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Thursday, October 9, 2025

My go-to travel workout ✈️

  October 09, 2025    

Here’s a common scenario that pops up all the time:

“I’m traveling for the next few days. What should I do for my workout?”

Great question!

Today, I want to share with you my go-to workout routine for when I travel.

I’ve used a variation of this workout for over a decade with clients who are traveling for work, a wedding, a long-overdue vacation, you name it.

Let’s break it down together so you know exactly what to do the next time you hit the road. 🙌

But first, I like to ask a really important question:

“What do you want this trip to look like?”

Because there’s no one “right” answer.

You might:

  • Stick closely to your current program and hunt for a hotel gym, etc. (important if staying consistent matters for your goal – or just if you enjoy it!)
  • Take a much needed rest week (which is totally fine – research suggests that one-week of full rest does not hinder strength or muscle building. 💪)
  • Or switch to a travel-friendly plan to maintain momentum (that’s what we’ll cover today!)

Whatever it is, we just want to know why we’re doing it so we can plan accordingly.

For anyone who wants to move, feel good, and return home without losing your rhythm, here’s my go-to Travel Bodyweight Workout Framework.

The 5-Movement Framework

When I’m traveling, I keep it simple with a full-body workout split that hits a bit of everything.

That way, I’m not “waiting” to work other parts of my body. I might not even get to that next workout, as travel can be unpredictable at best!

Exercise #1: Squat Pattern

Progressions:

Tip: If you struggle with squat mobility, try placing a rolled up towel under your heels to give yourself a bit of elevation. This takes ankle mobility out of the equation! Recommended for Assisted and Bodyweight squat variations. 👍

Exercise #2: Push Pattern

Progressions:

Tip: Initiate the push-up by imagining you are leaning forward slightly from the shoulders – it will make it harder!

Exercise #3: Hinge Pattern

Progressions:

Tip: The hinge is one of the harder things to train while on the road. If you can’t get a good workout with one of these, I like trying a ​Lateral Squat or Lunge​ as an alternative.

Exercise #4: Pull Pattern

Progressions:

Tip: The other challenging trait to train on the road. I particularly like the Corner Tuck but see what works for you! I’ve had some clients pack a Resistance Band so they can add things like Band Rows and Pullaparts without it taking up a ton of space.

Exercise #5: Auxiliary / Core / Conditioning

Options:

Tip: This is a “free-for-all” spot in the workout. I’ll typically do some sort of Core movement here, but this is a good place to throw conditioning or any other specific auxiliary work like Lateral Raises using a backpack, etc. if you’d prefer!

How to Use It

You might have noticed: “But Matt, there’s no sets and reps listed here?”

I can’t sneak anything past you. 😉 I typically run this one of two ways:

A. Time-Based Circuit:

Work 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds. Cycle through all 5 moves for 2–5 rounds.

You can level this up by switching to a 40 second work, 20 second rest timer instead.

B. Rep-Match Rounds:

Start your first round by doing as many reps as you can with good form (up to 30 reps. If you can do 30 reps, try a harder variation if you can!)

Then, do 1 or 2 more rounds where you MATCH the total number of reps you got in the first round, EVEN IF you have to take short 10 second breaks to get there.

Example: Round 1: 10 pushups

Round 2: 8 pushups – rest – 2 pushups

Round 3 (optional): 6 pushups – rest – 3 pushups – rest – 1 pushup

Depending on which option and how many rounds you choose, this workout will run you 10-25 minutes and leave you feeling accomplished and ready to tackle your day. 💪

Travel doesn’t have to be a setback. It’s just another environment to adapt to.

You get to decide whether this trip is a deload, a ‘maintain-the-momentum’ week, or a chance to test your creativity in order to stick with the plan as-is.

You’ve got this!

-Matt

P.S. In case you missed ​last week’s newsletter announcement​, prices for our NF Coaching program are going up on November 1st. So now is a great time to check out our program if you’ve been on the fence to get in at our current rates. 😃 

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Friday, October 3, 2025

3 things we’ve learned in 8 years of coaching

  October 03, 2025    

Note: Make sure to read to the end for an important update about Nerd Fitness Coaching!

Over the past 8 years, we’ve had thousands of conversations with clients, Rebels, and community members.

We’ve run polls, read replies, and listened closely to what people struggle with.

Again and again, variations of three statements kept coming up.

  • “Just tell me what to do.”
  • “I need to see signs of progress.”
  • “I can’t seem to stay motivated.”

Each of these reveals an underlying pitfall I see people fall into, and I want to help you avoid making the same mistakes!

“Just tell me what to do.”

Pitfall: overly restrictive plans that leave you burned out

Need: clarity that fits your life

People I talk to feel overwhelmed and overloaded.

They already have a ton on their plate with work, family, and other responsibilities.

It’s no wonder there’s a strong desire for someone to just simplify things!

But it backfires when it leads to plans that aren’t a good fit for your life.

Exercises that aren’t the right level, restrictive meal plans, and schedules that assume you have all the time and energy in the world just leave you burned out and back at square one.

We’ve learned to emphasize fit and flexibility first.

That way, you get clarity on next steps while also making sure there’s enough flexibility to make it a good fit for you. ❤

“I need to see signs of progress.”

Pitfall: jumping from one program to the next

Need: multiple levels of feedback loops

Change is hard.

And it’s even harder if it feels like you’re spinning your wheels and not getting anywhere! I bet a lot of us have started a new workout, or a new nutrition program, only to step on the scale or look in the mirror and feel deflated and like nothing is happening.

That can lead to program hopping – jumping from one thing to another so quickly it’s hard to evaluate their effectiveness.

Fitness is like investing: the biggest returns take time!

So here’s how we tackle that: we track both effort AND results.

  • Effort: workouts completed, habits practiced, consistency
  • Results: strength gains, body composition, moving through your day more easily, sleep quality, energy levels, etc.

Wins in consistency are an early form of progress. They are the first step in evaluating whether a program is a good fit for you.

Wins in results come later, but are still important to consider when evaluating any changes that need to be made.

Some tools we love to accomplish each of these:

  • ​Jar of Awesome​ (effort): every time you make a choice you’re proud of, add a marble (or note) to the jar. Watch the wins stack up.
  • ​Zoom Out sessions​ (results): set a rhythm (we recommend every 2-6 weeks) to evaluate your progress. This prevents you from adjusting things too quickly while also giving you clear check-in points to make changes.

Having feedback loops in each of these areas makes it easier to stay confident and patient. 🙌

“I can’t seem to stay motivated.”

Pitfall: all-or-nothing thinking

Need: systems that support consistency

This is the big one. Life gets messy. People get sick, work runs late, chaos happens.

It’s easy to get knocked off course and blame ourselves and our lack of motivation for being unable to see things through.

This leads to a lot of all-or-nothing thinking.

Either we are all in (and things are going great!), or we get knocked off course and struggle to get back on track.

Here’s how to avoid that pitfall:

The more you practice implementing these systems, the easier it will be to maintain momentum. 💪

Quick checklist

When you look at your own plan, ask yourself:

1. Does it give me clarity that actually fits my life?
2. Do I have feedback loops to track effort and results?
3. Do I have systems to help me stick with it when life gets messy?
If yes…AWESOME! You’re set up for success.
If not…no worries. Start with whichever one feels weakest, and shore it up first.

And if you’d like help implementing these strategies, now is a great time to join Nerd Fitness Coaching!

For the first time in 8 years, we’ll be raising prices for new Nerd Fitness Coaching clients after October 31, 2025.

Current clients are not affected.

Starting November 1, the base monthly rate will increase from $197 to $297.

The change reflects 8 years of improvements we’ve made as a program, continued investment in our custom app, and our commitment to hiring and retaining the best coaches in the galaxy. 🤘

If you’ve been thinking about joining, you can still lock in the $197/month rate if you sign up by Friday, October 31, 2025.

​Our team​ would love to chat with you to see if coaching is the right fit!

-Matt

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Friday, September 12, 2025

4 Workout Strategies for Busy Parents

  September 12, 2025    

I got this message the other week, and it felt so. Freaking. Relatable.

“…the biggest challenge right now is that I am a full-time working mother of two young boys and I’m just so freaking exhausted.

I’m on a hamster wheel of life right now, giving of myself to everyone and everything around me.


It’s not just that it’s hard to find the time to work out…it’s hard to find the energy.

It’s also hard to create a routine I can stick to, one that I can just do without thought, given all the variables in my life.”


Parenting young kids is an especially challenging period of time. There’s a ton of variability in your routine, high demand on your time and attention, and not a lot of energy to spare.

Whether you are a parent, a caretaker, or just going through an incredibly busy season of life, trying to add a fitness routine on TOP of everything else can feel like the Jim Gaffigan joke: “You know what it’s like having five kids? Imagine you’re drowning. And then someone hands you a baby.”

We hear this sentiment all the time with clients in our coaching program.

So today, I want to walk you through exactly how I help them navigate this intense period, while still finding time to work on their health and fitness in ways that feel sustainable to them.

And continuing the “Matt stands in front of a white board in his office and records a video” experiment, I’ve got an accompanying video with notes so you can digest this in whatever format works best for you. ❤ (Bonus points to anyone who recognizes where my T-shirt is from!)

And if you are someone who struggles to find consistency with your workouts, reply to this email! I’d love to see how I can help. 💪

The Key Challenges

If you tell me you’re a parent, then I can immediately predict a few things:

  • Highly variable schedule
  • High demands on time and attention
  • Lack of predictable routine.
  • (Periods of) low energy

I still remember talking with Mike (host of ​The Chasing Scratch Podcast​), and how he kept saying: “This week is crazy, but NEXT week, things will finally get back to normal.”

After several weeks of this, I stopped him and said something along the lines of: “I think unpredictability IS the only predictable thing.”

Our mantra became “There is no normal”, and that’s been key to his success in getting 148 workouts in so far this year (and counting!)

The Strategies

Dial Mode

If we know each day is highly variable, then our plan needs to take that into account.

Start by creating a short and simple bodyweight workout you can do in 5-15 minutes. (​Like doing 1 round of this workout​.) It becomes a key puzzle piece you can fit into a crazy day.

When I worked at Force Fitness, I remember coming in after a long night with the kiddos, feeling absolutely dead to the world. On these days, ​my boss​ and I would look at each other and say: “​Turkish Get-Ups​ and ​Farmer’s Carries​?” Two movements to just get us up and moving for a few minutes, and then cash out for the day.

Accumulation

Workouts don’t need to happen all at once. You can break up the workout into mini-sessions across the course of the day or even week!

The more important factor is getting the work done, not in the timing. 💪

This is exactly the strategy I use with new parents. We write out a list of exercises, and a target number of reps to get done across the week. Then, they squeeze them in as they can. If you’d like an example of what this looks like, shoot me and email and I’d be happy to share some!

Me Time

Sometimes, it’s really important to try to carve out time in your schedule to focus on just you. That may mean asking a partner for help, or making some tough decisions about trade-offs. It’s not always possible, but it’s still worth considering.

That’s what we did with my client Michelle. She was having a hard time fitting in workouts, so we walked through some tradeoffs she could make. She asked her partner for support, and was able to carve out 20 minutes after work. She would park outside, and do a workout in the garage. She wasn’t “home” until she walked through the garage door.

I Go, You Go

If you can’t beat them, join them! ​Invite the kiddos to participate with you​.

Switch your focus to more skill-based or play-based training that may be more engaging for them. Instead of optimizing for “results”, optimize for fun and connection.

This is the option that has been most meaningful in my own life. Part of my ​big why​ is connecting with others, and modeling healthy behaviors for my own kiddos. While I still like working out alone, too, finding more ways to involve my family has made the journey all the more rewarding. ❤

For more ideas on games you can introduce to your kids, check out ​this article​ and ​this article​.

Want to try your hand at Parkour (in a safe and effective way?) ​I got you​! 🙌

—

And there you have it! If you were my client, I’d walk you through these similar steps

  1. We’d lay out your current schedule and the very real challenges involved.
  2. We’d figure out which strategy fit best for you.
  3. Then I’d write workouts and provide accountability to take the thinking off of your plate and help you stay on track. 💪

Whether you’re a busy parent, or just someone going through a hectic period in life right now, give these strategies a try and let me know how it goes!

– Coach Matt

P.S. Interested in ​Nerd Fitness Coaching​? ​Book a call this week​ and mention “Rebellion” for $50 off your first month of coaching. We have no contracts, no hidden fees, and you can cancel at any time. We only want you to stay if it’s ACTUALLY working for you!

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Wednesday, September 3, 2025

What to do when fitness feels like a chore…

  September 03, 2025    

For most of my adult life, I’ve been a full-time fitness professional.

But I have a confession to make.

Fitness can feel like a chore.

That’s right, even “professionals” don’t always feel motivated. And neither do my clients.

That’s normal. Nobody feels motivated all the time.

Fitness is kind of like flossing. You don’t always love it, but you know it’s important.

So what do you do when it all just feels like another item on your ‘to-do’ list?

First, give yourself permission to feel this way.

You don’t have to be someone who “falls in love” with fitness for it to matter. Even if you never totally look forward to it, a ​little consistent effort still pays off​.

Second, when possible, it is worth trying to bring more joy to the process.

At its best, fitness isn’t the end goal. It’s the amplifier for everything else you love.

If fitness is feeling like a chore for you right now, here are a few ways to mix things up:

1. Theme it.

Name your workouts after your favorite hobbies or interests. (If you love Star Wars, you aren’t working out, you’re doing ​Jedi Training​.)

You can try a ​workout​ specifically built around something you enjoy or even one that ​levels up after boss battles​.

And this doesn’t just go for workouts!

There are tons of themed cookbooks out there too to inspire and bring some fun to your meals.

My son (11) brought home a Minecraft Cookbook from school last week, and decided he wanted to make “Minecraft Steak”. It was literally just steak with salt and pepper on it, but he was so excited and invested in getting the meal juuuuuust right.

You can even add some flavor to how you ​track your progress​.

Bottom line: Whatever the thing you love, whether it’s Gandalf, gardening, or golf – see if you can bring a bit of that into the mix.

2. Tie it back to life outside of fitness.

For most of us, fitness isn’t about being the “best at fitness.” (Though if competing in 5k runs or powerlifting events is what you love, that’s awesome, too!)

It’s about having the energy and health to show up in the things that light you up. For example, one of my clients, Julie, really hated strength training. She knew it was important for muscle retention and bone health and all the rest. But it wasn’t until we were able to tie specific movements in her workouts back to her passion, archery, that the “chore” part of working out became easier to do.

I still remember how she lit up after she came back from an archery session and said something along the lines of: “the bow just felt so easy to pull!” (Archery people, don’t come at me if I butchered that. 😅 )

Bottom line: Highlighting the connection between your fitness goals and all the other cool stuff you love to do is a cheat code.

3. Add games + challenges.

Movement doesn’t always need to be serious.

Try adding some more games and mini-challenges to your session to spice things up!

Finish your warm-up with the ​Stick Drop Challenge​.

In between exercises, add in some low intensity movements like juggling, or walking on a balance beam, etc. to give your brain a challenge even while your body is recovering.

Roll a D20 to determine what your conditioning will look like at the end of your session.

At Camp Nerd Fitness, my ninja class was full of little games and challenges like these, and people left smiling and sweaty. I remember one camper in particular, Emily, coming up to me and giving me a big hug afterwards because this approach made fitness feel fun and accessible in a totally new way.

Bottom line: where possible, tap into the playful side of movement.

4. Keep it simple.

Sometimes, despite all that, fitness will still feel like a grind.

That’s OK.

In those seasons, don’t overcomplicate it. Focus on the basics: a ​few key movements​, eating some protein, moving a little each day.

Action matters more than perfection.

—

Some of these ideas will click, some won’t, and that’s the point. There is no one size fits all prescription here for everyone.

My hope for you is that you can find ways to make fitness feel additive to your life, without taking it over.

So let me ask you:

What would bring more joy into your fitness right now?

Hit reply and let me know – I’d love to hear it.

–Matt

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Thursday, August 14, 2025

Tip for tackling emotional and stress eating 🍎

  August 14, 2025    

A couple of weeks ago, a reader sent me this question:

I exercise regularly, but I still struggle with stress eating. Where and how do I start to tackle this?

Chances are, you can relate. How do I know? 1) You’re human. (Unless you’re a robot… in which case: hi, and please don’t turn us into batteries like in The Matrix 👋)

2) When we work with clients, they fill out an intake questionnaire so we can learn more about them, their goals, what their biggest challenges are.

Emotional and stress eating is the most common challenge our clients report coming in – more than time, motivation, or even not knowing what to do.

If anything, eating when we feel stressed is the thing that most of us have in common!

Emotional eating and stress eating are complex behaviors, and they show up for a lot of people in different ways. While I’m not a therapist or a registered dietitian, I can share some patterns and strategies we’ve seen help others as part of our coaching work at Nerd Fitness.

That said, if these behaviors feel especially intense or overwhelming, I want to acknowledge that working with a licensed mental health professional (especially someone trained in disordered eating) can be really valuable. Therapy can be a game-changer here, and our coaches often work in tandem with therapists to make sure our work is supportive of what they do. ❤

With all that said, let’s explore a few practices within our coaching scope that we’ve seen help. 🙌

1. ​Notice and Name​

One of the most powerful things you can do is just pause and notice what’s going on when you find yourself eating reflexively.

Is it stress? Exhaustion? Boredom? Frustration? Hunger? Just because it’s that time of day?

This isn’t about stopping the behavior immediately – just becoming more aware.

I’ve literally had people say it out loud how they are feeling in the moment: “I just had a stressful interaction with my colleague, and my instinct is to reach for something crunchy.”

Once we’re better able to understand our behaviors, we can use some of the other strategies we’ll discuss to help.

Though sometimes, this step alone is enough! I remember my client Liz telling me this single practice was so powerful, it helped her reroute her behaviors in a way that felt good to her (even though that wasn’t the intention!)

2. Proactive Self-Care (a.k.a. Your Nourishment Menu)

A lot of emotional eating stems from unmet needs – fatigue, loneliness, stress, overstimulation.

That’s why we recommend building a “nourishment menu”: a list of small, intentional activities that help you recharge. Reading, stretching, journaling, walking outside. Whatever genuinely helps you.

Pick one thing from that list each day to practice proactive self-care.

My client Mark often found himself reaching for snacks at the end of the day while he was watching TV, even though he didn’t technically feel hungry.

We realized that part of the trigger for him was a feeling like he didn’t get any time to himself throughout his hectic day, and so having this decompression time at the end of the night was important to him.

Whenever he tried to just fight through with “discipline”, it would backfire and he couldn’t sustain it.

It wasn’t until we made time for small pockets of other recharging activities earlier in the day that the underlying need was met, and stress eating at the end of the day was easier to change.

3. Use “Always” and “Sometimes” Language

A helpful reframe we often use: instead of labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” think of them as “always” or “sometimes” foods.

“Always” foods support your goals and energy consistently. These are things you want to include regularly in your meals and snacks.

“Sometimes” foods are still great options to enjoy, we just choose to eat them with less frequency than our “all the time” foods.

The key here is: no foods are off the table, permanently.

A lot of times, I hear people say stuff like: “I’m going to finish off this pint of ice cream left over in the freezer, and then it’s NO ICE CREAM FOR ME!”

While I know it’s well-intentioned, this ends up backfiring in almost every case.

While we want to be realistic about the types and amounts of foods that support your goals, we ALSO want to build a healthy relationship with food that doesn’t moralize it as “good” versus “bad”.

And this reframe can help.

4. Introduce an Interrupt Step

Next, it’s time to experiment with an interrupt step.

If you notice a strong urge to eat in response to stress, try inserting a small pause. We usually recommend finding something else to do for five minutes.

This could be going for a short walk, listening to music, tidying up your workspace, whatever.

Then, you can ask yourself:

“Am I physically hungry, or is something else going on?”

Sometimes that pause is enough to reroute the urge, or at least bring some awareness to what’s driving it.

Then you can make a conscious choice instead of reacting on autopilot.

Then we learn and build from there.

—

If stress eating is something you’ve struggled with, you’re not alone (and we have the data to prove it!)

And if you’re not sure where to start, pick one step from the list above and see how it feels.

You’ve got this.

–Matt

P.S. We’re hiring! We’re looking for a ​marketing specialist to join our team​ and work closely with me!

If you’ve got the experience and drive to help us make a difference in the fitness industry, please check out the link and consider applying. ❤ 

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