Need some new progressively overloaded workouts?

Your future called ... and it's SO proud of how strong you are.

That's from all the progressively overloading workouts AND sleep / nourishment / rest you've been giving it. ;-)



Now maybe this is a reality for you right now. You know you're progressing with your workouts and have an awesome plan for the rest that you're implementing or starting to implement. Or maybe you're on the waitlist for TRANSFORM: Body + Mind and will have soooo much confidence and clarity around all of this very soon. But if you're not yet strength training or you've been kind of bopping around and counting group exercise or Peleton-with-weights classes as strength training, this email is for you in particular.



Progressive overloading is the way we strength train when we have fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals. Once we've reach all of the goals and just want to maintain our strength and body composition, we have more flexibility to be able to bop around to various workouts because it doesn't take as much of a stimulus to maintain as it does to achieve those goals. It takes consistency to maintain! But there is more flexibility to the approach.



I'm going to assume for the rest of this email that you have fat loss, muscle-building, or "toning up" goals. Here's how to approach the strength training part of the puzzle if that's the case:

• Have a solid, 1-week plan that targets all major muscle groups in the various ways they need to be targeted and in the various planes of motion and angles -- you'll likely need help with this, it's coming below ;-)

• Use a resistance, reps, and sets that make at least the last few reps of each exercise feel HARD to complete. That's important. Write that down. What exercise? How much weight? How many reps? How many sets?

• Repeat the same workouts week after week for 8-16 or so weeks before changing it up to a different set of workouts BUT, make it spicier over time. Meaning, add resistance as you can, reps, or even sets over time.
  

In case you need a week's worth of workouts to get you started, you can use some of mine! This is a 4-day a week plan and covers all the major muscle groups. Because someone will ask ;-) core is sneakily baked into ALL of my programming so I gotcha covered there too. Do them on any 4 days a week that you'd like, just avoid doing similar muscle groups on back-to-back days (like upper 1 today and upper 2 tomorrow. Not enough rest there for recovery + progress).


Upper Body 1

Lower Body 1

Upper Body 2

Lower Body 2


If you will be signing up for this March round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind (cart is open NOW!), keep in mind you'll have a full progressively overloading workout routine in there as well as optional meal plans, fun recipe collections, and other resources in case you hate cooking or are always on the run, cycle synching, menopause, pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding considerations. Those are just some of the resources. It's really a whole COURSE and that's the real power of it. ;-) You can check out more details right here.

Hope you enjoy those workouts!!


XO,
Tara

Get your first pullup: progressions

Are pull-ups one of your fitness goals?

I posted a reel on instagram last week detailing what steps to take to work your way up to your first pull-up. I had over 100 people save this reel just within a half hour or so, which is A LOT for my little slice of social media real estate. That -- and the comments -- tell me this is a BIG goal for many of you.



So, I decided I wanted to share it with you here too in case you missed it -- but with more detail I wasn't able to share on that reel. How often should you do these practice exercises? Which days? How much rest? Any other considerations? How long will it take before you're showing off your new skills on every playground, horizontal bar or ledge you come across?



It's all here in this 3-minute video. 



I've been pretty obsessed with pull-ups since an elementary school gym teacher told me "Most girls and women can't do pull-ups" after I wanted to have a go at it and he just wanted to give zeros to all the girls across the board. :-/ And if you have that fire in you too, I hope this helps!



If pull-ups are not something you ever care about trying or are doing lots of already, maybe you'll enjoy this one about how to determine whether your strength workout is 'effective' or not.



XO,
Tara



P.S. The cart opens in 4 weeks for the next round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. This course teaches you about deep health and how your metabolism works so you can incorporate more choices into your lifestyle that allow you to achieve your goals without dieting or feeling confused. This approach is not really out there yet (which is CRAZY to me!), but is such a powerful approach as it allows us to chase our health goals and body goals at the same time and without obsessively tracking a freaking thing. Just learning. Your only job is to learn. Anyway, it's been pretty life-changing for those who have done the previous rounds. That's not easy for me to say b/c it feels weird, but that's what THEY are saying.


If you're not happy with where things are at and feel like there's got to be a better way, it's because there IS. I'd love to teach it to you. Hop on the waitlist now so you'll be notified when the cart opens and get a discount code.

Are you strength training effectively?

Strength training is important.

The end.




Just kidding. But not really. Strength training really IS important for every single person. It helps with fat loss, muscle-building, and "toning up". It helps boost metabolism so we can take in an appropriate amount of food and fully nourish ourselves. It helps make us more insulin sensitive so we can (hopefully) prevent type 2 diabetes and other diseases with blood sugar causes (like atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's, etc.). Strength training also helps us ... build strength. ;-) This is super important b/c we can expect to lose muscle mass and strength year after year as we age. Having the right proactive plan (with strength training at the top of that plan), is important to delay and slow down those changes. We also know that muscle is an endocrine organ because of the way it sends out molecules that "talk to" other cells and tissues. It's our greatest longevity and anti-aging defense.




So how can you make sure you're utilizing this tool effectively and checking all the boxes?

• Strength train 2-5 (with 3-4 being a great target) times per week

• Length of time doesn't matter, nor does heart rate, breathlessness, how much you're sweating, or whether or not you're sore afterwards. Read that again. Most people think these metrics matter at least a little. They do not. Not for strength training.

• Make sure you're targeting all major muscle groups at least twice each week. So you can do 2 full body day sessions per week. Or an upper body push, an upper body pull, a lower body, and a full body session. Or 2 lower body days and 2 upper body days per week. Split it up however you'd like ideally with at least 1 day of rest for certain muscle groups in between (example, not doing 2 lower body days in a row).

• A good rule of thumb is to complete 8-12 reps of an exercise per set (2-4 sets work well in most cases). Use a resistance that feels HARD to complete the last few reps of each set or at least of the last set. If you do your 8-12 reps and feel like it was "too easy", you need to use more resistance next time.

• If you don't have access to heavier weights right now, change something else up so that the last few reps feels hard. This could mean adding extra reps, sets, or both. OR, you could slow down each individual rep a lot more (like you're in slow mo) so you're increasing TUT (Time Under Tension).

• Utilize progressive overloading. This means you are gradually increasing the challenge over time so your muscles adapt and strengthen. Repeat the same exercises / workouts for a while (blocks of 8-16 weeks of repeating the same workouts from week-to-week before changing them up are great!) Have a way to track what you're doing so you can slowly step it up in the weeks to come. Did bicep curls with 10 lbs weights, 3 sets of 8? In a couple of weeks, do 3 sets of 10. Then a couple of weeks later, increase to 12 lbs if you can.

• If you are a menstruating person, you can feel confident scaling workouts back as needed during luteal / menstrual phases and dialing them back up for follicular and ovulatory phases. Do this by tracking workouts from month to month so you can compare last month's follicular phase workouts to this month's follicular phase workouts, etc.

If you need help with program design (making sure each workout targets the right muscles in the right ways), here are a few options:



1) Join the TRANSFORM: Body + Mind waitlist for January. This is my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. You will learn all about nutrition for your goals, lifestyle factors you hadn't considered yet, how to keep indulgences in and still reach your goals, but also all about FITNESS. You will also get optional meal plans balanced for your goals and specific workouts to follow. PLUS, you'll get a free month inside The After Party afterwards ... my monthly membership / sequel to the course with more meal plans, workshops, and a complete strength training program for you.


2) Utilize my free workouts on Instagram. I post some on my feed like this one, but also share lots more about fitness in my stories and have several highlights with hundreds of complete workouts saved for you by type (lower body, arms + shoulders, full body, etc.).


3) Work with me 1:1 where I will give you customized nutrition and fitness guidance.


4) Hire another coach who will ensure your programming is complete and effective. There are lots of really qualified, smart, effective coaches out there and you should make sure you find one you resonate with!



In summary: strength training is important. You should do it. :-P



'Til next time,
Tara

Sample Workout Plans

"I know exercise is important for fat loss goals, but I don't know what kind or where to start!"

The cool (or uncool -- depending on how you look at it) thing about fat loss is that THE most important piece is the nutrition. It's dialing in the right balance, portions, and timing to manage blood sugar, cravings, hunger / satiety, balance hormones, help gut health, and be well-nourished enough to have plenty of energy. Yeah, it sounds like a lot but it is very possible ... even without counting calories or weighing yourself regularly, believe it or not.


But exercise IS an important piece, especially when we are looking to lose fat without damaging / lowering our metabolism.


CHECK OUT THIS VIDEOall about which kind of exercise is most important for fat loss goals and why.



THIS VIDEO gets into what HIIT is and why nearly everyone I speak to is going about it the wrong way.



AndTHIS LAST VIDEO answers a question that came up a lot on the socials last week about what types of group fitness classes -- if any -- "count" as strength training.


Now, what could it possibly look like if we were to pull it altogether? What if fat loss is a goal, but so is longevity and maybe there are some other types of activities or classes you want to include for fun while solo or with friends or your family? And I'm guessing you don't have all day to exercise, right? ;-)


Below are 3 SAMPLE Workout Schedules I put together to hopefully give you a few ideas. They are just samples, so make sure you take them with a grain of salt. If you're training for a race, you'll need more cardio time in here, of course. If you're currently sedentary but looking to change that, you'll want to start small ... maybe just some walks this week. This is not meant to overwhelm you or make you think you're doing it all wrong! We all have different needs and are at different places right now. But I do hope these help if you were wondering how a busy person with a demanding life who wants to also fit in the various types of exercise can start to pull it altogether.

If you feel like you've tried it all on your own and are ready to get some help with the nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle habits,HERE IS SOME INFORMATIONabout my 1-on-1 coaching program. Check it out and let me know if you'd like to chat more about it. You can hit 'reply' to this email and I will get back to you in a jiffy (is that still a thing people say?).

XO,
Tara

Can you build breasts or a butt from exercise?

"Tara, can I build breasts and / or a butt from exercising?"

As soon as I received this question last week, I knew I needed to address it in a video as it's a big topic.



What's in our power? And what, exactly, can we do?



What's not in our power? And how do we make peace with that?



CHECK OUT MY ANSWER HERE.



XO,
Tara



P.S. I can't believe it's December 22nd already! If you haven't grabbed my copy of Smart Cookie: Healthified Holiday Desserts e-cookbook and would like to do some gluten-free, dairy-free baking and dessert-making between now and the New Year, GRAB IT NOW. It's only available for just over a week longer! Makes for a great last-minute gift idea, too. ;-)

Let the countdown begin!

THIS Friday, November 6th....

My healthy holiday dessert e-cookbook, Smart Cookie, will be released and I am sooooo excited to fill your homes with the smells and tastes and beauty of these festive treats!



What's unique about my cookbook?

• It is FULL of only dessert recipes (42 in total)

• All recipes are free of: gluten, dairy, and refined sugar

• It's an instant download which means within minutes of when you purchase it, you can pick which dessert you want to try first -- no waiting for shipping!

• You'll get 2 versions -- a pretty, picture-filled one and a more printer-friendly version with no pictures. Either one will print well, but you choose whether you wanna tear through your color ink for this book or not. ;-)

• You'll find ALL the festive tastes in this one book: chocolate, hazelnut, gingerbread, apple, pumpkin, cranberry, etc.

• Plenty of items to bake, but also stovetop, slow cooker, and no bake options!

What to do now? Hop on my email list and get excited. When this e-cookbook is available (on Friday), you'll receive another email from me with the direct link to purchase.



What's your favorite holiday dessert? Leave a comment here to let me know and I'll enter you into my drawing to win a free copy. Email responses will be pooled with social media responses and I will announce a winner on Friday (and contact you via email if you win)!


XO,
Tara



P.S. This HIIT and Core workout I shared recently on instagram ended up being my most 'popular' post to date. I figured I'd share it with you here in case you missed it. Make sure you read the caption about breath work while you're there.