I’m still in babyland over here. Sam is now 3 months old, happy and wonderfully healthy. But until I officially make a return to the blog and fanpage I wanted to put together a list of DVDs you might check out to keep you going or get you started.
Each of these DVDs is a genuine friend and colleague of mine that I trust and respect. If you typically only do pilates, try something new;)
Here is my recommended list of DVDs in no particular order for you to try in my absence:
Ana Caban’s Pilates Series on Gaiam – Straight forward, clear pilates mat work
Paul Katami’s Kettle Bell Workouts
Any of Amy Dixon’s DVDs
Either of Stephanie Vitorino’s workouts
and last but certainly not least any of Jill Miller’s Yoga Tune Up program, but specifically the self care work here in this link.
For those of you who asked, these should keep you busy and motivated while I’m in stay-at-home-mom mode!
If you hadn’t already known from my posts on Facebook, my father passed away last week after living for years with Alzheimer’s that finally transitioned to Dementia. My posts have been a little lacking due to this as well as awaiting the birth of my second son (we are in week 38!). We thought he was going to make his grand entrance last week as well, but false alarm. Many life transitions are happening in our house and surprisingly a lot of healing is happening from them. I hope the same is happening in your house for whatever reasons in whatever fashions. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.
I promise to do as much writing as I can in the next 3 months….you are welcome to continue to write in and ask questions either here or Facebook and I will still answer. But just know if it’s a little quiet on the blog front, I’ll be returning with consistant posts soon. Lot’s of great things are in the works for after the birth of Sammie. I can’t wait to start sharing them!
Here are some of our house favorites when it comes to juicing. Don’t be afraid to experiment with ingredients you like and think about adding mint, garlic, cayenne pepper, parsley, ginger or cilantro to anything to give it a kick. Also, the amount that you actually juice may need some tweaking depending on how much you are drinking or wanting to drink. Is it a meal replacement or a serving of juice in addition to a meal or snack? (adding apple to anything sweetens it, so if you need to take the edge off of a vegetable blend, add an apple).
Cool Cucumber:
Cucumber, mint with a squeeze of a whole lemon or lime
Milo’s Candy:
6 Oranges, 2 Mangos and Coconut Milk. Pour the coconut into the juice to taste after juicing.
Milo’s Breakfast Blend:
4-6 Apples, 6-8 large Carrots
Colon Cleanse:
3-4 Grapefruits, Cayenne Pepper to taste (add after juicing to taste) , 2 Cloves of Garlic (into the juicer), 2 tblsp Olive Oil (pour into the juicer)
Veggie Basic:
4-6 large leafs of Kale, 6 Carrots and 4 Tomatos
Tropical Vaca:
1 whole Pineapple cut and cored, 2-3 Mangos and 6 Oranges. (You could add coconut milk or coconut water to this one as well after to taste).
Most clients come with some sort of ‘quirky bit’ (see earlier post about Quirky Bits) or injury, even if they are not aware of it. These ‘bits’ and derail progress in the body, think cross circuitry or tangled chords, energy is going along a confused course and can’t really get to where you want to see results (tighter triceps, firmer more lifted tush etc). They matter, if we address the function of the muscles and bones then we address your results as well. The important stuff along with the aesthetic stuff. A win, win One of the major areas of Quirky Bits are shoulders. The exercises and series below is a great addition to your current workout as a warm up or even an additional day of body work on it’s own to change how the upper back and shoulders function which will just lead to progress not only on it’s own or within your other fitness endeavors.
Start with a simple Down Dog Position, bend the knees a lot, send your tailbone (your butt) as high to the ceiling as you can, then extend the legs towards straight (not everyones with get to straight. The goal is to keep the length in your spine that you created by lifting your tailbone to the ceiling THEN seeing where your legs end up. Do NOT force a straight leg). Repeat the bend and straightening 3xs.
This is a nice, basic video on down dog
Do a Childs Pose 30-90 seconds
Next:
Try Dolphin pose – Dolphin is similar to Down Dog but on your forearms, hips and tailbone to the ceiling, heels reaching to the floor, hold for 30-90 seconds
Next – Child’s pose again and into another Dolphin but with a yoga block between your hands lengthwise. Squeeze the block with your palms and try to squeeze in with your forearms as well. Pull your shoulders away from your ears at all times. 30-90 seconds.
Child’s pose again.
Next try some Wall Work. Sit Cross-Legged, profile to the wall, one arm on the wall:
Start with the arm closest to the wall, perpendicular to the floor, hand up, elbow down, just press the wall for a nice isometric contraction, 10-30 seconds then rotate your body AWAY from that same arm as you press in to the wall 10-30seconds. Hips and knees stay square to where they started, use your core to rotate away and deeper.
Then move the arm on the wall to a parallel to the floor, position, hand toward your knees, elbow towards your back, press the wall (always trying to get your entire forearm to touch the wall) 10-30 seconds, then rotate your body AWAY from the wall 10-30 seconds
Finally, come to standing by the wall, in profile, walk one arm (the arm closest to the wall) up the wall, walk that hand/fingers as far behind you as you can flat palm on the wall, then rotate your body AWAY from the wall for a stretch 10-30 seconds. Keep your shoulders away from your ears during all of these.
*SWITCH TO DO ALL WALL WORK ON THE OTHER SIDE*
Repeat 2xs a week if you can, or add it to the beginning of a workout in your warm up. If all you have time for is once a week, DO IT! some is better than none. After the baby comes, I’ll video these for you guys.
Can it be done? Yes, of course! Are there some questions to ask first to see how quickly and to what extent? Of course!
Did you have a flat belly before the baby?
How long ago did you have your baby?
How many babies have you had?
Did you have a C-Section?
What life changes are you willing to make to have a flat belly?
Your lower abdominal muscles take quite a beating during pregnancy, all the abdominal muscles do and I’m speaking from experience as I’m currently 36 1/2 weeks pregnant with my second son. They are stretched to their limits and responsible for supporting and protecting so much. In a perfect world, you did a lot of body work prior to your kiddo and were strong in your core and had a ‘flat’ belly prior to the baby and now your goal is to get back to where you were. If we are not dealing with a perfect world and you were not at your optimal or where you wanted to be prior to the baby, we have a little more work to do.
Either way, the keys to any flat belly are:
-Amazing form when do your core work in order to actually work the core and NOT your low back or your hip flexors
-Precise movement, quality or repetitions over quantity. Work smaller to avoid momentum doing the work for you
-Be consistent in your workouts
-Get your head in the right place, know you can do it and visualizing the flat tummy you want
- Practice general health habits like staying hydrated, eating consistently in small portions and eating the good fats, omega-3′s, that help you shed belly weight
-Train your body the way you want it to look. This is why Pilates is so brilliant, it’s based on equal length and equal strength of the muscle creating a ‘long and lean’ look. In every exercise you are working towards the low belly contraction that hollows/flattens the belly. It is a bind or a hold of the core. The ultimate advanced pilates workout goal is to be able to hold the belly flat while doing your exercise or variation.
What does all of that amount to? Getting real with your body. A flat low belly is the holy grail for women, and honestly, based on our biological function (to bear children) is slightly ridiculous as all our female parts reside down there and are meant to expand and contract not only during birth but during our cycle….and we won’t even get into change of life hormone shifts right now. Right now we want simple steps to flatten a belly after we have given birth to our amazing kiddos based on movement and muscle contraction.
The biggest thing I can tell you to do is practice whatever core work you do in good form. If your belly is pooching out while you exercise, guess what it is learning to do? Pooch. And no body wants a pooch.
If I weren’t preggo right now I’d flip video these for you, but that will have to wait until this little guy is born. In the meantime, Read along and try this belly prep to get better form: Breathing Prep
Stand with your feet together in a parallel position (toes facing forward), roll your shoulders back, make a diamond shape with your hands, thumb to thumb and pointer finger to pointer finger then place that diamond on your belly, thumbs at the bottom of your belly button and your pointer fingers towards your pubic bone. This is the area we need to learn to contract, tighten, pull in, cinch and FEEL in order to get your belly to flatten. Inhale to pull your belly skin away from your hands and then exhale try to KEEP the skin away from your hands. This is the breath and the key to low core work. Do this 10 times, makes sure you are not pushing too much air or constricting our throat, no need to hyperventilate. The best breath is an inhale through the nose and an exhale out the mouth on a HA (relaxed jaw that mimics a yawn). The breathing is the real key to a flat belly. If you can learn to keep the low core connected, the exercises work.
I have posted the 6 Pack Cut Up I did for ExerciseTV before, but it’s a GREAT starting point for beginning the journey to a flat belly.
If your belly is still pooching or poking out when you do the diamond shaped lower lifts in the video, start with single leg lower lifts in the same shape. Do NOT lower the leg lower than half way to the ground, there is no need. The goal is to keep the belly flat, not to get the leg to the floor. Make sure your back stays connected to the ground while you are doing these exercises. Once I hear from you all that you have completed the 6 weeks written below, I’ll post additional exercises to move on to. One step at a time. The lower lift is the way to go to get to your flat belly.
Try this to make a shift in your core—->
Take a photo or your belly prior to the work. Keep it to revisit at the end of 6 weeks.
Week 1 – Breathing Prep then 1 set of the 6 Pack Cut Up 2xs a week
Week 2 – Breathing Prep the 2 sets of the 6 Pack Cut Up 2xs a week
Week 3 – Breathing Prep with the full 3 sets of the 6 Pack Cut Up 2xs a week
Week 4 – Breathing Prep before and after 1 set of the 6 pack Cut Up 3xs a week
Week 5 – Breathing Prep before and after 2 sets of the 6 Pack Cut Up 3xs a week 3xs a week
Week 6 – Breathing Prep before and after 3 sets of the 6 Pack Cut Up 3xs a week 3xs a week
Take another photo at the end of 6 weeks and set it next to the beginning photo….then send them to me:)
Along with this core workout you should be addressing your foods and hydration as well as a fully body workout. There really is no such things as ‘spot’ training. Your body works as a whole. BUT as a busy mommy if you add this you are a few steps closer to the flat belly you want. Depending on how much extra skin you have after your baby makes a difference as well, my abs were flat after milo but I still had a tiny amount of skin that was loose and not there prior to having him. Some women have a lot for one reason or the other and we can’t do a ton about that. That is based on the individual. I have some mommy clients that made a huge shift in their core but realize they are never going to be comfortable wearing a 2 piece to the pool or beach and they have made peace with that, while others opt for the tummy tuck, which I do not endorse, but understand and leave that up to personal choice and make no judgment on the decision.
Look back at some of my other posts on eating; at least 5 times a day, 3 meals and 2 snacks while drinking 1/2 of our body weight in ounces of water a day. Food is huge for getting a better core. We don’t eat out a lot in our house. We are not perfect either. We have children and there is ice cream and treats but in the grand scheme of things it balances out. Eating out, especially in the midwest, can create an entire other issue. Fast food, restaurant chains…..all danger zones. If you are committed to changing your belly, you must stay away form these places for a the 6 weeks and then only in moderation IF you return to them after you get results.
If you are looking for specific instruction and help through this, we can talk about Skype training and we can get into the details of food and your particular schedule and life. There are also posts about Omega 3′s (they keep belly weight OFF) and hydration as well as other full body workout options and recommendation (like this weeks post on Kettlebells). ExerciseTV is another great resource for busy moms, it’s online, you can download it on your computer and do it at home with reputable trainers at the top of their field.
A flat belly after baby is a decision and commitment you make, it will not just happen you must carve out time for yourself and your body if it’s that important to you. You can start any time, that’s the beauty of life, every day is brand new and you can choose to begin something at anytime. Get rid of the guilt of spending time away from your kiddo or hunnee or dirty dishes or laundry. Your health, happiness and strength all feed the prior. Start your program with happiness and hope, frustration, guilt, past results will only generate stress and cortisol and NOT results.
What are kettlebells and what do they do? Historically, a Russian piece of equipment made of a cannonball fused with a handle that that focus on ballistic movements (as Wikipedia explains it – movement that forces the body to recruit and trigger fast twitch muscle fibers. This is important because these muscle fibers have the greatest potential for growth and strength. Ballistic training requires the muscles to adapt to contracting very quickly and forcefully. This training requires the central nervous system to coordinate and produce the greatest amount of force in the shortest time possible.) A kettlebell workout combines cardio, strength and flexibility (sounds great so far).
If you are a fitness junkie, or just a peruser of magazines at the grocery check out line, in the last few years you have seen that one of the ‘new’ ‘hip’ training methods is kettlebells. Clearly, they are not new, much like pilates, but have just been kept as a niche training until now. Now Group fitness classes and home versions are being marketed as the ‘it’ thing to change your body.
I will say, I heart kettlebells and spent a good portion 2 years ago, of my workouts, training with them and loving them (under supervision of a very intelligent and educated trainer, Matt Berenc at Equinox Century City, CA. The workouts make you feel stronger no matter what, and the sense of accomplishment from them is pretty intense as well. They tend to be a major benefit to legs, low back and shoulders. That being said, if you have injuries in those specific areas you need to tread lightly with them in the beginning, because of the way the weight is distributed, you could initially do some damage.
If you are interested in trying a kettlebell workout, my advice is to always go to a trainer or a class with a reputable coach first before trying them on your own. Yes, if you start super light, you really can’t hurt yourself, but with kettlebells you actually need to load heavier in order to get the benefit. so a home set of 5lbs isn’t really going to do you any good.
Equinox has an amazing set of instructors in the group fitness realm that are heavily certified and capable to teach in a group setting, I can’t say that about many other fitness facilities. If there is an Equinox near you, that is the place to try a group class. If not, Paul Katami’s videos are amazing and clear. He is a friend of mine and excellent at coaching you through the work, even at home.
If you do have injuries, check with your doctor or physical therapist first. Always the wisest choice.
But all in all, give kettlebells a try. The explosive work with the swinging does wonders for your core and your strength, plus it’s just really fun.
Hate is such a strong word and I try to stay away from using it. Not only for myself, but for my kiddo. It still slips into my days but I’m working on that. I will however, use the word dislike. I think it’s fine to dislike things when you have valid reasons. One of the things I dislike, is the Tracy Anderson Method.
Let me count the ways:
-the method talks about ‘defying genetics’ convincing people that the structures they are born with are mutable, let me just say you cannot change the size or the shape of your bones and leave it at that.
-the method recommends everyone should work out 2 hours a day.
-the diet (and I mean diet) recommendations are starvation size and sometimes include baby food.
- the workouts are based on dance (yay), resistance bands (love) and a very bastardized version of pilates (boo) all in non-optimal form (bigger boo).
-Tracey is typically promoting herself in her underwear. Now I’m all for lookin’ good in your underwear, even naked, I’m just not so sure how credible it is as a fitness and health marketing tool. After all, Mark Wahlberg was actually IN an underwear ad.
I truly used to love Madonna until she became a ‘devout’ follower of Tracy’s. I like authentic people and things. For me, Tracey’s method is just not authentic or valid. Lynda Lippin also made note of how detrimental it is to promote these body types for the women in our lives in her blog and how refreshing it is for someone in hollywood to reject it. Check out that link, where Emma Stone clearly had no issue saying it wasn’t for her and that the method seemed ridiculous. Amen sister. It all starts with one, right? The health of this country and the psyche of American girls has enough hills to climb without adding more ick to the mess.
There is no need for me to write it again, the article on Pilates-Pro.com covers al the facts and details on the function and benefits of pilates for Scoliosis. If you, or someone you know, have Scoliosis check out the article and seek out a great instructor to give it a try. It’s very powerful. I’ve seen it time and time again in clients who think it’s a bit of magic. The article is rather heavy reading although completely correct.
The one thing I would add, for teachers and students when it comes to training a scoliotic spine is to work the breath a little outside the box. Try inhaling into the the curve and exhale out of the curve….i.e. if you have a client and you are standing facing them, and their curve causes their ribs to shift out to their left (your right when facing them) have them merely inhale into their left side and exhale out their right. For them it may just be a thought of right and left. You can’t reeeeeeally breath soly into one portion of your lungs and out the others. But you can think your body in certain directions. Where your brain is, your body will follow. I just ask you to try it and see what happens. It truly is magic and you may see your clients center shift just by practicing this thoughtful breath. It truly helps shift them more towards center. Give it a try. If you are someone with scoliosis, you might just try it standing in front of a mirror. If you know which direction your curvature goes, great, if not just look, breath into the farthest side and out the ‘collapsed’ side.
Pilates Mat work is the most well know of the pilates exercises. Most people are not even aware there is Pilates equipment. The public assumes the mat is the place to start their training. The mat is accessible, it’s cheap, it should work, right? Yes and No. Yes, it is an amazing workout and does work but technically it’s the most advanced of the pilates work. Joseph typically started students on the equipment so they had support, traction and a closed circuit chain in order to feel connection and resistance. The equipment allows your body to learn connection and get resistance, whereas your body is trying to recreate it’s own resistance on the mat. The mat was integrated and then became the workout AFTER you had gained alignment and strength and connection.
These days it can be expensive to work on the equipment. Mat classes are easy to try in a fitness club or via video. But people can also experience the frustration of injury and awkwardness if they begin on the mat. People will try a class and say after, I got injured taking pilates. Yeah, you probably did. If the teacher you were taking with didn’t know how to accurately coach you through mat work for students who have never experienced equipment or connection. And yes, you might have also felt pretty awkward if you are practicing on the wrong type of mat.
This post is about the actual mat, not the actual work.
Having the right mat could really help you in your pilates experience.
The original and tradition mat you would take a session on in a studio is actually 5 inches thick
The mat people typically experience a pilates mat workout on is a yoga mat, one quarter of an inch thick….see the difference? Not much cushion for your spine *ow* in a workout that focus’s a lot on spinal articulation.
So, what should you do? Try to give yourself some cushion, for your bones, not only to support your spine but to give yourself some balance challenge to get into your core. If all you have access to is a yoga mat, either invest in a thicker one like Manduka’s Eco Mat or the Atlus Double Thick Yoga/Pilates Mat. If you can’t invest in a mat or choose not to, try doubling up on the mats, especially at a club or in a small studio. For you in-home workouts, try a towel or a blanket under your existing mat. My mat or choice for relatively easy transportation and in home workouts is the Harbinger Durafoam Mat It’s the thickest and the lightest you’ll find, it has ribs on one side to avoid slippage on a fitness floor, is anti-microbial to fight germs and sweat ick, plus it comes with an elastic strap to keep it wrangled. It is a little awkward to carry to and from a gym. I know it is, but it isn’t that heavy and in my opinion is worth the schlep.
Do your spine and your practice a favor, get a thicker mat. In a perfect world, I’d send you to a private session or a series of them in a studio, but if that is not your reality, at least try gear that is more geared to the real work. A yoga mat is for yoga. Let’s keep it that way.
Or the boobs in our life. Whether they are yours or belong to someone you love, they need a little attention and knowledge on how to support them, how to keep them from sagging and stretching…..etc. It comes up in more lessons then you know. In fitness, as vain as it can be, we want all of our parts to look as good as they can. We try to keep them healthy in a non-invasive, non-surgical manner and believe it or not, there are a few things you can do. Repeating “we must, we must, we must increase our bust.” is not on the list.
All joking aside, I have female clients ask often what we can do to help lift the girls. There are a few things that I’ll list below, but we have to address genetics and gravity. They are both apart of our lives and will have some affect on the ta-ta’s. We must also mention they are also, only made of fat. The each time you loose and gain fat and that skin is stretched…well…they can sag. Because they are made up of fat tissue, when you loose or gain fat, the girls get smaller or larger. It’s simply a fact of life. And if you have had babies and breastfed, they change throughout that as well. The girls are put through the paces and the least we can do to help, assist and try to defy gravity (insert Wicked song here) is support them. Here’s what we can do to help lift them up where they belong. (ooh another song reference!)
1. Buy a great day to day bra. Go get measured by someone and buy the appropriate bra that fits, day to day.
2. Buy the appropriate bras for your workout. I will go into detail. After you have been measured and you know what actual size you are, then from the list below, buy the sports bras that are appropriate for your size AND impact type of workout. The more jumping, running etc you do in your workout, the more gravity takes it’s toll on your ta-ta’s. They need more support for those types of workouts. Workout clothing and under-garmets are so technical and fabulous these days, there is a bassiere to help. Go get it.
3. Do so chest exercises. If the tissue under the girls is firm and lifted, it will help them stay the same. I love a good dumbbell chest fly and a push up variation. find one that works for you and add it in to your workouts. This video is extreme and a little cheesy, yes, but it shows you how many cool variations on a push-up there are so that you don’t have to be bored. Chose, one and start there.
Here is the Bra Breakdown: Now most of these I have tried at some point or another as I went from a B prior to my son, up to a D breast feeding him and then down to an A after….and yes, there are stretch marks that will never go away. cover them with pretty bras:)
High Impact for smaller chests – Moving Comfort Alexis Sports bra
High Impact for medium to larger sizes (B-DD) need this - The Ta-Ta Tamer and yes, I just like the name. But truly, it works wonders of not smashing but supporting while looking feminine and capable. Plus, i heart lulu. High impact is going to be running, sprinting and jumping.
These are the things you can do to support the girls in your life. Now, hop to it, with the right bra, of course.
One of the major areas of Quirky Bits are shoulders. The exercises and series below is a great addition to your current workout as a warm up or even an additional day of body work on it’s own to change how the upper back and shoulders function which will just lead to progress not only on it’s own or within your other fitness endeavors. 
