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THIS MONTH WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING ONE OF OUR BADASS CLIENTS. HER ENERGY, PRESENCE, AND DEDICATION CONTRIBUTE TO OUR FIERCE45® COMMUNITY AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO HAVE HER PART OF OUR FIERCE FAMILY.

MEET FABI KAHN!

1. How long have you been coming to Fierce45?

   Three years. I still remember my first class!

2. Favorite move on the machine?

   Actual favorite is inner thighs. I never knew I could work my inner thighs like that. Favorite because I hate it but it really works is twisted kneeling crunch off the back.

3. How has Fierce made a positive impact on your life?

   Fierce has taught me to embrace the resistance. Shaking and showing your struggle is actually a sign of strength building and change happening. I now try to bring that mindset to other aspects of my life. I actually did Fierce the day I went into labor! Thanks to Joy for that last class that kicked off contractions 😂.

4. Why do you choose Fierce over another workout?

   So many reasons! The workout never gets stale, nor does it ever get easier…it really is hard every time. I love the way coaches have us write our names when we arrive and refer to us by name. I’ve been a studio junkie for many years and it was the first time in my life someone had given me kudos or modifications by name. It’s a small thing, but it has a big impact. I also love that the coaches clearly love this workout as much as the people in class do – they take class with you, they have fun making playlists, they take care to make sure people are doing moves properly, they throw in little tidbits about themselves.

5. Tell us a fun fact about you!

   I’m fluent in Italian!

By: Arnica Lande

After a long year spent mostly indoors and away from the activities we love, people are now out and about with a new vengeance for life. Patios are bustling as Colorado lifts capacity and mask restrictions, parks are full of children laughing and adults playing drink-friendly kickball, classes are waitlisted at Fierce45, and an overall intense yet happy energy is circulating. With summer and sunshine on the horizon, many are looking to feel their best selves, so it’s a perfect time to take workouts to the next level! 

Whether it be hiking, biking, running, swimming, rock climbing, or any other activity that gives you your Rocky Mountain High, Fierce is the perfect complimentary workout. The method works by building stability and endurance strength through slow twitch muscle burnout, which then creates healthy, strong joints and overall stability around the bones to ensure functional movement. Simply said? Fierce makes strong, healthy bodies that can safely and efficiently do the badass activities Colorado has to offer! And if you feel ready for the challenge, or like you’ve hit a plateau after crushing your workouts all year long (because let’s face it – for many, that was the most outside of our homes activity we could do), it’s time to push yourself a little more on the machine and realize your capacity for change and continued growth.  

It’s easy to become complacent with a workout – maybe a plateau where you don’t feel a lot of change happening in your body, things level out and you’re itching for something new. At the end of the day, it’s on us to create our own change, to know what we’re capable of and experience the beauty of what self-motivation can do firsthand! Maybe you add another day of Fierce class to your schedule to supplement your outdoor lifestyle, or maybe you start scheduling your weekly hikes to experience the benefits of your Fierce workouts this past year. Whatever it is, know that each time you show up on the machine, there are some easy and amazing ways to up level your workout and ensure you live your best life outside of the Fierce45 walls! 

• Increase your range of motion. By doing so, your muscles work even harder to stabilize and support your alignment. Just remember – if your form is compromised (ex. You lunge too low to a 90-degree angle at the knee or dip in the low back during a plank) or you experience painful discomfort; reset alignment, connect to your muscles through engagement, and begin to layer in movement.  

• Change your placement on the machine. The tiniest shift of placement can make all the difference! When working in a kneeling upper body move on the carriage with the black cables, moving away from the black cable connection point will increase tension. In a Platform Lunge, placing the secondary toe closer to seam line 2 will limit the range of motion from the bottom (so rising a little less) to increase tension and up level the movement.  

• Change your spring load. Easiest rule of thumb to follow: When working off the front of the machine, decreasing spring load will increase the tension for center core, obliques, and light load legs (ex. 0 springs instead of 1 white). Increasing the spring load while working off the back in these same blocks will make the movements more challenging (ex. 2 white springs instead of 1 white).  

There are tons of other ways to amplify the exercises on the machine, so be sure to listen to your coach throughout class and don’t be afraid to chat with them before or after and ask the best ways to make something more challenging! The FierceFormer is a magical machine, and truly will give you your best and most challenging yet efficient workout each time you show up, allowing you to level up the rest of your life outside of the studio.  

By: Reagan Rupard

In addition to back pain, hip flexor discomfort is a common complaint for coaches and clients on the FierceFormer®. The hip flexors are a group of muscles that span the front of the hip and are responsible for bending the hip as you do when you pull your knee in towards your chest. This motion is also happening in a lot of core moves like plank to table top where you move from an extended hip joint in plank to a flexed position in table top, fierce crunch, kneeling crunch, and flying table top, as well as many others.

The problem begins when our brain chooses to use our hip flexors to do the work instead of our abdominal core muscles. The hip flexors are part of our stabilizing “core” that often turn on to do more than their fair share of the work when the body feels overwhelmed by a difficult exercise. Over time, the brain automatically turns on hip flexors in core moves as a sort of muscle memory, and over time our core exercises are primarily hip flexor exercises! If you’re someone who cannot seem to turn off hip flexors during the core blocks, this might be the problem you’re dealing with. Not only are our abdominal core muscles missing out on strengthening opportunities in these exercises when the hip flexors take over to do the work, but this puts our hip flexors at risk for overuse and stress that can cause discomfort during class. 

To undo the muscle memory, we’ve programmed our bodies to use, I’ll ask that you give yourself patience, because this will require modifying quite a bit! You’ve got to find the level of challenge in each move that ignites your core, but is not so difficult that your body turns on your hip flexors to help. We can also utilize slight position changes that will tend to turn on our core more than our hip flexors. I’ve outlined three rules you can apply to your workout to, over time, relieve hip flexor overuse in core exercises. Use the photo below for anatomical references to help you build the mind-body awareness that will guide your modifications in class. Though it only shows a superficial layer of the core and doesn’t include the obliques and transversus abdominis (our real focus in Fierce45), the anatomical landmarks apply to those important muscles, too. I’ll be focusing on the most common triggering move: Fierce Crunch.

1. Find your posterior pelvic tilt: belly-up core moves like Fierce Crunch or Bicycle Crunch are typically the most triggering for hip flexor discomfort. Make sure you’re sitting in a posterior pelvic tilt with your tailbone tucked slightly underneath you and your weight back on your sacrum (the flat upside-down triangle in your low back) instead of your sit bones (ischial tuberosities – the bony part of the bottom of your butt). This posture in itself facilitates core activation and decreases hip flexor activation. Not sure what this looks like? Ask your coach next time you take class!

2. Start the crunch with your core: Reference the anatomy photo above. The top of your abdominal core starts at the ribcage and runs down to your pubic bone – the front center of the bottom of your pelvis. Rather than starting a crunch up by pulling your knees in, think about pulling these two parts – ribcage and pubic bone – closer together. You should already be in a posterior pelvic tilt as mentioned in the last point, so from there focus on rounding your torso as much as possible from tailbone all the way up the spine. The result is a slight tailbone tuck at the beginning of full range that ignites your core and inhibits your hip flexors. Also…. SO HARD.

3. Decrease intensity! Our priority in any exercise at Fierce45 should not be getting the biggest range of motion, but rather tapping into that range that challenges the target muscle group. Having the lowest Fierce Crunch or moving through really large ranges in something like plank to tabletop will typically rely on hip flexors to make up the work that the core can’t. So – think small. In a Fierce Crunch, find your Fierce Wrap before you even lean back into the range. As mentioned above, make sure you’re in a posterior pelvic tilt, then lean your torso back until the first moment you feel your core ignite. As you move through full range, go lower as long as you’re able to maintain the Fierce Wrap (no doming!) and stop if you feel any hip flexor discomfort. You can also eliminate the movement of your legs in Fierce Crunch to stay focused on what your core is doing. For many moments of your next several classes, finding the balance between targeting core and not over engaging hip flexors may mean that you just hold! And that is OKAY! You are retraining your body to utilize your abdominal core muscles in a way that will make you stronger on and off the machine and will eventually allow you to take class without hip flexor discomfort. As you build core strength and mind-body awareness of which muscles are working, you can slowly increase this range of motion and, over time, move through a full range using your abdominal core. Though this may seem like a less intense version of this exercise, using only your abdominal muscles makes these exercises SO HARD! I promise you will not be without a challenge.

As always, if you’re experiencing pain or discomfort in Fierce that cannot be managed with modifications or your pain lasts for a significant amount of time after getting off the machine, go visit a physical therapist or your doctor to tackle injuries and get you back on the machine feeling 100%.

Instagram Handle: joy_koziol

Spotify Name: joykoziol

Teaching Schedule: Mondays – Noon at Cherry Hills, Tuesdays – 8 am and 9 am at WWP and 11 am and Noon at RiNo, Wednesdays – 8:30 and 9:30 am at RiNo, and Fridays – 7am, 8 am and 9 am at LoHi

1. How long have you been teaching at Fierce45?

   I’ve been coaching since 2018 and a dedicated client since the day we opened Lohi in 2015. Pretty sure I’ve taken the most Fierce classes of anyone – I’m over 1200!

2. Three words to describe your classes.

   I try to make every class fun, creative and challenging.

3. Favorite move on the machine?

   So many favorite moves! At the moment it’s Heavy Platform Lunge and Well Corkscrew.

4. What is your favorite thing about the Fierce45 community?

   I love how easy it is to connect with people at Fierce. The last 1+ year of Covid has been challenging for everyone, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to meet and get to know so many new people through Fierce. I basically treat each class I teach and take like a little get together with friends (and yes, I 100% pretend you all take my class just to see me:).

5. Why do you love teaching at Fierce45?

   As a person who thrives on constant change, I love being a Fierce coach because it gives me the opportunity to help people grow every day and learn that there is truly no plateau on the machine. My intention for every class I teach is to have you walk out the door feeling better than when you walked in!

6. Tell us a fun fact about you!

   I have a lot of specific and strange pet peeves. Eating with spoons, children who I deem too big for their stroller, the list is long and weird 😂

7. Besides Fierce45, what are 3 of your favorite things?

   I love spending time with my husband and 2 English Bulldogs, cooking and supporting Denver restaurants, hanging out with friends. I would normally say travel but unfortunately have not left the state of Colorado in over a year – I miss the ocean!!

This month we are highlighting one of our Badass clients. Her energy, presence, and dedication contribute to our Fierce45® community and we are so thankful to have her part of our Fierce Family.

Meet Frannie Plavnick!

1. How long have you coming to Fierce45?

   I think I’ve been coming for around 3 years. I have 220 classes under my belt which shocks me. I remember the first day I came in and couldn’t do anything. But continued on as it made me feel amazing. Moving muscles I forgot I had.

2. Favorite move on the machine?

   My favorite moves are the leg exercises but as I’ve gotten stronger I can now plank! That took time.

3. How has Fierce made a positive impact on your life?

   Fierce is an ageless program fit for everyone. The staff is amazing and extremely energizing and helpful! After each class, I say the same thing! “I LOVE THIS WORKOUT AND I’M SO PROUD OF MYSELF AS IT’S HARD AS SHIT EACH TIME! Fierce feeds me and has made me the kick-ass woman I am today.

4. Why do you choose Fierce over another workout?

   Everyone at Fierce is amazing and has assisted me in becoming the new person I’m today.

By: Arnica Lande

The perfect balance of family, work, personal care, and social life can seem an impossible achievement. A glorified lifestyle, “balance” is deceivingly experienced when life feels like it’s on the up, but that feeling is usually never experienced for long. The downs then come which can jettison us out of the high and into a spiral of confusion, wondering when we will find the balance again. Instead of searching for balance in life, a better way is to learn to flow with it! Finding fluidity during turbulent times is nothing short of a challenge, but it’s through such challenges when we find our Fiercest selves and come out the other side stronger. Here are some tips for finding fluidity in your daily life:  

1. Perspective. Remember that no matter how low you go, the opposing high will feel incredible when you get there! It’s like a mountain – once you get to the top, it was worth the journey from the bottom. The higher the mountain, the more rewarding the view.  

1. Surrender. You know those times you can’t fall asleep, and the more you try the harder it is to sleep? It’s not until you surrender to the thoughts and relax into the racing mind that you find it. Surrendering to the challenge is the only way out, and that serves for anything in life. To truly grow, you must experience the hard times. We can’t skirt growth by going around the problem: we must go through it.  

1. Everything is temporary. This goes for the highs, too. Ultimately, staying humble is one of the best ways to find fluidity in life. Appreciating and embracing the highs when they come but understanding that you wouldn’t experience them without the lows is key to feeling a sense of peace.  

1. Routine. Having a daily routine is like having a framework for your day. It doesn’t have to be the same hour by hour, but something as simple as a morning practice that involves journaling and a workout, or an evening routine with a book and tea, will provide structure to help you feel balanced and achieve a sense of fluidity.  

1. Fierce45®. We say it all the time, but Fierce is an amazing mental challenge as well as a physical one! The mental stamina required for the workout is like no other modality and practicing positive self-talk in hard movements helps us better handle stressful times off the machine. Also, understanding that our bodies may require different things each day on the machine allows us to tap into a sense of fluidity and understanding of our bodies and minds. 

Whether you’re on a high from a weekend of sunshine, only to feel shocked by the snowfall the next day (otherwise known as “False Spring and Third Winter”), or you’ve settled into that new job and it doesn’t feel so shiny and glorious anymore, ultimately you are in control of your life and there are amazing ways to build fluidity into your days. So, the next time you’re faced with a challenge, create a new daily ritual, jump on the FierceFormer®, and remind yourself that this too shall pass.   

By: Reagan Rupard

When chatting with and other coaches in the studio, low back pain comes up as one of the two most common complaints that you might be looking to address. You may be new to Fierce and find that lower body and core exercises feel like they’re working your back more than anything else, or maybe you have taken hundreds of classes and find that twisted oblique exercises cause more back pain than core. We’re going to look at the common causes of back pain in class and what to do to fix them or modify around them.

To frame this discussion, think about neutral alignment. In a very broad sense, low back pain is likely to occur when we move out of neutral alignment – whether that’s 1) back arching with core disengagement or 2) back twisting or 3) asymmetrical hip alignment.

Neutral alignment in squats and planks:

Problem 1: back arching with core disengagement
When getting comfortable on the machine at Fierce45®, I often see clients overusing their back when they should be relying on the abdominal muscles in their core. This is a really common compensation pattern our body uses to just get the work done when we haven’t yet built up the comfort level in moves or the core strength to do moves correctly. This most commonly occurs in lower body moves (light and heavy) and belly-down core moves. This excessive engagement of the low back muscles can cause muscular fatigue in the back extensors or sharper pain from the exertional stress to that area.

The Fix: First, use the mirrors in the room. If you notice that your alignment looks like the pictures below, you have found the cause of your low back pain. Talk to your coach about how to find your Fierce Wrap – our name for the deep abdominal engagement of each layer of your core that, over time as you gain strength there, will cue your body to relax the low back and rely on your abdominal stabilizers to do the hard work. This is not just a short-term solution to low back pain but a lifelong skill your body will thank you for! Lastly, be comfortable making modifications. If doing the full range of motion in a saw ends up killing your low back at the end of a minute, your body is asking you to do less. Find a smaller range of motion that allows you to focus on the target muscle group, without ratcheting up the intensity so much that your low back feels like it has to take over.

Core Disengagement and Low Back overuse – modify to avoid this alignment!

Problem 2: spinal rotation

We said above that low back pain often occurs when we move out of neutral alignment, but Problem 2 and Problem 3 address moments where this loss of neutral alignment is in the nature of the move itself! In many oblique exercises, we are twisting our spine and creating uneven tension between the left and right sides of our body, thereby bringing uneven tension to the left and right sides of our back.

The Fix: A modification in rotated moves may be the best solution to allow you to focus on your core without pain. Opt for side planks or substitute center core moves to remove the tension related to rotation. Be sure to do the same thing for both oblique blocks in class. Hot tip: when you do center core moves, you’re working both obliques, and can focus more on deep transverse abdominis engagement with your fierce wrap to build up the additional strength and stabilization to get back to those rotated moves.

Rotation in twisted saw, option to modify into saw:

Problem 3: asymmetrical hip alignment
In moves like a heavy carriage press, heavy carriage kick back, floor lateral lunge, and front lunge, your hips are forced into an uneven alignment that can bring about the same issues with asymmetrical loading that we might see in rotated core moves.

The Fix: Consider opting for substituting moves that put your feet on the same level and allow you to work from a more neutral position. Instead of heavy carriage press, try skater. Substitute sprinters lunge for heavy carriage kickback. Do a regular lateral lunge instead of a floor lateral lunge. Instead of front lunge (can be a killer for my back!) substitute platform lunge. Again, it’s about modifying so that you feel the work where you’re supposed to feel it, and your body is not feeling so overwhelmed that other muscle groups are strained in an attempt to help.

Asymmetrical (but correct) alignment in heavy carriage press, optional modification to skaters:

An important note: if you have low back pain that spikes during class and lasts over 24 hours, bothers you over night or lingers as a sharp pain, consider consulting a physical therapist. The advice provided in this blog post is meant to provide support for acute discomfort during a workout, but is not a resolution for a back injury or chronic discomfort!

By: Arnica Lande

Springtime represents a time of rebirth and growth. This year though, more than ever, there’s a collective awareness of new beginnings as more and more people around the country become vaccinated against COVID-19. Warmer days give us a renewed sense of perseverance, and the looming end of this Corona chapter marks the beginning of a new one for many! With hope for some sense of normalcy and a return to old ways pre-Pandemic on the horizon, we can find solace in rooting ourselves in what we know and what we’ve learned, in order to embrace the countless possibilities of our new and near future.  

While the idea of new beginnings can be scary (the unknown does that, flashback to March of 2020), there are already roots from our past that offer a launching point to stabilize while moving forward in life. Whether it be a new job, getting the vaccine, a personal lifestyle change, or simply the feeling you get at the start of a new season, the beauty is that we all have the foundation laid for whatever choices come next. Much like we set up alignment first prior to moving at Fierce45 to ensure a safe and efficient workout, our past and what we’ve learned serve as a grounding and comforting space so we can safely move into a new phase of life.  

Many have learned the hard way that external factors can force unwilling change, and for long-term personal growth that can be a result of change, it starts with the mindset. Believing in yourself and knowing that you can face challenges, experience struggle, and come out stronger on the other end is a big part of embracing new beginnings. The good news? You’re already practicing this on the FierceFormer®! Each class is an opportunity to redefine your edge, push your mental stamina, and leave the space stronger than when you entered. This practice will ultimately help you tackle any hiccups you may encounter along your new path.  

As we enter a new season of not only the year but life as we’ve known it, move forward confidently knowing you already have the foundation for an incredible future. Embrace new beginnings and understand that new opportunities present limitless possibilities. And know that one thing’s always for sure: the FierceFormer is there for you whenever you need a subtle reminder of how strong you are!  

By: Reagan Rupard

In my last blog, I wrote about how strengthening our slow-twitch muscle fibers not only builds long and lean muscle that looks great in your yoga pants while you work from your home office, but also strengthens the deep stabilizing muscles of our body that are then better equipped to stay strong in moments where our stability is compromised and we might otherwise injure ourselves. This especially applies to athletes who find themselves with chronic overuse injuries; strengthening our stabilizing muscles can help to improve or eliminate compensation patterns that are causing that injury. But that’s not the only way that you’re getting stronger on the FierceFormer® that will make you stronger in everything else that you do, whether that’s skiing, running, cycling, carrying children or going to work in a physically-demanding job.

I was lucky to have the experience of attending PT school while I was coaching at Fierce45®. As I learned the core tenants of injury rehabilitation and recovery, I was floored by how much of that we were already doing at Fierce. It makes me so proud to coach here, knowing that we are doing the things on the machine that are going to prevent you from having to learn it from scratch later in life after an injury.

We’ve extensively covered how slow, controlled movement strengthens your slow twitch muscle fibers for more deep stability and strength, but the other piece of that message is the importance of the control itself. Remember your first class, where all of the movements felt so foreign and out of control to you? Think of how far you’ve come, and acknowledge that you’ve strengthened the connection between your mind and your body to be able to produce refined movements that are constantly challenging your strength and your balance. You’ve learned (and we are always ever-learning on the machine) exactly what a right oblique contraction feels like, or how deep to go in a lunge to maximize the work of your hamstrings, or how to make slight adjustments in your plank to ensure the work is happening in your core rather than your shoulders. This is also happening subconsciously off the machine – you’re better at making hard turns on skis, or hiking downhill, or controlling your balance when you’re walking on ice.

The other cornerstone of Fierce45® that makes a huge difference in injury prevention is that we work sides of the body individually. Limb dominance is a risk factor for injury in sport, especially after a previous injury to one limb. When you work on one leg, arm, or side of the core at a time, you are forcing one side of your body to strengthen without help from the over dominant side. Creating improvement in an individual limb’s ability to balance, stabilize and move against resistance means that you’re working to prevent that moment when planting on your “weak” ankle causes a sprain or overuse of your “strong” leg causes an overuse strain.

Take it from me: the body awareness you gain to be able to square off your hips strengthens the muscles that prevent knee injury. Using your core to maintain a neutral spine in everything from a sprinter’s lunge to an overhead shoulder press is laying the foundation to prevent back injury and pain. Letting your ankle wobble a little bit in a carriage lunge but keeping your balance is strengthening the muscles that prevent ankle sprains. The mental toughness that you build in every burning and shaking minute to stay in it with good form is making you stronger for everything else the world may throw at you off the machine.

Instagram handle: @monimonster4

Spotify name: Monica Lucas

Teaching schedule:

WWP: Tues. 5:30/6:30 AM & Thurs 5:30/6:30 PM

RINO: Sat 8/9/10 AM every other

LOHI: Sun 7:30/8:30/9:30 AM every other

1. How long have you been teaching at Fierce45? FOREVER … Kidding 5.5 years!

2. Three words to describe your classes? Intense, Inspiring, and Invigorating

3. Who/what is your spirit animal? MISSY ELLIOT – ALWAYS AND FOREVER

4. Favorite workout/class music? I am so music-driven when I work out. Any kind of music that SLAPS (kids say that nowadays). Love me some R&B, Hip Hop and a great oldie remix

5. Favorite move on the machine? Man… I have so many favorites and a favorite for each body part/block but overall I will go with a newer one… WELL LUNGE/WELL LATERAL LUNG! Instant burner🔥

6. What is your favorite thing about the Fierce45 community? I love connecting with people on and off the machine. The Fierce45 community has so much to offer and is truly resilient – getting through 2020 proves it!

7. Why do you love teaching at Fierce45? I love being a part of people’s day, spending their 45 minutes of uninterrupted THEM time with them. I strive to make people laugh, dance, and sweat in each and every class!

8. Why do you love Fierce Movement as a method? H U M B L E… This machine is harder today than it was when I took my 1st class 6 years ago. EVERYONE can relate to being new, coming back from injury, modifications and so much more. Whether you are at your first 10 classes or 800… the story remains the same and consistent. I am a stronger person inside and out from this method and that is a gratitude I will never forget!

9. Tell us a fun fact about you! Pshhh – in the words of my mother ” I am an over-sharer” so most things, secrets, or embarrassing stories are usually told in class 😂 FUN FACT: I will be marrying the BEST human out there on NYE (thanks a lot COVID for making me wait another year 😄)