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LAUREL BEVERSDORF

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laurelbeversdorf

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BALLS & BANDS Mobility is a new class series in my

BALLS & BANDS Mobility is a new class series in my virtual studio. Every class we take a look at a particular strength and conditioning move and put a playful spin on mobilizing it.

Video 1 — this was our “peak sequence.” A spirally version of sumo squats to split stance lunge and then adding a little slice of the Turkish get up. Instead, I call it the Goddess Lunge Get Up Swirls.

Videos 2-5 is alll the mobility work we did leading up to the sequence. Can you spot the different pieces of the puzzle coming together? (Not pictured is the lateral hip massage we did before all this!)

My virtual studio is packed with special classes like this. Each one is targeted and thoughtfully sequenced. All together the classes balance our need for both variety and progressive overload. I film almost all the classes live and so members get the option to attend live and then have access to the class soon after in their library to take as often as they like.

Aaand, if you didn’t know, I’m running a FREE 5-day challenge starting this Saturday Jan. 30th called the Sweet & Simple Strength Crash Course.

If you have questions surrounding building strength at home, the basics of exercise selection and programming, or just what weights to get, then this 5-day challenge will answer some of those questions. I keep it pretty sweet & simple (but all together this challenge is over an hour of high quality content) so you feel more empowered and confident to strength train at home.

What’s extra cool is this challenge includes a FREE Sweet & Simple Strength class Tuesday, Feb. 2nd from 12-12:45p EST (with a 7-day replay).

Want in? Click the link in my bio you sign up! 👀

Thresholds are a useful concept for understanding

Thresholds are a useful concept for understanding how our body functions.

For example, in addition to strength, there is also a threshold for pain.

There’s a point at which input to your brain from your body will not result in the experience of pain, and then a point at which it will.

Same with injury (which is not the same as pain!)

There is a point at which stress to a tissue will not result in injury to that tissue, and then a point at which it will.

With strength training, we want to thread the thresholds needle.

That is to say, we want to exceed the threshold for training stress required for building strength, without exceeding the threshold for training stress that will result in pain or injury.

We want to train smarter, not always harder.

But (this next part is for my yogis, especially) in order for our training to be strength training, we must first and foremost *exceed a threshold of effort* which for many of us will require that we actually train harder.

By harder, we might need to, for example

💡 add external load
💡 do more repetitions
💡 train more often

There’s a lot to learn when it comes to getting stronger.

Things like, how do I know I’m meeting my threshold for effort? And how do I know I’m not overdoing it?

This is a topic we cover in the Sweet & Simple Strength Free Challenge (ahem! Crash Course)

Additionally, you’ll get foundational know how to be able to understand basic strength programming, and the ins and outs of workout parameters (things like reps, sets, exertion, and rest) plus how to tailor these to your level of experience.

Want in? Click the link in my bio to sign up! 👀

Does this sound like you? You know you want to bu

Does this sound like you?

You know you want to build strength, but… 
...all the lingo surrounding strength training confuses you 
...deciding on effective AND safe exercises, reps, sets, rest times is daunting 
...you ask what weights to get and get "it depends” — not helpful!  If this sounds like you, I'm excited to announce the FREE Sweet & Simple Strength Challenge (ahem, Crash Course.)

SIMPLIFY and CLARIFY essential know how for building strength at home.  AND big bonus! On day 4 of the challenge, you'll get to attend beginner-friendly Sweet & Simple Strength LIVE + replay (also FR*E) and apply everything you've learned.  Here's what you'll learn:

* what weights to get (specifically for you!)

* strength secrets for beginners and busy people

* weight, reps, sets, and rest times simplified

* why under-loading is a waste of time AND mindfulness is the key for safety + a key workout parameter that makes sense of the previous sentence

* see better results by understanding the key (and opposing) aims of progressive overload and training variability

* how often to work out each week

* what's the deal with muscle soreness?

Aaaand...anyone who checks in with me daily on Instagram during the challenge and uses the hashtag #SweetandSimpleStrength is eligible to win a FR*E annual membership to my virtual studio.

Want in? Now for the sweetest and simplest part...

Click the link in my bio to sign up! 👀
 Check your inbox Jan. 30th for the first email.

How ingrained is it that a class has to be a certa

How ingrained is it that a class has to be a certain length in order to be “enough?”

Have you considered the possibility that (that arbitrary class length handed down from the status quo) is not true?

And that accessibility (among many considerations) should account for how much time people have?

And that longer classes are often less accessible cuz parents are also full or part time teachers now, in addition to everything else?

As teachers, I think we can often say more by saying less (and help more by teaching less, too.) In doing so, we can make our classes shorter without detracting from students’ experience.

It’s something I work hard to embody. It’s hard! I often try to do too much.

But maybe if we keep the class shorter, tighten it up, and host shorter classes, we might notice more people can stay for the whole class so more people keep their cameras ON 👀 (because they don’t have to be rude and duck out early.)

And maybe more people take class and BENEFIT.

Accessibility can mean many things. One component is time. As a toddler mom, this is more true than it ever was before.

Try offering shorter classes. And interesting side note: you might have to prepare more in order to say less, sort of like, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” - Unknown

What’s the shortest live class you’ve ever taught? Did you find it easier or harder to teach a short class?

Kettlebell Gym Express — the perfect lunchtime p

Kettlebell Gym Express — the perfect lunchtime practice. 💜

Members attend live and all classes are recorded, edited, and uploaded Into the class library within 48 hours.

See you today 1-1:30p EST, members!

Wanna learn more about membership? Link in bio 👀

RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is a valuable wor

RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is a valuable workout parameter to know about and track (esp if strength is your goal & you have limited equipment.)

Typically, in a gym setting, where there are lots of free weights, you can choose the weight that fits the rep range you want to work within.

If you wanna do, say, 8 shoulder presses, you pick up a big enough dumbbell that will takes you to fatigue in 8 reps.

How far you stay from failure is your RPE. It’s based off a 10 rep set (but can be used for any rep range.)

If you finish the set with 4 reps left in the tank, that’s an RPE of 6, 3 reps left, that’s an RPE of 7, 2 reps, that’s an RPE of 8, 1 rep, that’s an RPE of 9, 0 reps, that’s an RPE of 10.

This exertion scoring method works for any rep range. So if you do 8 reps, and you had 3 left in the tank, that’s an RPE of 7.

An RPE of less than 6 is a light warm up and not stimulating enough for strength adaptations. Beginners should shoot for an RPE of 6 or 7 on the first set and RPE should increase in subsequent sets where you do the same number of reps as previous sets.

The number of reps depends on the weight, but **if you have limited weights, the number of reps should rely more on RPE**

Go until the reps are *stimulating* staying an appropriate distance from failure (beginners 6 or 7 RPE for first set.)

Here is a snippet from our first Sweet & Simple Strength workout. Push-ups are an exercise we’ll be progressing for the next 8 weeks along with upper body pull, lower body knee dominant and lower body hip dominant exercises. There’s a core circuit too.

What’s different (from random workouts) is that this is an 8-week program designed to progressively overload exercises (a key principle in strength).

Members of the virtual studio also have access to a Crash Course - demystifying the lingo, workout tracking, and understanding key principles in strength like specificity.

I even share the workout link in the Strong app (so all you have to do is put in your numbers.)

If you wanna join, click the link in my bio to read about membership. Today is our second Sweet & Simple Strength session (whole body workout B). See you there, members!

Ya know what feels good after lifting weights? Yo

Ya know what feels good after lifting weights?

Yoga Flow

I used to do Yoga Flow (and nothing else) to feel good. And it worked for a couple of years — the first 3 years (AKA the honeymoon phase.)

But then it started to feel...not all good.

I had a pinching feeling at the front of my shoulder and hip and an achey feeling around my SI joints. My neck sounded like Rice Crispies.

Then I started lifting weights.

Now, I lift weights **so that I can do Yoga Flow** to feel good.

Of course the weight lifting also helps me feel good (in a strong AF female kinda way.)

But the many practices of yoga are what balance my personality best. I wouldn’t be okay without yoga. Know what I mean?

And so, in this way I consider lifting weights a part of my self-care practice, because it allows me to do the things that I really love. Like Yoga Flow.

Not your typical flow, of course. #chaturangaminimalist 😉

For the next 8 weeks I’m teaching a live 30-minute Yoga Flow every Tuesday from 1-1:30p EST. Each class progresses toward a peak. It’s short, sweet, and smart.

Come! Link in bio to read about becoming a member of my Virtual Studio. 👀

100+ Yoga Flow, Yoga with Bands, Kettlebell Gym, Self-Massage Sessions, as well as an 8-week strength program, Sweet & Simple Strength and so much more. 🤓 🧠 🤸‍♀️

This one goes out to all the technologically unpra

This one goes out to all the technologically unpracticed. The transition to tech for teachers was huge.

But it wasn’t small for some students, either.

I was talking to a regular student yesterday after class and we were discussing how this transition to teaching/learning movement online involved having to learn a lot of other things IN ORDER to be able to continue teaching and learning movement — how to use Zoom among other things.

These were like bonus-lessons we didn’t ask for (and some of us avoided on purpose).
.
We both noted how there was often frustration (and even grief) involved in having to learn these bonus lessons (and having no choice in the matter because in-person learning was no longer viable for the foreseeable future.)
.
But there we were connecting for 10 or 15 minutes in an intimate exchange after class that would never have been possible without the bonus learning we had both undergone to even know each other at all.
.
Cool huh?
.
So when we’re trying to “see” students on Zoom, don’t forget to look beyond movement. See the collective learning we’re all undergoing together.
.
That’s seeing too. And it’s potentially a pretty joyful thing to look for.

Fitness doesn’t have to hurt. It’s not self-pu

Fitness doesn’t have to hurt. It’s not self-punishment, despite allll the messaging around fitness that says that it is.

Learn to meet yourself where you are each day, continuously improve your skill while working out, AND have fun!

Also, no Kettlebell? No problem. Swing your daughter. (Watch the video 😉)
#swingyourdaughter

Pssssst! I’m running a huge sale on membership to my virtual studio soon. If you don’t wanna miss it, get on my mailing list. Link in bio 👀

A progression is a roadmap for building strength a

A progression is a roadmap for building strength and embodied know how for a particular skill, like forearm stand.

In a progression, the process is the goal. And the process can take weeks and months, not one class. The road can be long.

The adaptions of strength and mobility require patience which, for me, feels joyful when I embrace the trip! When I enjoy the process of becoming more familiar and competent within certain movements and loads and I let go of results.

Yoga!

Here are snippets of yesterday’s 30 minute Yoga Flow sequence that builds toward forearm stand. The emphasis was on shoulder mechanics and tricep conditioning.

Sufficient tricep strength is important for being able to ground the hands down and keep from crashing.

Meanwhile, the triceps, elbow and shoulder extensors, are at a mechanical disadvantage in their ability to generate active tension in dolphin and forearm stand because they are stretched (the shoulders and elbows are flexed.)

When muscles are stretched, they can’t form as many cross bridges between their proteins - like a long boat with lots of rowers but few paddles in the water.

By lifting my elbows up a tiny bit, I take a small amount of elbow flexion out of the pose, I bring a little more weight into my legs and, upside down, I make it less likely to 🍌 Throughout, gravity can assist a bit in pressing my palms down.

All of this allows for better leverage (and more open shoulders) in forearm stand. It makes it easier to hold the pose and maybe, just maybe, go upside down.

The belt provides a helpful constraint by limiting shoulder internal rotation — good for forearm stand to keep the elbows under our center of mass (so that we can vertically rebound.)

The sliding blanket adds an element of core engagement and FUN. (The sliding ditty you see here replaced “the Vinyasa” in the sun-salutes).

SWIPE L for tricep 🔥 and forearm stand fun.

Are you on my mailing list? Link in bio 👀

Join me NEXT TUESDAY, 4pm EST for a FREE resistanc

Join me NEXT TUESDAY, 4pm EST for a FREE resistance bands webinar with Yoga Journal — New Year, New Movement!

Register via the top link in my bio 👀

Get ready for a fresh resistance band practice to start 2021 to challenge your legs and glutes with new moves. If you feel stuck inside or unable to connect with your usual outdoor activity, this practice will get you moving.

Bring a mini-band and one stirrup band (two small loops tied into each end, as pictured here—DM me if you need more info on bands!)

If you can’t attend live, YES, there’s a replay! You can watch whenever and as often as you like. 🙌

Thank you, Stacey Abrams!!!

Thank you, Stacey Abrams!!!

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