General Fitness Companycast

In the first episode of the Cuts, Cardio, and Conversation series, I sit down with Jacqui Doucette, a Main Line hairstylist and fellow entrepreneur. We talked about where it all began for us. We get into the early hustle, what it means to build something from scratch, and how staying consistent (in fitness and business) shapes long-term success. Just two professionals chopping it up about purpose, growth, and staying sharp in the shop...and in life. You can reach Jacqui on instagram at BeautybyJacquiD you can also check out her website at: https://www.beautybyjacquid.com/new-clients Thanks for watching and listening...Keep Good Company!

In this season opener, we set the stage for a pair of powerful interviews dropping soon. One with my hairstylist friend, Jacqui. And the other with my therapist friend, Ashley. But this isn't just about looks or talk therapy. It's about transformation from the inside out.What You'll Hear Today:Why the barber's chair and therapist's couch aren't so different from personal trainingHow service providers become silent coaches in people's livesThe small decisions that spark big personal changesWhat to expect in the next two interviews (and why you'll want to tune in)A little behind-the-scenes on what inspired this season's themeWhether you're in the middle of a glow-up or just trying to get your mojo back, this episode reminds you that change starts with conversation—and sometimes a good cut.

In this episode, I reflect on how growth never really ends. Whether we're talking in fitness, mindset, or business, it's important to think of life as in seasons. Burnout, breakthroughs, setbacks, and comebacks can happen in seconds or even years, but the message here is to stay patient and enjoy the process.What You'll Hear Today:The myth of "making it" and why progress is non-linearHow to stay fired up even when results plateauWhy breaks, changes and pivots aren't signs of failureWhat this past season has taught us and what's next.Remember you can always email me at general@generalfitnesscompany.com or you can visit our website to learn more about what we do at generalfitnesscompany.com

In today's episode, I encourage you to take on whatever has been in the back of your mind as a challenge to undertake. Whether it's with exercise, food, or even spirituality, today is the day to get started. I reflect on my experience in almost completing my time at the fire academy and bringing yet another season to a close (don't worry, there's one more episode), while thinking of ways that we can all challenge ourselves. I hope you've enjoyed this season. Remember, you can always email me with any suggestions for upcoming episodes or for any health and fitness related questions.

Today, I'll be sharing what the fire academy and track taught me about pushing too hard and why letting go of the finish line might be the key to real growth. Tune in and let go!What You'll Hear Today:Why obsessing over results can sabotage your progressA personal story about chasing vs. livingThe hidden power of process-oriented thinkingA simple mental reframe that helps you stay in the momentWhat it means to become instead of achieve

Whether you're 27 or 72, it's not too late to start feeling stronger, moving better, and living with more confidence. In this episode, I'll share how one of my clients in her 70s made the choice to come back after a long break. We'll hear what that decision can teach us about persistence, progress, and the power of movement.What You'll Hear Today:A real client's inspiring comeback story after a 2-year breakWhy strength and mobility matter even more as we ageMyths about aging and fitness—busted with science and experienceThe exact strategies I'm using to help her build strength safelyActionable tips for getting started at any age—even if you've been away for a while

Today we're going to talk about tough times and tenacity. Sometimes, it can be easy to just give up and say it's not for you. But I've seen in my profession that the moment you most want to give up is when you find your breakthrough. So let's talk about staying tough today.

Belief isn't something you build, it's something you uncover. What You'll Hear Today:Why expanding into something new doesn't mean leaving who you are behindHow imposter syndrome, fear of dilution, and false binaries hold us backA compelling framework for trusting your evolution, even wen the path isn't clearThe difference between chasing titles and following purposeWhether you're changing careers, adding new layers to your life, or just rethinking the story you've told yourself, this one's for you.Share this with someone whos standing at their own crossroads. Let them know they don't need to choose between who they were and who they're becoming.

In today's episode, we're going to be discussing why your brain chemistry affects your gains. What You'll Hear Today:How your brain's chemical cocktail influences your energy and drive to moveThe roles of dopamine, serotonin, cortisol, and endorphins in your workoutsWhy “feeling off” isn't just in your head—it might be in your hormonesA few simple ways to naturally boost your movement motivation (without chugging pre-workout)Whether you're crushing it in the gym or struggling to get off the couch, today we're diving into the fascinating world of neurochemicals and how they shape your fitness journey. Because honestly, it's not always about willpower. Sometimes it's just about brain juice.As always, if you have any show ideas or any questions concerning this or any of our previous episodes. Email me at: general@generalfitnesscompany.com

Today we're diving into somethin sneaky that impacts your anxiety, confidence, and even daily habits. Yes, today we're talking posture. I'll break down how body language speaks to your brain to shape your mindset (whether you realize it or not). I'll also drop three simple fixes (one I learned on the fire ground) that you can implement right away. Wellness doesn't have to be complicated. It can start with simply standing tall. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. And if you have any questions related to this episode or any of our previous episodes, feel free to shoot them here info@generalfitnesscompany.com

Today is the episode we've been waiting for all week. It's my interview with Ashley Blair Cook of ABC Therapies. Overall, it was a fun and entertaining episode to listen back to. But we also got pretty serious with our talks about mental health and how they play a part in working out as well as everyday life. If you'd like to discuss mental health with Ashley, you can check her website here: abctherapies.com or you can follow her on Instagram: ABC TherapiesHope you enjoy the episode and I would love your feedback on this one!

Comparison is the thief of all joy. Don't get me wrong, comparison can be helpful but it becomes toxic when it becomes self-judgemental. Today, we're going to be talking about how to get out of the comparison trap and how you can make healthy comparisons that bring value to your life. I talk about the app in the episode, if you're interested in trying it out, go to Generalfitnesscompany.com to sign up for a free assessment.

We're going to be talking mental health this week. We had a special guest a few years ago. Long before she became locally famous and amassed hundreds of thousands of followers, Dr. Jaime Zuckerman graced us with her presence and granted us a very insightful interview. I believe you'll enjoy it. If you want to follow her on Instagram, you can go here:Dr. Jaime Zuckerman| Dr. Z

It's been crazy here over the last few weeks. Not only because of more training, but also we had a bit of a technical difficulty with the applications to create new podcasts. But we're back up (kinda) with an episode about believing in yourself and doing the impossible...mainly, living the life that you believe you deserve.

In this episode, we're diving into something that surprises a lot of people once they start branching out in their fitness routines:Why do some workouts leave you wrecked for days… while others build you up without the soreness?Spoiler: It's not just about intensity—it's about intention.What You'll Hear Today:Why soreness isn't a sign of success—just unfamiliarityWhat it means when your back or neck stops cracking (hint: it's probably a good thing!)How smart training reduces tension instead of just burning caloriesA new perspective on progress: It's not about chasing pain—it's about building strength, control, and consistencyWhy General Fitness workouts are designed to build you, not break youYour new mantra:“Just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean it didn't work.”Links & Resources:Want a workout that works with your body instead of against it? Let's chat:www.GeneralFitnessCompany.comLike what you heard today? Leave us a review and share it with someone who needs to stop chasing soreness and start training smart.

In this episode, we're diving into a topic that trips up a lot of folks when they're starting—or restarting—their fitness journey:Are you chasing results… or are you building habits?What You'll Hear Today:The difference between outcome-based goals and identity-based goals (e.g., “I want to lose 10 lbs” vs “I'm someone who trains 3x a week”)Why chasing quick results often leads to burnout or plateaus (Spoiler: Motivation wears off. Habits stick.)How to shift your mindset from short-term wins to long-term identity (Real-life examples from clients—without naming names, of course!)A simple framework to start building better habits today (The “3 Cs”: Clarity, Consistency, and Compassion)Your new mantra: “I train because that's who I am—not just to reach a number.”Links & Resources:Want help building those habits? Let's chat: generalfitnesscompany.comLeave us a review if this hit home: Google

You what's just as important as your workout? Your recovery! As much time as we may spend on our workouts, recovery is just as important. If you're not tracking your recovery then you won't get the most from your workout. Today we're going to be talking about what metric you use for tracking your recovery so you know what kind of workout you need based on your body's energy levels.

The episode number for today is very appropriate. I was killed in the comment section for saying something I shouldn't have. Mind you, I thought I was in the right and I thought I did what I did with respect and integrity. Turns out people thought differently. Listen to find the lessons I learned today about online etiquette with respect to other people's fitness videos.

Today we're going to piggy back off our last episode and talk about life recovery. Stress can play a huge role in our lives, and there are times where it can seep into our recovery. In this episode, we're going to talk about what that means for your gains. Sleep is super important when it comes to regulating your stress levels. So prioritizing it should be on the top of your list when it comes to improving your recovery. Here are some episodes in which I talked to a specialist about how to think about your sleep. Season 11 Episode 51Season 11 Episode 57

Today we're talking about stress. Here's the thing. Your body doesn't care if it's work stress, life stress, or gym stress. It all adds up. Today, we're going to be talking about how stress affects your workouts. If you're stressed, this is the episode for you because we're going to be talking about what stress is, how you can identify it and how you can minimize and relieve it in your life.

Today we're talking about a specific type of passive stretching that I had neglected to mention over the past few episodes about stretching. This passive stretch is actually GOOD for you. It's called PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching and it's a fancy way to say that you're tricking your nervous system into a deeper stretch. Wanna learn how to do it? Stay tuned to find out.

Here's the thing, stretching is great for flexibility. Buuuuutt...Flexibility is not exactly what you want if you're concerned about performance. And believe me, you want to be concerned about your performance because that means you'll be able to walk, run, or even lift groceries. Let's find out how you can get more bendy without putting your joints at risk.

I've talked about this many times. Stretching isn't doing what you think it is. I used to be a believer in stretching. In fact, I used to immediately bend over and reach for my toes, immediately after a run. It wasn't until I started looking into what stretching ACTUALLY does to the body that I decided to discontinue it. Learn why stretching the way you've been stretching may be doing more harm than good and find out the most effective way to improve your mobility in this episode.

I was at the fire academy this weekend and at lunch, I looked around and I saw young adults all over the room with poor posture. Today, I'd like us to talk about what happens when you sit for too long or have muscle imbalances due to improper training.

A little while back I talked about getting stronger through progressive overload. It's the way most people get strong in the gym. They lift weights and as they get stronger, they lift heavier weights. But that's the only way to get stronger. In fact, I would have you consider that it's not even the most efficient way to get stronger. If you want to learn how to get stronger without getting bulky, this is the episode for you!

Today we're taking a quick step away from our conversation we've been having over the past couple of weeks about movement and we're going to lean into mindset. What do when something doesn't go your way or when you feel like someone has transgressed against you. It's not revenge, but it also isn't simply being passive.Let's talk today about what potential patience brings to your life when searching for peace.

In today's episode, I discussed the importance of reciprocal inhibition in your workout routine, or in other words, why it's important to never spot train unless you're rehabbing. I also talked about a couple of exercises you can do to train to move better whether you're a runner or walker. Here's one example from our Youtube Channel.

When people talk about working the core they usually are referring to the abs. However, the core is so much more than that and if you train your core improperly, you'll likely get injured with some seemingly unrelated injury. Today, we're going to talk about why core training is so important. I'll also give a few simple exercise ideas to help you train your core more efficiently. Hint: It's not more sit-ups and crunches.

Today we're going to talk about why it's biomechanically impossible to spot train. It's due to a little built in process called reciprocal inhibition. It's the foundation for all movement and without it, we literally wouldn't be able to move. Find out why this is so important for trainers to consider when creating an exercise routine. Think like a trainer with today's episode.

I've got a client who had a light bulb moment today about the difference between mobility and flexibility. It came when we were doing some anti-rotational movements. Personally, I've struggled with the difference in the past so in this episode we're going to really dig into what people always get wrong and what helped my client to understand why flexibility is so bad for your joints.

I went down a rabbit hole after reading an article about a fungus that survives on radiation. It led me to thinking about how to prevent radiation in our own body.This is not a tin foil hat episode. This is a real talk about the radiation around us and how we can build up our body's defenses against it while simultaneously flushing it out of our system. It only take a few key foods and vitamins that you can find at your local grocery store. If you want the complete list, email me general@generalfitnesscompany.com

Many people think that when they're working they're core all they have to do is crunches and sit-ups. While those ARE your abs, your abs are not your entire core. Your low back and even your hips are part of the core party. So if you want to train functionally and protect your spine from injury while improving your overall movement pattern you're gonna want to listen to this episode very closely.

Deep squats and mobility are a huge thing in the fitness community right now. Many people believe that the key to mobility is to strengthen your muscles through greater ranges of motion. This is correct, but there is one thing that many people are missing when it comes to movements like this and improving overall mobility. That's what we're going to discuss today. If you'd like to write a question feel free to shoot me an email. You can email me at: general@generalfitnesscompany.com

You wanna know something? Motivation is fleeting, but if you can utilize it to build confidence, you can achieve just about anything. How do you get that initial motivation? Well, that's what we're going to investigate in today's episode.

Sit-ups do work for specific things. But there was a time when it was the pinnacle of core strength to be able to do 100 sit-ups. Now, we've come to learn that working the core is more than just sit-ups and crunches. There many more effective core exercises, so why do we do them here at GFC?Today, we're going to look into the effectiveness of sit-ups. Are they beneficial? Is there a reason why people get more injured doing this than anything else? What are the alternatives? I'm going to all of these questions and a few more in today's episode about you future six-pack.

It's not about what you do in your workouts as much it is how often you work out. When it comes to your health, the best decision is to take it slow and here's why.

Today we're keeping it simple. Many people will try to scare you off from certain movements. I may be guilty of that myself in the past, but it's of course, nuanced. The bottom line is there are a certain things you should avoid, but it's not what you think.

So many people think of the body as parts, but when you think about it, everything is connected through your body. Literally through your connective tissue and figuratively in how we move and think. I'm diving deep into what makes you stretchy and why your current mobility routine might need an overhaul.

I had a potential client come in today and they loved the session. They came in with some new workout gear and were interested in starting immediately . Then I told them my rate and I got that dreaded reply: "It's too expensive." I get it. The best things in life are actually not free, yet we have to prioritize to attain them. Today we're going to be talking about priorities and what's really stopping most people from doing more to take care of themselves.

Today, one of my clients crushed it in our Row-Run Challenge. She is a newer client that was having some issues with running and came to me help her out. Her and I both agree that it was her belief that she would do well that helped her beat her last time by 3 and a half minutes (which is one the best improvements ever). Listen in to how she helped herself get over the hump and learn a few tricks to help yourself do the same.

I had a listener email me yesterday about the difference between training to get bigger and training to get stronger. Believe me, there is an actual difference and knowing the difference just might change the way you work out.In today's episode, we're talking hypertrophic training versus strength training. What's the difference? Are you already doing it? Let's dive into this one today and fix your workouts.

Congrats to the Super Bowl winning champs, the Philadelphia Eagles. I was curious about their workouts and I saw that AJ Brown posted one on YouTube. I'm going to critique his workout routine and give you some tips that you can add to your own routine. You can find his workout that I referencedhere.

Have you ever let fear take control of your life? Fear has stopped many people from achieving greatness. When that happens you have to ask what is fear, really? Today we're going to drill down into what is stopping us and how we can prevent it from keeping us from our dream life.

I wasn't able to record for my scheduled episode on Monday because I was feeling a little ill. I felt that this was a great opportunity to remind you that you should be taking care of yourself. In this episode, we have a few fun stories of taking care of yourself in a multitude of ways (some not so PG). All in all, this episode has quite a few tips and anecdotes that will help you think about living a happier and healthier life where you make yourself the priority.

Many of my contemporaries might have you believe that Olympic lifting is the way to go. They most certainly not wrong, however, if you're going to lift like that, you have to have a solid foundation. If you build your house on shaky ground, you most likely to end up injured. In this episode, we're going to talk about building that foundation that will be able to do more with less effort.

Today we're going to look into how you can maximize our workout routine with one small teak to each one of your lifts. One thing to always remember. It's not what you're lifting. It's how you're lifting it.

Yesterday, I did my first Live on Tik Tok and I had a lot of fun answering questions about how to get a better booty, what effect drinking has on weight loss, and proper exercise techniques. If you'd like to learn more about what we do here, you can visit my favorite playlist on our YouTube page here: 5 Basic Human Movements Or you can visit the website: https://generalfitnesscompany.com

In today's episode we'll talk about something that is probably not a part of your fitness routine, but should be. Rotation is something that we all do, but many of the exercises PT's and trainers prescribe aren't appropriate for improving spinal stability and rotation, resulting in hip and more likely, back pain. We're going to dive a little deeper into this and give you some ideas for exercises that you can do on you own. Check our YouTube Library for more videos on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0RRzh5L-FGwP8a7qSpe1_Wgs3cwdBBzM You can sign up for the 6-week challenge here: https://generalfitnesscompany.com/homepage/

Everyone wants to start their fitness journey on the right foot where they'll never lose momentum. It's actually easy. You just start small. Small habits that serve you are important. Today, we're going to dive into those habits (good and bad) that determine the path of your fitness journey.

Today, we're building on the previous episode about what to do for injury recovery and we're drilling down to the point of small changes that equal big wins. We're going to talk about a client that lost 75 pounds over the last year and we'll be exploring what it means to "habit stack." This episode is full of gems that will help you on your new year fitness journey.

Today is "National Quitters Day." It's the day when people notoriously quit on their New Year's Resolutions. The reason for most is that they went out to hard in the beginning of the year, got injured and never fully recovered or follow any recovery protocol. Today, I'm sharing a very important one based on science that you might want to share as well.