Maintaining proper form is one of the most critical parts of strength training. If anything is off, from stance to breath, you risk working out at less than peak efficiency. Worse, you may even injure yourself. To discuss how you can work out with the best form possible, I’ve brought in an expert with years of experience helping people strength train better.

With her own gym in Portland, OR, Mira Gracia and all of her instructors are well-trained in StrongFirst as well as various martial arts. Mira currently works with all levels from novice to advanced in an effort to build lasting results, durability, and resiliency in her students.

Mira shares her journey into strength training excellence and what motivates her. A large part of it is a mindset that is built around setting one’s own goals rather than competing against others. Mira also describes how she transitioned from a gymnastics background to one of strength training and the challenges that that entails. 

As someone with a lot of experience training women, Mira explains many of the techniques she uses to help them train smarter, safer, and more efficiently. This includes rethinking what you’re doing with your stomach as you lift and even with the air you breathe. It also involves mindset, and Mira discusses how to think about the way you train in a whole new light.

What are some of your own personal goals when strength training? Share them with me in the comments on the episode page!

 

In this episode

• Creating full-body stability when learning to strength train
• What you may be doing wrong with your abdomen as you lift and how to fix it
• How to take a proper breath during training
• Challenging capacity without compromising your form
• The similarities and difference between training with barbells versus kettlebells
• Where to look and what to ask when searching for a good instructor

  Quotes

“You complete something. You may be unsure what’s going to happen. You do it and afterward, you feel better.” [9:17]

“You don’t always have to push yourself to the point of failure. We never want to teach your body and your mind to fail.” [26:34]

“I never thought that it would literally save my life, and it has. It’s truly this really magical thing that happens with every single breath.” [45:12]

  Links

Find Mira Gracia online

Follow Mira on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Episode 33 with Brett Jones

StrongFirst

 

Check out the full show notes for this episode here

Urban Wellness Clinic

Follow Emily & Urban Wellness on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube