We’ll be starting off with a strength-building circuit with extra emphasis on your legs and booty, and finishing with a quick high intensity tabata to get your heart pumping.

This workout is really going to challenge your muscles with compound moves designed to target every area of your body for a complete and balanced workout.

Change happens when we are consistent. One of the best ways I know of to stay consistent is by having a plan to follow.

I recommend following up today’s workout with my 30-day Booty and Abs Challenge– which gives you a full body workout plan with a special emphasis on sculpting and strengthening your butt, legs, and abs!

Ready to get started? Press play and let’s go!

Amazing job with that workout, Rockstar! Now let’s get you a plan!

Check out the 30-Day Abs and Booty Challenge for a home workout program that will sculpt and define your abs, legs and glutes (plus give you a great full body shred), uses minimal equipment and will get you on track to feeling and looking your best!

Be sure to check in today and let me know when you do your workout! Always looking forward to hearing how you’re doing, and any questions you have!

Share this post with a friend who loves working out!

The perfect follow up to this workout is the 30-Day Booty and Abs Challenge!

Define your abs and sculpt your booty and legs with this time-saving 30-day workout plan that can be done at home or in the gym!

Check out Laura’s amazing progress after doing this program for just 30 days!

The 30 Day Booty and Abs Program gives you a full body workout plan and it has a special emphasis on sculpting and toning your butt, legs, and abs! The follow-along workout videos are about 30 minutes long, can be done at home, incorporate minimal equipment (that I’ll show you alternatives to) like an exercise ball, stretchy bands and light dumbbells.

Check out the 30-Day Booty and Abs Challenge right here!

The post Full Body HIIT Strength appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

If you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced workout, today’s full body HIIT-boxing is sure to keep you on your toes!

You’ll be in the capable hands of one of our newest coaches, Coach Angela today who specializes in kickboxing training among her many talents! You can find her teaching and coaching regularly in Rock Your Life (my online home workout studio and women’s fitness community) and kicking ass in her daily life as a busy working mom.

Here’s a note from Coach Angela about why she loves this type of training so much, and some encouragement for you if these moves are newer or more challenging:

I love kickboxing because it’s a great cardio workout that helps increase core balance and stability, improve coordination and relieve stress (As a mom, I’ve really come to appreciate kicking and punching out my stresses this way. hah!). Kickboxing is also a skill to learn and practice, which makes it interesting.

When I was newer to kickboxing, some moves seemed intimidating and tricky, but with practice, I improved. There is something really fulfilling and confidence-building about trying something new, practicing it, and later on looking back at your progress to realize how far you’ve come.

So at any time, if you feel like your brain and your body are having a communication breakdown, just remember to roll with the punches and just keep moving.

I hope this workout challenges you but I know you’ll also have so much fun doing it!

-Coach Angela

Ready to kick it? Let’s go!

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better!

Check out ROCK YOUR LIFE, my online home workout studio and women’s fitness community!

We’ve got dozens of 30 day Challenge plans to choose from so you always have a plan, hundreds of workouts in our class library so you’re never bored, and so much support for you in our private support group!

Start a 30 Day Trial today!

How did you like that workout? Check in below and let me and Coach Angela know! Share this with a friend, and keep me posted on your progress!

Just wanted to share some motivation with you. Results don’t happen overnight but it’s the actions you take consistently over time that add up to the big changes in your health, energy and physique.

I love how Meg really pulls so many principles we discuss together in this post she shared in Rock Your Life, where she’s pointing out her body composition changes and how the expectation of our weight on the scale doesn’t really reflect what we think it will.

Looking for a plan to help you reach YOUR goals?

You’re invited to Rock Your Body AND Your Life…

…in my epic home gym that has new classes every week, 30-day Challenges to keep you on track with a program, your own personal workout library, over 300 healthy recipes, an exclusive support group, access to the Team Betty Rocker coaches, and so much more!

Can’t wait to see you there!

The post Total Body HIIT-Boxing appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Welcome to The Betty Rocker Show, the place to be to nourish your mind, love your body, and rock your life.

Join me and functional medicine practitioner Dr. Jill Carnahan as we take a look at some of the root causes of fat gain she sees in her practice that people don’t often expect.

Dr. Jill has been on the podcast before – you may remember her from our in depth conversation about mold and how to test for and treat it (Season 2, Episode 2). I’m happy to report that under her care I have cleared it from my system (a 3 year journey) and am functioning once more at my best.

Today we’re checking in about my recovery and talking about some of the many underlying triggers that cause weight gain. Hear who is a good candidate for intermittent fasting (and who isn’t) plus more on hormone health, some insights on how to read labs, recommendations for adaptogenic herb use, and so much more!

From her site:

“Since my childhood, I have always been passionate about seeking answers to complex problems. I grew up on a farm, witnessing firsthand the resilience of life in the face of difficulty.

I decided to become a doctor because I strongly believed in the capacity of the human body to heal and overcome even the most dire circumstances – if given the right tools.”

In this episode, you’ll discover:

Welcoming back Dr. Jill Carnahan (0:034)

• Checking in on how her mold treatment of me has resolved and where I’m at
• Listen to our first episode together, all about mold, testing for it and treating it
• The background of symptoms I noticed when this started

Root causes of weight gain from environmental toxins (4:19)

• When you’re doing things right and still not seeing results
• How some toxins block leptin receptors and how this impacts weight gain
• Mold is just one of the environmental toxins that can cause weight gain
• Why the body stores fat when it’s dealing with a toxic burden

How your adrenals can be at the root cause of weight gain (7:42)  

• How your adrenal glands work
• The master regulator: the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)
• How too much stimulation produces too much cortisol
• Signs of dysregulated cortisol
• How the adrenal glands support your hydration levels and blood sugar levels and why this is important

Thyroid dysregulation and how it can cause weight gain (9:31)

• Reviewing the triggering events that can overwhelm the stress response: NUTS
• NUTS: Novelty, unpredictability, threats, and sense of control
• The horse and cart analogy: adrenals and thyroid working together
• Why treating just the thyroid alone doesn’t always lead to the outcome we are hoping for

What Dr. Jill looks for when reading lab values using thyroid and cortisol as an example (16:40)

• What kind of thyroid panel to order
• Which markers to look at
• Why “ranges of normal” might not tell the whole story
• Timing for cortisol testing
• Why working with a functional medicine doctor helps you see the big picture and address root cause

Today’s podcast is brought to you by ROCK YOUR LIFE, my online home workout studio and uplifting women’s fitness community where you can enjoy programs and challenges to build strength for consistent, sustainable progress. Enjoy new classes each week, healthy recipes, a private women’s only support community and MORE!

New members can get a 30-Day Trial RIGHT HERE!

How does a dysregulated thyroid cause weight gain? (20:03)

• How the thyroid works to regulate our metabolism
• Why not eating enough causes weight gain

When does Dr. Jill recommend fasting, and who is it good for from her perspective as a doctor? (22:21)

• Why not everyone needs to fast (or use a ketogenic diet)
• The specific subset who can benefit from these dietary strategies
• How these dietary interventions help those with specific medical conditions
• Learning more about insulin resistance
• Why applying a strategy that works for those with a medical condition isn’t always the answer for everyone

Dr. Jill’s personal experience with IF from years ago (25:29)

• Combining daily HIIT training with her intermittent fasting
• How she was putting on body fat
• The advice Dr. Jill got from another practitioner
• How medical training doesn’t prepare doctors for the physiological impact of dietary and exercise strategies
• What happened when Dr. Jill dropped the intense daily cardio and swapped it for more resistance training
• What happened as she started fueling and stopped fasting

Strategic cardiovascular exercise is great, excess cardio is not so great (27:48)

• Training in balance with both resistance training and HIIT in their proper place as opposed to cardio all the time
• The importance of balancing that with the nutritional component, stress reduction and sleep
• How many women I see who come to me burned out and overtrained with bad messaging from diet culture
• Why I love walking and how it helps with fat loss

Why your doctor shouldn’t necessarily be telling you how to eat and train (28:49)

• Doctors are not trained on nutrition in medical school
• A medical doctor with training prescribing intermittent fasting or the ketogenic diet for a specific medical concern would be checking regularly on bloodwork and seeing the impact of these strategies on glucose levels, stress response and more

The importance of looking at body composition (muscle to fat ratio), not just “weight loss” (29:48)

• Why adding muscle isn’t “gaining weight”
• Shifting the focus away from weight loss and more toward overall health and strength
• Training smarter, not harder
• Comprehensive content about training strategies to shift body composition for different stages of life including training with your cycle, training in peri and post menopause can be found in this post

Women specific hormone considerations (32:09)

• Women have a complex hormone system compared to men
• The adrenals and a young woman’s cycle
• What happens with the adrenals in peri and post menopause
• Why we need to be gentler with ourselves in the later life stage and avoid cortisol spikes
• The importance of specific fueling and training strategies for women in peri and post menopause

The catabolic vs anabolic state (36:16)

• What a catabolic state is and what it breaks down
• How cortisol is connected to catabolism
• What an anabolic state is
• The importance of staying in touch with our bodies
• Putting all the pieces together

Adaptogenic herbs and how Dr. Jill recommends using them in her practice (38:42)

• General recommendations for those in their 20’s and 30’s with bad PMS, weight gain symptoms, or fertility boost
• General recommendations for those in their 40’s and 50’s with low estrogen and progesterone
• How recycling and processing estrogen is important for reducing cancer risk
• Recommendations for hot flashes
• Recommendations for adrenal support
• My own experience with adaptogens
• Blog post: 6 Adaptogens that support hormone balance 

How to connect with Dr. Jill Carnahan and her work (42:32)

• Dr Jill’s website and blog articles
• Dr. Jill has a new book coming out in February 2023
• Dr. Jill’s instagram

I teach you all of this in my challenge programs in Rock Your Life. We have everything from foundational bodyweight challenge programs, to challenges that include dumbbells and simple home workout equipment, all the way up to weight training challenges that you do with heavier weight, and I teach you all the progressions.

We have many conversations about women’s health topics inside Rock Your Life, my online home workout studio and women’s fitness community. In my regular office hours I’m able to connect with the members and answer their questions and share more information that relates to them specifically.

If you’re not a member yet, I highly encourage you to join us, you can get a 30 day trial and come see what you’ve been missing.

I’ve got a huge class library with over 1000 classes of all types, including foundational bodyweight strength training, workouts where you can add in some simple home workout equipment like dumbbells and stretchy bands, all the way up to heavier weight training classes.

There are barre classes, yoga classes, mobility classes, plyometrics and circuit. Plus I’ve got dozens of guided workout challenges to give you the perfect sequence to progress through. I see incredible stories every day from my Rock Your life home gym members, and being able to support them in our private women’s fitness community alongside the Team Betty Rocker coaches is a wonderful experience.

I encourage you to grab that 30 day trial so you can see what it’s all about and take your time enjoying everything I have to offer without any pressure or obligation.

Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too!

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ABOUT THE BETTY ROCKER SHOW:

Join me for open and thought provoking discussions about health, fitness, and how to stop undermining ourselves – and start taking meaningful action that makes us role models to others…

….and, listen in on my intimate conversations with amazing thought leaders, health care professionals, athletes and celebrities to learn their secrets and insights for overcoming life’s challenges, living longer, healthier, stronger and more #flawsome lives.

New shows are released every other week during Season 2 of The Betty Rocker Show.

Subscribe on your favorite player today!

The post S2 – 15: Hidden Causes of Weight Gain with Dr. Jill Carnahan appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

I. The research has been skewed and gender biased for too long

Many women I talk to are still subscribing to outdated myths about training and are stuck in an “exercise more, eat less” mentality that is robbing them of the strong, healthy body they deserve from the effort and time they put into their training.

I want to clarify from the start of this article that I’m aware of and respect that people have different goals for their physique and different lifestyle practices they are comfortable with, and that what I am focused on in this post is helping you better understand how your body works so you can become physically stronger, more capable and confident, and enjoy a high quality life in a functional body at every age.

It’s time to bust some myths and give you the information you need to support your body’s process of getting stronger and healthier so you can stop undermining all the effort you put in with diet culture myths or strategies that come from research done on men, not women.

The changes we go through in life in our incredible female bodies – from puberty to menopause and everything in between – deserves attention and understanding. We are often on our own figuring everything out with so much scientific research in the past being done on men only, and the perception of a woman’s cycle as “too complex” (1).

This gender biased research means many (fortunately not all) doctors and other professionals fail to address women’s hormone concerns adequately, dismiss their concerns entirely by suggesting “it’s just part of the aging process” or “it’s in your head” or suggest strategies that fail to address the root cause of the issues. 

When researching this post for example, I found the lack of female representation in research studies appalling. It is only in recent years that women have been included more frequently, and yet even in many of the studies that included women there was rarely any differentiation in phases of the menstrual cycle, or attention to women at different stages of life. And even less that examined women of different cultures and ethnicities to explain how women from different backgrounds might experience things like peri menopause, strength gains and fueling needs.

As a result, generalizations are made because of the design of the research studies. No wonder it has been challenging for us to get good, relevant information that works for us! I will present to you what I have learned from what is currently available, but I too am still looking for more. See recommendations for follow up at the end of this article.

II. Common issues I hear women struggling with – do any of these apply to you?

III. Understanding that body composition is NOT “your weight on the scale”

Due to over-focus on “weight loss” many women are more focused on seeing a scale number go down rather than on how they can lose body fat and increase lean mass (2)(3).

If we take a closer look at body composition, we can shift this mentality and start to understand why even when we sometimes lose “weight” doing fad diets it comes right back, and that we’re sacrificing our valuable muscle tissue in an effort to lose this “weight”(4).

Weight on the scale measures overall body weight, which includes muscle, bone, water at the time of weighing, body fat and all the body tissues combined. Because many of these factors are variable (have you eaten, how much water are you retaining, what time of the month is it, have you had a bowel movement today), it’s more ideal to measure the composition of fat and muscle tissue on the body rather than body weight alone, which does not take the ratio of these important tissues into consideration.

Two women, one with more muscle and less fat and one with more fat and less muscle might weigh the exact same number on the scale. But the woman with more muscle will look leaner and more compact, and the woman with more body fat will look thicker.

While a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh one pound, the pound of fat takes up more space than the pound of muscle, due to its structural composition.

This is why taking a closer look at the ratio of muscle to fat on your body matters far more than the “amount you weigh.”

To get a real body composition measurement, ideally you would use a professional method like the DXA scan (dual x ray absorptiometry), air displacement plethysmography (i.e “Bod pod“), bioelectrical impedance measurement (i.e. InBody scan or similar), 3-D body scanner, or other professional body composition measuring test.

However as these are not always readily available, other methods may be useful for self testing, including skin caliper measurements, measurements with a tape measure around the hips, thighs, arms, stomach and chest, and full length photos from the front, side and back wearing the same or similar garments.

While it’s absolutely fine to weigh yourself in addition to these methods when looking for changes, only weighing yourself will give you very little data that speaks to your body composition. Combined with an over focus on “weight loss” along with the cultural expectations of women and their bodies, many women have disordered eating (5), disordered self perception, and are following fad diets, skipping meals, under-eating and overtraining.

They end up constantly down on themselves for their perceived lack of progress, under nourished, stressed-out and set themselves up for unintended health consequences including an increased risk for bone stress injury and cardiovascular disease (6).

This heightened stress state from overtraining and under fueling (not to mention stressing about our weight and every other pressure we feel from societal expectations) elevates our cortisol and increases the inflammatory response, which not only breaks down muscle but also creates fat storage and has a detrimental impact on our mood, energy levels, and long-term metabolic rate and overall health (7).

While some “weight loss” may be observed, this often comes back quickly, and the manner in which the weight is lost has unintended consequences that do little to contribute to a highly functional, strong body. All this focus on our weight and the vicious cycle we get in when we constantly seek shortcuts to lose it can undermine our long-term health and a good quality of life, increase negative self talk, and contribute to the perception that our appearance is the main driver of our value and worth.

While fat loss is a goal that a lot of women have and equate to “weight loss,” not enough women have the goal of gaining or preserving muscle, and as a result they are losing out – especially during the important transition from regular menstruating years to peri and post menopause – a time when the body’s fluctuating estrogen and progesterone signals become irregular and eventually stop, impacting our ability to lose fat and build muscle the same way.

The reason I say we as women are losing out is because muscle is metabolic currency (8). When we focus on strengthening, growing and preserving our muscle tissue, we start training, eating and resting in smarter ways, ways that go beyond aesthetics and support our long-term health – and as an added bonus, frequently have an aesthetic result as a natural byproduct.

I discussed this in depth, along with the ramifications this has on women in a recent podcast with Dr. Stacy Sims, and Rock Your Life member Amanda had this to say about how it impacted her:

Understanding body composition and setting goals with that as a primary focus rather than on weight loss is truly a mindset game changer.

As Amanda points out, this unhealthy focus on having someone else’s idea of a “perfect body” is one of the root causes of the problem that creates so much stress and pressure on women. I want to thank the Rock Your Life members for all the discussions we have had (and continue to have) about these topics, as they have been a tremendous inspiration for me in writing this article and clarifying points that I wanted to make.

IV. Creating an optimal state in the body to drive the results you want

In order to see a body composition change, we need to create an optimal state in the body for our hormones to do their work to support muscle growth and support fat loss. It is not “calories in/calories out” or how many workouts you do vs. how little you eat.

If you are over focused on your workouts as the sole driver of seeing results or losing weight like a lot of women are, it’s easy to get into a “no days off” training mindset. But consider that your workouts are like seeds you are planting, and like any seed you want to see grow and flourish they need to be planted in fertile soil, and have sunlight and rain to grow and thrive.

Your nutrition focus is the fertile soil, and your sleep and stress management are your sunshine and rain. Your workouts will not “take root” and grow a strong body without these other essential components repeated consistently. Too much rain can wash a seed out of the soil, like too much stress can sabotage your results.

I’ll talk more about calories shortly, but suffice to say that you cannot see your body flourish and grow strong if you are constantly restricting your nutrient intake and not paying attention to the quality of the nutrients you eat. Poor quality soil impacts the growth of a plant, just like lack of quality nutrients will impact the efficacy of your workout. A plant grows in the presence of all of these nurturing variables in balance, and it takes a little time.

Your results will never happen without the combination of these actions (Sleep, Nutrition, Stress Management, Exercise) repeated, and you being patient and allowing the results to unfold.

Plants grow faster when they’re given all these resources, and your body will respond when you give it what it needs to thrive as well. That’s why we have what I refer to as the “4 Pillars of Health,” these 4 aspects of your life that only you can control and that work together to create that optimal state in your body.

With more of a focus on eating, sleeping, stress reduction and training to support your energy and valuable muscle tissue, you’ll have an easier time regulating your body composition at every stage of life, and you’ll feel stronger and healthier in the process. You will be less susceptible to advertising for “weight loss products” that prey on culturally created fears of women being undesirable (what a load of garbage).

Having a focus on growing and preserving our muscle, especially as we age is a great idea. Not only does muscle surround and protect our joints and organs, it secretes protective cytokines which boost your immune response during contraction (9) (10).

On the aesthetic front (how we look), muscle is dense and compact so as you add it to your frame you will become physically smaller and have a more toned appearance as discussed above. We burn more fat more easily when we’re more muscular (11), and that valuable muscle tissue has other protective benefits to our bodies as well. You’ll be physically stronger, enjoy a more robust immune response (9), and boost your sense of capability and confidence.

Focusing on muscle, and training strategies to grow it will not necessarily “bulk you up.” Here is a great example from Meg, a Rock Your Life member. We can clearly read about and see how she has shifted her body composition to be more muscular, and broken up with her scale at last. Her weight increase and size decrease shows that she has put on some solid muscular strength which made her smaller, not larger or bulkier.

You can add muscle to your body and focus on fueling for it without concern that you will become a bodybuilder. Professional female body builders work very hard to build up their muscle tissue to the level you see in competitions, and gaining muscle at that level is challenging due to the differences in amount of testosterone in men and women.

If getting huge biceps is not an aesthetic goal for you, have no fear that you’re going to suddenly achieve it. But it is attainable for you if you choose to pursue it – I recommend a personal trainer who specializes in body building if this is of interest, and a willingness to spend years in pursuit of that goal.

V. Building muscle at different stages of your menstrual cycle

How do we build muscle? In a previous article, I described the process by which we gain muscle. In a nutshell, muscles working against a progressively challenging load leads to increases in muscle mass – a process referred to as hypertrophy. Hypertrophy is a thickening of the muscle fibers, creating stronger muscles.

These adaptation to an increased load happens when we also fuel and rest properly. As the body gets used to the challenges you present it with, you need to vary the type of load in order to continue to drive adaptations.  And for women, there are considerations due to the presence (or absence) of estrogen.

When you’re still having a regular cycle, remember that in the first half of your cycle (from when you get your period until you ovulate) estrogen is higher. This estrogen is estradiol, or E2 and it’s the most anabolic (muscle building) of the estrogen hormone trio (E1, E2, E3). During this phase, you also have a greater ability to use carbohydrates than you do post ovulation (be mindful of your consumption of sugary foods after you ovulate, and prioritize protein)(12 )(13)(14 ).

So if you’re still cycling regularly, take advantage of this first stage of your cycle (follicular phase) by pushing harder in your workouts (14) to create those muscular adaptations that lead to lean mass development.

Balanced training is essential in the follicular phase as overtraining will contribute to more inflammation, elevated cortisol, and muscle protein breakdown. Not fueling and managing stress appropriately around your tough workouts will also have this effect and undermine your ability to build muscle.

After you ovulate (luteal phase), progesterone is going to be elevated, which will create a higher state of inflammation in your body as it prepares the uterine lining. Your basal body temperature is elevated, which may mean you get less deep sleep. Don’t push yourself as hard in this phase of your cycle – notice your energy needs and feel free to take the intensity down a notch or two.

You can really back off on the intensity of your training in the days or week leading up to your period, as you may notice less energy due to hormone levels shifting. I tend to do lower impact workouts during the days before my period as I just feel more tired. I’ll swap in yoga, mobility or just slower, less intense resistance training. Or simply take an extra rest day or 3 as needed.

How I adjust a program to match up with my cycle is if I’m following a 4-week training program for instance, I simply extend it a bit longer so I can add some days of lower intensity work in the week where I have less drive. I do some low impact workouts, yoga, mobility and even take just extra or unscheduled rest days the week before my period. Then I pick my training program back up where I left off when my estrogen levels come back up in the follicular phase.

See my detailed guide to training with your cycle for more on this subject and adjust your own workout plans with confidence. Looking for training guidance while pregnant, or after having a baby? Check out my pre natal and post partum fitness guides.

Some of the best training strategies for women at every life stage are resistance training (16) and HIIT (high intensity interval training that includes explosive cardio, or plyometric exercises)(15)(48) (49).

When it comes to resistance training, you want to begin by building a strong, functional base with good form and continue to progress and challenge yourself as your body adapts and you build strength (50).

Lifts like deadlifts, squats, pulls and pushes (among others) will all help increase your overall strength and when they’re incorporated into a balanced training plan that you are consistent with you will reap the rewards.

When it comes to HIIT/plyo/explosive cardio moves you want to be able to push hard in your work intervals (53). These intense intervals of explosive movement burn a lot of energy while you’re doing them, and trigger protein synthesis. They also increase growth hormone and adrenaline hormones which contribute to fat burning. HIIT workouts can also make you use more energy after your workouts as well.

Both resistance training and plyometric/explosive cardio moves are metabolically stressful, so your body burns more calories in the post workout recovery period (51). You’ll also trigger the release of hormones that have a fat-burning, appetite dampening response (54). You can find this combination of training strategies in every workout program I have created.

Along with all of these training benefits we get from these strategies, understanding that “more is not more” when it comes to your training is an important aspect of your development as an athletic woman who is able to build muscle efficiently and burn fat.

As we discussed earlier, muscle grows when we rest it after we train (concurrent with proper fuel).  You want to be able to go hard in your training sessions whether you’re resistance training or doing HIIT, and in order to push that limit you need to be rested and recovered.

Progressing with good form is of paramount importance, which is why I recommend following a program with a trainer who is well-versed in anatomy and functional movement (I’ll nominate myself here of course).

You can take advantage of my free foundations of functional fitness workshop alongside any of my training program or on its own to improve key movement patterns and understand more about how your body works and how to keep it balanced and aligned.

VI. Building muscle and losing fat for women in peri and post menopause

Post menopause you lose the E2 estrogen and the female sex hormones eventually flatline, so in order to build or maintain muscle we have to rely on other pathways to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

In peri menopause we experience years leading up to menopause when our hormones and period become irregular. There is evidence that women of different cultural backgrounds experience differences in the length of this time period (52).

While estrogen is beneficial for body composition when we have a normal cycle (42), estrogen dominance creates issues for our ability to lose body fat and build muscle.

Check out the article about adaptogens which can help stabilize hormone levels (I have had an excellent experience using them myself), but other strategies may be recommended by your doctor (as long as they’re not dismissing your concerns, telling you to “go lose weight” or just putting you on the pill because they can’t be bothered to find alternative means to support you).

Watch out for chemical estrogens in plastics or industrial compounds. Poor estrogen metabolism can also contribute to estrogen dominance. We may not metabolize our estrogens when we have a poor diet, aren’t exercising regularly or lack muscle tissue. A balanced, whole food diet rich in fiber, healthy fats and essential amino acids from protein combined with regular exercise will contribute to better estrogen metabolism.

Here are the top tips for women in this life stage to shift body composition to less fat and more muscle:

1: Increase the challenge to your muscles from resistance training

Click to expand and read more

1: Increase the challenge to your muscles from resistance

One of the strategies for bypassing the hormone pathways is to increase the level of intensity of the workouts you do by increasing the resistance or weight you’re using. It’s time to start increasing the challenge to your muscles.

If you’re a beginner, work on challenging yourself by building up a foundational practice with bodyweight workouts (mine are some of the best!).  Check out the 90 Day Challenge for a wonderful program that will progressively build up your strength with bodyweight workouts that can be done from home.

If you’ve been doing bodyweight workouts for a while and feel like you’ve got good form, it’s time to start adding in resistance in the form of bands, dumbbells or other weighted objects and challenge yourself further. Check out Home Workout Domination for the perfect program that uses home workout equipment for resistance training and explosive cardio moves.

If you’ve been training with light dumbbells and know you could go heavier, start ramping up the resistance to your body by challenging yourself to increase the amount of weight of your dumbbells.

I built up my collection of home workout equipment over time so don’t feel like you need to go purchase a ton of things. And if you’re working out in the gym, you can test out what works best by using the different options available.

Work with me in the circuits and workouts I teach, challenging yourself in the rep ranges I share, and increase the amount of resistance/weight you’re using gradually. If you get to the point where the weighted objects you’re holding are too heavy to comfortably grip and hold onto but you feel you could lift something heavier, consider using barbells as they make it easier to distribute the weight across the bar without you having to hold dumbbells.

Lioness, my women’s heavier weight training program is perfect for helping you progress through all of this if you’re interested in trying heavier weight training out.

For amazing value and variety, you can join Rock Your Life, my online home workout studio and women’s fitness community where ALL of these options for strength training and explosive cardio are built into dozens and dozens of challenge programs.

Everything from foundational bodyweight training to home workout equipment to heavier weight training is available in Rock Your Life – plus support in our private women’t fitness community so you can progress with guidance and a holistic focus on your health.

Include plyometrics/HIIT in your training

Click to expand and read more

2: Include plyometrics/HIIT in your training

The second strategy for bypassing the hormone pathways at this life stage is to make sure you’re including plyometrics (high intensity or explosive training moves like sprints, box jumps, broad jumps, skater lunges, tuck jumps, split squat jumps, burpees, jump squats, etc) in your workouts.

Not only is this great for your bone density, but when you fuel appropriately around your workouts the intensity of these moves uptakes glucose more quickly helping to keep insulin levels stable (which can be a challenge for women in peri or post menopause).

You’ll find explosive cardio included in all of my training plans allowing you to take advantage of this. You can begin with the lower impact versions that I’ll show you so you can get comfortable building yourself up.

Polarize your training and rest days

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3: Polarize your training and rest days

It’s also essential to start to look at the sequencing of your training. It’s no longer appropriate (nor was it ever really) to take a “no days off” approach to your training. You want to think about what Dr. Stacy Sims calls “polarizing” your training. Think about how you can set yourself up to make your training sessions maximally effective by coming to them rested, recovered and fueled.

Adjust workout programs that have 5 days of work in a row to be 2 days of work, followed by a rest day, 2 more days of work followed by a rest day, a day of yoga and then 2 days on again. Or do a workout every other day Monday through Friday, with a yoga day on the weekend and one additional recovery day.

Don’t get yourself into the “grey zone” where you’re training a little daily, thinking that’s going to be the way to lose the body fat – it’s not. Keeping your body in a constant state of inflammation is not what drives adaptations and muscle growth – it’s what breaks it down constantly and keeps your body from burning fat. Get your body moving doing low impact activities like walking regularly, and avoid long periods of sitting or inactivity. A rest day doesn’t mean you lie on the couch, but it also doesn’t mean you sneak in an extra workout.

VII. For women of all ages: why we need to eat balanced meals with whole foods

The nutrients in your foods: protein, carbohydrates and fat, as well as the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals should all be part of the makeup of your meals. Getting familiar with these nutrients and what you’re putting in your meals is a great practice.

If you’ve ever used one of my meal plans you learn exactly which nutrients are featured in each meal, and get used to building a plate that supports your energy needs.

Doing food preparation is an excellent way to ensure you have the nutrients your body needs, and avoid added sugars that are in so many processed foods. This is why my message has not changed in a decade: cooking for yourself may not be “easy” and it may take some time, but it’s the quality of the soil you’re planting the seeds of your workout in.

I constantly see people putting all their focus and time into workouts and ignoring this essential piece of what drives their results. They jump from diet to diet looking for shortcuts when there are none.

You cannot force a plant to grow faster. It has to go through internal processes. So does your body. Expecting to see your results on the outside immediately is a losing game that food deprivation diet plans will have you believe.

So many online calculators for calories will put you at a dangerously low food intake threshold that actually has the opposite response in your body than you thought it would. It can have the unintended consequence of making you more prone to store fat, and you won’t build muscle on too little fuel.

The “salad” as a healthy meal without any protein or carbs is a great example of something we have come to perceive as a “health food” due to an over focus on calories, when it’s doing little to support our nutritional needs. Where is the protein? Where are the energy-providing, fiber-rich, gut supportive carbs? Where is the healthy fat?

Each of us has a resting metabolic rate (RMR) which is the amount of fuel we need for just our basic functions. As in what it takes to digest your food, lay in bed and not do much more than be a body. For instance a woman’s RMR might be approximately 1400 calories (I’m 5’1″ and active and this is close to what mine is for instance). If she were to start eating 1200 calories a day (and training) she would quickly be in trouble, have low energy, be unable to lose body fat and likely lose muscle as well.

Due to the lack of essential nutrients – below even her baseline threshold, her metabolic rate slow down, making her body hold onto body fat, and this is what happens to so many women who eat too little because an online calculator or diet program told them “1200 calories.”

Focusing on eating foods for the calorie content rather than the nutrient content can rob you of vital energy and fuel for your activities, cognitive function, immune health and more.

This “low calorie” or “less food” type of approach plays into our damaging culturally taught association as women with “eat less to be smaller.” Why should women need to disappear or be smaller? These outdated messages about women’s bodies do not empower women, do not make us stronger or healthier – they make us more stressed, more prone to illness and injury, and physically weaker.

Why protein is so important

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Why protein is so important

Protein is the most satisfying of the nutrients, so it can help with portion control and meal satisfaction when you have it in adequate amounts in each of your main meals (38).

Protein will help stabilize your blood sugar, and it breaks down into the amino acids that your body needs for everything from muscle protein synthesis (39) to brain function, hormone and enzyme function and immune health.

You cannot build or maintain muscle without adequate protein intake, and it has the added benefit of keeping you feeling full and satisfied when you include it in your meals.

I see too many women eating barely enough protein and then they wonder why they have sugar cravings, why they’re hungry all day, or why they can’t get “toned,” which means why can’t they see more muscularity and less body fat.

Include protein with each main meal (40), because your body doesn’t have a “storage reserve” to draw from for the aminos it needs for so many body functions (including cognitive function, immune function, hormone and enzyme function and muscle protein synthesis). When you go too long without eating, your body will break down your muscle tissue to get at the amino acids that are there, which isn’t what you want.

It’s great to learn about the macronutrients, and if you want to “count” any of them I would say start tracking how many grams of protein are in each of your meals so you get a general idea of how much you’re eating per meal. Aim for 20-30 grams per meal, and if you’re over 40, aim for 30-40 grams per meal as discussed above in the peri and post menopause section.

You can easily boost your overall daily intake with quality protein powders to help meet the body’s needs for amino acids (13). I personally like adding them to my smoothies, to my oatmeal, baking them into muffins, pancakes and waffles, and even mixing them into yogurt to eat with my breakfast cereal (click here for protein rich recipes on the blog). In the picture of me above with the food prep, there are protein muffins in the glass bowl for instance, and I’ve washed my greens and bagged them as a quick addition to smoothies.

If you don’t tolerate dairy well and don’t use whey protein powder, plant based protein powders like my organic whole food proteins are an excellent choice as they contain all of the essential aminos, and I made them to be tasty and smooth enough to be mixed in just water alone if you’re busy, on the go, or want something very light.

Collagen is also an excellent supplement to support the integrity of bone, skin and joint health as it contains some specific amino acids. It is not a complete protein source however, so it is best used in conjunction with a complete protein source powder. I personally always add it (here’s the one I make) to my Rock and Restore since it dissolves in anything and has no flavor or taste.

To read about how to use different supplements like collagen, protein powder and aminos, read this post.

Don't avoid whole food carbs

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Don’t avoid whole food carbs

The biggest issue when it comes to carb consumption is eating too many processed foods and not getting enough vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. You may have dietary preferences for specific whole food carbohydrates and that’s fine – but eat the ones that you prefer from whole food sources full of fiber, and not the processed ones.

When you eat carbohydrates, your insulin rises to uptake the glucose in your bloodstream from the carbohydrates. Whole food carbs cause a gradual elevation of blood sugar levels, making it easier for your body to manage the glucose (which is ideal). But many processed foods release a lot of sugar into the bloodstream very quickly.

When you have too much glucose in your blood, your body stores it as fat. When you eat too much sugar too often your cells become resistant to the insulin that’s trying to unlock them to let glucose in, which is a precursor to diabetes and obesity.

This is not to say you should never enjoy processed foods, treats, dessert or sweets. But making them your staples rather than your “specials” is an approach that leads to health concerns. Your gut health will be greatly improved with a focus on more fiber rich whole food carbohydrates and your blood sugar will be more stable, delivering steady energy rather than energy spikes.

If you’re going to opt for a lower carbohydrate meal, do it away from your workouts. Remember that the post workout window (the time after a workout) is the time when your body is most sensitive to insulin and can send the sugar in your bloodstream straight to replenishing your muscle glycogen stores.

The more muscle you have, the better your metabolic health is and the easier it is to lose body fat (41). Eating carbohydrates and protein together around your workouts supports your energy balance and your ability to build and maintain your muscle tissue (38).

Due to our higher levels of estrogen than men, we also have an improved ability to burn carbohydrates especially in the first half of our cycle when estrogen is higher (42)(43). You can go higher in your carb intake in this phase after your workouts, especially on tough training days.

If you’re in the second half of your cycle (from ovulation to your period), you have more progesterone in your system. Progesterone increases muscle breakdown (31), so you really want to make sure you’re optimizing your protein and carbohydrate intake in the luteal phase, and having your recovery time as well (32). For a refresher on the phases of your cycle, read my cycle training guide).

These nutrition strategies are essential for women in peri and post menopause as well, as discussed earlier. As we lose our naturally fluctuating estrogen, it’s imperative to prioritize whole food carbohydrate sources and increase our protein intake. We don’t absorb as much of the amino acids from our protein as we age, meaning increasing it serves multiple purposes at this time that help you improve body composition, lose body fat, and preserve or gain muscle.

Enjoy quality dietary fat

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Enjoy quality dietary fat

From a satisfaction and fullness standpoint I also don’t recommend being afraid of dietary fat. When women limit fat, they tend to eat more carbs which increases insulin and decreases our ability to burn fat. We can also disrupt our hormones as the body uses the cholesterol in dietary fat to produce them.

Key nutrients in fish, eggs, nuts and other sources of dietary fat are readily absorbable and utilized by the body. Our hunger may be elevated without the satiating effect of dietary fat, causing us to overeat more frequently, and studies have investigated the higher incidence of injuries in athletic women who ate a lower fat diet (44).

So don’t be afraid to include whole food sources of fat in your meals in balance with your other nutrients. Avoid processed fats like vegetable oil and hydrogenated or trans fats. If you’re struggling to create balanced meals, get a meal plan like the Body Fuel System with balanced whole food meals.

VIII. The importance of fueling (not fasting) around your workouts and how to do it

Many women are still doing fasted training, thinking that’s giving them the edge. However studies (17) show that women do better when training in a fed state, while men do well in a fasted state (18).

The reason you’re hearing so many diets and doctors advertising fasting as the way to go is because the previous research suggested many benefits. And there are benefits, to the subjects who were studied: men.

The female physiology is more sensitive to hunger and fullness signals due to us having more kisspeptin receptors in our brain than men do(19). Staying in an under fueled state contributes to a slowed metabolism, meaning your body can’t burn calories as readily and is conducive to a low energy state.

One of the purported benefits of fasting that it forces the body to switch from glucose burning to fat burning. However there are sex differences that provide this mechanism in women already. Women burn more glucose during regular daily activities, but burn more fat during exercise naturally than men do (20)(13).

Exercise helps women call on our body’s ability to burn fat for fuel, making us more metabolically flexible when we incorporate regular training, supported with the fuel we need. Not to mention, exercise induces autophagy (21), one of the other oft-touted benefits of fasting in which the body clears out damaged cells. In a nutshell, exercise gives women similar benefits as men get from fasting.

There are of course many ways to fast and many reasons. I appreciate and respect that some of my readers may have religious reasons for observing periods of fasting. The scope of this section of our article is focused on fasting as it pertains to women in sport.

We all naturally “fast” in a lower energy output state when we stop eating after dinner and don’t eat again until breakfast. But skipping breakfast or going long periods without fuel can be unhelpful for active women by elevating our cortisol (which contributes to muscle breakdown and fat storage) and creating an energy deficit that means you won’t be able to work as hard in your training session.

Not to mention, coming into your workout after a long fast means your body is in a muscle breakdown state. When your body doesn’t receive the essential amino acids it needs for everything from brain function, hormone and enzyme function, immune function AND muscle protein synthesis, it breaks down your muscle tissue to get the amino acids in this valuable body tissue (22).

During your workout, muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown occur, but the exercise creates a greater breakdown state potentially leaving you in a deficit unless you are fueled, and/or fuel to replenish the work. The breakdown of your muscle tissue during a workout has the potential to create hypertrophy and muscle growth after your training session as your body repairs when you fuel and rest properly (23).

So if you went into your workout fasted (in a muscle breakdown state plus elevated cortisol which means fat storage state), then did your workout and then didn’t eat for an hour or so post workout (muscle breakdown state plus fat storage from the stress of the workout and lack of nourishment) you just broke down your muscle tissue the entire time without build back because your brain and body were looking for amino acids to use for essential body function and stored glycogen for energy. It got both of those from your valuable muscle tissue (34).

So all of this “skipping meals” means you aren’t building muscle, you’re breaking it down. Remember that cortisol (the stress hormone) is catabolic (breaks down) muscle, and anabolic (builds up) to fat. This stressful state does not contribute to fat loss, it can actually lead to fat gain. And the lack of nutrients contributes to loss of your precious muscle tissue.

All those claims about fasted training making you “lose weight” might have made you lose a few pounds but where did the pounds come from? Sure you may have lost some body fat, but you also lost your vital muscle tissue and elevated your cortisol. A man will have a different response and be able to lose fat and preserve muscle tissue. Extensive fasting as a woman, especially around your workouts all but guarantees you’re going to gain body fat over time, lose muscle, and also affect your body’s metabolic rate (35). Understanding body composition and how your muscle actually gets stronger is so important.

I don’t recommend fasted training for women.  Having fuel around your workouts (in the form of protein and carbohydrates) is essential so you not only have the energy to push hard and get those adaptations in the muscle tissue, it fuels the cells with glycogen (the byproduct of glucose from carbohydrates) and the amino acids (the byproducts from dietary protein or protein powder) support muscle protein synthesis.

Fueling post-workout 

In the post workout window after you exercise, your insulin levels peak which creates the opportunity for glycogen storage (glycogen comes from the glucose in carbohydrates) and muscle repair. That means the carbs you eat post workout can get straight to the muscle stores, and the amino acids from the protein you eat can get to the muscle tissue to repair the breakdown created by your training. Once we are outside of this window, our insulin sensitivity goes down, making it harder for the muscles to absorb the glucose from your bloodstream and the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles is lower.

Post workout, women have a relatively short window for optimal refueling compared to men who may be able to go longer (24). Ideally, get protein and carbohydrates in within an hour of training (13) in your next meal. Aim for 25-30 grams of protein in the recovery period (33).

The carbs will increase your glycogen storage, and combining protein and carbs can help reduce inflammation and support a strong immune system. Muscle uptakes glucose from the bloodstream as well, so the more muscle you carry the better you handle the insulin response.

This is one of many reasons I suggest pre-cooking some of your meals for the week ahead, so you have easy to grab and go meals when you need them. See my meal plans for easy to follow guides.

The body will store the energy from the carbs we eat in the liver and the muscle tissue, and use what it needs for energy first from the liver, but it will break down your muscle tissue if you’re not eating enough for your energy output needs (26). If we eat more carbohydrates than the body has the capacity to store in the liver and muscle tissue it gets stored as fat. So you’ve got too little and too much – both with consequences.

If you eat well balanced meals with protein (very satisfying), whole food, fiber-rich complex carbohydrates (digest slowly, keeping blood sugar stable) and healthy dietary fat (slows gastric emptying to keep blood sugar stable and also is very satisfying) you are in very little danger of under eating or overeating, and can stop worrying about “carbohydrates making you fat.”

Using an eating program like the Body Fuel System can set you up with an easy to follow guideline and delicious well-balanced meals.

Carbs are the body and brain’s preferred energy source. Yes, the low carb/high fat diets out there will make you think the body needs to run on ketone bodies, and it can – however that is an adaptation the body has for starvation and low food availability states. Diets like these generally do not serve women very well, and the “benefits” of the keto diet in particular is all based on research on male test subjects (27).

They may work better for men, having been studied extensively on them, be useful for a short period of time for certain individuals, especially those who are obese or have other medical conditions. But going extremely low carbohydrate for active women long-term can have unwanted consequences to your cortisol levels (they rise) and your metabolism (it can down regulate).

Want to hear scientist and researcher Dr. Stacy Sims explain why intermittent fasting, keto, and low carb diets aren’t ideal for women, but work well for men? Listen to the podcast we did together about this topic right here.

You’ll want to prioritize protein and carbs around your workouts (28) – so if you can workout a couple hours after your last meal, and eat your next meal within an hour of your training session, you’re doing great. Just make sure your meals contain protein and carbohydrates (29).

Strategies for fueling pre and post workout with a busy schedule:

Ideally we’d all have the ultimate flexibility of eating whole food meals and training at the perfect times for ourselves, but with the demands of modern life, protein supplements can come in handy and help fill in some gaps. Let me run you through a few scenarios and ways you can use protein powders and smoothies (in addition to whole food meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner) to support you so that this isn’t confusing and it’s easy to implement.

• You work out first thing in the morning: have a half of a banana (or any other fruit) and a scoop of protein powder in water or almond milk. Something super light that digests quickly will ensure you have the building blocks you need circulating in your system for optimal output in your workout. Eat breakfast as soon as you can after your workout.
• You work out an hour or two after breakfast: if it’s not time for lunch yet, have a protein shake with fruit right after your workout. If it’s time for lunch, have lunch. If you have the shake and fruit, have lunch when it’s time for lunch, as the smoothie/shake isn’t a meal replacement.
• You work out on your lunch break, and haven’t eaten since breakfast (you plan to eat your lunch after your workout): an hour or so before you workout, have a blended smoothie with protein and the other things you put in a full smoothie (something you’d find in one of my recipe guides for instance that you can bring it from home or make at the office, not just protein powder in water). If you lack the means to make the smoothie, have the protein in water or milk and a piece of fruit sometime in the hour before you train to give yourself a base. Have your lunch as soon as you can after you train.
• You work out after work, and haven’t eaten since lunch (you plan to eat dinner after you train): an hour or so before you workout, have a smoothie with protein and the other things you put in a full smoothie that you blend (something you’d find in one of my recipe guides for instance that you can bring it from home or make at the office – not just protein in water). If you lack the means to make the smoothie, have the protein in water or milk and a piece of fruit sometime in the hour before you train to give yourself a base. Have your dinner as soon as you can after you train.
• You work out after dinner: Make sure you work out at least 3 hours away from bedtime, as training too close to bedtime can interfere with your sleep as it raises your core body temperature. I presume you ate dinner at least an hour before your workout, giving you time to digest. After your workout, make yourself a full smoothie (like something that you’d find in my recipe guides) with protein, milk, fruit and other ingredients, or a shake with just protein powder and water and a piece of fruit.

The protein/water and fruit is just a shortcut, a convenient way to support nutrient timing when you aren’t able to eat a regular meal or regular food on one side of your workout. You can use a protein shake as a support for nutrient timing – but I don’t suggest using them as a full meal replacement. Your body needs whole foods too(30).

I just want to mention that supplements are not required, they are a supplement to a healthy, whole food diet. I use them because they are a convenient way to get extra nutrients in quickly and conveniently. If they seem expensive compare the cost of complete protein in foods you would prepare. Quite often, they are very comparable. However, not finding the quality I wanted consistently in the marketplace is why I started my own supplement line.

While I use a regular protein powder in my smoothies and focus on whole food sources of protein in my meals, during my workouts, I use Rock and Restore, my essential amino acid formula. It’s in a “free form” which means it doesn’t have to be digested like dietary protein and can go straight to where it’s needed. An essential amino acid contains the BCAA’s (branch chain amino acids) but my formula has an optimal dose of leucine, the most anabolic of the BCAA’s, making it a great workout formula.

If you are unable to purchase my organic protein powders and supplements, here is my guide to choosing protein powders that can help you make good decisions about what ingredients are in the products you are shopping.

Of course protein powder and supplements are totally optional and I use them for convenience and because as we age, we absorb less of the amino acids from our food as I mentioned previously, and I want to create a nice circulating pool of them during my training which helps with post workout soreness and drives muscle protein synthesis.

IX. Why reduced stress levels and quality sleep are also essential for body composition shifts

I must also mention that stress is a huge factor in our ability to regulate our body composition. You’ve probably heard me say that exercise is a healthy stress when we are healthy. There are many forms of stress to the body, but chronic stress from emotional or life triggers are essential to address (read my complete article about stress here).

We can also create a state of stress in the body when we overtrain, or don’t take the needed recovery when we’re sick or injured and the body is trying to do too many tasks at once.

Whether from life stress or overtraining, stress elevates the cortisol in our body and we’ve discussed already that it stimulates fat storage (45) and breaks down muscle tissue. Developing methods to proactively address the stressors you face can be incredibly beneficial and supportive to your energy and fitness goals.

Doing “extreme” workouts, or not getting adequate recovery both during a workout or after may increase muscle breakdown, persistent inflammation, and lowered immune response (46).

Speaking of a lowered immune response, lack of sleep also makes us more susceptible to getting sick. Good sleep is an essential component to training and seeing results. When you’re exercising, you need MORE deep sleep for muscle recovery and protein synthesis. During sleep, your body produces HGH (human growth hormone) which boosts protein synthesis and promotes fat utilization.

Quality sleep is also crucial for maintaining the balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don’t get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down, resulting in an increase of appetite and cravings – and our impulse control goes down, making it very hard to avoid reaching for the sugar and pre made foods.

Our metabolism slows down and our body holds onto its resources (body fat) and doesn’t burn as many calories (47). Along with all this, lack of sleep causes our cortisol levels to rise and remain elevated. This high cortisol impacts fat loss efforts, and promotes breakdown of your muscle tissue.

Which is why when you are really tired, I recommend that you take an active recovery or rest day, even if it’s unscheduled. Training in this sleep deprived state will only contribute to greater muscle breakdown and won’t give you the benefits, plus you’ll be more likely to reach for comfort foods and have less inhibition in overeating.

You can listen to Dr. Michael Breus (The Sleep Doctor) go over the 5 things that happen to your metabolism and hormones when you’re sleep deprived on the podcast here.

X. To wrap it all up….

As a woman, you have training advantages and a unique, powerful body that is capable of going through numerous transitions in the course of its lifespan. I encourage you to see this process of figuring things out as a discovery, not a burden. There is no pressure on you to implement everything you learn immediately. Try these things out for yourself, and remember that like a plant, the body must also go through an internal process before you “see a result.”

Having additional resources can be very helpful. Personally, I have sought the support of numerous practitioners over the years including therapy for my mental health, functional medicine for my physical body and looking for the root cause of things that are hard to understand, physical therapy for support with stability and foundational movement patterns, and Chinese medicine for my energy body (acupuncture and herbal medicines) to name a few. I work with a functional medicine doctor (root cause medicine) rather than a traditional MD. You can use the directory here to search for functional medicine practitioners in your area if this is of interest.

While we may not all seek out the same types of practitioners or care, there are still plenty of things within our personal domain that only we can control like our 4 Pillars of Health: Sleep, Nutrition, Stress Management and Exercise. I hope that with this article you have seen a new level of how you can apply these 4 pillars in your own life to drive the results you want with all the effort you put in.

I invite you to be a part of ROCK YOUR LIFE, my online home workout studio and empowering women’s fitness community. You’ll find workout programs, workout classes of all types, healthy recipes and a holistic approach to your health in your private member’s login area, and in our private group enjoy lively discussions about all topics relating to your health and well being, a connection with other like-minded women, interaction with myself and the Team Betty Rocker Coaches.

When we focus more on designing a high quality of life for ourselves from a holistic perspective, the body responds naturally and becomes the fit, strong body we wanted all along. It’s so satisfying and empowering when we take action from an educated standpoint, and control the framework we see ourselves through as strong, powerful women with highly functional, healthy bodies that do not exist solely to be looked at. I look forward to your comments and questions.

For additional learning:

• Women specific nutrition and training with Dr. Stacy Sims
• Eating and training with your cycle (part 1) with Dr. Stacy Sims
• Eating and training with your cycle (part 2) with Dr. Stacy Sims
• A quickstart guide to women’s hormones (part 1)
• A quickstart guide to women’s hormones (part 2)
• What you need to know about birth control, the menstrual cycle and your hormones with Dr. Jolene Brighten
• How to heal emotional Eating with Tricia Nelson
• How to have a happy, healthy gut with Dr. Vincent Pedre

The post Shifting the Muscle to Fat Ratio: Women-Specific Body Composition Considerations appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Today I have something a little different to share with you! In this full body strength workout where I used my home gym equipment, you will see how to make the transition to heavier weight training if this is of interest.

This type of training uses “progressive overload” which is a fancy way of talking about how you can progressively get stronger by going up in either reps or weight. I recommend this type of training as part of a complete program (like the Lioness Strength Training program).

If you’ve gotten to a point with your training where you are looking for a different kind of challenge, this is something you might enjoy and I have lots of opportunities for you to do it in Rock Your Life as well as in the Lioness program.

At every age, resistance training is a great idea, and will help you build muscular strength. There are many ways to enjoy it. Bodyweight training, using gravity as resistance is a great way to build a strong foundation. Adding in dumbbells and stretchy bands and other home workout equipment can help you challenge your body against resistance as well and is very accessible and effective. Training with heavier weights like I’m going to show you today is yet another great option and progression.

If you’re in peri or post menopause, going heavier with your resistance training will start to help you see more shifts in your body composition toward more muscle less body fat, especially when you combine this with HIIT/plyometrics, increased protein consumption and more polarized rest/training days. When I say “go heavier” I mean go heavier than you have before. If you’re doing 1-3 lb dumbbell workouts, start to challenge yourself with heavier dumbbells. When you get to a point where it’s hard to hold dumbbells because they’re too heavy to comfortably get up on your shoulders or grip easily, consider using more of the barbells like I am today.

Today’s workout is a great introduction to doing heavier weight training at home and building up your home gym over time.

It’s a little longer that some of my other workouts you may have done, and I’ll be walking you through some dynamic stretching for a full body warm up, form tips and modifications so we make sure that we get the body ready for some of those heavier lifts.

Now join me, and let’s get strong together!

Unleash your power with progressive strength workouts designed to
sculpt lean muscle and build a fit physique with my Lioness Strength Training program!

Great job Rockstar! This is one of my favorite ways to train – leave me a comment below to let me know what you thought of it. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed today’s workout and want workouts like this formatted into a full body program, check out Lioness, my ultimate Women’s Strength Training Program!

This 8 week program includes:

• a highly effective strength training plan, including both full follow-along workout videos you can use at home and short demo videos you can take to the gym
• workout trackers so you can log your progress and continue to build strength
• an 8-week meal plan (gluten and dairy free) to fuel your workouts and optimize your results
• a complete workout training guide to walk you through the entire program and explain how muscle impacts your metabolism and body composition

Plus this program has options for doing it with different types of equipment and modifications for beginner, intermediate and advanced fitness levels.

Check out the Lioness program today and get ready to rock your fittest physique ever!

The post Total Body Strength Training appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Looking for a fantastic core sculpting workout?

Join Coach Neesha from Team Betty Rocker for this fun strength and plyometrics sequence!

Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach.

Plyometrics exercises (also referred to as high intensity, often incorporated into HIIT workouts) are explosive movements that use speed and force  to build muscle power.

We’ve incorporated plyo moves into this workout to help strengthen your body and stimulate fat loss. Often people think that ab workouts alone are what “shows the abs” but actually more of a focus on combined strength training and “systemic” or overall fat loss is what does the trick.

Rather than focusing on fat loss as the primary goal, I like to focus on muscular strength as muscle is more compact than fat, and developing it creates a more “toned” appearance. The more muscle you carry the more energy you’ll burn – so the more efficiently you can burn fat on autopilot. To strengthen the muscle tissue (and to lose body fat) we need to create an ideal environment in the body using:

• nutrition which includes eating enough protein and carbohydrates to support lean muscle production, and enough food in general to meet our energy needs,
• sleep which helps elevate growth hormone, and enables us to recover from our workouts,
• stress management to keep cortisol from becoming elevated, triggering fat storage and breaking down muscle (not to mention how important it is for our mental health!) and of course…
• exercise like the Betty Rocker workouts, which can impact fat loss systemically when other conditions in the body are met, particularly those mentioned above.

This sequence will both work your core and get your heart rate up, so join Coach Neesha and let’s get after it!

Love having workouts like this that you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Great job Rockstar! Don’t let anything stop you from taking care of your body in whatever way is right for you today! Check in with Coach Neesha and me and let us know how you’re doing.

We’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so we can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Look at the amazing results Ellen had following my meal plans and the challenges in Rock Your Life.

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

Can’t wait to see you there!

The post Cardio Core Burn appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Today I have some of my favorite upper body and core moves for you that will help build strength for functional movement and have you feeling so strong (and sweaty) by the end of this workout!

Functional movement is really just how we move as human beings. Mastering good form can be really helpful in correcting poor movement patterns, building better body awareness, helping us get stronger, and keeping us safe and moving well for many years to come.

Be sure to check out my Foundations of Functional Fitness free online workshop for more on stabilizing your shoulder joint and activating your core when practicing movements like these.

Today’s workout will focus on sculpting a strong back, arms and core all at once!

Now grab some weighted objects (water bottles, laundry jugs, dumbbells) and an elevated surface if you have one and let’s smash this together!

Great job with that workout! One of the many resources you’ll have access to in my Rock Your Life online home workout studio and women’s fitness community is the extensive class library with over 1200 different workout classes.

You’ll have unlimited access to many types of classes, from warm-up and cool-down stretches to restorative yoga, pilates, mobility, resistance training, weight training, HIIT circuits, mindset and more! Here’s a stretch video I recorded to complement this upper body workout that you would find in Rock Your Life.

In this video I’m drinking Rock and Restore, my free-form essential amino acid formula and drinking out of my Stop, Drop and Betty Rock shaker bottle.

Enjoy this quick upper body cool-down stretch, designed to go with today’s workout:

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Awesome work! Looking forward to hearing how you liked that workout – be sure to comment below with any questions and to check in.

Looking for a well-balanced workout plan with variety, accountability and support for your fitness journey? I’ve got you covered!

Check out ROCK YOUR LIFE, my online home workout studio and women’s fitness community!

We’ve got dozens of 30 day Challenge plans to choose from so you always have a plan, hundreds of workouts in our class library so you’re never bored, and so much support for you in our private support group!

Check out Voni’s amazing progress after just 1 year with me…

“1 year ago I pressed play to day 1 of Betty Rockers Make Fat Cry free 30 day program. I almost died by the way. Today I am on day 5 of my 11th challenge.
What I found was a health program that I LOVE! Thank you coaches! After the 30 day challenge, I joined you here on Rock your Life and as a result met the greatest bunch of inspirational ladies ever!

Thank you rockstars!
And of course a 1 year #rockiversary called for progress photos.

Sharing progress photos because I experienced so much inspiration from others sharing theirs. I ALWAYS used them as motivation and NEVER for comparison. Here is to motivation and inspiration!”

– Voni H, Rock Your Life member

Start your 30 Day Trial today!

Can’t wait to see you there!

The post Upper Body and Core Smash appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Welcome to the 5 Day Holiday Challenge!

Wishing you Happy Holidays from all of us at Team Betty Rocker!

I wanted to share a special holiday challenge as we enter the final weeks of the year (and stay tuned, as I’ll be emailing you a new challenge at the start of 2022!).

For the days leading up to Christmas, I’ve put together an awesome 5-day sequence with the Team Betty Rocker coaches.

If you’re spending time with family, grab your sister, mom or partner and do the challenge together! You might even start a new holiday tradition.

During this busy season, it’s so important to tune into your 4 pillars of health (sleep, nutrition, stress management and exercise) to listen to your body and focus on taking care of yourself. Your healthy habits are what you aim for daily, and that includes your mental health and time to step back and recover.

Give yourself permission to rest, to say no when you’re feeling tired, to enjoy the moment, and to leave some of the items on your “to do” list til tomorrow.

Here are some bonus resources to set you up for success with any challenge!

• The 4 step strategy that keeps me lean
• Sculpted and Strong; How muscle works
• How to train through the stages of your cycle

Feel free to add in this Full Body Stretch any day this week!

Day 1: Upper Body and Core Supersets

Let’s kick off the challenge with this low impact super-sculpt for your upper body and core!

We will be targeting your back, shoulders and arms with moves like biceps curls, shoulder presses and rows and sculpting a strong core with planks and floor wipers to name a few!

Today we’ll be focusing on our posture and alignment and talk about building healthy habits both on, and off the mat.

As always, I’ve got great options to make this work without anything fancy so you can do it anywhere you are – just follow along and I’ll show you how. Now let’s get right to it!

Be sure to check in with me below this post and let me know how you liked it. I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Day 2!

This 14-day free workshop can be done along side any workout program!

Sign up and start today and get more out of your workouts!

Day 2: Lower Body Burn

For Day 2 of the challenge we’re working on strong, sculpted legs! Grab a set of weighted objects and join Coach Amanda from Team Betty Rocker for this lower body workout.

Coach Amanda is a NASM and NESTA Certified Personal Trainer, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, TRX Qualified Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach in Rock Your Life

This workout is really going to challenge your muscles with moves designed to target every area of your lower body for a complete balanced workout!

A solid lower body routine like this one focuses on main movement patterns: hip extension, a hip hinge, and a squat pattern. It will target your lower body from all angles to build balanced strength.

Ready to get started? Press play and Join Coach Amanda and don’t forget to check in after you have completed today’s workout! We’ll see you back here tomorrow for Day 3!

Day 3: Power Pilates

Welcome back for Day 3 of the 5 Day Challenge!

Did you know that strengthening your core is one of the best things you can do for your overall fitness?

A strong core— which includes your abs, obliques, and lower back muscles—keeps your body balanced, helps improve your posture, keeps your spine stable and safe, and provides you with a more controlled and functional base to move from.

There are so many different options when it comes to working your core but adding Pilates into the mix is an awesome way to engage your muscles in a new, fun way!

To help you reap the core-strengthening benefits of Pilates, I invited Coach Nikki, one of the amazing Team Betty Rocker coaches from Rock Your Life, to be your teacher today. Coach Nikki is a yoga instructor ERYT200, an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer, a Mat Pilates Instructor and a Team Betty Rocker Coach!

Join her on the mat, and let’s go!

Great job Rockstar! Thank you for making the choice to show up for yourself today. See you back here for Day 4 tomorrow and be sure to check in once you’ve completed today’s workout!

I’m so excited that my Whole Betty supplements are now available in the UK and Canada!

Click here to check out the entire collection!

Day 4: Full Body Strength Pyramid

It’s Day 4 of the challenge and we’re going to strengthen our entire body in just 20 minutes!

Today’s workout is a fun, fast and effective pyramid workout that will work you from head to toe.

This is one of the training styles I always get requests for in Rock Your Life (my online home workout studio that you can totally join anytime) – so I know you’re going to love it!

Pyramids are a special kind of timing sequence where we focus on one move at a time, and repeat it at timed intervals that go up and then down in length.

They are a great way to build endurance and master the form for each move. I also threw in an optional power move during the rest periods so you can get even more out of this awesome workout!

Grab some weighted objects like dumbbells or water bottles for extra resistance, and let’s get strong together!

Can’t wait to see you again for Day 5 – the final day of this challenge! Let me know how it’s it’s going so far in the comments below.

Day 5: 20-Minute HIIT Sculpt

You’ve made it to the final day of the 5 Day challenge!

Today’s Full Body HIIT Sculpt workout will give you another fantastic total body burn in just 20 minutes!

HIIT stands for “high intensity interval training.” This type of training is great if you are on a time crunch but want a great workout.

So wherever you’re starting out, build yourself up using the cues and guidance from the awesome Coach Neesha, one of our popular Team Betty Rocker Coaches from Rock Your Life, my online home workout studio. Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach.

You’ll need a little space to move and some light weighted objects for resistance, like water bottles, water jugs, laundry jugs, or dumbbells.

Get ready to join Coach Neesha and HIIT it hard! 

Awesome job, Rockstar – I’m so proud of you for giving it your all with this challenge!

Leave us a comment below and let us know how you’re feeling, where you did this workout, and that you completed the challenge! We love hearing from you!

Did you enjoy this mini-challenge?

Then you will LOVE the Wonder Woman Challenge inside of Rock Your Life! The Wonder Woman challenge is designed to strengthen your entire body while improving both muscular and cardiovascular endurance as well as full body mobility. If you are looking for a sculpted physique, a strong core, barre and high intensity cardio, this challenge is for YOU!

Take your fitness to the next level – without having to leave your house!

Grab a 30-day Trial to Rock Your Life and get access to….

• 5 new classes you can do from home every week for constant variety and fun! Drop in on your schedule – they’re all loaded right into your workout library!
• Choose a workout from hundreds of options by body part you want to train, how much time you have and workout style!
• Take a 30-day Challenge complete with interactive calendar and daily email push to keep you on track – there are dozens to choose from!
• Check in with us in your private support community and make new friends, plus get your questions answered by the coaches!

I can’t wait to see you there! Get your 30 day trial today!

The post 5 Day Holiday Challenge appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Welcome to The Betty Rocker Show, the place to be to nourish your mind, love your body, and rock your life.

In part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Stacy Sims, we’re diving into training and nutrition strategies for women leading up to and post-menopause, plus guidance for phasing your training if you’re still having a regular cycle – and discussing 2 popular diet strategies – Intermittent fasting and Keto – and if they are effective for active women.

Dr. Sims is an applied researcher, innovator, and entrepreneur in human performance, specifically sex differences in training, nutrition, and environmental conditions.

She served as an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist at Stanford University from 2007 to 2012, where she specialized in sex differences with environmental and nutritional considerations for recovery and performance, specializing in women’s health and performance.

A regularly featured speaker at professional and academic conferences, including those hosted by US Olympic Committee, High-Performance Sport NZ, and USA Cycling, she is a Senior Research Associate at AUT University and resides at the beach in Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand with her husband and young daughter.

This is a 2-part series, so get ready to learn a lot and start applying it right away! Listen to Part 1, Eating and Training with Your Cycle here.

From her site:

“My vision is a world of healthy women who understand their bodies, know how to work with their unique physiology, know their periods are ergogenic aids and create positivity around being a woman in sport. 

Together we can shift the destructive narrative and elevate women in research, science, and sport.“

In This Episode You’ll Discover:

Reintroduction to Dr. Stacy Sims [0:57] 

• Checking in with you – did you take last week’s challenge
• What we’re talking about today

Nutrition and training considerations for those in peri or post menopause [2:37]

• Body changes we notice once we hit our 40’s
• What’s happening to our estrogen and progesterone ratios
• How this impacts insulin
• How we can use nutrition and training to level the playing field
• Protein 101
• Reducing steady state training and why
• Resistance Training Guide
• ‘Polarizing’ our training and how that supports us in reaching our goals
• How high intensity work supports our body composition
• Cardio and HIIT Training Guide
• Why it’s important to increase protein intake
• How heavy lifting and high intensity work plus a protein dose drive muscle protein synthesis
• How Muscle Works
• Shifting our nutrition to support gut health with fruit and veggie form of carbs
• Carbs 101
• Why women think they need to train more and eat less and why that’s not helping

“Lifting heavy” is relative to where you’re starting out [7:22] 

• Start with a foundation and build on it
• Adding resistance is important but you don’t go from bodyweight workouts to Olympic lifting overnight
• The importance of building a functional foundation for building muscle
• Foundations of Functional Fitness free training workshop

Lioness Strength Training Program [9:18]

This podcast is brought to you by Lioness, my 8- week strength training program. Feel empowered, strengthen your body and sculpt your strongest, fittest physique at any age.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Lioness Strength Training Program!

Phasing your training when you’re still cycling [11:13] 

• Low hormone phase/follicular phase training recommendations
• Ovulation training recommendations
• High hormone phase/luteal phase training recommendations
• 5-7 days prior to your period and training tips
• Advantages to training as a woman
• The mentality of “exercise more and eat less”

Training post-menopause (and peri-menopause) and polarizing your training  [14:50] 

• Why we don’t want to get into the grey zone
• Use a heart rate monitor for rest/easy days to ensure you’re having enough recovery
• How polarized training drives adaptations, strength gains and body composition changes

Keep your rest days in mind prior to menopause as well [17:34]

• My example of how I track my cycle and optimize my training
• How much I loved the Women Are Not Small Men course
• The importance of tracking and listening to your body

What Low Energy Availability (LEA) is and how it impacts us [18:58]

• Over 50% of recreational athletes are in LEA
• Our baseline needs for calories just to exist may be higher than you realize
• Why online calorie trackers and apps are driving this issue
• Why your body needs a certain baseline of nutrients
• When we’re not eating enough and adding training on top this creates LEA
• How this impacts the thyroid, metabolic rate, low blood sugar
• How LEA increases fat storage and breaks down muscle tissue
• The importance of nutrient timing and fueling when around your activities
• Why LEA is such a health concern and how stress compounds it
• Where calories come from and the quality of your food sources of them impact your outcomes far more than the “amount of calories”
• The importance of a balanced diet and ensuring you have adequate protein consumption
• The importance of upping your protein intake in your 40’s to drive the adaptation needed for body composition changes

The Body Fuel System [25:19]

Today’s podcast is brought to you by the Body Fuel System! My signature 6-week eating system has a customizable eating plan designed to sculpt your body from the inside out with done for you daily menus, grocery lists, simple meal prep tips and so much more!
Click here to learn more!

Intermittent fasting for women [26:53]

• Fasting without exercise in the general health population and its outcomes in that context
• Fasting results for lean or slightly overweight individual who are exercising and fasting
• Sex differences with exercise and fasting
• The brain physiology differences in women and men
• Caloric restriction and exercise and how this impacts women’s neurons, drives body fat storage, endocrine and menstrual cycle dysfunction
• Low energy availability differences between men and women
• Fasted training impacts on women
•  Outcomes of fasted training compounded with heightened cortisol
• The long-term issues with IF
• The way long term IF use with women impacts their brain, body composition and health markers
• How to garner the benefits of IF as a woman
• How exercise gives you many of the same benefits as a woman that IF claims to

Does fasting work for women post-menopause better than it does for women who are still cycling? [34:30]

• How fasted training puts more stress on the system post-menopause
• Stacy’s tips for approaching IF as a woman at any stage of life

Does the keto diet work well for women? [35:56]

• The original research about the keto diet on a clinical population of obese men
• The difference between a clinical population and a regular, exercising population
• What keto is beneficial for: traumatic brain injury (TBI), epilepsy, brain energetic issues
• How keto translates as a weight loss strategy in men vs women
• Why women need more carbohydrate for natural functioning of the endocrine system
• Research on the keto diet is coming from subjects who are male or from a clinical population
• The research doesn’t support long-term benefits for healthy, active women
• The impact heavy marketing can have on our choice to diet
• There is no short cut or fast fix to a healthy body
• The value of Dr. Stacy Sims’ work for women’s health

This Week’s Challenge(s) [42:39]

One of the biggest drivers of poor sleep is eating too close to bedtime. Rest and digest is parasympathetic, so if you’re digesting, you can’t rest. If we back up our food, we get better sleep.

Try out not eating 2 hours before bed, and see how that helps with your sleep.

Read: Save Your Sleep from Dr. Stacy Sims

Check out my Comprehensive guide to training with your cycle which includes:

• Your cycle as an advantage
• Continuing education opportunities and resources to learn more about cycle training
• The phases of a natural menstrual cycle
• Training considerations and tips for each phase of the menstrual cycle
• Nutrition considerations and resources
• Considerations for those using an oral contraceptive pill
• Peri and post-menopause considerations and training tips

Coming up next: I’m talking to Dr. Shawn Tassone – women’s hormone health expert and functional gynocologist who I worked with to remove a device called Essure. Join us for our conversation about common hormone imbalances in women, my journey with this medical device, and so much more!

How to connect with Dr. Stacy Sims

• Dr. Stacy Sims online courses
• Dr. Stacy Sims Instagram
• Dr. Stacy Sims Facebook page

Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too! Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast player to be alerted when new shows drop!

Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too!

Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast
player to be alerted when new shows drop!

ABOUT THE BETTY ROCKER SHOW:

Join me for open and thought provoking discussions about health, fitness, and how to stop undermining ourselves – and start taking meaningful action that makes us role models to others…

….and, listen in on my intimate conversations with amazing thought leaders, health care professionals, athletes and celebrities to learn their secrets and insights for overcoming life’s challenges, living longer, healthier, stronger and more #flawsome lives.

New shows are released every other week during Season 2 of The Betty Rocker Show.

Subscribe on your favorite player today!

The post S2 – 4: Eating and Training with Your Cycle (Part 2) – Menopause, IF and Keto with Dr. Stacy Sims appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Your cycle as an advantage

While you’re in the phase of life where you’re having regular periods, you may feel intuitively that you just don’t have as much drive during the days leading up to your period. And you may notice that certain times of the month you are able to absolutely crush your workouts.

If you’ve reached the life stage where your period has slowed down or stopped, you’re likely also noticing changes in your energy, drive and body composition. All of these changes, including the cyclical nature of our energy when we’re still having regular periods, are related to the interplay of key hormones – notably estrogen and progesterone, and their impact on every cell in our body.

I was very curious about this topic, as I noticed shifts in my energy when it came to working out over the course of the month. As I have so many women readers who are in their peri and post-menopause years (not to mention I’m heading that way myself) I was also very interested in what adaptations we can make at that life stage as well.

To learn about the science of our cycle and the training advantages it provides for women, I took a continuing education course for coaches and trainers (appropriate for anyone interested in learning this material) with Dr. Stacy Sims, a renowned scientist and researcher who studies sex differences in fitness and nutrition.

The course is called “Women are Not Small Men” and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to go deeper with this knowledge. When comparing ourselves to our male counterparts, we often take for granted that we ought to be able to perform “the same” all month long, or “the same” after menopause.

This can lead to feelings of inadequacy or shame when we feel tired, are bleeding, or are in other ways impacted by the natural rhythms we experience – rather than identifying our physiology as unique, and ourselves as badass women who have a complex system that requires space for the ebb and flow of our energy.

When I learned how all this works, it was a joy to begin to practice and I felt the impacts quickly.

Not only did I enjoy pushing hard when I naturally had the drive to do so, I gave myself permission to go slower and restore myself. I felt better physically and mentally as a pressure I didn’t even realize I was putting on myself was lifted.

I found it was easy to make minor adjustments to any training program and suit where I was at in my cycle – and I expect you’ll be able to do the same (examples included below!).

Since we’re all going to have variations in our cycle length and phase length, and may be in different stages of our life cycle (i.e. menstrual, peri-menopause or post-menopause), it is best to learn about the different stages so you can apply it to yourself individually.

Don’t worry if a program isn’t written “for your cycle” – with this information you can use any program and make it right for you wherever you’re at. You can use the Wild.ai app to track your cycle and get training and nutrition tips for where you’re at – developed by Dr Sims and her team!

For more in depth on these topics, check out Dr. Sims’ website and courses, and the 2-part podcast interview I did with her where she summarizes training and nutrition considerations during our menstrual years, during post menopause, and discusses training considerations for those on the pill and using an IUD, and much more.

• Part 1: Eating and Training with your cycle with Dr. Stacy Sims
• Part 2: Eating and Training with your cycle with Dr. Stacy Sims

Let’s start by understanding how our natural cycle looks, and considering the length of each of YOUR phases.

In the diagram below a “textbook” menstrual cycle of 28 days is represented. While it is helpful to see the phases broken out, keep in mind that the length of women’s menstrual cycles and the phases it contains actually varies. For instance, you may have a 3 day period, or a 5 day period (bleed). You may ovulate on day 12 or on day 15, which changes the length of your follicular phase.

Some women have a longer cycle of 35-40 days total, while others have a cycle as short as 21 days. Both ends of the spectrum and everything in between are considered normal.

Normal Menstrual Cycle

Tracking your cycle

Knowing when you ovulate and knowing when you menstruate will help you determine the type of training that will benefit you the most during each phase of your cycle, and determine the length of each phase. This is why you shouldn’t blanket apply a “4-week” or “28 day” training cycle to yourself if your menstrual cycle isn’t 28 days long.

• Track the length of your entire cycle – from when your period starts to when your next period begins (helpful to do monthly)
• Track the length of your period, and how long your low hormone phase (follicular phase) is – which goes from when you begin your period until you ovulate.
• Track ovulation, either by getting body temperature readings from a device like this, or using a urine analysis tracker like Clearblue, Pregmate, or other. As of this post release, the Oura ring 3rd generation which is currently in release contains an upgraded operating system and more sensitive metrics which help predict ovulation and track our cycle – I’ll be reporting back on my findings once I get my new ring to let you know how accurate this is.
• Track the length of your high hormone phase (luteal phase), which is just after ovulation until your period begins again.

Tracking your cycle is a great way to start to know which phase of it you’re in so you can start using this information to optimize your nutrition and training.

The Follicular phase, also known as the “low hormone phase” is from the start of your period until ovulation.

Your uterine lining starts to thicken, waiting for a fertilized egg to implant. Estrogen rises, and is higher than progesterone meaning your body is well set up to increase muscle mass. Your core temperature is in a normal range, helping you get deep, restorative sleep.

This segment of your cycle is called the “low hormone phase” because in contrast to the luteal phase where both estrogen and progesterone are elevated, only estrogen is elevated in this segment and it tapers up.

Progesterone increases protein breakdown where estrogen is anabolic – meaning it helps increase lean mass. This is why in the first half of your cycle when estrogen predominates over progesterone, you have a greater opportunity for gains in your training and can more efficiently build muscle.

• Training in the low hormone phase is all about strength and power. You may hit PR’s (personal records), have great energy to push harder and farther, and can work on upping your weight in your resistance training.
• This is assuming you are eating enough to support your training, prioritizing your sleep, and not allowing stress to overwhelm you.
• If you’re taking a Betty Rocker challenge or program, this is the phase of your cycle to give it your all. Try moves you haven’t been able to do before.
• Up your resistance. Go hard, and go longer if you have time by adding an additional round to the workout, or even repeating the entire workout if it’s shorter and you still have energy.
• During this phase of your cycle, you can really go for it with endurance, strength and power-type workouts. That could be high intensity interval training (HIIT), resistance training, or any type of more challenging, high-volume activity.

Ovulation

FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) peak, causing the release of an egg from the ovary. Just prior to ovulation estrogen peaks then drops off. Progesterone begins to rise.

• Training: During the short ovulation window, you can generally continue to go hard in your training (unless your energy feels low for any reason).
• Similar to the low hormone/follicular phase, you can continue to do endurance or strength and power type workouts. That could be high intensity interval training, resistance training, or any type of more challenging activity.
• If you experience an energy drop however, listen to your body and back off on intensity.

The Luteal Phase, also known as the “high hormone phase” occurs after ovulation.

The egg travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus, where it will attach to the uterine lining and may be fertilized.

Progesterone is increasingly heightened, and is now the dominant player in relation to estrogen, however estrogen still has a presence.

Progesterone increases our respiration rate. It alters the sweat threshold and has a thermogenic effect. As it rises in the luteal phase, it elevates our core temperature as much as 0.5 C. This can impact sleep – as in it becomes harder in the second half of your cycle to get that good, deep sleep.

• Training: After ovulation, it’s ideal to begin to monitor your energy and stamina as the rise in progesterone will impact your recovery and ability to push hard in your workouts. Personally, I experience this gradually over the first week post-ovulation.
• You can taper your training down in intensity in whatever way feels natural to you, and even focus on more steady state cardiovascular training.
• Simply having the mindset that the body is shifting has been tremendously helpful to me – knowing that I don’t have to have the same expectation of my output in the luteal phase helps me shift easily into training adaptations that feel good to my body.
• For instance, if I’m weight training I might start the workout with a heavier load, and decrease the weight amount as I go through subsequent rounds (reverse pyramid training).
• I might also simply use less resistance altogether, and do higher reps, do bodyweight training, or do the low-impact version of more high intensity moves and focus more on form.
• I might also opt for a steady state cardiovascular workout on some of the days I was doing more high impact training in the follicular phase.
• In the latter part of the luteal phase (days 5-7 or so before your period depending on your cycle length), you may feel a little more fatigued, due to estrogen and progesterone crossing to the brain and effecting the central nervous system. It’s a great time to really lower the resistance (weight), focus on technique drills, and swap in more mobility and functional movement skills classes.
• This is a good time for maintenance and recovery type sessions, slow, recuperative movement, and less cardio-focused workouts. That might be yoga, functional movement drills, bodyweight low impact training, or anything that feels restorative to you.

When it comes to a 4 week program like the example, remember that how you feel throughout the challenge has to do with where you’re at in your cycle, and that if you start the challenge during the follicular phase of your cycle (menstruation through ovulation) you may experience a drop of energy after you ovulate and move into the luteal phase – which could be closer to the end of the challenge.

• Listen to your body and adapt if your energy is dropping during any point in the challenge program.
• You can supplement with workouts from the Class Library (available in the member’s area in Rock Your Life, over 1000 classes to choose from) and swap in a few days of mobility or yoga if you’re not feeling up for a strength and power workout (which is recommended in the days leading up to your period as you’re in the tail end of the luteal phase).
• You can also do the prescribed workout and give yourself permission to move more slowly, use less intensity or resistance, and even do less rounds.
• Just because you’re at the end of a program doesn’t mean you’re always supposed to be “going harder” than you did at the start. If the end of a challenge lines up with when you’re in your luteal phase, give yourself space to back off.

Menstruation

While this is technically at the start of your cycle and included in the follicular phase, I’ve listed it last as it makes a bit more sense once you understand all the other stages of your cycle.

This is represented above in the diagram at the beginning of the chart and estrogen and progesterone are lowered after the end of the previous cycle, signaling blood and tissues lining the uterus to break down and shed from the body.

You may have less energy during your bleeding time than after it stops, but many women begin to feel more energized as progesterone drops down, reducing their core temperature and estrogen once again takes a front seat.

• Training: This is really up to you. If you feel tired, do more gentle movement and things that feel restorative throughout menstruation – similar to what you were doing leading up to it.
• If you begin to feel energized and strong, you can begin training at a volume that suits you, like we talked about with the follicular phase.
• This can be a transitionary phase, and you may shift through feeling low energy to higher energy over the course of your bleed as your body starts to feel the effects of the low hormone phase. Listen to your body and stay nourished, hydrated, and rested.
• Check out this great “Period Power” article from Dr. Sims about training with your period.

Nutrition considerations and resources

One of the most essential things to consider when you’re training regularly is that you are adequately fueled for your training.  Going into your workouts fueled is going to allow for adaptations and energy output, and help you preserve the lean mass you have so you can build more.

You also want to be fueling post-workout with protein and carbohydrates as soon as possible to stop the catabolism of our muscle tissue. Dr. Sims recommends fueling up between 30-45 minutes post-workout. Your body won’t start repairing until you’ve had some food.

Your body needs enough amino acids for muscle protein synthesis, not to mention enzyme and hormone function, brain health and your immune system.

The essential amino acid leucine is integral to muscle protein synthesis, and ensuring that you have enough of this amino acid (along with all the essential aminos that your body cannot make on its own) will certainly support your training goals.

As a result, prioritize your protein intake through your entire cycle – aiming for at least 20-30 grams of protein per meal if you’re under 40, and between 30-40 grams per meal if you’re over 40.

I use a protein powder like I Vanilla Protein to boost the protein content of my breakfast foods, as a shake post workout, or even if I’m going to do a morning workout and need a little fuel going into it to help me access my best output.

Because I tend to perform best an hour or so after a meal, I like to work out an hour or so after breakfast, and have a protein shake with fruit afterwards. Just like the protein from whole foods, a protein powder has to break down after you ingest it for your body to access the amino acids.

During my workouts, I drink a free-form amino acid supplement Rock and Restore, which contains all of the essential and branch chain amino acids (including an optimal dose of leucine) to keep my muscle tissue fueled.

In their free form, aminos do not have to be broken down, making them a great supplement to support you during your workout, and also help improve recovery.

This prioritization of protein is especially important in the high hormone phase (after you ovulate) as your body is in a continuous breakdown state with elevated cortisol and progesterone, breaking down more tissue. Be sure you’re adding protein to each meal, and consider using a quality protein shake to conveniently boost your daily intake.

Prioritizing quality, complex carbohydrates around your training (and quick carbs during your training for longer training sessions) is essential for both recovery and energy to push through your workouts.

Dr. Sims and I discuss our needs for protein, carbohydrates and fat in this podcast and I highly recommend this resource.

Low energy availability (LEA) is a far more common occurrence in women than men, as many of us are not eating enough for our needs – whether because of the demands on our time and lack of prioritization, or because we’re intentionally cutting calories or skipping meals. Being in an underfed state causes cortisol to rise, which increases fat storage.

I recommend checking out:

• Are you undernourished?
• Yes, you are an athlete – no, you shouldn’t practice intermittent fasting
• As well as our conversation about fasting and the keto diet as they relate to women in part 2 of our interview on The Betty Rocker Show podcast.

Considerations for training if you’re on the pill

An oral contraceptive pill (OCP) will modify your body’s natural estrogen and progesterone cycling by delivering a low dose of hormones on a daily basis. The week that you are on the sugar pill is the week your body bleeds, but it is not the same as regular menstruation.

• Training: Because of the variation from what your body would do naturally you can still “periodize” your training by doing more high-volume training in the first 3 weeks, and backing off during the sugar pill week that you bleed.

For more on how the pill impacts your training capacity, read this article from Dr. Stacy Sims, and listen to the interviews I did with her on The Betty Rocker Show, parts 1 and 2. To learn even more about the pill and how it impacts your body, check out the podcast interview with Dr. Jolene Brighten.

Perimenopause and post-menopause considerations and training tips

When we get into peri-menopause (the period of time leading up to menopause), our cycle length may become a bit erratic as we stop ovulating on the same schedule and our hormone levels fluctuate in response. We don’t get the same length of low and high hormone phases, and your period may come at unexpected times.

In menopause, we no longer ovulate and our estrogen and progesterone flatline. In both of these stages of life, specific training adaptations are recommended to help you navigate these fluctuations and stay strong, or even build strength.

Menstrual Cycle in the years before and after menopause

• Training: One of the essential pieces of your training during this stage of life is to avoid what Dr. Sims calls the “grey zone.” This is what we get into when we don’t take adequate rest and instead are pushing ourselves to exercise day after day.
• Without proper rest, we can never hit truly high intensities in the workouts that we do, because we’re never fully recovered.
• And this is the stage of life when we want to be hitting those high intensities, both with high intensity interval training (HIIT) style workouts, and ramping up the resistance training to add more load to the body.
• Both of these types of higher volume training force adaptations that will enable us to maintain and build lean mass. But we must be properly rested to take advantage of these adaptations.
• Because we no longer have the fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone to drive lean mass development, we need to increase the training stimulus in other ways.
•  Sleep and hot flashes: I would also recommend prioritizing sleep (see this article for some great tips) and using a Chilipad mattress topper during peri-menopause to regulate body temperature and improve deep, restorative rest. In her Women are Not Small Men course, Dr. Sims discussed improving your heat tolerance by using a sauna, something you can try out to help your body acclimate to hot flashes more easily.
• Nutrition: It’s even more essential than ever to focus on protein intake, prioritizing leucine (one of the essential amino acids responsible for muscle protein synthesis) as we stop absorbing aminos as readily in our 40’s and beyond. So increasing protein to 30-40 grams per meal, prioritizing being adequately fueled before and after training, and focusing on fruit and vegetable sources of carbohydrates and minimizing sugar intake will all support a leaner body composition and improve training results.

While this article is far from comprehensive, I hope it has given you a good foundation to build upon. I’m practicing this myself by tracking my cycle each month, and using where I’m at to be more adaptable with my training.

If you’re interested in learning more from Dr. Stacy Sims, follow her on Instagram – she posts so many great and informative posts, and releases excellent content on her website as well. Check out her course offerings, too – she has a menopause course as well, and a membership where she regularly puts out new modules and content from her research and from new research available.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this today, and I wish you nothing but success as you navigate life in your amazing female physique!

The post How to Train Through the Stages of Your Cycle appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

HIIT stands for “high intensity interval training.” This type of training is great if you are on a time crunch but want a great workout.

You can get stronger and fitter at any age combining HIIT workouts like this one with resistance training to your overall workout programming. When we’re over 40, and especially post-menopause, our bodies need a greater stimulus to respond.

So wherever you’re starting out, build yourself up using the cues and guidance from the awesome Coach Neesha, one of our popular Team Betty Rocker Coaches from Rock Your Life, my online home workout studio.

Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach.

You’ll need a little space to move, an elevated surface (optional – good for modifying any plank poses) and some light weighted objects for resistance, like water bottles, water jugs, laundry jugs, or dumbbells.

Get ready to join Coach Neesha and HIIT it hard! We’ll be looking for your check ins!

Love having workouts like this that you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Full Body HIIT Sculpt

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions

Equipment: Weighted Objects (water bottles, dumbbells, household objects)
Format: Perform each move for 0:30 and repeat for 3 rounds

Circuit

Move 1: Squat to Press

• Begin standing with your feet about hip distance apart, with your core engaged, holding a weighted object in each hand at your shoulders.
• Begin sending your hips back behind you with your weight back in your heels, knees tracking in line with your toes and ensure your chest is upright and your core is engaged.
• Power through your heels and posterior chain to return to standing and as you stand, press the weights straight up overhead (be sure to keep your rib cage down and core engaged and to not arch your back).
• Bring your arms back down to starting position and repeat from the squat.
• MOD: Squat down to a couch or chair.

Move 2: Mountain Climbers

• Begin in a tall plank position with your shoulders stacked over your hands, core engaged, and back flat.
• Keeping your hips down, run your knees into your chest and back out by pulling each knee in as far as you can and then back out, one at a time.
• MOD: Do this move on an elevated surface by placing your hand on the edge of a couch or table.

Move 3: Sit Up Cross Punch

• Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet on the ground and lower back pressed gently into the mat.
• Use your abdominals to sit yourself up and punch your arms one at a time across your body.
• Lower yourself back down with control until you are back in your starting position and repeat.

Support your skin, joint and bone health with my Full Body Collagen!

Move 4: Super Mario’s Lunges (left)

• • Begin standing with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged.
  • Step your left foot back behind you and begin bending your back knee until it nearly touches the ground in a 90 degree angle (ensure your knee is not shooting out over your toe and maintain an upright chest).
  • Power through your front heel and drive your back knee up to your chest while reaching your left arm up to the sky to come to standing.
  • MOD: Take out the jump and work on a high knee drive without the jump.

Move 5: Single Leg Standing Side Crunch (left)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and left arm raised.
• While balancing on the right leg, drive the left elbow and knee together for an oblique crunch and then tap your toe back to the ground and repeat.
• MOD: hold onto the back of a chair or side of a couch for stability as needed.

Move 6: Super Mario’s Lunges (right)

• Repeat on the right side.

Move 7: Single Leg Standing Side Crunch (right)

• Repeat on the right side.

Awesome job Rockstar! Check in below and let us know how you did and if you’re a fan of HIIT workouts – we love hearing from you!

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post 20-Minute Full Body HIIT Sculpt appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Ready to sweat and shred? Join Coach Neesha from Team Betty Rocker for this super fun 5-move lower body HIIT circuit! It will energize you and work your muscles with optional weighted objects.

Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach. 

Each of these moves is designed to work your glutes, quads or hamstrings, with some exercises strengthening your core at the same time.

You’ll also be doing some heart-pumping cardio moves like sumo squat thrusts and surfer pop ups to really feel the burn.

And with a circuit style structure, you’ll repeat each move as many times as you can within a 30-45 second window, giving it that super-sweaty, high-intensity feel.

Here’s a note from Coach Neesha: I encourage you to meet your body where she is and take these moves at your own pace, focusing on proper alignment and engagement to get the most out of every bit of this quick and sweaty workout. Get ready to rock it and let me know how you did in the comments below – we love to hear from you! 

Let’s get right into this!

Love having workouts you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Lower Body HIIT Circuit

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions

Equipment: Optional weighted objects
Format: Perform each move for the prescribed time and repeat for 3 rounds.

Circuit:

Move 1: Squat to Reverse Lunge (0:45)

• Begin standing with your core engaged, chest upright and holding a weight in your hands at chest level.
• Keeping your chest up tall and weight back in your heels, squat straight down and shoot your hips back slightly. Ensure your knees aren’t buckling in and your chest is upright.
• Drive through your heels and power through your posterior chain to return to standing.
• Next, step your right foot back behind you and begin bending your back knee until it nearly touches the ground in a 90 degree angle (ensure your knee is not shooting out over your toe and maintain an upright chest).
• As you stand up, power through your front heel and bring your back foot to meet your front foot as you come to standing.
• Repeat with your left leg and then repeat that sequence.
• MOD: Perform this with no weight and hold onto a chair or wall to help stabilize.

Move 2: Sumo Squat Thrust (0:30)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest up tall.
• Bend your knees and plant your hands on the floor or mat in front of you (hands stacked directly below shoulders) and jump or step your feet back into a tall plank position, holding your belly button in and up to keep your core engaged.
• Jump or step your feet back to the outside of your hands and come back to standing, loading your weight in your heels and using your momentum to power you up into a sumo jump.
• MOD: Perform this movement with your hands on an inclined surface, like a chair, couch or ottoman. You can also take the impact out entirely by stepping back and forth rather than jumping, and coming up to a body squat rather than a jump.

Move 3: Floor Wipers (0:45)

• Begin lying on the ground with a weight in each hand, straight over your chest, and your legs straight out, hovering slightly above the ground.
• Engage your blueberry spine by gently pressing your lower back into the floor and lift your legs up and to the right toward your weights.
• Slowly lower your legs back down and repeat on the left.
• Keep your hips on the floor the entire time so you’re not rocking your hips up.
• MOD: Keep your legs bent as you lift your legs.

Move 4: Surfer Pop Ups (0:30)

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest up tall.
• Bend your knees and plant your hands on the floor or mat in front of you (hands stacked directly below shoulders) and jump or step your feet back into a tall plank position, holding your belly button in and up to keep your core engaged.
• Jump or step your feet in toward your chest and over to the right side, landing in a deep squat with feet turned out. Pop up to do a jump squat and then plant your hands on the floor and jump back into a tall plank.
• On the next rep, jump your feet in toward your chest and to the left side and repeat.
• MOD: Perform this move from an elevated surface or step your feet in one at a time to the side and stand up in a body squat instead of jumping.

Move 5: Sumo Squat to High Pull Row (8-12)

• Begin standing with your feet wider than hip distance. Allow your feet to turn out naturally.
• Hold your weighted objects in your hands, arms hanging straight down in front of you with your shoulders back and down to counter balance the weights pulling you forward.
• Send your hips back behind you, pulling your belly button in and up to engage your core, keeping your chest up tall (don’t bend forward), weight back in your heels and knees tracking in line with your toes.
• Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes as you power back to standing, drawing your weighted objects up and back evenly for a high pull row. Notice the muscles working between your shoulder blades.
• MOD: Use no weighted objects as you begin.

Way to go Rockstar! Check in with Coach Neesha and me and let us know how you’re doing, staying on track with your workouts!

We’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Lower Body HIIT Circuit appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Let’s turn up the heat with these 5 moves to shred your body from head to toe!

This is a super fun strength and cardio burn that can be done anywhere you are with just a couple of simple props like a pair of dumbbells or any weighted objects you have on hand.

You’ll be working out with Coach Neesha from Team Betty Rocker today. Her workout classes are super popular in Rock Your Life, our online home workout studio, and I’m excited to share this full body HIIT circuit with you!

Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach. 

You are here, you are capable, and you are going to rock this workout! Let’s go! 

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Full Body HIIT Shred

Click here for detailed written form notes and move explanations.

Equipment: Weighted Objects (dumbbells, water bottles, household objects), Elevated Surface

Format: Perform each move for the prescribed time and repetitions and repeat for 3 rounds.

Circuit:

Move 1: Step Ups (0:30)

• Begin standing in front of an elevated surface – height of your choosing.
• Step your left foot onto your elevated surface, powering through your left heel as you come to standing and squeeze your glutes at the top.
• Slowly step back down to the floor and repeat on the other side. Alternate back and forth for the allotted time.
• Optional: Hold weights in your hands for added resistance.

Move 2: Curl to CHEK Press (8-12)

• Begin standing and holding your weighted objects with your palms facing you, pull your shoulder blades back and down with your core engaged.
• Keeping the upper arms stationary, curl the weights up to your shoulders ending with your palms facing you.
• From this position, press your arms up to a 90 degree position in front of you with your palms facing you.
• Externally rotate your arms out by pulling your shoulder blades together to end in a 90 degree position almost like a goal post (palms will face outward at this point) and then press your arms straight up over your head.
• Reverse the movement to end in the position you started in and repeat for each repetition.

Move 3: Box Jump (0:30)

• Stand facing the box (or any elevated surface) you are jumping onto.
• Slightly bend your knees and shoot your hips back and power through your heels to explode off the
• balls of your feet onto the box (use your arms to propel you and land softly on the balls of your feet).
• Jump or step back down and repeat.
• MOD: Remove the jump and simply do step up with alternating legs.

Move 4: Side Plank Crunch R/L (0:30 each side)

• Begin in a side plank position with your right hand on the ground and stacked right over top of your shoulder and your right leg bent with your left leg extended straight out in line with your body.
• Lift up into a side plank, keeping your hips square in front of you and not dropping your chest forward.
• With your top leg and arm extended out, bring them toward each other for a side crunch while keeping your hips lifted off the ground.
• Extend your arm and leg back out and repeat all reps on one side and then switch.
• Optional: Extend both legs out with your hips lifted.

Move 5: Box Jump to Knee Drive (0:45)

• Stand facing the box (or any elevated surface) you are jumping onto.
• Slightly bend your knees and shoot your hips back and power through your heels to explode off the balls of your feet onto the box (use your arms to propel you and land softly on the balls of your feet).
• As you come to standing on the box, drive your right knee up toward your chest and then return to standing and step down from the box.
• Alternate your knee drive after each box jump.
• MOD: Remove the jump and simply do step up with alternating legs into a knee drive.

You rocked that workout! Be sure to check in and let me and Coach Neesha know how you’re doing today – we love hearing from you!

We’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Full Body HIIT Shred appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

It’s time to #stopdropandbettyrock with a super fun, Full Body HIIT Sculpt!

This workout combines resistance training with cardio to boost your energy, increase your strength and keep your cardiovascular system going strong.

In this routine, we will be doing two fun supersets with 3 moves each. Take as much rest as you need between the moves!

As always I’ll be offering lots of options so you can make it your own!

Grab a couple of weighted objects and something elevated nearby like a chair, box or your couch.

Ready to get started? Press play and let’s HIIT it!

Love having workouts you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Full Body HIIT Sculpt

Click here for detailed written form notes and move explanations.

Equipment: Weighted Object (water bottles, household objects, dumbbells), Optional Elevated Surface
Format: Perform each move for the prescribed time and repetitions and repeat for 3 rounds.

Superset 1

Move 1: Jump Squat Walk Out to Plank Rotation (10)

• Begin standing at the end of your mat with your core engaged. 
• Bend your knees to plant your hands on the ground in front of you and slowly walk your hand out until you end in a tall plank position with your core engaged and shoulders stacked over your hands.
• Rotate to one side, bringing one arm up to the sky with your top leg extended out.
• Rotate back to your tall plank and walk your hands back to your feet. 
• Drive through your heels to powerfully jump up to come to standing.
• Repeat and perform a plank rotation on the other side and repeat back and forth.
• MOD: Perform this from a kneeling plank position and remove the jump by simply standing out of your plank walk back.

Move 2: Curl to Press (8-12)

• Begin standing with your weighted objects in your hands and pull your shoulder blades back and down with your core engaged. 
• Keeping the upper arms stationary, curl the weights up to your shoulders ending with your palms facing you.
• Rotate your palms to face out and press your arms and then press your arms straight up overhead.
• Slowly lower the weight back down with control and repeat.

Move 3: Chair Sit Row to Tricep Extension (8-12)

• Starting with your feet together, core engaged and shoulders rolled back, sink your hips back and down slightly as if you were going to sit in a chair.
• From here, draw your elbows in close to your rib cage holding the weights by your side
• Kick your left arm back to a tricep extension, while at the same time stepping back behind you with your right leg.
• Repeat the movement on the opposite sides, alternating your arms and legs.

Superset 2

Move 1: Jump Switch to Alternating Lunges (1:00)

• Start with your feet hip-width distance apart and your core engaged holding weighted objects in each hand.
• Take a big step forward with your right leg and lower yourself straight down until your back knee nearly touches the ground (ensure your front knee is not shooting out over your toe, maintain an upright chest, and keep your weight evenly through the ball of your foot and heel).
• As you stand up, drive through your front heel to come to standing and repeat on the other side.
• Once standing, bend your knees to lower the weight down to the ground, stand back up and perform 2 split squat jumps by jumping from a lunge and switching your front and back legs, landing lightly back in your lunge position.
• Squat down to pick the weights back up and perform a reverse lunge on each leg. 
• Repeat your split squat, front lunge, split squat, reverse lunge sequence for the allotted time. 
• MOD: Do this move body weight or take the split squats out and simply do forward and reverse lunges for the allotted time.  

Move 2: Hip Thrusters (8-12)

• Position your back on an elevated surface (couch or chair). The edge of the surface should be at the base of your shoulder blades. Bend your knees and have them at 90 degrees.
• Drive through your heels to lift your hips to the ceiling, squeezing your glutes and keeping a tight core.
• Drop your hips back down toward the floor with control and repeat.
• MOD: Perform this on the ground rather than an elevated surface.
• Optional: Add weight to your hip crease for added resistance. 

Move 3: 3 Way Raises (0:45)

• Stand with your core engaged, chest up, shoulders rolled back, and weights in hand.
• Keeping your ribcage down and core engaged, lift both arms out to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and leading with your shoulders and elbows rather than your wrists. 
• Slowly bring the weights back down to your sides with control and then raise the weights straight up in front of your body for a front raise, ending with your palms facing the ground. 
• Slowly bring them down again to center and with your palms facing behind you, use your back muscles to pull the weight straight back.
• Bring our weights back to center and repeat the lateral raise to front raise and back pull.

Awesome work! Looking forward to hearing how you did today – be sure to comment below with any questions and to check in.

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Full Body HIIT Sculpt appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Are you ready for a full body burn?

Join me in welcoming Coach Neesha to Team Betty Rocker, who will be rocking today’s super fun time-saving workout, designed to sculpt your body in all the right places while providing a solid high intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio boost.

Coach Neesha is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach in Rock Your Life.

What makes HIIT so awesome?

Studies show that regular HIIT exercise has a number of important benefits like significantly increasing both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels, boosting your metabolism, and strengthening your cardiovascular system (1).

Plus, HIIT workouts formatted like this one will build enhanced fast-twitch muscle fibers which are awesome for strength, power, and losing body fat while maintaining muscle mass (2).

Want to know more about the value of cardiovascular exercise and how to use it to your advantage? Read this!

This workout consists of squats, planks and more—all movements you can do using just your bodyweight absolutely anywhere!

Grab some water and a towel and get ready to sweat!

Great job with today’s workout! I love one-off workouts, but having a plan to follow is so much more effective. Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

You rocked that workout! Be sure to check in and let me and Coach Neesha know how you’re doing today – we love hearing from you!

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Full Body HIIT Burn appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

This powerful tabata zone workout will give you an awesome head to toe strength and burn session!

Tabatas are an incredibly effective and efficient way to workout! They offer us the maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time (1), which is great!

Tabatas are a type of HIIT – high intensity interval training- where we pair 0:20 of maximum effort with 0:10 rest periods which you repeat for a total of 4 minutes. The key to getting the most out of this is to really give it YOUR ALL (2)!

In today’s workout I’m going to stack 3 tabata sets together to keep you sweating, strengthening – and guessing – as we add new moves with each body zone.

When you feel like you can’t keep going during those cardio intervals, remember that it’s only 20 seconds. Push through, and the core section will feel like a breeze!

For this workout, I suggest you have something elevated nearby like a chair, box or stair as well as some weighted objects to use for resistance. I’m also wearing this super cute, adjustable weighted vest by Hyperwear (available in black or grey) that I love for adding an additional challenge to my workouts – TOTALLY OPTIONAL.

Grab a water bottle and meet me on the mat!

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Check out Home Workout Domination for a total home workout program that uses minimal equipment and will get you on track to feeling and looking your best!

Tabata Zones with Bonus Core

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions.

Equipment: Weighted Objects (water bottles, dumbbells, etc), Optional Elevated Surface
Format: Perform move 1 for 0:20 seconds, rest for 0:10 seconds and then repeat for move 2. Repeat moves 1 and 2 back to back for 4 rounds total. 

Upper Body Zone Tabata

Move 1: Squat Thrust

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest up tall.
• Bend your knees and place your hands on the floor in front of you.
• Step or jump your feet back to a tall plank, keeping your core tight and back flat, gaze about 6 inches in front of you for a neutral spine.
• Jump or step your feet back into your hands and come back to standing, loading your weight in your heels and using your momentum to power you up into a jump.
• MOD: Perform this movement with your hands on an inclined surface, like a chair, couch or ottoman. You can also take the impact out entirely by stepping back and forth rather than jumping, and coming up to a body squat rather than a jump.

Move 2: Renegade Rows

• Begin in a tall plank position with your core engaged, back flat, and shoulders stacked over your hands holding weighted objects.
• Keeping your hips square to the ground and core engaged, perform a row with your right arm by pulling your elbow straight back along your body and squeezing the base of your shoulder blade. 
• Slowly return your right arm back to the ground and repeat with your left arm.
• MOD: Do this move on an elevated surface by placing your hand on the edge of a couch or table, from a kneeling position, or remove the weights completely.

Lower Body Zone Tabata

Move 1: Skaters

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest upright.
• Step your right foot back behind you and over to the left as your left knee bends. Your right knee will line up behind your left heel.
• In your lunge position, ensure that your chest remains upright and your left knee does not rotate or press out over your left foot to maintain stability.
• Power off your front heel to laterally hop to the other side and repeat the curtsy on the other leg. Alternate back and forth.
• MOD: Take the jump out of the move and do low impact alternating curtsy lunges or reverse lunges.
• Optional: Increase the intensity of this move by holding a light weighted objects in each hand.

Move 2: Modified Kettlebell Swings

• Begin standing with your core engaged, shoulder blades pulled back and down and your weighted object in your hands.
• Shift your hips back as you slightly bend your knees to load your weight in your hamstrings while keeping your chest up tall. 
• Drive your hips forward with power as you let your arms and weighted object float up toward the ceiling to end with your arms overhead or at eye level (be sure your rib cage is still pulled down and you’re not arching your back at the top). The power should come from your lower body rather than you muscling the weight up).
• Control the weight back down and you shift your hips back and repeat.
• MOD: Perform this move without any weight or perform Romanian Deadlifts as you increase your posterior chain strength. 

Core and Back Zone Circuit

Format: Perform each move for the prescribed repetitions and repeat for 2 rounds. 

Move 1: Cross Body Sit Ups (12 each side)

• Begin lying on your back with your knees bent and your core gently pressing into the mat to activate blueberry spine.
• Bring your right hand behind your head and cross your left ankle over your right knee.
• Lift your chest off the mat (without tucking your chin to your chest or pulling on your neck) and reach your right elbow across your body to crunch toward your left knee.
• Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat.
• Complete all reps on one side and then switch sides. 
• Optional: For additional core work, keep one leg bent and extend the other (rather than crossing it across the knee) and as you lift  your chest, bring the extended leg in toward your upper body and then extend back out. 

Move 2: Cactus Arms Extensions (10-12)

• Come down to your mat, back is flat to the ground pressing your low back into the floor, core engaged with your knees bent.
• Bring your arms to an upright 90 degree angle position, pressing your shoulders and elbows into the floor.
• Slide your arms as far upward as you can while maintaining elbow and shoulder contact with the ground.
• Optional: Drive through your heels to lift your hips off the ground as you move through cactus arms to add additional posterior activation. 

Move 3: Toe Reaches (10-15)

• Begin lying on your back with your feet together and legs straight up in the air and your core gently pressing into the mat to activate blueberry spine. 
• Lift your shoulders off the ground by pulling your chest up (without tucking your chin to your chest) to reach toward your toes. 
• Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat.
• MOD: Bend your knees instead of keeping them straight and reach toward the ceiling. 

Move 4: Swimmers (20)

• Lie on your stomach with your arms and legs extended and reaching toward the walls in front of and behind  you.
• Lift your right arm and left leg up at the same time and then alternate with your left arm and right leg and repeat back and forth.
• Keep a slight contraction in your lower back as you “swim” and keep your gaze neutral so your neck isn’t straining or hyperextending.
• MOD: Place your fingertips on the floor to support your upper body and isolate just the legs.

Great job Rockstar! Don’t let anything stop you from taking care of your body in whatever way is right for you today!

Ready for more? I’ve got you covered!

The Home Workout Domination program is perfect if you’re looking for a time-saving resistance training plan to do at home, at the gym, or on the road – it will torch body fat, and tighten and strengthen your legs, glutes, abs, and arms – total body domination!

Check out Home Workout Domination right here!

The post Tabata Zones with Bonus Core appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

It’s Day 5 of the 5-Day Home Workout Challenge – THIS IS IT!!

I love how you jumped right in and took action! You are SO AWESOME!

(Looking for the rest of the challenge? Here are day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 4)

If you’re not ready for this to end, the challenge continues inside Rock Your Life and you’re right on track!

You’ve done the first 5 workouts already and you can get a 30-day trial today and get all set up in time for the next workout (take a rest day or 2 first of course!).

Rock Your Life is more than one challenge- in fact there are dozens of awesome challenges to choose from! Plus, we offer 5 new classes a week, healthy recipes, an awesome women’s support community, and lots of great bonus gifts (yours to keep)!

Get your 30 Day Rock Your Life trial right here, and let’s keep this challenge going!

Let’s get into today’s TOTAL BODY HIIT Drills! You can find your NUTRITION challenge for today below.

DAY 5 NUTRITION CHALLENGE:

And speaking of ROCKING, let’s keep this challenge going – you can pick up right where you are leaving off with our 5-day challenge inside Rock Your Life, my ONLINE HOME WORKOUT STUDIO – where you’ll get access to….

• The current 30-day Warrior Woman Challenge we’re all doing (you’ve already done the first 5 days)!
• ALL the other the members-exclusive 30-day Challenges (so you can pick your next challenge to start in February – we’ll release Warrior Woman 2 Feb 1 if you enjoy workout series!)
• 5 new weekly home workout classes (these are in addition to the challenges in case you want to just pick and choose workouts to do instead of following a formal challenge plan)
• The online home workout library that you can browse by how long the workout is, what body part you want to train, and more,
• 24/7 access to the private Betty Rocker women fitness support community – where myself and the coaches answer questions daily, provide motivation and support in an uplifting, positive environment unlike any other.

Your challenge is just waiting to be completed!

With your 30 Day Pass, you can enjoy 30 days for just $1 – yep, that’s right! I want you to be able to take the whole thing for a real test drive so you can have plenty of time to decide if it’s a good fit for you.

If you decide to stay, it’s less than $1 a day monthly, with full access to it all, and you can stay as long as you like – no contract, no hidden fees.

Simple, effective, positive, transparent and real – just like everything we do.

All we’re missing is you! Join us from your house, anytime, anywhere and let’s rock your body AND your LIFE this year!

Check it out and activate 30 days of Rock Your Life and finish the Warrior Woman Challenge!

Did you know that having a support system when it comes to your goals makes you 95% more likely to reach them than if you were to go at it alone?

Which is why having a supportive community to show us that we’re not alone in the challenges we face on this journey is so important. We all need a helping hand from time to time and a community that you can rely on to lift you up is a game changer when it comes to sticking to your fitness goals!

So head on over to Rock Your Life and join our community where you’ll have daily support and make new friends while you get stronger, fitter, healthier and more confident than ever before.

Amazing job!! Check in and let me know how you enjoyed the challenge and any wins you had – I love hearing from you!

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Day 5: 5 Day Home Workout Challenge – Total Body HIIT appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

It’s Day 4 of the 5-Day Home Workout Challenge – and it’s time to focus on some self care, active recovery, and bonus core.

(Looking for the rest of the challenge? Here are day 1, day 2, and day 3)

So often we skip the mobility, stretching, breathing, self-care aspects of fitness – to our detriment. I know it feels like you made a big accomplishment when you complete a workout that leaves you breathless, but in order to rock those workouts in a strong body that can give 100% and avoid injury, we must also do the maintenance our bodies need.

I talked about one of my favorite analogies for this in today’s class, which is house work. I know you may not look forward to doing the dishes, dusting, or sweeping your floor, but doesn’t it feel amazing to enjoy your sparkling clean space?

These self-care pieces are like that too. Once you start doing them, they actually do feel great – and you are accomplishing an important piece of your fitness that so many people miss. These pieces are what will keep you fit longer, stronger and healthier! I snuck in some bonus core work after the mobility drills today so if you need to feel the accomplishment of “doing” you will (I understand!).

We offer many fun weekly workout classes in Rock Your Life, including a weekly mobility class. It’s one of the reasons our members get such amazing results! You don’t have to stop the challenge after tomorrow. You can continue forward with us! We’ve done the same first 4 days as you in our Warrior Woman 30-Day Challenge, and we’d love to have you join us to complete it!

Click here for a 30-day trial!

Now let’s get right into today’s class!

DAY 4 NUTRITION CHALLENGE:

Sustainable, consistent action is what builds good habits to support your healthy life! Check out Joanna’s progress in Rock Your Life with JUST ONE challenge – and imagine what she can do as she builds on her success!

Imagine what YOU could do in 30 days! Stick with it – grab your trial to Rock Your Life today and check out everything we have to support you!

You rocked that workout! Check in with me and let me know how I can support you- I love hearing from you!

I’ll see you tomorrow for Day 5- Total Body HIIT Drills! 

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Day 4: 5 Day Home Workout Challenge – Mobility and Core appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Ready to get SWEATY and STRONG? Join me for this full body tabata shredder workout! If you’ve never done Tabatas before, they are a fast, fun and efficient way to get an amazing workout.

Tabatas are a special 4-minute workout format (a type of HIIT  – high intensity interval training) where we pair 0:20 of maximum effort with 0:10 rest periods. The trick to getting the most out of this is to really give it your all in that 0:20.

Today’s workout is a mix of strength and cardio moves so you can hit both elements of a strong, sculpted body all at once.

As always, I’ll talk you through form tips and modifications so you can get stronger safely. Grab a couple of weighted objects (water bottles, wine bottles or dumbells) and let’s check off your workout for the day!

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Total Tabata Shredder

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions.

Equipment: Weighted Objects.

Format: Perform move 1 for 0:20 seconds, rest for 0:10 seconds and then repeat for move 2. Repeat moves 1 and 2 for 4 rounds total.

Tabata 1:

Move 1: Alternating Reverse Curtsy to Kick

• Begin standing with your core engaged and chest upright.
• Step your right foot back behind you and over to the left as your left knee bends. Your right knee will line up behind your left heel.
• In your lunge position, ensure that your chest remains upright and your left knee does not rotate or press out over your left foot to maintain stability.
• Power through your front heel and as you come back to standing, kick your foot out and to your side.
• Repeat on the other side and alternate back and forth from right to left. 
• MOD: Hold on to a chair or wall to help stabilize yourself or perform reverse lunges, where rather than your knee coming behind your front heel at an angle, you step straight back.

Move 2: Split Squat Jumps

• Begin in a forward lunge position with your knees bent, chest upright and core engaged.
• With your weight in your front foot and your knees tracking your toes, jump up and switch your front and back legs, landing lightly back in your lunge position. 
• MOD: Perform alternating reverse lunges to make this low impact or hold onto the wall or back of a chair for help with balance. 

Tabata 2:

Move 1: Elevated Push Up Claps

• Begin in a tall plank with your hands stacked below your shoulders and your core engaged. 
• Lower yourself toward the mat by bending your elbows, keeping your shoulders away from your ears and your elbows shooting back behind you. Keep your gaze about 6 inches in front of you rather than looking up or down, to maintain a neutral spine.
• Keeping your core engaged and your shoulders away from your ears, powerfully press back up and away from the floor or elevated surface to clap your hands at the top. Land back with soft wrists and elbows as you come back to your tall plank position. 
• MOD: Perform the push up with your hands on the side of your couch or other elevated surface. Alternatively, remain on the mat, but in a kneeling, or single knee down position.
• Check out my Push-up Progression Tutorial for tips on perfecting form and building strength. 

Move 2: Reverse Flye to Kickback

• Hinge forward at the waist to be at 45 degrees, gaze neutral, with your shoulders down and back so they’re not rounding forward and allow your weights to hang beneath your chest.
• Lift both arms out to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Slowly bring the weights back beneath your chest.
• Pull the weights to your sides for a row, keeping your elbows close to the body and squeezing your back muscles like you’re pinching the base of your shoulder blades together.
• While in this row position perform a tricep kickback by kicking your arms straight back.
• Slowly lower the weights down again to the starting position and repeat the fly and kickback combination. 

Tabata 3:

Move 1: Crescent Kicks

• Come into a fighter stance with your left foot slightly in front of your right, and get light on your feet.
• With your back leg, kick your foot in front and across your body as high as you’re comfortable with for a crescent kick.
• Switch your stance after each crescent kick so you alternate your kicking foot.
• MOD: Draw a crescent with your knee rather than a full kick. This is a great way to see how tight your hips are, and if one is tighter than the other.

Move 2: Plank Jack to Tuck

• Begin in a tall plank position with your core engaged, shoulders stacked over your hands and your lower back slightly up toward the ceiling.
• Jump your feet out wide for a jack and then back together.
• Next, keeping your hips down, jump both feet in toward your chest and then back out and repeat these two movements back to back for the allotted time. 
• MOD: Perform this from an elevated surface or step your feet out and in rather than jumping. 

Tabata 4:

Move 1: Squat Biceps Curl to Press

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width distance apart, holding weighted objects in your hands with your palms facing you. 
• With your core engaged and your shoulder blades pulled back and down, shoot your booty back behind you as though you were going to sit on a chair – keeping the weight in your heels and chest up.
• As you squat down, perform a bicep curl with both arms by curling the weight up to your shoulder and contracting your biceps (palms facing you).
• Power through your heels to come back up to standing and as you stand, press the weights up over your head, maintaining a strong core so as to not arch your back.

Move 2: Warrior Burpee

• Start in a standing position with your feet wider than hip distance apart.
• Bend your knees and plant your hands on the floor or mat in front of you (hands stacked directly below shoulders) and jump or step your feet back into a tall plank position, holding your belly button in to keep your core engaged.
• Bring your right knee toward your left shoulder, then your left knee to your right shoulder in a cross-body mountain climber motion.
• Jump or step your feet back in to meet your hands, loading the weight in your heels and stand.
• Bring each foot up and across your body and touch your toe with the opposite hand. 
• MOD: Perform this from an elevated surface or step your feet in rather than jumping.

Thank you so much for joining me for today’s workout Rockstar – you are amazing!! Be sure to check in below and let me know how you liked the workout and where you did it from.

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Total Tabata Shredder appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Welcome to The Betty Rocker Show, the place to be to nourish your mind, love your body, and rock your life.

Welcome back Rockstars! I’m so excited about today’s conversation with the amazing and very popular, very requested Alisa Vitti, women’s hormone and functional nutrition expert and pioneer in female biohacking.

She created the Cycle Syncing Method, a female-centric diet and lifestyle approach that leverages hormonal patterns for optimal health, fitness and productivity and has really brought to light the way we can feel our best, look our best and do our best by leveraging our monthly cycle.

Alisa is the best-selling author of WomanCode, and her new book, In the FLO is making big waves in women’s health and helping to really shift the frame through which we see our bodies and optimize our lives. If you’re not already using her amazing MyFlo app to track your cycle you will want to by the end of this show!

As the founder of FLOLiving.com, she has built the world’s first menstrual healthcare platform that helps women around the world put their period issues like PCOS, Fibroids, Endometriosis, and PMS into remission naturally using her highly effective FLO Protocol and the FLO Balance Supplements.

In today’s episode we do a deep dive into the phases of your cycle, why the 24 hour clock isn’t serving you and how to eat, train, and use your natural hormone fluctuations to best serve your body and your life!

From her site: “I’ve spent the past 15 years studying, researching, personally applying, and globally teaching how to stop hormonal chaos and get into hormonal flow.

I built FLO Living as a virtual online health center to help women solve their hormonal symptoms from anywhere in the world. I never want another woman to have to suffer needlessly with hormonal imbalances, simply because she cannot find the information about how to treat the root causes naturally.”

In this episode you’ll discover:

What inspired Alisa to write In the Flo (2:00)

• Her book In the Flo
• Her history of working with women and their hormones
• The phenomenon in the media that sparked her curiosity
• Why looking for the root cause of women’s hormones led her to write the book
• The infradian rhythm: what it is and how it impacts you
• The passage from her book that deeply impacted Betty Rocker

How Alisa’s journey with menstruation shaped her career (8:24)

• The first time she heard about menstruation
• How the language around women’s bodies causes shame
• The myths that surround women’s bodies and their cycle
• How the institutional gender bias that exists in health care impacts women
• How questioning the messaging Alisa received led her to advocate for women’s bodies

The Infradian Rhythm (13:35)

• The importance of the infradian rhythm and your hormones
• How the circadian rhythm is geared towards men
• The importance of understanding the biological rhythms of men and women

How to use the biological rhythms in your relationships (20:48)

• How to choose the best times for optimal sexual experiences
• How to use these rhythms for all aspects of your relationship
• How to take advantage of the “peak flow state”

The importance of distinguishing between your monthly cycle and your bleeding week (23:00)

• Why you don’t need to feel ashamed of your cycle
• The importance of paying attention to your body’s biofeedback
• The importance of being curious about your cycle
• Why it’s important to listen to what your body is telling you

The 4 phases of your menstrual cycle and how they impact your metabolism (26:24)

• Why you might be struggling with your weight or not seeing the results you want
• What to do during the first phase of your cycle (follicular phase) when it comes to your workouts and nutrition
• How to optimize your training during the second phase of your cycle (luteal phase)
• The importance of short HIIT workouts
• The difference in your energy levels based on the phases of your cycle

How to eat during the different phases of your cycle (35:50)

• Why it’s important to listen to your body
• Why you might be hungrier at different stages of your cycle
• The importance of fueling your body with nutrient dense foods

How to workout during the final phase of your cycle (40:00)

• Why this is a great time to focus on restorative workouts
• How to achieve your goals with more ease
• Why more isn’t better
• The importance of asking “when” for your workouts

Today’s podcast is brought to you by ROCK YOUR LIFE! My online home workout studio, where you can take as many 30-day challenges as you like for consistent, sustainable progress! For added variety, we offer 5 new classes each week, healthy recipes, a private women’s only support community and MORE!
New members can get a 30-day Trial RIGHT HERE!

The importance of honoring your Infradian Rhythm (43:40)

• The importance of using the four phases of your cycle to be more productive
• How stress impacts your infradian rhythm
• How the different phases of your cycle can impact your work
• The importance of honoring your Infradian Rhythm for long term health

How to sync your cycle to benefit your life (49:40)

• What to focus on during ovulation for productivity
• Why the luteal phase is the best time to be productive
• What can happen over time if you don’t honor your cycle
• What to focus on during the bleeding phase
• How to use the follicular phase to your advantage
• MyFLO Period App to track your cycle
• How an orgasm is beneficial for your hormones

How to connect with Alisa (58:29)

• Free month The of Cycle Syncing method (use code BettyRocker )
• Alisa’s Website
• The MyFLO period app
• In the Flo Book
• FloLiving Instagram @floliving
• Alisa’s Instagram @alisa.vitti

Coming up next week, we’re going to talk about hormone imbalances and what you can do to get things back to normal with hormone optimization expert, Dr. Gowri Rocco. If this is a topic you’re excited to hear more about, check out her book before the show. It’s called Growing Younger: Restore Your Hormones, Energy and Sex Drive.

I can’t wait to welcome you back for that conversation, so until next time, take great care of yourself, remember that you are a role model to the people in your life who look up to you!

Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too! Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast player to be alerted when new shows drop!

Love The Betty Rocker Show? We do too!

Share it with your friends, and subscribe on your favorite podcast
player to be alerted when new shows drop!

ABOUT THE BETTY ROCKER SHOW:

Join me for open and thought provoking discussions about health, fitness, and how to stop undermining ourselves – and start taking meaningful action that makes us role models to others…

….and, listen in on my intimate conversations with amazing thought leaders, health care professionals, athletes and celebrities to learn their secrets and insights for overcoming life’s challenges, living longer, healthier, stronger and more #flawsome lives.

New shows are released on a weekly basis during each season of The Betty Rocker Show. Shows alternate between solo episodes with me, and interviews with guests.

Subscribe on your favorite player today!

The post Episode 17: Cycle Syncing to Get “In the Flo” and Make the Most of Your Amazing Body with Alisa Vitti appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

We’ll be turning up the heat and building strength with this fun bodyweight cardio blast – no equipment needed!

A strong core and lower body help to build a stable and functional base to move from (1) which contributes to moving more efficiently in everyday life and improving your overall health and longevity.

It’s so essential to have good awareness and form as you go through this workout so be sure to use any of the modifications offered to make it your own.

Can’t wait to do this workout with you!

Listen for the breakdown for different fitness levels and form cues so you know how to make each move right for where you’re at and keep working on your goals!

Great job Rockstar! Now let’s get you a plan! Check out the 30-Day Abs and Booty Challenge for a home workout program that will sculpt and define your abs, legs and glutes (plus give you a great full body shred), uses minimal equipment and will get you on track to feeling and looking your best!

You rocked that workout, I’m so proud of you! Check in with me and let me know why you’re thankful for your body today!

The perfect follow up to this workout is the 30-Day Booty and Abs Challenge! Sculpt and Tone your entire body with a special emphasis on the Booty, Legs, and Abs!

Already already taken it? Check out the 30- Day Rocking Abs and Booty Challenge inside of Rock Your Life. It’s the perfect follow up!

The post HIIT Your Booty and Shred Your Abs appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Today’s workout will sculpt a strong back, chest, arms and shoulders giving you a total upper body shred. It will challenge you, strengthen you and keep you motivated! 

You’ll be working out with Coach Amanda from Team Betty Rocker – one of our amazing trainers. If you’ve never worked out with her before, you’re going to have so much fun!

Plus she has great options for you so you can make this workout your own  – just follow along and she’ll show you how!

Coach Amanda is a NASM and NESTA Certified Personal Trainer, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, TRX Qualified Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach in Rock Your Life.

Keep reading for a special message from Coach Amanda below.

Hey Rockstar- Coach Amanda here!  Join me for one of my favorite types of training, resistance training, to build some strong sculpted muscles. While I love a good HIIT workout and combing both of these styles, I have a special love for just straight up resistance training and I’m excited to have you join me! So grab some dumbbells, water bottles or gallon jugs and lets get strong together!

Listen for the breakdown for different fitness levels and form cues so you know how to make each move right for where you’re at and keep working on your goals!

Great job with today’s workout! Now you need a plan to put workouts like this together in a complete sequence that will strengthen your entire body!  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Total Upper Body Shred

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions.

Equipment Needed: Weighted Objects (dumbbells, water bottles, books, etc).

Format: Perform each movement for the prescribed time/repetitions and repeat for 3 rounds. Rest as needed. 

Superset 1: 

Move 1: Bear Crawl Shoulder Tap Walkouts (0:30 – 0:45)

• Begin in a standing position with your core engaged and chest up tall.
• Bend your knees slightly and place your hands on the floor in front of you.
• Walk your hands out to a tabletop position with your knees hovering slightly above the floor, shoulders stacked over your hands and hips stacked over your knees.
• Brace your core and bring one hand to touch the opposite shoulder and repeat on the other side. 
• Brace your core and walk your hands back in towards your feet to stand and repeat. 
• MOD: Perform this movement on an elevated surface or hold a stationary bear crawl plank.

Move 2: Tricep Roll Back Extensions (12-15) 

• Start lying on the ground with a weight in each hand, your arms extended straight over your chest and your feet on the ground with knees bent.
• Keeping the upper part of your arms still, bend both arms, lowering the weights toward your shoulders. 
• When you touch your shoulders with your weights, shift your arms toward you to bring the entire weight flat to the floor. 
• Keeping your elbow pointing toward the ceiling and not letting your elbow bow out, drive up with the weights to your starting position. (Focus on using your tricep rather than just locking out your elbow).

Move 3: Bradford Presses (8-10)

• Begin standing with one weight in each hand in front of your shoulders with an overhand grip and your hands wider than shoulder width.
• Keeping your ribcage down and core engaged, drive the weights up until it’s a few inches above your head then lower the weights by bringing them behind your head until your elbows are at 90 degrees. 
• Without pausing, reverse the movement to bring the weights back to the front. (Keep the weights in constant motion to maintain tension in your shoulders).
• If your mobility doesn’t allow for this, perform overhead presses. 

Superset 2: 

Move 1: Single Arm Rows (12-15 each side) 

• Hinge forward at the hips to be at 45 degrees, core engaged, gaze neutral, chest up, shoulders rolled back and down, and a weight in one hand, hanging beneath your chest.
• Pull the weight to your sides while keeping your elbows close to the body, and squeezing your back muscles like you’re pinching the base of your shoulder blades together.
• Perform 3 rows and then perform 3 tricep kickbacks by kicking your arms straight back.
• Slowly lower the weights down again to the starting position and repeat.

Move 2: Biceps Curl Rotations (6-8)

• Holding your weighted objects with your palms facing you, pull your shoulder blades back and down with your core engaged. 
• Keeping the upper arms stationary, perform a bicep curl with both arms by curling the weight up to your shoulder while contracting your biceps (palms facing you). 
• Reverse the movement to return to your starting position and repeat. 

Move 3: Hand Raise Push Ups (12-15) 

• Begin in a tall plank position with your hands stacked below your shoulders and your core engaged (no arched back).
• Lower yourself toward the mat by bending your elbows and pointing them back behind you at a 45 degree angle, keeping your body straight and your shoulders away from your ears. Keep your gaze about 6 inches in front of you rather than looking up or down, to maintain a neutral spine.
• Bring yourself all the way down to the ground and once you are flat to the ground, raise your hands briefly, place them back down on the ground and press back up to your starting position with your core engaged.
• MOD: Perform the push up with your hands on the side of your couch or other elevated surface but remembering to go all the way to the surface with your chest. Alternatively, remain on the mat, but in a kneeling, or single knee down position.
• Check out my Push-up Progression Tutorial for tips on perfecting form and building strength!

Finisher Burnouts:

Format: Do as many reps as possible to failure.

Move 1: Biceps Curls

• Holding your weighted objects with your palms facing you, pull your shoulder blades back and down with your core engaged. 
• Keeping the upper arms stationary, perform a bicep curl with both arms by curling the weight up to your shoulder while contracting your biceps (palms facing you). 
• Reverse the movement to return to your starting position and repeat.

Move 2: Overhead Triceps Extensions

• Begin in a standing position, holding one weight overhead with both hands so your arms are straight overhead.
• Slowly lower the weight behind your head by bending your elbows, being careful not to flare your elbows out too much.
• Once your forearms move beyond parallel to the floor, bring the weight back up to the starting position. 
• Your upper arms should remain in place throughout the movement so that your elbows aren’t moving too far forward or backward.

Move 3: Lateral Raises 

• Stand with your core engaged, chest up, shoulders rolled back, and weights in hand.
• Keeping your ribcage down and core engaged, lift both arms out to the side, maintaining a slight bend in the elbows and leading with your shoulders and elbows rather than your wrists. 
• Slowly bring the weights back down to your sides with control and repeat. 

Amazing job Rockstar! What was your favorite move? Check in with me and Coach Amanda and let us know – we love hearing from you!

We’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so we can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Total Upper Body Shred appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Today’s workout combines two of my favorite styles of training– barre and tabatas! It’s the perfect combo to get your heart rate up and sculpt long, lean muscles.

I really loved this workout for the opportunity to work so many stabilizing muscles and strengthen my body while also getting an awesome cardio burn!

You’ll be working out with Coach Nikki, one of our amazing Team Betty Rocker coaches from Rock Your Life today.

Coach Nikki is a yoga instructor ERYT200, an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer, a Mat Pilates Instructor and a Team Betty Rocker Coach!

Use this time to connect with your body and engage your muscles, and head into your day feeling strong and centered.

Keep reading for a special message from Coach Nikki below.

Hey rockstars, Coach Nikki here and I’m back to bring you another fun workout!

I am so excited to bring this Tabata Barre Sculpting workout to you today. We will be using short intervals in a tabata style of 0:20 seconds maximum effort with 0:10 rest periods. It’s the perfect mix of strength, HIIT training, sculpting, and flexibility!

All you need is a little space to move, a chair or countertop for balance, some water to stay hydrated and a sweat towel.

See you at the barre! 

Love having workouts you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

You rocked that workout! Check in below and let us know how you enjoyed it and what move was your favorite – we love hearing from you!

We’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life….

…our epic home gym that has new classes every week, 30-day Challenges to keep you on track with a program, your own personal workout library, over 300 healthy recipes, an exclusive support group, access to the Team Betty Rocker coaches, and so much more!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Tabata Barre Sculpt appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Ready to

Today’s Full Body HIIT Strength workout will make you feel amazing!

(Looking for the rest of the challenge? Here’s day 1, day 2, day 3 and day 4) 

Here’s what you’ll need:

1. A little space to move

2. An elevated surface (optional – good for modifying any plank poses)

3.  Weighted objects: water bottles, water jugs, laundry jugs, or dumbbells

I’ll show you the breakdown from beginner to advanced, low to high impact so you can do this no matter where you are and no matter what your fitness level is.

Be sure to check in and let me know you completed today’s workout below – and share this challenge with your friends and family!

Ready to keep going? Join us in Rock Your Life, my online home workout studio! It’s great timing too, because #MAKEFATCRYCHALLENGE2 was just released!

Take this for a test drive for a month and see if it’s a good fit for you! If you decide to stay, it’s less than a $1 a day each month and will give you access to tons more 30-day challenges, new workout classes every week, a huge workout library so you can find the exact workout you want to do anytime you feel like getting your #stopdropandbettyrock on…..

…. plus access to our fantastic, uplifting women’s fitness support community!

Activate Your 30-day Trial RIGHT HERE and Join us for this next Challenge!

Full Body HIIT Strength

Click to expand and see all workout move descriptions.

Format: Perform 3 rounds for the prescribed amount of time and reps. Rest as needed. 

Move 1: Mountain Climbers

• Begin in a tall plank position with your shoulders stacked over your hands, core engaged, and back flat.
• Keeping your hips down, run your knees into your chest and back out by pulling each knee in as far as you can and then back out, one at a time.
• MOD: Do this move on an elevated surface by placing your hand on the edge of a couch or table.

Move 2: Half Get Ups

• Lay on your back, with your left knee bent and your right leg straight out.
• With your left arm straight up in the air reach toward the ceiling and perform a sit up (you can support and assist yourself by pressing off your right arm.
• As you sit up, press down through your left heel as you squeeze your glutes to lift your hips up off the ground and end in a partial reverse tabletop position. (You’ll support yourself on just the right arm, the heel of the straight right leg, and the surface of your flat left foot, like a tripod.)
• Come to the top of that position, hold for one to two seconds and then slowly reverse this movement by dropping your booty back to the floor and slowly rolling back to your starting position and repeat.

Move 3: Knee Drivers

• Start with your left foot behind you and your arms overhead.
• Pretend you are crushing a watermelon between your knee and your hands.
• Drive your knee up as you drive your arms down. Repeat on other leg.
• MOD: Do this without a weighted object. 

Move 4: Sumo Squat Calf Raise Series

• Begin with your feet wide and toes pointed out slightly. Keep your core engaged and torso lifted.
• Be careful not to bend forward at the hips – instead, shoot your booty back like you are going to sit down in a chair. Only go as deep as you can go without losing good form.
• Come up onto your toes and then lift your left heel and pulse, then your right heel and pulse.
• Come to standing, then back down and repeat.

Move 5: Sumo Squats with Back Pull Row

• Begin with your feet wide and toes pointed out slightly. Keep your core engaged and torso lifted.
• Be careful not to bend forward at the hips – instead, shoot your booty back like you are going to sit down in a chair. Only go as deep as you can go without losing good form.
• Knees should be tracking in line with your toes as you keep your weight back in your heels.
• As you come up, power through your heels and fire through your glutes,
• Lift your dumbbells straight up to the collarbone with your elbow leading the movement and pull the dumbbells towards your face, squeezing your shoulder blades together for a back pull.
• Bring arms back down and repeat the movement.
• MOD: Do this bodyweight. 

Move 6: Alternating Reverse Lunges with Biceps Curls

• Start with your feet hip distance apart and your core engaged.
• Step your right foot back behind you, begin bending your back knee. until your back knee nearly touches the ground in a 90 degree angle (as you descend, perform a right arm bicep curl).
• Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the floor (ensure your knee is not shooting out over your toe and maintain an upright chest).
• As you stand up, power through your front heel and come to standing.
• Repeat with left leg and left arm.

The 30-Day MAKEFATCRYCHALLENGE2
in Rock Your Life is now available!

Get a 30 day trial and take the challenge!

Here are all the things you will have access to in the online home workout studio….

• 

  Love following a challenge plan? You’ll crush your goals and feel totally accomplished as you complete your next 30 day challenge – with a daily email push to keep you motivated, and an interactive calendar to track your progress. Choose a new 30-day challenge each month, or….

• Enjoy a less structured approach but still need motivation? Drop into any of the 5 new weekly classes, written to give you an amazing workout when you’re not following a challenge….
• Just looking to #stopdropandbettyrock with a specific amount of time to spend? Choose any workout from hundreds in the online home workout library by how long the workout is, which body part you want to train, or what kind of workout you want to do….
• And if you have a question, 24/7 access to the private Betty Rocker women fitness support community – where myself and the coaches answer questions daily, provide motivation and support in an uplifting, positive environment unlike any other.
  

  ---

All that’s missing is YOU! Join the fun and get an amazing workout from home! 

When you finish this challenge, there are dozens more just waiting for you to check them out!

The post Day 5: 5 Day Home Workout Challenge – Full Body HIIT Strength appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

I’m going to stack 3 tabata sets together to make this super effective for you. Tabatas are an incredibly effective and efficient way to workout! They offer us the maximum benefits in the shortest amount of time (1), and who doesn’t want that?

Tabatas are a type of HIIT – high intensity interval training- where we pair 0:20 of maximum effort with 0:10 rest periods which you repeat for a total of 4 minutes. The key to getting the most out of this is to really give it YOUR ALL (2)!

And remember, to get the most from your workouts, focus on eating a combination of balanced whole nutrient dense foods, getting quality sleep and reducing your stress levels– the other three components of our 4 Pillars of Health.

As always, I’ll talk you through form tips and modifications so you can get stronger safely. You won’t need any equipment for this one so meet me on the mat and let’s check off your workout for the day! 

Love having workouts you can do ANYWHERE, ANYTIME – and a well-designed plan to follow so you get the BEST RESULTS?  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

You rocked that! Be sure to hydrate and fuel up with Full Body Collagen or Berry Green Protein. Nourishing your body post workout with nutrient dense foods is so important!

Don’t forget to check in with me below and let me know where you did this from-I love hearing from you!

I’d love to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so I can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with a community of rockstars to support you, home workout challenges for a fit body, and fresh new workout classes each week to keep you motivated!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Full Body Tabata Burn appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

You’ll be working out today with the awesome Coach Amanda!

Coach Amanda is a NASM and NESTA Certified Personal Trainer, Crossfit Level 1 Trainer, TRX Qualified Trainer and a Team Betty Rocker Coach in Rock Your Life.

This circuit will get your heart rate up and your muscles working in just 20 minutes! Keep reading to find out more about why Coach Amanda loves this type of training and then “HIIT” play to #stopdropandbettyrock right along with her.

Coach Amanda here! I love this workout because it incorporates both strength and cardio, so you’ll get sweaty while you get strong. And what better way to do that than with burpees!

Burpees are one of my all time favorite movements (and I think Bree’s too) because whether you’re short on time, short on space or short on motivation….these get your heart rate up and your muscles firing! They are a compound movement that builds muscular strength and endurance, coordination, power, and cardiovascular fitness all at the same time!

Another reason I chose the moves in this workout is because they are all functional – meaning they are based on real world situational movements; movements that we do in everyday life. Like picking up and carrying your grocery bags, think bicep curls, or grabbing your suit case to put it in the overhead bin of the airplane – woodchops.

We work out to be good at life, not just good at working out! Now grab some dumbbells or water bottles and lets HIIT it!

Great work with today’s workout! Now you need a plan to put workouts like this together in a complete sequence that will strengthen your entire body!  Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Amazing job! You are strong, you are awesome you are a ROCKSTAR!

Be sure to check in with me and Coach Amanda, and let us know how you liked the workout and where you did it from. We love hearing from you!

We would LOVE to see YOU inside Rock Your Life…

…so we can support you in ROCKING your body AND your life! Get stronger and healthier with new classes in many training styles each week, plus 30 day challenges to focus on specific goals, we’ve got you covered!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post Full Body Strength and HIIT appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

We will be combining High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with some awesome moves for your abs. HIIT is a great way to get a lot of amazing exercise benefits in a short amount of time, which is perfect if you’re busy but want to stay fit and strong!

It is also one of the best ways to maximize overall fat loss during your workouts (1). Whether or not fat loss is one of your goals, this workout is great to add into your routine for a strong, sculpted core.

When it comes to defining our abs, doing both core moves and systemic cardio are key for triggering fat loss (2). While you can’t spot reduce fat, you CAN get the fat off- and keep it off.

Click here for my 4-step Flat Abs Guide!

Fat comes off our body systemically (which means all over our bodies), and in an order governed by our DNA, so it will come off in the order it came on. But you can speed this process up by really dialing in your 4 pillars of health– quality sleep, stress management, nutrition and exercise. 

This workout is fun, burns fat, and moves so quickly that it’s hard to get bored. And with no equipment needed, there’s really no reason not to give it a try!

As usual, I’ll talk you through it and give you some modifications and variations as we go so you can be where you’re at and make it your own. Let’s #stopdropandbettyrock! 

Great job Rockstar! Now let’s get you a plan! Check out the 30-Day Abs and Booty Challenge for a home workout program that will sculpt and define your abs, legs and glutes (plus give you a great full body shred), uses minimal equipment and will get you on track to feeling and looking your best!

Amazing job Rockstar! I look forward to hearing how you did today – be sure to comment below with your favorite move and which pillar you are focusing on this week.

Looking for more workouts that will sculpt your booty and abs, help you torch fat, and save you time?

Take the 30-Day Booty and Abs Challenge!

The post HIIT and Sculpt Your Abs appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

I wanted to share this awesome workout with you today, because it was such a great burn. You can do this anywhere, anytime – and feel free to add in water bottles or dumbbells if you’re home and have equipment!

Being consistent with fitness and finding fun ways to challenge my body with resistance training of all kinds has helped me stay strong, resilient and healthy.

Resistance training is an important part of adding new muscle tissue to our body and getting stronger. While being strong and fit has definitely made me feel more confident, there are more benefits to adding lean mass. Skeletal muscle not only drives movement, it’s now known that it acts as an endocrine organ, secreting important hormones (1) that regulate organ function.

Muscle also plays an important role in metabolic balance, serving as the site of 80% of our glucose deposits (from the food we eat), and as a major site for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (2) – which just means the place where insulin can do its job of getting glucose to your cells for energy, and maintaining balanced blood sugar.

Maintaining, and adding muscle as you go through life is possible, doable and actually essential to be able to enjoy an active healthy life in a fit body. No matter what level you’re starting at, resistance training can be done anywhere to build and strengthen the lean muscle tissue that improves your resilience, benefits your metabolism, and drives all functional movement.

I had a lot of conversations with friends about this at the health event I was at when I filmed this, and wanted to share because I find it so motivating knowing how my body works!

Let’s rock this workout together!

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Great job Rockstar! Comment below and let me know what move was your favorite and where you did it from.

You may have heard me talking about the new Berry Green Protein – I’ve been working on it for almost 2 years and it’s SO exciting to be so close to making it available to YOU!

It’s 100% organic and made with 18g of protein per serving from organic North American peas. It also contains 14 additional organic fruits and vegetables that I chose for their powerful health punch, including Spirulina, Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Chlorella, Spinach, Carrots, Beets, Tomatoes, Kale, Parsley, Apple, Raspberries, Cranberries and Blueberries.

You can shake it up in water on the go, blend it in a smoothie, and even bake with it! It’s a great way to boost your greens for the day and get in an extra serving of protein which is so important for sculpting lean muscle.

Plus…it’s a delicious strawberry vanilla flavor, tastes amazing, isn’t gritty, and isn’t overly sweet. I learned so much about the different ways sweeteners influence a food powder, including the fact that not all stevia is created equal. I used an organic stevia that I believe made this turn out perfectly – and I’ve gotten a lot of surprised and happy feedback from our beta testers so far. But you can be the judge for yourself!

AVAILABLE NOW!

How about new workouts to do daily, from anywhere?

You’re invited to Rock Your Body AND Your Life…

…in my epic home gym that has new classes every week, 30-day Challenges to keep you on track with a program, your own personal workout library, over 300 healthy recipes, an exclusive support group, access to the Team Betty Rocker coaches, and so much more!

Take it for a Test Drive with a 30-Day Trial!

The post 15 Minute Hotel HIIT appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

I invited the amazing Coach Nikki from Team Betty Rocker to teach today’s flow, because she’s so popular in Rock Your Life, and has such a wonderful teaching style.

Nikki is a certified Yoga Instructor ERYT200, AFAA Certified Personal Trainer and Mat Pilates instructor.  She teaches weekly classes in our fabulous online fitness studio and coaching community, Rock Your Life – and we’d both love to see you there!

While I didn’t used to love yoga, I slowly began adding in some flows in my early 30’s. I had always had this perception that in order to get “shredded” I needed to focus on going “as hard as possible,” as much as possible.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you may know how that turned out for me. I ended up totally burned out, and never really saw the results I was after. As I began to dip my toe in the water of yoga, I discovered that it was actually very challenging. Not only the slower, more flowing pace of it but also the way I was tuning into my body like never before.

What started as a love/hate relationship with yoga blossomed into a love/love relationship – and had I known then what I know now, I would have started my practice much sooner. 

Yoga has made me more supple. It’s helped me increase my flexibility, it helped me get more in tune with my body, and ultimately I’ve increased my strength because I’m training with more balance.

Yoga has many benefits – including lengthening and strengthening our muscles, reducing stress, depression and chronic pain, improving sleep patterns, promoting and improving respiratory and cardiovascular function, and enhancing our overall well-being and quality of life (1).

You don’t need any equipment for this one, just meet Coach Nikki on the mat and let her guide you. You are in great hands.

One-off workouts are great, but having a plan to follow is even better! Take a 30-day Challenge in Rock Your Life and have workouts like this formatted into a plan to follow!

Thank you so much for joining Coach Nikki for this flow! And I totally “get” if yoga isn’t your “thing” – I’ve been there – but I encourage you to practice it just the same.

Anytime we tune into our mind and connect to our body this way in our busy lives, it’s a win.

Leave me and Coach Nikki a comment below to let us know where you’re working out from today, how you’re doing with your fitness goals, and what we can do to support you in reaching them – we love hearing from you! 

Looking for MORE YOGA?

We have so many awesome yoga workouts inside ROCK YOUR LIFE, my online home workout studio! And that’s not all, you’ll find barre, HIIT, strength training and more – plus 30-day Challenge programs you can take anytime to fast track your fitness goals!

We’re there to support you on the journey in our private women’s fitness community while you rock these workouts!

Get a 30-Day Trial to Rock Your Life and check it all out, risk free!

The post Yoga Sculpt Your Abs appeared first on The Betty Rocker.

Did you know that your skin is your body’s largest organ?

It makes up about 22 square feet and one seventh of our body weight, making it our first layer of defense against the outside world.

Did you know that it also has three different layers, each with their own job?

The epidermis, dermis and hyper-dermis make up these different layers of your skin and act as a protective barrier, helping us fight off germs, regulate our body temperature and enabling us to feel sensations (1).

Our skin does so much for us, and plays a major role in keeping us healthy!

Glowing skin really does come from the inside out. While it’s impacted by our external environment, it is often a reflection of what’s going on INSIDE the body.

If any part of your body isn’t functioning properly, from your gut (too much junk food) to your brain (too much stress), it can show up on your skin as a way to inform you that something isn’t right.

THE GOOD NEWS IS that you can support your skin (and BONUS, your overall health) with the food you eat, exercising consistently and managing your stress levels.

Since so many people ask me the “secret” to my good skin, this is literally my simple 3-ingredient recipe for what I think really has the biggest impact on the health of your skin (hint, it’s NOT a bunch of products).

3 Ingredients For Glowing Skin

1. “Cleanse” your insides with healthy, whole foods:

Our skin is a reflection of our health and as our largest organ it’s vital that we protect it and take care of it. Since what we eat has a direct effect on our skin, eating anti-inflammatory and nutrient rich foods is so important!

I really noticed my skin clearing up a lot when I started paying attention to foods I ate that caused bloating, made me tired or break out.

Gluten and dairy were the first big 2 I started moderating, and then I was able to get some food sensitivity testing* done to see what other foods might be an issue for me.

I’ve noticed that during times when I didn’t have a lot of variety in my diet, I have developed sensitivities to foods like eggs – but when I stopped eating them every day they stopped showing up in blood panels as irritants.

Everyone is unique and will respond to things differently, I’m just sharing some of my personal experiences as examples so you can be on the lookout for common things you eat too.

Our intestines have an inner ecosystem of bacteria, known as the gut microbiome. This system helps us digest food, control our weight, fight infection and it directly impacts the health of our skin (2).

This is why what we are eating is so important when it comes to our overall well-being and appearance. The food we eat literally makes up the new skin cells that our body produces.

So if our gut isn’t functioning right, most likely we will see that on our skin through acne, rashes and breakouts.

There is a lot to be said about the health of your microbiome, and checking in on it regularly is a great idea. You are unique and you may respond to foods differently than me, or your sister or your daughter.

So test yourself periodically to see what sensitivities you may have – your skin will thank you!

Food sensitivity tests range in accessibility and may show you different results. Here are some I’ve used:

Everlywell

Viome

NutrEval*

*you’ll need your doctor to order this for you

FOODS TO FOCUS ON:

In general, to get a brighter glow, minimize breakouts and keep your skin supple and smooth, focus on eating:

1: A variety of whole foods

Whole foods from nature contain all the macro (protein, carbohydrates, fats) and micro (vitamins and minerals) nutrients your body needs to thrive. Specifying which ones are optimal for you is important (food sensitivity testing), and so is eating them with enough variety to get the benefit of the different elements they contain.
Rotate your recipes (try one of my eating guides with recipes), rotate your produce seasonally, and supplement with quality supplements from trusted sources as needed.

2: Emphasize healthy fats(3)

Healthy fats help maintain moisture and elasticity in the skin and may also help to defend against overexposure to UV rays (4). They also help your body absorb fat soluble vitamins in plant foods (A, D, E and K) and carotenoids.

3: Include foods rich in carotenoids (5)

Carotenoids (think fruits and veggies that are bright red, yellow and orange) can actually give dull complexions a boost and result in brighter skin and even potentially increase your skin’s defenses against sunburn by providing a natural SPF (6).

4: Emphasize Vitamin C rich foods (7)

Vitamin C is also important because it plays a key role in forming collagen and also doubles as an antioxidant which can help with anti-aging (8). Research also suggests that vitamin C  plays a role in helping to reduce the risk of skin cancer (9).

5: Incorporate Collagen (10)

Collagen is another food that plays a vital role in the health of our skin by improving the signs of aging and the appearance of cellulite (11).

It is also one of the building blocks that makes up your skin and muscle tissue and creates the connective tissue in your stomach that “seals and heals” the protective lining of your gut (12).

Adding in a quality vitamin C supplement (or focusing on getting more Vitamin-C rich foods in) when using a collagen supplement is a good idea, and will help your body form more collagen (connective tissue) in the body.

Try any of these delicious recipes…

They are packed with all of the nutrients and antioxidants your body needs to keep your skin healthy, elastic, and youthful:

• Chocolate Raspberry Chia Breakfast Parfait
• Avocado Bean Dip
• Pumpkin White Bean Chili
• Dark Chocolate Raisin Cookie Dough Bites

2. SWEAT it out with regular EXERCISE

Working out is another great way to naturally support your skin! Not only does it make you sweat which can help rid your body of toxins (13), it also helps reduce inflammation which can help the key systems in your body- the lymphatic system, and digestive system- function properly (14).

Physical activity in all forms- cardio, yoga and resistance training– allows fluid to move through your lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph throughout the body.

This fluid carries cellular waste to the bloodstream which then carries it to the kidneys, colon and lungs for elimination. The better this process works, the less we see these substances show up on our skin, creating issues like blemishes.

Speaking of nutrition, exercise also promotes glowing skin by supporting and improving the health of your gut microbiome (15). Like they say- healthy gut, healthy skin.

FOCUS ON HYDRATION – If you’re sweating it out regularly, it’s especially important to pay attention to staying hydrated. Not only does water ensure your digestive and lymphatic system are lubricated and able to do their jobs, your skin won’t be able to maintain elasticity without proper fluid intake.

BONUS: SAUNA USE  – Speaking of sweating it out, I use my infrared sauna. Regular sweat sessions are incredibly beneficial for reducing toxins and wastes through the pores, and the infrared light (nir, mid and far) spectrums in this sauna also penetrates deeply into the cells restoring cell health and improving skin elasticity. You can get more info on sauna use and how to build your own in this post if you’re interested.

It’s a good idea to keep your water bottle with you at all times, and use a water reminder app if you forget to drink water (happens to me all the time).

Ready to sweat it out with these hot workouts and tips?

• Full Body HIIT Circuit
• Cardio Barre 
• Sculpt and Strength Supersets
• How to Build Your Own Sauna on a Budget (and why to use one)

3. BREATHE daily to minimize stress

Stress has so many negative consequences when it comes to our health and it also impacts our skin.

Notice more breakouts than usual or dark circles under your eyes? Check your stress levels (16)!

Skin mast cells are actually activated by stress and in turn produce stress hormones and inflammation which can lead to a cycle of stress induced skin issues (17).

Stress also directly impacts our gut health which as we know has a huge impact on the health and look of our skin (18).

One of the best ways to improve your stress levels and support your skin is through deep breathing and meditation. Both have been shown to reduce your stress levels and calm your mind and body (19), and I’ve been meditating daily since meeting Emily Fletcher and learning her simple Ziva Meditation technique.

Ready to melt stress away and cleanse your mind?

Try this free guided meditation and mindfulness exercise (video guide is right in the post).  You can also try taking deep breaths while using essential oils like lavender and eucalyptus to help you relax.

The skin you live in is yours forever Rockstar, so take the time to treat it well. And in return, it will take care of you!

Thanks for being here today! I’ll be looking forward to reading your comments and thoughts below, and feel free to share this post with your friends and family.

Fitness, nutrition, and mindset work together to create the healthiest version of YOU. I wrote the Body Fuel System to put essential information into your hands and give you a wonderful eating plan to practice it all, setting you up for a lifetime of success in your healthy, fit body.

It’s allowed me to eat with joy, get an amazing physique, know my body, know what to do in any situation, try different eating approaches, and really UNDERSTAND why my body would react the way it does to certain foods.

Learn more, and get your complete Body Fuel System today!

The post 3 Ingredients for Glowing Skin: Cleanse, Sweat and Breathe appeared first on The Betty Rocker.