Juniper Strength & Recovery Studio

Juniper Strength & Recovery Studio Move Better, Feel Stronger, Live Fully
Physical Therapy, Personal Training, Small Group Strength & Vitality Care — for Better Results in Manitowoc

11/20/2025

Minute 28 hits different when Michelle’s running the show.

You’ve already crushed 27 minutes of strength work. Your legs are toast. You’re thinking “okay, cool down time, right?”

Not yet.

Side plank rotations (aka the core shredder that makes grown adults question their life choices).

Michelle’s not here to let you coast. She’s here to support your strength goals. Period.

Think you can hang? Link in bio 💪

Drop a 🔥 if your core is burning just watching this.
Tag someone who needs to move through this with you 😂

✨ Team Spotlight + Big News! ✨
Please help us celebrate Char Barwin, who has officially been promoted to Director of Mar...
11/19/2025

✨ Team Spotlight + Big News! ✨

Please help us celebrate Char Barwin, who has officially been promoted to Director of Marketing & Client Experience at Juniper 🤍

In just 90 days, Char has brought so much life, warmth, and vision into our studio. She has this rare ability to take everything we feel Juniper stands for — strength, care, community, and growth — and translate it beautifully through our marketing, messages, and client experience.

Our clients feel it.
Our team feels it.
The energy in the studio is different because of her.

In her new role, Char will continue helping us grow our brand, strengthen our community partnerships, and ensure every single person who walks through our doors feels welcomed, supported, and taken care of — the heart of Juniper. 💚

Char, thank you for the light, the creativity, and the calm confidence you bring into our space. We are so grateful for you, and we cannot wait to see all the ways you’ll continue helping Juniper thrive. 🌿

Please help us congratulate Char in the comments! ✨

Your body doesn’t need perfection — it needs consistency.On the good days and the hard ones, keep your promise to yourse...
11/19/2025

Your body doesn’t need perfection — it needs consistency.

On the good days and the hard ones, keep your promise to yourself.

That’s how results happen. That’s how resilience grows. 💪

Consistency doesn’t care how you feel — and that’s the beauty of it.

Show up tired. Show up busy. Show up unmotivated.
Because every time you do, you’re proving to yourself that you can.


11/18/2025

Let’s talk about foot-shaped shoes. 🤯

Most people don’t realize that traditional shoes narrow the toe box and force the toes to collapse inward — changing balance, increasing tension up the chain, and making every step harder than it needs to be.

In this reel:
➡️ Toe spacers show how your toes naturally want to spread for strength
➡️ Hair tie demo shows what cramped toe boxes force your toes to do
➡️ Foot-shaped shoes give your toes the space they need to create power, stability, and pain-free movement

✅ Spread-out toes = better balance, stronger push-off, less pain.
❌ Crammed toes = compensation all the way from your feet to your hips.

A small shift — like switching to foot-shaped shoes — can make a big change in how you feel every day. 👣

Your feet are your foundation. Start there.

11/17/2025

Your big toe is literally holding you back. 🦶And you don’t even know it.

Here’s the thing: that big toe? It’s supposed to be the anchor of your entire foot. It stabilizes your arch, controls your balance, and transfers force every time you move.

But years of shoes, sitting, and zero foot awareness have turned it off.

So now? Your body compensates. Your knees take the hit. Your hips work overtime. Your balance feels shaky.

Try this simple, but challenging exercise big toe exercise. All you need is a hair tie (modify with a Theraband or flat rubber band)
→ Loop it around your big toe
→ Create tension by pulling up
→ Press your big toe DOWN into the floor
→ Keep those little toes relaxed (this is key)

Hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 reps.

That’s it.

What you’ll build:
✅ Better balance
✅ Stronger walk, run, squat
✅ Less knee and hip pain over time
✅ More power in every step

It looks like nothing. But this tiny movement supports the foundation your whole body runs on.

Want more like this?
👉 Join our Foot Challenge — full exercise playlist https://bit.ly/47ON1dS
👉 Build stronger, more resilient feet in minutes a day

💬 Comment “FEET” if you’re in for the challenge

Liz Wergin, DPT | Juniper Strength & Recovery Studio

Today we celebrate Kari — who graduated from Physical Therapy with Liz and is stepping forward into Personal Training wi...
11/17/2025

Today we celebrate Kari — who graduated from Physical Therapy with Liz and is stepping forward into Personal Training with Michelle to keep building strength and resilience. 💪✨

When Kari first came to Juniper, she was dealing with daily pain in her neck, shoulders, and lower back — pain that worsened as the day went on and even disrupted her sleep. Through consistent care, focused movement, and beneficial lifestyle adjustments, she has significantly reduced her pain. Additionally, she has lost 10 pounds and regained confidence in her body’s ability to move and heal.

Kari’s story goes beyond just recovery; it’s about proactively choosing strength. She is continuing her training because she understands the importance of sustained effort in maintaining well-being. Her goal is to remain strong, active, and healthy for life.

Congratulations, Kari! Your progress is an inspiring reminder that while healing is powerful, maintaining strength is essential for long-term freedom and well-being.

11/14/2025

That knee pain? Hip tightness? Random lower back ache? Might all trace back to your big toe.

You need 65–75° of big toe extension just to walk normally.

When you don’t have it, your body compensates — and those compensations ripple up:
⛔️ Knee pain that physical therapy “didn’t fix”
⛔️ Hips that feel tight no matter how much you stretch
⛔️Lower back issues you can’t explain

Try the big toe stretch. Two 10-second holds per side.

This isn’t just a toe stretch — it’s restoring the foundation of your entire kinetic chain.

Try it. Then tell us what else shifted.

Because when you fix the foundation, everything above it has a chance to realign.

Dr. Liz Wergin, DPT | Juniper Physical Therapy

11/13/2025

The “Credit Card Lift” that physical therapists don’t want you to skip 👀

Your feet are literally your foundation — but when’s the last time you actually trained them?

This gas pedal drill looks simple. It’s not.

Here’s how:
💳 Stand on one foot (other foot just kissing the ground behind you for balance (like a kickstand))
💳 Spread those toes WIDE — no death grip allowed
💳 Press the ball of your foot down like you’re easing onto a gas pedal. Slow. Controlled.
💳 Lift your heel the height of a credit card. That’s it.

Hold 30 seconds. Switch. 2 rounds each side.

Why it works:
Small lift = BIG activation in the deep stabilizers most people never touch.

This builds real strength from the ground up — not just at the gym, but in your daily life.

Your ankles, knees, and hips will thank you.

Try it. Tag us. Let us know how “easy” it felt 🙈

Dr. Liz Wergin, DPT | Juniper Strength & Recovery Studio

11/12/2025

Wait… your toes are supposed to move like that? 👣

Yes. Independently. One at a time. But most of us can’t do it anymore.

Here’s the move everyone’s asking about:
Big toe up. Little toes down.
Switch it.
Little toes up. Big toe down.

2 sets × 10 reps. No gripping.

Why it actually matters:
Your big toe controls balance, posture, and how power moves through your entire body. When you can isolate these muscles? You unlock stability most people don’t even know they’re missing.

Start seated.
Level up to standing.
Master level: do it while brushing your teeth.
It looks simple. It feels impossible at first. But this is how you rebuild your foundation from the ground up.

Tag someone who needs to try this 👇
Doctor of Physical Therapy Liz Wergin | Juniper Physical Therapy

Join our 14-Day Foot Challenge- here are the exercises https://bit.ly/47ON1dS

We see you — showing up on the days you don’t feel like it.Fighting for the body that carries you through life takes cou...
11/12/2025

We see you — showing up on the days you don’t feel like it.

Fighting for the body that carries you through life takes courage and consistency.

Keep going. We’re cheering for you. 👏

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1011 South 10th Street, Suite 104
Manitowoc, WI
54220

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm

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How we can help you

Juniper Physical Therapy is a private physical therapy clinic owned and operated by Dr. Elizabeth Wergin. (Liz is thrilled to have also expanded her team to include Dr. Stacey Eck.) Their mission is to improve the awareness of alternative natural options and the power of self care to keep the people of Manitowoc County active and happy.

Juniper Physical Therapy is committed to restoring your strength and confidence to help you feel, move and perform better. We want you to be able to continue to do the activities you love. The things that truly make your life unique, fulfilling and fun.

While striving to meet your expectations, we believe in full transparency, promote accountability and provide regular check ins with accessible communication. We are very good listeners and insist on hearing your story and WHY you want to get back to doing the things you love. What motivates you? What is truly important to YOU?

We will develop a comprehensive plan to meet YOUR goals based on YOUR individual needs.