Featured Mama: Sarah S

Our journeys to and through motherhood are so completely unique and thereā€™s much to be gained from sharing our stories. Ā With the Featured Mama Edition of our blog, we aim to highlight the power, strength and wisdom within our very own community! We are strong mamas, we are smart mamas! Ā Letā€™s embrace one another with love and support. INTRODUCING, SARAH …

Featured Mama: “E”

In today’s “Featured Mama” edition, E shares her powerful story and insight for staying flexible when things don’t go as planned! Ā E’s motivation to stay strong helped to facilitate healing and an efficient return to the higher intensity level of fitness that she’s accustomed to in her life. Ā All the effort in pregnancy paid off! As always, we are strong …

How Does Mom & Baby Gym Work?!

How Does Mom & Baby Gym Work?! Here are the nuts and bolts: Mom & Baby Open Gym (MBG) runs fromĀ 11 AM -1 PMĀ on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Ā During this time, attendees arrive on their own schedule (with the last entry atĀ 12:30 PM) to participate in a postpartum specific circuit. There are six stations set out in the group class …

Abdominal Separation FAQs: Part II

Iā€™m often asked about diastasis recti (the medical name for abdominal separation) by both pre and postnatal clients and do believe that education is key when it comes to both minimizing and rehabilitating this condition. If youĀ havenā€™t yet read Part I, you can find it here! Let’s get started with a bit of research: Boissonnault & Blaschak (1988) found that …

Why is Postpartum Training Important?

So, youā€™ve had your baby.Ā  Youā€™re feeling up to exercise, but you donā€™t quite know what you should and shouldnā€™t be doing when it comes down to it.Ā  You know certain areas of your body have been affected, but how do you know what to strengthen, what to stretch, and what to focus on? As a Pre & Postnatal Specialist, …

When Can I Return to High Impact Exercise After Birth?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question, and Iā€™m going to use ā€œrunningā€ as an example of high-impact exercise in this article. Weā€™ll start with a hormone called relaxin which is released into your system in the early stages of your pregnancy. Relaxin relaxes your muscles/joints/ligaments to help prepare your pelvis for childbirth. BUT, relaxin doesnā€™t just affect …

Exercises to Avoid with Abdominal Separation

post baby body training seattle

What exercises should be avoided when abdominal separation is present? Postnatal-specific core-based exercise is THE best form of exercise for new moms to be doing, because it focuses on pelvic floor strength and activation of the deep abdominal muscles.Ā  These are the two main areas of the abdominals that as an Pre/Postnatal Instructor I want to focus on building back …

Easing Back & Pelvic Pain in Pregnancy

Back pain and pelvic pain are seemingly synonymous with pregnancy. Ā Once baby arrives, Ā your pelvis may ache,Ā your pelvic floor may be fatigued and healing and you will likely feel somewhat disconnected from your core as recovery begins. Ā Staying strong throughout pregnancy is vital…and partaking in safe, appropriate postpartum training is equally important. Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, referred to as Pelvic Girdle …

Squats: Prenatal & Postpartum Strength Training

Squat, Squat, Squat! If you work with me there are a few guarantees and squatting is one of them; so letā€™s get started! Ā Squats are one of my absolute favorite exercises to strengthen the lower body, the pelvic floor and the core. Ā You might be surprised to hear that the core is trained as well, but core stability and strength …

Safe Core Exercise in Pregnancy

This can be so confusing! Ā Sit-ups? Ā Crunches? Ā Leg-lifts? Planks? Ā If you are pregnant, hopefully you are no longer performing traditional abdominal exercises such as crunches or sit-ups. Ā If you have been, that’s okay…but this might be a great time to transition to more beneficial, safer core exercises. Ā I will explain more about why and how to do so safely in …