Moving Better for Future You

Every January, I hesitate to chime in with my thoughts about exercise habits, fitness, strength building (and movement in general) as I know we are all bombarded with the pressure to "achieve new goals" this New Year.

However, I also know that I am deeply interested in shifting the narrative that we have developed about the reasons we need to exercise.

Yes, we do need to exercise. 

Yes, we do need to work on our fitness and build our strength.

Yes, we do need to figure out how to find a healthy balance of rest and recovery in amongst physically challenging ourselves a little bit most days.

But, the REASON we need to do all of these things is not to get skinny, not to tire ourselves out, and not to bulk up either. We need to move and work on our movement habits because we need to MOVE BETTER and work on a dynamic range of motion that will allow us to move well, live independently and feel unrestricted as we age. For at least one, if not two or three generations, we have been receiving messages to: lose weight, eat less, sweat more, "tone" our muscles (but, not too much if you are a woman), do a ridiculous amount of cardio at a ridiculous intensity and do this again and again every single day without taking a day off, until you get off the bandwagon and then feel like crap about yourself - even if it's only for one day or one week that you are not going to classes, running for miles or attempting to do 100 push-ups or squats each day.

I don't know about you, but the pressure still feels real and also feels impossible and unattainable. Because. It. Is. Unattainable. And, it is also completely unnecessary.  

This is coming from someone who loves to exercise, to move, to sweat, to adventure and try new things, and who could spend all day, every day in movement workshops.

But thankfully, MOVEMENT is the goal, not punishing myself, hurting myself, over-exerting myself or completely exhausting my body and soul. These days (and over the span of my fitness career), I have found movement practices that are holistic, balanced and focus on MOVING WELL, moving freely and moving playfully.  

And, the way I see it, THIS is crucial. 

In our 40s, 50s and 60s, we need to set ourselves up for our 70s, 80s and 90s. Possibly, making it to 100 with independence and ease in doing our daily tasks.

How do you want to MOVE when you are 80, 90 or 100!? What do you want to be able to do and how much independence do you want to have?

This simple goal of moving well drives my own exercise practice, informs how I work with individuals and group classes and how I create my videos for my video library. 

I want ALL OF YOU to MOVE WELL, MOVE BETTER and FEEL BETTER when you move!

And, in order to achieve this goal, I work backwards...

1. First, I take a look at the symmetry and balance in your body, through an Egoscue Postural Assessment, looking for your general posture condition (we are all either a bit rotated from left to right, a bit rounded in our upper backs or a bit too arched in our low backs). 

2. Next, I set you up with a daily e-cise routine that addresses your posture condition and helps to correct it with simple, daily and easy exercises that are similar to brushing and flossing your teeth. 

3. Then, we dig into movement patterns that build strength and allow you to move in dynamic ways because you will have the strength, skill, awareness, know-how and "how-to" planned out in your customized program.

Sounds simple? It kind of is. For me, creating your customized program is a no-brainer once I get to know you, how you move, how you learn, how you like to work and what your needs and interests are. Behind all of this is the generational narrative that we all carry, and I take care in meeting you where you are at, helping to demystify fitness, and cultivate a NEW approach towards exercise and movement that will serve you over the next several decades and into your kids and grandkids generations.

Here's to building a new mindset surrounding health and fitness - one of LIKING exercise, ENJOYING movement and WANTING to strength build for all the right reasons.

As we say in StrongFirst, "strength has a greater purpose," and I believe that strength helps us move well, live independently and take the best care of ourselves we possibly can while having fun doing it!

If you are ready to start working on your posture, movement, and strength, I would love to hear from you. I have lots of different ways to help you reach your potential, feel better, move better, and create a daily home routine that you can’t live without! I know that 1:1 personal training is a high-ticket item and feels like an extra expense that you might not have room for in your budget right now. I get that. I’m cutting back on all kinds of expenses this year as well!  But over the years, I've selected investments that change my life and teach me life-long habits that are as "priceless" as they say. Moving well, having good posture and building strength are non-negotiable in my eyes and learning from the best about how to approach it all, is my lifelong passion. Fitness is something that we all spend at least a little bit of money on, but I would love it if I could teach you a few more things than a treadmill (or even the kettlebell in your garage) ever could.