On Maintenance, & a Great Workout!

It takes a LOT of work to get in shape. There's nothing like postpartum recovery to emphasize that point. It takes tremendous effort to gain improvements and to really see and feel results. Day in and day out it can feel like a relentless pursuit, neverending with only more days of continuous effort ahead. This can be an overwhelming feeling which lends itself to defeatism in our fitness goals.

The GREAT thing is that maintenance takes less effort; that is to say, once the improvements are made it takes less effort to maintain that level of fitness over time. This is very motivating! The push we make on a given day- over the weeks and months where we struggle to see results- has a lasting effect on our well being. Conversely, the poor decisions we make that result in regression of our progress equate to only more hard hard work! This is doubly motivating- to stay active and also to make good decisions in the day to day that do not thwart our hard efforts and dent our hard earned results!

Here is my Workout log for today. 0 days rest, 6th day consecutive.

30 minutes

Warm Up:

Dynamic Stretching with focus on Neck & Chest

Sets 20:10 Work:Rest x 8 = 4:00 minutes each set of rounds.

Monkey Push Ups: 2,3,3,3,3,4,3,4,3 (1 extra, oops)

Jump 1 Fwd 2 Back: 8,9,9,9,6,10,8,10

Modified Push Up: 6,6,4,4,4,3,3,4 *my form was deep, and I am very happy with that!

Lunge Jumps: 12,10,8,9,7,8,8,6 *my form was deep, and I am very happy with that!

Burpees: 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

Cool Down: Child's Pose- I tried to do a sun salutation and my muscles were so spent I couldn't even complete one. Wow.

I am SPENT. I am extremely happy with my form this workout. Even though my reps are lower my form is better and I see that as the best progress, especially considering I wasn't able to complete the rounds with proper form in the previous attempts

It's always a great feeling when my workout for the day is done and I can get on with other things knowing that I have put the work in to my fitness. It's all downhill after that- working out is the hardest thing I do so everything after that just seems like cake!

Comments

I don’t have a Diastasis- Why is my abdomen still distended postpartum?

I get asked this question all the time! Here is my answer: Research has shown that 100% of pregnant women will develop some degree of diastasis recti. A diastasis is a lateral separation in the abdominal wall between the recti or “six pack”, due to a stretching of the midline connective tissue or “linea alba”. Although some diastasis will heal postpartum, in many cases a separation will remain without restorative exercise. Distention from DR will present as a doming in the midline. Women who heal a diastasis spontaneously or through restorative exercise may still find that their abdomens are distended, particularly after a meal and/or at the end of the day. If there is no diastasis, why is this? This abdominal distention does not occur in the midline, but rather across the entire abdominal wall. This is due to a weakened hypotonic TVA- transverse abdominis muscle. The TVA is the deepest anterior abdominal muscle, wrapping around the midsection like a girdle, with a left an

Kate's Guide to Getting the Correct Sports Bra!

I wear an unusual size and it took me years to unlock the secrets to bra fitting (and finding!) I suffered for years in improperly fitting bras, and during exercise I would wear 2 or 3 just to get the support I needed. E very woman needs support while performing sports; not having proper support means that there is extra stress put on the back during various activities. Even low-impact exercise s done without the support of a sports bra can result in strain on the upper back and shoulders that can result in pain or worse- injuries that may develop over time. Sports bras affect a woman’s posture. Exercising without support can result in slouching to prevent painful bouncing which throws the back and hips out of alignment and impedes form, leading to potential injury. The most common mistakes are when women wear a bra that is too small in the cup and too loose around the body for example a 38e instead of a 36f. Note: When you go down a band size, go up a cup! Step 1: T

Stretches for Achy Hips!

Without rehabilitation, the postnatal body has a non optimal core. From Diastasis Recti to pelvic floor dysfunction, inhibited multifidus/lower back muscles (especially in the lumbar spine), thoracic immobility (tight ribs), and possibly abdominal adhesions from a C-Section incision- there are a multitude of maternal physiological impairments to consider. The body continues to perform by enlisting non optimal biomechanics to compensate for the lack of core strength. Compensatory strategies help to achieve the stability, strength and endurance that the core is not providing, but exacerbate deteriorating movements in a snowball effect. This is very evident in the pelvis. When the deep stabilizing core is unable to provide adequate pelvic stability control, the smaller muscles that are designed to help the core take on too much of the task. They become stuck, gripped, and can cause referred pain throughout the body. Knowing to stretch the common overused and v

Kate Rita- Personal Trainer and Diastasis Expert

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