TAKING ACTION: ✅Let’s get down to business and share our weekly wins today! Let’s show ourselves some real self-love! 🎉 Fridays are always reserved for celebrating our wins—and whether you realize it or not, celebrating your wins is an act of self-love. I think that’s why so many people struggle not only to celebrate themselves, but to even find a “win” they feel worthy enough to celebrate. And that, friends, is the problem. If you want to truly love yourself and your body, you must not only change your thoughts around it, but you must act as if you love yourself. As with anything else, taking action is the way forward. When you celebrate even your smallest of wins, you’re literally creating the person who loves herself in real time. Isn’t that cool to think about? 🙌 With that said, what do ya’ say—will you celebrate yourself and choose an act of self-love today?! 🎉

My girlfriend told me I need so girl time Headed to California for a girls Trip 💕

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be better.” ~Janette Barber TAKING ACTION: ✅What is one rule or strategy you follow that helps prevent you from burnout? Share all the tips below! I love what Janette Barber said in the article below: “You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be better.” The article suggested planning for mistakes in your journey. You may be thinking, “Huh? Plan for mistakes?” That’s right! You see, the journey isn’t linear. When you plan for some mistakes and make them work with the rest of your plan, you don’t have to follow an “all-or-nothing” approach. An “all-or-nothing” approach is another reason why people burn out so quickly. “All in” means perfection, and newsflash—you’re not perfect. Never will be. Fortunately, success doesn’t require perfection. It requires consistency. 💯 ⬇️ Speaking of burnout, check out the OPTIONAL READING below for tips to prevent burnout⬇️ Don't Get Burned by Diet Burnout ________________________________________________________________________________________________ COMING UP THE NEXT 14 DAYS: BELLY BLAST CHALLENGE & EDUCATION!!

TAKING ACTION: ✅Do you have a hard time feeling glute-focused moves in your glutes? Share with me below, and check out the activation tips below. Yesterday, we chatted about the importance of your nutrition this month. Your nutrition is key when it comes to building glute strength, but there is another prerequisite we need to discuss so you can get the most out of your glute workouts ⬇️ 👉GLUTE ACTIVATION To reap the most benefits, you need to learn how to activate your glutes. If they aren’t activated, you’ll likely use the wrong muscles during glute exercises, and that defeats the purpose. Glute activation refers to activating (or "firing up") the glute muscles to strengthen them. For many, the glutes remain 'inactive' or 'switched off', even during lower-body exercises. This happens when your glutes are weak. Glutes can be weak for numerous reasons, but are mainly caused by sedentary lifestyles. This is known as gluteal amnesia or "dead butt syndrome". One way to overcome dead butt syndrome is to practice the mind-to-muscle connection during your workouts. When you are doing squats, certain types of lunges, and other exercises that are targeted for your glutes, do you feel it mostly in your quads? After a lower-body workout, are your glutes rarely sore? Those are usually indicators that your glutes aren't being activated properly. This is called quad dominance in the fitness world. Don't get me wrong, strong quads are great and are sometimes called upon during glute workouts, but they should not be the dominant muscles during glute work. Another way to activate the glutes is to perform glute-activating moves before your workout even begins. By performing some isolated glute moves pre-workout, we can get them fired up and ready to burn! 🔥 ⬇️ See the comments for an exercise! ⬇️ OPTIONAL READING: 8 Best Glute Activation Exercises to Maximize Your Booty Gains - The Travelling Wellness Girl

TAKING ACTION: ✅What’s your favorite carb if you had to pick just one? Share with me below. 🍠 Alright, friends—we had a little fun yesterday, but today, it’s back to business as we wrap up our conversation about glute strength. We’ve already talked a little about the importance of food this week when it comes to glute gains. We chatted about the importance of protein on Thursday, and earlier in the week, I gave you a list of whole foods that support muscle growth. Today, we’re going to talk about none other than the favorite macro for many of you—carbohydrates! 🙌 As a coach, many of the questions I hear are centered around nutrition. If the nutritional component is where you struggle the most, you aren’t alone. Many do. That’s due to several reasons—food addiction, emotional eating, processed foods/convenience foods, etc. We’ve quite literally trained ourselves to struggle with the nutritional component. The good news is that if we’ve caused it, we can also remedy it! When it comes to carbohydrates, many people struggle with overeating/craving carbs because of one thing—they’re consuming the wrong kinds. Simple carbs, like those found in candy, baked goods, white rice, sugar, and processed crackers and chips, are not the most ideal way to consume your carbs. They are digested quickly and typically full of added sugars. Shortly after consuming them, your blood sugar crashes, and you’re hungry. Because of their addictive nature, you crave more of them. 💯 On the other hand, complex carbs, like those found in beans, legumes, brown rice, vegetables, fruit, potatoes, and oatmeal, release energy slowly. This helps regulate your appetite and blood sugar, keeping you feeling full for longer. At the end of the day, you crave what you feed. If your carb choices are mostly made up of simple carbohydrates, I challenge you to begin replacing one at a time with a healthier, complex carb. After all, carbohydrates are necessary for muscle growth—and specifically for your glute gains! 🍑