Athletic IQ PT

11/19/2025

Postpartum movement shouldn’t feel like a guessing game.

Your body is always giving you feedback — you just need a way to read the signals.
That’s where the internal traffic light system comes in:

✅ Green = Breath flows, no symptoms → continue
⚠️ Yellow = Leaking, shallow breath, tension → adjust
🚫 Red = Pain, pressure, bulging → pause + reassess

This isn’t about fear — it’s about awareness.
It’s how we respect the system while rebuilding strength.

🔍 If you’re experiencing symptoms in the yellow or red zones, it’s always a good idea to check in with a pelvic health clinician. You don’t have to figure it out alone.

This is Part 2 of my 3-part postpartum breath & strength series.

💬 DM me if you’re not sure what zone you’re in
💙 Tag a friend who’s early postpartum

11/19/2025

11/18/2025

Pregnancy and birth reorganize your body — they don’t break it.

As a PT and a mom of two, I want you to know:
There is another way.

A way to direct pressure — not force it or fight it.
A way to breathe that supports your pelvic floor.
A way to train smarter — before and after baby.

This post is part 1 of a 2-part series on breath, pressure, and postpartum power.

💙 Drop a heart if you wish more women learned this sooner
✨ Tag a friend who’s prepping for birth or rebuilding postpartum

Curious how this connects to birth prep? That’s coming next — stay tuned. 💙

11/17/2025

I used to chase every ball.
Block, run and dive with everything I had.
Play like everything was on the line.

Sports were my first love — and they’ll always be part of me.

And yes — I’ll still be playing.
Just with more intention. More preparation.

Without the same training volume, I train smarter.

I’ve had injuries — even an ACL reconstruction — that reminded me:
I can’t prevent everything, but I can train wisely for return.

Pregnancy and postpartum taught me the same thing:
Adaptation isn’t weakness — it’s strategy.

What I miss the most about sports
was the team.
The training together.
The shared momentum.

That still lives in me — and I bring it into every lift, every breath, every rep I guide.

💙 Save this if you’re rediscovering your strength.
📤 Share with someone finding their rhythm again.

11/14/2025

This isn’t just something I teach. It’s something I’ve lived — through injury, scoliosis, pregnancy, and recovery.

I used to believe strength was about pushing hard. Now I know it’s about adapting smart.

I’ve rebuilt my breath. My load strategy. My pelvic control.

And I’m still learning — because strength isn’t static.

If you’re navigating a new season — postpartum, prenatal, planning — I see you.

Your body isn’t broken.
It’s adapting. And it’s strong enough to rebuild.

💙 Save this if you needed the reminder.
📤 Send to someone in this phase too.

Follow .pt for strength training that evolves with you.

11/14/2025

I’ve had to relearn my body more than once — after a herniated disc, a hip labral tear, and through two pregnancies.

I’ve trained through scoliosis, flare-ups, and phases where I didn’t feel like myself.

My strength didn’t disappear — it evolved.

During pregnancy, your body adapts:
✅ Rib cage expands for breath
✅ Core pressure shifts upward
✅ Pelvic floor supports more load
✅ Posture adjusts to protect you

These aren’t dysfunctions. They’re smart adaptations.

And postpartum isn’t about repair — it’s about recalibration.

Strength training helps that recalibration.
It restores coordination, supports pelvic health, and helps you feel strong in your own skin again.

And let’s be clear:
Strength training during pregnancy isn’t new.
Research has shown its safety and benefits for years.

Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or planning — your body is adaptable.
Your training should evolve with you.

💙 Save this if you’re navigating change
📤 Share it with a mom or clinician who needs this message

Follow .pt for more real-life, research-backed strength coaching.

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If you’re interested, citations:
• Talasz et al., 2022 — Diaphragm & pelvic floor synergy in IAP control
• Janssens et al., 2022 — Respiratory changes and core strategy in pregnancy
• Prevett et al., 2025 — Resistance training safety in pregnancy (systematic review)
• Redondo-Delgado et al., 2024 — Strength training improves pregnancy quality of life
• Zhang et al., 2025 — Postpartum resistance training improves pelvic floor function

11/11/2025

Today we honor the men and women who’ve shown what true strength looks like — not just in the gym, but in life. 🇺🇸

Our co-founder Chris, a U.S. Navy Veteran, continues to serve through the Port Washington VFW, bringing the same leadership and resilience that defines who we are at Athletic IQ PT.

🇺🇸 Port Washington Veterans Day Parade
• Begins at 10 AM along Main Street
• Arrives at the Bandshell around 11 AM for the community commemoration and ceremony of thanks.

To all who’ve served — thank you for your courage, your service, and your example of strength beyond the uniform.

11/10/2025

Two kids. A business. Family life that doesn’t slow down.

Getting back into a healthy rhythm isn’t easy — but it’s possible.

This Sunday, I joined for the Momentum Program, a continuation of her 21-Day Clean & Lean Reset.

We meal-prepped together over Zoom — and honestly, it made staying consistent simple, fun, and realistic. She guided us and answered questions along the way 💕

Momentum includes unlimited membership at — whether you choose recovery sessions or fitness classes.

Because fueling, moving, and recovering are all connected.

🍎 Fuel your body with intention.
💪 Move with purpose.
💙 Recover to perform your best.

That’s the same message we teach every day at Athletic IQ PT — true performance comes from building consistency across all parts of your health.

📚 Harvard Health, 2023; Phillips et al., 2020 — Consistency and integrated training improve long-term energy and performance.

Save this as your reminder: small steps done often create lasting results.

11/07/2025

You don’t always need more corrections.
You need better connection.

✨ Every lift, swing, and reach starts from the ground — not just your muscles. Strength travels through you — from the ground to your grip.

Breath and awareness turn movement into control.
Because the goal isn’t perfect form — it’s connection that lasts.

⚡ Awareness → Control → Performance

Awareness builds control. Control builds strength.
And strength builds confidence in how you move — in training and life.

💾 Save this before your next lift.
Tag a training partner who needs this reminder!

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📚 Evidence & Research
Hodges & Smeets (2021) J Appl Physiol – Coordination between trunk & limb muscles improves stability.
Cook et al. (2023) Strength Cond J – Awareness-based coaching outperforms cue overload.
Behm et al. (2021) J Strength Cond Res – Whole-chain tension enhances neuromuscular efficiency.

11/06/2025

Your grip does more than hold on — it connects your body.

When you create tension with intent, your nervous system lights up the chain:
👉 Hand → Forearm → Shoulder → Lats → Core

That’s irradiation — strength that travels. It’s how your body links power and control — from lifting weights to carrying groceries, swinging a golf club, or bracing during sport.

🏋️‍♀️ Try these 2–3× per week:
• Farmer carries: 30–60 s × 3 sets
• Dead hangs: 20–40 s × 3 sets
• KB bottoms-up holds: 10–20 s/side
• Rope or towel pulls: 8–10 reps
• Gripper isometrics: 5–8 reps × 2–3 sets

💡 Every rep builds connection. Every hold strengthens the link.

🔁 Share this with someone who’s strong — but can get even stronger with better connection.
💬 DM us “GRIP” if you want to test your hand-to-core strength or learn how to train smarter, not harder.

📚 Behm 2021 | Król 2019 | Blazevich 2023 | Sembera 2023 | Millar 2024

11/02/2025

You tried the inhale → exhale breath…
But how do you know it’s actually working?

💡 Here’s a research-backed way to check if you’re engaging your deep core — not just gripping/bulging your abs:

🖐️ Try this: Place your fingertips on your lower belly, just inside the front of your hip bones. As you exhale and gently narrow your ribs, notice what happens under your fingers:

❓Do you feel your lower belly gently draw inward?
🚫 Or is it bulging outward or pushing up like a dome?

✅ If it draws in slightly, you’re likely engaging your transversus abdominis (TrA) — the deep core stabilizer that plays a key role in spine control, especially in postpartum recovery and chronic low back pain.

❌ If you feel bracing, pushing out, or doming — it’s probably your superficial abs (like re**us abdominis) kicking in.

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🎯 Core control doesn’t mean pushing out or sucking in —
it’s deep, connected, and calm.

✨ And if it’s hard to feel at first — that’s okay. Core control isn’t just about strength. It’s about awareness. This takes time to reconnect — especially postpartum or with a history of low back pain. Every rep builds that connection 💙

📌 Save this for your next reset, warm-up, or post-rehab session.

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📚 Studies Referenced:
• “Abdominal Drawing-In Maneuver in NSLBP: A Randomized Controlled Trial” — Soylu et al., 2024
• “TrA Preactivation Reduces Disability in Chronic Low Back Pain” — BMC Primary Care, 2023
• “Cueing Deep Core Activation for Functional Stability” — Morito et al., 2022
• “Postpartum Core Exercises Reduce Lumbopelvic Pain” — Wang et al., 2023

10/31/2025

Ab burn ≠ core control.

That shake or sizzle you feel?
It’s often just your outer abs doing the work.

But real core control starts deeper — with your diaphragm, pelvic floor, and stabilizers working together through breath.

💡 Want strength you can move and breathe through?
Start here:
🫁 Inhale → ribs expand 360° + pelvic floor softens
💨 Exhale → ribs narrow + pelvic floor gently lifts
This builds control, not just tension.

📌 Save this for your next warm-up or reset 💙

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🧬 Max load breath is different.
When lifting heavy, the body often uses the Valsalva maneuver to create spinal stiffness and increase intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) — an effective strategy for managing high loads (Sembera et al., 2023; Hodges & Sapsford, 2023).

But for low-load control and coordination, we want the diaphragm and pelvic floor to work in synergy — supporting posture and breath, not just pressure (Cao et al., 2022; Atkın et al., 2025).

That’s why this breathwork feels different — and it should.

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