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  • You’re prepping a presentation for work, the dog is whining for a walk, kids need homework help, and you booked a 6 a.m. Fierce class with your favorite coach. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get it all done, and more often than not, it’s your sleep that gets cut short.  

    You may typically power through your Fierce Movement® class or even your entire day on minimal sleep, but not consistently logging enough shut-eye can lead to some serious health concerns. Aside from not having the physical or mental stamina to make the most of your time at work, with your kids or at the gym, chronic sleep deprivation has also shown an increased risk of depression, obesity and seasonal illnesses like a cold or the flu.  

    On the flip side, getting enough sleep can help you feel alert and focused, elevate your mood, and of course, help you crush your next Fierce class. The most significant part of recovery after a long day or a hard workout is rest.  

    So, how much sleep do you actually need? 

    Much like hydration and calorie intake, the amount of sleep needed for everyone is different.  

    According to the National Sleep Foundation, following these steps is one of the easiest ways to figure out just how much sleep your body needs:

    1. Starting with the general sleep recommendation for your age group. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following sleep ranges:   

    • Younger adults (18-25): 7-9 hours

    • Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours

    • Older adults (65+): 7-8 hours

    2. Pay attention to how you feel on different amounts of sleep. How productive are you? Do you start to get brain fog around 3 p.m. or are you alert and focused all day? Assessing how you feel throughout the day, and even keeping a sleep diary can help you find your sleep number sweet spot.  

    3. Make better sleep a priority. Just like that early morning meeting or hitting an afternoon Fierce class, make getting good sleep a must-do on your to-do list. Creating a relaxing bedtime routine, sticking to a sleep schedule, and/or cutting back on caffeine are all ways to prioritize better sleep so that you can catch the ZZZs you need.     

    Fierce sleep = Fierce fitness 

    – Fierce Family Member, Courtney Brunkow

  • 🏆COACH OF THE MONTH: NAOMI GAENG🏆

    @ naygaeng
    Spotify name: naynaymichelle
    Teaching schedule: new schedule in the works! For now… Monday 7/8am WWP, Thursday 1pm Lohi starting July 11th, Sunday rotations at WWP 10:30/11:30am

    How long have you been teaching at Fierce45? 2.5 years
    Three words to describe your classes? Core, challenging, fun
    Who/what is your spirit animal? Kim K
    Favorite workout/class music? Remixes
    Favorite move on the machine? Forearm plank crunch
    What is your favorite thing about the Fierce4 community? No question, for me it’s the people.
    Why do you love teaching at Fierce45? I love to be a part of people working hard to achieve their personal goals. The people who show up day in and day out make Fierce the amazing place that it is, everyone comes to work hard and I’ve made great friends along the way.

    Why do you love Fierce Movement as a method? Even 3.5 years after doing the method myself I’m still challenged with every class I take.
    Tell us a fun fact about you! Fun but embarrassing… even though I’ve learned 3 languages besides English, I can’t speak any fluently 🙈

  • Food is fuel, and that fuel is vital to making the most out of the Fierce45® burn. But some options are better than others. Fierce Movement™️ is a calorie blaster, with a big focus on core, and we want you to feel strong and energized for the entire 45 minutes! The best way to power up before your next class is with a protein-packed snack to help your muscles fire and carbohydrates for sustained energy.

    So, what should you eat before you find that Fierce shake?

    Hard-boiled eggs: Eating a hard-boiled egg, or two, before your workout gives you just the right mix of protein and fat for enough pick-me-up to power through and stay focused during your workout.

    Cheese and crackers: Grab a little bit of cheese for some protein and pair with a handful of your favorite whole-grain crackers.

    Berries, bananas, apples: Fresh fruit is rich in carbs and will give you the energy you need to power through your workout. Indulge a bit and add some nut butter or a few mixed nuts for an extra boost of energy.

    Protein bars: Go for a whole-food variety instead, like a Luna Bar or an RXBar. (Be mindful of those sugar-packed options.)

    Yogurt: Regular or Greek yogurt are both excellent options. Regular yogurt is higher in carbs, while Greek yogurt is mostly protein. Again, bee mindful of those varieties high in sugar.

    Everybody is different, so pick what works best for you. Be sure to give yourself enough time before class to digest. Eating a snack 15-30 minutes before class will help ensure that you are feeling energized heading into your workout, instead of sluggish.

    Fuel up, embrace the shake, and let your Fierce side shine!

  • The average labor is nearly eight physically and mentally exhausting hours long. You wouldn’t try to run a marathon without any training or preparation. So, why wouldn’t you dedicate the same level of preparation and training to childbirth?

    There are many options for pre and postnatal fitness, but Fierce Movement® and the Fierce45® community offer a unique combination of physical and emotional support that can prove invaluable during what can be both the most beautiful, yet most challenging time of your life. Here are some of the top benefits of Fierce45® that we most commonly hear from our mamas and mamas-to-be.

    Community

    The Fierce community is special. You can feel the support of the community whether you’re pregnant or not, but you realize just how vital that support is after you’ve had a baby. Postpartum for many women can mean being in a mess of the overwhelming unknown and hormones that are all over the place. As a part of the Fierce Fam, you genuinely feel seen, supported, and strong as a mom or a mom-to-be.

    The Fierce Wrap

    Besides giving up tequila, the Fierce Wrap is the best thing you can do for your body before, during, and after giving birth. The Fierce Wrap, inspired by Bloom Method founder, Brooke Cates, is the intentional contraction of your transverse abdominis. Once you learn how to engage the Fierce Wrap effectively, you can make it part of your daily routine, anytime, anywhere. The Fierce Wrap not only helps you protect and strengthen your deep abdominal muscles during pregnancy, but it can also help you heal and re-strengthen your core following birth and bring a whole new level of core awareness to any other workouts or even just your day-to-day activities.

    Pregnancy and postpartum workshops

    Knowing how to safely and effectively move your body pre and postnatal can help you feel strong and supported, help ease some of the typical aches and pains of pregnancy, and help heal your postpartum body. That being said, there are some guidelines to follow to keep your Fierce45® workout as safe and effective as possible during and after pregnancy. In our pre and postnatal workshops, you will be armed with knowledge on how to effectively engage the Fierce Wrap and maintain the safest and best alignment on the machine during and after pregnancy. Check out our schedule for our upcoming workshops.

    Fierce Little Ones

    Three of our studios, LoHi, Littleton and North Boulder, offer childcare for little ones ranging from 3 months to 16 years. Located on-site, Fierce Little Ones offers mamas a safe, stimulating childcare option for their little ones. All childcare staff members are trained and vetted to give new moms peace of mind while they take 45 minutes for themselves.

    Every pregnancy is different, and while many women can take advantage of the benefits of Fierce Movement®, it is important to consult your doctor about whether or not it is safe to continue a workout into pregnancy.

    -Fierce Mama Courtney Brunkow

  • Have you ever heard a coach say the term “fast with” or “slow twitch” muscles fibers during class? Then immediately thought, huh? Well, you are not alone.

    Your body has two basic types of muscle fibers: slow twitch (Type 1) and fast twitch (Type 2). As the name implies, slow twitch muscle fibers are designed to do sustained work for an extended period of time – think long distance runner. Fast twitch fibers are for quick, explosive movements designed for short term movements – think of a sprinter. Each muscle in your body has both types, but in different proportions based on the primary function of that muscle. For example, the muscles of the neck and back that help to sustain your posture and keep you upright all day without getting tired are primarily slow twitch fibers.

    Muscles like your gastrocnemius (probably the muscle you picture when you think of defined calves) and your biceps are fast twitch. When fast twitch muscles get stronger, they get bigger! Think of our sprinter again. To perform quick, explosive work, fast twitch muscle fibers build more contractile proteins to provide a stronger and faster contraction. These muscles are mostly superficial, and focusing on fast twitch work is excellent if you’re trying to get big and buff.

    Slow twitch muscle fibers may get a little bit bigger, but they primarily strengthen by getting more efficient. Our body grows more blood supply to them, and they build more mitochondria (I know y’all remember the powerhouse of the cell from high school biology!) so that they have more of the supplies they need to do sustained work. These muscles tend to be our deeper postural muscles that surround our joints and provide all-day protection and stability.

    FierceMovement is designed to target slow twitch muscle fibers with slow, slow work focused on retaining tension against resistance in the muscle but never using momentum. That way, we force slow twitch muscles to fight for 45 minutes without ever turning the work over to our fast twitch muscles.

    Why is this such a big deal to use at Fierce45? GREAT QUESTION! The fact that these muscles get stronger and more resilient but not (a lot) bigger is how we’re able to build long, lean muscles that make a visible change in our body’s exterior. However, that’s hardly the most crucial part – strengthening slow twitch muscle fibers provides stability and delays fatigue in our body in a way that is truly functional in the real world. Fierce45 clients step off the machine and go out into the world as stronger and less injury prone skiers, runners, parents, professional football players, climbers, and dancers.

    -Reagan Ruppard (Fierce Coach)

  • ⚡HOW TO HAVE A FIERCE RECOVERY⚡

    Unfortunately, injuries happen, whether they’re minor or extreme, they’re kind of inevitable. That’s a small price to pay for enjoying an active lifestyle or possibly maybe it’s just the joy becoming an adult because just like your hangover’s injury takes three times longer to recover from then it did when you just got injured doing things you probably shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.

    So aiding that recovery is a real thing, you can’t just pop two Aleve and say your prayers and have it leave. The bottom line is that you’ve probably worked pretty hard for your health and the strength of your body, so it deserves to be met with the same grace when getting it back up to par. The beauty of using Fierce45 to get it back is not only will you get to where you were, but you’ll be laying the foundation for an even stronger and more fit body than you had before the injury. Overall your time on the FierceFormer™️ while recovering from a physical set back can assist in the following four areas:

    1) The workout itself is alignment focused, which aids in the overall stability of the joint.

    Why is joint stability crucial?

    Stability is not only a plus in your emotional life, but in your physical foundation as well. If you don’t know the job a joint does, that’s cool, not many people do, unless they’ve had an injury involving a joint. The role of a joint is primarily to connect parts of the body, allowing them to move effectively. Joint stability allows for a greater range of motion. The joint’s stability increases when the muscles become stronger, why do you think our workouts hurt so good? They’re increasing the strength of those muscles. Typically one has to pay extra attention to the level in which they are training. However, since Fierce45’s workout is so low impact, you’re in the green automatically. Increasing joint stability also decreases the chance of you injuring yourself in the future. Essentially,

    Stronger Joints= Stronger Muscles= Stronger Body

    =You Become the Terminator in your insides

    2) Getting on the strength train (get it? Train…)

    Essentially when you’re sitting in those lunges and then one of our coaches tells you to pulse, and you have the sudden urge to punch someone, that incredible feeling that you’re feeling throughout your entire leg, is essentially building muscular endurance. Muscular endurance will allow every other type of workout you do outside of Fierce45 more efficient, and also allow you to build muscle in your body more quickly. Muscular endurance ultimately is the ability for a muscle group to sustain repeated contractions against resistance for an extended period (those contractions that make you want to punch someone, hint hint). Considering our workout at Fierce45 has an infrastructure around resistance, there is no way you could walk out not building muscular endurance. It’s what we’re talking about with the time under tension factor. That elongated time that’s burning out those muscles is making them able to withstand so much more.

    3) We take it slow…

    Like most things in life, don’t rush it. Especially recovering from injuries. Many professional athletes are living proof of this, and they have personal chefs and trainers, and those infrared things they keep in their homes. Even with those fancy extras, they still got injured, so bottom line don’t rush it. Especially in movement. The faster you go, the less intention and quality you’re getting out of your movement. At Fierce45, we practice what we preach. All of our movements are slow; even when all you want to do is move fast, we don’t let you, not sorry. Because our coaches like to make sure that you’re aligned. Knee injury? You come in and are in a squat? If your knees are over your toes? Guess what you could have already just made it worse. We like to make sure as a company that you’re looking out for future you while you exercise. The bottom line is that the practice of Pilates is a slow one that takes a few more deep breaths than other things? However, isn’t that how the best things in life happen? Usually, the ones that make this life worth living.

    4) Long & Strong

    We’ve already touched on how working out at Fierce45 can give you the strength to your recovering injury, but the ultimate goal of Pilates is to lengthen your muscles. By doing this, you’re creating more room for growth and strength. When your muscles are tight, those joints that we touched on in the first point can’t function, and you’re much more likely to injure yourself when your body is all condensed and tight. You don’t want to hold on to all that tension, let it go. That’s what we do at Fierce45, help you extend and get on top of any injury that comes your way and get out of your head. We help you see that you are stronger than whatever injury is in your way because guess what? You are. With getting on these machines that look something like a torture device, you elongate your muscles while implementing balance.

    5) Strong to the core

    Any movement you do at any one of our studios has one requirement, hold that core steady. Your core is legitimately at the center of your body if you didn’t know that already. So guess what will make all of your muscles stronger and more efficient? Your core. I know crazy, huh? I mean a cream filled donut is nothing without that creamy center. The point we’re trying to make is that the middle counts. Especially when you’re recovering from an injury because adding strength to your core will only allow you to hold your body steady while you’re aiding that injury.

    These are only a few of the points that we wanted to touch on because there loads more. Sometimes people are frightened because they hear that our studio, is hard as sh*t, it doesn’t get easier blah blah blah. While there is truth to the challenge of the Fierce45 workout, it also lays a complete foundation for whatever other exercises you’re trying to get back to post injury. At the beginning of every class you take with us our coaches will ask, “Hey, what’s going on in your body, anything hurting?” Let them know! Because not only will they give you modifications that will not only alleviate your pain but will also assist you in feeling better quicker. We’re an incredible option to come when trying to get back to where you were and an even better place if you are trying to get even better.

  • Instagram Handle: melissa.dundas

    Spotify Name: melissdundas

    Teaching Schedule: WWP Tue 10:30 AM & Noon // WWP Wed 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 AM // LoHi Thurs 7, 8, 9 AM // LoHi Sat:  7:30, 8:30, 9:30 AM

    How long have you been teaching at Fierce45? 3 years, 2 months, 3 days 😉

    Three words to describe your classes?  Energized, challenging, intentional 

    Who/what is your spirit animal?  My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Monty

    Favorite workout/class music?  Fierce45 (full-body) / if you can dance and groove to it – I dig it!

    Favorite move on the machine?  Lateral straight-leg bungee

    What is your favorite thing about the Fierce4 community?  The connections & the friendships;  they are true, deep and dependable.   Our FierceFam is always there for each other.

    Why do you love teaching at Fierce45?  Because I have a total blast while providing an intense, highly effective, mind/body-altering fitness experience.  

    Why do you love Fierce Movement as a method?  Because there is always another level, always space to  grow, heal, change and be challenged.  And, it is sustainable.  

    Tell us a fun fact about you!  I dated my husband for 16 years (off-and-on) before walking down the aisle 13 years ago.  

  • 🏆COACH OF THE MONTH: ERIKA MORI🏆

    Spotify name: erimori4 

    Instagram handle: @erimori4

    Teaching schedule: WWP Sundays 8:30am & 9:30am//WWP Tuesdays 6pm&7pm

    How long have you been teaching at Fierce45? Since May 2017

    Three words to describe your classes? Challenging, alignment-focused, Dad-jokes

    Who/what is your spirit animal?  Tina Fey

    Favorite workout/class music? Dance remixes of songs from the 90s/00s and Kendrick Lamar

    Favorite move on the machine? Plank to table top

    What is your favorite thing about the Fierce4 community? How inclusive it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fitness professional or taking your first workout class ever, our Fierce community makes everyone feel welcome. 

    Why do you love teaching at Fierce45? The clients are so motivated! They push me to up my game with my routines and when I’m next to them on a machine in class. 

    Why do you love Fierce Movement as a method? The movements are sustainable and accessible for any age or injury – I know this is a method that can safely kick my ass well into my 90s. 

    Tell us a fun fact about you! I was recently cast as the lead in a video game!

  • 🏆COACH OF THE MONTH: REAGAN RUPARD🏆

    Meet Reagan. Texan at heart, dog lover for life, and small business owner! She’s a power house. and is sure to kick your ass on the machine! 

    Instagram handle: @rea.g

    Spotify name:  Reagan Rupard

    Teaching schedule: Friday 10:30/12 at Hilltop, Friday 4/5 at RiNo

    How long have you been teaching at Fierce45? About 7 months

    Three words to describe your classes?  Music-driven, intentional and….merciless

    Who/what is your spirit animal?  My sweet baby boy Roscoe. Plz reference 90% of my Instagram posts.

    Favorite workout/class music?  Give me something with a heavy beat! I play lots of rap/twerkout music in class because that’s what I like to work out to.

    Favorite move on the machine? Literally anything light load legs. Give me that shake!

    What is your favorite thing about the Fierce45 community?  Just that — the community! New clients feel it when they walk in the room. I love showing up to teach or take class and seeing so many familiar faces. Whether on the machine or on the mic, I feel encouraged by our clients, coaches, and staff!

    Why do you love teaching at Fierce45? As coaches, we get to put a lot of our personality into the music and sequences. I know that when students come to my class, they’re coming to get a little of what I strive to bring to the table for them.

    Why do you love Fierce Movement as a method?   I’m a full-time student, small business owner, and yoga instructor in addition to coaching at Fierce. During my busiest weeks, I can squeeze in one or two 45-minute Fierce exercises and still feel like I’m challenging my body and building strength. The difficulty comes from the effectiveness of what we do on the machine — and that is my greatest love.

    Tell us a fun fact about you! I’ve lived in Denver for three years, but am still very Texan. Maybe the most Texan thing about me is that I rode steers (bulls but wimpier) for fun in college at a local rodeo on weekends. It only took me three broken ribs (stepped on) and a concussion (kicked) to realize I do not have a future in the rodeo business. 

  • 🏃‍♂️ULTRA FIERCE🏃🏿

    We’re always impressed by our community and David Trow is no exception. While some of use Fierce Movement to train for life, Trow is integrating our low impact high intensity method into his ultra marathon training! 

    Trow runs about five days a week with a mix of short 45-60 minute runs to longer four-hour runs that sometimes focus on vertical gain. “I also mix in three to four workouts at Fierce45, an aggressive version of pilates in a studio, group class setting. It’s the perfect cross trainer for me, offering a full body workout with zero impact.” Source

    Not only is Trow running that distance, he’s doing good while racking up the miles.  “I discovered the opportunity of a solidarity bib, where a runner is allowed to make a charitable donation after meeting the other qualifications and bypass the lottery,” he explains. “After seeing that one of the choices was Soutien Orphelinat Pangala I was thrilled at the idea of being able to support this French orphanage and ensure my entry into the UTMB. I have a personal passion for organizations that work with children as I spent many summers as a counselor at Kanuga, a Christian-based boys and girls camp in North Carolina. Some of the best memories of my life were created there.” To donate to his charity, you can find more info here

    We’re so proud of this community and love sharing what the Fierce fam is doing. Let us know how Fierce Movement is helping you achieve your goals!