Light Dumbbells, Slow Tempo and Fasted Cardio: A Q&A

Nikkiey: What's up, WarriorBabes? Hey, everybody. Nikkiey here. Welcome to our WarriorBabe Wednesday live Q&A time together. I'm stoked to be here with you guys right now and spend the next hour or so hanging out, answering some questions.

So as you guys are joining in, comment, say hey, what's up, let me know who's here. Plus, the more that you guys comment, the more that it pushes this live to the top of our Facebook community, and all the other babes can join in to this live Q&A. If you guys are tuning in after this is live, then do the hashtag replay and just keep all of your questions and comments that pertain to this Q&A in the comment thread beneath this video.

What's up, Cheryl? What's up, Christy? Hey, babes. How many of you guys joined in on that shoulder workout today? I died. I died. If you guys didn't catch the live shoulder workout that Madeline and I did, it is on my Instagram story and on my IGTV. So you guys can do the replay tomorrow or the day after, whenever you want to.

Tanya. Hey, girl. What's up, you guys? Hey, Laura. What's up, babe? So we'll get started in just a few seconds. If you guys have a question, you can start commenting your questions below in the chat box here, and we can dive into our live Q&A in just a few seconds.

What's up, Cheryl? Hey, babes. Before we dive in, I want to give a huge welcome to all of our new WarriorBabes who have joined us this past week. You guys are literally a part of a community of amazing women, of thousands of women, who are getting toned and becoming a stronger, more confident version of themselves. And we're all collectively doing it together, which is so freaking amazing. The group is so supportive. The group is so inspiring. And we want to welcome you new babes here to the community. So if anybody is new and this is your first live, do the wave emoji so I can see who's new and we can give you a warm welcome.

What's up, Stephanie? What's up, Valerie? Laura: "My body has been so sore with the new workouts." Yes. I know that, Kate and I love to hear that. We love hearing the new soreness that gets brought on with the workouts of the month.

Anyway, all of our new WarriorBabes, if you're new, give the hands up emoji. I want to see who's new in this community. You guys, WarriorBabe is where strong is the new sexy. That is the message that we are trying to relay. We want you to know that building this muscle and having a toned, strong body is something that is sexy.

So before we dive into our Q&A, I do also want to let the new WarriorBabes know how important it is to go through the WarriorBabe Blast Off emails, the emails that are coming to your inbox for the first 14 days here inside of WarriorBabe. They're going to help you transition into this lifestyle: hearing the language that I talk about, hearing my verbiage, being able to understand what your goals are when you're first starting out, being able to understand macros and being able to understand workouts. So don't ignore those Blast Off emails, because you're going to have a lot of questions that get answered through those Blast Off sequences. One video per day, coming to the email that you used to sign up with.

If you have any questions, you can start leaving them in the comment section. But before we dive in, guys, pertaining to questions: don't be that person who asks questions that can be answered inside the training application. Take the time to really go through that application. Go through all the golden nuggets that I'm providing you, and search there, and learn. Just watch the five-minute videos in the WarriorBabe Basics section. Take that time on day two of your Blast Off videos; it takes you through an entire navigation of the application. When you click Start Here in the application, it takes you through an entire navigation as well. So really watch that. That's probably a five to seven minute video, and you can understand exactly where, what and how to operate the WarriorBabe app, the WarriorBabe pocket trainer. So take the time to search there. Listen to everything that I'm sharing with you.

If the question you're seeking isn't found inside the app, then on your home screen, click Need Help. That'll take you to our frequently asked questions resource page, which is an entire platform that we are constantly updating with common questions that we get on a regular basis, with articles answering the questions you have.

Then lastly, if you can't find the answers to your questions inside the app or inside the FAQs, come to the Facebook group and tag Kate. If you're new and you don't know who Kate is and you're seeing Kate Holly's name pop up in our community, she is our community manager. She is inside our Facebook group answering and supporting you on a daily basis, answering the questions you have pertaining to this new lifestyle, pertaining to the application, pertaining to anything. Really, she's there to help you and provide you support, and she's in there every single day. So don't hesitate to tag Kate, or have somebody tag Kate. That is so commonly unheard of inside Facebook communities, inside of fitness. You don't really have that person you can rely on, and Kate is our babe to rely on here in our community, which is so great.

But the last place you should be going with fitness and nutrition questions is support. Support is there to help you with membership and technical issues.

One more thing, guys, but keep asking questions so we can just go in a flow with the questions I see coming through already. One more thing is the interview. We did a new thing where I interviewed one of the veteran WarriorBabes who's been super successful, but most importantly, knows your struggles when you're just starting out. She has been through it. And she channeled into that period of her journey where she was struggling, where she was really having a hard time trying to figure all of this out. And the more she consistently applied the things she was being taught here in WarriorBabe, the more it just started to click. She consistently applied them and kept showing up for herself, and eventually it clicked, and eventually more results started showing. She's two years into her journey and has had an amazing transformation.

So that's Didi. We shared that interview here inside the community, so you can not only hear it from my words and hear my tough love, but you can also hear it from Didi, take the tips and strategies she's employed on her journey and put them into your journey as well. If you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend that you go and listen. It's just a 30-minute interview, and I guarantee you it's going to inspire all of you, because you're going to hear your own story in Didi's story, and you're going to know that you are fully capable of accomplishing the kinds of goals you want to accomplish. You just have to put in the work, consistently.

All right, babes, let's dive into our Q&A here. Cheryl: "Because I'm in menopause, I'm hearing that with estrogen and progesterone low, heavy-duty workouts may create more stress and will cause me to gain more fat. What the fuck? Is that true?"

So it's commonly understood that for anybody who is 55, 60 years old, it depends on your hormone levels. And I'm about to get really deep here, you guys, and it may be a little bit of technobabble, but I'll try to keep it very broad. There are women who go through menopause and they're super fucking healthy. Their hormones are completely normal and function very well. Then there are other women who have high estrogen, low progesterone, vice versa, all that kind of stuff.

That's where it's out of my scope to be able to prescribe, to tell you that you need to be doing this because of your hormones. It's something where you want to make sure your hormones are in check with your doctor. But if you are somebody who naturally has high cortisol levels after you go through menopause, then yes. Cortisol is a hormone that will naturally store body fat. That is why I don't recommend lifting fasted, because it naturally raises cortisol. That is why I recommend fueling your body before a workout, because if you don't, that naturally raises cortisol. That's why I recommend eating enough food throughout the day, because if you don't, you are putting more stress on your body, and that naturally raises cortisol. And if you already have naturally high cortisol, you are just working against yourself.

So to answer that question, you would want to figure out where you lie with your hormones. Because it's not true for somebody who has normal hormone levels, but it is true for somebody who has a fluctuation of different hormones, whose hormones are kind of out of whack. Now, can that be fixed? Yes, it can be fixed. But you need to understand exactly where you stand in terms of your hormones.

Everybody's body is different. That is what I preach. You guys know I preach that. Somebody who is 50-plus years old cannot be following a plan or macronutrients that somebody 30-plus years old is following. It's just physically fucking impossible. You may get results to start, but those results are going to stop two, three weeks in. And it's not your fault. It's because the program is not made specifically for you, like WarriorBabe is: your unique body type, your stats, your age, your height, your weight, what your macronutrients need to be. That is exactly what I do here in WarriorBabe. That is what's happening behind the scenes. It's being uniquely designed for you.

Lori: "Hi, new to the group. First Q&A." Welcome, babe. Welcome, welcome. Excited for you to be a part of this amazing freaking community.

Cindy: "I've had my BMR done twice. It's 1,100 calories. Do I need to adjust anything?" So BMR is just what you naturally burn sitting here, talking, breathing. Then you've got to add in your expenditure. How much are you walking? How much are you working out throughout the day? How much energy are you exerting? That can naturally rise above 1,600, 1,700, 1,800, 1,900, 2,000. It depends on your activity level.

That is why the quiz asks you: are you sedentary? Are you moderately active? Are you active? That attributes to your energy expenditure throughout the day and will naturally raise your caloric intake to the point that you would be maintaining at. And then the calculator, depending on your goal: if you choose tone and shape, that will naturally put you in a caloric deficit to start seeing the results you want. If you want to maintain and build, you will stay at that caloric intake, wherever that moderator puts you. So follow the calculator, is my answer. Because behind the scenes, I know these are questions you have. I have done this. I have been coaching for three years and more than that, and that is why I've created this calculator to fit you. Trust me now, believe me later.

Dawn, what's up? "Hey, Nikkiey. The IG live was fire. Shoulders already feeling it." Yes. My shoulders. The mountain climbers at the end, the one minute of mountain climbers. Oh my God. Dead. T-Rex arms. If you guys didn't get to join in on the live workout, go to my IGTV, or my stories have the workout there. Enjoy. Start the workout at your own risk. And don't give up. Keep following through to the end.

Bo, what's up, babe? "Hi, new babe here. Just finished my first week." Yes. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Cheryl: "Thank you so much. Makes perfect sense. The program is working for me, so I am going to assume I'm doing okay." Awesome, babe. "Thank God. I love this program." I love to hear that. I love reading that kind of stuff, you guys.

This program is not something that's cookie cutter. When I first started my coaching, I was talking to tons of women on the phone. And all of them would be like, "Nikkiey, I'm just so sick and tired." First of all, they were overwhelmed because they didn't know what to follow. They didn't know what to eat. They didn't know how to properly work out in order to get a toned body. And neither did I when I first started. So when I'm hearing this, I'm like, yeah, I know. I hear you loud and clear.

And then they were all like, "Somebody gave me this. It was the same thing my neighbor was following." It was just a cookie-cutter thing. Yeah, it worked for two weeks, and then their bodies just stopped getting results. That's because you're following something that everyone and their mother is following. For long, sustainable results, results that are going to keep continuing to show, you've got to follow something that is meant for you and your body. And that is why WarriorBabe is alive, and why I knew that y'all needed the truth.

Kristen, hey, what's up, babe? "Enjoying the layout of this month's workouts. Feeling sore. Yahoo." Nice. Kate's evil genius is kicking in. Hashtag evil genius. She's the master behind this month's workout program and the past month's workout program. So y'all can thank Kate. She's killing you. And I love reading those kinds of comments, because we know that it's working. It's super effective.

These kinds of workouts are meant to put your body in the right environment. Your heart rate's elevated. You're feeling the burn in your muscles. You're specifically focusing on one or two muscles at a time. You're putting your body in that perfect environment to burn off body fat and to tone and shape, to put on muscle, which is what toned is, and start changing your body composition. That is what these workouts are uniquely designed to do.

All right, babes. Where are all my babes at? Where are the questions at? It's really low-key right now.

"Decline push-ups are killer." Yeah, Laura. Anything push-up-wise is insane, because anything bodyweight can be really freaking challenging.

And this is something I can share with you guys. If you're still being quarantined at home and still having to work out from home, or even if you just work out from home, listen up. Because this is a common thing that I'm hearing from women and from my VIPs. They're wondering how to create more of that burn while being at home.

Guys, let me remind you, I am still working with 10 pound and 15 pound dumbbells. And I have a 20 pound dumbbell, and I have some loop bands, but I barely use those because I can only use them on leg days. This should pertain to any kind of workout that you're doing, whether it's in the gym or at home. But mainly because we're stuck at home, I have to really keep that focus on my muscle.

If you're constantly going like this, just going through the motions, like on a chest press: slow it down. Slow it down. What you need to do is really go one, two, up. One, two, down. One, two, up. One, two, down. One, two, up. One, two, down. If you can start doing that, you are going to put so much more focus on the actual muscle that you are working.

Here's a great example. Some of you who maybe have started doing steady-state cardio on an incline on a treadmill are wondering, how the fuck am I so sweaty after just walking on a treadmill? The reason is that you're causing your body to do a little more exertion. Even though you're just slowly walking, you're walking on a hill incline. It's a little more challenging for your body.

The same goes when you slow down and put more resistance on your muscle: more time under tension. When you can do that, you're putting more focus on the actual muscle being worked. If you're just going through the motions, you ain't going to feel it anywhere. You may feel it slightly, but you're losing out on your full potential of actually engaging the muscle. If you're just doing it like this, you're not putting your muscles to their full potential. Turn it up a notch, meaning get the percentage up to 90 to 95 percent. Slow it down. Really engage and feel that muscle. It should be like one, two.

And if you want to see more of that in action, tune in to the live workouts that Madeline and I do every single Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, or catch the replay. You can see how we count and how slow the actual movement should be. That's how you're going to really engage and put the focus on your muscles.

Bobby: "Where are the different workouts located in the app?" Come on, babe. Go inside the app. Click on Strength, and then you're going to have WB Burn. If your goal is to decrease body fat and tone and shape, you will be following WB Burn. If your goal is to maintain and build some lean muscle, being in a caloric surplus, then you're going to follow the WB Build workouts. You click on those, and there's the entire breakdown of your workout.

Cheryl: "I had a friend ask if I could teach her about macros on Monday. I'm having fun helping her." Babe, that's awesome. You're killing it. Your results are amazing. That's why people are going to see your results and want to know what you're doing. And that is so freaking cool.

Laura: "Why fasted cardio?" Any cardio that you do here in WarriorBabe, you're going to be technically in a fasted state. Whether it's when you first wake up in the morning, whether it's immediately following your workout, you're technically in a fasted state then. And whether it's right before your next meal. Those are the three optimal times I recommend doing cardio.

Here's the reason for being in a fasted state. For example, you have your pre-workout meal and you go and work out. You're utilizing that fuel for your intense workout. Your muscles need that fuel in order to have the strength, in order to build, in order to repair, and then to slowly break them down again while you're working out. Your body is using that fuel, so you will basically use it all up: your glycogen. If you ever feel like you're about to tank, or you feel like, that was a really good workout, I'm fucking exhausted, your gas tank is empty. Your glycogen stores are empty. So when you move right into cardio afterwards, you are tapping into a different energy source, which is most likely the fat stores on your body, to decrease that body fat. That is what you're tapping into to do that workout. That's why it's technically fasted.

The same thing is happening in the morning. If you're doing fasted cardio in the morning, your stores are empty because you haven't eaten since the night before. Behind all of this, you guys, you are training your body to do these specific things. That is why, five years later, I'm able to maintain the body I have. I have trained it so well. You have to think about that. This is your body, and you can train it to do things. So in the morning, your stomach is completely empty, and you're having your body tap into different energy stores to get you through that workout. It's not relying on carbs. It's relying on fat. And the same goes for the other cardio sessions throughout the day.

Cheryl: "I keep using the AFFREESHIP code at Coalition and they are still giving free shipping." Yeah, absolutely. That's the code, but it's two F's, so double check that. It's AFFREESHIP. And I think Madeline's code is MTaylor. Don't hold me to that, but you can start using her code as well.

Cheryl: "Slow and steady." Yes. Yes. Yes. "I still feel my chest from Monday's workout." Yes, babe.

Kristen: "Does it make a difference if you use a dumbbell versus a kettlebell when doing standing oblique bends? I'm wondering about the way the dumbbell or kettlebell sits." No, absolutely not. Doesn't make a difference.

Laura: "Yup, I use five to 10 pound dumbbells and I'm sore." Yeah, people. If you watch my lives, I'm using my 15 and 10 pound dumbbells and I am dying, and I am still facilitating an insane pump. You can see today I was like, oh my God, I can't move my arms. The pump was unreal. They were like pumpkins on my fucking shoulders, but I was literally using 10 pounds for some of the movements and 15 pounds for some of the movements, and I'm still going to be sore. I hope it eventually clicks: the weight doesn't matter, as long as you create the resistance, which is by slowing down your tempo and creating that mind-to-muscle connection. As long as you do that, you will be sore.

Susan: "I am new to this, struggling with the macronutrients and planning my eating. Is there an app that helps with this? Any help is greatly appreciated." Yeah, Cheryl just commented right below. First of all, Susan, it's totally normal to experience that struggle, especially when you're employing something new. Don't give up. Just keep going consistently, doing something more than you did the day before, learning more than you did the day before, applying it, still following through and taking action every day. And I guarantee you'll nail it down in one or two weeks. It's a learning curve. It's something you've probably never done before, but macronutrients are hands down the most effective way to change your body composition.

MyFitnessPal is great. I teach that inside the application. If you go to Transform and click on WB Basics, there's MyFitnessPal, or the Formulation for Success video, and I will walk you through how to use MyFitnessPal, like a whole dummy's edition of using MyFitnessPal. And inside the Basics section, there are little videos, golden nuggets, on how to employ macronutrients in your world. So I highly recommend going through the application, learning what I'm teaching you, the golden nuggets I'm giving you, and just taking it day by day. It's totally natural to feel that way at the beginning of your journey.

"Yep. Macros get easier with practice." Yes. Don't get frustrated with yourself, because that's on you. Control your emotions, because this is something new that you are learning. You've got to get uncomfortable and be comfortable with being uncomfortable in order to get to the new goals you have in mind for yourself, especially in a way that you've never done before. Yes, Cheryl.

All right, babes. More questions, please. Let's go.

Christy: "How do you know when to change your macros?" This is something I teach inside the Blueprint, you guys. There are so many different points I would say. If you are at your goal weight, it's time to shift it up, time to get more calories in there to fill out and to really show the muscles even more. If you have noticed a stall in your progress, if you're taking progress pictures, weighing yourself, getting measurements, crossing data points on all levels, and also checking in on how you're feeling, and that has come to a stall after a two to three week period, that's when you would want to play around with your macronutrients.

It's different for everybody. I dive into this deeper inside my Blueprint program. If you go to one of the rally calls, I've talked about adjustments before and how to make them, but it's completely different for everybody's body and the results you're experiencing.

Cheryl: "Have you decided where you will be living in the future?" I think I'm honestly leaning more towards Florida at the moment, but I'm probably going to Airbnb in Florida for a little bit and Airbnb in San Diego, go to both and see what I like the best.

Darla: "The Arnold press is one of my new faves." Yeah, that's a great exercise. Great exercise. It targets all heads of the shoulder. You've got the fronts coming in like this, then you're coming out and you've got the medial heads right here, and everything is being worked with that exercise.

Valerie: "So my fat count is high. Is it okay to use butter?" I would probably recommend olive oil or avocado oil over butter. Avocado and olive oils are so overlooked, but they're such an easy way to get fat sources in. One tablespoon is 14 grams of fat. I haven't done this in a while, but a couple of months ago I shared on my Instagram story that, to get my fats in, I would literally fill a teaspoon or tablespoon measure with olive oil and just take a shot.

Cheryl: "Come to Cali, baby." Oh man. Now we've got some back and forth. Sydney says Florida is the best: "I'll be living there in the next five years." Whoop, whoop.

Laura: "Love listening to old rally calls. So helpful." Yes, you guys. If you go to Transform in the application and go to the rally calls, you've got an avalanche, an abundance, of rally calls to listen to. We're going all the way back to last year, so there are probably 52-plus rally calls to listen to. That is a lot.

"I feel the sissy squats for days." Right. Those fucking things are gnarly.

Emily: "Any more hints about the WarriorBabe gear?" Yes. With COVID going on right now, and I know it's trickling down, so this will probably ease up in the next couple of weeks. When I shared with you last time, I had placed an order to test the materials we're using and test out their quality. I placed that order probably two, three weeks ago, whenever I shared it with you on this live, and I still haven't gotten the clothing, because the fulfillment people we use are being affected by COVID. So unfortunately it's been stalled for a long period of time, and it's being stalled a little more because of COVID. But as soon as I get the gear I ordered, you guys will know. I'll probably show up on Instagram or on a live here with you wearing my WarriorBabe swag. When you see me with the WarriorBabe tank on in one of our lives, you'll know I've gotten the order and that we'll probably be rolling things out shortly after that. So I will keep you in the loop.

"I do shots of coconut oil on occasion." Yes, babe. That's awesome.

Valerie: "You ride to work with me every day with the rally calls." Yes, that's awesome, babe. I love to hear that.

Oh, Cheryl, hey babe. Good question. Yes, swag. That's the loop. That is actively what's going on right now.

Pam: "Still going through all the modules in the Blueprint, and so far it's hands down an encyclopedia of information." Yes. Can I screenshot that? Yes, guys, it really is. My goal is legitimately for you to never need a nutritionist or a personal trainer ever again. You just come into the Blueprint and you have that encyclopedia of macronutrient information, which a nutritionist may not be geared towards: transformation of your body and understanding muscle and what it needs. You've got that shit in the Blueprint, my friends. You've got every ounce of material. We're going through macros. We're going through workouts. We're going through macro adjustments depending on the progress you're seeing or not seeing. We're diving into hormones. You're going to have a clear understanding, like, oh shit, I may be experiencing adrenal fatigue, I know how to pull it back for a week, and I'm not going to lose the results I've worked to get thus far. Then we dive into more mindset, and we're about to make that product even better.

Once you're inside, you get all of the updates free. Anything I'm adding to it, you get free. It's a beast now, and it's about to be a beast even more. So if you aren't inside the Blueprint yet, my friends, check out this video. I just put the link in. It says macro, but it's not the Macro Accelerator, it's the Blueprint. Check out the video, and then you can schedule a time to talk with my team to help you formulate a game plan for your journey.

Bobby: "I'm aware there are workouts posted in the app under Strength. I thought you were saying there are different workouts posted each week." Oh, I got you, babe. On my Instagram, myself and Madeline come live every single Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and we're doing a workout of the week. We choose a muscle group we want to hit and we hit it at 1 p.m. every Wednesday, Eastern Standard Time, if you follow me on Instagram. I've had babes make Instagram accounts just to follow me, so if you don't have an IG, I highly recommend making one so you can follow me. We always have a two or three day window where we announce what we're going to work, so you can adjust your workouts for the week and tune in with us on Wednesday.

We want to make that group super big. It's so much fun. It's so raw and real. Our group is so awesome, to the point that women are talking about how they're not going to be able to wipe their butt after the workout. It's just a great space for us women to hang out and have a really freaking good workout.

Shannon: "So I follow the meal plans and my macros, I'm skinny, and now I'm feeling hungry all the time." Wow, babe, that's freaking awesome. "Should I be eating more calories? I just don't want to lose any weight. I want to gain."

So my question is, are you following the maintain and build macros? Because if you are, that's fucking exciting, because as a skinny babe, you can eat a lot. Your metabolism is very fast. If you're following those specific macros, then my second question would be, are you employing the cheat meals on a weekly basis? Because you want to make sure you're hitting those cheat meals. That's even more food to feed yourself.

"Thoughts on MCT?" Yeah, that's a great way to get some fat macros in as well. One tablespoon is 14 grams. Plus it helps with brain function and helps with focus. So absolutely.

The link is posted in the comments; hopefully you can see it. Let me know if you can. It may pop up a little later somewhere inside this thread.

Shannon, are you following the cheat meals too? Make sure you're employing the cheat meal side of things. There you go, babe. Go to Transform, then WarriorBabe Basics, and click on the reward system. That's where all the cheat meals and the information on cheat meals are.

All right, babes. I'm not getting any more questions coming through, so I hate to, because I love hanging out with you guys, but I'm going to call it with this Q&A. Keep up the good work. Keep showing up in the community.

Okay, Valerie: VIP versus Blueprint. VIP is where you're working hands-on with a coach. Blueprint is where, if you feel like you want to do it yourself, you do it yourself. But if you feel like you need more accountability, you're going to want to bump up to VIP, because there are a lot of eyes on you and it's hard to get past any bullshit excuses, especially dealing with me. You have more access to me inside VIP.

All right, babes. I'm going to tune out from our Q&A. It was hella fun hanging out with you guys. Keep up the great work. Keep showing up for yourselves. Keep working on becoming a stronger, more confident version of yourself. That's what matters the most. You're taking action on a daily basis, which is building your confidence. And once you start seeing the results, that makes you more confident in yourself that you can achieve these results. Consistency is key.

All right, you guys, I will catch you on our rally call on Sunday. Make sure you tune in Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. These rally calls have been lit lately, so you definitely don't want to miss out, because they're going to help you with some motivation starting your new week. All right, babes. Have a good rest of your evening. See ya.