Redefining Strength Podcast

Am I Too Old?

Are there changes that happen as we get older?

100%!

But so often we blame our age for things within our power to change.

We also blame our age for issues we’ve ALLOWED to actually build up over time.

Improper dieting practices. A lack of a proper warm up….

Things we thought we could get away with when we were younger. That we thought “worked?”

Well…let’s put it this way….just because we could get results at the time, workout without warming up without any immediate consequences doesn’t mean we SHOULD HAVE.

And it’s also a big part of why we’re now “feeling our age.”

But because this is something we’ve…well…sort of done to ourselves…it also means we have the power to change it.

So how can you avoid feeling old? How can you control what you can control to stay lean and strong to your final day on this planet?

Here are 5 tips to help…that we need to try to teach people at younger and younger ages!

So we’re entering the time of year that well…we often slack a bit on those healthy habits. We get busy. There are tons of work things and family events…

Let’s face it…often the holidays are when our motivation fades and often our healthy habits fall by the wayside.

But I think part of the reason why we ultimately lose progress so we feel we have to start over in the new year is because we’re holding ourselves to too high of standards.

Say whaaaat?!

Ok don’t get me wrong. I believe 100% in hard work.

But I also think we hide behind having to be all in or the “go hard or go home” attitude so much so that we end up doing NOTHING when we can’t do everything and be perfect with our implementation.

It’s why I want to prepare you for this time of year by giving you permission to do the minimum.

Yup. The minimum.

Because sometimes by simply doing as little as we can to MAINTAIN our current results we move ourselves forward.

I mean think about it this way even…

If you started the New Year even where you are NOW over, say 5lbs heavier from all of the holiday eating, wouldn’t that be better?

And on top of that, by often doing the minimum and being slightly better than we were the year before, we ultimately enter the New Year BETTER OFF than where we are currently.
 Because consistency adds up.
 It may not happen as fast as we’d like, but those results do snowball.

So I wanted to really highlight how you can do the minimum and still see results with these tips…

Funny how any time there is a blip or bump in the road toward results we feel like we’re failing.

But we often ignore the fact that technically we can only suffer a setback because we’ve moved forward.

And trust me…I get it.

It’s frustrating when you’re working hard and things don’t work out.

It’s hard when you’ve emotionally and physically invested in something for it to not only not move you forward but even cause you to lose some of the progress previously made.

But the sucky truth is, sometimes you don’t know until you’ve tried.

Progress is never linear.

Setbacks come with success.

That’s why I did want to share how I approach setbacks to hopefully help you take them in stride as you work toward your goals this week.

Because with results, with progress, will come failures.

If you look at comments on different exercise posts, you can honestly start to believe that EVERY move is bad for you and super dangerous. 

But I think too often we simply demonize moves over learning how to use them properly.

Don’t get me wrong, there is risk with every move we include. But honestly there is risk doing any movement in life. 

And it really isn’t that moves themselves are bad…it’s that we don’t know how to implement them properly based on our needs and goals.

Not every move will be right for you.

And if you use it when YOU shouldn’t? It may not result in a great outcome.

However, too often we end up injured from a move we SHOULD be including simply because we don’t understand how to create proper recruitment patterns to control it.

We also just get stuck going through the motions or trying to mimic proper form.

We aren’t conscious of what we feel working or how to tweak form to match our needs and goals and builds.

So I wanted to share some tips so you stop avoiding moves and demonizing moves when you actually need to learn how to control them to better avoid injury in every day life!

You know that downward spiral of negativity that can happen?

Where one bad thing happens, maybe even something minor, and then stuff just seems to be piling on.

And yes, while bad things are happening, you let your MINDSET only make things worse?

We let ourselves begin to spiral.

We begin to mentally tell ourselves…

“Life sucks.”

“I’m not good at anything.”

“I hate everything and it’s a horrible, no good, very bad day.”

We let our thoughts make things worse.

The question is though…How can we stop this spiral from happening?

I think we will always be works in progress, but I wanted to share some tips I feel like have helped me catch myself in the act of spiraling and stop it before I dig myself too deep a hole I then have to crawl out of.

So if you’ve found yourself going deeper and deeper into the negativity, try implementing these 3 tips.

Overcorrecting... 

You know when you've done too much of something so in an attempt to "correct" the situation you almost go overboard the other way?

Yaaaa we've all been guilty of it when it comes to our diet...and even our workouts....

We go on vacation. Eat "too much" on a weekend day....

So to "make up" for the overindulgence, we seek out a cleanse or try to cut our calories extra low or try to do extra cardio to burn everything off.

And I get this logic.

Trust me I do...It was my logic for the longest time.

Eat too much?

Eat less the next day and do extra cardio so the calories average out and you create more of a deficit to make up for the surplus.

Because we know that weekly, monthly, yearly averages add up.

So in theory, eating too much one day should mean eating less the other day to "make up" for it.

But it's not that simple and that binge/restrict mentally becomes a horrible cycle.

Honestly the biggest issue is that we are telling ourselves that we are "bad" and should feel "guilty" for enjoying life and having fun.

We then PUNISH ourselves the next day.

Sure if you're not as hungry, which you may not be after a cheat or calorie surplus, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

But don't consciously restrict extra to make up for it.

Honestly, if you want the best way to move forward after a vacation or "cheat day?"

Just get right back to those healthy habits the next day.

Don't do anything more.

JUST MOVE FORWARD.

I think the biggest mindset shift we need to have is realizing...There is nothing to correct.

You just need to get back to it.

And trying to restrict more, do extra, to make up for it leads to an overcorrection that all too often sabotages our results long term.

The more you try to restrict, often the more you mentally rebel. No one likes feeling like they're being punished.

So stop the guilt. The restriction as punishment for having fun.

Realize it's all a balance.

Enjoy the day and then move forward back at those healthy habits without guilt!

What we do consistently really adds up. And creating something sustainable is ultimately about our MINDSET!

To help you get right back on track, here are 3 tips:

Results aren’t owned. They’re rented. And rent is due every freaking day.

It’s due in the form of those habits.

Because we can never stop doing what made us “better.”

I know we want our cake and to eat it to, but you don’t get something for nothing.

Results are truly earned.

Earned by those boring, tedious habits you have to do day in and day out.

The hard stuff you don’t want to do.

I bring this up because I feel like so much in the diet and exercise industry is marketed as being EASY - a quick fix.

But nothing is ever easy, especially to start.

You don’t get something for nothing - change requires change.

So, for instance, as much as I believe tracking macros is the best way and becomes easy to do over time, I also know that NO CHANGE IS EVER FULLY EASY no matter how much it may be “easy” once you’ve done it.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you embrace those changes and break things down. Because we sometimes have to break down those changes to help allow ourselves to get started!

Here are 3 Tips To Help You Embrace Those Changes

Gaining muscle can be HARD. There are also those of us that tend to struggle more than others.

And it only gets harder as we get older because we can become anabolic resistant and we don’t utilize protein as efficiently or effectively (just another reason increasing our protein and tracking our macros is key!). 

That’s why I want to share 4 tips to help you dial in your diet and your training to get the best results as fast as possible.

Now note, I didn’t say rush results, because gaining muscle, especially if you don’t want to gain a ton of fat, is a slow process.

Because both our diet and our workouts need to work together. 

While we may be able to lose weight without training, training is KEY to drive muscle hypertrophy.

So here are 4 tips to help you dial in your routine to get those muscle gains!

There never really is “balance.”

Life is a constant balancing act.

We are always learning how to improve things and I think there will always be times we steer too much in one direction.

We’re human after all.

But part of mastering “balance” is realizing it will be a continual work in progress.

So how can you help yourself strike more of a balance over going to extremes…which…..let’s face it, is far easier especially when it comes to our diet and exercise routines?

Well that’s why I want to share these 4 tips to help!

I think most often we hold ourselves back.

Plain and simple.

It’s not that we didn’t have the ability. It’s not that we couldn’t learn the systems. It’s not that we weren’t strong enough, smart enough…insert the “enough” here….

Honestly…Most of our limits are truly self imposed.

And I think part of that comes out of fear of failure.

Out of fear of judgement from others.

But if you want to achieve a new and better result, you’ve got to believe in yourself. You’ve got to push past any limits you foresee.

You’ve go to stop the self limiting beliefs….

The question is HOW?!

That’s why I wanted to share 3 “secrets” I think will help you not hold yourself back in the face of something new….that will help you believe in you more.

Because you are what you believe you are!