SL Physiotherapy & Coaching

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SL Physiotherapy & Coaching Shari Leedahl
Physiotherapist
Strength & Conditioning / Running coaching

Come hang out with me Thursday mornings!
10/09/2026

Come hang out with me Thursday mornings!

UNBREAKABLE for Teens was a 6 week program to get kids ready for their upcoming seasons. We had volleyball players, cros...
10/01/2026

UNBREAKABLE for Teens was a 6 week program to get kids ready for their upcoming seasons. We had volleyball players, cross country runners, hockey players, an equestrian athlete and a dancer.
There were dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, box jumps … all those things that make life fun!! Thanks to Luke with Balanced Body Fitness for taking on 2 of the classes.
All the kids that made it to the final day of testing saw MASSIVE improvements in standardized tests for shoulder stability, core stability and vertical jump.
Nice work guys!!! Good luck this season!

09/26/2026

The top two comments about TRX / Suspension Training:
1. What is TRX?
2. I used to do TRX. I don't think I am in good enough shape to do it now.

First of all, I'll explain why I still offer this class that, like lots of fitness crazes, has simmered down over the years. Probably about 15 years ago, I had a large number of clients coming in for appointments that either wanted to know if they were able to start or go back to their TRX class based on their injury. At that time, I had never heard of TRX. Around the same time, one of my professional organizations organized an intro to TRX and Pilates day. Admittedly, I am pretty boring when it comes to exercise. I don't jump on bandwagons very quickly. I'm a big fan of dumbbells, barbells and body weight. But I really liked TRX. I really liked how you could challenge yourself with bodyweight by having support of the strap to move further into positions but at the same time challenge your balance. I loved the ability to work on shoulder stability with the straps. So, I got certified, taught a few classes "back in the day" and have started to offer classes again.

I kind of explained what Suspension Training is above but here's another explanation:
https://youtu.be/sV0wD-7etik?si=mCvUKbhbvbT8d8fS

So, next question ... are you really in that "bad of shape" that you can't do it? NO! The other thing that I love about Suspension Training is that it is really easy to modify exercises to increase or decrease the difficulty as needed even with varied ability levels in the same class.

I stitched together the video above to show a variety of exercises that a class may include. Variations of planks are sometimes the one that scares people. Easiest ... planks can be done in standing leaning against the wall (no suspension straps required). Or you could do a plank on the floor without your feet suspended. You will notice that I do planks on my forearms and that is due to a right wrist that does not tolerate a plank on my hands for very long. Again, lots of variations and modifications.

Right now classes are Thursday mornings at 900am. I am open to offering another time if there is enough interest.

See you at the Trailhead!!

08/12/2026

If you have missed REFIT and REV+FLOW this summer, our September schedule will be released soon! We’ve missed you, and look forward to welcoming you back!

Tonight, Shari at The Trailhead Wellness Collective took us through a TRX class. Thanks for the fun and the great workout! 💪

We are grateful for so many ways to keep active in our town! Whatever exercise you engage in, it is always great to try something new.

08/07/2026

We probably don't need vast amounts of quality research to agree that sleep is such an important factor when it comes to our health.

I did review a few papers however regarding Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists thoughts and knowledge around helping patients with sleep. Over 90% of both groups agreed that sleep was an important factor in health. Over 80% felt that they should be including review of sleep as part of their assessments. However, less than 40% felt they had the training to do so.

That is why we are so fortunate to have Erin with Groundwork Occupational Therapy offering this workshop here in Sundre. Assessing and treating sleep disturbances is a special interest area of Erin's. She has used her additional education and research to treat patients one-on-one and develop this group workshop.

If you, or someone you care for, struggles with sleep, do not let this opportunity pass you by. Contact Erin for more details and to register. [email protected]

07/28/2026

Fun fact about me … sometimes I respond to text messages in my head but never actually type nor send them. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Apparently sometimes I think about sharing a video too but don’t actually do it!!! SO … without further ado … the final group of exercises that we reviewed in our strengthening session of the Spring Running Series.

This is all about the abductors. These guys get lots of attention when you’re a runner (or at least they should). Yes, the abductors abduct your hip (move your leg out to the side). But the more important role is to stabilize the hip and pelvis when weight bearing on one leg and transferring load to the other leg. That job gets harder when the demand is repetitive (like with running - right, left, right, left….) and with more impact (jumping or again running where you are ultimately jumping from one foot to the other).
When these guys are weak, have poor endurance or we have poor proprioception (basically awareness of our position), everything down that chain takes a hit. Weakness here can be the cause of tendinopathies at the hip, knee, ankle and/or foot pain. Back pain can also be exacerbated by weakness here.
When people talk about the “core”, it’s not just abs. The “core” includes the gluteals, abductors (which are some of the gluteals), pelvic floor, diaphragm, deep layers of the erector spinae, quadratus lumborum …
This is a group of exercises that we don’t worry about lifting heavy. Instead, we’re isolating a muscle group and paying attention to load transfer. Anyways … here are few ways to target these guys.
1. Side Plank and all the variations that go along with that
2. Banded Squats, banded hip abduction, banded all sorts of things
3. Sumo / Monster Walks … banded

They’re not sexy. You will not look cool in the gym but a good addition to a program particularly for runners.

07/20/2026

More strength options and progressions….
(Might have to bust out that happy face again! Really, I was much happier than I appeared doing these😬🤷🏻‍♀️)
Again, lots of benefits of upping the weights. However, if you’re still not keen on hitting the gym but still need to increase difficulty, you can venture toward single leg loads. Functional for sure, as we do a lot of single-legged feats (like running), however, when we start challenging balance, we cannot not lift our heaviest loads.
1. Split Squat
2. Staggered Sit to Stand
3. Single Leg Sit to Stand
4. Lateral lunges
5. Step Down
6. Lateral Step up
7. Step up (with or without a knee drive)

07/18/2026

Strength options continued … this time gluts and hammies

AGAIN … big benefits of lifting heavier but these are option for people who just want a home routine with lighter weight. Because the best exercises are the ones that you will do.

1. Glut Bridge
Always a good one to easily load gluts as a warmup or if you are needing to add load to a tendinopathy. With the feet further away, you’re now loading hamstrings a little more.
A close cousin is the hip thrust (HT) which is typically done by having the back on a bench. I decided to review some literature because I don’t recall 10-20 years ago seeing anyone ever doing this in the gym. Is this a trend?
What I found was, for the best hypertrophy of gluts, the HT just barely edges out squats. When it comes to functional strength, it’s edged out narrowly by squats and deadlifts. If you’re warming up for a sprint, this is should be your go-to. So, moral of the story, if you want to do a hip thrust along with everything else, giv’er. If you’re like me and want to get in and out of the gym and just focus on a few key lifts, I am going to choose NOT to extricate myself from under a bar.
2. Hamstring gliders
3. Deadlifts
A Romanian Deadlift is done with a little more bend in the knees. Or keep your knees relatively straight throughout for a little more eccentric load to the hamstrings.
4. A row is not targeting gluts however that kickstand position is adding a nice isometric load to gluts. A good option if you’re trying to add load but not tolerating movement through full range yet.
5. Single Leg Deadlift
Has been shown as the GOAT to add the most load to all gluteals and hip abductors at the same time. You could lift the back foot fully or do in the kickstand position

07/15/2026

Back in June, during the Spring Running Series we chatted about the benefit of lifting heavy stuff. I’ll keep trying to encourage that but if the gym is really not your jam, you can at least supplement your running (or life in general) with a lighter weight routine at home.
I’ll share a series of videos showing lots of options and variations. First up - good ol’ squats! (I was happier than I appear😃)

1. Goblet squats.
There is nothing wrong with turning your toes out a bit when it comes to squats. I, however, often teach people to have toes forward to encourage more dorsiflexion at the ankle. Ankle mobility is an important factor in injury prevention for runners.
2. Sumo squats.
A wider stance with toes out increases load to the adductors (groin muscles). Adductors are huge stabilizers of the hip and pelvis.
3. Decline Squats.
With heels elevated, there’s a little less load on the gluts and more focus on quads. I tend to teach this only as an option when knee pain is a factor. Sometimes, this one feels better.
4. Sit to Stand
A nice place to start if your balance isn’t great or you feel like you fall backwards. Increase the difficulty by touching only briefly rather than fully sitting down.
5. Wall Sits
A great place to start if knee pain is keeping you from squats. If you can hold this for a minute however, it’s time to move on.

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Sundre, AB
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