Coaches Corner

We are on the back half of summer with school starting and cooler temperatures on the horizon. FFAZ is also gearing up with quite a few events to keep on your radar. 

1. August 20 - We are volunteering at “Feed my Starving Children” in Mesa. We have 25 slots reserved but they are willing to take more if we are able to bring additional volunteers with us. This is a great opportunity to do something worthwhile for those less fortunate, or for anyone with a high school kid who needs volunteer hours.
2. June 3 - Join us for Saturday morning class 7 and 9 am in support of the 17 strong foundation. We hope to spread awareness of the organization and share the founder, Ryan Teixeira’s story. By doing so, we also want to gauge interest to see if there would be potential of partnering with the organization to do an annual fundraiser event.  For more information about the 17 Strong visit the website at https://17strong.org/ and watch this video about the HERO WOD https://vimeo.com/249123817
3. September 4&5  -  First Annual Fortified Golf Scramble – At Mountain Shadows. A group will be getting together Sunday for a pool day at the resort, then Labor day (Sept 5) we have a tee time reserved for 8:15 a.m. Stop by the gym and inquire for more details, please RSVP for Monday’s golf by August 14.
4. September 10 - 9/11 memorial stair climb event at Salt River Field inside Talking Stick Stadium starting at 7 pm. Join our team “ Mentally Sick and Physically Thicc” in paying tribute to fallen firefighters by climbing the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs which symbolizes the stories of the World Trade Towers. Proceeds from the event go to support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Here is the link to sign up and join our team https://nfff.akaraisin.com/ui/saltriver22
5. September 17 - Pedal pub crawl through Old Town. Sign is posted at the gym, the deadline to sign up and reserve your spot is August 19.

Let's Celebrate!

July Birthdays

• Jeanne DeAngelis
• Heidi Johnsen
• Tanner Kohoutek
• Trent Kucera
• Linzi Wood

August Birthdays

• Kayley Kohoutek
• Ryan Legg
• Thomas Lofy
• Jenna Transtrum
• Coach Tyson Hardman

Anatomy Optimized

Hi Fortified! I’m Dr. Sarah Backus, I recently joined the team of physios at Anatomy Optimized. My clinical specialty is in treatment of the pelvic floor. If you are reading this and aren’t aware that physical therapy exists for the pelvic floor, you are not alone!

Pelvic health physical therapy can be a difficult topic for many people to discuss. It can be embarrassing, confusing, and even painful. Society tends to discourage discussion of these topics, causing confusion and lack of awareness regarding what is or is not normal. The reality is that pelvic floor dysfunction is common and there is something we can do about it! 

So what is pelvic health physical therapy? Pelvic health PT is a non-surgical approach, for both women and men, aimed at resolving impairments that arise from dysfunctions within the pelvic floor. Example impairments include, but are not limited to, unresolved low back/hip pain, poor core functioning, tailbone pain, urinary and fecal incontinence, chronic constipation, recurrent UTI’s, changes due to pregnancy, postpartum and menopause and sexual dysfunction such as painful intercourse and erectile dysfunction. 

The pelvic floor includes a complex group of muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. It works in conjunction with core muscles and the abdominal diaphragm to assist with the 5 S’s:

• Sexual functioning
• Support (of pelvic organs and posture)
• Sphincter control (maintains bowel/bladder continence)
• Sump pump (lymphatics and blood flow)
• Stability (for lumbar spine, hips, and pelvis)

To learn more, be on the lookout for my pelvic health seminar over the next few months! 

Did You Know

Anatomy Optimized offers a “maintenance package” for all gym members. This gets you two sessions of 1 on 1 PT per month at the gym clinic or 1 in home visit for $150 (a $400 value at the al la carte visit rate). Talk to one of the in house providers for more information!

Mom’s Corner

Hi Fortified fam! My name is Maddie Carr (from the 6am crew) and I joined Fortified back in January with the great migration from Power in Motion. I've been doing Crossfit for just over two years now and absolutely love the competition and community I've found in CrossFit. I have three children (and one more due in November) ages 7, 5, and 2 and have been married to my husband Curtis for 10 years. I stopped working for the time being to focus on being a mom and keeping the circus of kids alive at my house. 

Something I've been learning more about since starting CrossFit is how our menstrual cycle affects our athletic performance. Am I really going to write up an article about periods? Yes, yes I am. It's something we as women face for a long time period in our lives but might not pay attention to how it's affecting our workouts so let's dive in!

One of the most common things I've noticed while researching this topic is how results and data have varied significantly amongst all women. While some women report lowest amounts of energy during their menstrual cycle, others report lowest amounts of energy during their ovulation cycle. If you're like me you just want someone to tell you a straight answer on something like this but it's going to take some careful observing for several months to really find out what your body does and what it needs at certain times. You might already know what time during your cycle you feel the most fatigued and sluggish, but if you don't it's recommended to keep some kind of journal (I just took quick notes on my phone) to track days I was feeling most fatigued in workouts. Some people like to get really detailed and log how they felt each day but I took the more lazy route and just really focused on the days I was feeling most tired.

After doing this for several months you might recognize a pattern which can then help you know when you need to step back a little and not push quite as hard in workouts. Something else I've found interesting is the shift in messaging women have gotten over the years from doctors about exercise during their menstrual cycle (and even during pregnancy) which has now become more of an encouragement to keep a consistent exercise routine rather than a big question mark on what women should be doing during these times in their lives. Everyone has different experiences and bodies so it's important to just listen to what your body needs on a day to day basis. 

I'm not a medical professional and I will link a few articles with more helpful information.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Maddie

Physical activity and the menstrual cycle

The influence of your menstrual cycle and working out

Weigh Ankor

Healthy Habits Don't Have to be Hard

How many times have you tried to make or break a habit and just gone all in only to fail a few days or weeks later? I know I have.

We tend to think it's an all or nothing go, but in reality when we make small subtle changes to our routine it's easier to adopt them into everyday practice for the long haul.

In the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, he talks about making habits attractive. Here are the four laws of behavior change, along with some ideas for how you can use them to facilitate good behaviors and make bad ones harder:

1. Make it obvious. Don’t hide your fruits in your fridge, put them on display front and center.
2. Make it attractive. Start with the fruit you like the most, so you’ll actually want to eat one when you see it.
3. Make it easy. Don’t create needless friction by focusing on fruits that are hard to peel. Bananas and apples are super easy to eat, for example.
4. Make it satisfying. If you like the fruit you picked, you’ll love eating it and feel healthier as a result!

Follow me on instagram: @weighankor

Visit the site: weighankor.com

MAV Team

After two straight years of strong sales activity and rapidly rising home prices, our AZ market is cooling… and cooling rapidly, with a balanced market next on the horizon. There may still be a buyer or two out there that hasn’t received the memo, but for the most part, the days of multiple offers and bidding wars have ended as “For Sale” signs begin to multiply. A sudden increase in interest rates and record home prices have sent many potential buyers to the sidelines. The days of sellers boasting in TV and radio commercials about receiving $100,000 over their asking price will soon become a relic from a different age, and we are extremely happy to say, “It’s about time!!” The time has come for sellers to reset their expectations while buyers will have a chance to consider a few more options before making their decision.

Overall, and in conclusion: In June, we saw a 20% year-over-year decline in the number of homes sold, as reported by ARMLS. The recent changes in monetary policy are beginning to accomplish the desired goal of slowing housing demand, which will slow inflation. When July’s closing numbers are reported, the impact of these changes will be clearly visible and undeniable. Real estate runs in cycles, ranging from hot to cold and everything in between. The policy is to raise interest rates and cut demand, as demand drops supply will build. In turn, prices will drop back down, and when prices drop, demand will rise once more. 

TLDR: Demand continues to weaken, while supply continues to grow. Despite some forecasts for a positive bounce over the next 31 days, the underlying trend for prices is still weak and it is likely that a downward trend will reassert itself in the last four months of the year. 

***If you have any questions on the market, are thinking of buying or selling, we are a quick call or text away! - Or you can usually catch us at the 6:15pm class!

~Madeline & Vincent Fiore

The MAV Real Estate Team

As always, you can find more AZ specific real estate info, helpful tips and tricks at MAVrealestate.com or visit us on IG @MAVrealestate.

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