This transcript is AI-generated and [lightly] edited by a human.

Karina Inkster:

You're listening to the No-Bullshit Vegan Podcast, episode 187. Join me as I chat with two awesome listeners about strength training, habit-building, consistency, and vegan nutrition. 

Karina Inkster:

Hey, welcome to the show. I'm Karina, your go-to, no-B.S. vegan fitness and nutrition coach. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Once a year or so, I open up my schedule to between 20 and 30 awesome folks on my email list, and each person gets a free 20-minute strategy session where they can chat about whatever they want, creating a workout plan, brainstorming meal prep ideas, calculating protein needs, plotting, vegan world domination, anything goes. Now, episode 185 was the first of these strategy session episodes, and today I have volume two for you with two more strategy calls. First, I speak with Sam, one of our current clients about her results thus far and a few areas of focus moving forward. And then I speak with Jo who wants to make sure she's using her workout time effectively. By the way, if you're not yet hanging out in my corner of the internet and getting my newsletter, which is the only way to get free strategy sessions and other giveaways as well, head to our show notes at nobullshitvegan.com/187 and sign up. Here's my chat with Sam. 

I got your message in our coach chat, refreshing workouts, and I know you wanted to chat about general progress and stuff, but maybe you can tell me a little bit about where Sam is at right now. 

Sam:

Yeah, I feel like the program has been really helpful with meal prepping and traveling a lot for work and just finding fine tuning and best practices. That's been super helpful I think overall. And then, yeah, it's just kind of getting my butt to the gym is the hardest part. I think it's more personal motivation that sets me back a little bit. Yeah, and you guys are just too kind. I'm like, okay, maybe you need to be mean to me or something. Get there now or you're done. 

Karina Inkster:

Maybe we start being the mean trainers, although it's not really in our wheelhouse, but hey, yeah, we do have some things up our sleeves in that department, but I think we got to try, we have the general tips and okay, what are we working towards? Why is it important? Et cetera, et cetera. And then there's the Plan B, crazy accountability option. Everything else has been tried and has failed.

Sam:

Right? Yeah. And I have to say, I definitely feel better. I am leaner and I can tell not just from the scale, but from an energy perspective, I definitely have a little bit more and I'm more motivated. So I think just following something for me is super helpful. That's great. Yeah. And then I think it's just a matter when I'm traveling, I'm always super motivated because I'm outside of my normal routine, so I'm in a hotel. There's not anything to distract me there other than my own devices, which can't really go on for too long. So I think traveling is really helpful for me to maintain a plan. It's kind of when I get home and I'm focusing on getting back into normalcy and into regular routine is kind of when I struggle because usually I'm fatigued from driving all day or whatever the case is. And then time management for me is fun. So I always try to overdo it, and then I think I just kind of burn myself out at the end of the day, so there's not enough hours in the day, I swear. 

Karina Inkster:

I know that feeling well. Yeah, and it's interesting for a lot of folks, it's the opposite. Traveling just messes them up completely. There's no routine. They're not consistent at all, which makes sense for a lot of folks. But I think what you're saying is kind of the opposite. When you're traveling, not a whole lot of distractions. You're usually there for work. So once that's taken care of, you just work out. And plus you have sweet hotel gyms to check out, and they're always kind of different. 

Sam:

Yeah, I have my favorites now. I know there's a couple that have better gyms with more equipment, so I try to stay there. And then if I know I'm busy and not going to be in the gym, it's not as big of a deal. But I have been in scenarios where I've used your workouts in my hotel room because the gym is just so overcrowded or there's nothing or only one space workout. So I've done cardio, especially if I'm in a city where I'm not familiar and it's nighttime, so I'll usually just do cardio inside, and then I've gone to my room and done some workouts. So I feel like it's multipurpose, which is nice. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. Well, hey, you're already doing what needs to be done with nutrition, bringing your magic bullet thing to make smoothies, and you're going above and beyond what a non-fitness-oriented person would do when they're traveling. So I wonder how we can harness that type of energy, but for when you're home.

Sam:

I know, and I think I blame my fiance because he's eating bags of chips and all of this nonsense. So yeah, I blame him slightly. But no, I think it's just being prepared more than anything. And so that for me kind of falls into not enough hours in a day, but I think it is nice to get into the winter months where it's cooler here anyway, and so it's not as many distractions and more time spent at home. So I'm looking forward to that for sure. 

Karina Inkster:

I hear you. Okay, well, let me just put this on the table. Okay, so this is not something I'm suggesting right this second. Also, for reasons that will become clear, I can only do this with one person at a time, and right now I am doing it with someone for four weeks. Anyways, planting the seed. 

So we do have this thing where if it gets to a point where you're just like, okay, nothing is working, I just need to prove to myself that I can be consistent, and in this case, you are consistent when you're on the road. This would be very specific to home workouts, going to the gym, sticking to the plan when you're not traveling anyways, if you just need that if kick in the ass, it's not going to teach you about self-discipline. It's not going to be like a long-term fix, but it does work. It's a four week commitment where we set up, okay, what days are you going to work out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, whatever. So we'd have to figure that out. Your workout on each of those days dictates my ability to do my workout the next day. So if you miss your Monday workout, I have to miss my Tuesday workout. If you miss your Wednesday workout, I have to miss my Thursday workout. I see how that works. And you're texting me just an emoji or one word or whatever, like regular texting, not the app, the coaching thing, just so I can check and be like, do I get to train today? 

Sam:

Oh my gosh, that's a lot of accountability. 

Karina Inkster:

It's a lot of accountability. I like to do it for four weeks because there's not really any point in just doing it. For one, you need to prove to yourself that you can do it longer term and for you, some of those weeks might be traveling, so maybe we adjust it for four weeks of being at home, even if it's broken up into chunks or something. Anyways, that's an option. So I am doing it with one client right now. She just went through Hurricane Milton and had flooding, and her daughter's living with her now, and it's just, it's intense. She's a fitness coach herself, but she feels like everything's on the back burner self-care wise anyway, so I'm doing that with her for the next month, but it's on the table if you ever need it. That's good to know. Good to know. That's like the Plan B emergency hatch. 

Sam:

Yeah, I can see how that would be effective because yeah, when you're relying, I used to be big on going to the gym with a buddy because you're always going to go if they're down, and if you're not then, but then, yeah, I feel like the wrong buddy results in the wrong results because some buddies are just too lenient. 

Karina Inkster:

Oh, yeah, totally. You have to audition them for a while, and it takes a couple weeks at least.

Sam:

So now I have a couple buddies. One loves running and kickboxing and walking, so she's my healthy buddy and in a different city, so when I travel there, we go get protein shakes from the store, like the supplement store, then we'll go for a walk or run or something. So she's my healthy friend that I hang out with. And then, yeah, I have a couple different sport friends, like a spin friend and a yoga friend, so it's kind of nice to mix it up now and yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

That's awesome. Yeah, that's how I operate as well. It's all workout buddies at the gym, like my garage gym and also at the pool, I started an open water swim club just so that I'm consistent with my own swim training. So it goes pretty far into accountability to other humans territory. So it's massive. And you know what, Zoe and I can't unfortunately show up to your house and just be like, Hey, Sam, we're training, no excuses. 

Karina Inkster:

With the online thing, there's always this extra step of you having to make the decision to do the thing.

Sam:

Yes. I know.

Karina Inkster:

That said though, keeping plan B, emergency hatch option on the table before we get to that stage, are there things that we can do right now in the accountability department, scheduling things into your training calendar, poking at you on certain days? How can we make ourselves useful? 

Sam:

I think for me sometimes with the app, because I am sending you guys stuff every Sunday, one thing that I think I'm going to do is upload my body measurements and photos on Sunday too, just because for me, that's very motivating and it keeps me a little bit more alert, I think. I feel like visuals are super helpful for me, so that's where I think I would benefit. So I'll definitely start doing that just more for me purposes. And then, yeah, I think having a new workout is really helpful too, because if I'm doing the same thing, I think maybe I get like, oh, I don't like day two workout as much as day three, so that kind of deters me, I think. So maybe just if there is the option to switch it up every four weeks, that would be, I think, helpful. And then, yeah, other than that, I feel like you guys have laid it out really nicely. Following the macros for me is probably the easiest thing. But yeah, it's the workouts, I swear, I think it's just wintery. It's getting wintery, so it's colder and it's dark at 4:30 here now, so it's bedtime. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, I know. It's a weird feeling. 

Sam:

Yeah, it's strange. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. Okay, so I like this plan. So this is the whole concept of whatever's going to work for you. So obviously we don't have rules about you must do measurements and photos. I mean, some people don't do them at all, but if that's something that you for yourself are going to find motivating, useful, I think we should make that part of the plan and you can just throw those in with the Sunday. I mean, not in the coach chat, but in the separate area and then the new workouts. Yeah, I think we were going to chat about switching up your workouts anyways. 

Sam:

Yes. I think we're at the end of the first three months. Right. Okay. It's exciting. 

Karina Inkster:

I think so I'll need to look that up too. But yes, we are definitely at a workout turnaround, spice things up, new program type deal. So the question I have for you is do we have full creative control or do you have notes for us? 

Sam:

No, I think I'll give you guys full control because I'm open to testing new things, and I think I've definitely noticed change in my physique for sure. More definition. And I think, yeah, it's just staying within the net negative macros and then yeah, just getting the energy outputted. I think that's the key for me is just moving my body every day and then just staying within the target calories. Totally. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, well, I mean there's a lot more where that came from. So do you want to keep the same setup with the travel workouts in there that are different from the workouts you're doing when you're at home? 

Sam:

And actually some days, for example, this week I'm home, so having three travel workouts, maybe we could even throw a fourth day in the gym in there. And then because some of the gyms I go to are actually, they're pretty decent, and I could do some of my day one, day two workouts there. So if there's a possibility to throw in maybe seven workouts and then I'll be able to four at the gym and three travel, usually not traveling more than three days. 

Karina Inkster:

Perfect, okay. Yeah, definitely. So four gym workouts, three travel workouts, and you've been just pulling them in based on whether you're traveling or not. So I mean, we can always schedule things in advance, but I think it's a bit more complicated if some weeks you're at home, some weeks you're traveling.

Sam:

Yeah. I think what I'll do is I think I'll plan my week and then I'll write it in the week, check-in with you guys' a good idea, and then just say, Hey, I'm traveling. I'm going to do these days just so I'm sharing what I'm going to do so that on the day.

Karina Inkster:

That's a good idea. And you can also schedule them in, so maybe on a Sunday when you send the check in, I mean you can just put it in there if you want, if that's easier, that's totally cool. But you can also go into your calendar in the app and say, okay, I'm going to do day one travel workout on Wednesday and such and such on Friday or whatever, and then your whole week just shows little circles that are not yet filled in, and then when you do the workout, it puts a little check mark in there. 

Sam:

Okay. I love that too. Yeah, that's great idea. That's an option idea. Okay, good. 

Karina Inkster:

Right, because then we can see what your plan is and we can creep on said plan. 

Sam:

Yes, I know. I think that's the key, is this. Yeah, and you guys are really great about sharing. When I do go and yeah, it's been some days I'm super weak and I am going to try to switch my training regime, timing usually there in the evenings, I feel like that's when I'm most alive, but I'm going to try start going in the morning just because I find throughout the day there's so many things that come up, especially when you are home, there's a lot of distractions there. So I feel like there's always dinners that come up or events or things like that, and you're like, well, I have to work out. So I feel like just getting it out of the way would be helpful. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, there's nothing magical about morning workouts. There's no best time to train or what have you, but 100%, there's way more that gets in the way in the evening after work, stuff comes up, social things, whatever. It's just way more likely to happen then and it's harder to manage than who's going to bother you at 6:00 AM being like, Hey, want to go for coffee? 

Sam:

No one, pretty much. And the gym is less busy at that time. At four o'clock or five o'clock when I usually go, it's just mayhem. And so even then, I feel like my training sessions are longer because there's people there and people that want to chat. I swear there's some people at the gym, all they're doing is talking. I'm like, what is going on? But I understand that because you can get lost, so now I just pretend that I can't see anyone.

Karina Inkster:

You got to wear giant headphones or something and a shirt that says, do not disturb. You make it real obvious. 

Sam:

Yeah. I'm not here to socialize, but it is nice. I feel like activities and sports can be a social thing as well, which is nice. 

Karina Inkster:

Absolutely. I like the social aspect, but when I'm at the gym, I'm there to train, but I do like the occasional like, Hey, how's it going? Haven't seen you for a while. So I do like going to my rec center gym occasionally just for a change of scenery because it's not just me. 

Sam:

Yes. 

Karina Inkster:

So it's kind of nice, but yeah, I don't want to be having 10 minute long conversations. 

Sam:

Yeah, I know. I definitely go through phases. Sometimes I'll go and play tennis and then I feel like that's more social because we can kind of chat throughout and then yeah, runs. I don't know how I did it, but I used to go on social hour runs with my girlfriend that we would just talk the whole time and I'm like, okay.

Karina Inkster:

How's that even possible? 

Sam:

I know. I'm like, we need to run faster so we can't talk. 

Karina Inkster:

Yes!

Sam:

But it was nice just to catch up for an hour and you don't even realize you're working out at the same time.

Karina Inkster:

That's the way to do it. Yeah, totally. Hey, I have a question that just popped into my brain. If you want to do four gym sessions, is the idea to have four programs to choose from, or do you want to do four days?

 

Sam:

Yeah, just four days in a regular gym. And then on the days that I'm home, for example, this week, I would just focus on the four days at the regular gym and then discard the travels. And then for some days where I'm, let's say five days in traveling, two days home, I would do the three travel workouts, and then the two days I'm home, I would probably do the one day one and two. Is that how you would do it, do day one and two, or would you mix it up? 

Karina Inkster:

Well, I'm kind of thinking if you have four gym workouts for when you have that available, we do have the option of splitting up the muscle groups a bit differently. So right now we're doing full body workouts every session, which makes sense if you're mixing things up and sometimes you're traveling, sometimes you're at home. But we do have the option of doing lower and upper, so two of each lower body, upper body, lower body, upper body, or the other way around, and that way you can just alternate. It's kind of a different style of training, but it might be a little more challenging to schedule though for folks who have other things going on. We've got some clients who are competitive cyclists. It's hard for them to schedule leg day during racing season, so they're not doing that split during racing season, but they are during the off season. So it kind of depends what the situation is. If you find it would be more complicated, if there's a week where you're kind of half at home and half traveling, maybe it's not the greatest idea. 

Sam:

I know, and most of my weeks are like that. It's kind of the off weeks when I'm just purely home. So I'm open to either, but yeah, I think worst case scenario, I could do one upper, one lower and then do the travel workouts. So there's that option. Or we could add in upper, lower and then add a full body.

Karina Inkster:

Yep. We could do two full body programs, one upper and one lower, and then as long as you make sure everything is equally trained, you can just pull 'em in. 

Sam:

Right. Okay. I like that idea. I have more options. 

Karina Inkster:

Well, it might change it up a little. I'm just kind of thinking what would be kind of different and exciting, and there's something about leg day. It's fun times. 

Sam:

It's true. I do like it. Well, I'm like an upper body. I love upper body workouts the best. So they're definitely my favorite. I don't know why we love them more.

Karina Inkster:

Me too. 

Sam:

Yeah, they're easier maybe. I don't know. 

Karina Inkster:

Well, I guess it depends. They're not as cardio intensive. I find lower body, I'm just out of breath the whole time. 

Sam:

Yeah, it's exhausting. 

Karina Inkster:

Squats and lunges and whatever. Yeah, it's exhausting. Yeah, but that means you're doing it right though. 

Sam:

That's true. Yeah. I know. It's tiring, but worth it. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. Well, I think that'll work. So let's keep plan B. Insane accountability, workout, tethering option on the back burner, but it's an option for mid-December would be when we could start if you wanted to. 

Sam:

Okay. 

Karina Inkster:

And until then, let's just try the new workouts, spice things up a little bit. Little more accountability with Sunday check-in, measurements, photos, planning out your week a little bit ahead, then can creep on it. 

Sam:

Perfect. 

Karina Inkster:

And yeah, I think that's a good plan. I'm excited. 

Sam:

Yeah, I like it. And you'll send me all the details via email on the new program? 

Karina Inkster:

Totally. There's an option if you want to move down a level. There's also an option to do a simpler coaching program, but I'll send you all that stuff for sure. 

Sam:

Okay, perfect. 

Karina Inkster:

Awesome. Well, nice to talk to you, Sam. 

Sam:

Yeah, you too. It's been a minute. I can't believe three months went by so fast.

Karina Inkster:

It’s crazy. Where did that go? 

Sam:

I know people are asking me, what did I do this summer? I'm like, I could not tell you.

Karina Inkster:

Kind of the same. 

Sam:

I know it's depressive, but at least Christmas is coming, so I'm looking forward. 

Karina Inkster:

True. Awesome. Well, we'll see you in the app. You know where to find us. I made some notes, so we'll follow up with workouts and such. 

Sam:

Perfect. 

Karina Inkster:

And accountability plans. Sounds great. Then we can go from there.

Sam:

Awesome. Well, thanks for chatting. We'll talk to you soon. 

Karina Inkster:

Nice to chat, Sam, thanks so much for a great discussion. Always awesome to connect. Next up is Jo. Jo had a nutrition session with Coach Zoe, who's on my team, a few months ago. Jo has lost around 30 pounds. She's been going to the gym regularly, but she's wondering if she's making the most of her time there. So we come up with a plan, actually plan A and plan B for consistent workouts. Here's our conversation. 

Hello, Joanne. Nice to meet you. I know that you've chatted with Coach Zoe before. You guys had a nutrition session a while back, so yeah, nice to meet you as well. 

Jo:

Yeah, good. Nice to see you. It was a really useful session we had.

Karina Inkster:

Oh, fantastic. Are you in the UK? 

Jo:

Yes. 

Karina Inkster:

What is the vegan scene like in your area? 

Jo:

Not bad. I live close to Liverpool. It's a pretty good place for eating out vegan. 

Karina Inkster:

Amazing. 

Jo:

When I've lived in towns, it has not been quite so finger on the pulse, shall we say, but there's always vegetables I can always manage. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. We do what we have to do, right? 

Jo:

Yeah, exactly. 

Karina Inkster:

Awesome. Well, so let's jump in. I know that you wanted to talk about strength training to complement the nutrition things that you've been working on. It sounds like you're getting lots of great results, fitness wise, physique changes. So maybe you can tell me a little bit about where you're at now and where you want to go. 

Jo:

Okay. I lost I think around 30 pounds in weight. Sorry, I'm trying to convert it. 

Karina Inkster:

Oh, that's okay. We're very confused here in Canada, so we do both kilos and pounds, so either way. 

Jo:

Good. It's around about 30 pounds I think. 

Karina Inkster:

Nicely done. 

Jo:

And now thinking that I want to firm up a little bit because, sorry. 

Karina Inkster:

Oh, it's a cat friend. 

Jo:

It's cat friend wants to know what I'm doing. Of course, yeah. So I've lost a bit of weight, so I'm more capable now I think of going in the gym without feeling. I'm also like, I'm going to injure myself. So I've been going in the gym. I don't think I'm really working at maximum efficiency because I'm not really a gym bunny. I'm not an expert in anything, but I know that strength training is what you do if you want to get them more bang for your book as it were. A hundred percent. Absolutely have to, if you don't want to lose muscle mass as well when you are calorie restricting. 

Karina Inkster:

Yes, exactly. 

Jo:

So know I need to get on that. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, you're absolutely right. So if we looked at it as a pyramid with the most important aspects on the bottom and the least important things on top in terms of general health, physique change, muscle gain, fat loss, all those things, the bottom is nutrition. So that's what you've been working on. The foundation is nutrition. The next layer is strength training. A lot of people will put cardio there like, oh, I want to lose weight, or I want to tone up, so I'm just going to do an hour of cardio every day. No, the cardio is the little cherry on top. It's the point of the pyramid at the top, right? Yeah. So yes, strength training is very important, and maybe I could get a sense of either what you're doing now, not in terms of exercises, but how often you're going and how long you're there, or maybe what your ideal is because then we can talk about, well, what does that look like in terms of which muscles you're training on which day? What does the training plan look like? But it's all based around logistically how often you're going and how long you have there. 

Jo:

Yeah. This is the other thing I really need to get on track with, because I don't really do anything in the week. I work quite long hours, so by the time I get in, I'm pretty knackered. So I just go out for a run on Saturday morning and I go to the gym and lift some weights on a Sunday. So I'm not really doing much there. When I lift weights, I do a bit of everything. So I do some arms, triceps, biceps and leg curls, that sort of thing, and a little bit of abs. 

Karina Inkster:

Right. Well, abs are not as fun to train, but they're very important for core stability and back health and all that. Yeah. Okay. So are you open to doing some things at home? Do you have resistance bands or do you have something that you could do, like a midweek kind of situation? 

Jo:

I do have some bands somewhere in a drawer that probably still, they may crumble into dust when I pick them up, but that old, it's possible. But yeah, I can see if they're still usable. 

Karina Inkster:

I think we need to make use of the gym equipment, so heavier, dumbbells, the bench, the cable machine, maybe a leg press machine, like things that most people don't have in their living room. 

We make use of that on a Sunday when you’re already going. It's kind of part of the routine. It would be nice to have at least one other strength training session during the week spaced on maybe a Tuesday or a Wednesday, something like that. But given time constraints, it could be possible to do a home workout. You just need a plan that makes sure you're covering all the main muscle groups and resistance bands is usually what we recommend for people. 

Jo:

Yeah, okay. 

Karina Inkster:

So that's an option, unless the longer-term plan is to find another time during the week that you could get to the gym. 

Jo:

I do really need to do that. I work in academia, so when a lot of assessments come in for marking, I'm so busy. I do nothing for three weeks, kind of in week two of that at the moment. So at the moment I'm thinking, how would I ever find time? But I do know that when that's all done, I will have time, but I won't use it effectively because I am quite self-aware in that I will go, oh, yes, but I'm tired, so I'd rather sit and relax. Relaxing is important, Joan. Yeah, of course. It's part of every healthy workout plan, so I've got that nailed, but we do need to, yeah, I know. 

Karina Inkster:

Well, I wonder if there could be plan A, which is two strength workouts at the gym every week, and plan B for intense marking assessment periods. Could be Sunday Gym Tuesday or Wednesday, something like that, home workout with resistance bands, and it could be shorter, it could be 15 minutes. How long are you normally at the gym? 

Jo:

Well, I take my kids to the Sunday morning kiddie sports thing, which is an hour and a half. So I pretty much, I spend just over an hour in the gym, and then I go get myself a coffee and have a chat with my sister for 20 minutes. 

Karina Inkster:

Oh, nice. That's a good routine.

Jo:

It's all right. It's nice. It gets me out the house. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, totally. Well, it's a good use of your time while the kids are doing their activities. 

Jo:

Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

Okay. So that workout, we could for sure have a plan, a good hour in the gym, all of your major muscle groups. I would focus more on the compound moves, by the way. So we don't usually program biceps, triceps, single joint leg moves, like leg curls, unless someone's at the gym four days a week. Then we can add in biceps triceps. So we want to do squats, deadlifts, pushups, bench presses, rows, really large movements that you can use heavier weights for. Just maximize all that. And then at home you've got bands. We could do triceps extensions, bicep curls, all that kind of stuff, especially if you like doing those things.

Jo: Like is a strong word. 

Karina Inkster:

Fair enough. Fair enough. Okay. They're the least worst options perhaps for some folks. 

Jo:

Yeah, I'm aware that it would, how people feel about exercise changes with how much they do exercise. 

Karina Inkster:

Exactly, yes, a hundred percent. Okay. So would it help then, if we put together a sample plan of here's what it could look like if you're at the gym two days a week, and then one of those workouts could have a backup option for your house? 

Jo:

Yeah. Sounds good. 

Karina Inkster:

Okay. We could do that. 

Jo:

Cool. 

Karina Inkster:

Do you have any moves that are off the table? Injuries, joint things, things we should keep in mind? 

Jo:

Do you know what? This was like 30 pounds ago, so it probably isn't relevant now, but lying down to do exercise, I really hated because lying flat, and you won't know this because you've never been, I think significantly overweight, but if you are and you lie down, you get a lot of heartburn, reflux. I don't lie down even to sleep. I propped up with a lot of pillows to sleep, and I don't think I even need that anymore. I've not had heartburn in ages. 

Karina Inkster:

Well, this is good news!

Jo:

But it just means I'm reluctant to lie down, and also it takes me a long time to get down and back up. I'm not very graceful, but again, that was 30 pounds again, so I don't think that's still going to be as bad as it was because why only do a little bit of abs? It's like the sit up machine where you just sit in it and then pull the weights over your shoulders. So I'm open to trying a bit. 

Karina Inkster:

Okay. I think that's a reasonable plan. I mean, we don't have to overdo it and say, okay, Jo, you're going to be on the floor for half your workout. There are actually a lot of core moves that are standing, so with a cable machine, resistance bands, all kinds of options. I think it's probably worth experimenting with it just to kind of see where you're at right now. 

Jo:

Yeah. It's surprising how easily you can avoid lying down, especially on the floor. Want to go down there. You don't have to. 

Karina Inkster:

Well, some people also, they're just like, nah, the stretch area at the gym is kind of annoying, and it's in a separate area of the gym and you have to get your mat and it's like a whole thing. Yeah. People will on you a little bit. Yeah, yeah, totally. Okay, so yeah, we can do that for sure. So two gym workouts, maybe one of them could be slightly shorter. I don't know if you're going to have a full hour during the week that might be pushing it a bit, right? 

Jo:

It might be. Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

So maybe closer to half an hour for the second gym workout and then home workout, same kind of thing, 20 to 30 minutes. Does that seem reasonable? 

Jo:

It's absolutely doable. If I put it in my daily timetable, I can make sure that I do it. 

Karina Inkster:

I had a business coach one time who said, the ideal is to treat yourself like your own best client. Of course, this is waving a magic wand and it's really hard to do, but yep. Schedule it in the calendar. No one books over that time. It says workout, you're going to go do the workout.

Jo:

Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

Do you have any moves or interests in certain moves, things that you want to work on, anything you're curious about? 

Jo:

Does bingo wings mean anything in Canada? 

Karina Inkster:

Yes, it does.

Jo:

Good. I didn't know if they translated. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, we actually have a client who calls them bingo arms, and then we have another one who calls them Hello Helens.

Karina Inkster:

We're talking about triceps. Okay. 

Jo:

Yeah, definitely got, I've noticed, I didn't really notice them before, but when you get flabby, I lift up my arm now and it's a little loose. I mean, I don't have a big loose skin problem, but it kind of looks a bit flappy now, but there's less fat in there. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, it's pretty common. Pretty common in that scenario, especially. Yeah. Yeah. That's something we could focus on. We don't actually even necessarily need to do triceps focused moves. I'll throw a couple into the home workout. I find bands are really good for that triceps activation, but your movements like chest presses with dumbbells. Right, so you're on a bench, like a bench press, any sort of pushup variation. 

Jo:

Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

Do you call them press-ups in the UK?

Jo:

We kind have like 50 50 press-up slash pushups. 

Karina Inkster:

Right. I've heard press up and I'm like, I think that's a pushup. Those are great because they are multi-joint movements, so you're working more than one muscle, but you're also really hitting the triceps, so that would be good. Do you have an anchor point for your bands at home? Do you know if they came with a little foam piece that you can just put into a door and then you can loop your bands into it? 

Jo:

Yeah, there'll be something. I'll find something I can anchor to.

 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. It's sometimes hard to do at home if you don't have a banister or a railing of some kind. 

Jo:

Yeah, we do. I've got also a metal ring outside in the garden. It's on the floor. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, that could work. Okay. If you need some visuals on what the heck I'm talking about, I can just send you a link. There's tons of options. Even just to buy that little piece by itself, it's really not a lot. It's probably like, I dunno, three pounds or something. I have no idea. It's like $6, so is that three pounds? I have no idea. 

Jo:

Something like that in that region. Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

It's really not a lot, but yeah, so something like that would be really helpful because it allows you to do your presses and your rows from a standing position and you don't have to loop it around your own feet and then do all kinds of acrobatics. 

Jo:

Yeah. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, so that would be helpful. 

Jo:

Yeah. Cool. 

Karina Inkster:

Nice. Excellent. Okay, so I will put together some sample programs. I'll just send them to you as a PDF. They do have videos, so you can watch each move just to see what the form looks like, and then would it help, I'm just putting this out there. No pressure at all. Would it help if I checked in with you in three or four weeks? Hey, Jo, how's the workouts coming along? Would that be an extra kick in the butt? 

Jo:

Yes. Accountability is something I think is very important for me.

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, because that way in the back of your brain, little Coach K will be like sitting there. Did you do your workout this week? 

Jo:

No, I know. Yeah, because I'll be like, yeah, if I don't do it, she's going to ask me and what am I going to tell her? 

Karina Inkster:

Exactly. Not in a guilt and shame kind of sense, but in a positive wanting you to reach your goals sense. 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah. Okay, so your call then, what's a good timeframe? I can check in. I'll just send you an email. Super simple. What kind of timeframe would you prefer?

Jo:

Four weeks. Is that okay? 

Karina Inkster:

Yeah, totally. 

Jo:

That gives me time to a week to argue with myself and then a week to start doing it ineffectively, and then two weeks to absolutely crush it. 

Karina Inkster:

Love this plan. 

Karina Inkster:

That's usually how it works. I mean, you're just being very realistic here. 

Jo:

Yeah, I know myself.

Karina Inkster:

That is brilliant. Okay, perfect. So I'll check in four weeks. I'll send you workouts as soon as I can in PDF form, and then your goal is to do two a week, whether it's gym and home or two gyms, you can choose based on what's going on, and then I'll creep on you in four weeks. 

Jo:

Excellent. 

Karina Inkster:

That would be amazing. Let's do it. Thank you so much. No problem, Jo. Thanks so much for booking in. Fantastic. To connect with you, don't forget to access our show notes at nobullshitvegan.com/187 where you can sign up for my insider newsletter that gives you exclusive access to things like free coaching calls, book giveaways, and tips for vegan world domination. Thanks so much for tuning in.