I used to think getting better as a lifter meant adding more: another set, another supplement, another hour on the treadmill. After eight years of coaching, I know the truth is different. Progress stacks up from small things that seem too simple to matter.
Here are nine things I’m into right now — some gear, some food, one weird habit I’ll defend forever. None of them will transform your life overnight. But run them consistently, and they add up in ways you can actually feel.
1. Things I’m Wearing
I’ve been sticking to basics this summer because they fit my actual day-to-day best. For morning walks and gym sessions, the matching sets from SET Active are on repeat — breathable sporty bras and shorts that handle the heat without falling apart.
I also added their Vintage Euro Dad Hat and Cotton Twill Bucket Hat to my cart. Sun protection matters more than most lifters realize; UV damage to your face adds up just like mileage does for joints. I’m also eyeing this Pocketable UV Protection Parka and the Nantucket Sound Hat from TWP, which covers the back of your neck — a detail that sounds minor until you’ve burned there.
The Sunday Hoodie from Abercrombie is my post-workout go-to when evenings cool down. On sale right now, so I might grab another color.
Also… I’m shopping at Gap again. Haven’t bought anything there since college, but their recent collections have been solid — including the Hailey Bieber collaboration. Just ordered a pair of the Hailey Low Rise and will report back.
If you need an easy summer dress, the Zara Fringed Knit Dress looks good. And these Métiers d’art 2026 Pumps reminded me of a pair my grandmother used to wear — somehow that makes them better.
2. Listening To
I’ve swapped TV time for podcasts lately. You learn more in twenty minutes with the right guest than you do watching an hour of filler content.
Maggie Sellers’ Hot Smart Rich podcast has been my main listen. She talks to entrepreneurs and founders across industries, and I find it genuinely useful hearing how people built careers from scratch. Right now I’m on the episode with Laura Wasser — Kim Kardashian’s divorce lawyer — which was not something I expected to enjoy but ended up being sharp and entertaining.
For a lighter listen, The Bossticks episode with Gabe Waller was fun. He sources rare vintage designer pieces for celebrities, and it gives you a peek behind the curtain on a world that operates completely differently from mine.
3. Dreaming of Going To
Odera in Tinos, Greece. It’s carved into rugged coastline and built around local heritage — marble carving workshops, fresh island ingredients, curated adventures. The kind of place that actually disconnects you instead of just changing your Wi-Fi password.
The Asticou Hotel in Maine. Newly renovated, classic New England in the best way. Timeless, quiet, exactly where I’d spend a few fall days reading and walking.
4. Around My Home
A few things arrived this week that made the house feel better:
- Contemporary Tumbler Set — four handblown glasses. Paid an extra thirty-three dollars in import charges, which stung, but I’ve got homegrown dahlias sitting in them right now and they look great.
- A bunch of fall candles from the Anthropologie sale. Some ended up in my cart before I realized what was happening.
- Cocktail glasses — adorable but very small. Heads-up if you order them.
- Stoneware Graters that look more like decorative pieces than kitchen tools. Perfect for holding rings on a nightstand or tiny broken flower stems.
- A DIY Watercolor Paint Set. I spend most of my day at the computer, so I’m trying to shut it down earlier and paint instead. It sounds basic, but getting your hands dirty with something that isn’t a barbell is genuinely useful.
- This Sticker Book has more than three thousand stickers. I’m using blank pages to write down recipes and decorate them — reminds me of creative projects from childhood.
- A BaubleBar bead kit. Fun fact: my first business was making jewelry in sixth grade, sold at a mall store in Beachwood, Ohio. This felt like the perfect excuse to revisit that.
5. Beauty
I’ve been keeping things simple this summer — something fast and effortless for hot days when you don’t want to spend twenty minutes looking in a mirror before heading out.
A piece about Paige Lorenze’s routine inspired me to pick up the Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray and Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. My routine: skincare, sunscreen, spritz of the face spray, brush brows up with The Skinny Confidential Brow Peptide, set them with Rare Beauty Brow Gel, then dab the Black Honey on lips and cheeks. Five minutes, done. Natural, glowy, no fuss.
Adding RŌZ Air Air Thickening Spray to my rotation — everyone I know who uses RŌZ products is a fan.
I just emptied another bottle of the Cleansing Complex. It’s the only cleanser I’ve ever stuck with. Leaves skin clean without stripping it or messing with your barrier.
Sheet masks from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale are traveling with me right now. After a long day or before dinner, one feels like a mini spa treatment in any hotel room.
6. Watching
The Five-Star Weekend starring Jennifer Garner is the only thing pulling at me right now. She plays Hollis Shaw, a cookbook author who invites friends from different chapters of her life to Nantucket for one weekend after a devastating loss. Food, friendship, scenery — it’s got everything I care about in a movie, and everyone seems to be talking about it.
7. From My Kitchen
I’ve been cooking with summer produce like most people, but my actual favorite snack right now is ridiculously simple: a plump Medjool date with salted butter and flaky sea salt. Got the idea from Kristin Cavallari.
I usually stuff dates with peanut butter, but the salted butter lets that caramel flavor come through in a way I didn’t expect. I top them with roasted pepitas for crunch and extra protein and fiber — it’s become my go-to mid-morning snack.
The Rancho Meladuco Organic Farm medjool dates from California are the best I’ve found. Keep them in the freezer; they thaw in seconds.
My other current thing: a bowl of thick yogurt with late-summer blackberries, jumbo blueberries, and granola. I love making my own granola but have been grabbing Purely Elizabeth lately to save time on busy mornings.
8. Around My Table
Peaches. Berries. Quick dinners shared with people you actually like being around. That’s the theme right now.
I made three new peach recipes recently, plus pistachio ice cream sandwiches, a burst tomato pasta, salmon bowls, grilled steaks — packed a lot of cooking into a few days. And if you’re ever in Austin, stop at Rockman Coffee + Bakeshop. Their pastries are genuinely good.
I’ve been deep in planning mode this week, so there hasn’t been as much kitchen time as usual. Here are some summer produce recipes worth trying:
One Pan Corn and Zucchini Pesto Orzo
White Corn Pizza
Browned Garlic Butter Creamed Corn Cheese Ravioli
Simple Roasted Sungold Cherry Tomato Pasta
Old School Easy Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler
Cinnamon Crunch Peach Muffin Bread
9. This Week’s Little Joys
The small stuff matters more than you think. Sweet conversations with the UPS driver and neighbors. Sending a friend a video that made her laugh out loud. Trimming my dad’s dahlias and filling the house with them.
I even found a tiny snail crawling across my keyboard. At first I thought it was gross, then I realized how quiet and unhurried it was — which felt like exactly what I needed to see that day.
An unexpected late-night phone call with a friend helped me work through some creative blocks. It was the conversation I didn’t know I needed.
The Science, Simplified
Recovery isn’t just about sleep and protein. The research on habit stacking shows that small, consistent behaviors — a five-minute beauty routine, a snack you actually enjoy, a walk where you notice your surroundings — compound over time into meaningful changes in how you feel day to day. You don’t need a complete lifestyle overhaul. You need the right tiny habits, repeated.
The research won’t make you stronger by itself. The next workout will. But these small things? They keep you showing up for that workout when everything else is pulling at you. Pick one thing from this list and run it for six weeks — then judge the results. That’s the whole secret, and it always has been.
