Fitness Blog

“I just know I’m not going to do this on my own,” said my track friend Sarah, “Can I hire you?” I smiled. I love it when people aren’t afraid to ask for help. I am a big fan of outsourcing, too! She had been trying

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa and Boxing Day from all of us at Just Muscles! Hope this finds you having a lovely day with friends, family, neighbors, or animals. If the holidays are a tough time for you, I send you

Tomorrow is Festivus Day.  Not feeling like celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or Diwali? Just not your jam?  I have a solution for you, made popular again on Seinfeld (well, now I am dating myself because th

Happy National Caroling Day! Go on out there and sing. Why, you say? Singing helps maintain the muscles in the back of the throat, which helps maintain the space and shape of the inside of the mouth. Why is that imp

Happy National Bake Cookies Day! Wrists can get out of whack with lots of holiday baking and furious amounts of online ordering. 🙂 I talked about my friend the baker who needed help with her wrist and I suggested in

Remember what we were talking about on Monday?    Why you really really really need a workout buddy?    Because it is difficult for lonely people to stick to an exercise routine.    Well, my brilliant sister-in- law

Did you see this social media post the other day? “Lonely people are less likely to be able to keep up an exercise routine” 💔 How do I know that?  My amazing University of Chicago professor sister-in-law Dr. Linda W

Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate and Happy Brownie Day for the rest of you!  Well, it is funny to me that I was just writing about if I had a dollar for every time I heard, “If I could just put my socks on with

Happy Eat a Red Apple Day! Don’t forget to take a break from all the sweets and treats headed your way this holiday season…grab an apple instead! So I was at soccer the other night, and one of my teammates asked a q

Happy Put on Your Own Shoes Day.   If I had a dollar for every time someone wished they could just put their shoe or sock on without back pain, I would be a wealthy woman.    It is a relatively simple fix, and maybe

  Wow, Hokas nation, you are a loyal and passionate group. You drank the kool aid in a big way!   I have posted a couple videos on Instagram pointing out that Hokas are making bad movement situations worse, and oh b

Do you have someone in your family that could use a little help with their muscles but you’re not sure where to start?  OR do you want something for you, but you won’t buy it for yourself or you want to buy it as a

If you celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., then I hope it is filled with nice memories with family and friends. If the holidays are tricky for you, I wish you big hugs and some quiet time.    If you don’t celebrate

I am a volunteer coach for Girls on the Run.    My group is comprised of 3rd-5th graders who are hilarious and make me smile every Tuesday.    When you are in GOTR, you pick an adjective that starts with the first l

Happy Veteran’s Day tomorrow and thank you for your service to this country and others.  I am especially grateful for my dad, who was in the Army, my grandfather who was in the Air Force, and my 2 step nephews who s

Happy National Dunce Day! There’s a word you don’t often hear used anymore: dunce.    I take it to mean, ‘I shouldn’t have been such a dummy.’   Or, I know better, and I still didn’t do the thing I should have to ma

The other day I went out for upside down dinner with my friends Alex and Shellee.    Alex wanted to have dessert with us and then eat dinner with her family afterwards.    I have been on a very high protein diet and

Happy Book Lovers Day! If you haven’t already, I highly recommend James Nestor’s Breath.    Why?   Well, you can take my word for it and just learn to breathe in and out all through your nose to get your core strong

Feliz Día de los Muertos! Happy Day of the Dead!   Have you made an ofrenda for your family? An altar, with food, candles, flowers, and photos of those who have passed on?   Do you put trails of marigolds to your do

Happy Halloween (tomorrow!) I think some people think that when you start (or restart for the zillionth time) an exercise program, that you might not like it.  It’s to be endured.  That just comes with the territory

Happy National Tell a Story Day! Here’s one of my favorites recently…maybe you’ve seen the 10 sec video on Instagram or YouTube? Apparently it struck a chord with Instagram followers, anyway…it’s at 100,000+ views.

Happy World Opera Day!  If you’d like to belt out some big songs, sing in the shower, or hum along with your favorite singer, you are going to need one big ingredient:   Oxygen.    Let’s remember that there are thre

Happy Talk Show Host day! Have you ever been on or been in the audience of a talk show? I haven’t. It’s on my list though! However, I can’t help but be excited about the one time a quick fitness tip of mine made it

  Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!   Our favorite Canadian was in town visiting the other day- none other than the fabulous nutritionist Margaret Floyd Barry.   One thing I do obsessively with all of my clients to help

  Happy World Smile Day!   The saying goes that when you “turn that frown upside down” you get a smile. That seems easy and quick!   Recently I was listening to a podcast where the hostess and guest were speaking ab

Happy National Golf Day! I had the good fortune to watch the LPGA women’s tournament here in Portland recently. Those women were for the most part very petite in build, but boy could they whack the heck out of the b

Happy National Name Your Car Day! What is the name of your car? Ours is “Bluetiful” after the crayon of the same name. Have you ever tried doing a handstand as a way to get into your car? This cool lady named Dr. Ka

Happy Confucius and Chinese Moon Festival Day!  Funny Confucius quote: “Confucius say, man who sit on upturned tack, rise above all!” 🙂 (there were some super saucy ones in there, too!)    Serious Confucius qu

Happy National Fitness Day in the UK!  The USA has a National Fitness Day in May.    Shoot! I guess I missed it!    Last week I talked about the one exercise I would do if you didn’t have time to warmup.    You do h

Happy World Dream Day! Yesterday I was at the first of two soccer games, and one of my teammates Mia had her neck spasm on the field.    As in, couldn’t turn her head without turning her whole body.    To my amazeme

Don’t have time to warmup? Yes you do. Take a tiny chunk of time (and I mean tiny!) and do one thing. How about a really fast warmup exercise that uses every muscle from your hands to your toes? I’m pretty sure I’ve

Happy National Indoor Plant Week! Did you become an indoor plant enthusiast during lockdown? Good for you, but get back outside now! I’ve been outside playing soccer on the weekends with my teams, and inevitably som

Yesterday was National Women’s Friendship Day. As a busy working mom, I felt like I rarely had time to see my friends. Now that I’m a bird launcher (as opposed to an empty nester!) I make a point to schedule workout

Happy Positive Thinking Day! One of my most un-favorite statements that occasionally roll off my client’s tongues is: “I can’t”.   I immediately interrupt that statement with, “I’m having difficulty” instead. 🙂    I

Today is 9/11 Remembrance Day.  Have you been able to visit the memorial?   It is beautiful and haunting and astonishing how quiet it is in the middle of the city.    One of my favorite parts of the memorial is the

Happy National “Fight Procrastination Day”!   Well, I have a strategy to fight procrastination and some exciting news!   I think having a crew to workout with is super fun and very helpful in many ways.    Therefore

Happy Labor Day! Fun fact: Canada, The United States, and Bermuda are the only countries to celebrate Labor Day in September. All other countries celebrate Labor Day in May. “The end of labor is to gain leisure.” –

Happy National Bacon Day! I have two super fun friends that live in Minnesota named Lindsay and Jessie.    Jessie happens to loooove bacon and is frequently photographed wearing her bacon costume. So, when I went to

We escaped to the Oregon Coast during the 4 days that Portland had temperatures in the 100s. We just happened to choose a happening surf spot to camp near, and I struck up a conversation with a surfer as he was clim

Happy Race Your Mouse Day! Are you a desk jockey, often finding yourself in front of a screen, using your mouse extensively? That sitting stuff can catch up with you, and it’s easy to start slouching down slowly in

  Happy National Dog Day! (Tomorrow!) The video above is of my friend Heather’s puppy Luna. Cuteness overload! Luna was “helping” me film the other day when I was talking about the benefits of eating protein. I’m wo

Happy National Senior Citizen’s Day! Here’s the question: Are you ever too old to lift weights? Nope. Not ever. Why would you? Muscles are the engines of the body and are the best anti-aging strategy you have. The b

Happy Ride the Wind Day! Portland had a heat wave last week and we headed to the beach to work remotely. Guess what we got to do while we were there?    Fly a kite!    It was super fun, whimsical, and brought back s

Feeling a little down?  Need a little energetic boost of oxytocin, that feel good hormone?  No one nearby to grab onto for 6 seconds (that is the magic amount of time to get that feel good hormone)? Guess what: good

Last time we talked about a secret that Sha’Carri Richardson uses…she’s the fastest woman on the planet right now and headed to the Paris Olympics soon. She’s an exclusive nose breather- meaning that she breathes in

  Why does your back hurt in the middle of the night?  This question is asked by lots of clients, followed up by the comment, “but then it usually feels better once I am up and moving around.” Is that you?  Consider

“Your nervous system has a preset. You’ve been here before. I want you to override it.” Said by the fabulous Dena in my yoga class today.  What does she mean?  Here’s how I interpreted it:  She asks us to do a pose.

This question is posed a couple times a month.  Consider that when you’re resting in bed, you don’t have any other muscles to help take pressure off of a tight muscle. I hear all the time that things feel painful or

Have you ever wondered exactly how many steps your animals actually accomplish?  I often wonder how many both my dog Nova and my cat Smokey get any given day.  Recently, I knew how the day was going to play out and

Here is one idea on how to fix a tight hip- specifically that screwdriver feeling in the center of back of the hip. UGH. That is no fun!  On another note: Need a Mother’s Day gift idea? 😊 Does she have a nagging sor

One day, I went to track and I could see that something was bothering my friend Marcia.  She loves CrossFit and lifting weights, but the day after lifting her back would be sore and painful when she went out for a r

Hi!!!!! Just wanted you to know we are up and running on hackyourbackpain.com  ™  I can’t tell you how excited I am to create what I’m calling a “Movement Movement”… a fabulous community that takes on previously unr