May Five Exercises

May 21, 2016July 3, 2025anne

Have y’all been doing your five? Each month I give my clients five new exercises and encourage them to do one minute of the moves every day. Here are photos of this month’s Five to jog your memory.

Click here for a full description. Click here for Fluid’s spring class schedule.

Baby Bear:

Seal:

Flight:

Plank:

Side Angle:

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood) Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She offers private training as well as weekly classes. Looking to get moving? Contact her today for your complimentary consultation. (503) 705-4762

April Five Exercises For Core Strength, Back Extension, and Standing Balance

April 2, 2016July 3, 2025Anne

The April Five

Here are photos of this month’s moves. Click here to see full descriptions of these exercises. Could you do one minute of each of these today?

1) Warrior II:

2) Leg Pull Back:

3) Swan Dive:

4) Double Leg Kick:

5) Rolling Like A Ball:

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood), Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She offers these photos to remind you of the work you have done with her in a private training session or class. Please see your medical professional prior to beginning a new exercise program.

March Five Exercises for Strength, Balance and Mobility

March 10, 2016July 3, 2025Anne

The March Five

Have y’all been doing your Five? Click here for full descriptions of these moves.

In need of personal guidance? Join us for an ongoing class, or call to schedule a one on one session with Anne (503) 705-4762.

1) Crescent Lunge:

2) Pilates Push Up:

3) Half Moon:

4) Boat:

5) Single Leg Kick:

These photos are meant to jog your memory about the exercises we have done together. Please see your medical professional prior to starting a new exercise program.

Sports Illustrated’s “Plus Sized” Cover Model

February 16, 2016July 1, 2025Anne

Did you see this week that Sports Illustrated has featured a “plus size” model on the cover of their 2016 swimsuit issue? There are actually three cover models, my girl Rhonda Rousey, model Hailey Clauson, and “plus sized” model Ashley Graham. While I applaud S.I. for including a variety of body types, when I saw Ashley’s photo I thought “plus size, really?”.

Depending on the brand/ designer miss Graham, wearing a size 16, likely has a 36 inch waist, and 42 inch bust. To give some perspective, the average American woman stands 5’4″, weights 140 pounds, wears a size 12-14, and measures a 35 inch waist and 40 inch bust. My concern is that we continue to set unrealistic beauty standards, and comparing ourselves to these photos can actually hurt us. Research has shown that looking at images like these of “perfect women” for even a few minutes is enough to have a negative impact on a teen girl’s body image.

Also please keep in mind when you view these highly photo shopped images what you see in the magazine or on your computer screen is not real. This person does not actually exist, at least not looking like that.

Personally I would kill to have Beyonce’s butt (and dance moves), or Lindsey Vonn’s thighs. I would rather be able to squat heavy weights, go for a 4 hour hike in the Gorge, or hold a plank for two minutes than fit into the same jeans I wore in my twenties.

Hooray for S.I. for inching the bar a tiny bit forward.

What are your thoughts on how the media affects your (and your daughter’s or granddaughter’s) body image? What have you done to improve your body image or notice or change your self talk?

Let me know in the comments below…

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood), Oregon based Personal Trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist. She offers one on one and small group training to ease pain, lower stress and increase mobility.

Share Your Love Story And You Could Win A Movement + Massage Session With Anne!

January 31, 2016July 1, 2025anne

This month Anne is looking for LOVE! Your love stories of course. Keep reading for details about how you could win a one on one session with Anne just by sharing the love…

February is American Heart Month, a campaign designed to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Here are four things to can do right now to take control of your health and improve the odds for you and your heart:

Commit to getting regular exercise. The American College Of Sports Medicine recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. This should include strength training, balance and flexibility work, and neuromotor exercises to improve coordination and agility (yoga and TaiChi are recommended)
Maintain a healthy diet. Load up of a wide variety of veggies and fruits in all the colors of the rainbow. Consume an adequate amount of protein throughout the day, limit sugars and processed foods. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store first. If it has a commercial it’s probably not something you should be putting in your mouth.
Have your blood pressure checked. According to the CDC, people with high blood pressure are 4 times more likely to die from a stroke and 3 times more likely to die from heart disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure. If your blood pressure is outside of the normal range discuss your options with your doctor. These may include smoking cessation programs, engaging in regular exercise, changes to your diet or medication.
Reduce stress. Oh man this one is a biggie. In fact it may be the most important thing on this list. We all experience positive and negative stress throughout our lives and some events or times in our lives are more stressful than others. You can’t avoid stress, but you can manage your reaction to it. How? Sit quietly for five minutes every morning and focus on your breath. Call a friend or loved one to chat. Go for a walk on your lunch break. Take up yoga, tai chi, swimming, or any meditative repetitive form of exercise that you find calming. Tell someone that you love them.

Which brings us to our February love stories. Showing compassion literally improves our physical health. Research shows that when we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down, we secrete the “bonding hormone” oxytocin, and the pleasure centers of our brain light up like pinball machines.

Every day I get hugs and kind words from you and it truly warms my heart. I know you have a love story (or stories) to share and I want to hear them! How did you meet your spouse, what sweet thing did your child say this week, do you have a pet that brings you joy, is there a physical place that fills you with love?

This month I ask you to share your love stories either on Fluid’s Facebook page or in the comments below.

Anne will pick one lucky winner of a Movement + Massage session. Get on it though – winner will be picked on or before February 29th.

Anne McCranie is a Portland (Sellwood) Oregon based personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. She offers small group and one on one training to provide stress relief, build muscular strength, improve joint function, and decrease chronic pain.