My Favorite Baby-Friendly Exercises for Mums

As demonstrated by my very cool and motivated mother's group!!

These exercises get the pelvic floor engaged, the abs back together, and the the arms, back and butt stronger than ever! You can pretty much perform any dumbbell or kettle bell exercise with the baby as a weight (obviously not single hand stuff - safety first!!), but these are my functional favourites for mums.

1) The Squat and Lift: performed with perfect posture, this exercise trains your shoulders, back, butt, and thighs. In addition, the momentum created by standing and lifting is great for your baby's head control and neck strength. Babies usually love this one.

2) Leg Out and Curtsy: If we imagine the pelvic floor musculature like a stocking stretched over a coat hanger, this movement of your legs is like stretching and twisting the coat hanger, thus engaging and training the pelvis floor. The balance aspect is also great for those joints which will still be unstable if you are breastfeeding. The curtsy is great for your VMO and glute muscles, which are weak in alot of women, causing knee, hip, and lower back pain. If you add a little hop when your leg is out, you will engage another 20 micro volts of force in those pelvic floor muscles.

3) The Stiff-Leg Deadlift: Performed with a pram, this is an intense nerve, hamstring and lat stretch. With your baby in front of you it is a huge back and hamstring strength exercise. Single leg adds butt and knee stabilisers. Make sure those shoulder blades stay down and your back is board-straight.

4) Pilates Sit-Up: usually i am not a fan of sit-ups. However this method increases the mobility and flexibility of the lower back, and we can work on posture in the sitting phase of the exercise. Adding a side bend or twist at the sitting part challenges the back and ab muscles, as well as increasing the mobility of your entire spine. Adding a baby will challenge your shoulders and back more, but it is assistance in the sitting up part, as the baby-weight works like leverage. Standing up and using the pram is mostly a stretch, but you will feel those obliques working too!

Sets of 10 mean that you can work on your technique, and rest enough to keep the movement perfect. Make it harder by increasing the sets you do. Going for 20 reps when your baby is over 5kg may mean that you sacrifice your posture, which is just not worth it!! Half an hour of total exercise like this is plenty, although with chatting we took about an hour today!

Let me know how you go

Ask Clare for Power Plate

Common questions answered in regards to vibration training.

What is Vibration training? http://youtu.be/pXPgiPDL8kE
Why is the Power Plate so expensive and is it worth it? http://youtu.be/GAGZxkLCAns

The Restrictions of the Mind

I have been taking my mothers group for a session on Thursday mornings for the past couple of weeks; i have been blessed with an enthusiastic, fit, energetic bunch of mothers that actually show up and give it a go! However when i explained that i couldn't do it this week, because i was sailing in the Windsurfing nationals, i was met with an extraordinary range of different emotions and reactions! Not just from some of the other mums, but my friends and clients too, from deathly silence (i can only imagine they were thinking "what the...?) to incredulous enthusiasm like i was climbing Mount Everest with Evie on my back.

Is going Windsurfing with a 5mth old really that extraordinary?

Turns out, it is!

The only thing i can't figure out, is why!

Before having Evie, the general consensus was that my life would be turned upside down and i wouldn't be able to do anything i wanted to do ever again. What i decided was that it was not going to be that way, it is simply a matter of logistics: where have i got to be when, and who's looking after Evie?

The motto i try to live by is from Mark Twain, with a lovely sailing analogy that i identify with: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

This is not to say i lump my child with my mum everyday. I simply spend time figuring what i can do, when, and how. Often i will turn up with my daughter and dog in tow! We have been to a Hen's weekend, two weddings, leg waxes, work, and more in these past 4.5mths, and i do not intend to stop!

To get myself to the Nationals, i have recruited my husband as primary support. After babysitting was arranged, my next project will be to find a power point and fridge at the venue, so i can express between races. Undignified? Sure. But possible!

Motherhood can be tough, but it doesn't have to define who you are for life. There are lots of other things to do and live for. Any restrictions placed on us by our kids, are actually placed on ourselves by us - by believing certain things are not possible. Give possible a crack, you have nothing to lose!

Fitness in 10min...

Apart from the cost, one of the old and tired excuses i listen to everyday is lack of time. This program i have presented all over Australia on numerous occasions to various companies, in an attempt to bring up the standard of health in our corporate workforce.

Perform one of these programs each day, and you will be well on your way to excellent fitness in only 10min a day. Each program targets a different aspect of fitness, to give you well rounded and versatile fitness. They can be performed in any order.

1. Aerobic endurance: 10 minute walk – get up first thing and go for a brisk 10 minute walk. Then follow your routine as normal. This kick starts your metabolism, leaving you feeling refreshed and awake. Repeat at lunch-time, whenever you pop out for a coffee, and after dinner. The accumulative effect of these three (or more if you get the opportunity) 10 minute walks in your day includes; increased fitness, fat loss, and stress relief.
   

   

   Gyms can be boring, but if you are lucky enough to have one in your building, they can save time.

   
2. Aerobic agility: 10 minute intervals – do you sit in front on TV after a long, exhausting day? Take 1 minute per exercise to do the 5-6 of the following activities (allow 30seconds between each to get your breath back):
   
   
   1) running on the spot
   2) hamstring curls3) soccer knees
   4) ski jumps

   5) lie down & get up (no hands)
   6) burpees

   7) skipping 8) step ups
   9) star jumps 10) running backwards
3. Flexibility: Lower body -
   Glute/butt
   
   
   Quadricep
   
   
   Calf
   
   
   Hamstring
   

   

   Quadricep Stretches

   
4. Flexibility: Upper body -
   Back
   
   
   Chest
   
   
   Tricep/Lat
   
   
   Forearm
    
   
   

   

   Hover

   
5. Core Strength -
   Hover 
   Pilates "squish" and leg extension
   

   

   Pilates "squish". Start with simply extending one leg at a time. then add the second leg, then sit up.

   
6. Core Stability -
   Balance on one leg; progress to eyes shut　
   Superman; progress to eyes shut
    

   

   Opposite arm and leg raise (superman): This photo is an advanced version of the exercise. Start on your hands and knees.

   
   
7. Strength (beginners) -
   Assisted Push ups
   Supported bent over row (use water bottles or bags of sand)
   Step ups
   
   Strength (intermediate) -
   Dips
   Pull ups　
   Squats
   

   

   A good looking squat. Pistol squats are the same, except on one leg with the other pointing out straight infront.

   
   Strength (advanced) -
   Chin ups
   Push ups
   Lunges
   

   

   Push ups: fingers can be extended towards you, like in the photo, or out in front, whatever position is better for your wrists.

   
   Strength (for variety, any level) - Pistol squat
   Crouch
   Shoulder press (like a push up, but with feet on bench or against the wall)Hand stand (supported by wall, progress to free stranding)
8. Power -
   Repeat 3x10 sets of the following exercises with plenty of rest in between. Power training is high risk of injury, and should be used as an advanced exercise.
   1) split lunges
   2) burpees
   3) explosive push ups
   4) tuck jumps
   5) hill sprints
   6) boxing
   

   

   Simple power training: stair sprints.

   
9. Speed - Intervals are an effective way of improving your speed over time. In the rhythmical exercise type of your choice (riding, boxing, running) try the following interval sessions:
   * alternate 2min sprint with 1min complete rest for 20-30min
   * alternate 1min sprint with 15sec complete rest for 20-30min
   * alternate 8sec sprint with 12sec easy movement for 20-25min
   * alternate 1min sprint with 1min easy movement for 30min
10. Recovery- Take time out and achieve balance with the following:
* Meditation * Massage * Sleep * Stretch/Flexibility * Bath

Here are some ideas for special situations:

On the plane (only for the super-keen!): The following exercises are possible to do within the confines of an plane. Be prepared for a few startled looks from your fellow passengers!

* Pelvic floor exercises: squeeze your abs in like you're trying to push your lower back into the car seat. * Roaming: just get up and pace the halls. Any energy expended is good energy! * Lie down and up: in the hallways, lie down on your back then get up again without using your hands. This will increase your heart rate as well as your abdominal and leg strength. * Push ups

In the Office: It is EASY to exercise in your office! This is also something you could all do together to strengthen your team's relationship:

* Aerobic agility program (#2 card) * Some flexibility, core, and strength exercises: the ones that are possible without equipment (cards #3-10). * Skipping: skipping is one of the most effective cardiovascular workouts there is. Start with 1-2 minutes and increase as your body is able. It is an excellent exercise for interval training (#12).

Family time:
* Kids as weights: from new babies to toddlers. Lifting them from the floor and into the air repeatedly will not only entertain them, but give you an excellent workout!

* Take kids with you: running or walking. Carry them, drag them, push them, or run around them!

* Play with a ball rather than watch them on equipment: getting in there with your kids will not only strengthen your relationship, but it will increase your fitness and sense of wellbeing as well.

* Races: a tradition! As they grow bigger and stronger your tradition of racing to the nearest light pole will get harder for you.

* Piggy back and shoulder rides: physically carrying a child in your arms, on your back or shoulders will increase your energy output by up to 20%. Over a couple of hours and as your child grows this is a significant output!

* Backyard cricket, family rides, surfing, etc: make time to be active with your family. Even if you're exhausted at the start, you'll feel better after a couple of minutes, and you're kids will remember these times forever.

Christmas Splurge

Yesterday's body and soul liftout pronted a statistic that i found disturbing: the average australian will gain between 0.8 & 1.5kgs this xmas that they'll never lose. In addition, most women that start a diet in the new year will have given up within a week.

I often say to my clients that i have no greater willpower or resistance to food than they do, i just have better avoidance strategies. Here are my strategies to avoid the splurge when i can, so i never have to say no if i dont want to:

1) go running- i sleep in in the holidays like everyone else. But before breakfast, before a shower, i go jogging. When i couldn't run i walked. It is simply some alone time to burn some fuel and start the day feeling fresh. I find when i feel good about myself i eat better too.

2) always participate- i am not a huge fan of mountain biking, but my husband loves it, and has built me this rocking great bike. When in tumut (where his family is from) there is some great single trail, and i make a poknt of always saying yes when asked to go. Likewise if someone is throwing a football, playing backyard cricket, or swimming, so am i.

3) salad first- i will eat everything available at xmas lunch. However i always fill my plate with green leafy salad before going back for the rest, including dessert. This way i eat less of the bad stuff but i never miss out.

Good luck with your weight management these holidays, may you be an exceptional, not average aussie this xmas :-)

Www.galileopt.com.au

Mothers Are Important Too

I attended my 6 week check right on 6 weeks at the doctor, and paid $60 just to be asked how my boobs are feeling, and then we moved on to all the baby tests. I have also been attending "Parents Group" (aka mothers group, not even one dad in the room) at my local Early Childhood centre for 5 weeks. The way this particular centre works, is every week has a new topic and a professional to come and talk about it. So far we have covered baby settling, baby feeding, baby sickness, playgroup, and baby massage.

I have one question after all these week's of education; What about ME?!

 Not to take anything away from the need to educate new parents on the health of their child, there is an obvious disregard for the woman's mental and physical health post-baby. With Post Natal depression such a massive problem, no one has asked how i feel or how i am coping. No one has checked how i am doing physically. I am lucky enough to have an intimate understanding of these issues, and i have access to a gym that can test for common post-natal problems, but what about the other 20 women in my group, and the hundreds of others across the state and nationally?

I will start with the 6 week check at the doctor. It is a PT's duty of care to wait for this check before training a client. But why bother when the muscle testing we do at the gym is a million times more thorough?

At the Early Childhood Centre, they educate the mum's on the best practices for their baby's health, and then the mum goes home and gets frustrated with dad, who has not got access to this education (since someone has to work, and in the first 4-6mths of a baby's life this will logically be the dad, and then they schedule the sessions for 10am on a weekday....) and makes the same mistakes as she made weeks ago!

Then they completely disregard the mum's health, mentally and physically, by not even considering it important enough to address. How many of these women are incontinent at the moment? The Continence Foundation of Australia find that 37% of women have a problem with incontinence, and 70% of these never seek help. That is HUGE! The only information that is readily accessible is TEVA commercials which basically say that you have to live with it and buy their product so you don't embarrass yourself!

You can treat incontinence very effectively with adequate education and training. It is simply a muscle weakness for most people.

Incontinence aside, back pain is another serious issue for the Post Natal mother. The hormone Relaxin is still doing its magic while you're breastfeeding, and the effect of this for many women is loose joints that become inflamed and cause pain. Adequate abdominal and butt muscle strength is necessary to maintain back and pelvic health, but again, there is no advice on this. Many women lose the ability to contract these muscles

with the structural changes that occurred during pregnancy, so even if they begin to try and strengthen them, they cannot access the correct muscles to contract, and end up "compensating" with alternate muscles. Many women simply

never use those muscles again, and they disintegrate with disuse. This can increase the woman's risk of injury later down the track (like when you're trying to lift a 15kg toddler).

Another issue, with breastfeeding being virtually impossible to achieve with good posture, is chronic neck and shoulder pain caused by bad posture. Like incontinence, this is a muscle issue, and can be trained back into pain-free shape!

And what about reducing body fat? Did you realise that exercising too soon can impact the way in which your pelvis fuses back together and leave you with chronically uneven hips (the consequences of which is damaged hip sockets leading to arthritis, bursitis, or chronic hip, back, or knee pain)? Did you realise what and how you eat directly affects not only your baby, but their children and grandchildren?

The first thing i asked the midwives that came to visit after the birth was to check my abdominal separation and pelvic floor contraction. Even then, in the hospital, you have to line up for a physio to do these checks.

I am so proud that at my little studio, we can test for, and address, all of these issues. Even from a mental health perspective, exercise has been shown to improve serotonin levels (happy hormones), decrease cortisol levels (stress hormones) and, in this way, help combat depression.

If anyone has not had their muscles checked after having a baby, please contact Galileo PT galileopt@unwired.com.au or 02 9905 4144, to arrange it. It takes about 10min, it's free, and you can then access training to correct any problems that the tests uncover.

The Chariot

I have a very expensive Canadian pram, that i absolutely trashed on the weekend, and it survived!

It is called a Chariot, and it went over soft sand, hard sand, single trail, pebbles, roots, and stairs without a hitch. I was stoked! Stoked enough to plug it in my blog :-)

I got it from http://www.ragear.com.au/

Here are some pics:




Back Beach, Minnie Waters

 



The stairs and rocks that we conquered in order to get to back beach. I did these twice, the second time when i went surfing the next day. You can see Evie's little foot poking out if you look close enough.

 



The trail to the beach

 



Soft sand on the trail, and a close up of the unreal adjustable suspension!. Evie is also in a hammock-like sling, so she rocks comfortably on the uneven stuff.

 




The view from the top of the hill between Main and Back beaches, Minne Waters

  FYI i had Evie sleeping through the night before this adventure, it has fallen apart somewhat, but we are back on track today and my fingers are crossed for tonight!!