Common Myths and Fantasys

These are a list of the things i hear with new clients, and that i am aiming to obliterate from the common myths surrounding exercise!

1) If i exercise a certain body part, i will make it smaller: NO you won't!! The only thing you can do with over-exercising a body part, is INCREASE the size of it as the muscle adapts. Think of Anna Meares in cycling, or any of the 100mtr sprinter's leg size... If you want to make something smaller, you need to lose fat - and fat comes off everywhere all at once.

2) If i do weights i will get big: NO you won't!! It is mostly women who say this - and the irony is we have not got the hormones to make muscles big. If you want big muscles, you have to train them a certain way for hours a day, one session once a week ain't going to cut it.

3) Light weight means easy weight: NO it does not!!! Light weight is relative, it means you can lift it many times. But to get a muscle adaptation, you still need to work it. Light weights is still hard weights, just you lift it more times before the "burn".
4) I need to cut out foods to lose weight: NO you don't!! But you do need to educate yourself on what is in the food you eat. Simply cutting foods out teaches you nothing, and may increase your cravings.

5) I just need to eat healthy to lose weight: well, it is half-true. Eating for weight loss is not necessarily healthy, especially if you are using supplements. Conversely, you can still be overweight and eat a healthy diet if your portion sizes are too big. Chose one goal at a time, then seek advice from a professional.

If you have any questions on myths, things you've "heard", or others have "reckoned", email me at clare@beyourbestpt.com and i will attempt to address them!!

Super Women

I have been mulling (and openly whinging) about excuses for a while now, but it has led me to realisewhat sensational people i have around me in this stage of my life.

There would appear to be two types of women in my social interactions, the first make excuses, then hide where noone will confront them and they can believe their own lies, the second front up and face things honestly, are accountable, and actually achieve something.

With the latter group, week in week out they blow me away. In my mothers group, for example, there is a woman who has not missed one session, even when her son was waking every 45min in the night. It is one thing for me to show up every week, with the responsibility of leading the session, it is entirely another for these tired, emotional women, left with nothing but perfectly plausable excuses, to show up regardless. The session is free, so there is not even a cancellation policy to motivate them, it comes entirely from within.

I wonder how to capture that state of mind, what is it about these people that causes them to rise above. In my case it is pure stubbornness, or as a friend of mine calls it "missaphobia" , where you are afraid of missing out on anything! However, even just last week, with all this swimming around in my head, i found myself making excuses about why Evie and i were not going swimming. The friend that was with me conveniently came up with a solution to each of my problems, and next thing i knew i was in the water, fully clothed, with my giggling and naked baby, basking the the most glorious morning, and feeling like the luckiest person that ever lived. I would have missed that, was i not in the company of a Super Woman, who gave me the nudge i was after.

My dad says that life is too short to surround yourself with anyone but the highest quality person. Anything else is a waste of time. I wholeheartedly agree, and acknowledge that i would not have achieved nearly as much as i have witout these amazing people in my life that i am continually learning from, and who do not let me cushion myself from really living with excuses.

Today and easter Saturday i worked. I was delighted to see Super Woman after Super Woman amble through my studio doors for a workout. What better reason why not to train than a long weekend? They left that excuse at the door, and i am so proud of them for it. One of them was an old client who is being tortured with an ailment that is as yet undiagnosed, but is messing with her ability to function. Needless to say she is terrified of what comes next, but still makes the time to move her body and treat he mental health. Another has had MS for 25yrs, and is continuing to defy the odds, perfectly mobile apart from a slight limp, and persistantly getting up again after she falls (literally). These people are inspiring.

I would encourage any of you to make a list today, of 5 things you would like to be or do, then actively seek it. If mums with 10 day old babies can make a start on the physical health, and others with serious chronic disease can still get themselves to a gym, surely you can book that flight, prepare for your new diet, or make that call?

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 :-)

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