LWLFitness

We believe that self-love and confidence are not just byproducts of physical activity but essential components of a fulfilling life. We will inspire a new wave of self-assuredness and resilience. Together, we can rewrite the narrative around your self-worth and inspire positive changes; physically & mentally. Our science based, customized fitness programs allow you to feel your best from the inside out and practice self-disciple and celebrate your body for what its capabile of!

Join our crew this Valentine’s Day and take a step towards valuing yourself and embracing use code SLS for 40% off any training program we offer (valid for 1 month of service, offer runs until Feb. 15th!)

Limited space for Fall ‘22 but making room for partners and couples that want to support each other along the wellness path!

The TWICE AS NICE package pricing will drop at 9:00pm ET tonight!

https://www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

If you aimed for 2022 to be your healthiest year yet but have struggled with consistency or not seen all the results you hoped for than let us help!

Lydia is a Certified Personal Trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) with a Functional Movement specialty and Bachelor of Science in Health Assessment and Health Promotion. We want to encourage you on detailed fitness program applying scientific principles to reach your goals!

www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness or for more information

This week I had a client ask, "What are the best foods for me to eat? Do you have recommendations?"

This quite frankly is a loaded question and one I could TALK ABOUT FOR HOURS! But let me save you some time...

If weight loss is your goal, of course, I have some recommendations that are lower in calorie and may help you reach your goals faster. I have some recommendations that help you feel more sustained and less hungry and therefore better stay in a deficit. But wanna know some other things? If these recommendations make you feel restricted or make eating a chore and not enjoyable THAN YOU ARE NOT GOING TO SUCCEED!

FIRST AND FOREMOST, the best foods to eat are the ones you enjoy eating and can easily incorporate into your daily life. Eating balanced and healthy should allow for eating all the things you love. Instead of focusing on WHAT to eat take all your efforts in learning your body and its hunger cues. Try a few new foods that you might learn to also love and enjoy. Find moderation and learn about portion sizes. These are all learned skills that will help you understand when your body does not need additional energy and make this journey a sustainable part of your life!

www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness or to work with us!

The term ACCESSORY is most often used in more experienced strength training programs. It is a concept that focuses on the main 'big lifts' and compound movements as the most important.

Anyone with specific strength goals in movements (or CORE lifts) like the: squat, deadlift, power clean, bent over row, pullup and overhead presses CAN ALL BENEFIT from a detailed accessory lift plan!

Accessory lifts have 3 major outcomes if planned and executed correctly. 1. COMPLEMENT the compound and total body movements that you are training and looking to gain strength in. 2. IMPROVE overall strength balance and overall performance. 3. BUILD foundational fitness without being as taxing, tiring, or exhaustive on the central nervous system, joints and ligaments.

As a trainer, the accessory lifts applied to your program will vary based on your strength gaps, experience with the core/compound movements and your goals or previous injury history! If you want to know how often, when within your workout, or how many accessories you should incorporate into your strength plan, head to our website or schedule a consultation with us!

www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness or

The most common fitness related goal is weight loss, so naturally when it comes to nutrition the majority of questions I get are about how to eat for weight loss!

And I'll say this - people get distracted by the details. Not that they aren't important at all, but rather that I wouldn't take a first year medical student and put him in the operating room to do a surgery on patient. There is so much to be learned, practiced, and CONSISTENT WITH before branching into nutrient timing and supplementation.

All too often someone getting started hears someone very experienced talking about their habits and thinks that is what got them there. So, the BASICS.

Fat loss comes from being in a caloric deficit. 3,500 calories burned will equal one pound of body fat lost. The term 'burned' essentially meaning that if you reduce your normal intake and increase activity you will create a deficit that forces your body to go into its fat stores to find the energy it needs to continue living, moving, performing, metabolically processing. Overall, that is most important. You can be eating ALL OF THE HEALTHIEST foods but if it is over what your body needs to sustain itself and your activity level, surprise, that wonderful and nutrient dense food is getting stored as fat just the same as a combo meal at McDonald's. And probably in your least favorite area to see it (thanks, genetics!)

Alot of factors exist when understanding what your body needs (i.e. how much) like...your current food consumption, your muscle mass, your activity level, your age...just to name a few. I won't put blanket recommendations out there for all these reasons. Your body is no one else's and it has different needs and a deficit will look different for every individual.

A couple things apply however you want to make balanced choices to make sure that while you drop your overall energy intake you still have the vitamins and minerals you need. One of my favorites tips for that is trying to build each meal with as many colors as possible. A general rule of thumb is that the more vibrant and dark the colors of the food, the more nutrients is has (and lighter in color means more water content!)

Protein should be high for a few reasons - its thermogenic effect and the part it plays in protein synthesis for your body composition. Probably another post just in those items completely! Your situation and factors will dictate anywhere from 0.8-1.25g of protein per pound of your GOAL bodyweight, generally.

Water plays a part in each of the bodys functions so for the body to effectively burn fat as fuel you will need it! Drink up. Besides many of us have misinterpreted thirst as hunger because we are chronically dehydrated.

At we do offer macronutrient coaching as an add-on to our training services. If you have questions or want to do a consult just let us know.

We are so grateful to our crew who choose LWLFitness to train, mentor, and coach them towards their goals!

We recently asked for some testimonials and this is what one of our seasoned clients had to say about working with us!

"I LOVE LWLFitness! I can complete the workouts at home when it’s convenient for me. This has really helped me stick with the program. The workouts are challenging, but not beyond my physical ability. The custom programming takes into account previous injuries and adapts to my goals. The app notifications remind me of workouts and help keep me on track.

The team chat function [within the LWLFitness custom mobile app] is fun. Getting a notification that your teammates are cheering for you is encouraging. A little positive peer pressure can be a good thing."

Thanks and love to our crew!!! Join us at: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

Starting May 10th we will be in Leesburg doing weekly classes for our Strong Mom Campaign! Come join us 😁

Enroll today at our website!
https://www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness/Lydia.Venuti/

A few keys for muscle growth. If developing your muscle size, shape, strength is your goal you can't get away from the importance of recovery, sleep and hydration. So, don't neglect any of that. You are also more than likely going to want to reduce your training frequency to allow for more rest hours between lifts for muscle synthesis. When it comes to the kitchen, however, think of the following that can also help you!

1. Eat more total - to build you'll need to be in a surplus of energy. I.e. consuming more food and calories than you are burning daily. This is a balancing act because you want enough surplus to add muscle without so much that the energy you consume gets stored in your body as fat cells. We have lots of ways to help you assess and navigate what is right your body if you are interested in nutrition coaching.

2. Eat more often. You'll want to ensure that your body has a wonderful supply and constant access to fuel the constant turnover of muscle proteins, so to continue the turnover (which is done in two different types of metabolic processes) and consequent muscle adaptations or growth. This is all happening without many physical cues so that means your body if you want to optimize growth should have plenty of nutrients in reserve to make it happen!

3. Think about timing - for some of the same reasons, you'll want to make sure that when you go to sleep as your body fasts it has enough fuel to continue metabolic processes. So, getting a slow digesting protein meal along with some fats help that process directly before bed makes a difference. I personally love a micellar casein protein along with a tablespoon of pb on a rice cake. But if supplements aren't a huge line item on your budget, choosing whole foods is also a wonderful option.

If this helps you or someone you know, give it a like, share, or tag PLEASE! If you want more details on how to work with us than go to: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

Hi, I'm Lydia!

Many of you know that, but who and what else AM I?

Whether you've known me for a long time as a previous friend or connection or you are new to any of our social media pages I want to tell you more about my training methodology and goals with !

I'll start at the beginning, my first memory of exercise and health was watching my Mom do living room step aerobics! This was a fun introduction :) I remember grabbing my stool that I used to brush my teeth to use as my step as she turned on 'Buns of Steel' because of this I always associated working out with fun memories and family.

I continued to be active throughout childhood with sports and family walks. At the age of 16 I started at a local community center in the weight room working the floor. As I developed there I had the interest to start instructing group exercises classes and personal training. I start with water aerobics and floor routines, even teaching early morning spin classes. I took on a handful of personal training clients as I pursued a Bachelor of Science (in Health Assessment and Health Promotion) at James Madison University.

As part of my last semester I worked with a local Firefighter and did all my practicals: Vo2 Max assessment, Dexa scan, body composition testing, and flexibility assessments. Part of that was also an internship at Gold's Gym during my last semester.

The Army called my name and I launched into a career in Human Resources, but continued to lead the morning physical trainings sessions for my units as often as possible. Shortly following my deployment I started bodybuilding in the scene.

As the pandemic started, much of the fitness industry did a pivot to online training. I took this as an opportunity start my own business and develop an mobile training application and begin taking on clients again, so I reinstated my American Council on Exercise (ACE) Certified Personal Trainer and studied to add the Functional Training Specialist to my certification. It is at this point in my life I want to invest my energy into the things I love doing vs. the corporate hustle, grind, and stress.

LWLFitness started with a mission to help others specifically with self worth and self confidence. We want to teach others how to use physical activity and learning disciple as a way to:

redefine themselves
overcome negative thoughts
learn to find validation internally
increase self confidence
be the best version of themselves
create sustainable healthy habits
overall increase their longevity

We believe in the power of positive thinking and the mind-body connection. It's about total health. We believe in providing you with tools to succeed and teaching yourself to be discipled by keeping the promises you make to yourself. That will give you so much pride in all you are capable of! I primarily do 1:1 and ABSOLUTELY custom fitness programs with a weekly check-in, BUT recently we are developing 3 month programs that are centered around individuals with similar goals! All our offerings can be found at the LWLFitness website.

Work with us: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

What are you waiting for? Let us help you learn to find self-love and confidence through health and fitness!

Checkout our website: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

Fitness coaches and online trainers are a dime a dozen. If you've ever worked with one and had a negative experience it can truly create some baggage. After all, your personal trainer should be a very trusted individual in your life. It is a relationship and if you unknowingly put your health and trust in someone who rather has their bottom dollar on their mind you will suffer. Your results will suffer. Your emotions will suffer. And your perception of health in general can suffer.

Taking a step to hire a personal trainer or coach is a commitment to yourself and an investment in your longevity. Just like any other investment that means you need to do your research.

I've worked with coaches in my competition 'career' and as a coach now I have some attributes you should be thinking about when hiring one.

1. Ability to Listen! This is for a few reasons. Number one is trust factor. If you can't be comfortable and honest to them by speaking where you are at or what your struggles are than the relationship will not be successful. If your coach and trainer isn't asking you questions, listening to your answers or getting any information from you because you aren't comfortable it probably isn't a good fit for you. They need to know and hear your challenges to most effectively plan and develop a program that can help you meet your goals. So find someone that is easy for you to open up to and to share with them. You shouldn't feel overrun or cutoff or like you can't get a word in. On the flip side, if you try to open up and it falls on deaf ears or you're only getting crickets in return than you also aren't being supported in a way that will work for you longterm!

2. Honesty. This may apply more to very competitive or sports specific individuals. If you are constantly hearing what you want to hear than you (both) might be slowing down your progress. Your coach should be A cheerleader for you, BUT you've also hired a coach who can teach you things. So if the teaching and sometimes difficult recommendations or challenges aren't there than you've hired the wrong person.

4. Combination of Certifications and Experience. Obviously, education is very important to do some fact checking on. Your favorite fit-fluencer before breaking out your debit card should be fact checked...the most respected certifications for Personal Trainer in the industry are NASM, ACE, ACSM and ISSA, If it's not one of these but they are charging a high price tag you should be asking some follow-up questions because, look, everyone has to start somewhere. Without a degree or certification and taking on their first few client is great, but that should be equivalent to their rates. The real world experience is unmatched. No case study is going to be completely applicable to all your health and wellness factors. But selecting a trainer that has 2-3 years already under their belt means they have encountered your wellness factors before, but just from a wide variety of different people. This experience will allow them to apply techniques they used on a variety of other clients (not cut and paste) but as a starting reference for you to progress from in combination with other factors other circumstances to combine into a program that works for you.

5. Provides Options not Prescriptions. One rule applies - unless you are highly involved in sports performance or competition - there are ALOT of ways to make progress. Its about finding the formula that works for you because its sustainable and you actually enjoy doing it. That means you should have a plan that involves alternatives or if you hate something you can talk about it and come up with an option that's better for you. If you are getting just one very specific and rigid program, ask some questions, it was very likely written for someone else and not at all adapted to you personally.

In closing, hiring a coach is a big deal. It is having a second set of eyes to help you fight the lies and negativity you sometimes tell yourself. It is a knowledgeable person who can adapt scientific principles to your specific circumstances. It is knowing industry standards and recommendations approved by health professionals because of studies and using them to create a plan for a sustainable and healthier life. It is someone to teach you how to implement habits. It is someone to voice your challenges and help you keep yourself accountable. All these things mean you've got to be doing your research. If you are interested, let us know. We are thinking about doing a part II that lists all the difficult questions you could/should be using to vet your personal trainer. If you wanna work with us, you know how: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness hit the link.

LWLFitness now takes appointments on their Page.

Share with your favorite new mommy! As if all the stressors of bringing a new babe into the world aren't enough, many new moms face battles with postpartum depression. What they choose to fuel their body with can significantly help with tissue repair, recovery, and milk supply!

1. HYDRATION - now I say this almost every nutrition post. I'm a broken record. But in a postpartum journey its all the more critical. You just lost a significant amount of blood. In addition, you have a wonderful postpartum period to enjoy and your body has to product that liquid gold. Your water and electrolyte intake play a big role surviving this and feeling the best possible throughout it, so drink up!

2. For tissue repair your body will need protein, specifically in the amino acids glycine and proline. Now a huge part of collagen is glycine and proline so that's an option, but bone broth, grass-fed beef, and chicken work as well if you just can't stomach a collagen powder. Proteins from animal sources are rich in these but also any protein will also give you a good source of iron to replenish your blood loss. Protein is going to allow your body tissue to repair more quickly so don't skimp on it. The more fruits and veggies you eat the better your body will absorb the proteins and use them - so try to really think of your nutrition as an active part of your recovery process (vitamins A/B/C/zinc as some of the most important to help with absorption).

3. MICRONUTRIENTS - vitamin deficiencies are linked to postnatal mood disorders. On the market there are tons of multivitamins specifically marketed to this and I'm sure they'd help, but I'm also sure they are overpriced and beautifully packaged to get at your wallet. In my opinion, go straight to the source! Mainly aim for folate, iron, selenium, zinc, calcium, omega-3s. Some examples: brazil nuts, seafood, dark green leafy veggies, sesame seeds, almonds, edamame, figs, beets, citrus fruits, walnuts, salmon, flax and chia seeds.

Please tag a momma in need of some encouragement! We'd love to welcome new moms to our crew and help you navigate the world of fitness post baby-making! Find us at our website or IG page www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness OR

One of the topic topics you recently asked us to talk about was ....HEALTHY EATING ON A BUDGET.....

I mean there are obvious tips here: cook at home, don't get take out as often, shop in season, shop in the sale section, use coupons. But beyond those, I've found a few other things that paid off.

1. Avoid the individually packaged and obviously marketed as 'health' items. I always encourage eating whole foods and getting nutrients from the source. The convenience factor is hard to get away from but if its meant to travel and last a longtime you are paying more for the package, label, and idea that its healthy. I'm thinking the single serve oatmeals, protein bars, yogurts. None of those are necessarily bad, but overpriced and more than likely have more sugar than you need and other additives to make them last on the shelf.

2. Get yourself high quality to-go containers. They will in fact pay off. My favorite brand is . Reduce, reuse, recycle BUT I promise you will be saving by buying the plain oats and making your own (you can mix and match flavorings, fruit, sweeteners, extracts) for so much cheaper. The same goes for switching out a large bucket of greek yogurt vs. the individual cups. However, as always, you should be reading the nutrient facts because not all things are created equal. Do you homework and plan ahead. But having quality meal prepping containers makes it cheaper over the longer, better for the environment, and dare I say fun if you're proud of your lunchbox.

3. Get rid of the idea you need a healthy recipe! That mostly adds stress to my life, more ingredients and a longer store receipt. A balanced meal just needs the building blocks of macronutrients: protein, carb, and fat. To be eating healthy does not mean finding 7 different recipes on Pinterest and cooking them all. I'm not saying don't plan ahead, but you need to have a plan to be successful. Plan by using your grocery store app and knowing what is on sale in advance to pair with other things, grabbing whatever coupons are available.

4. Use your membership card and store app. I've logged up to $400 already this year just by enrolling and selecting energy options that were marked down. The DC area Giant stores are even doing a demo on and app called Flashfood that discounts our close to 'Best By' date foods at 50% you get an automatic notification when the foods drop for you to pick them up and cook that day! This is a pilot program in our are they are looking for rollout to a larger part of the US.

5. Buy and cook in bulk - especially proteins and carbs. You have the ability to have healthy food at your fingertips because its readily available when you want to order out or pick an option that doesn't align to your goals. If you cook in bulk you can then store and save them in different containers USING DIFFERENT FLAVORS. So, that helps with seasonings and flavors to create variety even if you are eating the same ingredients.

6. Repurpose foods. I worked with alot of moms that have veggies and fruits specifically going to waste towards the end of the week. I highly recommend baking with these things and intentionally adding protein powder mixed in with the flour and substituting a nut milk vs. whole milk and a healthier fat (olive or avocado oil for instance). The options are endless - muffins or pancakes or bread loaves all with better macros and your older fruits without going to waste. Smoothies are another alternative, but overused and I personally like to eat my food. But if its for you add the older veggies in with fruits and it can be a good combination without letting things go to waste!

I hope these tips helped you. Tag or share with a friend who is looking to create healthier habits in the kitchen. Wanna work with us? Head to on Instagram OR www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness

Time and again I talk to individuals who have lost heart and motivation in their fitness. They are discouraged and emotionally tired. They worked hard and were focused on goal (unrealistic expectations and impatience often play a role. Different topic for a different day!! They feel they just don’t have much to show for it! The biggest factor in staying motivated is training yourself to see alternative and multiple measures of success. You may have one primary goal but I always encourage having supplementary goals as well. These allow you all the more to see the bigger picture of your efforts and accomplishments.

What does that really look like? You probably see many trainers or influencers talk about your WHY. And, yes, it’s important to understand your underlying purpose and motivation but I’d argue that it’s slightly less important than building the skill of finding and seeing your success. The military taught me this is ‘hunting the good stuff’

Let’s talk about some of the less than glamorous measures of success to think about. These often are occurring in the background by taking 2nd place to the number your seeing on the scale or the oh so popular goal of weight loss! You have to reflect and train your mind to see these happening! I branch these into the categories of: mental, performance, emotional, physical. And during weekly checkins I ask my clients to provide several accomplishments of the week in different categories. Now, depending on the week that certainly is a challenge, but it’s the discipline of finding them that’s the exercise. It gets easier and ultimately showing up for yourself and finding the positives is what keeps you progressing and getting 1% better everyday.

1. Increased knowledge/education (mental). This could be that you learned a supplement or how meal timing can help you reach your goals. It could be that you learned how to perform a new exercise or learned a new muscle group and what movements it’s involved in. Maybe it’s even about how the body’s using macronutrients or a new healthy recipe. This is all progress towards a healthier life.

2. Better performance (physical). This can be a lot of things. Stronger by weight, by rep, by set, by distance but it can also be your compliance to your exercise routine. So completing every workout without skipping, etc. holding a plank longer or upping the resistance on your bike or rower. You get the idea!

3. Nutrition improvements (physical/emotional). Again, depending on goals and your current fitness level. This could be tracking your intake every single, could just be adding a glass or 2 of water and serving of vegetables to your meal. It could be eating more often throughout the day or getting more protein. In some circumstances it’s even avoiding a binge temptation or not feeling guilty after certain food choices. Count it ALL as success!

4. Separation from the scale (emotional). This one depends on where you are at in life. I’ve worked with several individuals and myself included here, that needed to step away from the scale to recognize other success factors and build self confidence. This can be scary especially to someone hyper focused on weight and food tracking. There maybe a variety of things right for you in your step of life, but ultimately if your only goal is weight related I’m going to recommend we set some additional goals and force ourselves to see other metrics beyond the scale. Now that doesn’t mean we forgo physical progress - not at all - simply means we use progress photos, measurements and how clothes feel to gauge body composition.

Hope these help you or a friend! Don’t forget to checkout our IG or for links to how to work with us and additional materials!

We are ALL EARS! Over the next several months we are significantly increasing our availability and want to know some of the most important things you look for in a personal trainer and coach among others things that will help us be a more supportive community to our members. IF you have a few minutes to help us out, please fill out the anonymous survey so that we can improve. Thanks!

Survey Link: https://w8wu87evg5b.typeform.com/to/Rr47ZkVG
Our website: www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness
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Raise your hand IF.....

You've 'fallen off the wagon', 'let yourself go', gotten 'out of shape', you've not finished a fitness program or challenge you signed up for.

We all have. It happens and it's okay. This is definitely not a shame post! But what I can tell you is that I work with a lot of people all too harsh and mean to themselves when it does happen. So, in all my journeys, I'm sharing 4 things that can help GET US STARTED AGAIN!

1. Embrace and ask for help! Finding a supportive community can make the whole thing so much more fun. You'll be more connected to those with similar goals and it'll be easier with external encouragement.

2. Think smaller. My three favorite words for people getting active again are: simplify, shorten, and reduce! This can apply to workout frequency per week, minutes of activity per session, or the type of activity in general.

3. Get more creative. There are too many options at your fingertips for you to hate your fitness program and suffer. If you haven't found your fitness outlet just keep an open mind and keep trying until you find something you enjoy. If you couldn't stick with it long term or didn't enjoy doing it once you got started - its not for you!

4. Eliminate the things that make is easy to use an excuse. Make an excuse free zone that is prepared. That could mean setting out your workout clothes the night before, keeping the foods that don't align to your goals out of your kitchen cabinets, preparing proteins in bulk in advance, etc.

Hope this helps you or someone you know get back into an active lifestyle. If you liked this post, please do us a favor and tag someone who might enjoy it or share it. www.trainerize.me/profile/lwlfitness