In this episode, Nikki is joined by nutrition and fitness coach Carissa Stewart to talk about why exercising consistently is hard, especially when you're hypermobile, chronically ill or have a complicated body.

Topics covered:

• Why motivation matters, how chronic pain can reinforce the tendency to avoid exercise, and what you can do about it.

• Why treating exercise like a habit can set us up to struggle MORE with consistency and what to do instead.

• How flare plans and exercise substitutions help you continue to move forward if you experience body challenges.

• How to adapt your workout with less mind drama when you experience pain, injury, or flare-ups.

• How to measure progress if you're hypermobile or chronically ill beyond weight lifted, sets, and reps.

Connect with Carissa Stewart

• Instagram: @carissaleighcoaching

Connect with Nikki Naab-Levy

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

• Website: naablevy.com

• Get your FREE personalized strength plan: https://naablevy.com/find-your-perfect-strength-plan-quiz/

• Get your free macros and calories calculator + guide: https://naablevy.com/macro-guide/

Episode Timestamps:

03:26 | Extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation and why "you just need discipline" is wrong
06:02 | Why motivation more complicated when exercise causes pain and symptoms
12:56 | Why exercise isn't a habit (and what it actually is)
15:01 | Why exercise may take additional mental effort if you're neurodivergent

17:08 | Using backup plans and exercise substitutions, so a flare-up doesn't derail your workout

24:52 | How to adapt your workout when your body isn't cooperating without the mental spiral

32:20 | How to measure progress when you have a complicated body

44:04 | How to ask for help after bad experiences and set expectations with friends and family

Ever been told that reformer footwork is the equivalent of a barbell squat? Or that adding a dumbbell to your Pilates workout counts as strength training?

In this episode, Nikki is joined by mechanical engineer and Pilates teacher Kaleen Canevari to discuss the physics of Pilates spring resistance and the potential applications of Pilates and strength training through the lens of exercise science.

Topics covered:

• Why springs get heavier the longer they're stretched and how that resistance will change based on the height of your client and the exercise being performed.

• The math behind a reformer spring vs a free weight (e.g. a dumbbell or barbell) and how that influences the amount of weight that you're moving during an exercise.

• The difference between progressing movement complexity and progressing in how much weight you can move during an exercise.

• Why new movers often make strength gains early in their Pilates practice and how this may change as they become more advanced.

• Why standing on a reformer with a dumbbell is not a good replacement for strength training if your goals are to increase bone density, strength, or muscle mass.

• Why it's difficult to track Pilates based metrics and what that might look like in the future.

Connect with Kaleen Canevari

• Instagram:@kaleenc_

• Website: Pilatesphysics.com

Connect with Nikki

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

• Website: naablevy.com

• Get your FREE personalized strength plan! Naablevynaablevy.com/free-strength-plan

• Get your free macros and calories calculator + guide: NaablevyMacros Made Simple - NaabLevy

In this episode, Nikki is joined by PA and nutrition coach Stormy Weather to talk what it's like to be a hypermobile competitive athlete and navigating the medical system with hypermobility, POTS, and MCAS.

Topics covered:

• Why being high-functioning and athletic often works against you when you're trying to get support from medical providers.

• The mindset shifts required to train at a high level while also accommodating the symptoms and limitations that hypermobility presents with.

• Why it's so difficult to get treatment and care within the medical system when you have symptomatic hypermobility.

Connect with Stormy Weather

• Stormy's Instagram: @stormywtr

• Show Your Work Nutrition Instagram: @showyourworknutrition

• Website: https://www.showyourwork.net/

Connect with Nikki Naab-Levy

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

• Website: naablevy.com

• Get your FREE personalized strength plan! Naablevynaablevy.com/free-strength-plan

• Get your free macros and calories calculator + guide: NaablevyMacros Made Simple - NaabLevy

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 | Stormy's background: PA, nutrition coach, and competitive masters athlete

05:38 | Modifying your training goals as a competitive athlete with symptomatic hypermobility and long Covid

08:39 | The boom-bust training cycle: managing flares without losing your fitness

16:17 | Experiences with MCAS, dysautonomia, and potential medication options for hypermobility comorbidities

30:34 | Low dose naltrexone: How it works and why it's gaining traction for hypermobility

38:07 | Getting care on the fringes when the standard system has nothing for you

40:08 | Navigating the medical system with hypermobility

53:35 | Options to managing rib subluxations

In this episode, Nikki is joined by a roundtable of coaches and movement teachers to unpack the America's Next Top Model documentary and how it applies to the fitness industry.

They discuss:

• The impact of America's Next Top Model on body image and beauty standards
• How harmful industry norms are justified and perpetuated under the guise of "that's just how it is"
• Parallels between reality TV and the fitness industry, including transformation culture and exploitative marketing
• The influence of early 2000s media vs modern social media on shaping our beliefs around our bodies, food, and "success"
• Why as fitness professionals we should challenge misinformation and create better standards for marketing

Connect with Adrienne Johnson

• Instagram: @thelionesstouch
• Website: https://www.thelionesstouch.com/

Connect with Steph Gaudreau

• Instagram: @steph_gaudreau
• Website: https://www.stephgaudreau.com/

Connect with Greg Sutton & Vanessa Zingaro

• Instagram: @evolvetoexcel
• Website: https://evolvetoexcel.com/

Connect with Nikki Naab-Levy

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness
• Website: naablevy.com
• Get your FREE personalized strength plan: Naablevynaablevy.com/free-strength-plan
• Get your free macros and calories calculator + guide: NaablevyMacros Made Simple - NaabLevy

#ResultsNotTypical, #FitnessMyths, #ANTM, #BodyImageIssues, #HealthAndFitnessIndustry, #ToxicBeautyStandards, #Hypermobility, #FitnessPodcast, #RealityTVCritique, #StrengthTrainingForWomen

What if the advice you've been getting on Instagram about body neutrality, body positivity, and "just love yourself" is making it harder to foster positive body image?

In this episode, Nikki is joined by behavior change and nutrition coach Sarah Tierney to unpack what body image actually is from an evidence based standpoint, why the pop culture version of it often misses the mark, and how to foster positive body image - even if it feels inaccessible to you right now

Topics covered:

• What body image is from an evidence based perspective

• Body neutrality vs positive body image and why it's important to understand the difference

• Why positive body image doesn't mean loving yourself 24/7

• How to handle body image disruptions without spiraling into unhelpful eating behaviors

• What autonomous weight loss actually looks like

• How to build body appreciation when chronic illness makes "appreciate what your body can do" feels patronizing or not possible
  
  

Connect with Sarah Tierney

• Instagram: @sarahmichelletierney

• Website: https://hardhousenutrition.com/

Connect with Nikki

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

• Website: naablevy.com

• Get your FREE personalized strength plan: Naablevynaablevy.com/free-strength-plan

• FREE Macros Guide: https://naablevy.com/macro-guide/

Tired of feeling like a failure because you can't stick to your macros? What if the problem isn't your willpower, but the shit advice you've been given? In this episode, Nikki is joined by strength and nutrition coach Natalie Guevara to talk about why rigid tracking and "bounce back" culture often backfires for busy parents.

Topics covered:

• Navigating mom guilt and unrealistic expectations about who we're "supposed" to be.
• Why flexible dieting and macro tracking often miss the point if you're struggling with exhaustion, emotional eating, or burn out.
• How living in flight or fight affects our decision making and impacts our ability to change our behaviors
• PCOS, infertility, and the medical system's long history of dismissing women's health concerns

Connect with Natalie Guevara

• Instagram: @nataliebrookeguevara

Connect with Nikki

• Sign up for the FREE 5 day nutrition challenge: naablevy.com/free-nutrition-challenge
• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 | Intro and why rigid fitness plans fail busy moms

06:54 | Debunking "bounce back" culture

10:20 | The impact of the invisible load of motherhood

12:08 | The role of your nervous system in nutrition choices

15:31 | Why macro tracking may not be the best solution for health or fat loss goals

25:07 | How to move through perfectionism and all or nothing thinking

47:22 | How to balance fitness and nutrition goals with being a parent

Are you worried that your diet is harming your mental health or have you been told that cutting out gluten will cure your depression or ADHD?

In this episode, Nikki welcomes Nicole Lippman-Barile, Ph.D, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in OCD, anxiety, and depression to talk about what the current research suggests about the role of nutrition in mental health.

They discuss:

• How unscientific nutrition claims are spread and monetized on social media.

• What the current literature can tell us about the impact of dietary interventions on depression and anxiety.

• Myths surrounding sugar, gluten, gut health, and ADHD.

• Why elimination diets may be harmful to mental health if not approached thoughtfully.

Connect with Nicole Lippman-Barile, Ph.D.

• Instagram: @feedyourmental

• Website: feedyourmental.com

• Webinar: Diet and Mental Health: Evidence, Implications, and Clinical Applications

Connect with Nikki

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness

• Website: naablevy.com

• Get your FREE personalized strength plan! https://naablevy.com/free-strength-plan

Have you been told you shouldn't lift weights because of your hypermobility or EDS? Are exhausted by all the conflicting information about what's safe for your joints and what isn't?

In this episode, Nikki chats with Dr. Taylor Goldberg, a chiropractor turned virtual hypermobility coach who specializes in working with people with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD). Together they dig into how to build strength, manage flares, and move with less fear.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the advice to "avoid heavy weights" often makes hypermobility symptoms worse
• How to use flare tracking to identify triggers and warning signs
• When manual therapy helps vs. when it may create more instability
• Why hEDS is not a progressive disorder and why that's important to know.
• How to start strength training if you have symptomatic hypermobility and are concerned about pain and injury.
• Pilates vs strength training and why understanding the differences matters.
• How to find a tolerable entry point for exercise.

Episode timestamps:

00:00: Intro to Dr. Taylor Goldberg and episode overview

05:13: Considerations for hypermobility, manual therapy, and neck adjustments

10:53: Best practices for navigating tightness and flare-ups

26:16: Hypermobility fitness myths & Pilates vs strength training

34:12: How to start strength training safely when you're concerned about pain and injury

48:21: Resources, building a care team, how to connect with Taylor

Connect with Dr. Taylor Goldberg:

• Instagram: @thehypermobilechiro
• Website: https://thehypermobilechiro.com
• Hypermobility Clinician Course: https://thehypermobilechiro.com/clinicians/

Connect with Nikki:

• Instagram: @naablevyfitness
• Website: naablevy.com
• Take this quick quiz to get your FREE personalized strength plan: https://naablevy.com/find-your-perfect-strength-plan-quiz/
• Get your free macros and calories calculator + guide: https://naablevy.com/macro-guide/