Be Prepared and Be Present.

I thought I knew what  “taking one day at a time” meant, but it was a lesson I had to repeat till I actually got it.  

This blog post is personal. 

The reason I am sharing it is because there might be someone like me that needs to hear it. 

I am a big believer in being prepared for the worst and hope for the best. It's a concept that I have learned when I was younger and that has helped me all of my life.  But it has also taken things away from me, mainly the ability to be present in the moment.   The ability to enjoy the ride/process/journey or whatever cliche shit you post, pin or save on your social media.  And I understand that this can also be a trama response in some situations, something I'm accutely aware of, being closely tied personally and professionally to the military during the OIF and OEF conflicts. 

But I have sat back and reflected on this. And this is what I have learned. 

 It's about keeping those things in balance, being prepared and present. 

I am writing to you  after one of the busiest months of 2023. Not only did I evolve my dream job with my dream clients, I got the opportunity to expand it and collaborate with a creative group of specialists that have come together to make a whole community, An Optimal You.

 With this collab, I get to learn and teach within this supportive space and reach many many more of my dream clients. With opening a new location, there's a ton of back end work that needs to be done, marketing,  creating a space that I can work in, and so much more. It's more then just opening the doors and saying,”Come on in!”

I also had a dream come true this past December. I taught a masterclass for a sport that I love, live and breathe.  Ya’ll know I'm a pole and aerialist at heart. Shoot, I taught pole for 4 years!!!  So this was the chance to take what I've learned as a practitioner and instructor and create a class that will change the industry.  It is an instructor training designed to help create safety, and injury prevention for instructors, students and Elite Pole Athletes.  

And throw it in that I personall moved in December,  to a whole new residency literally right in between masterclass, new office, and Christmas, one of my favorite holidays. And New Years!  

So I packed stuff in boxes,  sorting out my life and  decided if I really needed all those dang coffee mugs, Mix in social gatherings for Christmas, and it's a lot on my plate.

Don't get me wrong,  I was excited out of my gord!!! But, in all of this exciting stuff, there have been sleepless nights and  stress. There where days,  as I was driving home, I had to take some big breaths because I was feeling so stressed, trying to be prepared for all of it. 

I felt like I was so stressed and, I was missing the magic.  I was missing the damn journey.  I was missing the joy of planning the class curriculum. I was missing picking out the details and vision for the new office.  I was stressed and not having fun and thinking to myself, “I'll feel better once I get there.” 

But, I started wondering to myself, why wait till I get the house moved in, the office set up, and standing in front of my audience in my workshop.  Why not just take a breath?  Take a moment to get prepared for it, get the game plan. Then take it one day at a time, one project at a time.  And enjoy crafting each and every part and piece. I did exactly this in my pole journey last year.  I didn't have any expectations, but just the desire to get better. I hired a coach, told her I had one goal by December, and that was it.  I wanted it to be challenging, pushing me waayyy past my comfort zones, but that was it. And now I stand here 12 months later flabbergasted as to what my body can do, and curious to see what next year brings.  

So, that's exactly what I did. I took it one project at a time. Some days I wanted to raace ahead to next week's project. But it qickly felt overwhelming, and I had to mentall tell myselft. “Dude, just focus on this project this week. Just focus on what's in front of you. You'll get to it all. And don't let perfect get in the way of good.”

I had to take one week at a time. And in that time I got to really enjoy each experience. And as much as it was a test on my patience, I am so glad it unfolded this way. I'm sitting here relaxed, writing to you with a hot cup of apple cider, and taking the monment to soak it all in. I didn't miss the expressions and light in the eyes of my instructors. I got to celebrate Christmas with new and exciting traditions, and see my family. I got to be truly present for it, all the laughs and yummy food. Things had I rushed and over prepared and catastrophically overthought, would have left me too exhausted to make those memories.

New office launch happened, almost perfectly. But that's ok. I found joy in all of it. And wouldn't have had this any other way.

I'm sharing this with you because you might be or know someone just like me.  And this is a letter to myself, for those days that I'm in that catasrophic mindset.   Lorae, ”You got this. Sit back and take it one day at a time. Take a second to make a plan then take a breath and look around you.” Take a mental picture of that sunset.  Be present to what you're doing, and as cliche as this sounds: be here for the journey.  Enjoy the shit that was once wildest dreams, that's now reality.  Don't miss a single moment of it. Take it one day at a time. 

So this letter is to you, me, and future Lorae.  Because, I wonder what all of this will lead up to in the years to come. Let's all practice the art of being prepared and present. Just being here for it.  Remind me if I ever forget it. Cuz, I might and this is why I am sharing this with you.

 Be Prepared and Present.

Oh and I figured out 2024’s word of the year. Unstoppable.  Just like Sia sings it.  See you in 2024.. 

“Be prepared for the journey ahead, but be present and enjoy where you are right now. Where you are right now, was a just a dream a little while ago. ”

— Lorae Lyn

Mastering Tapering for Peak Performance

Your 7-Day Guide to Tapering for Success

What exactly is a taper week?

Tapering isn't just for long-distance or endurance runners before their big race!

It's essential for all competitors. It's one of the tools you can use to build muscle memory while letting your body rest and repair.

Taper week has 6 components to it.

• When to go full out

• Visualization

• Marking it or Technical Run Thrus.

• Rest/Sleep

• Vitamins/ Supplements

• Stress release techniques and mobility.

I'll share techniques that I have used, and some learned from others, and some from the GOATs themselves.

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

Full out.

Every emotion, move, swing, lift as big as you can get it! And run it through 3x. You have to practice it like you are going to perform it. Don't play small. If you practice it small, you won't be able to go big, or it will feel weird and take all of your energy reserves. Then you won't be able to sustain it until the end of your event unless you've done it like that for reps and reps before.

Michael Phelps

Visualization.

From start to finish. Visualize every rep, set. How does the bar feel, the air smell, the crowd sound? What do your muscles feel like? When do you anticipate the burn of the fatigue coming on and how will you shift your mind? How will you calm your nerves? How will you breathe?

Visualize yourself winning, completing, stepping on YOUR EQUIVALENT TO THE PODIUM. What does that look like, feel like?

Visualizations start at least 7 days out. It starts with 2 run-throughs in your head, and by day 4 or 5, it should be 10. You'll hate the damn song before you're done. Or you'll have done this move a thousand times in your head, so doing it on game day will feel so natural.

I've had an instructor tell me that if I don't hate the song and never want to hear it again after the performance, I didn't practice enough. To this day, there's a certain Rihanna and TroyBoi song I automatically press skip as soon as I hear the opening bars.

Technical run thrus or Marking it

Go through the moves, not fully but 5%. Go through the weight changes, body placements, and, most importantly, talk yourself through it. You can say it out loud or in your head while you listen to the beep of the clock, the sound of the song, the click of the bike or board, or the pounding of your feet. And do it over and over and over.

Rest/Sleep

This is the week you're going to want to get that golden recovery tool in. Sleep. That's the gold standard!

Do not TRADE COPPER for GOLD. aka REPS FOR SLEEP.

Sleep is where your muscles knit themselves back together. This is where you actually get stronger so you can perform with precision. You might want to get an extra hour of sleep. So schedule it in. If you have to get up at a certain time, plan on starting your bedtime routine earlier, that might even mean eat dinner an hour earlier. Weird, I know. And if you can't sleep, do your visualizations. Kobe did it that way.

"[On game days], that night I will for sure get 10 or 11 hours. I always get my rest and I think that's one of the things that people don't talk often about. Your body heals and repairs itself better than anything. Being able to get some sleep really does a great cause for your recovery and helping you wake up with a renewed, fresh mental and physical outlook." - Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

Stress release and Mobility.

Foam rolling, lax ball work will help take some of that nervous energy out. Since you have been increasing your volume and power output and been going full out the weeks before your event, you'll have this feeling of anxiousness and no ability to burn it off. Foam roll and mobility work will help to maintain movement so you don't feel stiff or like you're regressing. It will also help to flush out all the crap that's in your muscles from training so heavily and use up some of that anxious energy. Mobility will feel amazing. And bring in some slow breathing techniques to get a sense of calm.

Food Fuel and Hydration

And not just drinking water.

I like to add in 2 things:

1. An Adrenal Cocktail

2. An electrolyte mix or mineral water!

Favorite Adrenal “Cocktail" Recipe

Four days before your comp, start focusing on your hydration. It might take you 2-3 days to actually get fully hydrated! Surprised?!

Food. Now I'm no expert here, but I do know that you need a couple of essentials for repair: 1. Protein, Recovery B12, B6, D, and C. I suggest adding in a little extra easily digestible proteins to your rest and repair days, up till day 3 before your comp. Then mix in a bit of carbs to change your fuel ratios. If you don't eat a lot of protein, then don't change your diet drastically the week of the comp. We want to keep a sense of normalcy. Remember, your body is used to performing with what you give it. So don't get crazy in the week leading up. And as weird as this sounds, make sure you poop! If you drink coffee, keep drinking it. If you are plant-based, don't go chowing down on a steak if your gut isn't used to it.

Taper Week Timeline

• Day 7-6: Last days of intense practice. Prioritize sleep, start visualizations, and add extra protein.

• Day 5-4: Focus on technique, amp up visualizations, and maintain good sleep habits.

• Day 3-2: Balance fuel and hydration, emphasize sleep, mobility, and stress release techniques.

• Day 1 before event & event day: Hydrate, fuel up, get adequate sleep, and visualize success.

• Day 1 Recovery: Prioritize sleep, eat for recovery, engage in mobility exercises, and consider cold plunges or sauna sessions.

In conclusion, don't underestimate the importance of tapering and sleep. It's the golden standard for enhancing performance and ensuring you're at your best on the big day. Stick to your routine, stay consistent with your diet, and visualize success to prepare both mentally and physically. Remember, don't trade gold for copper. Sleep is your secret weapon!

Happy competing!

-Lorae Lyn

How To Be More Disciplined.

This one goes out to all the people that know they need to do something about their posture, their movement,  a new fitness or wellness habit, and know that it's time to start taking care of their body.

  I'm speaking to those that don't have a routine yet, those that this goal looks too hard and scary. 

60 days of Handstands

How to truly be disciplined.

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We are doing away with working out when we feel "inspired." Instead we are shifting into the mindset of doing it because we are disciplined.  

I'm going to reframe Discipline for you, and show you that you're ultimately getting freedom and  self care. 

Here are six steps and tools to help you shift your brain and become more diciplined. And I'm going to use my 60 day self-imposed handstand challenge as my example. 

This is how I look at discipline and these are the mindset shifts I took in my journey and have helped others shift their mindset as well. .

1.Reframing Discipline when you are getting ready and during your movement journey. 

 Discipline will ultimately lead to freedom – freedom from pain, limitations, and uncertainty. Imagine waking up without pain, not having to modify workouts due to chronic pain, or worrying about costly medical interventions such as surgery injections and possibly walking away from what you love because your body isb't capable of doing it.

Imagine not being confined by your body's limitations.

Freedom in movement, encompassing strength, flexibility, and balance, provides you with choices. Now picture trusting your body, being able to say, "Today, I want to do ______," instead of, "What can my body handle today?"

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2.Develop the discipline that is no longer about what we feel like, but rather a non-negotiable.  

No, I'm not saying start working out 7 days a week for 3 hours a day. That my friend will get you a quick ticket into my office for an overuse injury and burnout.   Rather, discipline is choosing one thing to change, and doing it a little bit every day. It's about consistency and quality with just the expectation that you showed up and you did "the thing." 

So pick one thing to do for 60 days. And make it a non-negotiable.

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3. Ask yourself, what is discipline to you? 

Rethink what does being disciplined mean to you? Rewrite it if it's negative. Being disciplined does not mean you will be boring, mundane, no fun, strict, etc.  What will you  actually be? Happy? Vibrant? Competitive with yourself and your peers? Content? Confident?

Thinking about discipline like this will reposition the importance of it. 

"Because I do this.. I get this.  Discipline gives me______."

Example:

Because I did 60 days of Handstands, I now have stronger shoulders, so I can do more complex pole tricks.  Discipline in my handstands gives me the ability to push harder in my personal training, which brings me joy. 

What does dicipline mean to you? What does doing _________ for 60 days do for you? The end result will be_____.

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4. Start small and build up.

The mind and body likes to achieve goals, so keep the goals simple and attainable. Make those massive goals into manageable pieces. Break it down over and over and over till you get a piece or part to do consistently. 

And if you give yourself a couple goals, it's actually better.

Why? If you get at least 50 percent of your goals,  then you are actually easier on yourself and get less discouraged. If you miss x but still do y and/or y & z your brain thinks I'm still winning. Remember  the brain likes to check off boxes, or "win." 

Make it something you can do every day. It doesn't need to be the hardest thing. Something simple at first. 

For me, it was a handstand.  I can do one without warming up. I can do one every day. 

I gave myself 4  sub-goals in my challenge. Did I get all of them, nope. But I did get 2 out of the 4. Yes! Goal one was easy, just do it. Goal 2 was a bit harder.  Goals 3 and 4 were goals that I would be surprised if I actually got them. I reached goals 1 and 2 by the end of the 60 days.  Even though I didn't get 3 and 4, I still consider it a win, and goals 3 and 4 just require more time and training. See the mindset shift?

Your Goal could be flossing your teeth, dishes, waking up at the same time every day, foam rolling, glute bridges, somethinng that you can do that's a small goal every day.

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5. Start to build the habit.
I like  a 60/90/120 day challenge for myself.

• Make it non- negotiable. If you miss a day, you start over.  

• Find accountability. Someone besides yourself.   I chose social media, and actually had some friends join me.. 

• Make the goal or rules attainable.  For this challenge all I wanted was to get my hips over my head every day. It doesn't matter how long, or how difficult. I just wanted to be consistent.

Your goal could be to floss every morning, wake up at 6 am so that means you have to be in bed asleep by 10, 10 glute bridges, or foam rolling one body part a day.

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6.Understand that discipline will cost you.

 It’s going to cost you something. It’s not taking the easy way out. But, it gives you the dream that you want. It gives you the chances of getting those ultimate goals, those freedoms you crave and ultimately you’ll get. A small sacrifice of time, energy, or a choice now, will  pay off in dividends later. 

In the challenge, I did a handstand every day, even when it was an inconvenience, Some days I forgot and remembered when I was lying in bed at the end of the day. Despite lyinng in bed ready to fall asleep,  I got up and did it, because I made the committment to myself and I know  that the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. 

What did I get from doing a handstand every day?

1. Wrist flexibility.

 2. Shoulder strength.

 3 Core Strength.

4. Balance.

5. Breath Control.

 6. And calming my overactive brain.

 To me, even if I have to get out of bed and do it in my PJ's, I'm doing it.  The juice is worth the squeeze.

It might cost you a little time, inconvinence but ultimately something that's worth it. And track it. You'll see the improvement.

Final thoughts….

It doesn’t come down to how good it feels and if you are feeling inspired. Developing discipline is about creating the habit, making it a non- negotiable, advocating for YOURSELF and building your own self love and respect. How? Because you simply showed up and honored the commitment to yourself every dang day. 

Here's the real thing to think about…By being disciplined and showing up consistently for yourself,  you are actually providing your own self control, self care, self respect and self love.

You are the constant in your own life, and by being consistent you are showing yourself how much you matter.

It gives you the responsibility, empowerment, and capability to be in control of your own health and wellness. 

Movement is freedom, discipline is self care. 

-Lorae Lyn

Share this with a friend that wants to make a change in their life. 

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Training with your cycle

This one is for the coaches that work with females, the instructors and trainers that work with females,   male partners that train with their females, the female athletes, dancers, and active individuals that have a menstrual cycle.  This one has taken me years to write.. So here we go.

We are just starting to talk about training with your cycle, and taking advantage of the hormone flux of your cycle.  There’s so much that needs to be said about it. Let’s start with the 3 main hormones

Testosterone: In females, testosterone elevates levels of physical performance by increasing aerobic power, boosting lean mass, reducing body fat and optimizing cognitive functions

Progesterone: the Prep for Pregnancy hormone, It pops up after ovulation  (release of the egg) Progesterone helps to prepare the body for pregnancy by stimulating glandular development and the development of new blood vessels. 

Estrogen: The ovaries, adrenal glands, and fat tissues produce estrogen. Both female and male bodies have this hormone, but females create more of it. It gets the body and egg prepped for release and possible pregnancy. Plus it actually helps with bone, cardiovascular health and mood. 

Let’s start with a summary so we all are on the same page.  Your cycle actually starts  where everyone thinks it ends.  It's the baseline.

Days 1-14 ( Follicular Phase) 

 The start of your flow/ menses/ or whatever you call it.. is the part where  testosterone levels and estrogen levels  are almost even. Then  you progress to  having peak levels  of estrogen when you reach ovulation.   

Days 15- 28 ( Luteal Phase) 

Post ovulation.  Your estrogen levels start to drop, and your progesterone levels start to  rise.  Then if pregnancy is not achieved,  the body drops both hormones which  triggers “the flow” to start.  The body returns to baseline, where testosterone, estrogen and progesterone are around the same level.

==========================================================================

Now let’s talk about exercise, training, prep work, recovery and injury prevention..  Screenshot the next part (I promise you’ll want this info handy!)

Exercise during the flow ( days 1-5/7) 

What you feel:  Day 1  “ Period Power “ as some of my clients have called it.  It’s when females feel the strongest.   It’s that day that  lifts are easy.  That  you PR on your run or you feel incredibly strong.  Some of my clients have reported that they feel it coming on.. but their performance output in strength or endurance is exceptional.  It’s where the popular idea is that female hormones match those of their male competitors, so they are “training like men” in that perspective. 

Day 2 or 3 to the end.. “dumpster fire.”  Females can feel fatigued, cramps ( think Charlie horse  cramp but intermittently for days.) , and  mood can fluctuate.  

From personal accounts and with many other conversations, I find Day 3 is the WORST!! I feel stiff as a board and feel the worst. Some feel the worst symptoms on Day 1 or 2 and start to taper off.   So plan accordingly, especially your mindset.  Day 3 is also the day that estrogen starts its upward climb again.   So day 3, I suggest adding in a little extra foam rolling and fascia work.  

After Day 7 or end of your cycle, hormones increase, a rise in estrogen and testosterone. 

This is where athletes will feel level or normality in training.  Energy levels will increase ( addressing stress and the effects of training in another blog.) Females will feel high performing in their workouts and output. 

Ovulation.. 24 hours with Peak in Estrogen. 

Best energy level reached, hypothetically.  From conversations and teaching many flexibility classes, this is also the day females are the bendiest, or feel super flexible.  This can be used to benefit and complimentary warm ups to take advantage of this phase. 

Luteal Phase (Day 15-28) The Downhill slope to baseline. 

Progesterone is rising, estrogen levels dip and come back up.  This is where your endurance can seem to fluctuate.   Trainers/coaches/athletes/performers your times or performance might reflect a little of this, but it shouldn’t be an excuse. Just give yourself some grace and acknowledgment.  

Then we are back to the beginning! So now, the insight… 

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First off, do what you love. Don't change your activity  because it’s better for your cycle.  Listen to your body.  Don't trade gold for copper, aka if you need to rest  and recover then do it vs trying to power through another work out because you HAVE to. Next, let’s discuss the things to take advantage of:

 Day 1 of flow or day right before.. “period power”. Take that day to train your glutes off!  It might be the day you PR.  

Day 2 or 3 till end of flow.. Recovery work.  Maybe you take more time post workout recovery.  Get more sleep,  mindful of your fuel ( food). 

Spend more time warming up. and mobility.  You might feel strong, but stiff or tight.  Take that extra 10-15 minutes to warm up your body  before those big lifts, runs, etc.  

Include: 

Dynamic movement, nerve flossing/stretching/ gliding, and get those muscles super warm with blood flow. 

 This is where I have seen more pulled muscles and injury due to heavy contractions with max output with less than normal range of motion especially on Day 1.  

spend a little more time recovering in your favorite way such as sauna, cold plunge, mobility, and movement.

Week 2 ( approaching ovulation) the day where hormones are climbing. 

Train as normal with whatever preferred activity.  try to push your strength gains. 

Coach’s insight: when writing programming, this can be week 3 or 4 in progressive overload training with the push for maximum performance output on ovulation day.  But don’t base your whole 4-6 week lifting schedule around it. Cardio output can also be increased due to  more efficient movement patterns and higher energy levels. 

I have had mixed feedback in this area. Some people like to start new programming this week. So ask your female, and program accordingly. Flexibility training: You might find an increase in your ROM, which leads to our next phase!

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The Bendy Phase

THe bendy phase

Where mobility and flexibility gains can be made!  This is great as the hormones start to drop.  Females might find that their warm up is quicker, they feel looser faster.  Which is awesome!

This is the time if you are working on your flexibility or mobility that the female can push a bit too far causing injury in their fascia and muscle due to pushing their PASSIVE RANGE OF MOTION.  

During your workout, please spend time doing joint stability or little muscle training.   Clients have told me that they feel “loosy goosey”  in their tendons and ligaments.  So this is the time to do your band work at the beginning of your  workout session for stable joints, especially shoulders and necks. 

To take advantage of ovulation and the weeks after in mobility training,  practice more active flexibility.  Take deep breaths while doing it to keep the nervous system out of fight or flight. In your workouts this is where strength can actually help you stay stable. 

Coaches insight: If programming heavy lifts, this is where it is crucial to watch form and technique.   Your female athlete might be extra flexible that day and might not know how to stabilize in this  new range of motion.   Maybe spend a little extra time in the warm up doing all the “weird or PT” exercises to kick in those small stabilization muscles, especially  around shoulders and hips. 

Take advantage of mindset training, discipline, and  body awareness with the weeks leading up to the “flow”. Power output might decrease or be inconsistent. 

=====================================================================I hope that this helps you work with your hormone cycle, not against it. Reminder, training with your cycle isn’t not that complicated.  It might require a little tracking. But listen to your body, you already know intuitively how to train. Understanding that males and females train differently because they are biologically different.   

As always, science advancements and developments are the process of us getting things less wrong, so I’m curious to see what this conversation will look like in 5 to 10 years from now. 

Until Next Time,
Lorae

The Missing Piece - Balance

Cardio. Strength training. HIIT. Weight lifting.

Everyone seems to be talking about cardio versus strength training! Is it good, is it bad, do you need to do it?! These days, when it comes to health and working out there always has to be an extreme or a black and white answer. But in reality, there is no one size fits all when it comes to health. Social media is such a blessing in so many ways. Constant access to free information and the ability to share and communicate with people all over the world.

Sometimes, that means it can be hard to sort out what is true and false. When it comes to exercise, everyone is usually fighting between strength training and cardio. The simple answer is that both are important. They are both aspects of optimal health. It’s important to have both strong muscles and a healthy heart! However, at FMF we like to acknowledge some aspects of physical health and movement that aren’t usually talked about in the average discourse you see online. For one - balance! Balance is an extremely important but underrated part of our health.

There has been a new and exciting study emphasizing the importance of balance. In fact, it found that whether or not a person can balance for 10 seconds on one leg is indicative of their life expectancy. The study found that “After accounting for age, sex, and underlying health conditions, the inability to stand one-legged for 10 seconds was associated with an 84 percent heightened risk of all-cause death over a median follow-up period of 7 years” (Araujo et al., 2022).

This is such an exciting result! At FMF we have stressed the importance of balance training for many years. It’s something you don’t really think about! Lorae always says, “if you don’t use it, you lose it!”. The study demonstrates this really well. It shows that 54% of the 71-75 year olds were unable to complete the task. Risk for all health problems increases with age. Luckily, there are things we can do to decrease our odds of numerous illnesses to live a long and happy life! One of those things is exercise. And the great thing about exercise is that we can strategically choose what to do.

The way we program at FMF we make sure to do exercises conducive to maintaining balance well into old age. Balance is important as we age because it helps reduce the risk of falls. Falls are indicative of life expectancy. We actually have a blog from a year ago going into detail about this: https://www.foundationmf.com/new-blog/2022/5/30/balance

One way Lorae has always taught clients to practice balance on a daily basis that is really easy to remember is by balancing on one foot while brushing your teeth in the morning and night. It’s a good way to tie a new habit to one that already exists. The other ways are to train single leg movements.

So I thought I’d give you a few great single leg exercises that you can try adding to your movement practice.

Box Step Ups

Star Lunge

Marching Press

Until Next Time,
Sabrina

Araujo, C. G., de Souza e Silva, C. G., Laukkanen, J. A., Fiatarone Singh, M., Kunutsor, S. K., Myers, J., Franca, J. F., & Castro, C. L. (2022). Successful 10-second one-legged stance performance predicts survival in middle-aged and older individuals. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(17), 975–980. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105360

Building your best warm up routine

Today we’re going to talk about building a warm up routine. In our last blog we discussed the perfect workout routine being whatever one you can stick to. We discussed the perfect workout not really existing! 

So today we’re going to go over some elements of a solid warm up so you can consider them when doing your own warm up. Being asked about what to do for a warm up is a pretty common question. I know on the internet you’ll see people debating over static stretching versus dynamic, long warm ups versus short, muscle activation being real or not and everything else. Once again, there’s no perfectly right answer but I’m going to give you some tips and advice about how to make one of your own that feels good to you.

So why do we do warm ups? As Americans, we tend to be very sedentary during the day. If you have a relatively sedentary job where you spend a good portion of your day sitting or standing at a desk, it’s a good idea to do a warm up before getting in your workout in the evening. Skipping warm ups can put you at a higher risk for injury and you miss out on the benefits of being able to hit a bigger range of motion and better form in your lifts!

Typically I like to address three things in a warm up: mobilizing the joints, releasing tight muscles, and initiating some mind muscle connection. One easy way to look at it is by starting from the top down. I’m going to do it that way today and share some of my favorite options that we use at FMF! Hopefully you can use this to find some movements you enjoy and like the feeling of to incorporate into your warm ups OR just to use throughout the day to keep your body feeling good.

Let’s start with the shoulder/neck region. We want to mobilize the shoulder joint to get optimal range of motion (ROM). 

Overhead Stick Pass

Bow & Arrow

Next we can release the pectoralis muscles which are likely tight from hunching over computers all day.

Door Frame Stretch

LAX Ball

Then to get some mind muscle connection for the upper back:

PNF

Moving on toward the lower body starting with the hips. To open the joint:

90/90

Table 4

To release the quads:

Quadball

Lunge Knee Taps

To initiate mind muscle connection with the glutes:

Stick Hinge

Reverse Band Walks

To open up the ankle joint AND release the calves:

Downdog

Calf Stretch 2 Way

We have now effectively worked out way from top to bottom mobilizing, releasing and activating the appropriate joints and muscles to have a solid foundation for a good workout! Now of course you don’t have to do all of these! My hope is that you can pick and choose some that you like the feeling of to make a warm up that you look forward to. The idea is once again that if you like the movement practice you’re more likely to do it!

If you are looking for more ideas, we have an amazing exercise library subscription with access to hundreds of videos! Reach out if you are interested and as always, if you’re looking to work with us book a consultation!

Until next time,

Sabrina

The Best Workout Plan Ever

Today I’m going to give you the BEST workout routine to follow. 

Any guesses?

The best workout routine/movement practice is:

The one that you will follow

There is no one size fits all. There are no perfect exercises. There is no one way to be active. The best plan for you is whatever plan you enjoy and will do!

When it comes to program design, there are about a hundred different strategies to use. There are about a hundred people on the internet that are going to tell you that their way is the best. You can write someone the most prestigious workout program but if they don’t like it enough to do it, you aren’t going to get any results!

There are definitely guidelines to follow when program designing. Program designing is actually one of my favorite parts of the job. I get to be creative and really try to put something together that will efficiently address all my client’s concerns. Part of why buying premade programs online doesn’t work isn’t only because the exercises and movements themselves aren’t tailored to the needs of a client…but also because the person hasn’t been able to discuss with their practitioner what kind of exercise they actually enjoy doing!

If you scroll through our blog you’ll find me explaining tons of different exercises and their benefits and purposes. While taking and using all of these will absolutely help you! But to put together a program that will bring you long term results in your mental and physical health, habit changes, and lifestyle changes, you need someone who understands you as a person and who can consistently make changes to fit your goals and needs.

There are some general guidelines that many practitioners follow. It is usually advised to put the heavier lifts, harder exercises, and exercises you’re looking for the most progress in first so that you have the most energy. You usually want to try to address most movement patterns on any given day. This means including a hinge, squat, rotation, push, pull, etc. It’s common to aim for a 2 to 1 ratio of training posterior to anterior chain which I’ve written about a few times if you’re interested! None of these things are laws! It’s helpful to have some general rules to build a program around but you have to consider what is most important to the individual.

I hate doing core workouts! Hate them. Planks, dead bugs, pallof presses, etc… hate them! When I build programs I typically put a core workout or two at the end of the workout so that they’ve already expended their energy on bigger lifts like barbell squats, hip thrusts, bench presses, and pull ups. But in my own programming, I put core first! I do this because by the end of my workouts sometimes I don’t follow through with my core work because I’m tired and just really don’t want to. So if I get my core work out of the way at the beginning I have so much more fun with my workout because I’m not dreading doing core afterwards! I’ve noticed I push myself harder in my lifts when I do this and they get done!

Another reason I might put core at the beginning of someone’s program is if they really struggle with core activation. This way, before they go into heavy lifts that require intense core activation, they’ve already gotten that mind muscle connection warmed up.

Sometimes I program for a really challenging client who really doesn’t want to exercise but knows they have to. However, no matter what we try they just aren’t getting it in. In these cases, I’ll talk to my client and figure out what their favorite movements are; the ones they actually enjoy doing at least somewhat. Even if they aren’t my favorite ones for them and even if they take out the ones I feel are the most important, I’ll make them a program with just their favorite moves. Why? Because it’s more important that they are moving and exercising than not. As time goes on, often we’ll be able to add in some other things once they’ve developed a more regular routine. 

Here’s an example: Say I have a client who recently had a heart attack and needs to lose a good amount of weight to be healthy and avoid another one! However, they are new to exercising and don’t really like it! Now let’s add that they have pretty bad posture with a lot of rounding of the upper back. If I had it my way, I’d have this client doing a lot of posture work with light weight while starting with heavier pulling movements like lat pull downs, rows, etc. to address their upper back rounding. But turns out, they hate all of those things! They just want to do dumbbell chest presses, lunges, tricep pull downs, and push ups! What do I do? I make them a program of those exercises and add in ONE thing I really want like some overhead stick passes to open up their shoulders. Is it perfect? No. But now they are actually doing it and that’s the most important thing here. I make sure they’re doing light enough weight that they won’t hurt themself and emphasize form. And in a few weeks, I see if we can add in a TRX row. Once someone begins to enjoy exercise, it becomes easier to include some movements that aren’t super fun because they can recognize the importance and understand how they make them even stronger in the lifts they like doing!

All in all, what’s important is that you’re moving. Movement is vital to our health! Along with a good diet, good sleep, and mental health, movement is a top priority to maintain good health and to live a long life! 

So don’t let anyone tell you that you have to do exercise a certain way! Staying active can look however it needs to for you. Of course it’s important to practice good form and it’s ideal to be working on having good posture to avoid injuries. But doing something imperfectly is better than doing nothing perfectly.

The best way to create a movement practice that will work the best for you is to have a coach who can build you something you’ll love and stick to. If you’re ready to take the step to better movement practice, reach out to us or book a consultation! We would love to help you and coach you on your way to the best, healthiest version of yourself.

Until next time!

Sabrina

Undoing absolutism in the body

What does it mean to do less?

Growing up, I was terrified of being “less than perfect.” Overachieving was the norm. Perfect grades. Perfect attendance. Everything had to be perfect. On the inside, I was living in hell. Most of my teenage years were spent starving myself, weighing myself, working out obsessively, hating my body, and destroying myself in plain sight. My eating disorder was how I coped with the stress of unprocessed childhood trauma and abuse. Aspiring towards perfection brought me a sense of control over my life. It also made me extremely hard on myself. 

I’m sharing this because, until a few years ago, I would cringe and contract at the idea of “doing less.” First, the concept felt foreign to my body. Second, the notion of “doing less” made me feel like I was admitting weakness. And thirdly, but most importantly, I had a deep fear that doing less would mean that I was no longer worthy of belonging. Doing less felt deeply un-safe.

But there came a point where my body would no longer let me push through the pain. In order to heal from trauma and repair my relationship with my body, I had to learn how to do less, or face serious, potentially permanent damage to my nervous system. 

For me, doing less meant realizing “just because I *can* endure this, it doesn’t mean that I have to.” Instead, I started listening to my body, affirming my own needs, and then acting on them. 

What I learned was that “doing less” is actually a practice of self-compassion. It meant choosing to listen to myself and acting with self-trust, instead of plowing through whatever I was feeling in order to meet the absolutes set by those around me. 

Ultimately, learning to “do less” helped me trust my own sense of “enough”--it helped me learn that my “enough” was not determined by anyone else but me. And this sense of “enough” gave me the space to repair my relationship with my body and get back in the driver’s seat of my life after trauma.

As a dance and healing movement teacher who specializes in helping people re-connect with their bodies after trauma, I have to remind my students all the time that it is ok to attend to their needs in real time. I don’t mind repeating myself because once it finally clicks, they start to move with their bodies instead of working against themselves.

It takes time for people to trust “doing less.” As I’ve hopefully demonstrated from my story, there can be a lot of shame attached to “doing less.” It can be incredibly difficult to tap out early, not finish the set, or stop to rest. Believe me, I’ve felt it. Your clients and students may be afraid to look “lazy”, “weak”, or “incapable” if they do less than what you ask.

So what can you do to help?

Here’s 4 tips that you can implement immediately:

1. Create psychological safety around doing less. Let your clients and students know that listening to the body is valid, and they have full permission to attend to their needs during your session, class or workout. 
   

2. Offer different verbal and non-verbal options to communicate and have your clients and students practice using them (ex: use the “Time Out” signal to call for a break). 
   

3. Model doing less. Be an example. Do the variations for lower impact. Acknowledge your own needs. Show that it’s ok to practice self-compassion.
   

4. Incorporate somatic techniques in your practice to help them connect with their bodies and regulate their nervous systems, so that they can feel more grounded and present during your time together.

Your clients and students may really struggle with the concept of listening to their bodies in a non-judgmental way. It may feel new and really scary, but here is a quick and effective somatic technique you can use to help them practice this life-changing skill.

First, check in with your client or student about what feelings, thoughts, or sensations they notice at this moment. They don’t have to share their findings with you, but they can if that is invited. Maintain a sense of non-judgement and curiosity.

Next, get their consent to try a breathwork technique I call “Bubble Magic”. This requires a bit of imagination and you might feel just a little bit silly, but I promise it’s worth it. 

Grab your imaginary bubble wand and blow a big bubble. Use a deep, long exhale to blow your bubble, instead of a short burst–you don’t want your bubble to pop. Imagine the color, shape, and texture of your bubble. What does it look like? Can you imagine it filling the space? Do Bubble Magic for a 3-5 rounds of breath, or until satisfied.

Now, check in again to see what feelings, thoughts or sensations are present. Is there any new information gathered from the body? Any changes from the first check in? They may feel like they can’t sense anything or feel numb, and that’s ok as well. After this practice, invite your clients or students to practice attending to their needs in real time. They may get water, grab a snack, or even close their eyes to rest a moment. 

For more somatic techniques like “Bubble Magic” to incorporate into your practice, you’re invited to check out my Feelin’ Better Toolkit. In it, I share my top 5 most effective and essential techniques for helping people rapidly regulate the nervous system so they can feel better in their bodies after trauma. 

I hope these tips and techniques help you better support your students and clients by creating space to “do less.”

Let me know in the comments what you thought of this post! Thanks for reading. 

Harmony Lee

Harmony Lee (he/they) is the Founder and Chief Educational Officer of They Them Friends (LLC) –an virtual community school for trauma-informed healing movement. In their work as “Your Gay Dance Teacher,” Harmony has helped hundreds of people from all around the world express their authentic selves and find relief from the effects of anxiety, depression, stress, and complex PTSD through dance and movement.

Follow them at:

YouTube: Your Gay Dance Teacher

IG: @yourgaydanceteacher

Website: www.theythemfriends.com

Sport Identity

Today we are diving into an interesting topic. Finishing up our series and focus on mental health, I want to talk about the intersection of sport and identity. 

As individuals, we build our identities off of tons of different things. We all have unique qualities, interests, talents, and personalities. We identify as mothers, sons, lawyers, students, community leaders, doctors, hard workers, artists, and so much more! 

Today we’re going to focus on those of us who identify or once identified as athletes.

One thing we see a lot at FMF and in the general field of rehabilitation, physical therapy, personal training, and fitness is how people identify with the sport or movement practice they partake in. Being an athlete is a huge part of some people’s identities.

When I was in high school, I played volleyball. It was basically my whole world. As a teenager, it really was the thing I cared about most. If I wasn’t practicing with my team I was doing 1 on 1s, conditioning, or playing at the beach. Being a volleyball player was who I was! My senior year I had a shoulder injury that made it so that I was no longer going to go to college to play. Instead I went to college for academics and had to choose a new life path. I felt so lost! That’s what I want to talk about today because we see this all the time in clients and it’s really challenging!

This is really common among high school seniors who graduate and do not go to college for their sport as well as college seniors who graduate and aren’t going pro. But it can be just as common in adults of all ages.

A lot of adults participate in amateur sports like golfing, beach volleyball, running, or some sort of working out like weight lifting, group classes or Crossfit. It can be pretty devastating when they get an injury that takes them out of participating in the activity anymore. That is often when we see them! They come to us to be able to get back into that activity.

So what kind of effect does this have on mental health? Losing the ability to participate in whatever movement someone likes can be painful. It is a grieving process losing that part of yourself. 

For younger people this is the time to start transitioning into how to maintain activity into adulthood. For older people after an injury it's time to find a provider who wants to work with you to be able to either continue your sport or find something new that is reasonable for you and any limitations you might have.

As providers it's important to make sure that we are not having our clients stop movement but guide them into possibly a new type of movement or new chapter. Things are definitely getting better but it used to be and still can be common for Doctors to tell people to stop doing an activity after they suffer an injury. For example it’s common to see doctors tell patients that they have to stop deadlifting after a low back injury. But deadlifting is not evil! Deadlifts are fantastic when prescribed correctly and done with great form. There are numerous types of deadlifts and they’re fantastic at building low body, core and back strength for anyone at any age! Moving away from this idea that an injury should take someone out of the game permanently is important.

At FMF we totally understand the mental component of injuries in general and specifically when it takes someone out of an activity they love. We work really hard to get our clients back to the point where they can engage in their favorite hobbies and not be limited by pain or injuries. Having someone in your corner to help you cope with a life change like that is critical for recovery and that’s exactly what we prioritize. 

Grieving the loss of a part of your identity is hard. It’s painful, frustrating, and it can feel like you are lost. But it doesn’t have to be the end. Throughout our lives, our movement practices change. You’re not going to be playing soccer the way you did in high school when you’re well into your 50s. But that’s ok! You can still play soccer and you can still take up new sports at a level suitable for your ability. The most important thing is to never stop moving. No matter what kind of movement you love, never stop altogether because that is when the health problems will start to pile up and once they start they have a snowball effect and one hip replacement will turn into another knee replacement and then arthritis and it’s just a downhill chain of events. 

Remember that movement is medicine. And if you are in pain and suffering from injuries and not able to do something, reach out to us! That’s what we do at FMF. We get you back into whatever you want to do and we’re pretty dang good at it!

Until next time!

Sabrina 

World Bipolar Day

Happy World Bipolar Day to all. This day reminds us that there are still so many people who are not aware of this mental illness.

Did you know?

World Bipolar Day is celebrated on March 30th each year because it is the birthday of Vincent Van Gogh who was posthumously diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.

In honor of World Bipolar Day today I’m going to talk about, you guessed it, Bipolar Disorder!

**TRIGGER WARNING: While this blog will provide basic information about bipolar, I’ll be referencing the different aspects of Bipolar including mania, depression, and suicide. If you feel any of these things might be difficult for you to read about, please don’t! We have plenty of other blog posts about all sorts of awesome things you can learn about :)

You’ve likely heard of bipolar disorder. You may also have some assumptions of what bipolar disorder is. It’s usually portrayed as those stereotypical, high highs and low lows going back and forth. Oftentimes, in movies it’s also shown as someone who is really intense and goes a little off the rails when manic and then becomes extremely recluse when depressed. 

While some of that is true for some people with bipolar, not everyone’s bipolar looks the same! So I’m going to start by breaking down what bipolar disorder is and then talk a little about people with bipolar, how to be an ally, and how to support people with bipolar on a large scale.

Bipolar disorder used to be called manic-depressive disorder. Today there are 3 Bipolar Diagnoses: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and Cyclothymic Disorder.

Bipolar looks different for everyone. It’s not a one size fits all.

Breaking down the aspects that make up Bipolar Disorder

Mania: Mania is the high high people tend to joke about being super fun and exciting. Sometimes mania is fun for the person experiencing it while they are in it but mania usually consists of some pretty destructive behaviors with negative consequences so by the time the person comes down from it, they likely have a lot of collateral damage to deal with and it can be pretty embarrassing. Mania includes things like grandiose feelings, euphoria, racing thoughts, not sleeping, anger or rage, excessive spending, lack of impulse control, and more. Mania can wreak havoc on one’s life and get them fired from a job for either acting out or not showing up, expelled from school, or ruin their relationships. For mania to be classified and diagnosed as mania in the DSM V it must go for a period of at least 7 days.

Psychosis: While experiencing mania, some people can also experience psychosis. This would be things such as imaging people are plotting against you, having delusions, and having hallucinations that can be visual, auditory, or even sensory.

Hypomania: Hypomania is a more mild version of mania. It’s still a high high but not quite as intense. It has the same symptoms but they tend to not be intense enough to disrupt your day to day life in quite as severe of a way. For hypomania to be diagnosed it must occur for at least 4 days.

Depression: The depression in bipolar is no different from regular depression in terms of the symptoms. It includes being angry, extremely sad, feeling empty and lonely, overly fatigued, feeling worthless and hopeless.

Mixed Episode: A mixed episode is a time where someone is experiencing the features of mania and depression at the same time. They might be really irritable and agitated with racing thoughts and speech. This can manifest as being extremely happy and sad almost at the same time like feelings of grandiosity and loneliness at the same time. It can look really strange to someone on the outside because they might be expressing two really different emotions at once. It is more common in Bipolar I.

Unfortunately, during a mixed episode, people are at an increased risk to attempt suicide. This is because usually when someone is depressed and may be feeling suicidal they also have very low energy and motivation to do anything due to the depression. When someone is manic, on the other hand, they have very high energy and very low impulse control. So a suicidal thought can quickly go from a passing ideation to an action if they are experiencing mania and depression simultaneously. 

Rapid cycling: Rapid cycling is where someone goes back and forth between mania and depression at a fast rate rather than having longer episodes. To be diagnosed it must be that someone has 4 alternating episodes of depression, mania, or hypomania in a single year. Rapid cycling can happen every other month or as fast as every week. Rapid cycling is most common in Bipolar II and also increases risk of suicide or self-harm. Changing mood can be very unpredictable and sudden.

Mixed Episode &

Rapid Cycling

During a mixed episode and rapid cycling, people are at an increased risk to attempt suicide or self harm.

The Diagnoses

Bipolar I: Bipolar I has to have manic episodes that last a minimum of 7 days. It’ll also include depressive episodes that last at least 2 weeks at a time. Bipolar I can include mixed episodes or rapid cycling as well. Bipolar I can also include psychosis.

Bipolar II: Bipolar II has to have depressive episodes and hypomanic episodes. It can also include rapid cycling or mixed episodes.

Cyclothymic Disorder: Cyclothymia is characterized by depressive and hypomanic episodes that are not intense or long enough to qualify as Bipolar I or II.

Treatment

Treating Bipolar Disorder works the same as any other mental illness by using psychiatrists and psychologists to prescribe medication if needed and talk therapy. Many people with Bipolar Disorder will need to be on medication for their whole life. It’s very hard to stabilize the mood changes that come with Bipolar and are often unexpected without medication. Many people with Bipolar Disorder take mood stabilizers including lithium, lamotrigine and depakote. It is also common to take antipsychotics such as Seroquel, Xyprexa, or Thorazine. Some people will also take an antidepressant but usually if you are Bipolar you must be on a mood stabilizer if you take an antidepressant otherwise you risk being put into a manic episode.

Talk therapy is also very important for people with Bipolar Disorder. Therapy is also usually done long term. People with Bipolar often do well with creating and maintaining routines and tracking their moods to avoid triggering an episode. People with Bipolar Disorder can live very normal and happy lives if they get treatment and stick with their treatment plan!

Advocating and Supporting

There are many ways to help advocate for and support people with Bipolar Disorder. This can be done on a large and small scale. Something you can do in your own life is help stop the stigma. People with Bipolar Disorder are often portrayed as scary and unstable and “crazy”. 

When you hear people calling the weather bipolar or their mom or some stranger bipolar just because they got upset or went from being calm to not so calm, call them out! It’s really easy to call people out when they are saying disrespectful things if you do it in a kind way. It’s as simple as saying “I’m sure you didn’t mean any harm when you made that joke but saying those things further worsens the stigma against people living with Bipolar. There are many other words to use that aren’t harmful and still get your point across.” You can encourage them to do a little research about Bipolar Disorder or even give them a few facts you know if they’re interested.

It really doesn’t have to be anything more than that! You can do this right when it happens or you can pull the person aside and do it 1 on 1 later. I do this pretty frequently when I hear people use mental illnesses as adjectives and I’ve never really had anyone get upset. People are usually pretty receptive and express interest and apologize if you do it in a nice way.

Remind them that mental illnesses are not adjectives and that for people with them it can be extremely demoralizing to hear the very thing that heavily and negatively impacts their life be used to describe the weather. This is possibly the thing that almost cost them their life. 

There are tons of other ways to support people with Bipolar Disorder and I will list a few links below of websites to visit! A huge way to show your support is to educate yourself! If you have a long commute, maybe commit to listening to a podcast about bipolar disorder 3 times this year. If you are in school and are taking a class that involves writing a research paper or project, maybe consider doing it about Bipolar Disorder. If you have a loved one in your life who has Bipolar Disorder, maybe consider attending a support group once a month where you can learn how to be there for your loved one. 

There are also webinars, blogs, TED Talks, Podcasts, books, etc that you can commit some of your free time to. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Just one podcast or TED Talk during your commute or while you’re cleaning every now and then will just make you that much stronger or an ally.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading and I really hope that you learned something new today!

At FMF we are all about movement, of course, but we understand that mental health impacts physical health and vice versa. We know it is important and vital to treat both mind and body so we are always making sure to check in on our client’s mental health. We know that movement is medicine and that it can be so healing!

Until next time!

Sabrina

***Not medical advice. All opinions are my own.
**If you or someone you know is struggling please contact the suicide & crisis hotline: 988

The Importance of Focus and Mental Toughness for the Common Athlete

“The greatest adaption of the athlete happens between the ears.”
- Greg Glassman, founder of Crossfit 

What is one of the top things we, as athletes, prioritize for longevity in our sports? Answers vary but one of the most critical aspects is building and maintaining mental toughness. 

You might find a competitor in your sport doing extra accessory work after their sessions. Maybe you’re watching someone on race day as they sprint so hard during the final stretch, that they puke or collapse to the ground after crossing the finish line. You may even think of your favorite professional athlete shooting free throws (and making them) on a fully ruptured left Achilles tendon. These descriptions exemplify an athlete’s PHYSICAL toughness, but that’s not what I’m talking about. 

MENTAL toughness is the way that you execute a course of action. It is not a shield to protect you in the face of obstacles, it’s a spear; mental toughness is having what many call a “weaponized” mind. A mind that is to be used on offense or to help you win. How do we get this mental toughness? It involves developing foundational characteristic traits like discipline, fortitude, focus, and grit. Today, I want to concentrate on one of the fundamental and most crucial elements of mental toughness, focus. 

Before we get into the nitty gritty of focus, let’s discuss what gets in the way of our focus: distractions. Every one of us is surrounded by things trying to steal our attention; text message notifications, timers, emails, reminders…these external distractions produce quite the opposite effect of focus. However, every single person reading this wrestles with something even more difficult to control: internal distractions. Internal distractions are our thoughts, emotions, and triggers that challenge us, and get in the way of building mental toughness. Why would we need to control our thoughts, emotions, and triggers? If we can control our responses to those things when they surface in our lives, we can become tougher, next-level competitors. We can become people (not just athletes) who are unperturbed, collected, confident, fierce, and most importantly, unstoppable. I always like to say, “better people, make better athletes.”

Emotions and thoughts are inconsistent. They come and go, and they are not a reliable source to build beliefs about ourselves. What happens is the less control we have over our responses to thoughts and emotions, the more inconsistent (or less focused) we act. This poses a problem in our sport and also in everyday life. Let’s use a very practical example that has probably applied to you at some point. 

You get a terrible night of sleep. You wake up, head to the gym, and your coach has programmed a bunch of sprints and a one-rep max deadlift. You get through the first few sets feeling fine yet tired, but you don’t PR your deadlift. Thoughts start popping up after you leave the gym like, “I’ve been showing up every single day and working this program, have I not gained any strength?” or maybe, “I must really suck at deadlifts.” These thoughts automatically trigger possible emotions like stress, embarrassment, fear, and disappointment. These emotions lead to unconscious, or maybe even conscious, reactions like DoorDash-ing some ice cream that day which throws your clean eating streak off track too, and now you skip the gym whenever there are deadlifts programmed. The reality of what happened was that you simply didn’t sleep well the night before and that had an effect on your performance THAT DAY. We want to be tough enough to not be affected by our thoughts and emotions to maintain consistency and longevity in our sports. Mental toughness is not built in the one big moment in the spotlight (the one rep max deadlift, let’s say), it’s built in the little daily moments of focus and commitments (coming to the gym every day, working with your coach’s programming even when you don’t feel like it or you’re not good at it, coming back the day AFTER you’ve disappointed yourself in the gym). 

As you can see, it is not the reality of what happens to us but the way we interpret it, that influences our thoughts, emotions, and responses. We want to be mentally tough enough to not be distracted by our thoughts and emotions, and here’s why: if we can control our responses to thoughts and emotions, we can control our level of focus. I found a good summary of our thoughts distracting us, in this quote: “The voice in our head doesn't care what we do, it just wants to argue through and through.”

Viktor E. Frankl, an Austrian psychologist said, “between stimulus (in our case, that would be our triggering thoughts or emotions) and response (our action) there is a space. In that space, is our power to choose our response. In our response, lies our growth and freedom.”

Focus leads to growth and freedom. You might question how being focused ties into freedom, and to that, I would quote a polish, 21st-century philosopher Karol Józef Wojtyła who says, “freedom is not the ability to do whatever you want, it’s the [discipline] ability to do what you ought.”

Having laser focus within the context of mental toughness means that no matter what someone does or says to you, no matter what obstacle arises, and no matter what thoughts or emotions come up…you are not reacting distractedly to those things. You can and will keep going, regardless. 

Okay, that’s cool, but how do we achieve this level of focus? 

Let me leave you with a few practical tips: NOTICE, PAUSE, re-FOCUS

1. NOTICE: Become a student of yourself and build a desire to rewire and relearn unhelpful thinking patterns; specifically, pay attention to the critic in your own head. No one is going to coach you more than that voice inside your head, so do you want that coach to point out all the negatives and let it talk down to you? Or do you want it to help you stay on track and look for opportunities to grow?
   

2. PAUSE: Take the time (hopefully in silence) to stop and think about how you were talking to yourself during a particular thought/emotion/trigger. If you’re in the moment, BREATHE. Deep diaphragmatic breathing will get you from a fight-or-flight (reactive/sympathetic) state to a rest and digest (responsive/parasympathetic) state where you can focus, choose how you want to respond, and maintain mental toughness.
   

3. re-FOCUS: Remember that reactive people act out because of triggers, but we want to RESPOND with intentional focus. Focus only on your effort, what can you ALWAYS control in a situation? Your mindset i.e. how you think, respond and act when anything happens to you. 

Just like anything else, the more you practice this the easier it becomes. 

Written by Giuliana Shakarian
Hi! My name is Giuliana Shakarian; to most of my athletes, friends, and family however I’m better known as “G”. I grew up playing a variety of sports: soccer, basketball, volleyball, and track and field. I’ve always loved sports, so much so that in college I coached High School Volleyball and Track & Field. I was introduced to and fell in love with Crossfit nine years ago and haven’t stopped since. I’ve been coaching Crossfit for 3-years and am also a passionate mental health advocate. I have a masters in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy. However, my true passion is learning and understanding mindset and sports psychology, in order to better the everyday athlete.

You can follow G on Instagram and Twitter handles are @thesassycannoli

Extra Resources

If you are interested in learning more about maintaining focus, particularly within the area of mental toughness, here are some classic books to help you along your journey.

Grit by Angela Duckworth
Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron
Relentless by Tim S. Grover
The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD

Eating Disorders & Exercise

This week I wanted to do a quick piece complimenting our last blog about eating disorders. 

I want to talk about how eating disorders are related to exercise and movement. While eating disorders are obviously intimately related to eating habits, exercise and movement are typically involved as well. This can be because oftentimes the overall goal of someone with an eating disorder is to be smaller and exercising burns calories. 

too much exercise

While exercise is important for our health, too much of it can be harmful. Our bodies like balance. Our bodies like homeostasis. They like balance. While they can handle them, our bodies weren’t intended for extremes and certainly don’t prefer them. We’re actually in a persistent negative feedback loop, internally, just trying to maintain homeostasis. 

Therefore, over-exercising can be problematic. Individuals undergoing treatment for eating disorders may be encouraged to do different varieties and amounts of exercise and movement. Getting into some type of sport or weight lifting can be super helpful for some people with eating disorders! Every person has to go through and find out what will be the best for them and their recovery. 

It is also well known that walking after meals can be helpful for digestion so that might be something that gets recommended to people with eating disorders to bring in some movement that can help.

It’s important for everyone to try to find balance in their health. When it comes to exercise, specifically, it's important to prioritize rest and recovery in addition to exercise and learn to discern when you might be better off just skipping a workout and getting to bed on time versus not.

For those individuals with eating disorders, this can be a lot more challenging. It can take a lot of time and patience but it can be done! Figuring out what is right for you and what makes you feel the best is what truly matters!

Sabrina

Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Happy Eating Disorder Awareness Week!

Eating disorders may not be something you’d think to celebrate. NEDA (National Eating Disorder Awareness) is celebrated each year during the last week of February. Eating Disorder Awareness Week is all about spreading awareness, information and education about eating disorders. While also providing hope for those in recovery and their families.

Whether we like it or not they exist and people with them exist. 

So the more we talk about them and normalize the conversation, the more people can feel seen, less ashamed and more encouraged and supported in seeking care or treatment. 

And that is definitely something to celebrate!

So today’s blog is going to be all about eating disorders. What they are, why they happen, who they happen to, and how to talk about them and support those suffering. It’s always good to be educated. It makes you a safe person for people who are struggling, helps you be able to sympathize for others and opens your mind. So, let’s get into it!

I’ll start out by saying that there is no one way a person with an eating disorder appears physically. People with eating disorders are all shapes and sizes and it’s important to remember that someone looking differently than you imagine does not diminish the fact that they suffer from an eating disorder.

Stereotypically, someone with anorexia is assumed to be super skinny and someone with binge-eating disorder is assumed to be very overweight. But this is far from the truth! While most people with anorexia are extremely underweight, about ⅓ of individuals with anorexia are not. There are plenty of people with binge-eating disorder that are underweight too. 

This harmful rhetoric can make people who have all the symptoms of an eating disorder but aren’t underweight or are overweight choose not to seek treatment because they don’t think they would be diagnosed due to their size.

It’s also important to remember that a lot of people with eating disorders have a skewed sense of what their body looks like or some sort of body dysmorphia. This means they may see themselves in the mirror and think they look much larger than they actually do. You might see someone and think they look unhealthily thin and they may truly believe that they look 5 sizes larger than they actually are. It’s important to remember that while you know they aren’t overweight, telling them that isn’t going to be helpful because in their reality, they see themselves that way. 

Here are some general statistics about eating disorders from The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD):

• Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the population worldwide.1

• 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.2

• Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as “underweight.”21

• 28-74% of risk for eating disorders is through genetic heritability.1

• Eating disorders are among the deadliest mental illnesses, second only to opioid overdose.1

• 10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder—that’s one death every 52 minutes.2

• About 26% of people with eating disorders attempt suicide.1

• The economic cost of eating disorders is $64.7 billion every year.2

The DSM V recognizes 6 different eating disorders. I’m going to briefly go over each one and then talk a little about how to be an ally for those with eating disorders, how to have productive and supportive conversations, and what you can do on a broader level to help.

1. Anorexia Nervosa

Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa have an intense fear of gaining weight. They restrict their food intake to an extremely unhealthy amount causing malnutrition. While not everyone with Anorexia is underweight, most people are and have a very low BMI (typically under 17) and body fat percent.

It’s common for women with anorexia to suffer from amenorrhea, the loss of their period, which is not healthy. They can also suffer from bone thinning, brittle nails, hair loss and skin problems due to the lack of nutrition. The lack of nutrition is harmful to every organ in the body and will cause more and more problems over time that can ultimately lead to death or severe illness if untreated.
Anorexia is most common in women and during teenage years.

2.Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa typically is characterized by binge eating and then purging or using some method such as laxatives to “undo” and expel the binged calories. The binge is characterized by eating way more calories than your average person would in a small period of time (~2 hours). During the binge, people usually feel like they are not in control of how much food they are consuming and cannot stop themselves once it starts. The purging is characterized by self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or extreme exercising in an attempt to get rid of the calories consumed. 

People with bulimia are also usually very concerned with being skinny and do the purging behaviors to avoid the calories from staying in their body and consequently gaining weight.

People with bulimia suffer from tooth decay and esophagus damage from the acidity of the  consistent vomiting.

3.Binge Eating Disorder

Binge-eating disorder is characterized by eating an excessive amount of food during a short period of time (~2 hours) that an average person would not eat, similar to the binge part of bulimia. They tend to feel out of control while they are binging and don’t feel they can make themselves stop eating. They’ll usually eat until they are very uncomfortably full and oftentimes when they aren’t even that hungry to begin with.

People with binge-eating disorder usually feel a lot of shame around their binges and might hide during their binges and afterwards. They oftentimes also feel very self-conscious and even disgusted with themselves. 

People with binge-eating disorder don’t partake in a purging behavior which differentiates this from something like bulimia. The initial behavior is similar but binge-eaters wouldn’t have the compulsion to purge after a binge or at least wouldn’t engage in the compulsion.

4.Rumination Syndrome

Rumination Syndrome is when someone repeatedly regurgitates their food and swallows it. While it is most common with infants and people with developmental disabilities, other people have it as well! 

This syndrome can involve a lot of embarrassment and shame. It can also result in a lot of health problems due to the acidity of the food in the esophagus and mouth. It can damage the esophagus and teeth. It also usually occurs in people with other mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.

5.Pica

Pica is a disorder where a person eats things that have no nutritional value like ice, hair, grass, paper, or crayons. This is most common in kids, people with mental health problems such as OCD, and people with developmental disabilities but can occur in others as well.

It’s also a common problem with pregnant women but should stop after the pregnancy. It’s common in kids who may have been raised in poverty, were abused and are chronically stressed.

6.Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is similar to anorexia but without the body image/body weight obsession. ARFID is most common in young children and often in those with some co-occurring mental health issues such as OCD or ADHD.

Those with ARFID tend to show no interest in food and may avoid it due to textures, tastes, or smells. In some kids, it developed due to a fear of choking or vomiting.

People with ARFID will have numerous health complications due to the lack of nutrition. It can lead to osteoporosis, amenorrhea, delayed puberty, and even obesity.

7.Orthorexia

Orthorexia is not yet claimed by the DSM V as an eating disorder but it is speculated that it may be added in the future. Orthorexia is an obsession with eating healthy and/or exercising. 

People with orthorexia become obsessed with eating food that they think is clean or pure. They may do excessive research about foods and what is best to eat as well as cut out food groups. They often fear eating things they aren’t supposed to and fear losing control. It can be hard for them to go out to eat with friends and cause them to become recluse. 

They often engage in excessive exercise as well. For the most part, orthorexia is more about being obsessed with healthy food and behaviors and less about the body image part. However, it is different from person to person and body image issues certainly are a part of orthorexia.

Talking to Someone About Eating Disorders

If you think someone you know may be struggling with an eating disorder, it can be challenging to know what to say or how to say it if you want to talk to them about it. While there are a few tips to it, the most important thing to remember is to be kind, calm, patient, and non-judgemental. Oftentimes in these conversations, less is more. Try to ask open ended questions that allow the person to speak and share instead of asking targeted questions and talking a lot. 

Consider the timing of the conversation. This is something private and most likely pretty uncomfortable for someone to talk about. Therefore, having the conversation in a private location with no distractions is important. It’s probably best not to try to have this conversation right before someone has an important exam to take or a work deadline to hit because it might stir up a lot of emotions for them. 

Remember that they may not be ready to talk about it. They may become defensive or even angry that you brought it up. If this is the case, try not to push or pressure the person or get upset with them for reacting negatively. This would probably make them even less likely to open up in a future conversation. 

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) has a great article with some more well researched tips for having these tough conversations:

Supporting People with Eating Disorders

There are lots of ways you can support people in your life with eating disorders and/or all people with eating disorders. One great thing to do if you have a loved one with an eating disorder is to do some research from reputable online sources about eating disorders. This blog only scratches the surface! There are webinars, support groups, and lots of social media pages with information and advice. Take the initiative and the person in your life will notice. As you start to talk to them differently and use correct terminology, they will notice and feel supported even if they don’t say it while they are suffering. 

Many people have complicated relationships to food and complicated relationships with their bodies. Our society and culture puts a lot of emphasis on appearance. There are always new fads and trends about bodies and what is “in” and every few years things change! Curvy bodies, muscular bodies, thin bodies, larger and smaller busts and behinds have all gone in and out and in and out of style over and over again! It’s hard to exist in a society like this and not want to conform to what’s popular.

While we all try our best to love ourselves, it’s hard when social media, magazines, and people in our lives are promoting an appearance that is different from ours. So remember to be kind to one another! Try to compliment the people in your life about things other than their appearance. Tell them about how good they make you feel or what you love about their personality or how you admire their passion or work ethic. Try to spread some love and positivity in a world that can sometimes be cruel and negative. We can make small differences in our own lives!

Well I hope that you all learned something new about eating disorders today. As I said this is truly just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much to learn about eating disorders and there are tons of amazing resources online. I will list a few down below! If you have any people in your life who are in recovery from an eating disorder, send them some love this week! And tell them that you’re committing to spending some time reading about eating disorders this week so you can continue to spread awareness when talking to others. I’m sure they will appreciate it!

Resources:

NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health)

NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association)

National Alliance for Eating Disorders

Eating Disorder Hope

Until next time,
Sabrina

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). National Eating Disorders Association. (2018, February 22). Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/arfid

Ben-Joseph, E. P. (Ed.). (2019, November). Pica (for parents) - nemours kidshealth. KidsHealth. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/pica.html#:~:text=Pica%20is%20an%20eating%20disorder,can%20lead%20to%20health%20problems.

Eating disorder statistics: General & Diversity stats: Anad. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. (2023, February 6). Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://anad.org/eating-disorders-statistics/

Karthik Kumar, M. B. B. S. (2021, December 21). Can you have anorexia nervosa and not be skinny? symptoms, causes. MedicineNet. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.medicinenet.com/can_you_have_anorexia_nervosa_and_not_be_skinny/article.htm

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2018, February 20). Anorexia nervosa. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anorexia-nervosa/symptoms-causes/syc-20353591

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2020, October 14). Rumination syndrome. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/rumination-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20377330#:~:text=Rumination%20syndrome%20is%20a%20condition,it%20or%20spit%20it%20out.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Eating disorders. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved February 14, 2023, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders

Be Bold, Stand Tall: Release Yourself from Restrictive Beliefs and Take Up Space as a Woman!

Being a woman can feel like living in a tiny box. Many of us are conditioned to shrink ourselves, dim down, and take up less space. But pushing back against these restrictive beliefs and instead standing tall with confidence and posture can be incredibly powerful and liberating. 

What if you felt safe enough and ready to take up more space in your life? What if you were empowered to recognize patterns, behaviors, and decisions that hold you back?

Recognizing our worth, our patterns, our cues and recognizing our decisions. Discovering ways to be aware, to manage our nervous system, to develop a sense of safety and learn to trust ourselves to expand and grow. Understanding how to shed the negatives and let go of limiting beliefs.

These are the tools that will eventually help us reach our full potential, understanding boundaries, improving relationships and ultimately, restoring our confidence. 

Let's move forward together, learning to better recognize, regulate and release and make sure we
don't forget the heartbeat of it all - self-love.

We all talk about the importance of mental health but the foundation of improving mental health comes from recognizing, regulating, and releasing all the intricate pieces. For women especially, we often forget how simple, yet effective, body language can be to jumpstart our own mental wellbeing. 

Ladies, you have probably heard this advice before – pull your shoulders back, stand tall, and take up space – but how often do we truly stop to examine why? With mental health and self-care more in focus than ever before, the answer may hold the key to improved confidence and a healthier headspace

We want to start by talking about the basics, confidence through physical posture. We all understand that standing tall and pulling our shoulders back gives us more confidence, but it can be a little daunting to do this when we don’t feel a hundred percent secure. 

recognition, regulation, and release

At the core of improved mental health lie three cornerstones – recognition, regulation, and release.

In particular, greater recognition of your self-worth and patterns of thought are essential to develop.  Women, in particular, often struggle with understanding their uniqueness and potential, so by honing in on these areas and working to build a healthy balance, the benefits can be tremendous.

This also includes learning to track and regulate your body’s nervous system response. Whether it’s intense physical or mental stress, the ability to identify and control your emotions is the first step to understanding the true root of your thoughts, feelings, and decisions. It’s about learning to create a secure, supportive space for yourself that promotes self-growth and development.

Finally, by actively working at releasing negative emotions from within, we can begin to rid ourselves of the limiting beliefs that hold us back. Imagine being restored to a place of greater confidence and energy, free of judgment and surrounded by a supportive environment.

This is the power of properly managing your mental health and headspace. Taking the time to recognize, regulate, and release the emotions that are holding you back not only improves your confidence and physical posture, but most importantly, helps to set you free.

One of the best and simplest tips to start the journey of improving your mental wellness is to practice your posture. Put your shoulders back, pull up your chin, be aware of the space you’re taking and work on creating new habits! You deserve to take up space and we’re here for you, every step of the way. Grab my free confidence guide to start your journey today!

Written by Kerry Walsh
Kerry is the founder of Kerry Walsh Wellness Services. Her purpose is to encourage, inspire and coach busy women to stop simply surviving and start thriving by gaining self-confidence and building a foundation of new healthy habits to live a lifestyle they deserve!
Need help with thriving in your life and business? Schedule a call to see if we would be a good fit!

Stress & Exercise

Stress.

A word we hear everyday. “I’m stressed”, “Work is stressful”, “My kids stress me out”

We live in a society that is fast paced and oftentimes “the grind” is praised. The idea that doing more and more while working harder and harder and putting in more hours is proof of success and superiority.

Sometimes this is referred to as “hustle culture”. But is this really healthy or helpful?

Many people are saying no. By focusing so heavily on going and going without any rest, one is neglecting their health and well being both mentally and physically. Without maintaining one’s own health, it’s really hard to support and be present for others. It also doesn’t allow one to really enjoy life and be present.

A Forbes article reported that “77% of people have experienced burnout at their job and 42% have left their jobs because they felt burned out” (Rozentals, 2022). That’s a lot of people!

So what exactly is stress on a physiological level?

A part of your brain called the hypothalamus releases hormones into your body when you perceive a threat. There are two hormones we hear about often: adrenaline and cortisol. They come from your adrenal glands and instruct your body to do numerous things such as increase your heart rate, produce blood sugar, and tense your muscles. 

This system is designed to help protect you from whatever perceived threat you are up against. However, your body does not expect you to be under “chronic” stress. Chronic stress means experiencing this systemic response very frequently or all the time. As you can imagine, this means some things are bound to go wrong internally.

In regards to your muscles, being under chronic stress can result in tight and stiff muscles. This is problematic and easily causes dysfunction during movement which leads to one problem after another in the musculoskeletal system which is our area of expertise at FMF.

Therefore, you can argue that there’s a pretty direct link between things like hustle culture which manifests as chronic stress as physical injuries/movement dysfunction.

So what do we do about that?

Well, oftentimes you hear about people using working out as a way to relieve or manage stress. Let’s talk about that.

According to Harvard Health, exercise can absolutely help with stress management! Exercise reduces the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol as well as produces endorphins thereby reducing stress on a physiological level (2020).

Additionally, doing regular exercise that includes stretching to warm up and a good corrective movement routine will help to prevent and rehabilitate injuries. In our corrective movement programming at FMF we include everything needed for our individualized clients' health by taking into account external factors such as stress and this is why. As you can see, someone with high levels of stress or chronic stress from things like work directly impacts what they will need in their programming so we do a full intake when starting new clients addressing lifestyle. 

Furthermore, stress can be influenced by other mental illnesses! That is why we take mental health into such consideration at FMF. 

It is important, however, to understand that exercise is not always the answer to increased levels or stress. Regular exercise is effective at regulating stress levels. But intense exercise is not necessarily a good response to intense levels of stress.

By this I mean that if you are having an unusually stressful day or few days, going and banging out a super intense workout at the gym could do more harm than good. This is where the idea of balance comes in as well as the idea of de-load weeks and movement days.

When you’re under an unusual amount of stress, sometimes the best thing to do is rest. Along with rest, it might be good to add in some light movement such as going through some corrective movement, practicing some core bracing and breathing and doing some extended stretching with breathing. 

Here are a few great options:

Puppy Pose

Sleeper Stretch

90/90s

Now let’s address the de-load week. Typically, de-load weeks are built into long term strength training programs. Programs usually go 4-6 weeks to allow for progressive overload and your body to adapt to it and then provide new stimulation. In a new program, one would usually have a de-load week where they go light on all the lifts to have a bit of a rest. Then weeks 2-6 should increase intensity week to week ending with maxing out on the final week. Then rinse and repeat!

When considering stress, sometimes it can be helpful to take a sort of de-load week at any time in a program and drop the weight or intensity for a little while to give the body the movement it needs to help with the stress but not go too hard as to overwhelm the nervous system.

So in conclusion, stress can have all sorts of effects on the body and mind. It’s important to practice regulating stress and thoughtful exercise can absolutely help with that! Hopefully this was helpful and is something you can all apply to your lives!

Remember, hustle culture is not it! We are not meant to be in constant states of stress. There is so much more to life than overworking ourselves.

Until next time,

Sabrina

Exercising to relax - harvard health publishing. Harvard Health. (2020, July 7). Retrieved February 5, 2023, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax 

Rozentals, A. (2022, October 12). Council post: The hustle culture has no future-enter the break culture. Forbes. Retrieved February 5, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/04/29/the-hustle-culture-has-no-future-enter-the-break-culture/?sh=4204027418ca 

Basics of Mental Health and Physical Health Relationship

In today’s blog I want to talk about some basics of mental health/mental illnesses and how it relates to physical health/ physical illnesses. In the next few blogs I will dive into some niche mental health topics so this one will be helpful as some background. 

These days, talking openly about mental health is less stigmatized than it used to be but there is still a ways to go before it’s fully socially accepted. When we break an arm or sprain an ankle we have no problem openly stating our diagnosis and/or treatment plan to people in our lives. Hopefully, one day mental health will be the same

It’s OKAY to talk about mental illnesses. It’s ok to talk about your own if you feel safe to do so but it is also ok to keep it to yourself! The more we normalize talking about things the easier it gets for others to feel comfortable seeking treatment in the forms of therapy, psychiatry, etc. and that’s amazing! Hearing others talk about things you can relate to can be very healing.

So let’s get into a few factors:

Conversations

Some people feel really comfortable in conversations around mental health but it can be challenging to know what to say. 

Let’s talk about some things to keep in mind. 

The most important thing to remember when having conversation around mental illness is to be respectful and sensitive. 

It’s also important to actively listen, validate the experiences of others and supportively encourage anyone who needs professional help to seek it. 

If these conversations feel overwhelming for you, that is ok! Just try your best and make sure that in the end the person knows you are there for them. 

Diagnosis/Verbiage

Let’s go over two really common diagnoses today: depression and anxiety. The words depression and anxiety are tossed around a lot. It seems like they have really helped open this line of conversation and that’s great but it’s important to learn the distinction between situational anxiety or depression and clinical anxiety and depression. Overusing these words can be detrimental and can cause them to lose their true value.

It is normal to experience depression in response to a hard life event such as a big loss or change. It is also normal to experience anxiety when you’re about to take an exam or you’re going on a first date or trying a new skill. These would both be examples of situational issues as they are normal responses to a more isolated incident. Clinical depression and anxiety are much different in that they are irrational/chronic and are not in response to a life event and often require significant intervention.

It’s important when talking about mental health to not self-diagnose. Oftentimes we can empathize or identify with some of the emotions and feelings of people with clinical depression or anxiety and may feel like perhaps we have it too. It’s important to seek professional help to get a correct diagnosis.

In a conversation about mental health it’s important that we are aware of how our words affect the conversation at large as well as just those we’re immediately speaking to. Misusing terminology can be really damaging to the community. If you don’t have depression but are feeling down, consider using some different adjectives to describe your feelings such as sad, disappointed, defeated, exhausted, etc.

Medication/Treatment

Another area of stigma to break down in the mental health conversation is around medication for mental illness. Taking medication for mental illness is very normal and completely ok. No one should ever feel ashamed for that. 

Oftentimes people who do not understand depression or anxiety will tell someone struggling with depression to make simple lifestyle changes to feel better. These things are often around sleeping, eating better, and exercising. Movement can be such an important aspect in the treatment of mental illness. Daily movement has been found to have a tremendous impact on mental illnesses. However, there are still thousands of people suffering with mental illnesses who try all the lifestyle changes including daily movement and still feel no relief. It’s totally ok for this person to take medication to manage their illness just as it’s totally ok for a person who isn’t adding in lifestyle changes to take medication. Nobody should feel less than for taking psychiatric medication and trying to live a happy life.

So what impact do medication and movement have on mental health? Movement can be great! It can truly be so healing. There is no one perfect movement practice for mental illnesses. That is the cool part. People can choose anything that works well for them on an individual level and that could look super different from someone else's'. 

I want to share with you a few exercises we do at FMF that are really great for opening up and tightness in the upper and lower body as well as getting some nice hip hinging.

Try these three exercises

Golfer Picker, Super Frog, and Puppy Pose

Alright everyone, thank you so much for reading along today! I hope you learned something new about mental illness and next time I’ll be back with more about some specific mental illnesses that don’t get talked about enough so make sure to check back soon!

Building a Foundation in Fitness Terminology Part III

Welcome back! In our third and final blog for this series we’ll walk through pelvic tilts/angles and core.

All three gluteal muscles strongly support the lumbar spine. Many other smaller muscles along the spine and in the hips help as well but let’s focus on the glutes. Strengthening the glutes definitely helps. Additionally, opening the hip flexors if they are tight helps by not pulling the pelvis forward. 

But what role does the core play?

The core is made up of Three main parts are the

Rectus abdominis

Internal and external obliques

& Transverse abdominis

The transverse abdominis muscles stabilize the lumbar spine and help maintain a neutral pelvis. A neutral pelvis means there is a small, natural amount of curvature in the lumbar spine. Therefore, a weaker core may contribute to excessive arching of the lumbar spine or an “anterior pelvic tilt”.

Here is an example of a neutral spine with normal curvature:

Neutral Spine

A neutral spine will have a normal curvature.

Take a look at this example of dead bugs, a simple core exercise made to strengthen the deep core muscles that stabilize the spine:

Doing core exercises like crunches or russian twists will work the rectus abdominis and oblique muscles, respectively, which are not as relative to the spinal stabilizer muscles. 

When teaching glute bridges and other glute exercises, you’ll often hear about going into a posterior pelvic tilt to correctly engage the glutes. 

What does this mean? This is referring to doing a slight rounding of the lumbar spine to really engage and target the glute muscles to do the work of bringing the pelvis into the neutral position.

Ok let’s review! Low back pain can sometimes be attributed to having a sedentary lifestyle because posture while sitting is not ideal. The hip flexors are in a pretty constant state of engagement which can, over time, make them tight. 

The glutes aren’t firing or working at all so they can, over time, become weaker. Because the core doesn’t have to support the lumbar spine while sitting it can, over time, become weaker. 

All of this can lead to an anterior pelvic tilt. When that happens, the vertebrae can press on the spinal cord nerves which can lead to pain! So stretching your hip flexors with the stretches I provided, glute bridges, and dead bugs can all work together to fix some of those issues and hopefully get you out of pain!

Now, using these concepts of anterior and posterior, antagonist muscles working to do opposite movements, and muscles flexing and extending, you can hopefully make sense of other body parts! You can apply this terminology when talking about shoulder pain, knee pain, elbow pain, etc. The hips and lumbar spine are pretty much the most complicated to understand so relating this to other joints should feel more intuitive knowing what you now know about the pelvis.

Remember that if someone can’t explain to you why you are being told to do certain exercises whether by a provider or online you may want to look for someone who can. They should be able to help you understand the WHY if they are good at what they do. I learned early on that you need to be able to explain exactly why you are programming something for someone to be a good provider.

Alright everyone, I hope this was helpful and informative. My goal was to break down these topics for anyone who doesn’t have a formal education of anatomy and biomechanics so they are understandable.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to us. We are on instagram,  and facebook, and are happy to respond to emails with questions!

If you want to book a consultation with us, the link is on the “book now” tab of our website, we would LOVE to have you.

We also have an extensive video library on our CoachNow app where a membership gives you access to hundreds of our videos with explanations on how to properly perform exercises. 

Have a wonderful kick off of 2023!
Sabrina

References

Chronic back pain. Health Policy Institute. (2019, February 13). Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://hpi.georgetown.edu/backpain/ 

Department of Health & Human Services. (2016, August 8). The dangers of sitting: Why sitting is the new smoking. Better Health Channel. Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/the-dangers-of-sitting

Building a Foundation in Fitness Terminology Part II

Last Blog, we laid out the foundation of the basics. Now let’s take a look at our example of low back pain and apply it. Here are the hot phrases I see thrown around a lot online when talking about low back pain:

“Tight hip flexors”

“Weak glutes”

“Weak core”

“Anterior pelvic tilt”

“Posterior pelvic tilt”

People often say that low back pain is due to things such as TIGHT hip flexors and WEAK glutes and core. Why do people commonly say that this can be generalized to most Americans today? Because we spend the majority of our day sitting down during our commute to work, then at work, the commute home, and then for dinner and a show before bed, rinse and repeat. Sitting is said to be the new smoking and a sedentary lifestyle leads to many other health problems including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes as well as poor mental health (Department of Health & Human Services, 2016).

Here is a brief breakdown and explanation of sitting posture:

When sitting in a chair, your hip flexor muscles are somewhat engaged and “shortened” while your glutes are mostly relaxed and are “lengthened”. Due to not having to support yourself in a chair, the core doesn’t need to work to hold up the spine and can weaken and cause an arch in the low back or an anterior pelvic tilt.

Now, this is where social media can get confusing because other people will say that it’s the opposite! That low back pain is caused by WEAK hip flexors and strengthening them is the answer. 

So, how do we know what’s right and what to do?!

The answer is that without personalized care by a provider or trainer, it’s difficult to tell and might take some trial and error. It isn’t either or but, rather, a balance of both. In general we want to have a nice balance of mobility and stability in our joints.

It’s never good to use absolutes when discussing health and typically if someone is making claims that are black and white it might be best to look elsewhere for more nuanced advice. 

After declaring that you have low back pain to a healthcare provider or just by browsing the internet, raise your hand if you’ve heard that:

 Glute bridges

Hip flexor stretches

& Dead bugs 

will fix your low back pain but you don’t truly understand why! These exercises are prescribed so often for back pain but in my experience a lot of patients have never been told WHY which makes them less likely to believe that they will help and want to do them.

Well, let’s get into the WHY!

Here are your hip flexors which are a group of muscles. The 5 main muscles to focus on are the Iliacus, Pectineus, Sartorius, Psoas, and Rectus Femoris:

Hip Flexors

The 5 main muscles to focus on are the Iliacus, Pectineus, Sartorius, Psoas, and Rectus Femoris.

Here is the antagonist muscle, the gluteus maximus (more commonly referred to as the glute) We are just focusing on the gluteus maximus:

Gluteus Maximus

The gluteus maximus is the antagonist muscle.

Remember that if you shorten one muscle, by definition, the other will lengthen. 

By lengthening the hip flexors (stretching them), you’re engaging the glutes and vice versa. Take a look at this hip flexor stretch for reference:

When you do a glute bridge and engage the glute muscles, you also, by definition, get a big stretch of the hip flexor. Take a look at the glute bridge video below:

In our last and final blog for this series we will walk through pelvic tilts/angles and core. Focusing in on what role your core specifically plays.

Sabrina

Building a Foundation in Fitness Terminology

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!

I simply cannot believe how fast last year flew by and that I’m going to have to start writing 2023 as the date. (Although it will probably take about three weeks of accidentally writing 2022 before I get in the habit, as it always does).

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are feeling ready to start the new year off refreshed and recharged. I know at FMF we have a ton of GREAT things in store for 2023. We’re going to bring you lots of awesome content across our social media platforms that we’re sure you’ll love. It’ll be a little bit of everything this year. As usual, our intention is always helping YOU have the most knowledge and confidence in your:

Movement

Fitness

Physical Health

& Mental Health

Our goal is always to empower you to develop quality movement practices and to advocate for and invest in your health. 

Without further adieu let's get into the FIRST BLOG of 2023!

Today I thought it would be fitting to dive into building a foundation in fitness terminology. Over the past few years there has been a huge rise in fitness influencers and health professionals on social media. It’s amazing how people can reach such a large audience from just their phones. This has had some great effects by helping to educate people, encourage people, and bring people together around health and fitness. It’s also allowed for candid conversation and discussion around important topics. 

As with everything related to social media, there have also been some negative effects. Because people on social media don’t have to have any formal education or training to share content, there is some spreading of misinformation. This can unfortunately be harmful and detrimental to people’s wellbeing.

With any topic on social media, certain terms and concepts can become popular and kind of go viral causing everyone to talk about them. Sometimes it can be really confusing to sort out what is true and what isn’t! Today I want to go over some basic terms you have probably heard thrown around a lot to help you understand and be able to discern good versus not so good advice on the internet. I believe a little bit of knowledge can go a long way. 

Low back pain is one of the LEADING causes of lost work days AND 6th on the list of costly health conditions in the U.S. (2019). You have likely heard people talk about solving low back pain as it is so prevalent. I am going to use this example of low back pain and the popular language around its causes and the solutions to walk through some applied anatomy. Through this example, you’ll hopefully feel CONFIDENT understanding similar language around other body parts as well such as for shoulder or knee pain.

Let’s begin with some basic anatomical terminology to set the stage. 

(Now, obviously, anatomy and physiology are complex subjects and I certainly can’t teach everything in one blog post so I am going to use this one example and as simple terminology as possible to help anyone who hasn’t had any formal education on this subject) 

In anatomy, we use something called anatomical position. This is a universally agreed upon view of the human body so that in any discussion about it, everyone understands what’s being referred to. This is similar to the concept of the agreed upon compass - North, East, South, and West.

Here you see the body in anatomical position. In this exact position, everything on the LEFT photo is anterior and everything on the RIGHT photo is posterior.

Next, let’s define the words flexion and extension. Different muscles flex and extend each joint. Think of flexion as shortening a muscle and extension as lengthening a muscle. Each muscle has an antagonist muscle which is like its partner on the opposite side. When one of them flexes the other must extend. Here are 2 common examples:

Your bicep and tricep are antagonists. The bicep flexes the elbow and the tricep extends it.

Your hamstring and quadriceps are antagonists. The hamstring flexes the knee, bringing the foot toward the glutes, and the quadriceps extend the knee, straightening the leg.

Now that we’ve established a foundation, in our next blog we’ll take a look at our example of low back pain and how to apply what we’ve learned so far. Stay tuned!
Sabrina

5 Common Pieces of Health Advice That Aren’t Helpful

Isn’t it interesting that we hear a lot of the same health advice from different sources? Seems everyone is doling out similar guidance about well-being that the health community has deemed relevant. 

Often, however, these pieces of advice are not particularly helpful. It isn’t so much that they aren’t true. It’s more a matter of them not being specific enough.

Why is this relevant? First of all, when advice is too overarching, it can be difficult to follow. Not everyone is at the same level when it comes to understanding healthy behavior, so advice that is too “pat” can either confuse them or set them on the wrong path completely.

Second, not everyone has the exact same health issues.
Applying general advice to a specific problem not only
may not solve the problem but may exacerbate it and lead to even bigger concerns.

The truth is one-size-fits-all answers rarely fit most people. It usually takes knowing the details of someone’s life situation to even begin to help them meet their challenges. This is exceedingly true when it comes to health and wellness. We must develop a deeper and understand our specific needs to find lasting solutions.

To that end, I’ve come up with five of the most-common generic advice about health that aren’t helpful. Let’s explore each belief and then turn it into advice that will truly help.

1. “Eat a healthy diet.”

Fantastic! What does that mean?

Let’s be honest here: metabolism and weight loss are incredibly complex processes. In addition, everyone’s metabolic issues are different. Without understanding what yours are, trying different diets and weight-loss schemes is like throwing darts in the dark. You might hit upon something that works, but you’re more likely to end up on a plan you can’t sustain or that doesn’t help—frustrated and worse off than you started because, once again, you “failed.”

A better plan? Talk to your doctor or a trusted naturopath about how to control your weight in light of your specific health concerns. Maybe your hormones are imbalanced, or your gut health is off. Once you address these issues, your weight may regulate itself. 

All this to say, sudden or persistent weight problems can be an offshoot of another health condition. Delving deeper and discovering that condition can then solve the weight problem permanently, rather than jumping from fad diet to fad diet.

2.“Get 8 hours of sleep per night.”

Sounds like great advice—but is it really?

Yes, many people could stand to get more shuteye, but not everyone needs eight hours of sleep a night. Some of us get sleepier during the day or more irritable if we sleep too many hours. There’s a whole segment of the population that thrives on four to six hours a night, while others need nine, 10 or more hours of rest to function the next day.

More importantly, if you are trying to get more sleep, what’s the best way to do that? Are you simply not getting into bed early enough, do you have poor sleep hygiene, or are you dealing with a medical or hormonal issue that needs addressing?

The point is that everyone is different and must apply this advice to their own situation. First, discover if eight hours of sleep a night is really for you. If so, finding out the root cause of your sleep issues sets you up to solve them along with treating any potentially underlying health conditions.

3.“Reduce stress.”

These days, stress seems to be a universal concern. Who isn’t dealing with a multitude of situations that can cause anxiety and overwhelm at least some of the time? 

Yes, reducing one’s stress level is important, but what does one do with that advice? It’s not like most people can (or would want to) quit their job, abandon their family, or give up all their obligations.

Reducing stress is complicated. The answer might be finding behavioral solutions or developing coping skills like deep breathing, meditation or exercise; taping a list of affirmations to your desk; taking supplements like maca or black cohosh root—or, potentially, finding a new job or partner if one of these is making you miserable. Only by exploring what is really causing the stress can you figure out which solution makes sense.

Once again, getting specific and digging deeper are essential to discovering the true causes of stress and devising a plan for reducing it that works—not just for a little while, but for the long term.

4.“Stretch!”

We all know how important stretching is, right? Probably because the health professionals tell us to do it.

While this isn’t necessarily wrong, telling someone to stretch without teaching them HOW to stretch isn’t particularly helpful. For example, did you know that dynamic stretching is recommended before a physical activity, such as running or plyometrics, while static stretches are best for improving range of motion? And overly forceful stretching can actually tear the muscle—and not in a good way? 

There are certain commonly accepted stretches and movements that can actually be harmful if done improperly, like the Banded Y executed with too heavy of a band. The key is to follow the advice of a trainer or movement specialist who knows how do to stretches in a way that is both safe and effective.

5.“Expand your social circle.”

As health professionals increasingly realize the importance of addressing the whole human—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—we hear a lot more about the significance of having a healthy social life.

Also, as social media has become a stand-in for live interaction (a trend that the pandemic accelerated), some of us may not be spending as much time around other people as we should; therefore, expanding our social circle has become something we have to consciously work to do.

That’s all well and good—but how? Making friends can be … awkward, to say the least, at any age.

It’s OK to connect with people online, but why not extend those connections to the real world? Join a FB hiking group and get out there and hike with them! Try a new sport or activity you’ve been eyeing but maybe have been too shy to endeavor (pole dancing, anyone?). Make a concerted effort to go somewhere different or talk to someone new once a week (maybe that cute guy/girl you see at the coffee shop every morning?). The idea is to take that amorphous advice, figure out how and where you could apply it, and expand your horizons with some definitive action.

There may be a lot of unhelpful health advice out there, but some thoughtful probing, research, and a little guidance from those in the know, you can turn that advice into steps that will lead you to a better, healthier, way of life.

--Carrie RossenfelD