By AntiFragile Physical Therapy (Asheville, NC) For years, many pregnant athletes have been told to avoid heavy lifting. The idea that strength training, especially lifting heavier weights, could be dangerous during pregnancy has led many people to scale back or stop activities they love. But new research is challenging some of those long-held beliefs. A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine took a closer look at what actually happens to the baby du

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy Signing up for a fall race is the easy part. Training for it is where the real work begins. Whether you're preparing for your first 5K, half marathon, or marathon, summer is when the foundation for your fall race is built. The miles you run, the habits you create, and the way you care for your body over the next several weeks can make all the difference on race day. Every year, we work with runners who start training feeling motivated and excit

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy Elite athletes often influence the future of sports medicine, and this time, the impact reaches far beyond professional soccer. FIFA recently released Stepping into Play, an evidence based return to play roadmap designed to help soccer players safely return to sport after childbirth. One of its biggest updates? Pelvic floor health is now a built in part of the return to play process, not an afterthought. While these guidelines were created for

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy Summer is one of the best times to get outside and move. Whether you're hiking in the mountains, biking the Blue Ridge Parkway, tackling yard work, paddling the river, playing pickleball, running, or simply taking longer walks with the family, warmer weather creates more opportunities to be active. But if your usual activity suddenly feels much harder than expected, you're not imagining it. Heat and humidity place extra demands on your body, an

By William Mathis, AntiFragile Physical Therapy Healing touch is the oldest of medicines. Powerfully effective, largely free of side effects, and bolstered by both ancient tradition and cutting-edge science. It’s always been with us, and the stage is set for a historic rebirth of epic proportions. My Personal Experience with Massage Therapy Asthma almost killed me when I was five. I woke up in the night unable to draw breath. This stressed my parents quite a bit, and they rus

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy, Asheville, NC Smartwatches have changed the way people approach training. From tracking recovery and heart rate to estimating VO₂ max and training zones, wearable technology gives athletes more access to performance data than ever before. And while these tools can be incredibly useful, there’s one important distinction many people don’t realize: Most smartwatches are estimating your training zones, not directly measuring them. That difference

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy, Asheville If you’ve ever wondered how fit you actually are , or why your training plateaus despite doing “all the right things,” VO₂ max testing might be the missing piece. VO₂ max is one of the most powerful metrics we have for understanding cardiovascular fitness but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. At AntiFragile Physical Therapy, we plan to use VO₂ max testing not as a badge of fitness, but as a tool to guide smarter, more sustaina

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy, Asheville Every January starts the same way: motivation is high, routines are reset, and goals feel exciting again. By February, though, many of those plans quietly fade, not because people don’t care, but because the goal itself wasn’t built to survive real life. At AntiFragile PT, we don’t believe consistency comes from “wanting it more.” It comes from setting goals that respect your body, your schedule, and your capacity to adapt. Here’s ho

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy, Asheville At some point, almost everyone ends up here. Life gets busy. Work ramps up. Stress piles on. Injuries linger. Motivation fades. And before you know it, exercise has quietly slipped out of your routine. Then one day, you decide it’s time to “get back into it.” You sign up for a class. You dust off the running shoes. You commit to going hard because that’s what worked before… right? And a week or two later? You’re sore, frustrated, ma

By AntiFragile Physical Therapy, Asheville Why your motivation can backfire and what to do instead January is a unique month in fitness. Gyms are packed, running trails are busy, and classes are full of new faces. Some people are seasoned athletes, others are weekend warriors, and many are motivated by a New Year’s resolution : get healthier, stronger, or more active. It’s exciting. It’s inspiring. And every year, we see the same mistake, and it’s one that can derail even the