Pregnancy is not an illness ladies!!!

by admin on August 16th, 2010

Sometime’s I get caught up in my own little world and forget that not everyone else is a personal trainer! DUH. Or that’s probably the wrong wording. Not everyone thinks like me, has the same education or experiences - better.

Every once in a while (more like every week), someone says something or does something that reminds me why I do this job and why I chose to be a voice for women and moms and educate, educate, educate!!

Last week I was doing an assessment on someone who is 16 weeks pregnant and eager to get on top of the ab “situation” that left her with the baby pooch that she never got rid of from her first pregnancy. She was excited about keeping it under control during this pregnancy and not letting it get worse. Now although she was willing to do some modified abdominal exercises, I find out that there was no other exercise in her daily routine and nothing planned in the future. While I am looking at her health questionnaire, I read that the one and only reason she listed for why she should not exercsise, was her pregnancy. And when I asked her why she would write that down, she answered; “My doctor said that pregnancy was no time to start exercising”. Whaaaaaaaa??????? My head did a double take and I looked at her and asked why? Is she high risk? Is there something she’s not telling me?? No. That’s just what her GP said.

Hmph!! Is what I said. Actually, what I really said was; “pregnancy is NOT an illness!!”. Unless you have a condition that could put you or your baby at risk, there is absolutely NO REASON why you should not exercise for the remainder of your pregnancy!

So then of course I delve into what her first pregnancy was like. Did she exercise? No. Actually, instead she gained too much weight, developed high blood pressure and had such bad edema in her legs and feet by the end, she could barely walk. They had to induce her because they were concerned about her condition. Great. So you want to go through all that “fun” again?? (So glad she listened to her doctor the first time, eh?)

Guess what…it is now considered a risk factor to not exercise during pregnancy. That’s right. You know all the other risk factors i.e. gestational diabetes, high blood pressure (that can lead to preeclampsia), excessive weight gain etc?., Well inactivity is on there too. In hindsight, exercise helps to avoid all those other risk factors I just listed and many many more.

So instead I made a deal with her and a bit of a challenge for herself. Why not try and exercise during this pregnancy and see what happens? Start a regular exercise routine that she could realistically do atleast 3 days per week and walk on others. She just might be surprised on what a healthy pregnancy can feel like.

Oh. And i didn’t forget about the GP. I gave her a nice handout on the facts associated with exercise and pregnancy and benefits vs. risks. I told her to take it to her doctor the next time she sees her (she’s a woman too!) and see what she has to say for herself.

It’s too bad that I have to educate doctors when it comes to health, but again, these are the reminders that I need to keep me going every day.

Crunches Don’t Make Your Abs Flat

by admin on June 2nd, 2010

For all you moms out there who are crunching your way to a flatter belly but can’t see the results of all your hard work; guess what?? You probably wont!

Think about it, if you want to create a flat tummy, why would you do something that causes your abdominals to come forward? This is partly where pilates has their thinking in the right direction. If you want your abs to go in, then you should be doing movements that encourage your belly button and abdominals to go towards your spine, not away from it.

So that’s part of it, but what else? Well there are definitely other contributing factors to a bulging belly. Diastasis Recti is the obvious but there are other things that can make it look worse. Read More…

Diastasis is not for women alone!

by admin on April 25th, 2010

Most people associate Diastasis Recti with pregnancy. Now although pregnancy is definitely a precursor and major cause of this condition, a growing uterus is not the only culprit.

Diastasis Recti is caused by forward forceful pressure on the rectus abdominis. So…if a big belly with a baby can cause the muscles the separate, couldn’t a beer belly? Well if it looks like a duck and quacks like one…….. But there’s more! Doing abdominal exercises incorrectly can also put too much load on the recti causing the muscles to go their separate ways. Take a look at the image here. Obviously this man never had a baby, so why is there a big space in the middle of his abdominals? Why is his six-pack not together? Read More…

Exactly Why I Do This Job

by admin on April 1st, 2010

I received a really wonderful email from an old client of mine the other day. We started training when her baby girl was about 3 months old and we continued until around her first birthday.

Like many sessions, the first few are almost like therapy. Forget about focusing on “working out”. This is an opportunity for moms to connect with another mom and use this hour as best as possible. The client asks alot of questions about motherhood, I answer to the best of my ability and just do alot of listening in general. It’s hard to determine how much is being absorbed or if my opinions make a difference at all as I am also a firm believer that every mom, especially a first timer, has to follow their gut and do what’s best for them. Read More…

Be Careful Post Baby!!

by admin on March 15th, 2010

I saw a new client the other day for an assessment of her Mummy Tummy. As I do with every new client, I had her fill out the appropriate forms, consent etc. After reviewing her health questionnaire, I noticed that she had worked with a personal trainer before but only for one session. When I asked her about this, she revealed that their were “too many burpies” and the workout made her feel sick to her stomach. As my jaw dropped to the floor, I then asked her, “so what did that do for your opinion of personal trainers and exercise?” She then said she hadn’t worked out since and that was a year and a half ago. Read More…

What exercises to avoid with Diastasis Recti

by admin on February 14th, 2010

So I received a few emails and questions about my last post.

What exercises should you avoid if you have an abdominal separation? Well if a Diastasis is caused by a forward forcefull pressure on your rectus abdominis, any movement that puts your abs in that position, should be avoided. For example, crunches, pilates 100’s, obliques (they are a double wammy), planks etc.

The main function of the rectus is flexion and extension of your spine. Second to that, it acts like a wall to support your organs from your ribs to your hips. If the two sides of the rectus are separated, what sort of support system do you have? It also makes sense that you would be suffering back pain as well, eh? Read More…

Diastasis Rehabilitation

by admin on January 23rd, 2010

Wow…I’ve certainly been tardy in keeping up with my blog. I can’t believe it’s almost the end of January, 2010!

Well some great news! I just got back from New York and took a pretty intense workshop on Diastasis Recti. Or as many more people know it; when the rectus abdominis splits or seperates during pregnancy. I thought I knew everything there was to know about this condition, but there was definitely more to learn!

For example, did you know that Diastasis Recti is not only limited to pregnant women? That men can also get this condition? Children too! How about the fact that it doesn’t self correct either - most people don’t know they have a seperation, thus making it alot more common than the stats that are available. Read More…

Get Your Holiday Plan Ready!!

by admin on December 4th, 2009

Let’s try not to succumb to the endless parties of food, wine and endless cheer! Don’t get me wrong. I love cheer, but when it’s bottled up into 250 calories a glass and paired with 10 grams of delicious artichoke and asiago cheese fat, it’s no wonder the average person gains 5-10 pounds over the holidays. Then the gyms are all rubbing their palms together while people sign up feverishly for memberships so they can once again make a new new years resolution that’s going to “work this time”!! Read More…

Stress and Cortisol

by admin on November 21st, 2009

Cortisol is the hormone that is released when you are under stress. Alot of people think stress means physical reactions to situations i.e. heart palpatations, anxiety, sweating etc. But in reality, most of us who live in a fast paced environment, are under stress all the time. We have just adapted to it - or so we think we have.

So what about motherhood? Well I don’t know about you, but since I gave birth to my oldest 8 years ago, my body and emotions have been on a roller coaster ride. Motherhood for me, especially the second time around, has been a wonderfully fullfilling but also almost debilitating (or so it seemed at the time) experience. Ever heard of the saying “One is none; two is ten”? That couldn’t be more bang on! Although some people have even gone so far as to say stress can kill you, stress is something that can’t be ignored. After having my own challenges with stress in the past, I have seen too many women over the years suffer while filling perscriptions to keep them going. Read More…

Exercise and Gestational Diabetes

by samantha on October 21st, 2009

It’s wonderful to see, now more than ever, pregnant women working out. We have come a long way from “put your feet up, relax and eat”. Although we were told to do that with the best of intentions, it turns out after years of further research that staying sedentary during pregnancy only brought on more problems than not.

One concern is the development of Gestational Diabetes. This condition is diagnosed when women develop high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones that are needed during pregnancy. Some of these are insulin resistant so this requires the pancreas (which is responsible for making insulin) to work even harder during pregnancy. For some women, however, this is not enough and Gestational Diabetes develops. Women who are at a higher risk for developing Gestational Diabetes are obese, have a family history of Diabetes or have delivered a large baby previously. The risks associated with diabetes and pregnancy can be miscarriage and abnormalities in the early stages or your baby could develop low blood sugar levels, jaundice or be very large which can cause complications with delivery. Read More…