126: How to Build Muscle Fear of Getting Bulky or Food Guilt - Jessica Burke

Your brain has two completely separate systems for knowing what to do and actually doing it, and no amount of motivation bridges that gap. The women who stay consistent aren't more disciplined than you. They just stopped relying on motivation and started building structure. If you've ever crushed it at work, managed a full household, and still couldn't figure out why your fitness keeps falling apart, it's not a YOU problem. It's a system problem. And that's exactly what this episode is about. Tune into this week's solo episode of Broads where we answer the real questions around consistency: the ones nobody has actually answered for you yet. What's Discussed: (3:52) Why knowing what to do and still not doing it is not a character flaw. (6:26) The Monday reset isn't a fresh start — it's the problem. (8:50) Why motivation was never supposed to be the engine. (11:07) What to do when life gets busy and your plan falls apart. (15:10) The difference between trying more programs and getting real support. (17:55) The neuroscience behind why you keep breaking promises to yourself. (20:52) How to know if you're actually ready for a coach. Find more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH. Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara

The average woman in the United States attempts to lose weight at least five times per year. Most of those attempts follow the same pattern: cut calories as low as possible, add as much exercise as possible, push until burnout, and start over. The pattern does not fail because of a lack of willpower. It fails because the strategy itself is not designed to build women to success. We go deeper into this in the latest episode of Broads. We also discuss what the 80/20 rule of nutrition versus exercise actually means in practice, how the lifestyle gap affects fat storage more than most women account for, and why the first three months of a real fat loss journey often look like nothing is happening. Gen Coco is a Certified Nutrition Coach and founder of Gen's Gym. After a decade of cycling through every quick fix in the diet industry, she lost 50 pounds through walking and nutrition alone, no gym, no intense cardio, no restriction.  Her framework is built around what is actually sustainable, not what looks most impressive on a program. What she learned applies well beyond fat loss. It is a way of thinking about effort, consistency, and what it actually takes to change something by loving yourself more. What's Discussed: (01:17) Why keto, cheat meals, and extreme restriction fail most women (02:29) The all-or-nothing mindset and why high-achieving women are most vulnerable to it (08:57) Minimum baseline standards: how to set a floor instead of an impossible ceiling (09:03) The lifestyle gap: sleep, stress, and emotional health as fat loss variables (11:26) What learning to cook from scratch changed about her relationship with food (17:07) Meal prep, food tracking, and why portion education matters more than calorie restriction (20:28) How to navigate social eating, alcohol, and going out without derailing progress (30:38) The GLP-1 conversation: when peptides are appropriate (31:42) The difference between weight loss and fat loss (41:48) Why weight loss is a side effect of self-love, not the other way around (44:29) How to rebuild self-trust after years of broken promises to yourself Find more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app BroadsCOACH: Head to broads.com/join and apply for BroadsCOACH.   Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara Check out more from Gen Coco: Instagram: @gensgym Facebook: Gen’s Gym Tiktok: @gensgym Website: https://www.gensgym.com/ Business Instagram: @happybodsquad

Struggling with motivation, confused about how much cardio you need, or wondering if lifting weights will make you bulky? A lot of women are told the answer is more cardio, stricter dieting, and more discipline, but those are often the exact things keeping them stuck. In this Broads episode, we talk about why motivation isn’t the thing that keeps you consistent, why protein is the nutrient most women are missing in their diet, and how much cardio you really need when it comes to building strength and improving body composition.  If you’re training hard but still feel unsure what actually works or worried you’re doing the wrong things in the gym, tune in. What's Discussed: (03:33) What to do when you get injured and how to keep training instead of quitting (08:35) How much cardio women actually need (09:26) Daily walking as one of the most underrated tools for fat loss and stress (11:30) Why low protein leads to cravings, fatigue, and muscle loss (15:06) Motivation vs self trust and what actually keeps you consistent (21:17) Why belly fat shows up in your 40s and the hormone shifts behind it (24:32) The truth about “toning” and why women don’t accidentally get bulky BroadsCOACH: Head to broads.com/join and apply for BroadsCOACH. Check out more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara

According to Journal of Clinical Medicine, roughly 62.3% of women report experiencing pain around the back or neck and limb areas.  Most of us have accepted the pain as a normal part of life that just happens in our thirties, what comes with having kids and part of aging. Broads coaches have observed that that happens when women have been conditioned to stay small, move less, and treat their bodies as something to shrink rather than something to build. The women who start strength training do not just get stronger. They get their energy back, their pain starts to ease, and have more confidence to move their bodies.  The goal is no longer to tone the muscles but to chase how to finally feel good with their bodies. We dive deeper into this in the latest episode of Broads with Taylor McGee and T-Ferg, two coaches in the Broads Coach Program who have spent years helping women unlearn the myths of the fitness industry and build something real instead. We also discuss why imperfect action breeds motivation and what actually gets women to show up consistently, why the perfect time to start does not exist and why messy is better than waiting. Taylor McGee is a Philadelphia-based certified coach with seven years in the fitness industry. T-Ferg is a Denver-based coach with over ten years in and around movement and strength. Together they bring a clear-eyed, no-nonsense perspective on what women actually need, not just in the gym, but in how they show up for themselves and for their clients every single day. What's Discussed: (03:20) Why pull-ups are one of the most powerful things a woman can build (08:45) How celebrating your wins without a "but" changes everything (12:10) Why confidence and ego are not the same thing & how women were conditioned to confuse them (18:30) The toning myth: why the word was designed to keep women small  (24:15) Why motivation is a myth and what actually gets you to show up consistently (31:40) How to start so small that showing up becomes inevitable (38:20) Why the perfect time to start is always right now especially when life is messy (44:10) What a coach actually does for you that a workout app never can (51:25) Why real results take five years and why that should excite you, not scare you (57:30) What taking up space actually means in the gym and in your life Thank You to Our Sponsors: BroadsCOACH: Head to broads.com/join and apply for BroadsCOACH. IM8: Use my code TARA at checkout to save 10% on your first order at https://im8health.com/   Find more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app   Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara Check out more from Taylor McGee: Instagram: @taylormcgeefit Facebook: Taylor McGee Fitness Website: https://taylormcgeefit.com/online-coaching Broads app link: https://www.broads.app/coachtaylormcgee Check out more from Taylor Ferguson: Instagram: @your.wellness.barbie Tiktok: @taylor_melissa_ Broads app link: https://www.broads.app/coachtaylorferguson

You’re stuck at the same weight on your squat or bench, so you assume the answer is more reps, more volume, more grind. But piling on more work without fixing the weak link is exactly how you stay stuck. In the latest episode of Broads, I break down why your core’s job isn’t crunches, why knees cave in your squat, and how Bulgarian split squats force your glutes to finally do their job. And when your hips shoot up in your deadlift, I unpack what that says about your hamstrings and how to fix it so your strength actually shows up at lockout. Fix the weak link, and the lift follows. What's Discussed: (03:22) Why doing more squats won’t fix a squat plateau (05:03) Bulgarian split squats fix knee cave and glute weakness (08:27) Paused bench press builds strength at your sticking point (11:52) RDLs fix weak deadlift lockout and hip hinge issues (12:26) Why squatting your deadlift limits hamstring strength (15:33) Press more than you pull and your shoulders pay (18:40) Your core’s job is resisting movement, not crunching (22:56) Accessory work fixes weak links and prevents injuries Check out more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH. Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara

You’ve been told perfect form prevents injury and rounding your back will ruin your spine. But what if the real problem isn’t the movement? What if it’s fear, outdated advice, and expecting your body to heal like it’s Amazon Prime two-day shipping?  We dive deeper into this in the latest episode of the Broads Podcast with strength coach Dr. Susie Spirlock.  We also chat about why “perfect form” doesn’t exist, how to return to lifting after injury or chronic conditions like POTS and hypermobility, and why strength training is non-negotiable for women heading into perimenopause and beyond.  Dr. Susie Spirlock is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and strength coach with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. She is Barbell Rehab Method certified, Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified, and a Pain Free Performance Specialist. She provides online rehab and fitness coaching and serves as an instructor for the Barbell Rehab Method. What's Discussed: (08:44) Why “perfect form” doesn’t exist and how anatomy shapes technique (10:15) Gradual exposure to load and why rounding your back isn’t automatically bad (12:08) Fear of lifting heavy and how graded exposure reduces injury anxiety (14:00) Why fear predicts pain more than tissue damage after injury (18:25) Junk volume, overprogramming, and how smarter structure drives results (25:03) Why lifting advice from doctors lags 10-15 years behind research (32:26) Strength training, menopause, and what happens to bone density if you don’t lift (48:43) Clickbait rehab content and how to spot black-and-white misinformation Check out more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Instagram: @broads.podcast @broads.app Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH. Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com Instagram: @taralaferrara Youtube: @TaraLaferrara Tiktok: @taralaferrara Check out more from Dr. Susie Spirlock: Instagram: @dr.susie.squats Tiktok: @dr.susie.squats Youtube: @dr.susie.squats Facebook: @dr.susie.squats

Rest periods are one of the most ignored parts of training, and they’re often the reason you’re exhausted but not actually getting stronger. This episode of Broads is about removing the guesswork. We break down what rest periods do, why more sweat doesn’t equal better results, and how mismatching your rest to your goal can stall progress without you realizing it. If your lifts feel inconsistent, your workouts feel randomly hard or way too easy, or you’re spending forever in the gym without seeing results, your rest between sets might be the missing piece. That’s what this episode is all about. What's Discussed: (00:48) Why rest periods are an overlooked driver of strength and muscle gains (03:25) ATP, creatine phosphate, and what actually recovers between sets (05:03) How rest determines strength, hypertrophy, or endurance outcomes (06:51) Why heavy lifts require three to five minutes of rest (07:46) Using shorter rest to create metabolic stress for muscle growth (09:13) How short rest trains fatigue tolerance and muscular endurance (10:52) What breaks when rest is too short or too long (15:41) Why timing rest separates training from random workouts Head to https://www.broads.app/broadscoach and apply for BroadsCOACH. Check out more from Broads: Website: https://www.broads.app Check out more from Tara LaFerrara: Website: http://taralaferrara.com  Instagram: @taralaferrara  @broads.podcast Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TaraLaferrara

A lot of women are stuck in a cycle of eating less, pushing harder, and starting over every Monday, only to feel more frustrated each time. The surprising part is that this isn’t a lack of discipline, but a predictable outcome of years of under-eating and following advice that was never built for women’s physiology.We dive deeper into this in the Broads podcast with Finley. We talk about why intermittent fasting often backfires for women, how sugar cravings are usually a fueling issue, what chronic under-eating does to your metabolism, and what sustainable nutrition actually looks like without diet culture noise.Finley Amato Funsten is a nutrition and strength coach, the founder of Unfuck Your Diet, and the owner of MADabolic Charlotte. Her work focuses on evidence-based nutrition, behavior change, and sustainable training practices.What's Discussed:(05:53) Diet Coke, aspartame safety, and why fear-based nutrition science still sticks(07:12) Why intermittent fasting often backfires for active women hormonally(09:04) How hunger hormones adapt when breakfast is skipped for years(11:04) Why named diets fail women by ignoring physiology and skill building(14:32) Skinny culture’s return and how wellness marketing keeps women shrinking(19:20) Sugar cravings explained through protein and fiber deficiencies(24:39) Why detoxes and cleanses don’t work the way people think(32:03) Chronic under eating signs including low energy, poor recovery, and cycle disruptionCheck out more from Broads:Website: www.broads.appInstagram: @broads.podcast @broads.appCheck out more from Tara LaFerrara:Website: http://taralaferrara.com  Instagram: @taralaferraraYoutube: https://youtube.com/@TaraLaferraraCheck out more from Finley Amato Funsten:Website: https://unfuckyourdiet.coInstagram: @unfuckyourdiet Check out some of Finley’s favorite accounts for nutrition, fitness, and real talk:Tara LaFerrara: https://instagram.com/taralaferraraSheridan Skye, MSc: http://instagram.com/sheridanskyefitBeth Wilkas Feraco: http://instagram.com/bethferacofitnessAmanda Howell, MPH: http://instagram.com/amandahowellhealthJessica Knurick, PhD: http://instagram.com/drjessicaknurickDr. Stacy T. Sims: http://instagram.com/drstacysimsKate Lyman, MPH: http://instagram.com/klnutritionJordan Syatt: http://instagram.com/syattfitnessLayne Norton, PhD: https://www.instagram.com/biolayne

Training harder and moving faster doesn’t automatically make you stronger, especially when your progress has stalled. For many women, the real issue is that reps are rushed, stimulus is cut short, and effort looks intense without actually driving adaptation.We dive deeper into this in the latest Broads Podcast solo episode. We also chat about why slowing down builds more strength, why rushing reps makes people feel weaker than they should, why you are actually stronger during the lowering phase of a lift, and how tempo training works best when used strategically instead of everywhere.If your workouts feel hard but your strength is not moving, or you keep chasing heavier weights without feeling more solid or confident, this episode will shift how you think about effort. What's Discussed:(02:24) Why tempo training increases results without longer workouts(03:26) The four phases of every lift and why each phase matters(04:02) How to read tempo prescriptions like 3110 in real training(09:14) Where tempo fits best, accessories, deload weeks, and plateaus(15:18) Why tempo should be limited to one to three exercises per workout(15:55) Example lower body programming using tempo selectively(16:58) Example upper body programming with tempo for accessories only(17:49) Why using too much weight defeats the purpose of tempo trainingCheck out more from Broads:Website: https://www.broads.appCheck out more from Tara LaFerrara:Website: http://taralaferrara.com  Instagram: @taralaferraraYoutube: https://youtube.com/@TaraLaferrara 

Training starts to feel heavy when the goal is shrinking instead of becoming capable. What began as a viral moment around a meatball sub exposed something deeper: how diet culture, fear of “bulking,” and quiet food rules slowly erode confidence and self-trust long before real change has a chance to stick.We dive deeper into this in the latest Broads Podcast with Jessica Burke. We also chat about why “toning” is misleading, the real difference between exercising and training with intention, what actually drives gym intimidation, and why taking up space changes far more than just the body.Jessica Burke holds a Master’s degree in Kinesiology and is CSCS certified. She is the host of The Strength Chick Podcast and works as a strength and conditioning coach. Her work centers on dismantling diet culture and encouraging women to take up space in the gym and in strength and conditioning.What's Discussed:(03:39) The meatball sub moment, diet culture, and the food guilt women live by(09:19) Why training to be smaller limits what women’s bodies can do(11:16) The truth behind “toning” and how language shapes fear around building muscle(13:34) Fear of bulking as a form of avoiding discomfort and justifying inaction(17:42) The male gaze, gym intimidation, and reclaiming the right to take up space(19:33) Why exercising feels productive but training creates lasting change(34:41) Redefining effort, intensity, and what “hard” actually means in the gym(52:00) Taking up space as an identity decision, not a confidence traitCheck out more from Broads:Website: http://broads.appInstagram: @broads.podcast @broads.appCheck out more from Tara LaFerrara:Website: http://taralaferrara.comInstagram: @taralaferraraYoutube: @TaraLaferraraTiktok: @taralaferraraCheck out more from Jessica Burke, CSCS, M.S.:Instagram: @coachjburkeTiktok: @coachjburkeYoutube: @coachjburke