It’s no secret that most of our coaches at Bent On Better are some of the most active people, from being athletes to amassing certificates to handle our members’ specific needs– there’s no doubt that we have a solid team. Our founder, Matt April, and co-owner, Lynn April, who were lifelong athletes share their expertise with fellow former athletes to the average joe. So if it’s the credibility you’re looking for, then we have plenty here at B.O.B. Join us in this Bent On Better podcast, where we give you all the proof you need that you are in the right hands with us.
How Lynn Started With Prenatal and Postnatal Fitness
Lynn April has spent her active days as an athlete from middle school until college playing field hockey. After graduating, she slowly got back to fitness by taking spin classes or joining training boot camps but eventually fell in love with lifting weights while becoming a member at Bent On Better.
Lynn started looking into prenatal and postnatal fitness while pregnant with their son, Joey. While pregnant, she felt immense pain during her cycle but thought it was just a normal birth process. That was until she learned about pelvic floor dysfunctions. It was because of this experience that Lynn dedicated herself to learning more about how to strengthen the pelvic floor not only for the moms but for our regular members as well.
A testament to Lynn’s work is one of our members, who was an avid runner and a mom of two children who had been experiencing pain in her lower back for a while. She tried different programs and would go away for a time but will return eventually. It wasn’t until Lynn had a one-on-one meeting with her and discussed strengthening her pelvic floor that she was now better than ever!
The Importance Of A Strong Pelvic Floor
Our work at Bent On Better is geared towards reframing your mindset from just working out to actively participating in training sessions. What training sessions do is that it builds resilience and improves your workload capacity. Before Lynn became a trainer in the summer of 2020, most of our work was to troubleshoot things with stretches or correct their forms, basically anything that was happening right in front of us. Anything else the trainers couldn’t fix would be referred to a general doctor, which eventually led to doctors telling our members to stop lifting altogether.
Lynn’s expertise with the pelvic floor became a lifesaver for our members who still wanted to build their strength but were having problems with their core. When we talk about our core, the top part is where our diaphragm is, and at the bottom is our pelvic floor which is the most trainable part. You can control it, strengthen it, and even fatigue it to the point of knowing how you can work on and strengthen it further. A strong pelvic floor can be the baseline for a functional core, which is the foundation for all the strength training and lifts we do at Bent On Better.
Our Coaches And What We Do
Every trainer at Bent On Better has a part to play. Alyssa is skilled in training our athletes, Matt is skilled in teaching the perfect lifts, Molly and Nick are experienced in the technical aspect of each lift, and Lynn is making waves with our pelvic floor exercises. As a whole, we’ve been able to keep many people comfortable and away from pain. We operate as a team, bouncing ideas off of each other, and when someone isn’t as strong in one area, we refer them to other coaches. This way, we have a more individualized approach to fitness and can address problems unique to every member.
Building a Fitness Foundation
As warmer weather is drawing near, we see more and more people who are focused on just working out and burning calories. What we want our members to understand is that this is all caused by external forces like social media, and traditional marketing from the fitness industry to feed into one’s self-esteem.
With many diet fads and cleanses coming out on the market, people think it’s something that they absolutely need when in reality it’s not. You have to think of fitness as a foundation. Ask yourself, are you moving? If you are moving, are you properly moving to stay away from pain and injury? Are you moving enough to sustain this exercise for a long period of time? Do not let any new workout program fatigue you to the point where it’s going to devastate you and you end up not continuing the program at all.
“Focus on one thing and give it at least three months, if not 6 or 12 months, before you decide whether or not it’s working. And let’s be clear, I said whether or not it’s working because it’s not a matter of “if it works” or “it doesn’t work,” it’s if it is working for you as a person where you are in this stage of your life and that I think is where people get lost in motion.” – Matt April
Training as an Investment Portfolio
Think of training as an investment portfolio and working out as a checking account. With a checking account, you just keep on spending time, money, and effort on the most random things, but it never gives you anything else in return. If it does, it’s only for a fleeting moment. With an investment portfolio, it does not matter how much you contribute; it’s all in your willingness to stay consistent. Every time you show up to the gym to train, you are making a deposit. Sometimes it’s a dollar, 10 dollars, or even 250 dollars which would be your absolute best. Sometimes you can start a workout at 250 dollars and deposit only 1 dollar worth of effort. This is all and well because you listen to your body’s wants. When you do your absolute best, it allows your body to reach new heights and inspire change. Anything after that is still a contribution that contributes to fat loss, added skeletal muscle mass, a more resilient body, and longevity in life in the long run.
Conclusion
With Bent On Better, we aren’t just here to let you burn calories and leave you alone to your own devices. We are a team of professionals who are dedicated to making sure you are having a safe and consistent training day, all while making things fun and interactive. So if you’re in the West Chester area and are looking for the right gym for you, give us a call, tell us about yourself and what problems you’ve been experiencing. Whether you’re an athlete, a mom, or just someone who wants to get stronger, our coaches would love to have you train with us!
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