop blaming everything but yourself.Because ultimately YOU are in control.Ultimately only you can choose how to react to a situation. Only you can choose to move forward.

When we’re first starting out with a new training routine, first getting into exercise or even starting out after injury, it can be so hard to know exactly where to start and how hard to push.We often also are super motivated and end up pushing too hard too fast.We have to remember that the most important key to getting started and truly creating a routine is CONSISTENCY.And that means building a strong foundation and focusing on sustainable habits we can repeat week after week!That’s why I want to share these 3 common training mistakes I see when someone is first starting out and what you can do to avoid them!

3 Secrets I’ve Learned That Make The DifferenceYour Pain Tolerance will dictate how far you can go.When you want to stop? You need to KEEP GOING.You are selling yourself short if you pride yourself on being a lone wolf. 

Dooming yourself with doubt.We question the change and try to pick apart the ways it won’t work because….let’s face it…we’re scared and it’s a change.But when you start to instill doubt before you’ve even tested something?Well you’re dooming yourself to fail.Because so much of our success is because of our MINDSET. Our willingness to trust the process.Our willingness to try.And when we doubt something? We doom it because our mindset won’t support the change. Here are some tips to help you avoid dooming yourself to fail by doubting…Learn the WHY behind the programming. Often when we see the reasons WHY something is being implemented, we are willing to give it a shot. So if there are workout designs or moves you are “afraid of?” Learn why they are being used. Often that reasoning and seeing the purpose can help us trust to test them out even when things feel strange.Set a plan in place with an end date. I think often when we give ourselves an end date to reassess, we are more willing to give something a 100% effort. It makes it seem like a set experiment over potentially wasting time. Because often part of our doubting something will work, is our fear of failing and wasting time!Implement small changes to build off of what has worked. When something has worked, don’t just stop doing it. Make small tweaks to build off of it. When we can build off of the familiar or use something similar, we allow ourselves to feel more comfortable with the change. We trust the change because it is connected to something that has worked in the past. So realize that, even when you want better results, often it is small tweaks to what we are currently doing that add up most AND make the changes mentally easier!Just remember if you decide to commit to a change, actually COMMIT TO IT.Decide to trust the process. Because doubting it? Well that’s setting yourself up to fail before you’ve even made a change.So much of our success is based on the mindset we have going into things!

I think we’ve all been guilty of this - getting close to our goals, wanting to celebrate, see how far we can push things.Heck sometimes we are just tired of being diligent. We only have a set amount of willpower and self control.So even if we’ve enjoyed something, it doesn’t mean at times we don’t want to “buck” the system. Sleep in late. Skip the workout. Not track our food.So what do you do when you’re finding that you’re SOOOO close to your goal yet oddly wanting to sabotage your own results by doing things you know you…well…shouldn’t?!Here are a few tips to help you through the self sabotage.Realize it happens. We are only human. We do have other stressors. There will be ups and downs. And at those times, recognize that even if we are close, sometimes we do need a break. Do a de-load workout week. Set a diet break. Do a calculated “rest” period to reset physically and mentally.Assess what triggers you to plan better even for the future when it happens. Is it that you start to feel restricted? Is it that you’re bored? Is it that your goal is no longer exciting? The more we recognize the WHY behind it, the more we can adjust our plan or even recognize that we do really want to keep pushing.Set new goals. Often when we start to let up it’s because we don’t feel the pressure, or excitement, to keep driving forward. Set some new performance goals if you’re finding you’re close to your weight loss goals. Give yourself a new focus. Have fun with experimenting. Sometimes we just need a change. Even in maintaining our results, we should constantly be having fun tweaking and adjusting. Try some new workouts. Or maybe some new recipes. But try something a little new in your habits to spice things up.Don’t feel guilty when it happens. There will just be days mentally you can’t seem to make yourself care. And even though you shouldn’t, you well, do it anyway. Don’t focus on these days. Don’t feel guilty. MOVE FORWARD. Learn from them!We always need to take time to assess why a mindset happens. We shouldn’t just write it off as a lack of self control. The more we can learn about ourselves the more we can adjust over time.And the key is also BEING FORGIVING. We may be amazing, but we are also human! There will be ups and downs and times we are less motivated and more motivated.All we can do is learn and feel better.

The best way to really improve at something?Well it starts by first admitting you suck at it hahaI think often we are scared to truly admit we aren't good at something.It's hard recognizing our own flaws.And we often even try to AVOID the tasks and that we aren't good at.We put them off. Try to find ways around doing them.We even make EXCUSES to get out of doing them.But the simple fact is, often if we want better results?We've got to own up to what we are sucky at and learn to improve.We may never enjoy those tasks.But often they get more tolerable when we face them and improve at them.We have to check our ego and realize that we are only as strong as our weakest link.And there is nothing wrong with being bad at something. Most of us stink at something we've never done before!!!The expert in anything was once the beginner and we are NEVER above learning and improving.So if there are things you're finding you aren't good at - exercises that feel awkward, logging and measuring your food that seems challenging and weird - stop avoiding those tasks.Face them head on, admit you suck at them and then work to improve.We get good at the things we do consistently. And the stronger our weakest links are? Well the stronger and more able we are as a whole.Admit you suck at itMake one small change to build off of.Make one change at a time.Track progress to see that growth and celebrate itInclude it with other things you enjoy - "guilty by association"

Weights are not the only way to progress movements and create challenging workouts.We can play around with other techniques to keep challenging our body to get results!We have to remember that even doing the same but different can be progression.Here are 5 Tips To Create Challenging Workouts Without Adding Weights:Increase Your Training Density.Use Different Movement Tempos.Change The Range Of Motion And Create Hybrid Movements.Create More Instability And Use Unilateral MovesTweak Your Workout Design.

Learning To Trust The ProcessIt’s incredibly difficult to trust the process. It’s like you’re telling yourself to just commit 100% and “wait and see” if it is going to work. And that’s hard because we don’t like the idea that we may be wasting time.But the simple fact is, results take time to build. One week? Two weeks? Sure we can see results.But committing for 6, 10, 12 or even 16 weeks?! Holy crap will those results add up!So here are 4 Tips To Help You Trust The Process so you can actually see the results you want!Track. If you can see what you are doing you can see if it TRULY works. This holds us accountable and paints a clear picture of what is going on.Commit 100% to a program and don’t adjust it! If you don’t actually truly test something, you won’t know if it will work. And when you take a plan and then tweak it, you don’t know if it was the adjustments that actually helped you or held you back.Ask WHY! Do your research. Don’t just blindly follow! Understand why things are programmed. Try to break things down as you go through. That can even help you adjust if you you aren't seeing the results you'd like.Commit to an end date. Even when trying to build a lifestyle, I think end dates are key. I set end dates for progressions and ratios even when maintaining. It gives us a point at which to assess and make changes or tweaks as needed. It gives you security that you aren’t just committing to something forever blindly. 

"The world is full of educated fools.”We seek out all of this knowledge, but then we do nothing with it.We don’t ever IMPLEMENT.And I get it…Positive things are still scary - even if it means stepping into a better version of yourself.That’s why I wanted to share 5 tips to help you get moving.5 Tips To Help You Implement Your Knowledge:Focus on behavioral changes over end results. Set goals that celebrate those habits.Stop seeking some perfect schedule or plan. The program that will work best is one that is realistic!Recognize your self control isn’t infinite.Focus on just one change at a time. And make it something ridiculously easy at times.Have something outside of yourself to hold you accountable!