Kate Rita- Personal Trainer and Diastasis Expert

Today was nutbar. Day 1 and I completed 11 exercises 30:10 x 4 max reps for a total of +29:00 HR 160-170+. That is an increase in stamina of almost 50% over the past 3 weeks. In my past 2 full body crosstrain sessions I completed just under 30:00. My goal had been to increase from 8 x 20:10 x 5 (20:00) to 8 x 20:10 x 6 (24:00) but somehow I inadvertently circumvented a stepping stone and went right to sub 30:00. Cool. Somewhat unintentional, but great. I actually hit the wall today which has not happened to me yet. During my 2nd last exercise, Explosive Star Jumps, round 3 I had 1 rep as I had to actually sit the entire 30 secs out. I finished strong with a 15 set, but I swear round 3 I did not have 1 more jump in me. Cool.  This was my first workout with my new Gymboss interval timer and I love it!  It is pink, for one, and it clips onto my bra for very easy access. It stays put even during my plyometrics. It is super easy to use- the instructions will just  take a ...

I can barely wrap my head around how busy I have been. I added 4 fresh faces to my roster in the past week- 3 diastasis rehabilitation and 1 prenatal. That is a lot of program planning, paperwork and correspondences, which leaves less time for my own workouts! I am now also taking clients from Maternal Fitness Rx . The need for qualified experienced diastasis trainers is immense. I swear there is not one postpartum woman I have checked this year who has not had some degree of separation between her rectus abdominis. As for my own fitness I just completed 5 consecutive days and took a rest day today. I have been leaning heavily on the cardio (4 of 5 days) but still getting in 1 core and 1 crosstrain workout. I have been successful in my goal of doing short daytime family stroller run/bike rides with both kids, and I am very happy about that. Tomorrow is day 1 crosstrain with 10 exercises planned for 20:00. My prep for tomorrow night's client is done so I can focus on my own extr...

Every day I tell myself that today's workout is one more day of effort! On good days I am inspired with a workout planned; on days like today I am less excited, hmmm'ng and hawww'ing over "What should I do today?". First things first- what is my day like? Well my husband is working a long shift so that rules out a run with the dog, leaving a family run and/or the stationary bike for cardio. I haven't done intervals this week so I think tonight in lieu of my PM run I will hit the bike for 60 minutes. A short family run might also be fun today. Strength- day 3. Yesterday was core, with full body cross training the day before. For some reason I am tempted to do back-to-back core days- unusual, but it's what I am leaning towards. Set reps timed rounds sounds fun. The past week has been still cardio heavy; I am logging 5K runs almost every night with my dog. It adds up! I have been using the bike for short 30 minute steady sets to loosen up. I am also managin...

In the past week I have run approx 30km, rode the stationary bike 4x for about 2 hours, and squeezed in 3 crosstraining strength interval workouts. It's been an active week! Today I changed my approach and my workout was 11 exercises 20:10 max reps x 4 rounds for a total of 22:00. What was interesting is that I was able to complete 3 exercises straight rounds, then taking 1:00 rest, +4 exercises/rounds and 1:00 rest, +3 exercises/rounds and 1:00 rest, then the last final exercise. When I do the usual routine of 5 exercises x 20:10 x 8 I rest approx 1:00 between exercises, so every 4:00. Today I was able to complete 6:00 before the longer rest interval which is an improvement of 50% stamina! I think switching the exercise after 4 rounds helps because I am able to target another muscle group. A couple of my max rep scores also improved. I enjoyed this format and I think I'll stick with it for a while. Switching up workout formats is imperative to the longevity of my fitness pro...

As a personal trainer and a mother, family fitness is important to me on many levels. Firstly, it is a necessity in my attempts to stay active while juggling my family, my work and other obligations. For my children I am proud to be a healthy model of fitness and nutrition. With my dog it is time economics and quality of life, enjoying each others company. Being active together has great social advantages for my family, and it also has its own challenges. Pacing: Whether you are running with your dog, your child, a friend or a client, you must adjust your pace accordingly to accommodate your company's fitness level.My 11 year old dog likes a 7:30/km while I run a comfortable 5:30/km- we compromise somewhere in the middle. I also have to make time for sniffing and peeing as required. Further to that, he can't run much more than 5K comfortably anymore and that impacts my distances. We compromise and I often add walking distance to our 5K. He motivates me to add a nice long coo...

This worksheet was prepared by Andrea Bourgeois for NutriQuest Nutritional Services (416) 433-7071 Estimating your Daily Caloric Needs Less active: Little or no purposeful exercise, such as when you’re taking a break from training or recuperating from an injury or illness. Body weight (in pounds) x 12 to 13 calories per pound =__________calories Moderately active: Approximately 45 to 60 mins/day of moderately intense exercise, 3-5 days of the week. Body weight (in pounds) x 14 to 15 calories per pound =__________calories Very active: Approximately 60 to 120 mins/day of moderately intense exercise most days of the week Body weight (in pounds) x 16-20 calories per pound =__________calories Extremely active: Training for an ultraendurance event, such as an Ironman or Eco challenge. Body weight (in pounds) x 25 to 30 calories per pound =__________calories Please be sensible and make choices from the Canada Food Guide. A well balanced food plan which focuses on whole foods is the...

I happened upon a very good way to check the progress of your Ab Rehab program. I do not recommend trying this if you are not currently on the Ab Rehab Program! Run a bath and recline in the tub with your head resting on the back- I have a soaker tub with a gentle recline so this is comfortable. Allow your upper body to float and your shoulder blades will gently lift away from the tub. This will passively engage your abdominals. Now perform the self check in all 3 spots. If your connective tissue is strong (one of the first signs of progress with the program ) you should be able to feel the separation between your rectus abdominus fairly easily. Then gently sink your body so your shoulder blades are resting on the tub again and you will feel the separation open as the rectus relax. You should add a fingerwidth to the floating measurement, as the abs are engaged- that's what it worked out to for me, although since I haven't checked anyone else this way it could vary from pers...

When Jenny was a baby I kept everything KISS. I think as a first time parent I lacked a little confidence to mix stuff up; I stuck with what worked, especially when it came to food. I breastfed exclusively for 4.5 months, never pumped, and nursed with solid food until 14 months.  With Seth I have nursed him since birth; I also pumped and stored milk from 8 weeks- 6 months. Now at 8 months he nurses 2-4x, takes approx 4 oz of formula, 4 oz of EBM (thawed breastmilk), and eats 3-4 small to medium meals of solids per day. He loves to feed himself and fingers of toast are his favorite thing! It is interesting to me that I feel so much less pressure feeding him and really appreciate the different sources of nutrition that are available to him. Fortunately he's not a fussy guy at all, and (touch wood) hasn't really refused anything yet! Our newest food additions are asparagus and lentils. I am especially excited about being able to increase his variety of protein. I am also switc...