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Tag: strength training for women over 40

Can You Hang for One Minute?

Can you hang from a bar for one minute?

One of your October Five exercises is hanging.

This week, can you look around your house or your neighborhood for a sturdy door frame, monkey bars, or other objects you could hang from?

Set a timer on your phone and see how long you can hang.

(these photos were taken in Sellwood park)

Studies have shown grip strength to be an indicator for longevity. Meaning those who have strong hands tend to live longer, have stronger bones, have better nutrition, fewer falls and fractures, and fewer mental health issues.

One way to improve your grip strength is by hanging.

In these photos I’m demonstrating a “dead hang”, where all your weight is supported by your arms.

If this is too much for your shoulders, start by reaching up and stretching your shoulders and back. Keep your feet on the ground so your legs can help support you.

Slowly over time you can build the mobility and strength to hang, and eventually to pull yourself up.

If you’d like help working your way up to a hang, please reach out to me this week. I have a safe and effective program to improve your shoulder mobility, upper back, and grip strength and you’ll be hanging in no time!

Anne McCranie is a Vancouver, Washington based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She offers these exercises as a suggestion and encouragement to get moving. This is not a prescription, or specific medical advice. Please see your medical professional prior to starting a new exercise program.

The March Five – hip circles, swimming, hamstring curl, chest press and hamstring stretch

This month we’re using a Swiss ball (or sliders), medium heavy weights, and a band. Grab your gear and do with me today!

March Five exercises:

  • Hip Circles
  • Swimming
  • Hamstring Curl
  • Chest Press
  • Hamstring Stretch

Use this 7 minute strength and mobility routine to improve hip mobility, core stability, leg strength, chest strength, and stretch your hamstrings.

This series follows my trademarked R.O.S.S. protocol – Release, Organize, Strengthen, and Stretch for efficient movement and injury prevention.

We start with a slow, Somatics style Hip circle, the “Release” part of our R.O.S.S. protocol. Notice how smooth or sticky this feels. Your goal is to make this easy and listen to your body. No forcing, no pushing, just allowing.

Swimming is our “Organization” move. Think of getting longer as you do this move, reaching out through the top of your head, your tail, and your arms and legs. Please pay close attention to your neck, and low back. If anything starts to feel uncomfortable, or painful, stop, go slower or smaller and see if you can find YOUR pain free range for today.

Ball Hamstring Curl is your first “Strength” move. I’m showing this move on a Swiss ball. You could also rest your heels on sliders, paper plates, or towels on the floor. While we target hamstrings, this is truly a whole body exercise. Keep one long straight line from your shoulder, hip, and knee as you bend your knees and drag your feet towards you.

Chest Press strengthens your chest and shoulders. Listen carefully to my cues about your arm and shoulder position. You should feel wide and stable across your shoulders and upper back. Control your weights on the way down rather than just letting them drop.

Lastly we have Hamstring stretch. Stretching is the last “S” in our R.O.S.S. series. Almost everyone I work with suffers from tight hamstrings. Earlier we worked to strengthen these muscles, now we get to stretch them. Please stop at the point where you feel slight resistance, not pain.

So how do YOU use this program?

  1. Take yourself thorough this program with me right now following along with me on the video (7 minutes).
  2. Do this series as a warm up before your next walk, or fitness class.
  3. Do this video 2-3 days a week as a stand alone strength workout. Spend about a minute doing hip circles and swimming, then pause the video and do 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps of your hamstring curl and chest press. Then start the video back up and spend one minute stretching your hamstrings.

Want to do these moves live with our group of friendly, silly people (and dogs)? Join our Saturday 10 am Barre class on Zoom!

YOU are in charge of you. Please listen to your body and only do the things that make you feel really good. Please see your medical professional prior to starting a new exercise program.

Free Pilates Class Wednesday February 15th!

Love your body!

Join our Wednesday 6 pm Pilates class for free!

We start with a gentle warm up, rolling on the floor, mobilizing our spines, juicing up our shoulders and hips. Next we get organized engaging the small stabilizers. Our strength series includes traditional Pilates mat exercises – Hundreds, Roll up, Teaser, as well as Lunges and Rows to strengthen your whole body. We cool down and reconnect our minds and bodies with a gentle stretch at the end of class, following my trademarked R.O.S.S. protocol.

Join us Wednesday February 15th 6-7 pm P.T. on zoom.

You’re welcome to tune in with your video on or off.

Whether you are brand new to Pilates, or have years of experience this class is for YOU!

You’ll leave feeling like you’ve done just the right amount of work and stretching.

Come meet our fun, silly, welcoming group of ladies (and our mascot Cody the labradoodle).

Email me and I’ll send you the Zoom link Anne@FluidPortland.com

Strength training with Anne in June at no cost to you!

Are you the perfect person for our June Personal Training experiment?

Find out what you can accomplish when you commit to taking good care of YOU!

  • You are ready to make positive changes.
  • You have a specific goal.
  • You are able to commit to Wednesdays 5:30 – 6:00 pm PT on Zoom, June 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd.

I’m offering four weeks of personal training with me, at no cost to you.

We start with a zoom call to see if we are a good fit. You and I will meet for thirty minutes once a week for strength training. We will finish with an assessment to see what specific what improvements have you made.

To take advantage of this fabulous opportunity to work with me one on one, call or email me today!

(503) 705-4762

Anne@FluidPortland.com

xoxo
Anne

Foam Roller Magic!

Don’t worry we’re not sawing anyone in half, or pulling a rabbit out of a hat, or making a bird disappear. Although if you come to this workshop your pain could disappear!

Are you looking to soften tight muscles? Would you like to improve your hip and shoulder mobility? Do you spend hours a day seated in front of a computer or looking down at your phone?

Take yourself through this 60 minute workshop and you will address every major muscle group from your head to your feet! You’ll feel relaxed, energized, and stretched. The recording is available here, so that you can work through these moves at your own pace. Do the whole video all at once, or pick out one or two exercises to work on each day.

Learn the magic of the foam roller!

  • What: 60 minute foam roller workshop.
  • When: Watch the recording at your leisure!
  • How: Click here to purchase the workshop recording.
  • Why: Reduce tightness, improve mobility, strength, and balance.
  • How much: $20

We follow my trademarked R.O.S.S. method – release, organize, strengthen and stretch. To be most successful, you will need a 36 inch, round roller, and be able to easily get up and down from the floor.

This is not a sweaty “workout”, but a movement exploration. You may go at your own pace, and I offer variations, so you can chose the best level for you today.

  • We start with release work, warming up and loosening tight muscles, and facilitating your mind body connection. This is where we will spend the majority of our time today. Juicing up soft tissue, breathing, relaxing.
  • Next up – stabilization and organization to connect to your smaller muscles, and prep you for larger movements.
  • Our short strength program includes a handful of upper and lower body exercises. You learn your most efficient way to accomplish daily activities, like getting up out of a chair.
  • Lastly stretching, and mobilization to help you feel length from your head to your toes.

You will leave feeling relaxed, refreshed, and like you did just the right balance of mobility and strength.

Not sure if this workshop is right for you right now? Give me a call (503) 705-4762.

Click here to purchase this workshop recording today!