Tough Cookie Talks

Tough Cookie Talks

By Jenna JozefowskiHealth & Fitness
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Tough Cookie Talks episodes

  • Working Out After A Break? 7 Ways To Set Yourself Up For Success & Make It Suck Less (Best of Season 1 Replay)

    It  seems like a lot of people I know (myself included) have had to take a  break from working out recently. I know I'm not alone right? Maybe  you’ve been sick? Or you're just dealing with the weight of the damn  WORLD? Chances are you’re also concerned about how this whole situation  has affected your body and your fitness?

    Whether you’ve gained weight, lost muscle & strength, or just  feel out of practice with your usual activities (all totally normal and  ok!), it’s important to set yourself up for success as you begin to  return to “normal” workouts.

    On this episode we talk about:

    • Why activities feel hard when you haven't done them in awhile, regardless of your weight or size.
    • Why the "beginning" is different for everyone (and why that's where you wanna start!)
    • How to manage your expectations so you don't wind up frustrated or disappointed in yourself.
    • How to "listen to your body" and challenge yourself appropriately without going overboard.
    • Why "good form" is both overrated AND important.
    • How to set realistic goals.
    • Why you don't have to choose between more structured workouts like lifting weights and other hobbies and obligations.
    • Why it's ok to ask for help!

      • Work with me

      Follow & tag me on Instagram

      Read the blog post that inspired this episode

      26 min
    • The WHOLE Truth: My Experience With Elimination Diets (Best of Season 1 Replay)

      Elimination  diets are not for everyone and definitely NOT for me. It took me awhile  to even share my “elimination diet failure” story with anyone. I was  embarrassed. I thought it was my fault that it didn’t work. I think  that’s probably the reason that most people don’t share their diet  failure stories more often. Today, I’m sharing the WHOLE TRUTH. My very  ugly experience with a popular elimination diet. (Hint: It rhymes with  Shmole Shmirty.)

      In this episode we talk about:

      • Why programs that call themselves "not a diet" actually are.
      • How I gave up dairy, gluten, grains, sugar, legumes, corn, peanuts,  alcohol, soy, and joy for a few months and wound up GAINING weight at  the end of it all.
      • The surprising reason I had an itchy rash the majority of the time.
      • How this experience led me to say "F this I'm done" with diet culture for good and led me to the work I do today.
      • A sprinkle of humor as I regale you with stories of how I used to  spend hours making "nacho cheese" out of sweet potatoes, crying over  candied pecans, and picking beans out of chili at super bowl  parties--and how I came out on the other side.

        • Links mentioned in this episode:

        "The WHOLE Truth: My Experience With Elimination Diets" (blog post that inspired this episode)

        How to connect with me:

        Join my email list

        Visit my website and blog

        How to work with me

        Follow & tag me on Instagram

        32 min
      • Badassery As A Core Value--A Conversation With My Longtime Client Steph (Best of Season 1 Replay)

        Today  is my first EVER guest interview on the podcast! And who better to  bring on but one of my first ever personal training clients--or at least  one of the first people who ever decided they wanted to work with me  specifically because of my unconventional approach to fitness. Grab a  cup of coffee (and your headphones LOL) and join Steph and I we  reminisce about our journey working together on a more personal level.  My hope is that you'll see yourself reflected in Steph's story, feel a  little less alone, and excited for what could be possible for you too!

        On this episode we talk about:

        • The story of how Steph and I met and how we were actually BOTH a little intimidated to work together at first.
        • How Steph went from being a self-proclaimed chronic dieting and  body hater, to giving up exercise altogether, to rebuilding her  relationship with movement into something super badass.
        • Some of the surprising ways strength training changed her life for the better.
        • How lifting weights has helped Steph be a more confident hiker.
        • Some of the toughest pills to swallow when it comes to improving your relationship with exercise.
        • The evolution of Tough Love Strength Club and how clients like Steph have helped shape that growth.
        • The power of mindset coaching in addition to personal training.
        • Why Steph has gone from working with me 1:1, to Tough Love  Strength Club, to not working together at all, and then decided to come  back!
        • And lots of other random fun stuff!

          • Connect with me:

          Tough Love Strength Club-FAQ & application

          Tough Love Strength Club-get on the waitlist

          Follow & tag me on Instagram

          59 min
        • Redefining "Consistency": Why Strength Is Like A Savings Account (Best of Season 1 Replay)

          Introducing  the concept of the "strength savings account" as a way to approach the  idea of consistency when it comes to working out.

          In this episode we talk about:

          • How to not "lose all your fitness" when you take time off.
          • How lowering your expectations of yourself in some circumstances  may actually lead to exceeding your expectations at other times.
          • Why approaching strength training with an all-or-nothing mindset  is sort of like winning the lottery and then blowing it all on shit you  don't need then wondering where your money went.

            • How to connect with me:

            Visit my website and blog

            How to work with me

            Get on the waitlist for Tough Love Strength Club

            Follow & tag me on Instagram #strengthsavingsaccount

            36 min
          • 10 Mistakes To Avoid When You're Trying To Do Fitness Without Diet Culture (Best of Season 1 Replay)
            Navigating fitness when you’ve just started to realize why diet culture is harmful is HARD.

            Many of us spent so much of our past lives drinking the wellness kool-aid (green juice? bulletproof coffee??) without question that when we finally came around to something different, we went all in with it. Failing to realize that we were falling into the same trap that got us into trouble the first time.

            And because I spent FAR too many years accepting what was told to me without question (from both sides), I’d like to share with you some mistakes I made when I was first trying to do fitness without diet culture. Maybe I can save you from making them too?

            In this episode we talk about:

            • The importance of knowing what fitness advice is meant for you.
            • My complicated thoughts on labels like "body positive" and "anti-diet".
            • The dangers of creating an echo chamber in your social media feed.
            • Why it's important to be open and curious about new ideas.
            • The reason I'm NOT trying to convince my bestie since 8th grade not to diet.
            • How to find "your people" to support you on your journey.
            • My unpopular opinions on "joyful movement".
            • Why the idea of all movement being "morally equivalent" can be misleading.
            • How to avoid trading one measure of your worth for another.

              • How to connect with me:

              How to work with me

              Get on the waitlist for Tough Love Strength Club

              Follow & tag me on Instagram

              Read the blog post that inspired this podcast episode

              35 min
            • The Fitness Industry Has It A$$ Backwards (+ Other Unconventional Ideas) (Best of Season 1 Replay!)

              Most people don't know what to make of my philosophy on fitness. One minute I’m posting a video of me swinging kettlebells. The next minute I’m telling you to take a rest day. First I’m calling BS on all the ways the fitness industry is making you feel like crap. Then I’m talking about the mental health benefits of working out. But just like everything I do, there’s a method to my madness. My fitness philosophy is unlike that of most others. And I’m not sorry about it.

              In this episode we talk about:

              • Why being thin, being healthy, and being fit are not necessarily synonymous.
              • Why fitness is a social justice issue.
              • How the way we operate as an industry pushes away the very people we are trying to help.
              • Why I'll never tell you to "love your body".
              • And lots of other hot takes!

                • Links mentioned in this episode:

                "My Philosophy On Fitness Is Unconventional & I'm Not Sorry About It" (blog post that inspired this episode)

                Health At Every Size (book)

                Body Respect (book)

                Intuitive Eating (book)

                How to connect with me:

                Join my email list

                Visit my website and blog

                How to work with me

                Follow & tag me on Instagram

                31 min
              • My Unfiltered Gym Reviews--I Tried Them All So You Don't Have To!

                This is an episode I've been working on for a couple of months now. Back in August I decided to be a "secret shopper" of 5 different commercial gyms. Why? Because I found that many of my clients are either A: hesitant to join a gym because of a previous bad experience. B. Don't wanna go through all the trouble of trying different gyms to find a good fit. C. Don't know what to look for when joining a gym so they pick a random one only to find that it's not a good fit. 

                So I decided to do some of the legwork for you. Consider me your personal assistant when it comes to all things related to joining a gym! 

                On this episode we talk about:

                • My experience trying out 5 different gyms near me (many are national chains).
                • Things to consider when it comes to choosing a gym to join. 
                • Why all of your assumptions about what gyms are like aren't always correct.
                • Why some of them ARE. 
                • Pretty much everything you wanted to know about various gym options!

                  • A side note: I am not sponsored by any of these gyms. I am also not here to talk shit about any of them. I'm simply here to share my personal experience when I pretended that I wanted to join them. Please know that I'm sharing this through the filter of being a straight-sized white woman. Also please know that these gym chains might not be available where you live, and if they are certain aspects of them might be location dependent. 

                  Work With Me!

                  Follow & tag me on Instagram

                  32 min
                • Are Your Weights Too Light For You? For Most Of You, Probably Yes. Here's How To Know For Sure.

                  Ohhhhh I've been sitting on this topic for a long time. I didn't say it because I didn't wanna piss people off. So I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: If you're only ever using 5-10lb weights when you lift, you're only tapping into a fraction of your potential. Before you get mad at me . . .give this episode a listen and let's give it a little context. . .

                  On this episode we talk about: 

                  • Why you're selling yourself short if you've been lifting the same weights forever. 
                  • Why you shouldn't be using the same weights for squats and bicep curls. 
                  • The difference between being strong and looking strong. 
                  • Why "heavy" is relative. 
                  • The problem with only ever lifting in classes.
                  • How training with different variables can benefit you.
                  • Why always seeking breathlessness, sweat, and burn might be causing you to miss out on actually getting stronger. 
                  • Why you're WAY stronger than you realize and how to tap into that. 

                    • Work With Me! Tough Love Strength Club Info & FAQ

                    Follow & tag me on Instagram

                    33 min
                  • Surprising Benefits To Following A Strength Training Program (They're Not Just For Professional Athletes and Fitness Models)

                    In the anti-diet world, it seems that things like going to the gym and following a training program often get a bad rap. I get it. There are a lot of problems with the way the fitness industry promotes its services. When you’ve had a compensatory or punishing relationship with exercise in the past, the advice is often to rest & take a break from working out altogether. Or to trade structured exercise for "joyful movement". To be clear, I agree with this. . .to an extent. Sometimes you do need a clean break in order to see clearly what’s really right for you.

                    The common assumption is that walking and practicing gentle yoga are the only ways to have a chill relationship with exercise, and I don’t know where this idea came from. It’s as if the most popular person in the anti-diet community decided that this is what they liked, and everyone else agreed that it must be true. To that I say false. Especially considering the growing number of Health At Every Size aligned fitness professionals with a variety of specialties around the world.

                    "Joyful movement" can look a whole lot of ways. And depending on your values as a whole person, and what your previous exercise & athletic background is, you might actually really enjoy something a little grittier, like strength training. For awhile it might be fun to even “play around” with lifting weights in a less structured way.

                    But eventually you might find that you’re having a hard time getting stronger, feeling fatigued, or getting injured. Maybe you see something really badass that you’d like to be able to do one day too? If you’re someone who appreciates consistency, guidance, and working through things in a step-by-step way, you might also really enjoy following a training program.

                    On this episode we talk about: 

                    • All the unexpected reasons following a strength training program could be a great thing for you!
                    • How to follow a strength training program designed by me. :) 

                      • Work With Me! Tough Love Strength Club Info & FAQ

                      Follow & tag me on Instagram

                      20 min

                    About Tough Cookie Talks

                    From the publisher's feed

                    Tough Cookie Talks is a podcast we'll explore the intersection of fitness & anti-diet culture and all the gray areas in between. We'll let go of "shoulds" and judgment and dig into tough…