Equipment + Business/Career edition

Here's this week's round up of your questions! If you want to submit your question, you can do so here:

Your training mat is from where?

The most frequently asked things I'm asked about related to mats are my carpet, or the BaseBlocks Nordic Plus or BaseBench Pro.

I got my carpet years ago off of amazon. I think it was a prime day deal in 2019 or something, so literally nothing special. You guys exclusively get the link to it cause I've never actually went through the effort to find it - I'm not an amazon affiliate or anything, so it's not an affiliate link.

TBH, do I feel bad about using amazon, yes...so if you find it reasonably priced elsewhere that supports a small business, let me know and I'm more than happy to share that with the rest of the world whenever I'm asked.

Pro tip though: I do have the little foam interlocking squares under my carpet which makes it a lot more comfy for training 👌

The BaseBlocks Nordic Plus and BaseBench Pro are fantastic for nordic hamstring curls. You can find my YouTube review on the BaseBench Pro here and can use my affiliate link for BaseBlocks products below! Either one works depending on your space/goals. The Nordic Plus allows you to create an incline/decline, which makes it a bit more versatile, but it's a little more bulky and takes up more space.

What are the best leggings for running that you recommend?

TBH it totally depends on what you're looking for! Do you like more/less compression, do you want pockets or do you not care, do you need something fleece lined or something lightweight?

I personally really like P'tula's leggings, although, full transparency, I'm not a huge fan of the butt scrunch and they've been doing that a lot recently, so the options are limited if you don't like that. You can see my initial reactions of P'tula (from before I partnered with them on this blog post here). But if you're interested in anything from P'tula, you can use code LAURA for an additional discount at checkout.

My top 3 that they currently have on the site at the time I'm writing this are the:

1. Sierra leggings - buttery soft (tbh I have no idea what that means, but they're so freaking soft), brushed feel, they do have a hidden butt scrunch, high rise, and they stay put
2. Cassey leggings - a little less compression, a little thinner, and a more performancy feel - tbh these are one of my favorite legging/short options from P'tula since I've been working with them
3. Halo leggings - these are kinda a blend between the Casseys and Sierras with a fun pattern

As for fleece lined leggings, I'm a warm weather gal, so I've never needed them, so I can't speak to those. I have some older P'tula leggings with pockets (Yvettes and Juliannes), so I haven't had to look for those/shop around and therefore can't really speak to those either. 🫣

Granted, I do have a lot of P'tula activewear and it's getting to the point that I can't provide adequate love to every piece I have, so if you're in need of some gently used activewear and are a XS (I also have a few S pieces too), hit reply and let me know what you're looking for and I'll see if anything I'm getting rid of fits or you can let me know if you're interested in seeing everything I'm willing to part with. I'm selling them for $10/item + shipping (or if you get 10+ items and live in the US I'll cover shipping).

Do you know any brands with low rise shorts/leggings? I'm short with a short torso and I'm drowning in fabric!

Okay, we got all the activewear questions today! The last time I looked at other brands besides P'tula, Born Primitive had some lower rise options - I did just check and they do have mid rise options, so that may be worth checking out to see if those work for you!

What pull up bar is that?

The bar I have is from Titan Fitness - at this point, I feel like I should join their affiliate program cause y'all always ask for it 😂 - I don't know though cause, TBH I'm still convinced Rogue is better quality, but I was on a significant budget when I was first building my gym and the one I have fit the bill.

In my pull up bar I literally looked for the farthest bar away from the wall I could find. This one is 34" from the wall.

There is a Rogue option here that's 32" from the wall and the last time I checked it has a higher weight limit vs. the Titan Fitness one, but honestly, I'm now very confused as the one linked below may not be the exact one I have cause the weight limit is more than I remember. (so do your research to see which fits what you need!)

What do all the letters mean after your name? If PT is for physical therapy, what made you consider that career path and what was it like to study physiotherapy?

Shoutout to @maen_yn_gweld for asking! If you want your question answered, make sure you submit your question at the link at the top or bottom of the email!

PT = physical therapist - you can use this abbreviation if you're a licensed physical therapist (legally, in the US, this abbreviation can not be used to mean personal trainer - CPT means certified personal trainer btw)
​DPT = doctor of physical therapy - you can use this abbreviation if you graduated from a Doctor of Physical Therapy program (side note/a little beef - it doesn't mean dynamic personal training (*cough* Lifetime *cough*) and DPT is a protected abbreviation and legally cannot be used unless you're a doctor of physical therapy (in the US).
​OCS = orthopedic clinical specialist - you can use this abbreviation if you passed an additional examination to specialize in orthopedics. (I took the exam after completing a year long post-doc residency program).

So how I got into PT:

When I was trying to decide what to do in early high school I thought I was going to go into engineering - I liked math and both my parents were/had been engineers. It was an easy answer.

Then I took calculus AB/BC my junior year of high school and decided I'd never take a math again and started to look for other options (and I actually never took a math again...cause tbh stats doesn't really count as math).

I made a list of possible options with my mom (I honestly forget who actually put physical therapy on that list), then ended up shadowing a PT and thought, yep, I could do that for the rest of my life.

I always had an interest in the human body/how it moved and found it fascinating what the potential was. I remember somehow knowing chin ups biased your biceps more than pull ups which was why it was easier in middle or high school - I don't know where I learned this, but I remember thinking this mid set while at gymnastics practice 🤷‍♀️

I liked that every person and every injury was different, so it wasn't as repetitive as other jobs. It was constantly changing, so you had to keep up with new info. And it wasn't a standard desk job where you were stuck behind a screen all day without moving.

So from my junior year of high school on, I knew I wanted to get into physical therapy. Sorry, it's not a great story 😂

As for PT school, it's brutal. It'll make you question if you want to do this or not.

It's something I could go the rest of my life without, but I did make some amazing friends that I still keep in contact with today.

There's so much info to study, so much that it's pretty much impossible to learn it all. An analogy used by one of my professors on the first day was you'll be trying to drink out of a fire hose... so if that gives you an idea.

It was a grueling 3 years of additional school after getting your bachelor's. A lot of textbook and lab learning and then also we had four, 6 week (or 8 weeks...tbh it's been a while) clinical rotations where we treated with a clinical instructor in the clinic in various settings.

Tips for growing a social media following

Oooof. TBH it's constantly changing and evolving and I don't know if anyone truly understands this.

I also didn't start out expecting to grow or be this big account. I literally started without showing my face as an anonymous account to create accountability for myself with my training, help me overcome my eating disorder, and because coming across another silly little IG account introduced me to the world of calisthenics and re-ignited my passion for working out after retiring from gymnastics. It kinda gave me purpose again.

I remember thinking, if my account helped one person like this other account helped me, it would be 100% worth it.

Over time, by being consistent, it slowly and steadily grew.

As I learned more in school and with treating, I started to not just share my workouts/movement play, but also provided movement education to attempt to help others move better.

I'm always playing around and switching things up periodically to experiment with things as everything is always changing. You lean into the things that work, and understand that even if you really like a certain style or have a specific preference, it may not be the preference of others. You look at the data, repeat the things that worked, experiment, and repeat.

TBH the most important thing I'd say would be to find a way that you enjoy it, find a way that's sustainable for you over the long term, and have the goal of providing value/helping others in some way vs. just growing a following. It's more than a number - there are actual humans behind those numbers and the community >>> a number. 🩶

How long did it take you to earn a living online?

First, it depends on what you consider a living.

I started my page and blog online in 2017, when I was in PT school. I very quickly started posting 2x/day and soon after monthly on the blog (maybe 2018ish). It wasn't until 2020 that I made my first dollar online and that was cause I had people asking for it, not really cause I had an idea about making this a business/my career.

So if you think about it, about 2 posts/day over 2 years is about 1500 posts and it was even more than that before I made a single dollar. I clearly didn't do that cause I wanted to make a quick buck 😂

In 2018, I started working full time in a PT clinic but in 2020, I happen to have 2 amazing opportunities come within a week of each other (being a MyFlex coach and a BaseBlocks trainer) and I couldn't say no. So I shortly went down to 32 hours and then a month or two later went down to 30 hours in the clinic.

In 2020, I also started offering consult calls, which really, people wanted individualized programming, and so I eventually started offering that (and still do).

Eventually, I started offering pre-set programs (a more affordable option), starting with my Anti-Sitting Mobility Program (that you can still get to this day in my app).

As the page slowly grew, I also did some affiliate stuff starting around 2020/2021, but honestly, you don't make much from that at all - if it pays for groceries that month, it's a win (so I truly appreciate it when you use my code/codes 🩶)

My first "big" brand deal was working with FP movement in 2023 and since then, I've only had one other bigger deal as I'm super selective with promoting products I truly use and really like. So brand deals aren't a reliable source of income for me even to this day.

In 2023, I also had my first in person coaching opportunity at a strength training camp in Bali, which opened my eyes to in person events and I absolutely *loved* it! So much so, that I've done a few other in person events too! If you're interested in attending a future in person event, join the waitlist below!

Through the connections made while traveling, I also had the opportunity to create my own app, which I had thought about, but dismissed as I personally abhor subscriptions (cause hate isn't a strong enough word). This opportunity was the first one where I could also offer lifetime access, so I actually considered it. So on Jan 19, 2024 I launched the Paradigm of Perfection + Train app.

Again, up to this point, I slowly decreased hours in the clinic dropping from 30 hours/week, to 24 hours/week 2022 or 2023 and then 20 hours/week, then 16 hours per week and was at 16 hours per week for about a year before just dropping to 12 hours/week just now.

Could I have taken a leap of faith and dropped hours earlier? Yes and no. (we had lots of life things happening so the risk wasn't worth it - getting married in 2022, building a house from 2020/2021 to finally moving in in Nov 2023, etc.)

Could I sustain life now without working in the clinic? Yes, but I'm not sure when exactly that transition happened.

Will I ever completely stop working in the clinic? Probably not. First, it keeps my skills sharp, gets me out of the house/interacting with humans IRL, and I enjoy it. Second, I do work in my husband's clinic, so it's also to help him out.

So all this to say, many years and my timeline isn't consistent with other's in the field - everyone is different and it depends on your goals, morals (I hate to say it), opportunities that come your way, and SOOO many other factors.

I would like to start sharing my journey with calisthenics, but don't know where to start.

Just start! (I know it sounds dumb, but really, just do it)

My page literally started when I was just posting my own workouts cause a friend of mine in PT school said yeah when I asked her if I should start an IG page.

It doesn't have to be crazy fancy, you don't have to have any equipment. I literally started using my phone and water bottle/shoe to prop up my phone.

So start sharing what you're doing in your training, try things, have fun, and learn what you enjoy!

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Anyways, that's it for this week! Hope you enjoyed my ramblings cause this one was a little longer than others 🫣

If you have any questions to clarify my answers or found it super helpful, go ahead and hit that reply button!

Don't forget you can ask your questions below to be featured in an upcoming email!

Best, Laura Kummerle No one is perfect, and that in itself, is perfect!

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