Phit for a Queen: A Female Athlete Podcast

Movement is the Medicine

An enthusiast for movement, Michelle Laging became a fitness instructor and worked part-time for both 24-Hour Fitness and Curves in 2003. After shadowing a few Physical Therapists, it became obvious that this was the path she needed to pursue to fulfill her professional needs. Michelle graduated from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in 2008 as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and began her career at Denver Health Medical Center in the late fall of 2008.

"My 10-years of experience in inpatient care at Denver Health has been robust and extremely rewarding.  Knit within the fabric of my experience on the orthopedic unit, medical-surgical units, and acute rehabilitation, was the development and delivery of Physical Therapy services to individuals with eating disorders.  The past 3-years were solely dedicated to the unique needs of these individuals admitted for medical stabilization at the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders by Denver Health. As I reflect back on my wonderful experience at Denver Health, I can truly say that my work both on the ACUTE unit and the acute rehabilitation unit allowed me to live my dream to “make a difference in people’s lives”.

So you know she's legit:

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
University of Colorado at Denver (Aurora, CO) June 2005 – May 2008

Post-Baccalaureate Coursework (Physical Therapy Pre-Requisites) University of Colorado at Denver (Denver, CO)
June 2003 – May 2005

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) Ball State University (Muncie, IN)
August 1992 – May 1997

Professional Experience
Healthbreak Inc., State of Colorado Wellness Center (Denver, CO) Yoga Instructor
October 2003 - January 2008

24Hour Fitness (Denver, CO) Group Exercise Instructor
June 2003 – April 2007

Davis Partnership Architects (Denver, CO) Landscape Architect
June 1997 - May 2005

Denver Health (Denver, CO)
Staff Physical Therapist, Inpatient Rehabilitation Services November 2008 – May 2016

Eating Recovery Center (Denver, CO) PRN Physical Therapist
October 2016 – May 2016

ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders by Denver Health (Denver, CO) Lead ACUTE Physical Therapist
May 2016 – February 2019
PRN Physical Therapist

March 2019 - present

Foundation Physical Therapy and Endurance Coaching

Renee has been running competitively since the last 1990's. She has completed numerous marathons (including Boston), an ultra marathon, numerous triathlons (2 time Ironman finisher) and has a strong passion for competitive trail running.

The unique combination of being a physical therapist and endurance coach allows Renee the ability to provide each athlete with knowledge of how to care for their bodies while they are progressing safely through a training plan that optimizes their athletic performance.

For athletes living in the Phoenix vicinity, Renee offers full service physical therapy care, if needed or for prevention of potential injuries. Services she provides as a physical therapist include:

• Running Gait Analysis
• IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization)
• Dry Needling
• Manual Therapy
• Detailed exercise prescription

Renee also offers a strength based group fitness class, one time a week, which focuses specifically on the mobility and stability activities needed to maintain a healthy body for endurance sports. Please refer to our Facebook page for more information on the group fitness class.

Foundation Physical Therapy and Endurance Coaching was founded by Renee Hodges, DPT (physical therapist), ITCA Coach in January 2015.

Coaching through Foundation is fully customized for each athlete based on their athletic history, goals and daily lifestyle. Athletes have unlimited access to Renee with questions training plans changes, etc.

Foundation focuses on building the fundamentals of athletic performance in order to achieve the ultimate potential of an athlete.

 

So you know she's legit:

In 2014 she obtained her coaching certification in order to enhance the quality of education she is able to provide her clients.

Renee Hodges, DPT, ITCA Coach has practiced as a physical therapist with a specialization in treating runners since 2003.