Sistas of Strength

This is the buddy bench at my son’s school.

If you’ve never heard of a buddy bench, you’re supposed to sit here if you’re new, wanna make new friends, your friends aren’t at school or you want to play something different than what your friends are playing.

If you see someone sitting on the buddy bench, you’re supposed to ask him or her to play with you and grow your circle of friends.

AMEN to this idea, right?

Sometimes I feel like we need a buddy bench for mamas too.

I live in a small town and eventually you start to see a lot of the same people. Even if you live in a bigger town, it’s likely you see a lot of the same people through school and activities.

Here are a few things you can do help decrease loneliness and foster friendship among mamas.

If you notice someone standing alone on the sidelines at a game, say hello or make a little casual conversation. You never know - you might hit it off. I met one of my best mama friends at a kindergarten B-day party!

Initiate get togethers, even if you don’t know someone well yet. (How else do you expect to get to know them?) Invite kids over for play dates. Invite families over to hang out. Invite moms to grab coffee, take a walk or go out for a glass of wine.

If you notice one of the moms you usually talk to a lot is MIA, reach out. Get something on the schedule and re-connect instead of immediately assuming you’re not friends or you did something wrong. She’s probably just busy. Or she might be going through something and needs a friend, but hasn’t reached out.

We desperately need to support each other as moms instead of trying to one-up each other, knock each other down, and leave each other out and. Pay attention. Help each other. Check on your friends (even the strongest ones). And expand your circle of friends.

A lot of fitness content online looks impressive.

That doesn't mean it's useful.

There's a big difference between:

📱 workouts designed for views

and

💪 workouts designed to actually help people move, feel, and perform better.

The best training usually looks simple:

- controlled
- repeatable
- intentional
- sustainable

The best workouts are not chaotic, flashy or exhausting for the sake of exhaustion.

Love this reminder from :

"Where there's a will there's a way. We just prefer to pretend there isn't a way so we don't have to take responsibility and do the uncomfortable stuff to grow. An excuse then is nothing but a challenge that you've given your power to."

How many times have you told yourself you can't…

🚫 Make it to an early class because you're "not a morning person"?
🚫 Eat a healthy dinner because you're busy — or because lunch wasn't perfect?
🚫 Try a new workout because it's "too hard" or not your usual thing?

Before you say you CAN'T… pause.

Maybe you can get up early — even when you don't feel like it — until it becomes a habit.
Maybe you can try that new class — even if it feels a little scary or different.
Maybe you can make a better choice at dinner — even if the rest of the day wasn't perfect.

Next time you're about to write something off, ask yourself:

👉 Is it really a CAN'T… or is it a WON'T because it's uncomfortable?

Growth lives in the uncomfortable. Take your power back. 💥

Attention: you don't have to run if you don't like it!

If you don't like running, don't do it. Walk instead.

There are very few exercises (basically none) that NEED to be included in your training program in order for you to look and feel your best.

I know you're not going to love all types of exercises (and that is FINE - I don't either). I know you're also not gonna feel like training every single time either (you are human.)

So, while often times you gotta just get started and motivation will follow, you don't need to force yourself to do a specific type of exercise you just hate doing.

This is especially true for running, which somehow earned the reputation of being necessary for fat loss. It's not. In fact, running can even be detrimental to your progress if your overall stress load is already high. And I bet yours is. Walking is easier on the joints, less stressful on your body and can improve your mental health by leaps and bounds. Walk often.

A quick note about strength training. Do it Even if you don't love it. Find a gym you enjoy being at, get a coach or purchase a super simple program that allows you to get some type of efficient strength training done. The benefits of strength training are just too good to miss out on. And who knows, maybe it will grow on you.

The message here. Ditch running if you hate it. You don't need it for fat loss and might even take you further from your goals. Lift more weight and walk often.

It's so easy to feel like everyone else has it all together. Like you're the only weirdo who can't figure out how to be a boss at everything.

A friend of mine came up to me the other day and asked if there are times when I'm just not feelin' my workout.

UMMMM YES.

Sometimes it's random. Sometimes it lasts for weeks or even months at a time.

I've found little tricks that help me keep going through those periods. Switching things up, doing shorter workouts, dialing in my nutrition, loading up on good podcasts for training sessions, or taking a few extra rest days.

Usually my mojo comes back, but it's never all sunshine and rainbows. I can't count on feelin' it 100% of the time.

THIS IS NORMAL.

Some days you feel like you can change the world and you crush your workouts.

Other days, you just gotta punch the clock, do a little somethin', and call it a day.

Think about how much goes into how you feel each day: sleep, hydration, nutrition, stress, anxiety, the length of your to-do list... you name it.

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. 🥜

No one lives a life filled with endless motivation all the time.

That's why you need to rely much more on habits and discipline than motivation. And you need to check in with yourself regularly.

Are you nailing the basics first?

If the answer is yes, you're going to be a lot more likely to feel like crushing your workouts (most of the time, at least).

Focus on the basics (BAM): sleep, nutrition, hydration, and stress management. The rest will follow. 💥

You're not lazy. You're human. Keep going. 💪✨

If you're feeling stuck right now, you don't need to overhaul your life this summer, but you do need a starting point.

Two ways we'd love to help:

👉 Want structure, accountability, and habit coaching?
That's exactly what I help you do inside our BAM (Bare Ass Minimum) program. (Amanda)

👉 Want to just get moving again?
Come try a MOVE class with one of our amazing coaches.

Different starting points as we head into the official start of summer, but same goal:
Take one step. Then another.

You don't need a perfect plan or schedule lined up.
You just need a place to start.
And we'd love to be that place.

You need to stop focusing on weight loss. Here's why...

Sometimes we forget how important our health really is.

A little over 5 years ago, our family's priorities changed overnight when Mike was diagnosed with cancer.

Just three days before his diagnosis, I was at the hospital myself getting a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound after some unusual findings. Thankfully, everything turned out okay, but it was another reminder that when your health is questioned, everything else suddenly feels much less important.

Including fat loss.

Now, five years later, Mike is technically CURED 🎉, and we're incredibly grateful. But the experience reinforced something I believe more strongly than ever:

Health has to come first.

You won't hear me promoting health at every size. Obesity is a real and growing problem. But you also won't find me promoting crash diets, quick fixes, or extreme approaches designed to get you into a smaller pair of pants as fast as possible.

For years, I thought I sat somewhere in the middle of that debate, but what I've realized is this:

Before fitness goals.
Before body composition goals.
Before fat loss goals.

Health comes first.

That's why "BAMs" (Bare Ass Minimums) have become such an important part of both my life and my coaching.

Instead of trying to overhaul everything at once, focus on the fundamentals that support your health:

✔️ Sleep 7+ hours most nights
✔️ Stay hydrated
✔️ Move your body regularly
✔️ Eat protein and vegetables consistently
✔️ Manage stress as best you can

Wanting to lose weight isn't bad. Wanting to feel more confident in your body isn't wrong. Having physique goals is completely okay.

Too many people skip the foundation and jump straight to chasing a number on the scale. Wearing a smaller pants size won't help you navigate a major health challenge. A six-pack won't make a difficult diagnosis easier. But having systems in place that support your sleep, nutrition, movement, and overall well-being, even during stressful seasons of life, sure does matter.

Build your foundation first.

For those of you with babies and toddlers feeling like...

✈️ You'll never be able to travel
👩‍⚕️ Your kids are always sick
👶 Day trips always need to be planned around nap schedules
🚙 You miss being spontaneous
💤You need sleep
⚽️ You always miss registration dates for sports and activities
👋You'll never have a kid who's old enough to be dropped off at practice (or carpool)

It's all temporary. You learn a little more each year. You need fewer bags every year when you go out the door. You will make some new friends who are in the same stage of life as you are.. and prob lose touch with others along the way.

It's all part of the process.

Enjoy the time at home. Don't force daily adventures if it feels stressful. Don't be jealous of those who make it look easy. (You rarely know the whole story.) Bond as a family. Watch TV. Order in. Make dinner. Drink wine on the coach.

You WILL miss the slower pace later.

Once your youngest hits about 3.5-4, it changes. You can be more flexible doing things all day or staying at a friend's house past bedtime.

You will genuinely want to hop in the car for a spontaneous overnight. You'll find packing and unpacking a whole family gets easier with practice. You can stay in bed on the weekends once your kids are old enough to get up and play or watch TV to catch up on sleep.

And you'll start to create new memories and truly enjoy being out and about with your kids again. Until then, do what you want. Even if that's a whole lotta nothing. 👌

Ever found yourself lying on the floor scrolling before a workout… and suddenly an hour has passed and you haven't even started? 🙋‍♀️

Even when you're motivated and want to make changes, procrastination can sneak in disguised as "good intentions."

Here are a few common phrases that might sound familiar, and might also be signs you're avoiding taking action:

🌀 "I'm gonna try to make dinner tonight."
🌀 "I'm doing my best to stop snacking."
🌀 "I'll probably work out later."
🌀 "If I'm not too tired, I might walk."
🌀 "I'll go to the store at some point tomorrow."
🌀 "Once I feel better, I'll figure out the gym."
🌀 "I really should start packing my lunch."
🌀 "After the kids are in a groove, I'll sign up."

👉 See a pattern? Words like "I'll try," "maybe," "I should," and "later" offer you an easy out. They sound like plans… but they rarely lead to action.

💡 If you really want to do something, say "I WILL"—and be specific.

✅ "I will go for a 30-minute walk after dinner."
✅ "I will pack my lunch while I clean up the kitchen."
✅ "I will sign up for class after I drop the kids off at school."

That clarity creates commitment.

🚫 Ditch the vague "shoulds."
⏰ Stop leaving things to "later" (because later often becomes never).
💥 Take action with intention—and watch things change.

You've got this. 💪