Work It Out: Getting Fit Without Going Nuts with Bianca Carbone
Thanks to Shelby of Women's Health 365 Collective for showcasing Go Long in a recent post on life with autoimmune. Shelby’s Substack covers a wide range of topics related to women’s health - highly recommend checking it out!
In this episode of “Going the Distance with Go Long”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bianca Carbone, founder of Blix Fitness. Her enthusiasm and creativity when working with clients who are new to strength training have benefitted clients of Go Long.
Bianca also gets real about the hormonal challenges she faces in her day-to-day life, including PCOS, and how her experiences help her empathize with the struggles of her clients.
We get into the “more reps/lighter weight” vs. “less reps/more weight” debate.
About Bianca and Blix Fitness
Bianca is a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and women's holistic health hormone practitioner. She holds a bachelor's degree in health policy with a focus on biochemistry and health policy & administration. Bianca is also certified by The MindBodyFood Institute, NASM, and ISSA.
From a young age, Bianca has been active, playing sports throughout her life. College was a turning point for her when she gained 20 pounds and experienced severe acne. This led Bianca to understand the importance of a balanced training routine and proper macronutrient portions. Her journey continued with challenges such as more acne, irregular cycles, ovarian cysts, ruptured cysts, and migraines. After a blood test and ultrasound, Bianca was diagnosed with PCOS.
As she navigate this chapter of her health journey, Bianca is passionate about empowering ambitious women to achieve weight loss, muscle tone, and balanced cycles while alleviating menstrual related symptoms.
Major Topics Covered
How overtraining can lead to significant hormonal issues.
Nutrition plays a vital role in managing PMS symptoms and sleep quality.
Increasing healthy fats can help manage cravings and hormonal balance.
Higher rep ranges focus on endurance, while lower rep ranges build strength.
Feeling close to failure during reps is more important than the number of reps.
Tempo in exercises affects muscle growth and control during workouts.
Progressive overload can be achieved through small increments in weight or reps.
Quick Takeaways
Bianca: Focusing on consistency more than anything else will lead to long-term success when it comes to improving your health. If you’re busy, some form of movement is better than none at all.
Jill: Anyone who promises a specific outcome should raise a red flag when choosing a coach. Life is unpredictable so you want to work with someone who can help you progress even when life gets in the way (and it will!).
Ways to Connect with Bianca
Website: https://blixfit.com/discover-lib
Ways to Connect with Go Long
Sign-up for Go Long’s newsletter, which is published once per week
Schedule a complimentary consultation
Go Long recommends listening to the entire podcast for context, but knows you are all busy people so below you will see timestamps. This episode is also available on YouTube.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Strength Training and Personal Journeys
03:10 Bianca's Health Journey and Hormonal Challenges
05:54 Empathy in Coaching: Understanding Client Experiences
09:58 Meeting Clients Where They Are: Personalized Approaches
15:08 Building Consistency and Enjoyment in Workouts
18:52 Safety in Strength Training: Injury Prevention Strategies
22:02 Adapting Workouts to Hormonal Cycles
23:56 Nutrition Strategies for PMS and Hormonal Balance
24:55 Nutrition Strategies for Hormonal Balance
33:29 Strength Training: Reps, Weights, and Safety
39:08 Understanding Progressive Overload in Strength Training
41:04 Improving Sleep and Nutrition During Perimenopause
45:00 Choosing the Right Coach: Key Considerations
