Mini Pause #124 | Muscle grows in response to one thing.
Picture this. You’re scrolling and you stop on a reel. The woman is beautiful. Her studio is white and airy. She’s holding weights that are, generously, the size of a large avocado. She’s doing tiny, controlled pulses for her biceps and shoulders. The caption says something about “sculpting long, lean muscle” and “toning without bulking.” […]
Mini Pause #123 | The 🔑 to shorter training sessions + more strength
If I asked you to choose one movement in the gym for the rest of your life… what would you choose? Personally, I’m going with the deadlift because this puppy is the GOAT of compound movements. Literally every joint, and the muscles that cross them, in the lower body are working, and you get a […]
Mini Pause #122 | Weight Loss vs Fat Loss: What It Costs to Lose
If you’re still letting a $25 bathroom appliance measure your health, pull up a chair, Betty. We need to talk. I’m taking it upon myself to make sure you never get tricked into another 6-week shred/72-hour fast/predatory herbal cleanse ever again. The bullshit stops here. Body composition is the goal. The ratio of muscle to […]
Mini Pause #121 | I am the mother I needed
I was eight years old. I had just walked home from school – the kind of walk where you’re staring at the ground because your eyes are doing that thing where they keep filling up, and you keep blinking them dry. I’d been bullied. The kind that gets under your skin and stays there. I […]
Mini Pause #120 | The Central Anchor for the Body You Want
Last week, I got a reply from a Betty in Melbourne about last week’s Mini Pause, which stopped me mid-sipping my cappuccino. (P.S. If you’re new here… “Betty” is my catch-all for the fierce woman in this community. You’re a Betty. I’m a Betty. We’re all Bettys.) She wrote: “I read every word. I cried. […]
Mini Pause #119 | The #1 most dangerous behavior for women
I sent my team a message on Tuesday that basically said, “I’m editing the book. Will be MIA.” … and then I scurried back to my deep work zone. This book is a pouring out of my heart for the woman in midlife who has been burned beyond burned by the systems she was told […]
Mini Pause #117 | What Training Gave Me
I originally got into training purely for aesthetics. I wanted a tiny waist and glutes that left the room two minutes after I did. And I did that. But I stayed. I stayed because of what lifting gave me. Lifting taught me how to love myself. How to give myself grace. How to be in […]
Mini Pause #116 | It’s actually not just your hormones
I almost spit out my coffee this week when I was reading a research paper. (I said almost. I didn’t want to waste my coffee – but I definitely paused mid-sip… a bona fide Big Deal for this caffeine queen.) The paper stunned me because it confirmed something I’ve been saying for years: Hormone changes […]
Mini Pause #115 | Protein and weight lifting are past tense.
“Lift weights.” “Eat more protein.” In the Year of Weird Science 2026, I can’t believe health influencers and doctors are still focusing on this as the full story. Strength training and protein exist within complex systems… both biological and cultural. We can’t talk about weights and protein without talking about the culture of “skinny.” If […]
Mini Pause #114 | I learned this from a French dermatologist
I just got back from France, and I made a super stereotypical North American visit to not one, but two French pharmacies… and yeah, I spent an unreasonable amount of time (and money) inside. If you want to see a haul of what I got, I’m happy to share it on social, but I think […]