I have to jump on here and say how awesome Shanna is!

I found her on Nextdoor and signed up for her small group strength-training classes. What I didn’t realize was that the hardest part wouldn’t be lifting weights—it would be showing up.

I’m 55. I have osteopenia (the stage before osteoporosis), a left ankle full of metal, and a history of some pretty significant injuries. Building strength and maintaining my independence as I age is really important to me, which is one of the reasons I decided to finally make this commitment.

Part of why I chose Shanna is that she’s an athlete who has experienced injuries herself. She’s had to learn how to adapt, modify, and keep moving forward when her body couldn’t always do what it once did. To me, there’s a huge difference between someone who can acknowledge an injury and someone who truly understands what it’s like to work around one.

I also have to be honest: I’m about 100 pounds heavier than most of the women in the class. Sometimes I look in the mirror and see someone who’s red-faced, sweaty, out of breath, and moving slower than everyone else.

But I’m there.

I actually bought weights years ago and planned to teach myself. Instead, they sat in the corner collecting dust. It turns out I needed guidance, accountability, and the confidence that comes from learning in a supportive environment.

There was a time in my life when I jumped out of airplanes and did all sorts of adventurous things. Then I got hurt. When you’ve been through significant injuries, your body remembers, even when you’re not consciously thinking about it. Sometimes the fear is still there.

And honestly, there’s something really special about being in a room full of women who are all showing up for themselves. Everyone is at a different fitness level, a different age, and a different place in their journey, but there’s a lot of encouragement and support. It feels less like competition and more like we’re all cheering each other on.

Some days my inner voice tells me to quit because it’s hard. But every single time I leave class, I’m glad I showed up.

You don’t have to be fit to start.
You don’t have to be fearless to start.
You don’t have to be perfect to start.

You just have to start. ❤️

-Rachel J

Feeling strong AF with The Strength Edit!!!
To any of my 40+ friends who want to get in shape with a badass trainer and awesome community of women, I cannot recommend Shanna Bruschi and her Bone + Strength Lab enough.

This season of life insists on transformation of body, mind, and spirit, and I’m grateful to be around others who understand and can relate… it’s definitely easier when we’re supported.

Thank you Shanna for creating this program!! You’re amazing!!

-Annie D

I have advanced osteoporosis and was very nervous to incorporate strength training into my workouts. I walked and swam regularly, but my doctors advised that I started lifting weights. I tried going to a gym, but felt uncomfortable near the weight machines, and not really sure where to begin. I found Shanna and working with her has made a huge difference in my health. She know so much about bone health and taught me which movements I could add weights to safely and which movements to avoid. She taught me how to fix issues with my posture and carefully corrected and even movements I did wrong at all. She then took me through how to add weights and how to keep adding heavier weights as my body got comfortable at each point. I recently had a new DEXA done and my bone strength has improved significantly and keeps getting better. Frankly, I am astounded by how much adding weight under her careful direction has made a huge difference.

Joanne A

I am in the Bone & Strength classes that Shanna created and I am so impressed with what she’s done! I didn’t know what to expect since I’ve never done anything like this before and have very little experience with weights, but I’m already feeling so much stronge. In just three weeks the weights I’m lifting have gone up significantly, I have a lot more energy, and am already seeing changes in my body (my jeans fit so much better already, yay!). The groups are small and all the other women are super nice and encouraging. Somehow, Shanna is able to help everyone who all have different issues and modify for each person, or push them harder if they want that (I’m not one of those 😄). She’s also really encouraging about how just the fact that we’re showing up is a lot and that progress feels different every day. Anyway, if you’re looking to get into strength training or went to work on bone health, I definitely recommend trying out her classes! They’re pretty reasonable too.

Janet L

Shanna is incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and supportive. As someone who’s pretty new to working out, she made sure to start me off with a simple, approachable plan. I trusted her process, and I was amazed by how quickly the weights started to feel lighter, and how fast my body began to transform- right before my eyes. Now I feel so much more confident working out, and I honestly don’t think I could’ve gotten this far without Shanna’s enthusiastic guidance. I’m excited to keep working with her!

Shanna is awesome!! I'm a new mom, feeling generally un-energized, unmotivated and out of shape and not knowing where to begin, she really helped give me the push I needed to start moving again, helped me get my eating back on track (ok, at least mostly!), and made me accountable so I couldn't have too many excuses. ;) highly highly recommend!

-Lana R

Shanna is an excellent trainer, and her small class size allows her to give individual attention and modifications to build your strength. After 6 weeks I feel transformed, and have a solid foundation to continue on my own. I highly recommend her class.

Maria W