Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, a day for moms to relax and be showered with appreciation. I’m looking forward to my special breakfast, cooked by husband, and enjoying a nice (hot for once) latte while reading a book. I don’t want anything elaborate or complicated. The simple gifts and gestures mean the most to me.

But there are a few things that I really, truly want for this Mother’s Day — and every Mother’s Day going forward. Being a mom is the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced — it’s also incredibly difficult. …

The postpartum period is full of expectations and ideals. There is so much more to ‘bouncing back’ after having a baby than you may think.

Ahh yes, the postpartum bounce back. It seems like as soon as you have the baby you’re bombarded with pressure to get back in shape, unsolicited comments or advice. Comments and questions like ‘have you lost the weight yet?’ ‘your body will never be the same!’ ‘you’ll bounce back in no time!’ ‘you look great for having just had a baby.’ ‘So and so already got her body back.’

These comments are rude, unhelpful, and even harmful. It puts the focus only on the new moms body. She is more than a baby vessel!

Getting back into pre-baby shape is…

As with many tough things in life, the way to get out is to go through, there isn’t a way around it. If you’re struggling with something the best way to get over it is to show up and work through it. The more you try to dodge by engaging in frivolous activities, the longer you will be in that place and the more pain you’ll cause yourself. Life is a series of choices. You chose to show up and move forward or you chose not to. It’s all a mindset. You have to believe that you’re worth showing up…

Your glutes are a super important muscle group in your body. In fact, I’m starting to think the glutes (and entire posterior chain) are the most important muscle group in your body. A strong backside makes for a strong body and helps with stability which is especially important as we age or if you’re pregnant or newly postpartum. But did you know that if you neglect to train your glutes they could ‘forget’ how to function properly and actually cause problems as a result? Yes, you could be suffering from gluteal amnesia.

The gluteal muscles help power us through so…

There’s a lot of talk about self-care lately as society becomes more aware and accepting of mental burdens we all carry. This is a really good thing, we need to remove the stigma of mental illness and the impression that it is ‘weakness’ because it’s not. That being said, much of the content surround self-care as a form of self-help is shallow. The real help comes from digging deep.

For moms, self-care is absolutely essential. Creating space for yourself to do this is critical.

I think many of us don’t realize the value of self-care until becoming parents and you…

As with many tough things in life, the way to get out is to go through, there isn’t a way around it. If you’re struggling with something the best way to get over it is to show up and work through it. The more you try to dodge by engaging in frivolous activities, the longer you will be in that place and the more pain you’ll cause yourself. Life is a series of choices. You chose to show up and move forward or you chose not to. It’s all a mindset. You have to believe that you’re worth showing up…

There are so many accessories for weight training–do you really need them all? Things like lifting belts, straps, gloves, hooks, knee wraps, squat shoes etc. While some of the gear is helpful and useful you don’t really need it. My personal approach to gear is more minimalistic now (wasn’t always the case). My lifting gear includes: Converse for lifting (hard, flat sole), chalk to help my grip/sweaty hands so I can grip the bar better and lifting belts. There are certainly some cases where additional gear is needed, and of course, if you just want to use all the gadgets…