Power House Physio

I stand by my butt scoot 😆💪🏻

Cromwell Cup with a bottle break. Fun to watch some racing and catch up with friends.

Pregnancy and postpartum are amazing to see what your body can handle. It’s an interesting athletic experience. I’m trying to use concrete criteria to help myself get back to everything I enjoy without overtaxing my system. My decisions are based on the goal of keeping my bones as healthy as possible and allowing for muscle growth. Knowing that in the hierarchy of energy demand, nursing/m baby still win right now.

Seeing the trend of HRV from conception (Jan 2023), through pregnancy and the dramatic change once I entered the fourth trimester is crazy. People think pregnancy is hard on the body. It is in its own way but for me having enough in my tank (sleep and fuel wise) has been harder postpartum. Pregnancy just became progressively more uncomfortable to workout, postpartum has demanded a more conscious effort to stay in balance.

My criteria before committing to a workout more than going for a walk is: sleep recovery above 50%, proper fueling and access to food within 30’ of finishing a workout, being hydrated and drinking while working out, and that my HRV is average for recent numbers or elevated.

My has been super helpful to keep me in the gates here. It’s helping me build back progressively. I am stronger week by week, I am feeling better and better and I’m confident I’m not tapping my resources too much.

This doesn’t happen every workout. But it’s the goal. I’m lucky to have Chef Pat and that he will bug me to eat and stay hydrated when I get lost in mom world. It’s a team effort for sure!

I’ll be curious what happens as I start to wean nursing with Finley approaching 6 months and me wanting to gain more hours back to my work day. Hopefully it’s to boost in capacity I’m looking forward to. But regardless it’s nice to feel progressive gains with the simple things I’ve been able to do so far.

Coming to you from the nursery because my kid eats for a long time and this is my productive place for now. I have been debating for a while if I share more on my professional IG about my pregnancy and now postpartum journey and I have decided why not. I have made a lot of informed decisions for my nutrition, core and pelvic floor health, return to exercise and overall recovery. Both from my own research and experience with injury as an athlete and with the help of my pelvic floor PT

I LOVE that we are learning more about how to be athletes while pregnant and how to find your way back post partum. It’s huge it’s about time. But my feed shows me these amazing, super strong, able to do the harder workout even while super pregnant and women getting back to pre-pregnancy style workouts super quick and that’s not my story. So I’m sharing because I have learned A LOT about this chapter of being an athlete and maybe someone will find it useful. It’s helped me learn more to help other athletes in clinic, it’s reinforced that moving my way and for me is the best thing. That I don’t have to check off a particular workout to feel like I did what I’m supposed to for the day.

I have been in muscle and bone protection mode. Applying the knowledge of what LEA and REDs do to your system and the hierarchy of what wins for energy through pregnancy and breastfeeding, I have been working to eat a lot (calories and protein) to make sure I am protecting my bones and not eating away at my muscles. Normally your workout and then body systems win in the battle of where energy goes, compromising your bones, muscles and messing with your menstrual cycle if there’s an inadequate energy supply. When dealing with growing a human, guess what, they win! Baby wins. So if I don’t eat enough he pulls the protein, calcium, fats etc he needs from me. The easiest sources of protein are muscles (my glutes have suffered 😂) and the easiest source of calcium is bones. Hopefully I have protected mine. At this point this is what drives my workout decisions. Do I have enough resources to fuel breastfeeding and my workout?

Stealing from question of the day from last week at . I have been thinking about how I would answer this question ever since.

What’s your thing or multiple things?
What has been your game changer?

Mine is prioritizing taking care of myself first.

I thought I did this for all of my youth and 20s but didn’t really learn how until I was 28+. I shifted from thinking my workouts took care of me, to realizing I need to take care of myself in order to workout and gain the benefits of moving and living how I like to. I learned that if I am not eating enough, sleeping enough or hydrated enough, a workout that’s too much sets me back more than puts me forward.

I am Greatful for having learned this now as I try to navigate my athlete self with my new mom and currently lactating self. It’s a journey to sustain another life. And some days that’s all I can do. But I’m ok with that because I know recognizing what else beyond a lift, bike ride, longer walk or other activity that my body is achieving in a day. So I take care of myself the best I can. So I can stay healthy for the days when I can get that short workout in and it won’t create injury or make work or mom life too hard. Because those win right now. And that’s pretty wonderful.

“What a difference a year makes”

This years HOCR was a whole new adventure. Saturday at the course accomplished by the team work of my parents and (sad we didn’t get any pictures). Lucky to have meet another nursing mom under cover of the awnings of canoe kayak when it down-poured Saturday.

Thank goodness for the better weather Sunday. We didn’t take nearly enough pictures. Never got one of me, Pat and Finely but what a great day!
I had fun watching Pat walk around with Finley in the front pack while we ran into people and tried to watch some racing between nursing in the car and all the fun random run ins with people as you walk around.

The day ended with aborting the initial drive home for a p**p explosion to change and a very hungry boy. A nice full belly and the first hocr for 6 week old Finley was a wrap! A different challenge for the weekend compared to racing but we did it, brought a little one to their first regatta and had fun doing it.

This little guy knew just when to arrive. Say hello to Finley Russell Lowe!

He tried to share a birthday with me but became the best belated birthday present.

He is a snuggly, sweet little one. We’re looking forward to bringing him to his first Head of the Charles next month 💕

We are loving getting to hang with the high school sculling camps this summer. We had a Strength and body mechanics chat to start the day. Finding good core set up. Learning keys for squatting and deadlifting. Doesn’t get much better 💪🏻

The final day of the was just as amazing as the first two. Learning from the researchers who are pushing the knowledge gap in many aspects where we need to know more to support female athletes in their endeavors. A favorite quote today was “watch out for how great they’ll be if we can just keep them healthy!”

The final keynote speaker but home hard for me. I had followed closely after the Boston marathon bombings and had her as an aspect of inspiration during my own trauma rehab journey. At points I have unfollowed her because it was hard to see someone I perceived to get everything back when I haven’t quite gotten there yet. She shared her story and there were many over laps in how our stories have unfolded. Listening to her today came at a perfect moment. I have been having a hard time with my athlete identity while adjusting to what this pregnancy means for me, she had a few key phrases that reminded me how capable I am and how absolutely amazing life is when you allow it to be. She said “We need to keep remembering we are capable”. YES.
She spoke of that feeling, that I am very familiar with of wanting to have what was or to perceive that you don’t have the chance for what you should be, given your body changes. I’ve been good at this most of the time but found it hard recently. She shared she focuses on the “obligation to play the cards you are dealt” and not worry about the ones you “should have been” or the ones you aren’t given. She right. That’s how life remains amazing to experience and why we find goals to work towards with where we are, what we have and what we want to create.

This whole conference had a ton of professional growth opportunities and many personal ones. It’s a journey as a female athlete and it was amazing to be surrounded by so many who are working to make that journey healthier and more successful for females around the world!

Thank you for reminding me of the cards I have and how to use them. And that “no just means ‘not yet”. I heard myself in you a lot and really needed to hear it. 💕💪🏻

Craftsbury always refreshes my everything. My mind is so happy leaving having meet so many wonderful people who have found rowing to be a motivating part of their lives too. My heart and soul from the scenery, fresh air and seeing my partner and pups so happy to get some VT time. My professional drive to continue to learn more within the sport and for the overall health of rowers and athletes I get to work with is refreshed after meeting the many amazing masters rowers and the other coaches. It is a life goal to be as able to row and learn as all of the campers this weekend when I am 70+!. Oh and my belly is of course the happiest after all the delisting food!
Thank you for the refresh and amazing weekend.

We all go our start and fell in love with rowing somewhere. was my place! The Cayuga inlet is a special place to row and it will always be a favorite place for me to row.

This year I am championing the Ithaca College Giving Day page to fundraise to replace a 12 year old womens double (so it was new when I was at Ithaca…time for newer things). The Ithaca sculling program is a wonderful opportunity for rowers to learn sculling to help them both for their sweep season and to have skills to make continuing to row after college more possible.

I still row every season and primarily in a 2x or 1x. My time learning to scull with is a big piece of what gave me the confidence to hop into any boat as I continued rowing after college.

https://givingday.ithaca.edu/p2p/298015/lisa-russell-775a126f-beb5-49cb-aa7d-1bfed7257b63

Giving day is April 25! Mark your calendars Bombers! 💛💙

I have been talking with a lot of rowers about getting enough calories and protein in their day. A common breakfast for high school rowers in particular seems to be smoothies. Great to snag on the way out the door. But most don’t have enough calories or protein. There are lots of tricks to add. Here’s an example of what I throw in a smoothie.

Base of a organic super smoothie packet (Costco) (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, kale, spinach, bananas)
H**p seeds -10g protein/2tbs
Chia seeds- 5g protein/3tbs— 15% daily iron and calcium
Ground Flax seeds-3g protein/2tbs— high in ALA
Collagen powder- 18g protein per serving
Oat milk- on even more demanding days use bone broth for even more protein 💪🏻

Other fun additions- peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, honey or maple syrup, cinnamon, ginger, beet root powder …

RED-S or Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport is a daily topic at right now. The importance of knowing why you might be feeling off could be due to a mis-match in fueling for your training and not just because rowers train hard so we should be tired. There is a little more to it. Making sure you’re eating enough for what you’re doing in workouts + what your body needs for basic life functions is essential to meet your rowing goals. It doesn’t matter if you are in high school, college, a HP rower or masters, it’s an important aspect of training for everyone.

It has been amazing to be surrounded by so many strong women at work and in life! Happy International Womens’s day to all!

Rowers have had a home for a long time but I am excited to share the Rowing Performance tab on our website is live! Between performance assessments with me and the brilliant brains of our strength coaches we have seen the rowers we get to work with build strength and speed and gain better mobility for all of life’s adventures.

I love my job and what I get to dump my brain power into. Having rowing a part of the Champion family is a dream. Come hang with us 😊💪🏻 we love more rowers lifting and making themselves their best version of athlete!

Always excited to spot another boathouse!

Crossing my fingers to find my way onto so NZ water at some point while we’re here. What amazing views to row with!

Race day ✅

steering an amazing line yet again!🔥

Fun to race and have lot of cheering down the Charles. What an amazing day! I’ll always be lucky to race with Tessa. There’s something special about hopping in a boat once a year and racing and being able to have fun and be competitive that’s just the best! Pair partners from to multiple race days. Gotta love it!

An amazing day 1 today!! Spending Friday volunteering has been my Dad and my tradition for years now. started joining us last year as a part of our weekend to race the Inclusion 2x. Let’s hope we have the weeks turn and line to Anderson down after watching crews do it all day today.

We race Saturday for with striped blades and unis at 3:22 in event #44. Check the live stream or cheer is on along the Charles. @

Posted • The topics we will be covering in this month's roundtable podcast!

A flat morning in the basin is a special moment. Even better being out there with everyone for Head of the Kurmakov. I had an awesome moment when I launched. A new riverside member was launching with me, just as unsure about our launch timing. We were lucky to learn we started one after the other. She asked if I was an adaptive rower. I said I am a Para rower and it was a moment of certainty but haven’t had yet. I’m a rower who can classify as Para (PR3) but can still hold my own within the masters rowing world. I was glad she asked so I could have a moment to appreciate where I am and how wonderful it was to be causally launching from riverside with her.

The HoKurmakov was a great reminder that racing is hard. It hurts, it’s gets sloppy, it’s rarely perfect. But it’s so much fun. There’s certain places on the Charles where I remember certain workouts with Nik and and I sat up nice and tall to pull myself together with each reminder of Nik along the course.

A 1x is tough but I have really come to love it. You’re only out there for you, way different than a 2x. Lucky to have the words of telling me to sit up and make it feel light on repeat in my head and the motivation to find comfort in the uncomfortable so and I can have a fun race this year!

There’s just something about this sport that keeps you coming back.

A flat morning in the basin is a special moment. Even better being out there with everyone for Head of the Kurmakov. I had an awesome moment when I launched. A new riverside member was launching with me, just as unsure about our launch timing. We were lucky to learn we started one after the other. She asked if I was an adaptive rower. I said I am a Para rower and it was a moment of certainty but haven’t had yet. I’m a rower who can classify as Para (PR3) but can still hold my own within the masters rowing world. I was glad she asked so I could have a moment to appreciate where I am and how wonderful it was to be causally launching from riverside with her.

The HoKurmakov was a great reminder that racing is hard. It hurts, it’s gets sloppy, it’s rarely perfect. But it’s so much fun. There’s certain places on the Charles where I remember certain workouts with Nik and and I sat up nice and tall to pull myself together with each reminder of Nik along the course.

A 1x is tough. You’re only out there for you, way different than a 2x. Lucky to have the words of telling me to sit up and make it feel light on repeat in my head and the motivation to find comfort in the uncomfortable so and I can have a fun race this year!

There’s just something about this sport that keeps you coming back.

Thank you for joining us this morning for some early season testing.

We took a look at hinge pattern (body’s over/finish postures), hip strength, and range of motion, shoulder strength, trunk rotation, ankle dorsiflexion and grip strength.

Excited to see how this helps your season!

What a fabulous weekend of learning! Can’t wait to go back!

Thankful for all the friends who make rowing fun!

Loving the mornings on the Charles recently. Great to see clients in their element and have some friends to row with!

Thanks for the amazing photos and launch driving skills

Lucky to have so many rowers to hang out with all week!

What a great day of rowing, rowing strength testing and some amazing team work by this awesome crew!

I cannot wait to dive into the numbers we collected thanks to our many willing rowers! We hope you all learned something about your shoulders to help you row pain free! Watch for a follow up email on the reasoning behind all the motions we tested.

Thank you for a fantastic regatta! Maybe next year turn the thermostat down a little 🥵😂

Come find us by the finish line! See how strong your shoulders are!

Getting charged up for Cromwell Cup!

Come find at tomorrow Sunday 7/24 from 8-4 and test your shoulder strength 💪

It’s going to be hot so come hang under our tent, watch some races and see how strong you are!

Running was my love before I found rowing. High school cross country taught me how to work hard, follow a training plan and love running. Never would I ever have thought I would be so proud of myself for finishing a trail 5k in just over 50 minutes. Nor would I have ever thought I would really have to push myself to do so. But I am so proud!

I almost cried 3-4 times. First because I was worried about being last. Then I decided to pick off the walkers in front of me just like I always have in a running race. 2nd was because I tripped on a root and wasn’t hurt but was startled. Then I decided it was awesome I caught myself easily, didn’t hurt anything and was able to get my pace back. The 3/4th times was because I felt myself in a way I haven’t in a while. I was working hard to move as fast as I could, on a trail, (just like my old high school cross country days) on a beautiful evening with my husband to find at the finish line. I never would have though a 50+ minute 5k would make me so proud or emotional.

I decided to share this because as an athlete your always driven to be your best. It’s not always the best you once went for but things change over time and sometimes there’s new PRs when you least expect it. It feels good to work hard, take care of my body and have something come from it. Now my error here is that I haven’t been doing fast walking on uneven terrain, so I’ll feel that tomorrow. But my balance was way better than it has been (I have been working on that) and my legs moved so fast!

It’s not always the best of all time that really matters. Sometimes it’s just your best on that day and the mental victories or physical changes you have created over time that remind you why you train, why you love being an athlete. I’m excited to see what this summer 5k series brings!

t has been a long time since I had the opportunity to be surrounded by other PT/MDs + coaches for a weekend. And even better, to be surrounded by everything rowing!!

I had the opportunity to go to Philly for a training to become a classifier for Para-Rowing!

It was so refreshing to spend the whole weekend surrounded by people who share a passion for rowing + growing the sport. It was so nice to see people in person!

I will admit. I went into this weekend both as a classifiable athlete + as a PT, expecting to be frustrated by a system. I was thrilled to be completely wrong. To learned the purpose behind what I thought was a narrow way of picking apart an athlete. To both experience the classification and to classify others was really a wonderful learning moment.

Here’s what I took away:
1. My job as a classifier is to help determine if someone is eligible to race in Para-Rowing and to determine their most competitive and fair classification.

2. I now know better ways to guide athletes and coaches through the process and to know what to expect to help decrease barriers to becoming a classified rower.

For myself before being classified, I was unsure of what to include on the medical documentation to deem if I was classifiable. My body feels overwhelming on paper but it’s hard to tell what details are useful. I missed important pieces and had to resend items. I understand this is common for athletes going through the process + if I had not been going to this training, the need to resubmit might have been a stopping point for me.

I am excited to feel like I can guide an athlete to avoid the mistakes I made.

3. The purpose of this system is to look at requirements for rowing and how various disabilities might alter the athletes ability to be competitive

4. I love talking about rowing with others in person! I cannot wait for the chance to continue to do so with the new connections I had the chance to make and anyone who might want to share.

Thank you for this weekend. I cannot wait to keep in touch with the connections I made!