The newsletter this week is all about the contribution balance makes to strength training. All of us are working hard to have dynamic, movement-filled lives and being mindful to include balance training can give us faster results, more stability, and extended years of smooth, safe movement.
Balance is both a built-in system and a skill that can be developed. We can fall less, feel more stable on variable terrain, and suffer fewer injuries if we practice. So let’s do that! Check out the following articles for more details and talk to any of our trainers about evaluating and developing your balance. We’re already thinking about it for you, so get on board!
Enhancing Sports Performance with Dynamic Balance Training
Here’s How Balance Impacts Strength Training
And for a more meta take on balance this is a good quick read, reminding us to balance our training with the rest of our lives:
The Most Underrated Principle Of Strength Training Is…Balance
Thanks for Hiking!
We’d like to give a huge shout-out to everyone who came to hike Castlewood on Sunday. It was a great walk and a fantastic way to mix up everyone’s fitness routine. Look for more opportunities throughout the year!
Meet the Trainers!
This week we’re spotlighting Alicia. Her enthusiasm and empathy make classes easier and we are glad to have her on the team. We gathered some of her thoughts on personal fitness and there’s a lot here we can learn from.
Alicia’s interest in health and fitness started early. Her parents were both very health oriented and her dad was both a Marine and trained in martial arts. Alicia’s personal involvement in formal training started in high school and college when she started taking training courses and working at a gym.
A hugely varied number of disciplines make up her personal fitness routine now. Early experiences with gymnastics and swimming made her feel strong and value mobility. Gymnastics also contributed to her love of training sans shoes. She conditions outside because she feels it contributes to her overall well-being and she is committed to constantly exploring new avenues of fitness. “Drawing inspiration from practically everywhere provides me with a vast tool box when I’m relating to my clients.”
Alicia’s path to becoming a trainer started with a very frightening personal emergency when she was hospitalized for serious complications following appendicitis. “I’m not exaggerating when I say I came very close to not pulling through. I spent days in the ICU attached to all kinds of machines.” The experience gave her a new realization of and appreciation for the strength and resilience of her body. It didn’t let her die! “From that moment I started viewing my training as a way to strengthen and respect my body and stopped seeing it as a punishment.”
Gratitude for her successful recovery and curiosity inform every day of both her personal training and supporting clients. Her best advice for anyone? “Don’t take things too seriously!” She wants everyone to relax if they aren’t “perfect” and understand that struggling for mastery is part of the process. Just do your best and improvement will come.
Thanks for being part of the team, Alicia!