Kate Rita- Personal Trainer and Diastasis Expert

Don't throw the towel in on your day too quickly! Today I woke up, Day 4, cardio planned, feeling less than great. I had a bellyache and felt grumpy and altogether unwell. I am tired from the past 3 days of working out, but I know that tomorrow is a rest day because of my busy schedule, so it's either bust out the cardio or take 2 rest days in a row. I manage to get motivated to climb on the stationary cycle with no aspiration other than loosening up and getting SOMETHING done. 50 minutes later I completed a great cardio sweat session, clocked some minutes for the week and set myself up for a well deserved rest day tomorrow. Oh ya, and my belly ache was gone; and I wasn't grumpy anymore :) Go figure.

Today is Day 3 and I planned an upper body focused high rep intermediate exercise workout. I was conceptualizing a hybrid set reps/time challenge of 2 workouts I did in the past week. In planning I grossly overestimated reps, planning 6 rounds of 5 exercises, 20 reps/set. Because 2 exercises were offset, the total reps per round = 140. After Round 1 I was 10:00 in realizing that with rest I was likely facing a 90 minute difficult strength workout. Ya no chance. I shaved it down to 4 rounds, hoping to complete 3, which I did. Here are my exercises and times: Breakdance PU (Knee to Elbow w/crab twist) 20 reps x 3 2:27/2:30/2:25 = 7:30 60 reps Side Lying Tricep Pushup 20 reps/side x 3 2:03/2:25/2:00 = 6:30 120 reps Reverse Pull Up 20 reps x 3 2:00/2:00/1:36 = 5:30 60 reps 1 Arm Press Up 20 reps/side 2:00/1:30/1:30 = 5:00 120 reps Star Lunge Jumps 20 reps 2:45/2:45/2:30 = 8:00 60 reps Total = 420 reps 35:00 Then the baby woke up and another set was out of the question anyway. Not b...

I started this AM with a 4:00 Pre-Breakfast workout: 15:5 x 12, 2 exercises High Knees and Mountain Climbers Max reps = 364 reps in 4:00 wow. Then I proceeded to a time challenge, 40 reps x 5 exercises, some of which are new to me so extra fun! Jump Star Raises x 40 7:45, + 2 x 10 = 1:30 x 2 = 3:00, Total 60 reps 10:45 James Bond Lunge x 20/side x 2 = 6:00, Total 80 reps 6:00 Side Crunch x 20/side x 2 = 5:00, Total 80 reps 5:00 Breakdance PU x 20 x 2 = 6:00, Total 40 reps 6:00 Squat Jump Total 40 reps 3:35 Total 664 reps in 35:00. In the bag!

Here is a picture from today, compared with a picture last November. It has been a long road back to recovery, but I am extremely happy with the results that all my hard work has earned me! I HAVE surpassed my prepregnancy fitness level and so can YOU!

Here are some more nutritional and simple foods that are quick to cook. These are regular staples around here:   Grilled Salmon <20:00 to cook from frozen. A great first meat for babies, and a delicious nutritious food for family members of all ages!Just be VERY careful of little bones!   Pan Fried/Blackened Tofu. <10:00 to pan fry. A great source of protein and a baby/toddler friendly finger food!    Beautiful Steamed Sweet Potato cubes & Green Beans. Again, excellent nutritious baby/toddler finger friendly food. Approx 15:00 to steam.

  My week's Strength & Plyo Challenges. On in between days I rest and/or do cardio.

Here are some notes on stretching that are important to consider when doing your flexibility programs. Remember that Can Fit Pro recommends stretching 4-7 days/week- more than cardio and strength. Your muscles need to be stretched and lengthened every da y to avoid shortening and the discomfort and impairment of the resulting limited range of motion. Dynamic Stretching: This is stretching that takes a body part through a range of motion. It involves gentle movement which typically mimicks the activities you are preparing for. This is ideal for a warm up program. The body is not yet warm and so can be less flexible to static positions. I always recommend beginning with a full body head-to-toe, followed by any additional stretches to target key areas. This is a great routine for a wake up stretch. It is important to be aware of form with dynamic stretching. Do not swing the body through movements, but rather try to lift it through the range of motion with slow, gentle and smooth pr...