I've worked with many professional musicians over my coaching career, including full time orchestra musicians, DJs, music educators, freelancers and studio musicians.

One thing that all these different folks share is that they have very busy, very unpredictable schedules.

They're often running around town for rehearsals, lessons, gigs and recording sessions.

They work at odd hours including nights and weekends.

In addition to their paid responsibilities and regular adulting tasks, they also have to make time to practice or make music.

It's no wonder that many musicians struggle to stick with an exercise routine.

Over the years, I've helped my busy professional musician clients make more time for exercise.

Our approach is usually not perfect, and that's okay. What matters most is to develop your own level of consistency and keeping showing up for months and years.

Check out the most recent episode of my podcast for my top 5 tips to make time for exercise as a busy professional musician.

And if you're a musician, artist or another creative who's looking for help developing your own exercise routine, you can apply to work with me here: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

Every wondered why you aren't losing weight despite lots of hard exercise? Listen to this episode.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who wants to lose weight and was upset about the latest weigh-in at her gym.

Despite pushing herself and making good progress with her workouts, the scale hadn't budged in several months.

She wondered if she should add more workouts or try to go even harder.

But when I asked my friend if she had made any changes to her eating habits during that time, the honest answer was "no."

Our conversation inspired this new episode of my "Building Stronger Creatives" podcast, because I think it speaks to some key misconceptions about fat loss.

I discuss what it actually takes to lose fat - and why focusing too much on intense exercise is ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst.

I also share the REAL biggest benefits of working out, and why I think all creatives should exercise even if they don't want to lose fat or aren’t ready to diet.

Spoiler alert: burning calories doesn’t make the list.

Check it out and share with someone who's been struggling to lose weight despite consistent exercise.

Interested in working with me on fat loss and/or fitness coaching? Learn more and apply here: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

John Turman is 3rd horn in the Seattle Symphony and Horn Professor at the University of Washington.

He's also a badass powerlifter and fitness coach who can lift a seriously impressive amount of weight.

I was excited to speak with John about his fitness journey and how it interacts with his life as a busy professional musician.

Some topics covered include:

~How John used exercise to reduce music-related aches and pains

~How John got into powerlifting (and why he loves it so much)

~What types of exercise musicians should do and why

~Making time for exercise when you have a crazy work schedule

~The similarities between fitness coaching and teaching music

~Advice for musicians who are just getting started with lifting

~How being strong and fit has helped John become a better musician

This conversation was so much fun for me and John, and I really hope you enjoy it!

You can connect with John and learn more about his work here:

On Instagram: @hornhulk and @hornhippie and @hornhippiemedia

Website: http://johnturmanhorn.com

I've learned a lot about what it takes to build a strong deadlift. Let me share it with you.

Deadlifts have always been my strongest lift. I guess you could say I had some natural talent at the movement.

Within a year or so of serious lifting, I set my all time deadlift PR of 150 kilos/330 lbs (shown in the episode tile.)

After that, some setbacks forced me to go back to the drawing board and hone my technique.

I also started coaching other people and realized just how many of us struggle to master this movement.

I learned how to better coach and teach the hip hinge. And I realized that not everyone is cut out to deadlift a bar from the floor - and that's okay.

In today's episode, I share 8 of my top tips for building a better stronger deadlift.

These tips include learning to hip hinge, deadlift form tips, programming advice and how to choose the right bar deadlift variation for you.

Check it out if you want to improve your performance on this badass lift.

Interested in working with me? Apply for online coaching here: carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter

I recently trained for an open water swimming race while working 60+ hours a week. Here are some lessons I learned.

The social media highlight reel makes it look like some people are doing it all - excelling at work, getting in great shape, winning awards and having an amazing social life, all without any effort.

In reality, there are always sacrifices, tradeoffs and compromises being made behind the scenes. And no one is truly crushing it in all areas of their life at once.

Over the last two months, I went through a challenging experience where I simultaneously trained my ass off for an open water swimming race while coaching more than I ever have in my life.

It was a challenging but rewarding experience that taught me a lot about what it really takes to get better at something.

I have a lot more empathy for my clients who have demanding careers, or who are raising kids or acting as caregivers.

You can absolutely get in great shape or even accomplish big fitness goals. But you'll have to make sacrifices to other areas of your life.

Not everyone is ready, willing or able to do that, and that's fine. It's better to be manage expectations and accept slower progress than to set yourself up for failure, burnout or injuries.

If you do decide, like I did, to pursue an intense fitness goal while being really busy, it's important to understand the tradeoffs and plan accordingly.

In this week's episode, I share what the prep for my race was like and why I was so busy. I also share 5 lessons I learned about prioritizing exercise and staying motivated when you have a lot on your plate.

Interested in working with me? You can apply for online coaching using this link: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

Musicians need strength training. Including these things in your workouts will maximize your results.

You're a human before you're a musician. And human bodies function best when they move in specific ways.

Despite this, you do have some unique needs as a musician.

You can use your time in the weight room to address some of the physical issues that arise from long hours practicing, creating and performing.

Listen to the episode to learn about five things all musicians should include in their workouts.

These apply whether you're an instrumental musician, vocalist or electronic musician.

Are you a musician looking for help with your strength training routine? Apply to work with me here: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

Have you ever fallen off your diet or workout plan? This episode is for you.

Nobody is perfectly consistent 100% of the time.

We all experience slip ups, illness, unplanned "cheat" meals, vacations and off days.

Most of us will also go through seasons of life that are particularly busy and stressful.

Any of this stuff can make miss workouts or eat poorly - sometimes just for a couple days, other times for months on end.

I know how frustrating and discouraging this can be because I used to do it every. single. weekend.

I made the same mistakes hundreds (thousands?) of times before I finally learned my lesson and changed the way I approached diet, exercise and self talk.

In today's episode, I share my top tips for how to get back on track if you’ve fallen off the wagon.

Spoiler alert: it’s NOT to punish yourself with a new hardcore diet or training program.

I share advice for short term and long term struggles. And I help you work through the biggest mindset trap that people fall into when they feel like they've messed up.

Interested in working with me? Apply for coaching here: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

Goals are awesome. But you can still work out without them. Here's how:

If you've ever met with a personal trainer, you know that we always ask about your goals.

But what if you don't have clear goals? You might feel overwhelmed or intimidated and just make some shit up.

I think a lot of people start working out not because they want to accomplish something specific, but because they have a gut feeling that they could feel better or take better care of themselves.

If this is you, you don't really need clear goals. You need to just get started.

You'll learn more about yourself and what you enjoy as you become more consistent and explore different activities.

I'm a very goal driven person with my own training. But I absolutely was not like this when I started my fitness journey.

I needed to try different stuff to see what I was interested in. The goals followed from building a consistent exercise routine, improving my overall fitness and following my curiosity.

In today's episode, I share 4 pieces of advice to help you if you know you want to work out more but don't yet have specific goals.

Check it out and share it with another creative person who might benefit from this information.

Interested in working with me? Fill out the simple form on this page and I'll reach out to speak with you about coaching options: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/

Listen to my interview with trumpet artist and triathlete John Maurer on how fitness saved his life.

John Maurer is a Pennsylvania based music educator, performer and full-time dad.

He also has an incredibly inspiring story about finding sobriety - and transforming his life - through fitness.

John went from someone whose health was in dire straits to training for Brazilian jiu-jitsu and competing in multiple triathlons and half marathons.

I really enjoyed speaking with John and hearing about his journey. And I hope you'll give the episode a listen as well.

Some of the topics we discussed include:

~John's backstory about his battle with alcohol and how he was able to finally make a change

~How John found his way to triathlons

~How he makes time for the large amount of training he needs to do for his sport while balancing work and family obligations

~Why musicians need to make space for their mental health and process difficult experiences

~The benefits of John's fitness routine on his life as a professional musician

~Things John wishes more musicians knew about fitness and health

You can connect with John and watch his journey here: https://www.instagram.com/johnmaurer

Curious about ultimate sandbag training? This episode is for you.

I've spoken a lot about ultimate sandbags on this show, and I often show myself using them on my Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/carolinejuster/).

And yet, I've never done a full episode about using this awesome tool. I'm rectifying that this week per the request of a lovely listener.

Sandbag training has been around for ages. Ultimate sandbags are a specific brand of sandbag - one I think is incredibly well designed and unique from other options on the market.

I think they're an ideal training tool for people who want to work hard and get strong at home with minimal equipment.

They're incredibly fun and effective regardless of where you train.

In the episode I cover:

~What exactly are ultimate sandbags

~How I first started using ultimate sandbags

~Why I love training with ultimate sandbags and using them with my clients

~Practical tips to get started including how to choose the right size bag and how to fill your bag

~The five ultimate sandbag holding positions you'll use most often (especially for beginners)

Interested in incorporating sandbags into your training? Apply to work with me here: https://www.carolinejusterfitness.com/strongerfitterbetter/