Intimidation at the gym (aka gym-timidation) is all too real. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that they were nervous to go to the gym because they were afraid of people judging them, I could probably quit coaching and teaching altogether and buy a beach house in Maui. If you…
Kettlebell swings are absolutely one of my favorite exercises. I think they’re a ton of fun. They’re a great way to build strength and cross train for a variety of different sports and activities. You can do them anywhere because kettlebells are portable. They’re a full body exercise. They totally count as cardio but go…
WTF is this “joyful movement” stuff anyway? This is the question you might be asking yourself right now. You may have seen this term floating around on the internet, especially if you follow other Health At Every Size professionals. When I first heard of it I pictured Julie Andrews twirling in a meadow. Was this…
I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that most of my co-workers seem to be genuinely interested in my approach to health and fitness–even the parts where I tell people it’s ok to eat carbs and take naps. The other day I was chatting with one of the other trainers at the gym where I work. He…
In my experience, the pelvic floor has always been a sort of mythical unicorn, especially when it comes to yoga and fitness. I’ve had countless yoga teachers tell me to engage my pelvic floor, without really explaining how or why. In yoga teacher training we gloss over the idea of mula bandha (aka pelvic floor…
The other day I was talking with a new client who finally had what I like to call the “eff this I’m done moment”. It’s a magical moment when you decide that you no longer want to spend your life perpetually pursuing intentional weight loss. I had this moment for myself a little over two…
Awhile back I posed the question: If I start including more workout how-to blog posts, what would you like to learn how to do? The responses I got were varied. How do I start lifting weights for the first time? What can I do about wrist pain during certain yoga poses? How can I combat the…
Confession: I am pretty much a giant child. I have a blue bicycle named Betty with a Disney princess bell. My husband and I have no kids, but still go to the pool on Saturdays and ride the waterslides by ourselves. And I REALLY like to play at the playground. NO joke. I wish there…
The other day I was getting ready to teach a group fitness class when one of my regular students came up to me. She wanted to give me a heads up that if she seemed a little “off” or looked like she wasn’t trying it was because she was trying a new “lifestyle change”: intermittent…
Last weekend I was pulling weeds in my yard. As I bent down to pick weed after weed, I realized that I was basically doing a deadlift every single time. This instantly got me excited about gardening, because as much as I hate pulling weeds, I LOVE me a deadlift. I realize that my idea…