Check my fitness designs on Amazon, eBay (search "fitgirl podcast"), Etsy, Teepublic and of course, the best prices and selections at the Motivation Store! Visit fitnessmakeover.com or fitgirlpodcast.com to get to the store.  You'll also find links and updates on the fitgirlusa facebook page (Facebook.com/fitgirlusa) Take the Covid survey! Click Here QuickFitClub Update: A new 4-week jump start series to begin soon! Be sure to get on our email list for first notice!  TRAININGShould you always train to failure? Yes, no, maybe!What is training to failure? It's when you hit total muscular fatigue. That point during exercise when your "neuromuscular system can no longer produce adequate force to overcome workload."  Why do we focus on training to failure? Because it activates the greatest number of motor units! Of course, there is mixed and inconclusive research on this topic and a few precautions to think about!  Always training to failure can lead to over training and overuse injuries. My opinion is that you don't have to go to failure all the time. Use it as a parameter like any other training protocol. How would you use it? You can alternate going to failure in exercises, sets, workouts or cycles. End an exercise regardless of the failure point if technique is about to be. compromised.   MOTIVATIONDo you know here to find the help and support you need to make your goals a reality? Make a list of the people, groups, websites, forums, apps or organizations whose help could be imperative to achieving your goals. Sometimes, a single person can give you an idea or inspiration to take the next step. Share in the comments or on the Facebook Page, what groups, forums, apps have helped you in your fitness goals.  NUTRITIONThere's plenty of reasons why low carb diets don't work for long term weight loss. Sure, in the beginning they work, just like most diets [aka- regimented eating plans].  There are a few little known or often overlooked reasons why low carb diets fail.  First of all you need carbs! Maybe not as many as you think, but you still need them. The amount of carbs you intake, the timing of carbs and the combining of carbs with other foods are three major things you must consider before severely restricting carbs.  Mistake #1: Not knowing your starting point of carbs and therefore going too low!  Simply cutting the average person's carb intake in half could be considered low-carb, but if you are overweight and your goal is fat loss, you most likely need to go a lot lower than 150 grams. BUT: This is where facts get twisted! A review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests the 50 to 150 g/day range is too high for losing body fat in overweight, sedentary populations. When The AJCN defines a low-carb diet as less than 50 grams a day that was for sedentary, overweight folks—a population that is likely to have a degree of insulin resistance, inflammation, and a poor metabolism. They are NOT referring to active people who are lifting weights and working out regularly. Being this active, you would benefit from a higher carb intake (compared to the 50 grams), or from toggling/cycling carbs. If you are lean (or looking to lose 5-20 pounds) and active and drop carbs too low, you risk two major affects to your metabolism. 1. Reduced thyroid hormone which reduces the amount of calories burned at rest 2. Higher cortisol levels-When carb intake is very low, cortisol is released and Having elevated cortisol all the time causes inflammation, adrenal fatigue, and eventually metabolic problems.  Mistake #2 Eating too much protein and too little fat. A lower carbohydrate diet is going to need to be higher in protein as well as fat. How much protein do you really need? Is it dangerous to eat as much protein as you want? The answer is yes! Why it could be dangerous to overeat protein1. If you are restricting carbs but eat more protein than the body needs, some of the amino acids in the protein will be turned into glucose.