Solid discussion tonight guys! As promised, here are the resources I showed during our call! Coach Em

Hey all, what kind of hobbies do you do in your free time? I have a hard time being idle and always on the lookout for the next shiny obsession. Currently I've replaced baking/cooking/smoking with leatherwork, and once it gets a bit warmer will go back to fly fishing. Also a big nerd and my go to are video games. What do you get up to to clear your mind??

Hey guys! Happy Monday! I wanted to ask and see if there is any interest in morning meetings in this group? I have no clue how your schedule's are- mine is fairly flexible day to day. Just trying to think of different time options in case it is needed/wanted! Comment below the times that work for you typically during the week & weekend AND your time zone. Coach Em

Pets make the world go round. Show off your companions <3 Meet my fitness accountability partner, Freyja. She's a Belgian/Dutch shepherd mix and black cat with all the sass. She's better than a fitbit reminder of its time to get moving as she will slap the phone out of your hand, and replace it with her favorite toy or leash. Want to get your heart rate up? Take her for a walk at night when you only see her scary eyes and she chases you....for fun On the flip side, Dumpling, pitty/lab mix is my recovery partner. He loves to remind us to stop and smell the flowers and absorb sun as much as possible. Want a movie marathon, he will share your popcorn. Watch out for any horses that show on screen, those are big scary dogs.

This is a really popular one. Every now and then I will be on a call with someone who has been influenced into thinking that they've finally nailed down how to train based on what phase of their cycle that they are in. To be clear- hormonal fluctuations CAN influence how we feel during training. BUT- the differences across each of our cycles as a female are NOT consistent enough for people to boldly state cycle-syncing recommendations. This is why I coach with the individual in mind. Even with my partner (f) and I- we do not have the same cycle experience. Month-to-month my cycle symptoms will vary- especially if I have changed something in my training regimen I've found. As of right now there's either inconclusive or NO difference for strength, power output, VO2max, or hypertrophy potential. This does not mean that you might not feel like shit sometimes haha. But- let's talk about what you ACTUALLY might need to do if you wake up feeling that way but still would like to train: Autoregulation. There are a couple of ways to go about this. The first is RIR: This will define effort level in a set. - RIR 0= you have zero reps left that you can complete on your own or concentric failure is reached - RIR 1= you have one rep left before concentric failure  - RIR 2= you have two reps left before concentric failure  - RIR 3=you have three reps left before concentric failure  - RIR 4= you have four reps left before concentric failure Now, some of you are my clients and know that for hypertrophy gains- you will be in the 0-2 RIR. This has to do with the weight being lifted during your reps and how close to failure you are. If you are not feeling it, you CAN knock the weight down a little bit to hit the 3-4 RIR for the session. Sometimes, that is okay. You don't always have to grit through it. Something I've learned over the years. Next is Perceived Recovery Status. See attached photo and ask yourself these questions: - Is your Perceived Recovery Status Score Less than 4? - Was sleep poor last night? - Was stress worse today than normal? - Were meals missed or fluids off today? - Any Joint pain or aches?