SWEAT: Shari Barta & Posture Power Wellness

Parenthood can and will change your life. In our latest edition of SWEAT, we learn about how it renewed a focus and changed a career path.

Meet Shari Barta, owner of Posture Power Wellness in Cherry Creek North.

Having recently changed its studio name and relocated down the street to a new studio space, Barta is providing a life changing new headspace for her clients. She sat down with us recently to share more about her journey and tells us what makes her SWEAT.

When and why did you get into health and fitness as a career?                                                     
My career in health and wellness started as an Occupational Therapist where I have helped countless adults recover from physical injuries and diseases. My career trajectory pivoted 14 years ago when I became a mom and was left with a pretty wrecked body. This is when I found Pilates. My mind was blown and I started seeing different ways to help people get stronger and better. From the moment I got on a reformer, I was hooked. My Pilates obsession runs deep!

Since then I have been fusing traditional corrective exercises and Pilates to enhance my health and wellness career. How much childbirth changed my body has been a driving force of my desire to focus on women’s health. I designed a program that melds traditional pelvic floor therapy, postpartum corrective exercise, and Pilates to postural balance and strengthen the core following childbirth. I strive to give women access to proper post-partum rehabilitation that is done in a positive, body-affirming environment that can be fun.

Diet goes hand-in-hand with exercise. What are your keys to discipline and maintaining a clean diet a majority of the time without gravitating to junk food?                                          I am a foodie at heart and absolutely love food. I believe that balance and moderation is always the best course of action. Deprivation just sets us up for failure. The second you say you can’t have something, it becomes all we think about. The trick is to allow yourself a little. My secret to sticking to a cleaner diet is to shop the perimeter of all stores, since they keep all the processed food in the center. If the processed foods are not in my house, then I am not tempted to eat them.

What’s your favorite “healthy” meal? I absolutely love a creative salad – nuts, dried fruits, roasted vegetables. Bring on the varying textures, colors, and crunch!

What’s your favorite “cheat” meal? It may sound cliché but give me anything Italian and I am a happy girl.

How long are your workouts? How many times a week? I personally do Pilates three-to-four times a week when time allows. Joseph Pilates was often quoted as saying, “In 10 sessions, you’ll feel the difference. In 20 sessions, you’ll see a difference. And in 30 sessions you’ll have a whole new body.”

There are so many workout options. Why Posture Power Wellness? Posture Power Wellness is corrective exercise focused. This means that we not only want to help you get stronger and leaner, but we also want to help you get balanced. Our mission is “Live Long and Strong.” When our bodies are balanced, we function more efficiently and without pain. Our approach can help you build stability in your core, which helps you look and feel leaner, longer, and stronger.

What’s the best advice you can give about exercise? Bigger is not always better. We all have the need to make movements big and exaggerated. With bigger movements, it is very common to kick into compensatory movement patterns and not use the muscles you were aiming to work on. You get better results when you dial into your body mechanics and focus on moving in the proper muscle chains, no matter how big or small that movement is. Body mechanics is everything!

For someone reading this who’s struggling to get active and healthy, what do you say to encourage them? Focus on doing an activity that brings you joy. When you love what you are doing, it takes the “have to” out of it. When you love what you are doing, endorphins are released and you get a bigger benefit from it.

How can people do a better job with exercising when they’re also balancing work, family, sleep and other factors that also require lots of time and attention?  First off, I totally get it.  As a mom, wife, and business owner, there are often not enough hours in the day. Making ourselves a priority is often very difficult.  I say start small and make the goal achievable. Start with the goal to come to one class a week. We often set impossible goals. Be mindful about the class or exercise option you choose, and make it one that you love. When you enjoy what you are doing then you will feed both your body and soul.

There’s so much information out there claiming to do this or that when it comes to the “right” way to workout. What myths can you dispel about the right and wrong ways to work out and see results? There are a million kinds of workouts for a reason. I believe you need to be intentional and aware of what you are doing. If you don’t like it or it is feeling strange, it may not be the best fit for you. With any workout I feel that body mechanics is the most important thing to focus on. Being aware of what you are doing and focusing on mechanics you can minimize the risk of using incorrect muscles. The truth is when you use the incorrect muscles, it prevents us from achieving our goals and in some instances can hurt you. Enjoy what you are doing and stay focused on how you are doing it to get the most out of it.

For more, visit Posture Power Wellness online at posturepowerwellness.com or at 3003 East Third Ave #D in Cherry Creek North.

This content was created in collaboration with Posture Power Wellness.