Adrien Cotton

Adrien Cotton I can’t wait to help you achieve your goals through my simple, sustainable & proven strategies. Begin your wellness journey right here, right now.

The greatest gift we can give ourselves is wellness, yet knowing how to get there is often a significant obstacle to success. To navigate a market saturated with quick-fix products and harmful advice, it’s essential to safeguard your well-being with a trusted advisor. Whether your wellness journey begins in your own kitchen or in the executive boardroom, Adrien will guide you with innovative methodologies, a client-centric philosophy, and an approach infused with encouragement and care.

03/24/2026

Had some “fun” with Dr. Rosalie working through a few pesky issues. All resolvable. Nothing sidelining me. An opportunity to learn how to get stronger.

A group of buddies from my gym - yes I belong to one and own one - invited me to race the Exorcist stairs, 10 pulls ups ...
03/22/2026

A group of buddies from my gym - yes I belong to one and own one - invited me to race the Exorcist stairs, 10 pulls ups 10 rounds this morning. Warren brought a 71 # bell for swings. Added those after every stair climb. 😳

So glad I joined!

Not only did I finish strong, I took a walk down memory lane from my high school study at Georgetown (a very long time ago) to my time as a grad student. The streets are the same. Buildings look just as they did when I’d race my Honda from Capitol Hill to class in the nick of time.

Chose the ladder approach on pull ups. 5-6-7-8-9 then repeat and thankfully my “friends” pushed me for those LAST FIVE STEPS for rounds 8-10! Thanks friends.

Looks like a new Sunday activity for me. Join us! Sundays. 730am. Exorcist stairs.

Quick trip to sunny AZ to check in on my brother and nephew. New place is cozy, perfectly located and now has a few mea...
03/16/2026

Quick trip to sunny AZ to check in on my brother and nephew. New place is cozy, perfectly located and now has a few meals in the freezer to lean on made by yours truly

Big thanks to Fitness and for my “special” drop in rate. 😉 Any break in my training? Nope. Added in trail hike and morning walks.

Halos prevailed 5-2 in perfect small ballpark fashion. .emc surprise visit and first spring training experience will go down in memory book. “Wow! This is awesome, Mom! The players are SO CLOSE!”

FINALLY finished The Correspondent. Thank you Brenda and Joyce for encouraging me to SLOG through the first 100 pages. It’s traveled to California, Texas twice and to Alabama. The Arizona sunshine did me right. I now consider it a favorite. Yes, I cried at the end…😉

03/08/2026

Lots of “lasts”…This weekend was dedicated to time at Eppley (UMD) taking it all in, enjoying the drive time, singing and making new plans. As .emc approaches her last few meets with Potomac Valley Swim (PVS) - sweet memories, swim friends, the early drives to College Park, swimmer drop off / pick up and the 10 years of watching her grow since her first Champs meet at age 10 are as if they happened yesterday. Chlorine filled weekends are numbered here in the DMV as she moves on to outdoor meets next year in So. Cal.

Her last Champs meet and my last run of the UMD campus during warm ups. log5miles

If you’ve ever stood in the gym staring at the rack of dumbbells wondering…5 pounds? 10 pounds? 12.5? Should I go heavie...
03/06/2026

If you’ve ever stood in the gym staring at the rack of dumbbells wondering…
5 pounds? 10 pounds? 12.5? Should I go heavier? Lighter? More reps?

You’re not alone.

Even experienced lifters struggle with choosing the right weight — not because they aren’t capable, but because many of us have been taught the wrong things about strength for years. Adrien Cotton reminds us that women, in particular, often underestimate what they are truly capable of lifting.

For decades we were told the same formula:
Light weights. High reps. Sweat more. Cardio equals success.

But science — and experience — are telling us something very different.

Muscle is medicine.

Building strength supports longevity, protects your bones, improves hormonal balance, sharpens the brain, and helps your body recover faster from injury.

And here’s the empowering truth:
Most of us are far stronger than we think.

The goal isn’t to choose the “safe” weight.
The goal is to challenge your body enough that it adapts, grows, and becomes stronger over time through progressive overload — gradually increasing the demand placed on your muscles.

Strength training is not about punishment.
It’s about possibility.

It’s about discovering that the limits you believed in yesterday might not be your limits at all.

When you lift heavier than you thought you could…
When your body surprises you…
When you realize your strength is expanding every week…

That confidence doesn’t stay in the gym.

It follows you into your work.
Your decisions.
Your leadership.
Your life.

Because strength is never just physical.

If you’ve ever wondered how to choose the right weights for your workouts — and how to finally stop second-guessing yourself in the gym — this article is a must read.

Read it here:
https://alexandriastylebook.com/alexandria-stylebook/adrien-cotton-how-to-choose-the-right-weights-for-your-workouts

Your future self is stronger than you think.

02/12/2026

Pull up dessert. Love my “step”. Notice the 50th facial expression of Rachel, a nearly nightly discussion at the dinner table.

02/12/2026

Met my PR! Thought it was 85 #. Hit 100 # almost reached my BW. Super happy.

02/12/2026

Having more post-Royal Restaurant fun. Meeting goals. Crushing fitness. Trying to match load to body weight. She does it. I get close!

02/12/2026

Got it! *t

02/12/2026

Mom and daughter bench press FUN. Whose daughter says “I want to struggle”?

As you can imagine, being a small business owner has tons of perks. And, it never ends! 😳. A few weeks ago I visited F...
02/02/2026



As you can imagine, being a small business owner has tons of perks. And, it never ends! 😳. A few weeks ago I visited From Head To Tail, my fiend and client, Jodi Goldberg’s awesome business.

Jodi has made dog grooming FUN, as comfortable as possible and her team loves working there!

Here you can see the benefits of dog grooming in Jodi’s team’s capable hands.

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Alexandria, VA
22301 TO 22315, 22320 TO 22336

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