Sweat Out; Happiness In!
by Jason and Lauren Pak
Fitness doesn't have to be so elitist and exclusive! We're Jason and Lauren Pak, and together we co-own Achieve Fitness - a fitness facility just outside of Boston in Somerville, MA. What we've found over the last 13 years as fitness professionals is that people will stick to their fitness journeys way better if they actually feel like **they belong**.So, instead of showing off, or body shaming, or preying on insecurities, the way the fitness industry tends to do, we're going to dive deep into topics in a way that makes you feel like you belong - because you do!We believe that fitness is for anybody, everybody, and every body!
Episodes
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Our Thoughts on Peloton
What's up, Achievers?! Jason and Lauren here and today we're discussing our thoughts on Peloton, the pros and the cons, and what our final verdict is! We hope you enjoyed this episode! If you did, we’d love you forever if you left a rating and review on iTunes - it seriously helps us out a lot!...
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The Number One Skill You Need to Possess In The Gym!
What’s up, Achievers?! Jason and Lauren here and in today's we episode we kick things off with a special announcement plus we go over THE number one movement-based skill we think people need while at the gym. Here are some video demonstrations of the 4-part progression we outline in this episode!...
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How to Get Your First Push-Up!
What’s up, Achievers?! We got a ton of great feedback from our "Get Your First Pull-Up" episode that we decided to create one for the push-up as well! You'll find a ton of underlying common themes from training for your first pull-up to training for your first push-up; however, we do deep dive on...
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Organizing Your Workouts in a Sustainable Way!
What’s up, Achievers?! Jason and Lauren here and today we're discussing how you would organize a week of workouts for those of you who like to partake in activities like yoga/mobility work/running/walking/hiking/etc! The key variables we're looking at are: 1) Figuring out what your availability…
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The Story of Why We Closed Our Gym
What's up, Achievers?! Jason and Lauren here and we just wanted to provide an in-depth breakdown of why we decided to close the doors of the physical location of our gym. We also talk about our next steps moving forward! We hope you enjoyed this episode! If you did, we’d love you forever if you...
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A Different Approach to New Year's Resolutions!
What's up, Achievers?! It's that time of year again - New Year's Resolutions are top of mind! In this episode, we explain our approach with NYR. They *can* be helpful as long as you approach it in the right way. We talk to you about a process vs outcome based approach, about habits rather than...
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Take Your Ego Out of the Equation!
What's up, Achievers?! So a couple of things about this episode - first it's actually episode 156 not 155, aaaand Lauren's audio cuts out a bit for the last 2 minutes. Sorry in advance! However, the rest turned out gravy and the topic is so, so important for long term fitness success. EVERYONE…
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How to Plan Your Workouts During Busy Times!
What's up, Achievers?! We received a question from one of our RISERs asking how we go about modifying our workouts and our program during busier times. If you've been struggling at all with getting your workouts in during this time and have been discouraged about it, you should definitely check…
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Combating Negative Self-Talk & A Follow-Up on Pull-Ups!
What's up, Achievers?! We've got a two-parter for you all today! Part one is in regards to a series of follow-up questions we received on how to actually implement the pull-up program for our most recent episode: [How to Get Your First...
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How to Get Your First Pull-Up!
What's up, Achievers?! This episode was prompted by one of our IG followers who asked us how they should train for pull-ups. From form to mindset to programming to technique, we've got you covered! As for the program, here it is written down: 1) Use a band you can perform 8 reps with. We like...
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Tips to Modify Your Strength Workouts for Home!
What's up, Achievers?! We know that a lot of you gyms may be closing down for a second time - many of you have reached out about how to modify your strength workouts to work at home, which is why we created this podcast for you all! In this episode, we go over some tips and strategies to start...
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How to Work Around Tendinitis and Acute Pain in the Gym!
What's up, Achievers?! This episode is all about those pesky overuse injuries and aches/pains that pop up and how to modify your program to work around them. Of course, consulting with a physical therapist is the first place to start - we can't understate how amazing it is to have a good medical...
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Moving Away From A Weight Loss Mindset
What's up, Achievers?! In this episode, we discuss moving away from a weight loss mindset and shifting to more of a building strength/building muscle mindset. Lauren opens the show up with some of her personal story and struggles with body dysmorphia and then we transition to talking about the...
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RPE and Why You Shouldn't Train to Failure
What's up, Achievers?! This episode is from a topic brought up by @shuqiiiella who wanted us to touch on understanding RPE and progressive overload as it pertains to a strength training program. Lauren and I dive deep on the merits of an RPE based system, why we recommend it for our members, and...
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Fitness Doesn't Have A "Look!"
What's up, Achievers?! If you'd like a refreshing discussion regarding health and fitness, then this episode is for you! We talk about how fitness doesn't have a "look", the difference between health and fitness, why the content you consume via social media really matters, and why fitness is so...
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Breaking Down the Kettlebell Swing | Deep Dive
What's up, Achievers?! New look, who dis?! We're back at it again, but with new artwork, a new intro, a new song, new everything! Well, of course, the same positive and encouraging vibes! We polled all of you on IG recently asking whether you would prefer a Q+A format or Deep Dives where we hone…
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#AskAchieve 139: Our Thoughts on the Peloton Ad and Where to Start if You Have a Weight Loss Goal!
What's up, Achievers?! We hope you've had a wonderful week thus far! We kick this episode off with our thoughts on the new Peloton ad and all of the outrage associated with it (0:40). We then go into a really big topic about weight loss. Where do you start? Does it make you bulky? Should you…
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#AskAchieve Ep. 138: How to Train Around a Groin Strain + How to Put Together a Balanced Strength Training Program!
What's up, Achievers?! We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week last week! For the first topic, we cover how to train around a groin injury that incurred while sumo deadlifting (3:27). Next, we covered two questions in regards to strength training programming (10:12). Also, here's the link…
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#AskAchieve 137: Sets and Reps for Fat Loss, The Best Uses for Isolation Machines, and Our Recommendations for How to Incorporate Isolation Exercises!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! In our first question, we discuss what the "best" rep range for fat loss is (3:41). Then, we covered the best uses for isolation machines besides hypertrophy (16:43). Finally, we discussed the percentage of isolation vs compound...
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#AskAchieve 136: The Importance of Inclusivity and All About Knee Pain!
What's up, Achievers?! In today's episode, we discuss the importance of inclusivity and not being exclusive or elitist in the fitness space (1:29). We then discuss strategies to stave off knee pain (9:15) especially when training for something performance related. We hope you enjoyed this…
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#AskAchieve 135: How to Lose Weight "Slowly"!
What's up, Achievers?! We received a question from a student named Melissa from William Patterson University, who was writing a paper for one of her classes entitled "How to Lose Weight Slowly" hence the title of our podcast. Lauren and I decided to not chat in advance before this episode and...
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#AskAchieve 134: Choosing Between Squats or Deadlifts, Things We've Changed Our Mind On, and How to Incorporate Progressive Overload while Injured!
What's up, Achievers?! In the first question, we discuss squats and deadlifts and which one each one of us would "choose" and why (4:37). Next, Lauren talks about one thing she's changed her mind on in health and fitness as we've gained more and more experience over the years (7:31). Finally, I...
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#AskAchieve 133: Pull Ups + Push Ups, Back Pain During Deadlifts, and Warm Up Sets!
What's up, Achievers?! We kick things off in the episode by talking about the powerlifting meet we hosted organized by our Fitness Director, Sarah Polacco, and the Womens' Strength Coalition. Our first topic was bodyweight exercises and how to progress them like push ups and pull ups (10:55).…
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#AskAchieve 132: How You Know if a Program is Appropriate for You, What "Core" Means, and The Best Triceps Exercises!
What's up, Achievers?! In this episode, Lauren kicks things off by talking about the powerlifting meet we're hosting at Achieve Fitness this Sunday put on by the Womens' Strength Coalition. Our first topic is figuring out whether or not a program is appropriate for you or not (5:41). Next, we...
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#AskAchieve Show Ep. 131: Coaches Bashing Other Coaches and Why Calories Burned Doesn't Tell the Whole Story!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all had a wonderful couple weeks! In the first topic, we go over one of the more common mistakes that we see at the gym (3:27). Next, we went over why we choose not to talk about exercises that will help someone get "ripped" or "lean" (7:45). From there, we talked...
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#AskAchieve 130: Why We Don't Meal Prep, Why Some Days in the Gym Feels Better than Others, The Over-Obsession with Neutral, and How Everything Works as Long as it Works for YOU!
What's up, Achievers?! One of our favorite episodes to date thus far and we address a wide variety of topics in this one :) We first address why we, unlike a lot of fitness professionals, don't choose to meal prep. (2:12) Then, we talk about an Instagram post we posted last week about how some…
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#AskAchieve 129: Hamstring Tightness, Knees Over Toes, Tucking Hips at the Top of the Squat, and 2-A-Days!
What's up, Achievers?! We've got a good episode for you all today filled with some mythbusting! Our first topic was addressing what might be happening if your hamstrings are "always tight" (2:50). After that, we covered why you might find that a lot of fitness professionals really, aggressively...
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#AskAchieve 128: Pushing Through Your Heels, Specialty Tools Like Maces and Clubs, How to Structure Workouts, and Our Thoughts on Constantly Dieting!
What's up, Achievers?! Slightly different format for you all today along with a special segment at the end! In our first topic, we go over whether or not you should push through your heels or your whole foot (4:09). Next, we went over how specialty tools like maces, clubs, sandbags, and…
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#AskAchieve 127: If We Could Only Do 3 Exercises, Difference Between Abs and Core, and Muscle Groups vs Movement Patterns!
What's up, Achievers?! We're back with another podcast! In the first question, we talk about the three exercises that we each would choose if we could only do 3 exercises for the rest of our lives (2:21). Next, we talk about the difference between having "visible abs" and a "strong core" (10:21)....
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#AskAchieve 126: Diastasis, Pull-Ups, and Quick and Easy Meal Prep!
What's up, Achievers?! It's been a minute! In this episode, we explain why we took a brief hiatus as well as why we decided to lease a dedicated podcast/video studio. We apologize in advance for some of our audio issues - it'll get better! We just need to get used to the acoustics of the space…
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#AskAchieve125: How Many Times You Should Squat Per Week, All the Hype Around Fasting, and Keeping Training Fun While Also Progressing in a Structured Manner!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all are doing well! In the first question of this episode we went over how many times you should squat per week if you want to get stronger (2:22). We also went over what to do if you feel as though your wrists want to bend backwards while squatting (7:35). Next…
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#AskAchieve 124: Nutrition Advice and Healing Your Relationship with Food!
What's up, Achievers?! Lauren, as well as two of our other coaches: Ted and Michaela, gave a presentation concerning different facets of nutrition to our members at Achieve. In this episode, you'll gain some insight on why you should always take nutrition advice with a grain of salt as well as…
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#AskAchieve 123: How to Correct Excessive Quad Dominance During Squatting, Our Thoughts on Protein Powder, and Butt Winking While Deadlifting!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! In the first question, we talked about how to address excessive quad dominance while squatting (4:22). Next, we discussed our thoughts on protein powder and which brands we recommend (9:59). Lastly, we talked about how to set up for…
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#AskAchieve 122: AchieveOnline, Tips for Avoiding Workout Plateaus, the Best Ways to Mentally/Physically Prepare for Surgery, and If It's a Dealbreaker if Your Partner Isn't as Into Fitness as You!
What’s up, Achievers?! In this episode, we spend the first few minutes discussing the launch of [AchieveOnline](http://www.achievefitnessonline.com)! If you’d like to skip ahead to the questions, head to 7:44! In the first question, we talk about how to push past a training plateau (7:44). Then…
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#AskAchieve 121: How Often to Go for a 1 Rep Max, Lifting Weights with a Slipped Disc, and Lower Body Exercises for Runners!
What's up, Achievers?! Sorry for the hiatus - we're back! First we went over how often a person should for a personal best/PR/1 rep max (5:58). Next, we talked about lifting weights with a slipped disc/bulging disc/etc. and how we'd approach training with that sort of diagnosis (11:49). Finally…
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#AskAchieve 120: How to Feel Less Intimidated at the Gym, How to Feel Your Glutes Better During Bridges and Squats, and How to Address Anterior Pelvic Tilt!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all are having a wonderful week! In the first question, we talk about a really common question - "how can I feel less intimidated at the gym?" (3:07). Next, we talk about how to engage your glutes at the top of a bridge, squat, and deadlift (13:06). Finally, we…
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#AskAchieve 119: Knee Position During Squats, the Effectiveness of the Landmine Set-Up, and the Mind-Muscle Connection During the Bench Press and Overhead Press!
What's up, Achievers?! First off, thanks to all of you who reviewed the podcast last week - we really appreciate it! Please keep em' coming, everyone! In the first question, we delve into knee position during squats and what to do if "nothing" is working to improve your form (1:55). Next, we…
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#AskAchieve 118: When to Incorporate HIIT Training, If You Should Write Your Own Workouts, and the Best Way to Deal with Exercise Pains!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! In the first question, we go over whether or not it's a good idea to incorporate HIIT training before or in the middle of your strength workouts (2:25). Next, we go over if you should write your own workouts or hire someone to create...
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#AskAchieve 117: How Many Sets/Reps We Recommend, Are Calories from Junk Food and "Healthy" Food the Same, and What You Should Eat Before a Workout!
What's up, Achievers?! Super quick episode for you all today! In the first question, we go over what sets/reps we generally recommend (2:08). Next, we discussed whether calories from "junk" food is the same as calories from "healthy" food. (5:10) Lastly, we talked about general recommendations on...
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#AskAchieve 116: How to Determine if an Exercise/Modality is Good For You, Pain During Single Leg Glute Bridges, and If Trap Bar Deadlifts Will Improve Your Conventional Deadlift!
What's up, Achievers?! Great little discussion to kick off today's episode on how to determine where or not an exercise/modality (spin, Zumba, strength training, etc) is right for you (2:48). Next, we went over how to adjust single leg glute bridges so that it won't cause pain in your lower back...
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AchieveMentors #5: How We Hire and Onboard Our Coaching Staff!
What’s up, Achievers?! We're back with another AchieveMentors podcast - just a reminder that this is our show for fitness coaches and aspiring personal trainers. In today's episode, we expand on AchieveMentors episode 4, and we talk about how how we hire and onboard our coaching staff! We think…
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#AskAchieve 115: Proper Form for Back Extensions, Improving Your Push Up Strength, Preventing Shins Splints While Running, and the Difference Between Hook Grip and Mixed Grip for Deadlifts!
What's up, Achievers?! Quick but action-packed episode for you all today! In the first question, we talk about how to optimize your form during back extensions in order to better engage the glutes (2:00). Next, we went over how to improve full range of motion push ups (4:38). Then, we delved into...
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#AskAchieve 114: Squatting with a Natural Back Arch, Getting Back to Olympic Lifting After Pregnancy, and Improving Your Cat/Cow!
What's up, Achievers?! Our introduction has some references to our last podcast episode where we talk about what to do when someone offers you unsolicited advice at the gym - we couldn't think of a great answer, so we sought out your opinion, and Lauren's mom happened to write in with the perfect...
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#AskAchieve 113: How to Politely Shut Down Unsolicited Advice in the Gym, Back Pain During Rows, Plyometrics for Beginners, and How to Make Healthy Food Choices 100% of the Time!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you're all staying safe and warm if you're in the Northeast with this snowstorm! In the first question, we talk about how to politely shut down unsolicited advice from a stranger at the gym (2:40). We didn't have a definitive answer here and bring the topic back up…
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#AskAchieve 112: To Arch or Not to Arch During the Bench Press, Addressing Adductor Pain, The Difference Between the Leg Press and Squats, and How High Your Hips Should be During Deadlifts!
What's up, Achievers?! This one is a rapid-fire answer show with a ton of practical advice. In the first question, we talk about whether or not you should arch during bench pressing (2:17). Then, we covered some very general strategies on how to address adductor pain. We're posting the IG post...
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#AskAchieve 111: How to Load the Barbell Without Looking Silly, Exercises With the BOSU Ball, Explosive Movements, and Kettlebell Finishers!
What's up, Achievers?! Super fun episode for you all today! In the first question, we discuss how to go about loading a barbell with multiple plates without looking silly in the process (2:55) Next, we go over exercises that we like to use on the BOSU ball and whether or not we think that the…
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#AskAchieve 110: Tight Hamstrings, Glute Activation, Wrist Strengthening, and Foot Supination During Squats/Deadlifts!
What's up, Achievers?! We go through a lot of information in a short amount of time for this one! In the first question, we talk about why a person's hamstrings might "feel" chronically tight (2:14). Then, we discuss the second part of the question, which is how to go about activating the glutes...
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AchieveMentors #4: How We Onboard Our Members!
What's up, Achievers?! AchieveMentors is our podcast for fitness coaches and aspiring personal trainers. In today's episode, we go over exactly how we onboard our members from the inquiry to the retention process. Now, we currently have a team of about 10 coaches and managers so our process is a...
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#AskAchieve 109: Best Frequency for Hypertrophy, How to Increase Push-Up Numbers, and Are Deadlifts Bad For Your Back?
What's up, Achievers?! Really good episode for you all today that was completely uninterrupted by our little guy! In the first topic, we delve into some recent research about the best frequency to maximize muscle growth as well as our thoughts on research in general (5:06) Next, we talk about…
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#AskAchieve 108: Improving Lunge Stability, Transitioning from Traditional Strength Training to Powerlifting and Olympic Lifting, and How to Utilize Progressive Overload in Your Programs!
What's up, Achievers?! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! In the first question, we talk about a couple ways to improve stability when you lunge. The key concepts are to reduce range of motion, make the exercise less dynamic, and utilize various forms of assistance (4:59). Next, we delved into...
About this show
Fitness doesn't have to be so elitist and exclusive! We're Jason and Lauren Pak, and together we co-own Achieve Fitness - a fitness facility just outside of Boston in Somerville, MA. What we've found over the last 13 years as fitness professionals is that people will stick to their fitness journeys way better if they actually feel like **they belong**.So, instead of showing off, or body shaming, or preying on insecurities, the way the fitness industry tends to do, we're going to dive deep into topics in a way that makes you feel like you belong - because you do!We believe that fitness is for anybody, everybody, and every body!
Hosted by
Jason and Lauren Pak