Sign up for the challenge on your app - click on the Trophy Icon at the bottom of the screen.  25 classes in 45 days!  Fun prizes will be awarded along the way to keep you motivated.  We’ll have one Grand Prize Winner - complete 25 classes in 45 days to get entered into the drawing.  Let’s do this!

Save $50 on 10 Class Pack all month!

A New Option to Fit Nicely Into Your Busy Schedule!

​Short on time?  This class is perfect for you!  30 minutes of your favorite challenging moves, carefully sequenced to give you the best burn and shakes that Lagree is famous for. CoreStrong is offering Express classes at 6:15 am and Noon on Tuesday’s, and also 12:20pm on Friday’s.  

You might be thinking “sounds great, but the timing doesn't work for me”. Email us with your ideal time for an Express, and we'll see what we can arrange!

​You may be asking, who is that cute blonde next to Cathy in the above photo!  Well that's Olivia!  Olivia won one of our raffle items from our Client Appreciation Party last December.  She won the opportunity to hang out with the crew in our latest photo shoot!  I think she had a good time and we sure enjoyed having her join us!

New Instructors are now on the schedule.  Get to know them and cheer them on as they get settled in.  

Speaking of new instructors, our Level 1 Lagree Certification training is taking place on March 20 - 22.  We will be welcoming 14 trainees to CoreStrong, many of them are already clients here that have expressed a desire to learn to teach.  Our training is completely full and I'm very optimistic that we've got some great talent to pull from.  

Reminder:  We have a condensed schedule during our training weekend of March 20 - 22.  Please get signed up early to reserve your class.  Be considerate of others and cancel as soon as you know you can't attend to allow someone else to take your spot.

Please keep reading .... as I said, there's lots going on this month!

Our Self Care Bingo Challenge has come to a close  Thank you to all that participated.  Some of you included your Bucket List and I have to say, you made me proud!  Here's a few samples of what our clients are striving for:  Get into Med School, Hit 500, 1000 classes, become a Certified Instructor, finish a plank hold on one white and not fall out of it, be on my toes for every core burn-out exercise without coming out of it, hike the Dolomites in Italy (I've done that and it was an amazing experience that I would gladly do again), Hike Half Dome at Yosemite National Park, get back in shape after surgery, increase cardiovascular endurance.  We can help with getting you ready for all of the above, except maybe not Med School!

​AND THE WINNERS ARE:

​We love to celebrate your milestones! But we've got more!  Starting March 15th, we'll be adding an additional program to keep you motivated all along the way.  Earn points for every class you take and redeem them for rewards. Stay tuned for more details!

You may have noticed the big barrel in our entry!  We'd love your help in filling up this barrel.  Here are the items that the Boise Rescue Mission is in need of:

Surprise! Our class packages are on SALE all month! Buy 5 classes, get 1 FREE. Buy 10 classes, get 2 FREE. Buy 20 classes, get 5 FREE. Don't miss out on these sweet deals!

PICK UP YOUR BINGO CARD AT THE FRONT DESK!

Transform your passion into action by joining our Lagree Level 1 Certification at CoreStrong  March 20-22. With only 14 spots, secure yours with a $500 deposit by Feb 20 and pay the remaining $1000 by March 15.  Contact Cathy for more info.

Use your membership for your lagree class and purchase a single class $15 or a 10 class climb 30 package ($13.50 per class) for your climb 30 class.

Pair Your Climb 30 Class with:

• MEGA STRONG/MEGA STRONG EXPRESS
• ESSENTIALS
• ARMS AND ABS
• OR STRENGTH AND STRETCH

WEEKEND MARCH 20-22

Get ready for CoreStrongs’ Lagree Fitness Level 1 Certification Weekend with Master Trainer Jami Jackson! Only 14 spots available! Deepen your practice, unlock your potential, and learn the why behind all those shakes you've had in class! If you are eager to lead, inspire, and turn passion into purpose, then this is your perfect opportunity!

Here's what your training with Jami includes:

• 24 hours of in person training over the course of 3 days
• Two 2 hour group virtual follow up sessions
• Each trainee receives 1 video review and 1 one on one call for feedback
• Discounted rate for mentorship
• And a lifetime of answers to your text questions regarding cueing, sequencing, etc.

This training elsewhere can typically run anywhere from $2500 - $3500.  CoreStrong is offering this training at just $1500.  Please reserve your spot with a $500 deposit by February 20, and final payment due on March 15.

Please email Cathy at [email protected] for more info and to sign up.

​We're excited to share our achievements, made possible by our amazing instructors and you, our CoreStrong Community!

​Get ready for 2026, the year of 'Connections'! We're excited about our close-knit community and can't wait to share amazing ideas and events that will bring us even closer together. Thanks for being part of this journey with us. Stay tuned for more updates and let's make 2026 a year to remember!

Did you know that if you scroll down on the home page of your app and then swipe left, you'll find studio updates and helpful policies.  This page is updated frequently. Please check back often!

As always, I'm here to help and answer any questions you may have.  Please reach out to me at [email protected] or respond to any email that you receive from the studio.  It all gets to me!

We've seen you working so hard and appreciate your commitment! Join us for our Client Appreciation Party on December 11th at Acero Boards and Bottles, from 5 to 8 PM. Enjoy raffles, amazing prizes, delicious food, and drinks. We can't wait to show our gratitude and celebrate you!

November 15th - 30th, 2025!

I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN HEARING THE RUMORS ..... AND YES, THE NEW MEGA PROS ARE ON THE WAY!

The New Mega Pros are an absolute GAME CHANGER!  It has a super smooth carriage, allowing seamless movements. The platforms and carriage panels lift and can be adjusted to different angles for a greater range of motion and targeted muscle activation. This feature also helps protect joints and connective tissues, reducing impact and inflammation during and after workouts. Experience smoother classes with better joint stabilization and less muscle strain.  There are also more resistance levels, allowing for greater customization of your workout intensity. This will be of benefit for both beginners and advanced users, giving you more control over the level of challenge.

The Mega Pro may feel a bit different at first, but by the end of your class, you'll already start to feel how much more your core and stabilizers are activated and how the Mega Pro will be taking your workout to the next level.
We can't wait for you to try the new Mega Pros! 

CoreStrong will be closed September 26 and 27 while we make the transformation.

​We're saying goodbye to Classic Strong and Foundations, and welcoming Mega Strong, our new full-body class launching on September 1st. Designed for intermediate to advanced levels, Mega Strong features longer durations, more moves on the back, and adjusted spring tension to deliver real results. You'll experience deep core activation, serious strength gains, and muscular endurance. Thanks to spring load options and offered modifications, this class is ideal for those who have mastered Essentials. Mega Strong promises a sweaty, shaky, and satisfying 45-minute session. Start your journey with Essentials, then step up to Mega Strong to build strength and progress!

​Our Summer Challenge "Too Fit to Quit" was a huge hit!  49 of you crushed it!  Our winner, Jess Hutchinson, proved to be a tough contender to beat!  She finished strong, taking 40 classes in 42 days - that's got to be a record! Your 1-month unlimited membership has been added to your account.  Congratulations Jess!

Join our Fall Challenge starting October 1st for the entire month as we celebrate CoreStrong's 8th year! Complete 16 classes in 31 days to enter a drawing for our 'Favorite Things' basket, filled with items handpicked by the CoreStrong team. Sign up on your app and get ready to give it your all!

We are incredibly grateful for you, our clients and the trust you place in CoreStrong to be a part of your fitness journey. Your dedication to not just personal growth, but to the collective spirit of our community, truly makes us stronger together. The effort, sweat, and determination shared in every session create bonds that go beyond just fitness—they make us feel like friends, like family. It’s an honor to be alongside each of you as we push limits, celebrate milestones, and grow stronger both physically and as a community. Thank you for choosing CoreStrong and for bringing your heart, energy, and commitment every single day.

Starting September 15, we will be adjusting membership rates slightly. We deeply appreciate your support as we navigate rising costs on nearly everything. This change is necessary to continue offering the quality classes you love, fairly compensate our amazing team, and maintain state-of-the-art equipment. Thank you for your trust and unwavering support; we look forward to serving you well now and in the future.

As always, I appreciate hearing from you!  Suggestions and requests are welcome.  I'm easily reached by responding to any of the emails you receive from CoreStrong or at [email protected].  

Stay Strong!
Cathy

Don't miss out!  Sale ends on July 9th.  Purchase on your app or on the website at www.corestrong.studio.

The opportunity for Level 1 Certification Training will be coming in September.
Please reach out to Cathy at [email protected] for more information.

​We are deeply grateful to be part of your fitness journey and witness your incredible passion and determination daily. To ensure we provide the best support, we're updating our fall schedule and would love your input. What class times and options would you like? Your feedback means so much to us! Please reach out at [email protected] or reply to this email. We're excited to hear from you!
Stay Strong!
Cathy

​Check out our schedule each week and look for "Low Peak" classes.  These are classes that have low sign ups.  Our goal this summer is to keep our schedule in tact and cancel a class only when attendance is less than 5!  

This is a great way to introduce your friends and family to Lagree at a discounted rate!  

$10 Class Credits can be purchased on our App or on the Website. 

Memberships are still valid for all classes, you do not need to purchase a $10 pass to attend a "low peak" class.  Don't forget, you also have free guest passes included in your membership.

​Please join me in welcoming Sunny to the CoreStrong Team!  You can find Sunny on the schedule on Monday evenings at 6:40 and 7:45.  She'll also be teaching every other Sunday at 11:10 and 12:15 starting in June.

We asked Sunny a few questions and here's what she had to say:

1. I fell in love with Lagree [when]... I did it for the first time! I thought it was so fun to be on the Mega and try all the different moves. I also loved that it was challenging yet rewarding and required 100% of my focus. 
2. The move that gets me shakiest is... inner thigh squats and side lying cable press get me every time. 
3. The workout is like nothing I've ever done because... no matter how much I come to class, it's always hard! The workout challenges my mind and body unlike anything else I've done. 
4. When I don't feel like working out I tell myself... it's important to make good choices for myself and my health, especially when it feels difficult. I also remember that I always feel good after working out.  
5. My advice to first time or new clients is... Stay consistent and keep showing up for yourself! I promise it will be worth your time and effort. I know learning the method and getting comfortable on the machine is overwhelming, so don't be afraid to ask your instructor for some extra help or clarification. It's what we're here for! Also, try the VersaClimber! I was skeptical at first, but it's so much fun and compliments my Lagree practice.  
6. My advice to advanced clients is... Set an intention at the beginning of class so you are always improving and getting stronger. Some of my intentions are to focus on keeping my core engaged in every move, maintaining my slow pace (especially in arms and core), or transitioning quickly and efficiently. Setting these clear goals at the beginning of class has helped me level up my practice.

A monthly feature in our newsletter, thanks to our instructor Briana Crotinger LMT!  Briana has a wealth of knowledge and loves to research and share her findings!  With over a decade of bodywork, kinesiology, and pain management experience, she weaves her knowledge into her barefoot myofascial massage practice at Mend Bodywork.
​
My phone buzzed, vibrating the table and shifting the food wrappers next to it. A millisecond later, my watch buzzed, not once, not twice, but three more times. It was an email notification sent by a company I never subscribed to for a doodad I absolutely did not need. I turned my phone to silent and stashed it away. My watch went directly into my purse. It’s been six weeks, and I haven’t put it on my wrist since. It was the final act of “going dark” or “offline” as the kids say these days. I simply couldn’t take it anymore- the notifications, the endless doomscrolling, the constant battle for my attention.

I was in Morro Bay when I decided enough was enough. I have lived online full-time since 2019- merely a few months before a global pandemic catapulted us all into living online for almost two years, forever changing how we interact with the world and others around us. At the time, I was running my massage clinic up north and nurturing a rapidly growing illustration business on Instagram. If I wasn’t working with my hands, then I was “working” by responding to comments, making content, etc etc     upwards of six hours a day, not accounting for my doomscrolling. It didn’t take long before social media became a full-blown addiction, conveniently hidden behind my “need to run a business.” And while life passed before my eyes, I was never looking at it- just this stupid 4x6 inch pocket rectangle that became the tyrant over my time and attention. The constant need to keep up with the algorithm and meet expectations crippled my love of art. My business collapsed in on itself like a dying star, and in 2023, I went a full year of doing near zero illustration. This vacation, however, I wanted to experience the now, in my favorite place on Earth with my favorite person and two dogs. 

While there, my phone stayed on silent, imprisoned on its charger. My sketchbook became my “image feed” and I spent four blissful days of drawing, drinking coffee, and existing in the real world. When I got home, my watch stayed off my wrist, and my phone was banished from my bedroom. I unearthed an old analog alarm clock to make sure I still rose with the sun (though that turned out to be unnecessary as my dogs are especially talented time-keepers). And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I logged off of instagram, and my last social media platform, for the last time. 
  
It seems ridiculous that clicking the “log out” button would be such an act of rebellion, but in a world where the most precious, battled-after, and manipulated resource is your attention, it feels like the only act of rebellion. A quote that stuck with me over these last six weeks is- “Modern-day threats no longer look like threats.” And it’s true. Even 30 years ago, a threat to our nervous system still looked like a threat- a bear, a reckless driver, an angry boss. But now? Now threats are more subversive. My biggest predator is that 4x6 rectangle that clings to me every place I go. Every ding, every chime, represents an urgent task demanding me immediately. Every chirp is a hot poker to my fight or flight system. Maybe you can relate. 
  
When I tapped the “log out” button for the last time, it felt like someone switched off a loud stereo. My life got uncomfortably quiet almost immediately. When you search “going offline” or “leaving social media” you’ll find quite a few inspirational stories, and the most honest of them will tell you that the first few weeks without social media- without your phone- is incredibly uncomfortable. While our phones and the apps that fill them keep us in a constant state of fight or flight, we reciprocate with a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. We happily hand over our time, attention, and data to companies that promise “greater connection.” But the reality is, we are the product, and we accept this for a few crumbs of dopamine and an escape from reality. 
 
I would be lying if I said I never reached for my phone and was immediately cured. With the social media apps gone, but the reflex still very much there, I think I checked my weather app about twenty times an hour. I did not like feeling out of the loop- something these big companies bank on to keep you scrolling. But as the weeks passed, and I started waking up to the reality I lived in, not the one shown to me with beautiful filters, life changed. Suddenly I found myself with more time than I knew what to do with. I started reading a little more. I started sketching again. When I talked to my friends, I was even more invested in what they were up to because I truly had no idea what was going on in their lives since I last saw them. I started feeling a little more connected. I started allowing myself to be bored, and in that boredom, I started feeling my creativity blossom. 

But the best payoff? My anxiety dropped off a cliff. That’s not to say it isn’t there- it’s just the size of a chihuahua and not a dragon. The constant overstimulation, comparison, fake-validation, time-wasting, artificial intelligence, bad-news stream that I was allowing into my life was gone, and thus, the natural reaction to such a constant stream of garbage was gone too. And the lie that you’ll lose connections if you log off social media? Hogwash. I text my friends even more now. And the connections you do lose weren’t meant for you in the first place. I found being off of social media clarified it for what it really is- a weird kind of mutual voyeurism. Most of what goes on there is either an advertisement or none of your business. 
 
In honesty, I could write a full-length novel of the lessons I have learned as I’ve phased out various social media apps over the last two years, but it’s an experience only appreciated by the doer. I have an entire catalogue of thoughts and opinions on the digital world, having experienced it from the earliest days of dial-up, to Myspace to now. But thoughts and opinions only have weight if they are bolstered by actions, and so, I’ll continue safe-guarding my own mental health and living in the real world. My phone will continue to live in my office and my brain will continue in the analog world. 

​You have 31 days to complete 18 classes.  Now here's the kicker!  Combo and Climb classes earn you 2 stickers and Mega only classes get 1 sticker.  

PRIZES:
LAST DAY TO SIGN UP IS APRIL 12TH. PLEASE SIGN UP ONLY ONCE.

​Your team of instructors spent 3 days and a total of 24 hours climbing 2,000 feet higher than Mt. Denali. We were led by none other than the world’s Senior Master Trainer, creator and facilitator of the Versa Climber Training program, Loui Pacheco. Drill after drill, class after class, lecture after lecture, Loui poured us instructors into the crucible, forging us into elevated coaches- instilling us with new knowledge, guidance and passion to help you achieve your goals. His devotion to perfection, energy, and the Versa method had us all hobbling around like trolls by day three, but it was easily an experience we would all do again in a heartbeat. 

Here’s what a few of your instructors had to say:
 
Cozey:
“One thing I’ve really taken away from my trainings with Loui is realizing that I’m far more capable than I ever gave myself credit for. His encouragement and ability to push us outside of our comfort zones made every challenge both demanding and rewarding. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could climb 20,000-25,000 feet in a single weekend. Yet, with the right support from him, and my peers around me, I felt like I could have kept going. For me, that was a powerful reminder of the impact a great coach or leader can have- someone who pushes you past your perceived limits and helps you discover your true potential. And that’s exactly what we should strive to do for our clients.”
 
Heather:
“Versa training was difficult, it was fun, and it was incredibly educational and inspirational. Difficult experiences shape us, but they don’t have to define us negatively. Instead, they can forge resilience, and remind us of our ability to rise above even the hardest moments…like sprints haha.”
 
Kerry:
“The VersaTrainer certification this weekend with Master Trainer Loui not only challenged us to come out of our comfort zone, but dig a little deeper into the potential that each of us have to be amazing instructors/coaches for our clients, along with making them all feel that they are capable at any age to embark on this amazing workout. Loui allowed us to grow as instructors and challenge ourselves to not only be physically there for our clients but mentally be able to provide the support, encouragement, and motivation that they each need when trying Versa.”
 
What does that mean for you, our clients? Prepare for revamped routines, fresh music, new moves, and a new zeal from your instructors. We are here to bring the action, showing you how capable you are of maximizing your cardio potential. We can tell you all the whys of Versa. We can tell you that you burn 22 calories a minute on the Versa climber versus 13 calories a minute in a spin class. We can tell you that you round out your workout by engaging your fast twitch muscle fibers and actively improve your cardio respiratory fitness. We can tell you the Versa climber mimics the natural primal movement pattern of crawling, can help even out your posture, and provide mental health benefits. We can educate you on so many things. But the How? The How you have to experience yourself. If you haven’t tried Versa yet, or have only come to a few classes, now is the time. See you in a climb class!
 
*A special thank you to Cathy, who invests so much time, energy and resources into us instructors to make sure you get the best workout in Boise. A thank you to Julie who kept us fed with the most delicious and nourishing food all weekend. And finally, a huge thank you to Loui who traveled all the way up to Boise to insure you would experience the best Versa class in Idaho.

​Less than 2 weeks to go to finish strong!  Many of you have far surpassed the required 32 classes.  Amazing!  The winner of the 10 class package will be announced in class on March 13 and those completing 32 classes can pick up their grips socks at the front desk between March 13th and 18th.

If you'd like to do a final InBody scan, you can also do that March 13 - 18.  

Thanks for participating!  You Killed It!

​“Watch your RPM, don’t let it fall! Keep going!” By this time, I was punching 135 W on this ancient bike, I could feel the brick seat pad through my cycling shorts, and I was sucking wind like a newborn baby. I had long stopped hearing the encouragement coming from Ben Stein, cycling coach and VO2 max tester at Idaho Sports Medicine Institute, as he watched my metabolic line shift ever upwards on his testing computer. By then, I had long downshifted into a primal state- survive.

So why on earth would I pay one hundred dollars to fight for my life for fifteen minutes? Well, slap on your bike chamois and let’s talk about your maximal aerobic capacity, or VO2 max for short. At the beginning of this year, I set out to find out all of my health metrics to figure out what my fitness baseline is and how I could improve it. Now that I’m rapidly approaching my mid-thirties, I’m a lot less interested in the tiniest body I can cultivate (thank you 90s diet culture) and much more interested in laying the groundwork for a strong, capable, and let me be honest, absolute machine of a body. 

This journey began with cracking open the pages of Dr. Peter Attia’s book Outlive, which completely changed my perspective on health, longevity and what it means to be a functional human being. Chapter 11 Exercise was the pivot point. I have always known how important exercise is, but not the nitty-gritty of it all. This was the first time I stumbled across the concept of VO2 max and just how important it is as a marker for health and longevity. “It turns out that peak aerobic cardiorespiratory fitness, measured in terms of VO2 max is perhaps the single most powerful marker for longevity. VO2 max represents the maximum rate at which a person can utilize oxygen…The higher someone’s VO2 max, the more oxygen they can consume to make ATP, and the faster they can ride or run- in short, the more they can do.” Dr. Attia goes on to say that those with below-average VO2 max for their age and sex double their risk for all-cause mortality. Let me repeat that. Double. Smokers have a better longevity outlook with a forty percent all-cause mortality risk. 

As a naturally curious person who is interested in not dying prematurely, I, of course, had to know what my VO2 max is. For a 33 year old woman, the average VO2 max is roughly 28-36.9 ml/kg/min. Knowing that I don’t train cardiovascular fitness outside of the Versa climber, I was hoping to at least hit the average. So off I went to schedule my appointment with Ben at ISMI, unaware that I was about to partake in the world’s most hellish Peloton ride. 

I arrived at ISMI in the morning, when I knew I would be capable of peak cardiovascular performance. The day before I made sure to eat a lot of carbohydrates, hydrate, and get a good night’s sleep. To say I was nervous is a massive understatement. If something has the word “test” within a five mile radius, I get flashbacks to my college prep school days and start shaking like an overcaffeinated chihuahua. Ben was quick to dispel my fears. He walked me through the bike apparatus, explained how he was going to increase test difficulty, what to expect and what to aim for. He encouraged me to fight for every single last second I could, telling me that most people quit before they are ready, and then regret it. After his shpeal, he custom-fitted an oxygen mask-like device to my face, finagled the air tubes, let me get my music situated, and we were, quite literally, off to the races. 

Now, when someone says a VO2 test is hard, nothing except experience can prepare you for just how “hard” hard is. The worst things always start with the thought, “How bad can this possibly be?” and end with “Dear God, what have I done?” This is not your grandma’s stroll through the park. No, this test is designed to take you to your absolute maximum effort- the point at which your body slams on the brakes and you physically cannot do any more work. It is designed to break you. I hit that concrete wall at eleven minutes thirty seconds. Never in my life have I felt such a sudden and definitive stop in my body. In Lagree, we aim for failure, but this was advanced failure. I’ve never felt the sensation of my body ceasing any and all movement with such a sudden and complete finality. 

When my body cried uncle and I completed the cool-down, I thought I could taste blood. My legs felt like unworkable slabs of meat (an indicator that I had also hit my lactate threshold, but that’s another topic for another time). But, I also felt absolutely euphoric. As Ben looked over my results, he asked me again, “are you sure you don’t train cardio?” I affirmed. He gave a small laugh and then gave me the weirdest compliment I’ve ever received- “I think you have a high capability of going out and suffering in endurance sports.” So, what was the result? I am sitting pretty at 38.5 ml of oxygen a minute, which is above average for my age (and achieved just by using the Versa Climber I’d like to add!). With focused training, Ben said there’s a good possibility I could increase that number by 30% and to come back and retest at the end of the year.

After giving me a basic training plan, which consisted of near death by sprint intervals, he sent me on my merry way. Now I realize, I have not written a single word here that makes this test sound worth your time. So why bother? Aside from longevity, knowing your VO2 max also keeps you honest while training. If you know what your max heart rates are in each training zone, you know what to strive for. So many of us sell ourselves short while training our bodies, never giving ourselves the change to realize our full potential. Aging gracefully and aging painfully each have their own elements of suffering, but one is well within our control, the other we let external factors dictate. If you are willing to take control and discipline your body and mind now, it will pay dividends in the future. So yes, I highly recommend the VO2 test. It’s 15 minutes of suffering for a lifetime of information. Now I know exactly where I need to be heart rate wise on the Versa climber to get maximum benefit, and where I need to be on a rest day. Am I looking forward to training these sprint intervals? Absolutely not! But the mental feelings of well-being and knowing my body is getting stronger every day certainly is worth it!

​Getting into class these days can be almost as challenging as the workout itself!  We now have 14 spots available and most classes are waitlisted.  That's a good problem to have, right?  Well kind of.  I'm sure some of you find it very discouraging!  Can I let you in on a little secret?  We have lots of space, you might just need to plan your schedule a little more loosly.  I went back over our schedule this last week and counted up how many Megas/Versas sat empty.  Are you ready for this?  We had 98 spots available!  

Spots frequently open up in that 2 hour window before class.  Signing up for the waitlist is one way to snag a spot, but our waitlist does not add anyone with less than an hour before class.  

I enourage you to take advantage of this little secret and grab one of those 98 spots!

With the new year comes new changes at the studio, and the most notable is our newly structured combo classes. We’ve had a lot of you ask why the change, and it’s a good question! The “too long, didn’t read” version is- it simply works better with the fitness goals and values we have at CoreStrong. The long answer is steeped in exercise science. So if that’s your thing, grab a coffee or tea and let’s chat about the whys and the hows of this change. 

So, scientifically, why the change? If you Google, “which is better, cardio before resistance, or vice versa” you are going to find scientific articles that fit both narratives. But with everything in life, the real answer to which order reigns superior is….. It depends. It depends on your age, sex, and fitness goals. So, before we go further, let’s review the fitness goals we have at CoreStrong.

At CoreStrong we follow the Lagree Method, which includes effective range of motion, resistance, tempo, and duration. In short, we are building the kind of strength that takes a focused and rested body to get the best out of your strength workout and maximize your muscle gains. To maintain adherence to the Lagree Method, it makes more sense to start you out on the mega (resistance) while you are fresh and can gain maximal tension and duration then burn you out on the versa (cardio), rather than sending your poor, tired legs to their doom in a super lunge directly after a versa sprint. Theoretically, this also reduces the risk of fatigue-related injuries. 
​
But is there actual science to back this change? Yes! Especially for women and those over 65 years of age. One study found that women who engaged in high-intensity resistance training and then participated in aerobic exercise for 20 minutes had a higher fat oxidation rate than the aerobic-only group. Another study found that women who performed resistance training before aerobic training improved their maximal oxygen consumption or the “highest rate at which an individual can use oxygen during physical exertion.” This is also known as the VO2 max, an important marker for both longevity and cardiovascular fitness. And for those over 65? The science says resistance training before aerobic exercise is a statistically significant boon for improving the aforementioned VO2 max and maximum aerobic workload. 

Next month, I’ll be taking you for a literal ride as I dive deeper into VO2 max and why it’s a marker you want to pay attention to. In the meantime, I challenge you to catch a combo class once or twice a week and see how you feel after four weeks. I bet it’ll be along the lines of both stronger and faster. See you in class!

​I had a client pose a really interesting question to me earlier this month that immediately made me pause and go “hmmmm.” “Bri,” she said. “ I saw this video on social media that said collagen protein can’t be counted towards your daily protein intake.” My gut reaction was, that video sounds like malarky to me, but I am always down to investigate a question and then share what I uncover. While I’m not a nutritionist and can’t give nutritional advice, I felt like what I found was worth sharing with all of you. In short, amino acids are amino acids. The reason some doctors say you can’t count collagen protein towards your daily intake is due to a scale known as the protein-digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) which ranges from 0.0 to 1.0. (An aside, this scale’s validity is hotly debated in the scientific community, with many finding its current form to be a poor tool of measurement.) Because collagen is not a complete protein (lacking tryptophan and having lower levels of the muscle building amino acids) it gets a 0.0 on the scale. However, a study published in Nutrients titled “Significant amounts of functional collagen peptides can be incorporated in the diet while maintaining indispensable amino acid balance” states that collagen is an important source of peptides and amino acids that contribute to overall health. It found that 2.5 to 15 grams of collagen protein a day was an effective amount to add to a daily regimen, so don’t dump the collagen just yet! (For those wondering, I still drink 20-40 g of collagen protein a day.) Where things get murky is the claim you can’t count it towards your daily value because “it’s not a complete protein.” Following that logic, you can’t count anything that’s not an animal protein. Rice, beans, grains, or anything else that is not a complete protein is off the table. That is why having a well rounded diet full of various foods is critical to your protein intake. You’ll also notice that many supplements are lacking a daily value under the protein category. From what I found, if a supplement is not considered a complete protein, manufacturers cannot put a percent daily value on packaging.

To the client who posed this question, thank you! 

IF YOU HAVE A TOPIC OR QUESTION THAT YOU'D LIKE BRIANA TO DIVE INTO, PLEASE LET US KNOW.  SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO [email protected]