With the never-ending information circulating the internet about how much/what/when to eat, sometimes the basic nutritional building blocks can get lost in translation. For example, did you know that one of the easiest ways to gauge a serving of vegetables is by using your fist for reference?
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For the average woman, a good starting point for vegetable intake would be four servings roughly the size of your fist per day (for men, it would be roughly double this). This often comes as a bit of a shock to clients when they think about what their current intake looks like, so our focus begins with gradually working towards this benchmark.

One of my favourite ways to work on adding vegetables is by sneaking it into the foods you’re already eating. For example, a handful of spinach into a smoothie, stir fry or soup will go virtually unnoticed, but we’re already one big step closer to our benchmark. It’s a simple and effective way to get more servings in – and requires almost no change to what you’re already doing!
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What do you do to ensure you’re getting enough vegetables in your day to day meals?!

Has anyone ever used the term “girl push-ups” in reference to the exercise on the right? I know it’s something I used to say – I specifically remember the term being taught to me in high school gym class. But have you ever thought about the meaning/message behind this term?

In a nutshell, the message is that girls aren’t as strong as boys. There are quite a few expressions out there that send this same message (“man up” and “grow a pair” are two that come to mind). While I don’t necessarily believe that people intend to be malicious using this language in the gym (or anywhere really), there is no denying that the underlying impact is the implication that women are inferior to men.

The truth is, this push-up modification has absolutely nothing to do with gender. Modifications/regressions of exercises are used to accommodate several things, including but not limited to injuries, mobility, strength, comfort level, personal preference etc.

This particular modification actually isn’t my go-to for regressing the push-up pattern. In my experience working with clients, performing the push-up on an incline, rather than from the knees, is a more accessible position for a lot of people and tends to show better results in working towards the full push-up. Either way - the world girl has no place!

Can you think of any other exercises or phrases that have a similar hidden (or not so hidden) message? Let me know in the comments below!