Squats Rock. Period. One of the best exercises if you are pregnant or postnatal. They strengthen your legs, bum, thighs, work your pelvic floor and your core. Just to add in a bit extra I’ve used a resisitance band to work the upper back too. A fabulous all-rounder of an exercise.
If you aren’t pregnant/postnatal this is ALSO a fabulous exercise. Try it out and let me know how you find it.
How long do you sit for on an average day? Think it through to include driving, eating, work, relaxing…. I bet it is longer than you would expect. Most people don’t realise how long they sit. We’ve turned into a society that wants to sit rather than stand. Standing is seen as harder work, however sitting is actually causing your body a lot of problems.
Pilates for me is constantly a challenge. I teach it, but I am also still learning it and I think I always will be. That is one of the reasons I love it so much. If something is too easy, it loses it appeal to me. I’m certainly not uber flexible, ultra strong or a Pilates Pro. I am however consistent, always looking to learn, able to listen more and more to my body and Pilates is an exercise I enjoy. Finding exercise you enjoy is always important, if you don’t like it you will not stick to it.
One thing highlighted to me this week is how Pilates is not all about how strong you are. Yes you need core strength to do a teaser and upper body strength to complete a good front leg pull back… but you also need hamstrings that are released so you can straighten your legs for a teaser and if your pecs are tight you will struggle to get the full range for the front leg pull back. So I’m introducing new release stretches into our classes. A tight muscle can be a weakness.
Think about it, what is different those weeks when you suddenly cannot do certain exercises. The roll up is one of those that often gets affected. Tiredness, tight muscles, overworked muscles, the breathing and lack of concentration all play a role – not just core strength.
So this week when going around your daily activities work out where you feel restricted movement, what areas feel tight. If you sit alot at work this may be your hamstrings, if you are on the floor playing with small children it may be tight pectorals from having a rounded upper body posture. Lifting, leaning, driving, looking at a screen, wearing shoes – unless we do these everyday activities with proper alignment we will get tight muscles somewhere.
My challenge to you – go and release them. Find a roller, a spiky ball, a tennis ball and get into those tight places. Stretch out with a band, a rolled towel or just on the floor. Think about what you are feeling and then see if you notice the difference. If you can, release some of these areas before your Pilates class. Then see what happens.
It’s that time of year when people have over eaten, drunk too much and not been as active as they usually are. Plus there are still a pile of treats hanging around tempting you. I know as there are choccies and cake in my house looking at me.
Giving birth is amazing, scary, hard work, unpredictable, a miracle and beautiful. I’ve only been through it twice and both times it has been a different, but unbelievable experience. I’m completely in awe of how the female body nurtures the baby and then goes through the birthing process. I learnt so much from giving birth the first time that it has shaped the way I teach my classes, with a focus on remembering to practice breathing, relaxing the pelvic floor and releasing tight muscles groups.
So here are my top 3 exercises to help you prepare for labour.
I used hip circles throughout my second labour as I found I naturally wanted to do this movement and it helped me work through my contractions.
The “drop the baby” exercise is the one I so needed to know before baby 1 as I was rubbish at relaxing my core! There are disadvantages to having a strong core 😉
CAT is one of the favourite exercises in my pregnancy classes. It is great for helping release and mobilise tight lower backs and just feels so good when you are pregnancy.
Go practise ladies!
If you want more exercises to help you through prepare for labour, help you through pregnancy and also postnatally then please check out my DVD’s.
So I’ve back at the study at present. As part of a course I am studying I’m delving into Fascia. Quite simply fascinating.
Squats are back people and they rock. I’ve always been a fan of the squat, now that I’ve learnt even more about the body I’m an even bigger fan…. and it’s not just me, squats are everywhere I look. Why?
1. They work your pelvic floor without you having to think about switching it on… this happens when you push up to standing from your squat.
2. They’re simple and safe to perform throughout pregnancy, post-natally and beyond.
3. They work your thighs and glutes, perfect for toning those areas and for helping with weak gluts which is a frequent issues I see in people.
4. They are functional, so they train you for everyday activities. I squat when picking things up, and putting the washing in the machine for example.
Start in neutral with your feet hip distance apart, in parallel. Check your pelvis is in neutral, your shoulders blades are down in your back and your core is engaged.
Now sink your weight back, letting your hips go back and feeling the weight go right into your heels so your gluts engage. You may feel you are about to topple over so try it out near a chair or windowsill to start with, preferably with a mirror nearby.
Now in that squatting position check in a mirror that:
If you are pregnant the added bonus is… They prepare your body for labour (particularly useful if you’re wanting an active birth where you’re encouraged to stay active and move around during labour).
Now get squatting!
Here comes a bit of an admission…. until recently I had never been on any type of Pilates equipment. Those scary looking frames, beds and chairs with straps, furry handles and springs looked rather intimidating to me… but also intriguing and I had been dying to give them a go. I completed my level 3 training when heavily pregnant and since then have been in a cycle of being pregnant, breastfeeding, pregnant again and breastfeeding again. So it has taken me some time to feel strong enough and ready enough to attempt a new challenge.
I am currently having some one to one sessions on the Pilates equipment with Marie-Claire Prettyman, who took me through my training and has taught me regularly since. Having someone who knows my body and capabilities well is helpful and reassuring.
So after my first session – I was already in love. Working on the equipment adds another dimension to Pilates. The added resistance makes you think harder and work harder. For me it has been good to have an extra challenge, a fresh approach and another pair of eyes correcting my technique. With a slightly wonky body from carrying and chasing small children we’ve been focusing on my shoulders and upper back. The most frequently uttered words being “right shoulder down”. I always leave feeling alot better than when I started.
I will be completing my reformer training in April, so if you fancy giving it a go let me know!
The gluts have become something of a hobby horse of mine lately. Why? Because I’ve noticed so many of my clients need to strengthen them, or cannot work them in certain exercises.
The gluteals are made up of 3 parts: gluteus maximus, minimus and medius. In general terms these are the bum muscles 😉 Weak gluts can lead to lower back pain, poor posture and a saggy bum!
Gluteus maximus is the heaviest muscle in the body and makes up the bulk of the bottom. It attaches in the hip, goes round to the sacrum and coccyx, then inserts into the femur and IT band. A big muscle. It is used in movements that extend the hip such as getting up from sitting and running, walking up stairs and jumping. I certainly notice these muscles are weak in a lot of my postnatal clients, usually as a result of poor posture in pregnancy and post-birth but also as a result of SPD/pelvic girdle pain.
Gluteus medius and minimus are a deeper muscles that helps support the pelvis. They are used for movements that require moving the hip to the side, such as a side step. A tight muscle can lead to lower back, hip and knee pain.
Glut strengtheners:
Shoulder bridge.
One of my fav exercises. However you really need to make sure you are squeezing and using your bum muscles when doing this so you don’t compensate and use the lower back muscles.
Glut Extension prone.
Try lying on your tummy and lifting one leg by squeezing in the bum. Again not using the lower back but use the glut to do the work here. If it isn’t working, try turning you heels in and your toes out (think ballet first position).
Oyster or clam.
More for gluteus medius and minimus. Make sure you don’t roll back through the hips as you do this one.
Side lying leg lift.
Another for the glut medius and minimus. Focus on leg length and staying stretched out thought the waist (no squidging!). You should find you are not able to life the leg too high if you are stretched out.
Other good exercises include squats, plies and walking up hills or stairs squeezing your bum. My postnatal DVD “Beyond your Bump” has some good glut exercises on it that are suitable for all types of people, not just post-birth.
Watch out for glut stretches on a blog post very soon.
Your feet are complex things. There are 26 bones, 20 muscles and 33 joints in each foot. Yet we often neglect them and I’m not talking about painting your nails 😉 Our weight is carried through our feet, so really we need to turn our thinking upside down and put out feet first. For optimal all over body health our feet need to be loved and looked after. You guessed it, the walk you walk and stand can be connected to your back, so that back pain could be due to your feet.
Ideally our feet are designed to move like our hands and fingers. They are capable of similar movements. However from a young age we put our feet in socks and then in shoes. Imagine putting your hands in mittens all day, over time your body would adapt. Your fingers would not be exercised and would lose their dexterity, your forearms would adapt and compensate. The same happens to our feet, muscles in the feet become weak and underdeveloped, muscles such as the calf compensate and are overworked.
Stand up barefoot and take a look at your feet… aren’t they beautiful 😉
1. Do your feet match? We do lots of things that are one sided – car driving for example and this can lead to the muscles developing differently on one side.
2. Toes – are they scrunched up, pulled to one side or do you have bunions? All signs you need to correct the way you stand and walk.
2. Where do you feet point? Turned in, turned out or straight? One may be facing a different way to another. You want them to be facing forward, to move you forward with the leg muscles working in the correct manner. Walking from heel to toe is only possible to do correctly if your feet face forward.
3. Toes and Foot Alignment. Stand up with your foot against a straight edge such as a pilates mat. See whether is is sits flush with the edge, if it doesn’t move it until it does. That is how is should be!
Simple Exercises:
Start walking barefoot where possible – this means no shoes OR socks. This will allow your toes to spread and your feet to feel the floor.
Shake hands with your feet. To encourage your toes to stretch out and “breathe” slide your fingers between your toes. Gradually you can work your fingers further down. I know, I NEED a pedicure.
Use a tennis ball or spikey ball and roll it under your feet to massage them and stimulate them.
Try out toe socks… I’m loving these beauties for my Pilates right now:
More exercises and top tips coming up in the next blog post, a little foot series is on it’s way. So get bare footing!!
