3 Things TikTok Got RIGHT About Fitness (Yes, Really)

 

Hey hey, beautiful human! We’re flipping the script today and giving TikTok a little credit—because believe it or not, there are some things the app actually gets right when it comes to fitness.

If you’ve been overwhelmed by the flood of fitness trends online, or unsure what’s legit vs. total nonsense, this bonus episode is gonna bring some clarity—and maybe even a few “aha” moments.

What I discuss:

  • Why walking is one of the most underrated tools for fat loss, recovery, and hormone support

  • The truth about progressive overload—and how it’s the real secret to strength and body composition changes

  • Why eating enough (yes, more food!) is key to seeing real results from your training

So if you’ve been stuck in the cardio-only, eat-less-do-more trap… this episode is your permission slip to simplify, lift smarter, and fuel your body like it deserves.

If you loved this episode, you’ll also love Episode 126: 8 Numbers That Don’t Matter (And Never Did!) I’ll link it in the show notes for you to easily go listen to next.
👉 https://www.juliealedbetter.com/embrace-your-real/8-numbers-that-dont-matter-and-never-did

If you want more from me, be sure to check out...

Transcript

00:00

Hey, hey, beautiful human, Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace your Real with me, julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get it. Let's go.

00:33

Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace Real podcast with me, julie Ledbetter, and today we're going to have a little bit of fun. So a few weeks ago I did an episode breaking down what TikTok got wrong when it comes to fitness, but today I want to flip that script. Yes, because TikTok is full of wild trends and very questionable hacks, but not everything on there is total nonsense. In fact, there's a few gems floating out there right now that are actually worth your attention. So in today's episode, I'm breaking down three things that TikTok surprisingly got right about fitness and I'm giving you practical ways to apply these tips to your own journey. But before we dive in, I want to share this review. It comes from KY Wispy. She gave a five-star review and said positive energy and easy listening. This is one of my favorite podcasts. I love listening to Julie and her information is great. Thank you so much, julie, for being a positive influence. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful for you spending some time out of your day to send in that review. It really does mean the world to me and our team just kind of know how this podcast is helping you. So if you could scooch over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating interview, that would mean the absolute world to me and our team. Okay, let's dive in the three things that TikTok got right about fitness. Number one, walking, is underrated. So this is the first thing that TikTok got right. You probably have seen the trend of hot girl walks or people talking about walking for fat loss or recovery and, honestly, this is a trend that I can completely get behind.

02:00

Walking is one of the most accessible, low impact forms of movement that you can do. You don't need a fancy equipment, you don't need to be in a gym. You can literally walk outside on a treadmill, on a walking pad or even around your house or the neighborhood. Here is the science made simple. So walking actually helps to increase what is called your daily energy expenditure and this is the total number of calories that your body burns throughout the day. And here's what's really cool your total daily movement is called non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or for short it's just NEAT N-E-A-T. In capital, that actually makes up a huge portion of the calories that you burn, and NEAT includes all of the movement that you do outside of a structured workout. So things like walking, standing, cleaning, chasing your kids all of that counts, and increasing your NEAT is something as simple as walking. That can have a big impact on fat loss and just overall health. Now here's why walking is such a smart tool. It actually increases that energy expenditure without adding a lot of stress to your body.

03:04

High, intense cardio can be helpful at times, but it also places a more demand on your recovery. So if you're already lifting and managing life stress, adding tons of intense cardio can sometimes backfire, making you feel more fatigued and stalling your progress. Walking, however, is gentle on your joints, it supports recovery and it's something that you can do frequently without overloading your system. Plus, walking has a ton of other benefits as well. It helps to regulate blood sugar by improving the glucose uptake in your muscles. It helps with digestion and it also lowers blood sugar when you walk after meals. It can also help to lower cortisol, which is your body's primary stress hormone, especially when you walk outdoors in natural light. So if you have been feeling like you need to do more cardio to see results, remember you do not have to crush yourself on a treadmill, but just simply adding more daily steps can be simple, effective and a sustainable way to support your goals. I always encourage adding walks on rest days after lifting because it can really support that recovery and it can help fuel your results really in a sustainable way.

04:08

Number two progress overload matters. This is the second thing that TikTok got right and I'm so happy about it. You might have seen creators talking about progressive overload and why you need to increase your weights or reps over time to see results, and this is 100% true. Your body is actually really smart and anytime that you challenge it, like when you lift weights, it works to get stronger so that the next time that challenge feels easier, and this is how your body adapts and improves over time. But here's the key If you give your body the same exact challenge over and over again, it will adapt and then it will stop changing, and this is why, if you are always lifting the same weight for the same number of reps, your body will simply maintain what it already has. You will not keep building strength or muscle.

04:53

Progressive overload is how you keep the adaptation process going. It means gradually increasing the challenge you are giving your muscles. You can do this in a lot of ways, though. You can add more weight, you can do more reps with the same weight, you can add another set, you can slow down the movement, you can increase time under tension, you can improve your range of motion or form. All of these ways are ways to progressively challenge your body so that it keeps adapting, and here's kind of some simple science behind it. So when you lift enough to challenge you, you're creating these microscopic tears in your muscle fibers and your body actually responds by repairing those fibers and making them stronger and a little bit bigger. This is what is called hypertrophy.

05:35

But if the challenge does not increase, your body doesn't have a reason to keep building, and that's why this really matters, because without progressive overload, you are just maintaining, you're burning calories, you're moving, but you're not actually building new strength or muscle, and this is why so many women get stuck doing random workouts Like they stay busy but do not see the results that they want because their body is no longer being challenged in the way that drives change. This is why, inside my Movement with Julie app, we are building in progressive overload. So every month we have a move of the month and you will see that over time we either increase the reps or we increase the sets, or both, by the end of the month, and so that gives you an opportunity to take one specific movement, like on lower body, one specific movement on upper body and one specific shoulder movement on shoulders and glutes, and you can progressively overload that over time. And this is also why, inside my Movement With Julia app, I also have the ability to track your weight and your reps. It's so, so important Really pay attention to how each workout feels and then try to aim to improve it just a little bit over time. Again, this doesn't have to be huge leaps and bounds. It's small, consistent increases that add up to big changes over time. But progressive overload is truly one of the most important principles in fitness. If you truly wanna build strength, improve your body composition and feel more confident in your training, this is absolutely the foundation and, again, you don't have to have access to heavier weights. There are tons of different things. Like I mentioned, you can do more reps with the same weight, you can add another set, you can improve that time under tension, improve that range of motion or form. All of those ways are progressively challenging your body again so that it keeps adapting.

07:22

Last but not least, number three, you need to eat enough to see results. This is the third thing that TikTok got right, and I absolutely love it. Finally, social media is talking about this. There has been a wave of creators finally talking about how under eating hurts your progress, and I love seeing these messages get out there. There has been a wave of creators finally talking about how under eating hurts your progress, and I love seeing these messages get out there.

07:41

For so long, women have been told that the key to getting lean is to eat less and less, but we now know better. Too many women still think, though, that they need to slash calories to get lean, and here's the truth. When you're lifting, your body still needs fuel to build muscle and recover, and without enough calories and protein, your body simply cannot do that. And here's the science again made simple when you are in too big of a calorie deficit. For too long, especially while lifting, your body goes into what's called a catabolic state, and this means, instead of building muscle, it actually starts breaking down tissue, including your muscle. This is the exact opposite of what you want, so you will feel tired. Instead of building muscle, it actually starts breaking down tissue, including your muscle. This is the exact opposite of what you want, so you will feel tired, you will lose strength, your fat loss will stall because your metabolism will start to slow down. Your body is trying to conserve energy because it senses that it's not getting enough fuel, and here's another layer to this Building muscle takes energy. Recovery takes energy, so if you're lifting but you're not eating enough, you're placing stress on your body without giving it what it needs to adapt, and, over time, this is what leads to fatigue, poor performance and frustration, because you're not seeing the results that you're working so hard for.

08:50

Proper fueling, though, is key. To see results from your training, you need enough calories to support your activity level and enough protein to provide the activity level, and enough protein to provide the building blocks for muscle growth and repair. This is exactly why I teach step-by-step inside my Macro County Made Simple Online Academy and I teach you how to properly fuel your body to support that muscle growth, fat loss or overall body composition. It's truly life-changing. So if you've been afraid to eat more, let this be your permission slip. Eating enough is not going to ruin your progress. Let me say that again Eating enough is not going to ruin your progress. In fact, it is exactly what will help you to see the results that you're looking for. Fueling your body well will help you feel stronger, will help you feel leaner, will help you be more energized and more confident in your training.

09:41

Okay, let's do a quick recap, three things that TikTok actually got right about fitness. Number one walking is absolutely the most underrated tool for fat loss and recovery. Number two progressive overload is essential for building muscle and strength. And last but not least, number three eating enough is critical if you wanna actually see the results. I love so, so much when women finally catch onto these things, because when you apply them consistently, that is when your body will actually start to change.

10:11

Now, if you want more support putting this into practice inside my Movement With Julie app, I give you those structured workouts. You have the opportunity to implement that progressive overload every single week, from month to month. No guesswork, no stress, just literally open the app and follow the plan. You can check it out by going to sale. That's S-A-L-Emovementwithjuliecom. Again, that's sale, s-a-l-emovementwithjuliecom. And if you're still not sure how to really eat to support your goals, or you just simply wanna fuel your body more with confidence, with clarity, I definitely want you to check out my Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy. You can go to macrocountingmadesimplecom Again, that's macrocountingmadesimplecom.

10:53

And hey, if this episode helped you, I love for you to share it with a friend who's kind of navigating all the TikTok fitness noise too. Or again, if you haven't left a review, I would love for you to take 30 seconds and drop one. It really does help so much in getting the message out to more amazing women like you. And also, if you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 126, eight numbers that don't matter and never really did. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below, but that is all that I have for today's bonus episode. I hope that this was helpful. I love you so dang much. I mean it and I'll talk to you in the next one.

11:35

All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it.

 
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