Why I would rather have THIS than Six Pack Abs
Are six-pack abs truly the ultimate fitness goal, or is there more to the story? In this episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast, I dive into our long-standing obsession with chiseled abs and encourage a shift towards something far more valuable—functional core strength. For years, like many, I thought those cover-model abs were the pinnacle of fitness success, but the real powerhouse lies in the core’s intricate muscles—obliques, pelvic floor, and lower back—working together to stabilize and protect.
Rather than chasing aesthetics, embracing core strength builds a central support system that boosts stability, confidence, and control in everyday life. Tune in to discover five reasons why redefining core strength can transform your fitness journey.
I also discuss:
(01:16) Figureoutable Postpartum Challenges
(04:06) Debunking the Benefits of Abs
and more!
If you want more from me, be sure to check out...
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Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
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Amazon Storefront: Julie Ledbetter's Amazon Page
Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Real with Me. Do I better? I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go. Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode. We have all been there setting these big fitness goals. Feeling pumped to achieve them, whether it's, you know, losing a certain number of pounds or getting this strength back to where you previously were, or fitting into a certain clothes that maybe you've been wanting to fit into whatever it is, Right? We all have that big goal in mind and we're super pumped to achieve it and we're very motivated at first, but the motivation quickly wears off. Like those goals start to feel very distant, especially as we head into the colder, busier months of the holidays. And progress doesn't come as quickly as you hoped for. And that's where things can get really frustrating. But the truth is focusing only on those big goals that's going to lead you to setting unrealistic goals and really trying to reach unattainable goals will eventually lead us to burnout. So what if we actually shifted our focus? What if, instead of obsessing about the end result, we started to really obsess about the small wins along the way. You know, those little moments of progress that might seem insignificant at first, but they actually matter much more than you realize. That's why in today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you five reasons why you need to stop focusing on big goals and instead start celebrating small wins and how to do so to help keep you motivated, enjoy the progress and process, and ultimately lead you to even greater success. Before we dive in, though, I want to share this review. It comes from Nicole a she give a five star review and said, Love this podcast, straightforward, useful, easy to understand content. Julie's presentation is natural and she has a knack for connecting with her audience. I love the information. I also appreciate the high quality audio as well as the clarity of Julie's voice. The whole experience is enjoyable. Thank you, Julie, for teaching us so well through this podcast. I'm so grateful. Well, that is all my patio, my podcast audio content team. They are amazing at editing and they are incredible at putting together the podcasts each and every single week. And I honestly could not do it without them. And so I'm so grateful for them. I'm also so thankful that this podcast is helping you. So thank you so much, Nicole, for taking time out of your day to send in this review. If you guys could scooch over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating interview, that would mean so, so much if you haven't left your review before. I would love to just hear how this podcast has helped you. Maybe you left your review a couple of years ago, but there has been a specific episode over the past few weeks or few months that really just struck a chord with you that really just hit you. I would love to hear what that episode was and how it helped you. I also it helped so much to not only our team just kind of know how this podcast is helping our audience, but also helps people who stumble upon the podcast. They typically read the reviews to see if it's something worth their time. So thank you in advance for doing that. It really does help us out and it helps keep our show completely free of ads. All right. Let's dive into the five reasons why this habit will lead to better results. Number one, small wins keep motivation revving. And if it doesn't keep your motivation, revving, at the very least keeps your discipline driving, revving. Either way, it's going to keep the fire alive within you to keep pushing, right? It's easy to get excited about a big goal at the start of your journey. But as time passes and as the goal still feels far away, that excitement can fade. The goal just seems too far away. It doesn't feel like it's actually attainable. And if it's going to take you a year to reach the goal, why not just wait until next week to get started? Like that's what you have going in your brain, right? Hear me out. Instead of waiting for that big moment to feel accomplished. What if you started to celebrate the small wins along the way to keep your motivation alive? Like what if you had small wins that you could aim for to celebrate weekly? Wouldn't that feel a lot more satisfying? Wouldn't having weekly wins to keep celebrating, keep it more fun and exciting? And wouldn't it make you feel like you're actually accomplishing and making progress? Which kind of leads me to number two, small wins really does build momentum. Like these big goals can sometimes feel very overwhelming, especially when you don't see the immediate results. I mean, especially when you don't see the immediate results. We live in this instant gratification world and these long term goals don't fuel that. But small, attainable goals that lead to consistent small wins does fuel that need for that instant gratification that we automatically have because we live in this Amazon prime world. But by focusing on small wins, you really do build that momentum like it snowballs and it gives. The snowball effect. Each small win gives you more motivation. Each small win gets you more excited to keep going. Each small win validates the journey that you are on, and these little moments of success really help keep you staying consistent because they make the journey feel more attainable and more important and they make it feel more worth it. When you start to notice that you're improving bit by bit, it really does reinforce that habit of showing up and doing the work and over time. This consistency leads to long term success without the frustration of waiting for those major milestones. Number three small wins really do help you to enjoy the journey. Like when you're fixated so much on the big goal, it is easy to feel like you're always chasing something that's out of reach. It feels elusive. It feels like a mirage in the distance ahead of you. And no matter how many steps you take, it doesn't feel like you're getting any closer. This mindset not only leads you to frustration, but it can also lead you to feeling like you're never quite there. You know what I mean? Like by focusing on small wins, though, you really allow yourself to stay present and appreciate the process because at the end of the day, the steps that you're taking to reach the goal are the things that should be habits that you're forming that will hopefully be lifelong habits, right? If they're lifelong goals, they will be lifelong habits. So if you don't enjoy them, you have a problem. And that's why you have to figure out how to actually enjoy the process, how to enjoy your workouts, how to enjoy nourishing your body, how to enjoy the healthy habits that you're building. And if you don't find a way to enjoy them, well, it's going to be difficult to stay consistent with them long term. We need those small joys to become a part of your progress. This shift in mindset really does help to find more fulfillment in the journey and not just in the destination. Number four Small wins Take the pressure off. Big goals often come with this big pressure. When you feel like you have to achieve something huge, it can lead to this huge stress. It can even lead to burnout or even the temptation of giving up if you're not hitting those milestones fast enough. And it can also lead us to taking extreme measures to see the results faster. We work out longer. We work out harder. We take no days off. We deprive ourselves of nourishing meals. We try to eat as little as possible. We crash diet. We over exercise because we have this constant pressure to reach this big goal, and we're not seeing the results fast enough. But celebrating small wins takes the pressure off. It's not about the big goal, and it's especially not about reaching the big goal quickly. Instead, it's about celebrating the small wins along the way that encourage us to take a healthy, sustainable approach to reaching our overall arching big goal. It's really a way of validating your efforts without this constant expectation of hitting this major goal. This reduces stress and also helps you to stay committed over the long term because you're not constantly battling the pressure to be perfect. And last but not least, number five small wins remind you that progress happens in small steps. Big goals are often the result of many small actions repeated over time. Let me say that again. Big goals are often the result of many small actions repeated over time small wins that are compounded. This is what leads us to this big accomplishment at the end. It's the small steps. It's the extra wrap, it's the consistent workouts, it's the healthy meals that add up to significant results. Ultimately, this is the only way to reach your goal in a healthy, sustainable way. In fact, it is the only way to make sure that your results last long term. So by focusing on small wins, you really start to appreciate the importance of these daily actions. Instead of getting discouraged by how far away these big goals feel. You really start to realize that every day you can have a small victory and that step closer takes you to that overall arching big goal Each day that you have is an opportunity to succeed. This mindset shift makes progress feel more tangible and also reinforces the idea that success is built on consistent, small efforts rather than one big leap. I may repeat that again. Success is built on consistent small efforts rather than one big leap. So there you have it. Those are five reasons why you should be focusing on small wins. Let me quickly recap what I talked about in today's episode. Number one small wins. Keep your motivation revving. Number two, small wins build momentum. Number three, small wins. Help you enjoy that journey. Number four, small wins. Take the pressure off. And last but not least, in number five. Small wins remind you that progress happens in small steps. Next week, I'm really going to dive into what these small wins can look like and giving you a bunch of ideas and how you can start to celebrate these small wins weekly. But until then, if you haven't already checked out Episode 272 How to Handle Life. Getting in the way of your fitness goals. I highly recommend that you check out that episode. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below. But that is all that I have for today's bonus episode. I hope that you found this helpful. I love you so much. I mean it. And I'll talk to you in the next one. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram. Be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes. It's women in the middle for that Daily Post workout. Real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts and never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace Maria, because you're worth it. [00:00:00]