If you wore mittens 24/7, would getting through your day be easier or harder? Harder. Right? No question. Yet, we jam our feet into constricting mittens (shoes) and wear them all the time. Traditional shoes reduce proprioception (the way your feet communicate with the ground and then to your brain), & weaken the foot and ankle structures which can potentially … Read More
A Better Alternative to Kneeling Push-Ups
Kneeling push-ups are fine, unless you have a goal of doing unmodified push-ups. You’ll want to be sure your clients are training the push-up from a long lever position as this has a more accurate carry over into unmodified push-ups. Inside The Barbell Collective, I encourage hands-elevated pushups and using surface height as the thing we progress until the client … Read More
External Validation Is Not A Remedy For Self Doubt
Confidence often hides itself behind a quiet yet persistent conviction. A conviction that doesn’t need external approval or applause. Where we get stuck: We sit in inaction waiting for someone to tell us to jump. We doubt our accomplishments when not enough people applaud. We don’t know how to feel about something until someone tells us how to feel, as … Read More
I Realized That Selling Fat Loss Was the Bullshit
When you know better, do better. And here’s what you need to know today: the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Saying you help someone lose weight without the diet is a diet. Moderation is a form of restriction. Sorry. Leveraging what your body looks like for sales or “authoritative positioning” is diet culture. Learning/purchasing/believing/following what someone sells/teaches/preaches *because* of what they … Read More
We Are Not the Fitness Rejects
Our lives expanded once we stopped jamming ourselves into the globally accepted/demanded aesthetic of fit women. We are not a before and after project. We are not the sad rejects of a very toxic, very under-educated and narrow-minded fitness culture. We didn’t give up. We changed the purpose of the game entirely.
Eating is Simple. Body Image is Not.
We’re heading into a holiday weekend. You might be seeing people you haven’t seen in a while. These people will undoubtedly make comments about their own bodies, and maybe even yours. You might feel anxious. Anxious on how to navigate the conversations, nervous about how to eat so that your annoying grandma’s sister or whoever doesn’t say something stupid like: … Read More
Building a Business is Just Like Lifting
Everyone wants to lift til it feels boring and like a chore and EVERYONE wants to start a business until it feels hard as shit. WELCOME. The actual fun starts when it’s not fun anymore. That is not a typo. I repeat: the fun starts when it’s not fun anymore. I can’t explain it. But that’s what it is. Lifting … Read More
Remember When You Weighed Less?
Remember when you weighed less? I do. Ever stumble across a pic of yourself from a time you were CERTAIN that your body was awful and you felt like a work in progress, only to look at it now and think “fuck. What was I thinking?! Look how much smaller I used to be!” And if we’re being honest, we … Read More
[biz] Legally Legitimize Your Online Business with Sam Vander Wielen
Watch Sam’s free legal workshop ‘5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business’ here. Watch Sam’s free legal workshop ‘What to Do if Copycats Steal Your Biz Content’: here. Visit Sam’s site here. Follow Sam on Instagram @samvanderwielen
Business Expenses: Online vs Brick and Mortar
This is not meant to persuade you one way or another- simply informational. There are ways to build out a brick and mortar space and keep costs lower- of course. To keep rent low, try industrial instead of commercial, that’s what I did and it was thousands of dollars cheaper each month on the rent front. Consider your location. I … Read More