Good Movement is Foundational
Whether your goal is to lean out by getting regular aerobic exercise and add muscle definition by lifting weights, or you just want to get more exercise to improve how you feel; good movement is essential.

Good mobility requires motor control. Motor control is the ability to coordinate movement of all joints involved, in a pattern. As we age (this begins to happen way before middle age – think of how easily a four-year old navigates the monkey bar; and if they don’t continue to do it, they can no longer use that playground equipment only a few years later) we lose muscle strength, and the capacity to produce power. It isn’t only because we lose muscle mass at a rate of 5% every decade if we don’t properly and progressively resistance train, but also because the brain loses its ability to talk to the muscles in a pattern-motor neuron death (this is called neuromuscular function). When the function deteriorates, the muscle shrinks away. Therefore, loss of balance and coordination occurs. Continue to lose this control, and the power needed to push oneself out of a chair also diminishes. Aging well requires maintaining controlled mobility, as it is the foundation that everything works from.

Controlled mobility is dependent upon joints and their position. If one joint loses its alignment, the joint above and below will begin to compensate. This can happen right from the feet upwards, or anywhere along the body’s chain. So addressing pelvic and rib cage positioning, as well as hand and foot control in exercise is crucial to good movement, which affects health and good results from exercise.

A sedentary lifestyle, long hours sitting or standing, injury, or long activities like jogging and cycling can perpetuate poor movement. Therefore, it’s so important to keep good movement as a priority while doing strength and muscle building exercises, especially in working with weights because your body will adapt to the positions you are exercising it in.

If there are mobility restrictions or leaks in energy through the system, typically overwork at hip flexors, paraspinals, posterior hip and shoulder, upper traps, will happen, making some areas chronically stiff and tight affecting movement. If a person lifts weights without controlled mobility, then adaptations of strength of these aberrant patterns are caused.

It’s as simple as this: if your hips lose controlled mobility, the result may be knee, back or hip pain. If this happens at the foot or ankle, knee, or hip pain. If you lose mobility in your t-spine or lack a good stable and mobile shoulder complex- you could get shoulder, back or neck pain. Muscle guarding is a result of poor movement strategies.

Movement is personal. Everyone breathes to live, but our lifestyles, stressors, past experiences, and postures can affect breathing for mobility. This is an often-overlooked aspect of gaining mobility and functional strength. Restoring your rib cage mobility with a 360-degree breathing pattern is one of the details that we ensure in your training program.

Not everyone needs to create more flexibility. In fact, those with more natural flexibility often end up taxing their joints and connective tissue. They need more stability. This is the value of an assessment; to determine how your body moves, what your natural flexibility is, whether you have a bias towards flexion or extension, whether you need more mobility or more stability, what progression level to begin with in an exercise, etc.

The purpose of exercise should be to help your body to move freely, to allow you to do regular tasks with ease, and to be more metabolically efficient. Prehab (exercising with quality of movement) is much more favorable than rehab (fixing the movement issues that we have created from the quantity of movement without controlled mobility. So in training we build all of your goals onto a foundation of good movement to last!

Strength Has Many Benefits
There are so many benefits to strength training, but you may not ever have been exposed to what strength training really is.

Functional strength is strength that can be expressed in everyday activities. Not every exercise is suitable for every person, but every movement pattern used in the gym to gain strength should be available to every person. This means that it is essential to take into consideration your personal details and to choose the exercise variations of all of the main strength exercises that you have the range of motion for and can effectively perform. This, and progressing the work are the hallmarks of an excellent strength training program that will be highly beneficial to you!

A program that helps you to build strength begins with the foundation. These are foundational and some of what is assessed in the initial session:

• Alignment. Rib cage and pelvic alignment and working within an individual’s capacity, a person must be able to buttress unwanted movement while maintaining a good breathing pattern for good results.
• Everyone is different. Some people have a bias towards an upright and stiff posture. Other people tend to be more flexed over. Some are a combination, everyone is different! It is essential to recognize what your body naturally does, and then work to create the most efficient movement. We are all naturally asymmetrical, but we want to stay in acceptable ranges so as not leave ourselves open to movement restrictions and potential injury. Some of us are naturally more flexible and pushing into ranges of motion that a person’s structure does not allow for, could be potentially injurious. As could not controlling that range of motion. This means that blanket cues like “feet outside of hips in a squat” “go as low as possible” could cause problems down the line. So could a suggestion to push into a stretch or a mobilization that you may have a natural limitation to, or a muscle guarding situation. This also has implications for exercise technique in general. There may be a particular technique to an exercise, but if the body isn’t ready, or structurally able to perform that technique then that exercise isn’t for that person. Doing so, overtime, can create injury; at best – poor results. When you work with me, I do my utmost in programming to ensure that the exercises you are given suit your body’s anatomy and your abilities.
• Breathing mechanics. Everyone breathes. There’s a big differentiation between exchanging gasses and breathing to control and to produce optimal movement to express strength. Breathing is integral to core mechanics and core isn’t about strength. It’s about our bodies ability to perform well under stress of exercise, or even stress in general.
• Progression of exercise is crucial. An exercise program that begins with exercise variations that are too challenging will not produce good results. The body will respond by using compensatory movement patterns to get the job done. The program must follow a systematic approach of progression. Doing the same exercises with the same intensity will not make improvements to strength levels or cause the metabolic changes necessary to grow muscle mass (tone muscle). Random programming (changing exercises all the time) will result in random results. We start with a movement assessment, and then follow a program specific to your needs and goal; that is progressive.

Strength Work Fuels Every Goal
Your body will not grow muscle until it improves strength in the movements that involve those muscles. If the goal is to add definition (tone) that means adding muscle.

Athletics require a stable base of foundational strength, to build power and speed off of. You can’t shoot a cannon out of a canoe. Train to be an athlete!

Life is Easier with Strength
Carrying groceries, gardening, carrying children, not waking up stiff and sore, ability to walk distances. These are all done with ease when a regular program of strength and conditioning is implemented into your lifestyle.

Other Benefits
Strength training sessions which include accessory work for muscle growth and conditioning work assists to ward off the loss of muscle mass due to aging. The less muscle mass we have, the weaker we get, the less agile, the less metabolic our bodies become. It’s like living in a slow state of decay, not a pretty thought! Loss of strength is also a cause of loss of coordination and balance. A balanced and strong body functions better in daily tasks. Risk of arthritis is also lessened when joints are moving better. Your training sessions are written for you to progress, to develop these critical living skills and elements that transfer over to help you live your best, healthy life!

Outside the Box Fitness Nutrition Coaching
The key to successful change is learning how to do things differently, while adapting new behaviors into lifestyle.This ends the need for chronic dieting.

I coach based on the principles and science based knowledge that I acquired through Precision Nutrition’s Level 1 and Level 2 coaching certifications. It is life-changing, habit based nutrition coaching.

The full coaching term integrates psychology, metabolic physiology, and nutrient biochemistry. The result is drastic improvements in health, performance, and body composition.This is not done in a 3 or 6 week “fix”.It takes time to Integrate habits that make lasting changes to the above, which create lasting overall positive results to your health and well being.

I use a distinct method that ensures that you are not overwhelmed. We work together instilling all of the behaviors that lead to success in better health, better body composition (losing fat and gaining muscle) and better performance. It is this approach that guides you every step of the way. We begin with an exploration into your current lifestyle and eating habits, and then work through incremental change.This approach of systematically “stretching” the key components into your lifestyle, delivers a greater opportunity of long term success.

HOW WE WORK TOGETHER :

• Daily – I take a client centered approach to coaching. Through the discovery process I ask that you send your data to me daily so that we have details to base change off of. This is typically a week or two long, but that is dependent on what you, the client, feels is needed for support.
• Weekly – a check in via email or Zoom at your discretion, with the opportunity for you, the client to share experience. It is at that point that we stay the course or modify to suit. We ensure that the behaviors we set for you, are the right ones to keep you progressing towards, your goal.
• Bi-monthly – an in-person meeting to review, go over new materials and expectations, addition of new habit check of adherence practices. Habits and lessons are cumulative; they build onto each other to assure that they become engrained.

In Person, Personal Services.

This is both supportive and designed to increase your knowledge of nutrition and lifestyle basics. It will:

• push your comfort levels in a safe and effective way
• expand your skills and self-awareness
• discover your necessities vs wants in lifestyle, body composition, and performance
• acquire practical, mental, and emotional skills involving lifestyle change

Progress is a collaboration. Any change requires regular attention and consistent focus. I’m here to support your transformation by supporting you as you create successful habits and turn them into a regular routine.

Functional Range Conditioning (FRC®)
It is a research backed, evidence based system of training all the joints in the body to operate as they were intended to. This improves the ability to move freely, and to get the best results out of exercise. I am now a certified provider of this system. Read on to learn how this system will benefit you.

Do you answer YES to any of the following?

• Chronic tightness in any muscles, pain or discomfort in any joints?
• Difficulty bending over to touch toes or reaching arms overhead?
• Use massage and/ or a chiropractor on a regular basis for relief?
• These are all indications that you would benefit from improving your ability to control your body.

Critical Error in Living
Put simply, we no longer use our body as it was intended to be used. Lifestyles that do not include purposeful exercise involve long hours of either sitting or standing. These both deliver a lot of stress to our systems. Our bodies need daily stress to be able to adapt to and grow tissue. Unfortunately, most people don’t deliver the right kind of stress to their bodies.

Critical Error in Fitness
We’ve been sold fitness for health, but the way that it is delivered is not always beneficial. Some people find this out immediately, by sustaining injury. For others, it takes a while for muscle tightness, wearing out of joints, and arthritis to occur. However, these are all effects of one thing. Poor movement control.

Truth is, people cannot handle external load stress before they have good control over their internal environment. This external load stress is applied by lifting weights, running, fitness classes, dancing, gymnastics, golfing, yoga, Pilates … every exercise modality you can think of.

What does it mean to control your internal environment? Simply put, it means learning to involve the nervous system while conditioning the joints to move safely and efficiently. This prepares the body for both the chaos of exercise, as well as the insult that it is put through with daily living. Tissues undergo stress, and our bodies adapt. This teaches your body to adapt favorably.

How is This Different Than Any Exercise Modality Offered That Promotes Health
Exercise programs that promise a “stronger core”, “better flexibility” all miss the boat on this one essential ingredient. That is gaining functional mobility. This is mobility that stays (without the need to stretch, massage, roll, etc.) because it is an active pursuit. This causes a change to strength and nervous system output. It gives you an increased capacity for your joints to be able to support a load which keeps you safe from injury. It also reduces the chance of needing a joint replacement, or developing arthritis. This happens when you learn how to mindfully and purposefully take each joint to its full range of motion, and then cement it in with strength.

When a person learns to take each individual joint to its range of motion, under control, while increasing flexibility, that extra range of motion is accessible with control should a person be caught in a potential situation of injury.

How Functional Range Conditioning Improve the Results of Strength Training and Muscle Growth
Strength training and building muscle, learning to run or run faster, getting better at a sport are all examples of performance goals. Improving the articular functioning of each joint that makes up the movement in an exercise, is going to improve the exercise. Exercises are movements. Practicing good movement corrects movement. Take the squat for example. If a person’s ankle and hip mobility are reduced, some tissues are going to constantly be over stressed and other tissues will not be stressed at all. If a person has not been taught how to create tension, then the nervous system is not alerted as to what is the most efficient way to be doing the exercise. Improving the ability of all the joint’s that play a role in that exercise will ensure that during the variance that happens in a movement, they will know what to do.

This is What is Being Created
Conditioning of the nervous system to maximize active ranges of joint motion. When you pay attention to creating appropriate tension, improved neurological functioning is developed. In essence, you learn to own your range of motion, strengthen it, and protect it against loads.

You create movement fluidity by practicing progressively more complex sequential articular patterning. This is what happens when you get stronger, more adept with an exercise or movement. This law of progressive overload, is essential to creating any change. There must be an adequate stimulus presented to create long term change. Controlled mobility is the foundation.

Not only do you gain flexibility, but you maintain that flexibility by simultaneously increasing range of motion and strengthening that new range of motion.

If you have experienced an injury, or have non-structural movement restrictions, this will reestablish the joints ability to move as intended. It will also improve articular health and promote longevity.

The idea of purposeful exercise was created to improve the health of a person. This system improves athletic function. Restoring the ability to control our bodies throughout all ranges of motion, strengthening the body to be more resilient to the stresses we impose on it only makes sense.

Fitness should make a person move better, not tear a person down. Functionally conditioning all aspects of the body does this. I use exercises and protocols from Functional Range Conditioning in my client exercise programs to create better movement. Better movement creates better results.

Postpartum Corrective Exercise
Postpartum women should be able to do anything. For most women, our bodies bounce back after delivery. However, for approximately 32 percent of the postpartum population, naturally healing needs a boost. For some, pregnancy and deliver exposes a preexisting weakened core.

What Pregnancy Does to the Body

• Organs get squished and moved around.
• Diaphragm gets pushed up and rib cage spreads open, which affects functioning of the diaphragm, which is a core muscle important for our functioning.
• Pelvic floor must handle tremendous pressure and assault from experience. The pelvic floor is what separates our organs from the outside world.
• Abs get completely stretched out
• Back muscles tighten, overcompensate and over- work to make up for lack of abs. Plus the weight on the front of the body causes a natural lean back in posture, further stressing the back.
• Upper back goes into increased kyphosis (flexed over). One side of the hip takes more load than the other from carrying baby or other children on dominant side.
• Sleep deprivation and dietary changes occur as a reaction to the new stresses of being a parent.

WHOA! This is a lot of major stuff that occurs. A pregnancy and child birth can also bring to the forefront, preexisting issues like asymmetries or deviations in posture.

This changes the way our core functions. Intervention and gaining strength with core control may prevent future injury and development of disease. Present tightness or chronic pain may be alleviated by taking these steps:

1. Start with breathing. A functioning diaphragm will get abs firing and strengthen the pelvic floor.
2. Get core to contract correctly again. This is decreasing rib flare back to 90 degrees. Getting the abdomen back to its size by training it to resist extension and rotation will decrease tension in low back. It will also allow for proper working of the hip, which will decrease tension in hip flexors, upper glutes, and hip rotators (deep glutes).
3. Postural control. Taking this postpartum posture (usually signified by a high lumbar arch, tucked under bum and clenched glutes, distended abdomen) to boot camp workouts and running is a recipe for disaster down the road.
4. Assess for other imbalances that may have been preexisting and exaggerated by pregnancy and delivery. Common ones are SI joint pain, back pain, neck and shoulder pain or tightness.

A very important consideration is that a woman does not have to have a baby to be postpartum. Core weakness, diastasis recti, pelvic floor hyper/hypotonicity, pain in hips, back, neck, shoulders are all symptoms of the same thing. That is a system that is not functioning well. This can occur years and decades post. It is very common for a woman to experience a prolapse months or years after delivery.

There is a specific system to healing and gaining foundational strength. Book a session today, and discover how to get a healthier, stronger body than you have ever had!