Advertise on podcast: BEcoming RELENTLESS

Four years ago, one of the very first episodes of this podcast was about what it meant to be relentless. Back then, my answer revolved heavily around bodybuilding: doing more, working harder, being disciplined, never giving up, and going all in on one goal. That version of relentlessness helped me earn my IFBB Pro card and shaped a huge part of the person I became. But four years later, my life looks very different — and so does my definition of relentless. In this episode, I’m reflecting on how my perspective has evolved through different environments, relationships, seasons of life, health challenges, bodybuilding, business, and simply growing up. Being relentless isn’t just about how hard you can push anymore. It’s about relentlessly pursuing your own evolution. Keeping promises to yourself. Letting go of people pleasing. Shutting out opinions that don’t belong in your decision-making. Doing the work when no one is watching. And realizing that you can decide at any point in your life to become someone different. I also talk about why I still believe fitness is one of the best places to discover that part of yourself — and why becoming relentless can start with something as simple as hitting your step goal every day for a week. Four years later, this podcast is still here. Through every version of me, every season, and every change in my life. And maybe that, in itself, is what Becoming Relentless is all about. Until next time, stay relentless.

Want to compete? That doesn’t necessarily mean you should start prep yet. In this episode of Becoming Relentless, I’m breaking down the do’s and don’ts of contest prep — and the things I wish more aspiring competitors considered before choosing a show. We’re talking about the wrong reasons to prep, why contest prep won’t fix your relationship with food or your body, financial readiness, major life changes, and why you should learn to live the lifestyle before taking things to the extreme. I also get into what you SHOULD have in place before prep: consistent nutrition and training, the right coach, open communication, a strong support system, realistic expectations, and a lifestyle that can actually support the demands of competing. And maybe most importantly, we’re talking about mentality. You cannot control who shows up on show day or what the judges decide. You can control your daily actions, the work you put in, the coach you choose, and the physique you bring. Train like you’ve never won. Compete like you’ve never lost. If competing is on your radar for 2027, start here. https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Let’s talk Bikini Olympia. In this mini episode of Becoming Relentless, I’m breaking down what I saw from the 2026 Bikini Olympia — including Jazzy Gonzalez taking the title, how Maureen, Aimee, and Lauralie compared in the top four, and what their physiques tell us about where Bikini is heading. I also get into the evolution of Bikini posing, why core control and presentation can make such a massive difference onstage, and why I think we’re seeing the division move toward slightly more muscle and conditioning without losing the feminine shape and balance that define Bikini. Plus, I break down the increasingly clear distinction between Bikini and Fit Model and what that means for women who are thinking about competing. If you compete, coach competitors, or just love following the evolution of bodybuilding, this is my take on one of the most interesting Bikini Olympia lineups we’ve seen.

Another Q&A, mostly about growth!

You want bigger glutes, rounder shoulders, and a more muscular physique—but you don’t want the scale to increase, your waist to grow, or your abs to disappear. At some point, you have to decide which goal you’re actually pursuing. In this episode, I explain why body recomposition is real but isn’t always the most effective strategy, especially for experienced lifters. We’ll talk about what a productive growth phase looks like, why stage-lean is a temporary performance state rather than a sustainable lifestyle, and why gaining weight does not automatically mean gaining the same amount of body fat. I also break down training performance, progressive overload, deloads, mini-cuts, and the metrics you should use to determine whether your growth phase is working. But the hardest part of building muscle often isn’t the food or training—it’s tolerating the identity shift of no longer being at your leanest while you’re still building the physique you want. There is a season for revealing your physique and a season for building it. If you constantly interrupt the building phase because you miss seeing the finished product, you’ll keep revealing the same physique.

This episode wasn't planned—and apparently I had some things I needed to get off my chest. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what I actually want. I'm working a 9–5, running my coaching business, bodybuilding, creating content, maintaining relationships... and somewhere in the middle of trying to do everything, I realized I've been avoiding fully going after one of the things that matters most to me. And I think part of the reason is uncomfortable to admit: If you don't tell anyone what you're trying to accomplish, nobody gets to watch you fail. So this episode is me doing the opposite. We talk about overwhelm, overthinking, protecting your energy, learning that you can do anything but can't do everything well at the same time, and why I'm learning to become much more intentional about where my energy goes. I also share a goal I've been scared to say publicly: By January 2027, I want to be coaching full-time again. More than anything, this is a conversation about identity, failure, taking action before you feel completely ready, and realizing that sometimes you're not going backward—you're meeting an old chapter of your life as a completely different woman. And maybe that's what becoming relentless actually looks like. If you're ready to build a strong body and a healthy lifestyle that doesn't require your entire life to revolve around fitness, apply for 1:1 coaching below. → https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

If you want to feel strong, lean, confident, and in control of your health without your life revolving around food, macros, the scale, or constantly “starting over,” this is exactly what I help women do inside my 1:1 coaching. Apply for 1:1 coaching here → https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Skinny is “in” again. But give it another decade and the ideal female body will probably change all over again. In the early 2000s, women were chasing size zero and thigh gaps. Then came the BBL era: tiny waists, bigger glutes, curves. Now, with the rise of GLP-1s, “skinny” is becoming aspirational again. And I think we need to talk about what happens to women when our bodies are treated like trends we're supposed to keep up with. In this episode, I’m unpacking the constantly changing female beauty standard, why building your identity around your appearance can become such a dangerous game, and the difference between wanting to change your body and needing your body to validate you. Because I'm not here to tell women they shouldn't want to lose body fat, build muscle, or look a certain way. I’m a fitness coach. I care about building muscle. I care about health. And yes, I think you're allowed to have aesthetic goals. But I also believe your physique should serve your life — not become your life. We get into questions like: If social media disappeared tomorrow, what body would you actually want?Would you still want to be smaller if nobody could see you?Are you pursuing health, or approval?What happens when your body becomes part of your identity?And who benefits when women constantly feel like they aren't enough?Because maybe the goal was never to have the trendiest body. Maybe the goal is to have the healthiest relationship with the body you're building. If you want to feel strong, lean, confident, and in control of your health without your life revolving around food, macros, the scale, or constantly “starting over,” this is exactly what I help women do inside my 1:1 coaching. Apply for 1:1 coaching here → [LINK] Don't make the CTA just the final paragraph. Put this near the very top of the Spotify description: Ready to stop starting over with your fitness? Apply for 1:1 coaching → https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Getting the body is often the easy part. Becoming the woman who can actually enjoy it? That’s harder. After coaching hundreds of women, I’ve realized that most people aren't stuck because they don't know enough about fitness. The science is relatively straightforward. Lift consistently.Progressively overload.Eat enough protein.Manage your calories.Recover well. Most good coaches can give you a plan that works. But no training program can automatically change the beliefs you bring into it. “I’ll be happy when I lose the weight.” “I’ll be confident when I look better.” “I’ll finally feel like enough when I reach my goal.” Then your body changes… and those thoughts are still there. It’s like carrying around a backpack full of limiting beliefs. You can lose 30 pounds without ever taking the backpack off. Now you’re just leaner while carrying the exact same weight mentally. In this episode, I’m talking about the part of transformation we don’t discuss enough: → Why knowing what to do isn't always enough→ The “I’ll be happy when…” trap→ Why confidence doesn't automatically come from changing your body→ Identity and self-worth→ Your relationship with food→ Your relationship with discomfort and failure→ Why the mental work has to happen alongside the physical work→ Becoming someone who can actually enjoy the results she worked so hard for Because I don't just want my clients to build incredible physiques. I want them to become the type of women who can actually enjoy the lives those physiques create. Your body can change without your beliefs changing with it. And eventually, that becomes the real work. ——— KNOW WHAT TO DO, BUT STILL FEEL LIKE YOU’RE CONSTANTLY STARTING OVER? If you're tired of collecting more fitness information but still struggling with consistency, overthinking, or feeling like your body is another problem you need to solve, my 1:1 coaching goes deeper than giving you another plan. We work on the training and nutrition that change your physique — while building the structure, self-trust, and identity that allow you to actually maintain it. Build the body. Become the woman who knows how to live in it. APPLY FOR 1:1 COACHING ↓https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Want to compete in bodybuilding? Before you pick a show and start prep, I think you should spend at least six months proving you can actually live the lifestyle first. Too many women discover bodybuilding and immediately jump into prep. They go from 20% effort to 110% overnight. Tracking everything. Cardio. Posing. Meal prep. Supplements. Training. Recovery. A completely different relationship with food and their body — all at the same time. And then they burn out. In this quick episode, I’m breaking down one piece of advice I wish more aspiring competitors heard: Live like a bodybuilder before you prep like one. We talk about: → Why jumping straight into contest prep can backfire→ Cheat meals turning into binges and food becoming more complicated→ Body image, GI issues, and hormonal changes→ Why you need time to actually build muscle→ Learning to eat in a surplus without panicking about your body changing→ Building routines before adding the stress of prep→ Becoming someone who lifts because it’s part of who she is — not just because there’s a show on the calendar You don't need to prove you can survive a prep. You need to prove you can sustain bodybuilding when there isn't a stage, deadline, or coach forcing you to stay consistent. Because if the only time you can live like a bodybuilder is when you're preparing for a show, you haven't actually built the lifestyle yet. Prep shouldn't teach you how to be a bodybuilder. It should reveal the bodybuilder you've already become. ——— WANT HELP BUILDING YOUR PHYSIQUE THE RIGHT WAY? Whether you want to compete eventually or simply build a stronger, leaner body without fitness taking over your entire life, my 1:1 coaching is designed to help you build the training, nutrition, structure, and consistency to get there. APPLY FOR 1:1 COACHING ↓https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Can you earn an IFBB Fit Model Pro Card naturally? Yes. But the better question is: are you willing to wait long enough? In this episode, I’m talking about what it actually takes to build a pro-level physique naturally — and why the biggest limitation for many women may not be their genetics, but their willingness to accept the timeline. Natural bodybuilding takes time. Multiple growth seasons. Years of progressive training. Getting stronger. Spending periods of time softer than you might prefer. And continuing to build when there’s no immediate reward for the work you’re putting in. Meanwhile, we’re living in a culture obsessed with making everything faster. PEDs. Peptides. GLP-1s. Biohacking. Optimization. This isn’t about demonizing any of them. It’s about asking whether we’re using these tools because they genuinely align with our goals — or because we’ve become unwilling to wait. In this episode, we talk about: → Whether an IFBB Fit Model Pro Card is achievable naturally→ Genetics, training age, and your starting point→ Why Fit Model is different from Bikini and Wellness→ The reality of natural muscle growth→ Why staying lean year-round can work against physique development→ PEDs, peptides, GLP-1s, and shortcut culture→ The long-term tradeoffs of speeding up the process→ Fertility and future-life considerations→ The question I think every woman should ask before deciding to enhance I’d rather help someone become exceptional naturally over five years than average with drugs in eighteen months. Because sometimes you don’t need a better shortcut. You need to decide whether the goal matters enough to give it the time it actually requires. ——— READY TO BUILD A BODY YOU CAN ACTUALLY MAINTAIN? If you want to get leaner and stronger without constantly starting over, living by extreme rules, or making fitness the center of your life, my 1:1 coaching is built for exactly that. We create the training, nutrition, structure, and consistency systems that work in your real life — not just when everything goes perfectly. APPLY FOR 1:1 COACHING ↓https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

In this episode of the Becoming Relentless Podcast, I'm sharing a personal life update and talking through some of the things I've been navigating lately. We get into goals, fitness, relationships, burnout, self-awareness, personal growth, and what it looks like to keep moving forward when life feels uncertain or messy. This isn't a "how-to" episode. It's a real conversation about the challenges that come with growth, chasing big goals, and trying to build a life that feels aligned without expecting yourself to have all the answers. In this episode, we discuss: personal growth and self-development goal setting and creating a long-term vision consistency vs perfection navigating challenges in fitness and life burnout, motivation, and self-awareness learning from setbacks building momentum when you feel stuck what growth actually looks like behind the scenes If you've been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, unmotivated, or unsure of your next step, I think you'll relate to this one. Apply for coaching:https://form.typeform.com/to/chqUDr9g Book a free consultation call:https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min Follow along: BEcoming Relentless Podcast: @becomingrelentless_ Elenoa McCabe: @noamccabe_ifbbpro #mindset #personalgrowth #fitnessjourney #selfimprovement #goalsetting #consistency #bodybuilding #womeninfitness #healthandfitness #becomingrelentless

We all hear the phrase “consistency is key”… but if that’s true, why do so many smart, driven women still struggle to stay consistent? In this episode, we’re talking about why the problem might not be motivation at all. We cover: • Why information overload may be sabotaging your consistency • Decision fatigue vs lack of motivation • Why successful women struggle with health even when they excel everywhere else • The problem with treating everything like a mindset issue • Structure vs discipline • Why you may not need another plan… you may need less noise This episode is for the woman who knows what to do. You’ve read the books. Tracked the macros. Saved the workouts. Lost the weight before. And somehow you still feel like you keep starting over. You are not broken. You may just be overloaded. If this episode helped, share it with someone who keeps telling themselves they “just need more motivation.” Apply for coaching: https://form.typeform.com/to/chqUDr9g Book a FREE consult call with me: https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min BEcoming Relentless IG: @becomingrelentless_ Elenoa McCabe IG: @noamccabe_ifbbpro #BEcomingRelentless

Bikini prep looks exciting from the outside. The stage photos, progress updates, and “weeks out” posts make it look structured and controlled. But there’s another side people rarely talk about. In this episode, we break down what actually happens during prep: metabolic adaptation, hunger changes, food focus, mental fatigue, peak week misconceptions, and why the post-show phase is often harder than prep itself. We also talk about rebounds, reverse dieting, identity outside of the sport, and the questions you should ask before stepping on stage. Topics covered: • metabolic adaptation during prep • leptin, ghrelin, thyroid output, and cortisol • food focus and cognitive fatigue • peak week myths • post-show rebounds • reverse dieting and recovery • preparing for life after stage If you’re considering competing, currently prepping, or navigating post-show recovery, this episode will give you a more realistic picture of what the process looks like. Apply for coaching: https://form.typeform.com/to/chqUDr9g Book a FREE consult call with me: https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min

Everyone is talking about peptides right now… but do they actually work? In this episode of BEcoming Relentless, we answer three listener questions and break down the science behind peptides, night shift fat loss, and whether competing is realistic when you’re also balancing motherhood and real life responsibilities. In this episode we cover: • what peptides actually are and how they work • GLP-1s, semaglutide, appetite suppression, and fat loss • whether peptides are safer than steroids • bloodwork markers to monitor before using them • why night shift can make fat loss harder • insulin sensitivity, hunger hormones, circadian rhythm, and metabolism changes • practical strategies for eating and recovering on night shift • competing as a mom and balancing bodybuilding with life • building muscle with limited time • recovery, minimum effective dose, and sustainable progress If you’ve switched to nights and feel like your body suddenly stopped cooperating, are curious about peptides, or wonder whether bodybuilding and parenthood can coexist, this episode is for you. WORK WITH ME Apply for coaching: https://form.typeform.com/to/chqUDr9g Book a free consult call: https://calendly.com/elenoa-mccabe/30min FOLLOW Podcast Instagram: @becomingrelentless_ Personal Instagram: @noamccabe_ifbbpro AFFILIATES Ryze HRT + Bloodwork — code NOA Purefactor Formulations — code NOA10 Free Spirit Outlet — code NOA The Shoe Fairy — code ELENOA New episodes weekly covering bodybuilding, reverse dieting, fat loss, mindset, behavior change, hormones, sustainable fitness, and building a body that fits your real life. Topics covered: peptides, GLP-1s, semaglutide, night shift weight gain, circadian rhythm disruption, bodybuilding moms, recovery, muscle growth, contest prep, reverse dieting, and sustainable fat loss. #BEcomingRelentless #Peptides #GLP1 #NightShiftFitness #ReverseDiet #BikiniPrep #BodybuildingCoach #ContestPrep #WomensFitness #FitnessPodcast