All in general BAMFery

On Summertime Distractions: Let's Stop Playing Small and Get Back to Crushing.

On Summertime Distractions: Let's Stop Playing Small and Get Back to Crushing.

Stephanie Ondrusek
general BAMFery, mindset

Listen, we’ve all yo-yoed, we’ve all slashed carbs, we’ve all freaked out at the prospect of wearing fewer clothes, because we meant to make this year the year we buckled down and became the magazine-edition of ourselves.

I’d challenge that by saying…we already are. :)  So take that cover-edition body and get under a barbell (or to a class, or in the yoga studio, or outside on a walk, or up a mountain, or wherever) and treat it like the #queenshit it is.

When we change our minds that we’re moving because we deserve to – that however much space we take up, it’s ours, and we get to do with it as we please – movement and nutrition instantly become more fun. They become thoughtful pursuits of strength (holla Juggernaut), dedicated expeditions to test our limits, mindful explorations of our joys. What sets our soul on fire is what makes us feel most confident, so let’s find it, crush it, and keep moving on the road to expansion

"Muscles are the best accessory."

"Muscles are the best accessory."

Stephanie Ondrusek
general BAMFery, mindset

When we realize that we’ve put in a ton of work – we’ve done hard shit to get these quads; we’ve done the detective work to find what way of eating works for us and eaten well; we’ve made ourselves a priority in a world that’s telling us to do everything but – we realize that the next challenge at work, the next tense relationship discussion, the next snag in a friendship, the next financial setback, is really NBD. We’ve figured out challenges before, and have the physical mass (because, hello, muscles take up space, and that’s OURS. Own it.) to prove it, so we can do it again. And again. And again. No matter how many times life asks us to, we have tangible evidence that we can get down and dirty – get gritty and get in the mud and fight it out.

Sweat it out, or stay home? (Alternate subject: allergies are the worst. Hey spring! ✨😷)

Sweat it out, or stay home? (Alternate subject: allergies are the worst. Hey spring! ✨😷)

Stephanie Ondrusek
FAQs + hacks, general BAMFery, programming

Illness: it happens to the best of us (and, surely, if you’re reading this, we are “the best of us.” ;) ).

It can be frustrating to be going through a training program, amped about how well it’s designed, how much we love it, and the results we’re seeing…and then get a nasty bout of flu, feel ultra weak, and not know where to go from there.

Do we sweat it out, or rest and recover? When we’re better, do we pick up where we left off, or start over, or abandon it and do something totally different? What about nutrition, once we can eat more than soup and saltines?

Bookwormin': My Top 10 Books for a Bigger Life.

Bookwormin': My Top 10 Books for a Bigger Life.

Stephanie Ondrusek
general BAMFery

Storytelling is an art, whether it's fiction (I read more than my fair share of dystopian young adult novels...in my late 20s.) or nonfiction (because a long list of facts has never captivated anyone, some of the best storytellers I know are nonfiction writers. Making learning engaging can be tough.). Through our stories, we can change lives, have an impact, create shifts, forge bonds, and heal others (and ourselves). 

SO! Inspired by a few others who have provided reads that changed my game, I wanted to stop by really quick and drop off my 10 favorite books for creating a bigger, better life. The topics range from food to fitness to personal development...kind of like the rest of my life. :) They're all here (with Amazon links), so feel free to browse! 

Make the choice to do the hard things- that's where the fruit is.

Make the choice to do the hard things- that's where the fruit is.

Stephanie Ondrusek
ballgnorance, general BAMFery, mindset, coaching

To train for physical strength is to train for mental strength. The iron is a proving ground, and it never lies to us: we can either lift the weight or we can’t. And when we discover that we can – and that we can do more than we imagined we could – we begin to discover that we can do other hard things too.

Every moment of every day presents a choice. We get to see it for what it is whenever we want to, and there’s no judgment: at every challenge, do we embrace our new #WonderWomanLoading mentality and expand, or do we stay small and safe? The time is right for either; we just have to choose. If we choose small one day, that’s okay, because we know that a new choice is right around the corner, and we’ve chosen big – and succeeded! – before, so we can do it again.

We can learn new skills. We can smash PRs. We can get to know who we really are and what we really want. We can deepen our intimacy and trust in relationships. We can pursue our passions. It’s all available to us; the door is wide open. We have to cultivate the courage and create the space to step through it.

How to hip hinge and move into powerful deadlifts

How to hip hinge and move into powerful deadlifts

Stephanie Ondrusek
coaching, general BAMFery, mindset

There’s literally nothing I love more than the camaraderie amongst true fitness people in the gym. I’m not talking about the meatheads that slam things around (although I do my fair share of that) and bicep curl all day (in the squat rack…that’s not what it’s for, bro) and grunt and slam NO-Xplode and rub orange self-tanner all over the bench you wanted to use.

Not to knock them, because, do your thing, but my people are the ones who strive to improve every day. Who see the gym as a training ground for life, and who are there to motivate themselves and celebrate the accomplishments of others. They’re there – I promise! I know, because I’m one of them. And I have a few people that come at my same time of day, and every time we’re there together, we ask how the program is, how the goal is, how work is, how life is…everything.

And when one of them hits a new PR? Or has a business success? Or proposes to his girlfriend? FIREWORKS, MAN. We’re on this Earth to cheer each other on in this relentless pursuit of expansion. We’re all trying to do better, have better, and be better, so it’s important to find the ones who support our mission and push us to keep on loading, reminding us every time we stop or burn or almost quit that we are powerful and worthy of growth.

Few lifts will prove this as thoroughly as the deadlift.

Embrace the suck (you've heard it before, and I'm here to tell you again) (+ a workout!)

Embrace the suck (you've heard it before, and I'm here to tell you again) (+ a workout!)

Stephanie Ondrusek
coaching, FAQs + hacks, general BAMFery, mindset, workouts

The bench press has taught me what God has been showing me basically my entire life: the dreamers, the doers, the problem solvers, the hippies – we aren’t meant for a life of mundane. We aren’t meant to uphold the status quo, to go with the flow, or do what someone tells us to do just for the sake of doing it. We’re meant to change the world, one step at a time, and to do that, we’ve gotta get in the mud and find out where the pain is and why it hurts. Embracing the suck means more than just acknowledging that it’s shitty; it’s loving every second of it, knowing that it’s useful.

Ultimately, our lives are up to us. We get to choose to be glad for even the things we hate, and we get to choose to make them better, if that’s how we’re so called. The iron can teach us that, and, if we look, so will the rest of life.

Transferable life skills: 4 steps to setting up for the barbell back squat

Transferable life skills: 4 steps to setting up for the barbell back squat

Stephanie Ondrusek
coaching, FAQs + hacks, general BAMFery, mindset

Ah, the squat.

It’s humbled everyone out there, in one way or another.

We’ve all seen videos of huge dudes with 58 plates loaded on a bent bar amping themselves up, Lebron-ing some chalk around, and looking like their heads are gonna explode somehow go down and come back up with those hundreds of pounds.

An impressive feat, to be sure, but also unlikely to be any of our goals here in real life (cool party trick, though); it’s far more likely to cause a bunch of anxiety surrounding what is, at the bottom of everything, a fundamental movement pattern for life.

We look at the bar, we remember the intimidating videos, we remember that we’re new – that we’re in the conscious incompetence or conscious competence stage of learning – and instantly feel that, because we aren’t yet masters, we’re unworthy. We talk ourselves out of great things every day, team, because of this feeling, and, a lot of times, overcoming this in bigger, more impactful areas of life starts with giving ourselves a smaller victory to build momentum: overcoming this in the gym (or on the yoga mat, or deep in meditation, or if we somehow find ourselves on a treadmill, fill in the blank.).

We’ve cultivated awareness, we’ve gotten our breath under us, we’ve accepted our situation, and here, in the barbell squat, we have our first challenge.

So! I’m gonna walk you through it, from a form perspective, step by step. Because if some meathead dude can do it, so can you (also, hello to any meathead dudes that may be reading this, and sorry you’re on the back burner rn.).

#WonderWomanLoading

#WonderWomanLoading

Stephanie Ondrusek
mindset, general BAMFery

I say, “I lift heavy shit” all the time, and it’s true. But I don’t just mean a physical external load. We’ve all overcome quite a few things to get to where we are, and it’s all heavy. Having the mentality that we aren’t teeny tiny mice who are here by chance, but as a consequence of our strength, changes everything. We get to choose to take up the space we’re allotted and then create more. In the gym, in our relationships, in life. #WonderWomanLoading is the motto ‘round these parts.

Turning Temporary Goals into Automatic Habits: a Shame-Busting Guide

Turning Temporary Goals into Automatic Habits: a Shame-Busting Guide

Stephanie Ondrusek
coaching, general BAMFery, mindset, ballgnorance

A la Voltaire, being a little less perfect to be a little more consistent is where it’s at. Cutting ourselves some slack, acknowledging that we’re bound to screw up, just like everyone else, and making it no big deal releases the shame associated with perfection. And we all know that shame – a message that tells us that we are this screwup, and we’ll never get it right – is not a motivator, but a prison.

For whatever change upon which we are embarking, this is the key. A lot of us (helloooo, mostly speaking to myself, but hopefully this resonates and I’m not alone. If I am, you’re about to see one of the reasons my anxiety comes out to play, so keep reading for a show) fear change, because the associated pain of changing is really a fear of not being good enough.

We assign super-deep meaning to this change – we know whatever it is will make us a better, stronger, cooler version of ourselves – and if we fail to make it happen, then we are shitty/weak/lame. So, often times, it’s easier to stay where we are, and be kinda okay, than to try something new.

HELLO!!!!

Writing that down for the first time a few years ago made me realize how small and silly that was. Would you say that to your best friend, if they tried something new and didn’t get it exactly right the first time? To your kid? To your dog?

Okay, maybe to your dog. I’m not super lenient, emotionally, when Lara Croft chews something new.  But, otherwise, come on.

Change is admirable. Trying to do better for ourselves is a noble pursuit, no matter the outcome. And guess what! 100% of the time, we become better, no matter what: we either learn something about ourselves, achieve a goal, or are a step closer.

So, how do we adopt this mindset to make change permanent? To move from temporary resolution to automatic habit?

Create Your Life (We Have Zee Powaaa!)

Stephanie Ondrusek
coaching, general BAMFery, mindset, offers

One of my favorite Richard Branson quotes is, “if an opportunity knocks, and you don’t know the answer, take it and figure it out.” Coming from a person who went from big box gym environment to corporate wellness environment to now working for herself, all with very little clue to what she was doing at the beginning of each endeavor (and zero formal preparation for one of those transitions), I can assure you, you got this. It may be uncomfortable, and it may get weird, but it will all work for your good. There are very few things in life that are un-figure-out-able.

We get to create our lives through our choices, and we are more powerful than we realize.

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