Bendy & Strong Podcast

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In this episode of the Bendy & Strong podcast I sit down with Gia from The Hypermobile Lifting Club to answer your questions and chat about hypermobile training. 

Topics we covered:

• What's going on in our training
• How long do you have to do "foundational" work before you get into more traditional strength training?
• How to fix sore wrists from training?
• How to adjust bracing for heavy lifts if it causes an MCAS/head pressure symptom flare?
• How to find a coach who understands hypermobility, or communicate your knowledge about hypermobility to your coach?

You can find Gia HERE on instagram

Join her Hypermobile Lifting Club!

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DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

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Join the Bendy & Strong course! Learn how to strength train with a hypermobile body: www.bendyandstrong.com

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In this episode of the Bendy & Strong Podcast, I have guest Shant Rahman on to discuss posture.

Some topics we cover:
- Destigmatising posture
- Is there such thing as "good" or "bad" posture?
- When is "anterior pelvic tilt" an UNhelpful diagnosis?
- When can postural deviations (e.g. exaggerated lordosis) actually enhance sporting performance?
- Are the people who say "there's no such thing as bad posture" taking things too far?
- What we want to see instead of the "anterior pelvic tilt" diagnosis
- & of course... how this all relates in to hypermobility, EDS, and other hypermobility conditions

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Some more podcasts w/ Shant:

"Safe" Exercises That Aren't So Safe w/ Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Hypermobility

Training Basics That Will Help You Train Autonomously With Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

My SIJ subluxed after training - here's what we did [w/ guest Shant Rahman]

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DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

Featuring Guest Host: Shant Rahman

WHERE TO FIND SHANT:
INSTAGRAM - @strength.revolution
Book in for an online consult with him HERE
(or in person if you're in Melbourne)

Use code ANNIE100 for $100 off (hypermobile patients)
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To sign up for the latest round of the Bendy & Strong course (or put your name on the waitlist) go to www.bendyandstrong.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Research literacy is SO important - both for navigating the world with hypermobility, and when navigating the current online/social media space. 

Research literacy is the ability to find research, read it, understand it, critically evaluate it, and put it into practice. This is not a skill you are born with - it is one you need to learn and develop.

So I sat down with researchers Jade Barclay & Rouha Granfar (both with lived EDS experience) to have a discussion on this exact topic! This is Part 2 of the discussion (for part 1 go HERE)

Discussion based around this article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39188704/

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DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength
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To sign up for the latest round of the Bendy & Strong course (or put your name on the waitlist) go to www.bendyandstrong.com

To join the book club: https://forms.gle/nPiQcE7rR12FmjBR6

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In this podcast, I sit down with Jade Barclay and Rouha Granfar to discuss their recent publication: Fascia as a Regulatory System in Health and Disease. This paper serves as a one-stop-shop for familiarising yourself with fascia. So if someone asks you, "Is there one paper I can read that will give me the foundations on fascia?" - then THIS is the paper to give them. 

And in a way that's aligned with their views around decolonisation and decolonising research, the paper is open source.

These researchers both have lived experience with EDS and its common comorbidities, which helps to shape their research and the way they write and communicate.

Discussing this article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39188704/

[This is Part 1 - in Part 2 we will be discussing how to improve your research literacy]

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DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength
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To sign up for the latest round of the Bendy & Strong course (or put your name on the waitlist) go to www.bendyandstrong.com

To join the book club: https://forms.gle/nPiQcE7rR12FmjBR6

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Have you been told "the best thing for EDS/hypermobility is to get strong" - but then nobody told you how actually start?

Or maybe you've started up already but you keep getting hurt/flared up each time you try.

To be clear, I'm not saying that everyone with EDS will experience difficulty when starting out with strength training, but if you DO then this podcast is for you!

This is the approach I have used with clients before with great success! Let's get you strong WITHOUT flaring you up!

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DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

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To sign up for the latest round of the Bendy & Strong course (or put your name on the waitlist) go to www.bendyandstrong.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

I recently had my SIJ sublux a few days after a heavy training session. I spoke about it with my EDS/hypermobility specialist 'rehab guy' - Shant - and he told me he'd recently had the same thing happen to one of his hEDS clients. We discussed the solution we had each come up with, which was so far working for each person respectively - and it turns out great minds do think alike, as we had independently arrived at the same approach. Our approach is what we discuss in this video. 

DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new. If you are experiencing subluxations from training, do NOT continue to do the same thing that triggered the problem, and consult a qualified rehab specialist. 

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

With guest Shant Rahman

You can find Shant...

On INSTAGRAM - @strength.revolution

Or to BOOK IN (online consult available) - https://strengthrevolution.com.au/

(EDS/"cluster" patients can use code ANNIE100 for $100AUD off - I don't get any commission from this code)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Do you find you flare up every time you try to progress in your training? 

This is a very common complaint - but on the other hand, if we NEVER progress our strength and rehab can become stagnant and this can cause its own set of issues. 

This "Goldilocks zone" where we're progressing in the right way AND amount is our "window of tolerance". And this is where the magic happens - pain free training, increased capacity, and reaching whatever training goals we want to achieve. 

The EDS/hypermobile body is incredibly adaptable and responsive. This means we have lots of different variables we can manipulate in order to stay within this window of tolerance. This podcast discusses some of them. 

DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them and make sure you have clearance to exercise before starting anything new.

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

To sign up for the latest round of the Bendy & Strong course (or put your name on the waitlist) go to www.bendyandstrong.com

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Bendy & Strong I am running through the list of things I've been doing over the past few months/years to pull myself out of feeling the worst I've ever felt. 

When my dad died 2 years ago, my health plummeted and I was so scared that I would never get better. I wished I'd had a pathway out. 

So in this video I'm discussing the pathway I took out. 

DISCLAIMER: this is not medical advice or a substitute for medical advice! Find a good doctor and work with them (if you suspect MCAS, find a doc who specialises in that)

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

This is a very common complaint I hear from EDS & hypermobile folk. Here are 4 solutions I use when dealing with this. 

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The next round of my strength course for EDS starts soon! Sign up here (or if you missed out, put your name on the waitlist): www.bendyandstrong.com
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**Disclaimer: the information in this podcast is not medical advice and is for entertainment purposes only. Consult a good doctor before engaging in any new exercise.**

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength
REDNOTE - @annieshort
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Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

What does it take to become a coach when you have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome? In this episode, I chat with a fellow strength coach (and Pilates instructor) Sheena Cuccia who also has EDS. 

We cover:

• How we navigate the fitness industry with EDS
• The hurdles we encounter & how we try to overcome them
• Tips for anyone with EDS who wants to become a coach 
• Advice for our younger selves & new coaches 
• How we are building a stronger & more inclusive community for those with EDS & hypermobility

Whether you’re a fitness professional or just want to hear from another EDS'er on how to balance life & career with this condition, this episode is for you. Listen in for an honest conversation on building resilience and making lasting change in a space that needs it.

You can find Sheena HERE: https://www.instagram.com/moxie.mvmt/
Or HERE: https://sheenacucciahanger.com/

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The next round of my strength course for EDS starts soon! Sign up here (or if you missed out, put your name on the waitlist): www.bendyandstrong.com
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**Disclaimer: the information in this podcast is not medical advice and is for entertainment purposes only. Consult a good doctor before engaging in any new exercise.**

Your Host - Annie Short: Strength Coach, Exercise Scientist, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, and Ehlers-Danlos'er

Don't forget to follow me for more EDS + training content:
INSTAGRAM - @annieshortstrength
TIKTOK - @annie.short
YOUTUBE - @annieshortstrength

Support the show