BREAKING THE SILENCE: BUILDING A TRULY ACCESSIBLE GYM COMMUNITY
When we talk about "gym accessibility," many people immediately think of ramps or elevators. While physical access is vital, true accessibility goes much deeper. It’s about the atmosphere—the feeling that when you walk through the doors, the community is prepared to meet you where you are. For the Deaf community and those with disabilities, the gym can often feel like a "loud" place, not just because of the music, but because of the barriers to communication and understanding.
MASSAGE FOR RUNNERS
The weather gets nice, and suddenly everyone starts signing up for races again. Race season is here, and whether you’re training for a HYROX, running your first 5k, getting ready for a half marathon, or just adding more miles outside, your body definitely notices. Running has a way of making random muscles sore that you didn’t even know were involved. Tight calves, sore hips, heavy legs… and somehow your shoulders end up tense too. That’s where recovery work can really help.
SIMPLE GPP WORKOUTS FOR SPRING
General Physical Preparedness is a phase of training that emphasizes foundational strength and work capacity. Everyone benefits from GPP training, whether you’re an athlete, have a specific fitness goal, or simply want to exercise to stay healthy. GPP focuses on building a well-rounded base of strength, endurance, mobility, and coordination so your body can handle more challenging workouts and activities of everyday life with ease. This week, I’m sharing an example week of what GPP training could look like and how to apply it to your current goals.
WHY EVERYONE NEEDS GPP TRAINING
When it comes to getting stronger, leaner, and moving better, most people start too hard and too soon, and end up overwhelmed or injured. The real secret to long-term progress and resilience? General Physical Preparedness (GPP), or establishing a solid foundation of movement. GPP focuses on building a well-rounded base of strength, endurance, mobility, and coordination so your body can handle more challenging workouts and activities of everyday life with ease.
ONE MORE ON MOBILITY
Independence as you age is about both freedom and capability. It’s the confidence you can have to move freely, carry your groceries, get up off the floor, play with your kids or grandkids, and live your life without limitations. Mobility and strength are the foundations for that independence.
GETTING STRONGER FOR REAL LIFE
What does getting stronger actually mean for us as people? Many view strength or getting physically stronger as only something that avid gym-goers do to increase the number on a barbell or dumbbell. They may see it as unnecessary or a waste of time in their daily life. It is quite the contrary. A strong and healthy body can extend to help with so many things in our daily life. Whether it is making tasks easier, improving our self-efficacy and autonomy, or even just making it easier to enjoy ourselves. Getting stronger for real-life looks like a lot of things for different people, but let’s discuss some approachable methods you can use to get stronger for real-life things and situations.
HOW FASCIAL STRETCH THERAPY CAN HELP EVERYONE MOVE BETTER
Let’s be honest: most people do not think about mobility until something starts feeling tight, stiff, cranky, or just plain annoying. Maybe your hips complain when you stand up. Maybe your shoulders feel like they belong to someone twice your age after sitting at a desk all day. Maybe you stretch and somehow still feel tight five minutes later. That is where Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) comes in — and why so many people are paying attention to it.
CLEAN TECHNIQUE ESSENTIALS
The clean, much like snatching in weightlifting, requires not only power and strength, but good rhythm and timing. In order to execute it properly, we are going to go over some key technical aspects as well as some ways to internalize those cues and output them in your training sessions. We will highlight the overall goals first and then break down how we can ensure they're occurring in the lift properly.
MOVE BETTER, FEEL BETTER
Ever feel like your body just isn’t moving the way it used to—or the way you want it to? Maybe your hips feel tight, your shoulders are cranky, or your squat looks more like a “sit and hope for the best.” That’s where massage can quietly work some magic.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW: BARBELL
One of the unique things we have here at PFP is our Olympic Weightlifting Team. Weightlifting is a sport known throughout the world and in the last 10 to 15 years has gained a lot of momentum and attraction in the United States. With over 1 million members in the US, it has truly built itself into something special. Here at PFP, we love to foster weightlifters, new and old. The first step is our barbell assessment, where we meet a new prospective lifter for our team and either view their current technique or teach them for the very first time. Once that process is complete, we enroll them in our Intro Program. Now that may sound like it’s only for beginners, but I assure you it's not. We label it the Intro because it contains all of the essential pieces to help and solidify the core principles of weightlifting: strength, speed, movement consistency, patience, and fun. So let's talk about how it does that.
MASSAGE FOR RUNNERS, LIFTERS, & WEEKEND WARRIORS
No matter what kind of athlete you are—marathon runner, heavy lifter, or “I played pickup basketball once and now I can’t walk”—your body keeps receipts. And eventually, it collects. That’s where massage comes in. Not as a luxury, but as damage control… in the best way.
STRENGTH TRAINING: ESSENTIAL FOR WOMEN AT EVERY STAGE OF LIFE
For years, women stuck to cardio, light weights, and "toning” workouts. Women were afraid of getting “bulky” or bigger, and “gym-timidation” is a real thing for many women when they enter a space full of males. Now, more and more women are shifting away from working out to look a certain way, and instead working out to feel a certain way. Women understand that strength training isn’t just about building muscle or changing how your body looks, but it’s one of the greatest tools women have to support long-term health, confidence, and quality of life.
KEEP YOUR MUSCLES HAPPY BETWEEN MASSAGES
Here’s a Harsh Truth. Your massage therapist is incredible… but they are not following you home, magically kneading your shoulders while you binge Netflix. As great as that sounds, your muscles still expect some attention between sessions.
RETURNING TO SPORT AFTER A BREAK
It's not uncommon that athletes - whether recreational or competitive - take a break from training. In fact, it's quite healthy and is often built in after the end of a sport season, often called an active rest period, which allows the body to recover from the damage incurred during the competitive season, or for sports without a clear “in-season”, after a prolonged intense training phase and competition.
SHAKE OFF WINTER STIFFNESS
If winter turned you into a human burrito—wrapped in blankets, slightly hunched, and running on snacks and survival mode—you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t have to stay that way. A good massage might be exactly what your body’s been begging for since, oh… December.
INSIDE GOLDEN GIRLS: OUR 60+ WOMEN’S STRENGTH CLASS
Our 60+ women’s class is designed to help you move better, feel stronger, and stay confident moving through your daily life and activities. This class isn’t about extreme workouts or aesthetics, but about building the qualities that support you now and for years to come: muscle mass, strength, bone density, and more.
RECOVERING FROM ST. PATRICK’S DAY SHENANIGANS
St. Patrick’s Day is a magical time of year. There’s laughter, green drinks, questionable dance moves, and that one friend who insists they’re “actually a little Irish.” Whether you spent the day at a parade, hopping between pubs, or attempting an Irish jig that your hamstrings definitely didn’t approve of, there’s a good chance your body is feeling it today. The good news? A massage might be exactly what your post-St. Patrick’s Day self needs.
STRENGTH TRAINING DURING PREGNANCY
Strength training during pregnancy can be one of the most powerful tools you use to support your body, your baby, and your long-term health. Let’s break down what strength training during pregnancy really looks like, why it’s beneficial, and how to approach it without fear.
WHAT RED WINE & MASSAGE HAVE IN COMMON
In 2017, Harvard Health Publishing—along with several other medical institutions—shared research suggesting that a single glass of red wine each day might benefit heart health. The theory was simple: compounds in red wine, like tannins and antioxidants, appear to have positive effects on the cardiovascular system. But as the conversation evolved, researchers acknowledged something important. The benefits weren’t just about the chemistry in the glass. They were also about the lifestyle.
ESTABLISHING S.M.A.R.T. GOALS
S.M.A.R.T is a five-letter acronym that is commonly used in health/fitness settings to promote logical goal-setting strategies that may guide you in achieving the results that you desire from that goal. It uses a specific set of criteria that ensures your objectives are attainable within a reasonable time-frame.