Category: FItness

How the SkiErg Became My Secret Weapon for Muscle Tone and Full-Body Conditioning
Why This Underrated Cardio Machine Might Be the Missing Piece in Your Training

For most people, the SkiErg is just a conditioning tool. It’s the machine you use when you want to sweat and spike your heart rate. In most gyms, it sits in that category of equipment people associate with cardio and endurance, not with physique changes or muscle tone.

That’s exactly how I viewed it for a long time.

I always respected what the SkiErg could do from a cardiovascular fitness standpoint, but I never really thought of it as something that could make a visible difference in how you look. In my mind, tone came from strength training, and conditioning was something separate. The SkiErg was a way to push the lungs, not shape the body.

But over the last few weeks, I’ve started noticing something unexpected.

I’ve been looking a little more defined lately. Not in a dramatic, overnight transformation way, but in that subtle way where you catch yourself in the mirror between sets and realize something is different. My upper body looked a bit sharper, my posture felt stronger, and my core felt more engaged.

At first, I assumed it was just consistency paying off. Maybe my lifting was improving. Maybe my recovery was better. Maybe it was just good lighting. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized something important. My strength training hadn’t actually changed much at all. What had changed was one simple thing: I was using the SkiErg consistently.

That was the difference.

The SkiErg Benefits People Don’t Talk About

The SkiErg is unique because it doesn’t feel like traditional cardio. Most conditioning tools are leg dominant. Running emphasizes the lower body. Cycling emphasizes the quads. Even rowing, while full-body, still relies heavily on leg drive.

The SkiErg forces the work upward. Every pull demands effort from your shoulders, your back, your arms, and your trunk. It becomes full-body conditioning in a way people don’t always expect.

The more time I spent with it, the more I realized it wasn’t just about getting tired. It was about what the movement demands mechanically.

You can’t really slump through SkiErg work. You have to brace your core, to stay tall and coordinate breathing with movement. In a strange way, it becomes a posture exercise as much as it is a conditioning one.

How I Added the SkiErg Into My Strength and Conditioning Routine

Before leaning into it, my training routine was fairly predictable. Strength work, accessory movements, and then something simple at the end. I could’ve been a run on the treadmill or about 20 minutes on the spin bike; something to get the heart rate up. My fitness was solid, but I felt like I was missing a certain kind of sharpness. I wasn’t stagnant exactly, but I wasn’t getting that extra layer of athletic definition that I wanted.

Then I started integrating the SkiErg more deliberately. At first it was just a few minutes as a finisher. Then it became intervals. Then it became something I paired with shoulder work or jump rope, almost like a hidden weapon inside the workout. Over time, I began to understand why it might contribute to muscle tone.

The SkiErg engages the upper back in a way most conditioning doesn’t. Your lats and shoulders are constantly involved. Your core is working overtime to keep you from collapsing forward. Even your breathing mechanics shift, because you’re producing force through your trunk instead of just pushing with your legs. That kind of work adds up.

Why the SkiErg Supports Muscle Tone and Athletic Definition

Muscle tone isn’t only about lifting heavy weights. It’s also about coordination under fatigue. It’s about posture. It’s about muscles learning to stay active and responsive as effort increases.

The SkiErg trains that beautifully.

If you break down what it recruits, it becomes clearer why this tool stands out:
- Upper back and lats
- Shoulders and arms
- Core stability and trunk control
- Posture under fatigue
It’s cardio, but it’s cardio with structure.

That’s why it feels different than simply jogging on a treadmill. The SkiErg forces your upper body to work like an engine, and that’s something many people are missing in their conditioning routines.

What I’ve Personally Noticed So Far

What I’ve noticed most isn’t just aesthetic; It’s physical. I feel more connected during workouts. My shoulders feel stronger without feeling overworked. My core feels naturally engaged. My breathing feels smoother. And yes, there’s a subtle definition that’s showing up more clearly.

Not because I chased it but because I added something that challenged my body differently.

That shift toward sustainable progress is exactly what Heart First is built around: training that adds up over time instead of breaking you down.

If you’ve always treated the SkiErg as “just cardio,” I understand that completely. That’s how most people see it.

The SkiErg might be one of the most underrated tools in the gym when it comes to full-body conditioning, posture, and physique support. Sometimes the missing piece isn’t more weight or more volume. Sometimes it’s simply a new training stimulus that connects everything together. For me, the SkiErg has been exactly that.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through training: progress often comes from discipline and identity, not just intensity, something I explored more deeply in Discipline from the Gym to Everyday Life.

Interested in training with me or just want to connect?
Send a DM to @Litoswaay, or email Carlos@ConditionedLiving.com. I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re looking for a calm, realistic way to get started, you can also download my free guide, A Sustainable Start, which walks you through building strength, conditioning, and consistency without burnout or pressure.

Follow @ConditionedLiving for reflections, tips, and updates on mindset, strength, and everyday wellness.
Stay in the loop by joining my free mailing list for updates and inspiration.
January 28, 2026
Strength-Aware Conditioning: How to Improve Cardio Without Losing Strength
A smarter approach to conditioning that supports strength, recovery, and long-term progress

Conditioning has long occupied an awkward space in fitness culture. For some, it’s synonymous with long bouts of cardio that slowly chip away at strength. For others, it shows up as aggressive finishers that feel productive in the moment but quietly undermine recovery and technique.

Both approaches tend to miss the same point. Conditioning is often treated as something separate from strength, rather than something that should work in coordination with it.

Strength-Aware Conditioning starts from a different premise. Conditioning should support how strength is produced, respect how movement quality changes under fatigue, and, of course, how the body recovers between sessions. When conditioning understands those constraints, it becomes a tool for progress instead of a source of friction.

Where Traditional Conditioning Misses the Mark

Most conditioning programs fall into familiar patterns. Long, steady sessions can build endurance but often ignore muscle balance, joint stress, and the recovery demands of strength training. On the opposite end, high-intensity circuits frequently stack complex movements under fatigue, encouraging breakdown in mechanics and unnecessary strain.

This disconnect is especially noticeable for people returning to fitness after time off. When conditioning is too aggressive or poorly timed, it can create setbacks instead of momentum, leaving people sore, discouraged, or hesitant to train consistently.

The issue isn’t conditioning itself. It’s conditioning that doesn’t account for how strength actually works.

Defining Strength-Aware Conditioning

Strength-Aware Conditioning is conditioning that understands movement first and intensity second. It raises heart rate and metabolic demand while preserving technique, joint integrity, and force production.

This approach emphasizes:
- Clean movement patterns under moderate fatigue
- Controlled breathing and effective bracing
- Sustainable intensity that supports consistent training
- Conditioning that complements strength rather than competing with it
It aligns naturally with building sustainable fitness habits that prioritize long-term consistency over short-term intensity. The goal is not to survive a workout, but to leave a session better prepared for the next one.

A Practical Example of Strength-Aware Conditioning

A simple example combines low-impact cardio with a foundational strength movement.

A short, moderate-intensity effort on a spin bike elevates heart rate and creates muscular fatigue in the legs without impact. Resistance is high enough to require intent, but not so high that cadence breaks down. Immediately transitioning to a moderate-load deadlift asks the body to produce force while breathing remains elevated, and the legs already feel heavy.

The structure is deliberate. Rep counts are kept low enough to protect hinge mechanics. Rest periods are short enough to maintain cardiovascular demand without allowing technique to deteriorate. Across multiple rounds, the body learns to coordinate breathing, bracing, and force production under controlled fatigue.

This is conditioning that reinforces skill rather than chaos.

Why This Approach Works

Strength-Aware Conditioning works because it respects how the body adapts. The cardiovascular system is challenged without being overwhelmed. Muscles stay engaged without being pushed to failure. Technique remains intact even as fatigue accumulates.

Over time, this improves work capacity, recovery between efforts, and confidence under load. Strength sessions begin to feel more stable rather than draining. Conditioning becomes something that supports progress instead of interrupting it.

Muscle Building and Strength-Aware Conditioning

Strength-Aware Conditioning is not a replacement for hypertrophy-focused training or heavy strength work. Its role is supportive.

This style of conditioning builds muscular endurance, reinforces movement patterns, and improves recovery between sets and sessions. These adaptations allow higher-quality strength training across the week. Rather than directly chasing muscle growth, it creates the conditions that allow muscle growth to happen consistently.

In that sense, it functions as connective tissue between strength sessions, helping maintain progress without pushing the body into burnout.

Who This Approach Is For

Strength-Aware Conditioning is especially effective for people who want to improve cardiovascular fitness without sacrificing strength. It works well for:
- Lifters who feel gassed during compound movements
- Endurance athletes adding strength
- Anyone pursuing fat loss while protecting muscle and joint health
It is conditioning for people who care not only about effort, but also about longevity.

Work That Understands Strength

Conditioning doesn’t need to be punishment. When it honors mechanics, breathing, and recovery, it becomes a skill that strengthens the entire training process.

Strength-Aware Conditioning is not about doing less work. It is about doing work that understands strength.

Interested in training with me or just want to connect?
Send a DM to @Litoswaay, or email Carlos@ConditionedLiving.com. I’d love to hear from you.

If you’re looking for a calm, realistic way to get started, you can also download my free guide, A Sustainable Start, which walks you through building strength, conditioning, and consistency without burnout or pressure.

Follow @ConditionedLiving for reflections, tips, and updates on mindset, strength, and everyday wellness.
Stay in the loop by joining my free mailing list for updates and inspiration.
January 14, 2026
How to Return to Fitness After Time Off Without Pressure or Guilt
Taking time off from fitness happens more often than we admit. Illness, injury, burnout, travel, or major life stress can interrupt even the most consistent routines. When you start thinking about returning to fitness after time off, the hardest part often is not physical. It is mental.

Many people delay restarting because they feel behind, ashamed, or afraid of failing again. They worry they have lost progress, momentum, or even discipline. They worry that coming back will only highlight how far they feel from where they used to be.

Here is the truth that matters most: Fitness does not disappear when life gets busy or overwhelming.
It waits for you.

Why Returning to Fitness After Time Off Feels So Hard

Time away from fitness is often framed as “losing progress.” That framing creates guilt before you even start. Instead of seeing the break as part of life, it gets labeled as failure. Physiologically, your body is not starting from zero. Muscle memory, coordination, cardiovascular adaptations, and movement patterns will still be there. What usually fades first is confidence, not capability.

Psychologically, many people struggle to restart fitness because they associate it with all-or-nothing thinking. If they cannot train the way they once did, they assume something is wrong or that they lack discipline.

I explore this mindset shift more deeply in Discipline from the Gym to Everyday Life: Making Fitness Part of Your Identity. I talk about how consistency should start being framed as something you carry with you rather than something you lose when routines change.

You Did Not Lose Fitness, You Paused

Time away allows the body to recover from cumulative stress, even if the break was unplanned. When you return thoughtfully, you often rebuild faster than expected because your foundation still exists.

What slows most people down is not the pause itself. It is the pressure to make up for lost time. That pressure often leads to doing too much too soon. That could increases injury risk, drains motivation, and frequently results in another forced break. The cycle repeats not because people return to fitness without patience.

Returning to Fitness Slowly Is an Act of Care

Coming back to fitness gradually is one of the most effective ways to protect long-term progress. Muscles may feel ready quickly, but joints, connective tissue, and the nervous system need time to re-adapt after time off.

This principle is reinforced in my Jump Rope Complex workout, which focuses on developing conditioning through pacing, structure, and repeatable effort rather than intensity alone.

Easing back in reduces injury risk, restores confidence in movement, and rebuilds consistency in a sustainable way. Most importantly, it creates positive feedback. You finish sessions feeling capable instead of defeated.

How A Sustainable Start Helps You Rebuild Fitness Safely

My free e-book A Sustainable Start fits intentionally into the process of returning to fitness after time off. Rather than functioning as a full training program, it serves as a re-entry guide. It helps you reconnect with movement without urgency, comparison, or pressure to perform.

It focuses on rebuilding trust with your body by establishing gentle and repeatable habits, and removing pressure-based motivation. For many people, this sense of safety is what makes consistency possible again. It’s designed for people who want to rebuild fitness without forcing themselves back into old expectations.

Signs You Are Returning to Fitness at the Right Pace

You don’t need performance metrics to know if your approach is working. Your body gives clear signals when you listen. When you are moving at the right pace:
- Soreness tends to be mild and short-lived
- Energy improves rather than crashes
- Motivation builds gradually instead of disappearing
- Movement leaves you calmer; not anxious
If training leaves you depleted or discouraged, that does not mean you failed. It means your current workload may be too high for this stage.

Adjusting pace is part of the process, not a setback.

Compassion-Based Consistency

Consistency does not require intensity to be effective. Compassion-based consistency means showing up in ways that respect your current capacity. Some days that might look like walking. Other days it might be light strength work, mobility, or gentle conditioning.

What matters is repetition without pressure. Over time, this approach rebuilds confidence, physical capacity, and trust. Those are the foundations needed for long-term fitness, conditioning, and health.

Support Long-Term Fitness

Once movement feels stable and safe again, Heart First, a practical framework for building strength and cardiovascular fitness without burnout, becomes the next supportive layer. Heart First helps you build structure, improve strength and conditioning gradually, and support cardiovascular health in a steady, grounded way. It doesn’t replace A Sustainable Start, it just builds on it.

Together, they create a progression that respects both physical readiness and emotional confidence.

Returning to Fitness Without Pressure or Guilt

Coming back to fitness after time off is not about proving discipline or redeeming past consistency. It is about meeting yourself where you are now and choosing a path that supports you long-term.

Your body has not abandoned you.
Your progress has not disappeared.
You are allowed to return gently.

Fitness will meet you there.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Interested in training with me or just want to connect?

Send a DM to @Litoswaay, or email Carlos@ConditionedLiving.com. I would love to hear from you.

Follow @ConditionedLiving at ConditionedLiving.com for reflections, tips, and updates on mindset, strength, and everyday wellness.

Stay in the loop by joining my free mailing list for updates and inspiration.
January 9, 2026
Turgut Balikci: Fitness, Cycling & Restaurant Success

Discover how NYC restaurateur and cyclist Turgut Balikci channels his passion for fitness and cycling into the success of his iconic restaurants like Bella Luna.

Turgut Balikci has truly made his mark in the New York City restaurant scene. A seasoned restaurateur with a storied career spanning over four decades, he launched his first Italian restaurant in the Theater District in 1984, followed by a French seafood concept in 1986.

Over the years, Turgut has brought to life many successful dining destinations in emerging New York City neighborhoods, each showcasing his signature talent for creating warm, inviting spaces that prioritize quality and authenticity. His influence on the city’s culinary landscape includes helping pioneer the now-iconic West Broadway SoHo dining scene with the opening of Diva in 1993.

A Lifelong Passion for Hospitality

The restaurant industry has always been a part of Balikci’s life. Growing up in Istanbul, he helped run his father’s restaurant from an early age. Whether chopping firewood, prepping ingredients for the chef, or ensuring the dining area was ready for service, these early experiences became foundational pillars for his future ventures in New York City.

When asked about the keys to longevity in the restaurant business, Balikci said, “The key to longevity is good food and good service. I go out to eat a lot and I know if the service is bad, it doesn’t matter if it’s the best food in the world; I won’t go back.”

Bella Luna: A Beloved Upper West Side Landmark

Bella Luna’s Interior.. Photo Credit: Bella Luna

In 1988, Turgut Balikci opened Bella Luna, an Italian restaurant that quickly became an Upper West Side institution. For more than three decades, Bella Luna has been a place where generations of families come together to enjoy classic Italian cuisine and create lasting memories. Many longtime patrons now bring their children and grandchildren, keeping the tradition alive through the years.

When I recently dined at Bella Luna (check out my review here), I asked Turgut for his personal menu recommendations. He highly suggested the Capellini Alla Campagnola and the Linguine with Clams. Two dishes that perfectly capture the essence of Bella Luna’s authentic Italian charm.

Fitness and Focus: Turgut Balikci the Cyclist

Beyond his restaurant success, Turgut Balikci is also an accomplished cyclist. At 71 years old, he regularly rides up to 70 miles on weekends. Ironically, his love for cycling began when a bike shop opened beneath his father’s restaurant in Istanbul when he was just 16. “I saw the guys outside of the club in the mornings; they had their cycles and they were dressed in cycling gear. I thought it was cool; I was excited,” Turgut recalls.

Turgut crossing the finish line at the 1972 Turkish track racing national championships in Balikesir. Photo Credit: Turgut Balikci

Within two years, he won his first national cycling championship. Balikci became a professionally sponsored athlete and competed in team events across Turkey and abroad. He first came to the United States in 1979 to race and decided to stay. “My friends went back to Turkey, but I decided to stay here,” he said.

As his restaurant career grew, cycling took a backseat. After moving to Connecticut years later, he returned to the sport, eventually earning sponsorship from Danbury Audi and competing in the Nutmeg State Games.

In addition to cycling, Turgut incorporates calisthenics and strength training into his routine. “Your whole physique has to be good. You need the muscle work and cardio work. As a cyclist, your cardio along with your body must be top notch,” he explains.

How Exercise Fuels Creativity in Business

Turgut Balikci still rides his bike regularly. Photo Credit: Turgut Balikci

Exercise offers more than just physical benefits, it brings mental clarity and creative insight. Many entrepreneurs find their best ideas come during moments of physical activity, and Turgut is no exception. “When I’m training, I’m also thinking about the business; ideas always come up,” he says. “When I’m exercising, I feel like I’m at my office. I’m planning menus or ingredients for dishes; I’m always thinking when I work out.”

A Taste of What’s Next

Looking ahead, Turgut Balikci remains committed to maintaining the exceptional quality and service that his restaurants are known for. He’s also planning to refresh Bella Luna’s menu for the winter season. “We’re working with the chef and looking to add some new dishes for the winter; potentially two pasta dishes and one main,” he explains. “I always want to make sure my food and quality of service are the best they can be.”

As our conversation came to a close, Turgut reflected on his lifelong dedication to the craft, “Hospitality is my business. Restaurants are what I’ve known my whole life. Cooking and serving are cornerstones of my life. If you work hard and do what’s right, you’ll be successful.”

Turgut Balikci embodies the discipline and determination of a world-class athlete, qualities that have fueled his decades-long success in one of the world’s toughest restaurant markets. Through fitness, passion, and a genuine love of service, he continues to elevate New York City’s dining scene while inspiring others to pursue excellence in everything they do. bellalunanyc.com

October 15, 2025