Barbells, dumbbells, bands, machines: how do you know which to use? In this episode, I discuss what equipment to use and when. If you’ve not been getting the results you want in your strength training, this episode is for you. You’ll learn about why one tool might be better for your goals than the other, what each one actually does to your muscles and your bones, and how to safely progress from dumbbells to barbells.

I see too many women avoid the barbell because they are intimidated, scared, or uncertain, think it's only for gym bros, or that they will get bulky. It's just not true! I share the story of my friend Jane, who very slowly journeyed from using limited weights in her living room to the dumbbell section at her gym to using all of the equipment on the main gym floor. The barbell back squat completely transformed her routine! If you are a true student of technique, there comes a point where transitioning to the barbell rack will transform your training unlike dumbbells ever could. Remember, you define what progress means. Barbells are a great option if that is what you want!

The next thing to understand when building muscle is that, regardless of the equipment you're using, improvements in muscular strength and size are the result of mechanical tension and/or metabolic stress when there is sufficient volume. What that means is, the only way a muscle can grow, change, and improve is through tension, stress, and a minimum effective dose each week. You will not build muscle if you're not getting enough stimulus according to these parameters: weight load, intensity, and enough repetitions each week.

It is possible to change your body with just dumbbells and bands, but you have to be a lot more passionate about your programming, your technique, your methodologies, and the complexity of your movements. I believe, however, that it's easier to use a barbell. I share the specific benefits of each type of exercise equipment. Barbells, for instance, are great for reducing the need for stability and provide a greater challenge in general. Again, at some point, if you want to continue to train with greater weight loads and good technique, you will have to transition to barbells.

To improve any muscle, it must be exposed to a force that's intense enough to cause some degree of muscle stress and damage. Because the best results come when there is both mechanical tension, which means a heavy weight load, and metabolic stress, it underscores the value of bigger movements that involve multiple muscles and your entire body as a whole. I think the concept of weight-bearing exercise for good bones is really BS because the truth is, your muscles and your bones are already used to your current body weight. Impact exercises are a great way to improve bones.

Ultimately, anything is better than nothing. If you're strength training, first make sure that you are challenging your muscles beyond their current ability, and if that's with dumbbells and bands, I’m sending you a high five!

I hope you enjoyed this episode!

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs.

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Topics covered

• (05:10) Don’t avoid the barbell!
• (10:00) Technique trumps everything!
• (17:15) Benefits

What if everything you've believed about soreness is wrong? How surprised would you be if the best strength training left you feeling energized, not exhausted? In this episode, I shed light on muscle soreness. Most people think a workout is only good if you’re sore afterwards. Not true! You’ll learn why soreness isn't a sign of success but actually a big problem, especially if you have an autoimmune condition, and which exercises contribute more to soreness.

Muscle soreness is one of three things. First, soreness could be from doing a new exercise, not being used to specific movements, or doing too much. Two, too much time under tension in the eccentric loading phase of exercises. You’re either doing too many reps or too many eccentric dominant moves in general. Or third, improper nutrition around workouts.

When looking at impressive workouts on social media, for example, it's important to remember that the impressive workouts aren’t what those people did to get there. They worked toward that goal. Some workouts make you more sore than others. There is a significant link between muscle soreness, systemic inflammation, and the power of exercise selection. Less is more! Your workout doesn’t need to make you incredibly sore to have been a great one.

DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, is actually related to inflammation. Muscle soreness is “damage,” but remember, not all inflammation and damage is bad. It's when there is too much inflammation that it becomes a problem. Women who struggle with autoimmune issues want to avoid workouts that cause excessive soreness, because they're already susceptible to being sore, and they're already managing the inflammation related to their condition.

Taking all of this into consideration, wanting a program for myself not to over-fatigue my body, I created Strength Without Stress. It's a collection of exercises that are concentric-based, where maximal load is when the muscle is in a shortened position, allowing you to lift more without soreness. Working smarter, and not harder, is the key to striking the right balance in your workouts.

Emphasis is determined by the time spent under tension, and if the targeted muscle is in a lengthened, stretched, or shortened position. Once I started masterminding my workouts so that I didn't do too many eccentric exercises, where the muscle is in a lengthened position at maximal load and force, everything changed.

A concentric contraction is when a muscle shortens as it produces force. It shortens to overcome the weight load to cause movement. A great example of this is a bicep curl. In general, concentric contractions don't cause soreness. An eccentric contraction is the opposite. It's when the muscle is lengthening as it produces force, and these are the special exercises that cause soreness. A great example here is a squat where you're lowering down to the ground and you're resisting the load that you're holding, and then you're returning to a standing position.

So the exercises that are eccentric, dominant, and therefore more taxing to the muscle, and therefore tend to cause soreness, are barbell back squats, lunges of any kind, Bulgarian split squats, Romanian deadlift, good mornings, bench press or a bicep chest press, chest fly, overhead tricep extension, supine hamstring curl, and push ups. My Strength Without Stress program combines all of my favorite concentric exercises with just the bare minimum eccentric exercises.

Remember, soreness isn’t the goal. Finding the perfect collection of exercises where you can actually increase your weight loads consistently over time, so that you experience intense moments during a set is. Strength training should make you feel great the next day, not knock you down!

If you want access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program for...

Curious about where you are on your journey to becoming more muscle and less fat? Wondering about your bone health? In this episode of Ask Holly, I answer three of your questions that could really unlock the next level of strength and wellness for you. If changing your body composition was easy, then we would all have no problems doing it! That’s why I love hearing your biggest struggles so we can get the variables that really matter into alignment and get you the body, vitality, and health that you crave.

The first question is about how to calculate your body composition. The first thing to understand is that body composition is the totality of your current body weight according to gravity on Mother Earth. Your body composition is the total body weight of your body fat, lean muscle mass, and bone mass.

It's so important to get a professional assessment over an online calculator because they have the highest percentage of error. I focus on muscle mass over body fat percentage for a more accurate picture of health. To calculate it, I take the body fat percentage that's given to you from your DEXA assessment. I take that number and subtract it from 100%. So if your body fat percentage is 30%, then your adjusted lean muscle mass would be 70%.

This however, does not take into account bone mass. These scans are so important for getting the clearest picture. Body composition assessments divide an individual's total body mass, that's your body weight according to a scale, into the relative proportions of fat mass and fat free mass.

The next question is about the best ways to strength train after receiving an osteoporosis diagnosis. Unfortunately, the advice for how to handle this diagnosis is often not handled well. If you search “bone,” I have a lot of very specific episodes on this topic but for now, let me say that walking is a great place to start if you’re out of the exercise habit. From there, you can begin strength training. Start slow, twice a week with moderate weight,s and increase the volume over time.

The last question is about how to strength train if you have an injury. Let me first say that your next workout is only as good as your recovery from your last workout. Assess how well you recover. I’d also recommend concentrating on very gradual progression in your workouts. Each week should really only be a tiny bit more than the previous week. If this all feels a little too calculated, another thing I often tell my clients is to leave every workout wanting more and let the goal be to leave your workout feeling great. Don't push. Don't overdo it.

You may be tempted to think that improving your body composition is an impossible task, but the truth is, it's pretty formulaic and all about finding the right programming that works for your body!

I hope you enjoyed this episode!

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Topics covered:

• (05:09) Q: What is the best body composition calculation method?
• (11:50) You control your body composition!
• (15:50) Q: What’s the best way to strength train after an osteoporosis diagnosis?
• (24:21) Impact exercises aren’t the best place to begin if you have osteoporosis
• (26:11)...

Did you know that the timing of your cardio workouts largely determines your results? Cardio is an essential part of being healthy. In this episode, I explain exactly how to tell if your cardio is working for or against you, how to calculate your heart rate zones, why cardio is important (and when it’s not), and the three most common mistakes women over 40 make in their cardio.

When you get your cardio right, everything changes! While it is true that any exercise is better than no exercise, and that’s a great way to get back into exercise, once more movement becomes a habit, you will be ready to uplevel your programming so that you feel better, have more energy, and can really see the payoff from your efforts.

Looking fit doesn’t always mean being fit. The three main variables of programming are strength training, cardio, and nutrition. Depending on the variables, all effort is not the same! When it comes to cardio, it can truly make or break your results. Cardio improves your cardiovascular fitness. It's like a leg press for your heart! Cardio isn’t valuable, however, when your heart rate is too high, your workouts are too long, or when you haven’t eaten.

To make sure that you’re doing the best cardio for your body, you need to calculate your heart rate zone. It is commonly thought that your age determines how fast your heart can beat at its maximum, however, my work has shown this is not always the case. A significant study shows that women should use a different formula than men to calculate their heart rate zone: 206 minus 88% of their age. This will give you the low end of your maximal heart rate range. For the high end, calculate 220 minus your age.

Too much cardio or the wrong kind can slow your progress. Instead, you'll want some workouts where your heart rate is around 60 to 70% of the age-predicted maximal heart rate. And then you'll want some workouts each week where your heart rate is between 80 and 85%, maybe 90% of your maximal heart rate. There are benefits that come from steady-state cardio workouts where your heart rate is in the moderate range and you keep it constant for 20, 30, or even 40 or more minutes. Then there are different benefits that come from workouts where your heart rate goes up and down at timed intervals. These types of cardio sessions improve your cardiovascular fitness and capacity as well as VO2 max.

I guarantee that if you apply the information from my podcast to your workouts, you will get results. And if you want even better results, more tailored to your body, please join one of my coaching programs! Remember, your age is NOT keeping you from the body you want!

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs.

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Topics covered:

● (03:34) Getting cardio right completely transformed my client’s body composition

● (06:45) Meeting falsely-fit people in my exercise video days!

● (09:30) The variables in your programming each have a result

● (11:02) Cardio will make or break your results

● (14:58) Here’s the best way to calculate your heart rate zone

● (21:26) Biggest cardio mistakes women make and how to rectify them

● (27:44) Exactly how much cardio to aim for each week

Resources Mentioned

●

Craving the peace of mind that your diet is actually supporting your muscles and your workouts are actually improving your bone health? In today’s episode, I’m giving you just that with my FREE strong muscle and bone assessment! This science-backed tool will group you into one of five strength identities, and today I’m offering a sneak peek into each of them!

The assessment takes just 60 seconds to get your strength score. Your strength identity will provide actionable tips to become stronger, leaner, and more energized. This quiz will help you figure out where you are and what to do next. Take the quiz to find out which strength type you are:

The Powerhouse

The pinnacle of fitness. With 80% lean muscle mass, optimal body composition, and high energy, these individuals are strong, athletic, and performing at their peak. Strength training is a top priority, recovery is intentional, and fitness ranks among their top three daily commitments.

The Fit but Brittle

Strong on the outside but lacking inner support. These individuals lift weights and follow nutrition plans, yet their bones aren’t getting the stimulus they need. Strategic impact exercises and heavier strength training are essential to build bone density and protect against future injuries.

The Muscle Seeking Maven

Dedicated but not quite there. They're showing up for workouts, like classes and Pilates, but missing the strategic progression needed for visible muscle tone. With the right approach to increasing weight loads and dialing in nutrition, especially protein, they’re on the brink of a breakthrough.

The Soft and Struggling

Trying, but feeling stuck. Life is demanding, and their body doesn’t respond like it used to. Despite the desire to get back on track, consistency is hard to find. Often dealing with higher body fat and lower energy, they feel far from their former fitness self.

The Rocking Chair

At the starting line. They feel tired, overwhelmed, and disconnected from physical health. Exercise has been absent for years, and comfort often comes from food. These individuals don’t need a boot camp—they need gentle beginnings, simple nutrition shifts, and encouragement to take that first small step toward feeling better.

Take the quiz now if you’re ready for the tips and resources you need to get moving and take your fitness to new levels! Anyone and everyone can become stronger and healthier.

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs.

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Be sure to Follow and Subscribe so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.

Topics covered:

● (01:35) Introducing the Strong Muscle and Bone Assessment

● (08:34) The Powerhouse

● (12:32) The Fit, But Brittle

● (20:49) The Muscle Seeking Maven bridges being active and truly fit

● (25:50) The Soft and Struggling is a wake-up call to feeling better

● (30:02) The Rocking Chair Ready is ready for smart strength building

Resources Mentioned:

● Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode at hollyperkins.com/blog

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Did you know that meal planning and better health are closely linked? In this special episode, I’m joined by Melissa Jaeger, Head of Nutrition at my favorite food and nutrition tracking app, MyFitnessPal.

A 2017 study found that people who plan meals tend to have better diet quality and lower rates of obesity, especially women. I also share my personal journey using food tracking to transform my body composition by managing macronutrients. For me, using a diet tracking app was a game-changer. Getting real data on what you’re eating can truly shift your relationship with nutrition for the long haul.

Melissa walks us through the new Meal Planner feature in MyFitnessPal, which lets users build personalized weekly meal plans based on their dietary needs, budget, and household size. It generates recipes, creates grocery lists, and even integrates with e-retailers like Instacart for easy shopping.

Meal planning is like setting your GPS. It helps you stay on track with your nutrition and fitness goals. Making smart food choices is a lot easier when you’re not starving and scrambling. Planning ahead isn’t just helpful, it’s the ultimate time-saver. We often feel like we don’t have time to eat right, but it’s planning that actually gives us that time back.

Melissa also shares her formula for a balanced, nutrient-dense plate: half fiber-rich veggies and fruits, a quarter lean protein, and a quarter carbohydrates. We dig into the myth that all carbs are bad, and highlight their essential role in providing fiber and fuel. She wraps up with her top three tips to start meal planning, including how to use the app’s new feature.

If you’re not tracking yet, I highly recommend downloading the app and giving it a try. A little effort goes a long way!

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Be sure to Follow and Subscribe so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.

Topics covered:

● (01:32) Tracking what I eat with MyFitnessPal changed my nutrition forever

● (08:59) Top veggies and herbs to grow in the garden with summer almost here

● (13:41) Eating a balanced, full breakfast truly helps energize you for the day

● (15:58) Planning meals ahead saves you money and keeps you healthy

● (25:57) A balanced plate is half produce, a quarter lean protein, and a quarter carbs

● (35:58) The MyFitnessPal meal planner is a great first step in meal planning

● (44:28) Creating shopping lists and ordering groceries online

Resources Mentioned

● Research about how meal planning is linked to food variety, diet quality, and body weight

● Research about how frequent meal planning predicts greater weight loss

● Research on predicting and modifying the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors

● Research about how dietary planning mediates the intention–behavior relationship

● Learn more about Meal Planning and MyFitness Pal here

● Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode at hollyperkins.com/blog

Follow Me:

Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins

Learn more on my website: hollyperkins.com

Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/HollyPerkinsFitness

Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins...

Feeling extra tired lately? Waking up and… feeling old?? In today’s episode, I’m breaking down the biggest drivers behind your energy, vitality, stamina, and resilience. You’ll learn the five key areas that shape how young or old you feel, how to tell the difference between true aging and reversible symptoms, simple shifts to restore your energy, and where to start if you’re feeling completely wiped out.

First things first—if you’ve been saying “I feel old” or “aging is the worst,” stop! Instead, get curious: What exactly makes you feel that way? Better yet, ask yourself what habits might be making you feel that way. Blaming age lets us off the hook—and keeps us stuck.

Here are five truths about feeling old and ways to combat those feelings:

1. Symptoms vs. Signs of Aging

Many so-called “aging” symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, low energy) are actually reversible. Mitochondrial function plays a big role here.

2. Exercise & Circulation

Not all movement is equal. Real exercise, like steady cardio, intervals, and strength training, boosts circulation and energy. Use heart rate tracking to make sure your workouts count.

3. Sleep Quality > Quantity

Sleep is a skill. Things like caffeine, alcohol, and lack of strength training can wreck your sleep. Focus on improving quality, not just getting more hours.

4. Balanced Nutrition

If you’re dragging, start with food. Stabilizing blood sugar with balanced meals (protein, veggies, high-fiber carbs) can quickly boost energy and fat metabolism.

5. Strength Training

Feeling stiff, achy, or “old”? You likely need more muscle, not less movement. Strong muscles protect joints, reduce fatigue, and carry you through your day. Build strength progressively, and aim to leave workouts feeling better, not more drained.

There’s no one-size-fits-all exercise plan. What matters is recognizing the season you’re in and choosing to work with your body, not against it. Let's redefine what getting older really feels like!

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening. Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Be sure to Follow and Subscribe so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.

Topics covered

● [01:35] Age is a mindset, not a number

● [07:49] Blaming your age for your struggles is disempowering you

● [09:25] Fatigue is a reversible symptom related to mitochondrial function

● [12:53] Exercise stimulates circulation, which gives you more energy

● [16:12] Not all cardio is the same! Walking usually isn’t a workout

● [19:11] Great quality sleep comes from smart exercise

● [26:43] Changing your nutrition can give you more energy today

● [34:15] Strength training is the best way to reduce aches and pains

● [39:49] The exact steps for lifting heavier weight loads

Resources Mentioned

● Research about the effect of chronic exercise on energy and fatigue states

● Research about how resistance exercise training alters mitochondrial function

● Research about how resistance training improves sleep quality

● Research on metabolic dysfunction in ageing and age-related diseases

● Research on the mitochondrial basis of aging

● Transcripts can be found on the official...

Want to burn more fat, feel more energized, and stop pesky cravings? But here’s the twist: not by changing what you eat but by when you eat it!! In this episode, you will learn how what you eat impacts your blood sugar, cravings, and metabolism, why skipping meals often backfires, the three daily eating windows to reset your metabolism, and how to time your meals to boost fat burning.

So many women obsess over what foods to eat for burning fat, completely overlooking food pairing and meal timing. I debunk the myth that some foods are better than others for losing weight and explain why calories are what matter. But remember, food quality and your hormonal response to it also matter!

How you fuel your body in the morning truly impacts how it performs the rest of the day. I share heaps of research to back this up. I explain how by providing your brain, muscles, and body with their desired fuel, they burn fat throughout the day, eliminating cravings and excess fat. There’s a time and place for intermittent fasting, but it's not every day nor for everyone. Instead, I provide an alternative.

I then share my top three strategies for eating within an hour of waking. Not to be missed! Lastly, I recommend the optimal time to leave between meals, depending on how active you are. These are all subtle shifts that may mean you need to wake up earlier or meal prep the day before, with a healthy dose of experimenting too, but try it for 10-15 days, and I promise you will feel the shift!

Ready for a great night’s sleep? Try Beam’s best-selling Dream Powder and get up to 40% off for a limited time. Visit shopbeam.com/HOLLYP and use code HOLLYP at checkout.

You can get FREE access to my 4-week Strength Without Stress program right now! This program will help you reduce the systemic inflammation that’s caused by overly intense or lengthy workouts. It’ll help you build and maintain valuable lean muscle without the fatigue from other programs.

To get free access to Strength Without Stress, post a Review wherever you’re listening.

Grab a screenshot of your review before you post it and upload at: https://www.hollyperkins.com/review

This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197–grab it while you can for lifetime access.

Be sure to Follow and Subscribe so you'll know exactly when new episodes are available on Tuesdays.

Topics covered

• Stop overlooking the impact of food pairing and meal timing
• Why what you eat in the morning is so important
• My history of extreme cravings and how I overcame them
• The importance of three anchor meals a day
• How fasting in the morning forces your body to catch up all day
• Avoid exercising at all costs in the morning!

Resources Mentioned

• Research on how the timing of food intake impacts weight loss
• Research on how the timing of daily calorie intake affects appetite
• Research on early time-restricted feeding and glycemic control
• Research on social prescribing to support people living with and beyond cancer