Mary Duke Smith Personal Trainer

DC area friends - I'm back with another TRX class coming up in a couple of weeks at MAD Fitness in Takoma Park. It's a "pop up" rather than a series so no commitment required except of course for getting the most out of this class! If you want to sign up, go to www.madfitness.us find the date and book your spot!

So happy to see this in the news. I've been following for quite some time and thinking about the connections with other mind-body approaches. There is such an interesting intersection at this time between the field of mental health and the fitness world. A blend that I was fascinated with while I was still a social worker. Hopefully this will make the experience of exercising and even going to the gym better and feel more relevant for everyone. We have a lot to do to improve the atmosphere of many exercise spaces but I feel this is a huge step in the right direction.

Treating trauma with weights About 12 million Americans are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, with the symptoms of PTSD contributing to long-term health issues. But many are finding relief through a common form of exercise, lifting a burden through weightlifting. Correspondent Barry Petersen

Just finished reading this article. Not an easy read, but I think it's an important one for many reasons. "New research shows that our assumptions about eating disorders are often wrong — and that many larger-bodied people are starving themselves."

‘You Don’t Look Anorexic’ New research shows that our assumptions about eating disorders are often wrong — and that many larger-bodied people are starving themselves.

So happy to see this article on the therapeutic value of strength training. I think it will be very interesting to see what continued research shows about the mechanisms through which lifting heavy things affects our entire physiology.

The Healing Power of Strength Training Everyone knows that weight lifting increases physical strength. But, for some, it can give psychological power, too.

Shoutout to Dr. Lucy McBride for her new podcast! We're already devoted listeners! Solid interviews with interesting people about life and how to care for ourselves and others during challenging times. I have already learned so much.

Beyond the Prescription — Lucy McBride, MD How do people at the top of their fields marry their physical and mental health to reach the height of success? Every week we bring guests into Dr. McBride’s office to break down how a comprehensive approach to their health has propelled them to greatness. We dig deep into the lives of our guests ...

Yet another shout out to the New York Times for a solid article on exercise to help treat and prevent back pain. “Exercise doesn’t cure everybody, but on average, it’s an effective intervention,” said Mark Hancock, a professor of physiotherapy at Macquarie University and one of the authors of the study. There is no single type of exercise that has been shown to be effective, he said. “If you are doing a variety of exercises, then you are likely getting all the things you need,” he said, adding, “It’s just like your diet.”

How Simple Exercises May Save Your Lower Back Back pain is common and complicated. But altering your workout to build control and stability can help prevent it.

Great food for thought about exercise for a lifetime...

Can ‘Body Neutrality’ Change the Way You Work Out? The key to staying active long term may be to care less about how you look and more about how you feel.

I just love this article. So much truth in here about the value of exercising mindfully!

Be Here Now: How to Exercise Mindfully Bringing meditation into your movement can enrich your workout and help you feel clearheaded afterward.

High case numbers for Montgomery County, MD at the moment. For me that means back to 100% online training and teaching for the time being. It's actually turned out to be something I love doing, so as much as I'd like to see people in person, this feels safer and is still a heck of a lot of fun and helpful/healthful for everyone.

Amid omicron surge, Montgomery Co. extends mask mandate — with new end date | WTOP News Montgomery County lawmakers in Maryland voted unanimously Tuesday to keep the county’s indoor mask mandate in place at least until the end of the month.

Great advice from a trusted resource SHIFT Movement Science and Gymnastics Education

If you are looking to REALLY maximize your recovery, go for the science based, 'big rocks' first.

This includes,

Sleep - Getting 8+ hours of high-quality sleep per night

Time - Having a good interval of time between training sessions to allow your body to recover, which includes proper programming to not bury yourself too many days in a row

Fuel - Eating enough high-quality food in a 'fuel for performance' mindest so your body has the building blocks of what it needs to recover

Stress/Schedule Management - Intentionally planning time for your brain and body to switch 'off' so that the parasympathetic nervous system can do its thing

After these basic things are in place, then you can look to all the other nifty new technology like dynamic compression, massage guns, massage, and so on.

And remember, this is coming from someone who does this as part of their job. So I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying make sure your priorities are int the right order.