Mommy Moves

Looking after children is hard work. We get it. We are moms, too! Sometimes it is hard to fit in a full workout (we prefer the term ‘playout’). So, we’ve decided to issue a challenge to all the mommies out there who feel like they don’t have the time for fitness. You do – it’s just a matter of fitting it in!

So, here’s the deal…each day for the next few weeks, we will post an exercise and a suggested time that you can do this exercise. If you like it, please let us know! The COD (Challenge of the Day) will be posted on the website, Facebook fan page (MommyMoves Pre & Post Natal Fitness) and on Twitter (mommymoves) so pick your favourite way of communicating and join us!

CHALLENGES

March 5, 2010

Welcome to the last Challenge of the Day.  I was talking to one of my friends the other day and she said, “You always make me laugh.”  It got me thinking about laughter and exercise.  Have you ever laughed so hard your abs hurt?  I have!

So, I thought about it – is there any proof that laughter actually improves fitness?  So, I did what any good scientist does (that’s where my Masters came in handy) and I did some research.  There was a lot of conflicting information out there.  In summary, this is what I found:

• Laughter increases heart rate, breathing rate & depth and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max), but because it isn’t prolonged (longer than 20 minutes), laughter does not improve cardiovascular fitness
• After these initial increases, muscles relax and cause decreases in heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure
• Laughter’s role in stress reduction is also confusing but so far, it looks like there may be a reduction in stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine as a result of laughter

Overall, more research needs to be done in this area.  I can definitely think of worse ways to pass the time!  Also, regardless of whether or not there are actual benefits to laughter – no negative effects have been found.  One thing to to note, all of the researchers agree that any benefits observed are due to REAL laughter, not forced laughter.

So, my challenge to you today is to laugh like there is no one else in the room.  Find something that is so gut-bustingly funny that you have to either laugh or explode.  You’ll be glad you did!

March 3, 2010

Remember when your mom used to lay on the floor and do a million side leg raises? Or was that just my mom who did that (and Jane Fonda)? Your outer hip muscles play a key role in maintaining your balance while doing active things such as running and walking – but there are definitely better ways to work them!

Laying on your side with your head supported on your arm or a pillow and your body in line all the way from your head to your toes, bend your bottom knee for a little extra support and lift your top leg (from the hip) up to about a 45 degree angle. Slowly lower (but don’t let the tension go) and raise again. Do that 10 times. On the final one, keep it raised.

Now, straighten your lower leg to be in line with the rest of your body and then lift it to meet your top leg. Keep your hips on top of each other (don’t roll forward or backward to do this)! Lower it and raise again. Do this 10 times.

Now take that top leg and slowly move it in front of you, hinging from the hip. Count to 5 slowly as you move it behind you (keep that core tight and back in neutral). Do this one 10 times.

And now do it on the other hip! As you get stronger you can increase the number of repetitions up to about 20 for each exercise. Going beyond 20 reps is pointless on this one – it either means you aren’t doing it correctly or you need to progress beyond this.

March 1, 2010

Sorry about the delay in putting up a new exercise. My husband was away and so I became a single mom for a while. Kudos to all of you out there. I don’t know how you do it! Anyway, back to the exercises…

This one is great for the core, gluteus maximus (bum), erector spinae (back) and lower trapezius (shoulder ‘depressors’ – if you do it correctly).

Get into a 4-point kneeling position (hands and knees) with your wrists directly below your shoulders. Activate your transverse abdominus (fog the mirror – see previous posts), straighten your right leg and bring it behind you in line with the rest of your body. Is your lower back/bun still flat? If not, then lower your right hip so that it is in line with the rest of your body. Lower your right knee to the floor and try the same thing on the left side. Hold it for 5 seconds.

Go back to your right side and do the same thing, except this time you will also raise your left hand so that it is in line with your head and neck. Do you feel like the top of your shoulder is doing all the work? Then try it again, but this time use your lower trapezius to pull your shoulder blade toward your lower back while you raise it. Lower both the left hand and the right leg slowly and do the same thing on the other side.

When I worked in community rehab, this was one of those exercises that the men would scoff at because it looked so basic. Then they would try it and only be able to do 3 on each side before begging to stop. When done properly, it’s a great one! If you have baby with you try barking like a dog at the same time. No one will see you and you’ll get a whole lot of giggles from baby!

February 25, 2010

Shoulder stabilization really is important at this stage in your life. If you are pregnant your shoulders are most likely slightly inwardly rotated (it’s a natural thing that you may not even be aware of) and if you are post-partum then you have been doing an awful lot of cuddling, feeding and washing – all of which work the anterior shoulder muscles. Your posterior shoulder muscles tend to become elongated and weak. The end result is shoulder pain which probably radiates us your neck and between your shoulder blades. Does this sound familiar? You need to stretch your anterior shoulder muscles (most notably the pectoralis major) and strenthen the posterior shoulder muscles.

Laying on your tummy with your arms out to the sides at shoulder level (like a cross), activate your core (fog the mirror) and lift your arms off the ground about a couple of inches. Release. Now do the same thing but this time concentrate on bringing your shoulder blades down a bit while keeping your lower back in neutral position. Release. Do the same thing again and this time initiate the movement from your shoulder blades rather than the backs of your arms. Pretend you are squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades.

Note: A common mistake I often see with this exercise is people shrugging their shoulders rather than squeezing the pencil. If the tops of your shoulders and into your neck gets sore with this exercise then take a moment to readjust and pull your shoulder blades down again.

Note #2: Obviously, if you are quite far along in your pregnancy then you won’t be laying on your stomach. Try to find a way to get yourself into that face-down position. For example, you could kneel down in front of your couch and place your head and upper torso on the couch to do this exercise.

February 24, 2010

This exercise is more for function and pelvic stability than strength. Do you find it difficult to sit with your legs ‘closed’ but not crossed? That is a sign of weak hip adductors. This exercise should help you with that!

While sitting with your hips and knees at 90 degree angles, take a small pillow, place it between your knees and squeeze it to a slow count of 10 (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, …). Relax, but not so much that the pillow falls out of place. Do this again, but this time try doing a long slow Kegel at the same time. Relax. Now, do the pillow squeeze, the Kegel and add in squeezing of the bum (gluteus maximus). Okay, last addition: do all of the above and add in a pulling in of the belly button (transverse abdominus). An effective cue for pulling in that belly button is to ‘fog the mirror’ similar to how you would breathe on glass/mirror to fog it up and draw a picture on it when you were a kid (or was that just me??).

Now that you are doing all those things simultaneously and holding it for a slow count of 10, try doing 10 more of those at least 3 times a day. Good times to do it include: after feeding baby, while in the car (at a stoplight) or while watching TV (those 15 minutes you may actually get between putting baby to bed and putting yourself to bed!).

February 23, 2010

Remember way back on at the beginning of February when we did the planks? Let’s do baby pushups now. Lay baby on his back and using either your knees or your toes as a fulcrum (picot point) lower the rest of your body down to where you can kiss his belly (or other kissable baby bits!). Remember to position your shoulders directly over your wrists and maintain a ’spine in line’ position. This is a good one to do right before or after you do your planks!

February 22, 2010

I’m off to the Olympics today! So why don’t you do what I will be doing a lot of? No, not yelling – walking! And walking and walking and…

If you aren’t in an area that allows for walking why don’t you take the stroller to the local mall? If you go early in the morning before the stores open (most malls are open before the actual stores are) you can get going at a pretty good speed. Enjoy!

February 21, 2010

Sundays are a good day to have off. Soak up some sunshine & vitamin D and recover from the week!

February 20, 2010

Let’s do another shoulder stabilization exercise. This one works your lower trapezius. Sit on a stair with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, just as if you were going to do a tricep dip. Instead of bending your elbows once you move your buttocks off the stair, you are going to lower your body just slightly with your elbows straight. In other words, you have relaxed your shoulders and you look like you are shrugging them.

Keep your elbows straight and pull yourself out of the ’shrug’ position so that you are as high as you can go – your lower trapezius is doing the work! These muscles are part of the shoulder complex that helps prevent the inward rotation and hunching forward you see in so many women as they get older.

February 19, 2010

This morning I put an Olympic Winter Games theme to our Mom & Baby Bootcamp at the Tong Louie YMCA (where I volunteer). It was so much fun! I had people wanting to go through the circuit again!

Here is an exercise that we did with Gliding Discs but I will adapt it to a home with no equipment. Did you ever run and then slide along the kitchen floor with your socks on when you were a kid? If you did then this is just an extension of that! Get some socks on and find a slippery floor. Standing tall with your feet together, visualize a triangle that extends from your feet at the apex out to the sides and behind you. Standing on one leg, slide the other leg along one of the ’sides’ of the triangle and return to standing. Now do the same thing with the other leg. Do you feel like you are speed skating? Keep alternating legs and speed it up!

February 18, 2010

So, this is one you DON’T want to do right after you’ve fed baby – baby bench press. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. While holding onto baby, push her up from your chest until your elbows are straight but not locked (hyperextended). Slowly lower her back to your chest but don’t let her rest there – keep the muscle tension in your chest & triceps. Another hint – not a good idea to do this with your mouth open unless you don’t mind a little drool or spit up landing in there!

February 17, 2010

Here’s one I did yesterday in the Mom & Baby Bootcamp: side planks. No, don’t run and hide! These are important not only for core stability but also for shoulder stability. As moms we are constantly cuddling, feeding & cleaning in front of our bodies. This pulls the shoulder out of alignment and may result in shoulder pain. A strong and stable shoulder will decrease the likelihood of this happening. So, here goes…

You can do these from your hips, knees or feet – depending on what level you are at. The higher the level, the longer the lever (going on your toes instead of your knees).

Get down on the floor with baby beside you to keep you company and remind you why you are doing this! Lay on your side with your elbow directly beneath your shoulder and your body in a straight line from your head to your fulcrum (hips, knees or toes). If you are using your hips as a fulcrum you keep them on the ground and concentrate on keeping your shoulder strong and not letting it sag. If you are using your knees or toes as a fulcrum, then lift your hips off the floor and maintain a plank position without leaning forward or backward.

Hold for as long as you can while still breathing. I usually start people at 10 seconds then 20, then 10 – on each side. As your shoulder and core grow stronger you can gradually increase that to 45, 60, 45.

February 16, 2010

Do you have stairs anywhere in your house? Maybe leading up to your front door or your apartment? It doesn’t take a lot to get in a little bit of cardio – even if you only have 2 or 3 steps.

You can do this with or without baby. I would recommend without if you are doing sprints! Try doing 5 minutes of going up and down the stairs. This is how I keep fit when I’m traveling and I don’t like the cardio equipment at the hotel. You can either split it up into 5 minutes, 4-10 times per day or, as your cardio improves, you can go for longer, fewer times per day. Your ultimate goal should be at least an hour a day of cardio. Have fun!

February 15, 2010

Do you find yourself bending over to pick things up off the floor a little more often, now that you have a baby? Let’s make this work for you – our next exercise is a bent over row with baby.

Get into a semi-squat position. Engage your core (pull your belly button in and do a Kegel) and bend over from the hips (where your legs meet your torso). Hold baby in your arms in a face-down position (this is great for babies with colic), let your arms hang down and then initiate pulling baby back up to your chest by drawing your shoulder blades together into your spine. Try doing 10 of these a couple of times a day.

February 14, 2010

Take a day off. You deserve it!

February 13, 2010

How about a split squat? This exercise looks like a lunge except that you don’t alternate legs. Get into a lunge position and drop your back knee so that it is almost touching the ground (or as close to that as you can get). In this ‘down’ position your back knee should form a 90 degree angle and your front knee look like it is in a squat position.

A good time to do this one is when you are holding onto baby and getting up from the floor after you have done your tummy time planks and baby bridges. Don’t forget to change sides!

February 12, 2010

Okay, so here is a challenge of Olympic proportions (just kidding – it’s getting quite exciting here in Vancouver!).

Seriously though, are you still doing your squats after each baby change? And your planks during tummy time? This next one is good for after you have finished tummy time.

Roll onto your back, put baby on to pelvis/tummy and bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Holding onto baby, lift your bum off of the floor so that you are supporting yourself in a bridge with just your shoulder blades and feet still on the floor. Now try it again with your tummy pulled in as if you were zipping up a tight pair of jeans! If you want a bigger challenge then lift one foot off the floor while your bum is lifted.

Have fun!

February 11, 2010

Why not get on the floor with baby and do some tummy-time? Try doing a plank on your elbows & knees for 15-30 seconds. Do it 5 times. As you feel stronger you can increase the time to 30 seconds – 1 minute and then increase lever length by moving from your knees to your toes.

P.S. When doing a plank, your body must be as straight as a board (hence the name) so try doing it in front of a mirror to see if you are sticking your bottom up in the air (a common mistake).

February 10, 2010

After every diaper change, do 10 squats (bum out and back like you are ‘going’ in the woods) while holding baby.