Postpartum Exercise Facts & Stats

You're at least 6 weeks postpartum, and you're already thinking about wanting to get out of the house and get active. Struggling with what to do? Here are some great facts and stats that will show you why you should sign up for an Oh Baby! Fitness class!

POSTPARTUM EXERCISE FACTS & STATS

- Returning to exercise is linked to a decrease in postpartum depression.

- Women who took structured group exercise programs after delivery showed more success at losing body fat and keeping it off 1 year postpartum than those who didn't exercise.

- Women who brought their babies and exercised in a group with others in an Oh Baby! Fitness class had less guilt about leaving their baby with a caregiver, were able to stop and feed the baby any time, and were able to build a community.

SAFE EXERCISES TO DO DURING FIRST 6 WEEKS POST DELIVERY

- Walking - ONLY if it makes you feel good!

- Kegel exercises (pull pelvic floor muscles up and in, similar to how you would stop the flow of urine).

- Abdominal hollowing (pull belly button toward spine during exhale and imagine pulling bottom ribs toward each other, and hold for 3-5 seconds, no need to do it in a wall squat! Do in a sitting position).

- Chest stretches (bring hands behind back, interlace fingers, open chest)

POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

There are 3 types of postpartum emotional and mental woes:

1- Baby Blues- women feel weepy, overwhelmed, and irritable. It can last up to 10 days, and 80% of women struggle with this post baby. Extra sleep and some time away from baby helps lessen the symptoms.

2- Postpartum Depression - women feel sad, anxious, have changes in appetite, insomnia, and/or guilt. Can last 2 or more weeks, and at least 15% of women struggle with PPD. With counseling and/or medication (and exercise!), women can begin to see a decrease in symptoms.

3- Postpartum Psychosis - women feel manic, paranoid, severe depression, violent thoughts and/or tendencies. Only 5% women struggle with PPP, and they are able to find peace and comfort through inpatient psychiatric treatment.

Read more at Postpartum International at www.postpartum.net or call (800) 994-4PPD.

Prenatal Exercise Facts & Stats

For those of you who are deliberating over whether you should start exercising or continue exercising once you're pregnant, these facts and stats are just for YOU! 

These stats and facts are based upon research done by Dr. James Clapp, who was a professor emeritus of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University and a research professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

PRENATAL EXERCISE FACTS

-Pregnant women who exercise experience shorter, easier, and faster labors (an average of 2 hours less!).

- 24% of exercising pregnant women had fewer cesareans and fewer complications than women who did not exercise.

Pregnant women who exercised also experienced:

- 35% decreased need for pain relief

- 75% less maternal exhaustion

- 50% decreased need to be induced

- 50% lowered need to have Pitocin to quicken labor

- 50% decreased medical intervention because of abnormal fetal heart rate

- 50% less episiotomies (ALL THOSE KEGELS!)

- 75% decrease in the need for forceps or c-section

***Women who exercise regularly during pregnancy maintain positive attitudes about themselves, their pregnancy, and their upcoming labor and delivery.

***Exercise decreases the occurrence and width of Diastasis Recti (abdominal separation).

Want to learn more about prenatal exercise? Sign up for an Oh Baby! Prenatal Fitness class at 

ohbabyfitness.com!

How Coordinated Pushing is Important During Delivery

There is plenty of research and studies done to show the importance of core strength and breathing techniques during labor and contractions. However, there is not much education for pregnant women on what muscles to use and what muscles to relax when pushing their baby out.

It's key to think about what actually happens during the pushing phase of delivery. When it's time to bear down and start pushing, what tends to happen is that the mom will tighten all of her muscles: abdominals, buttocks, legs, and pelvic floor. Although this is natural (being in severe pain and fatigue obviously makes it hard to relax and let your body do its thing!), what happens is while the mother pushes her baby down the birthing canal, she is also moving her baby's head up against her tight and contracted muscles in her pelvic floor. 

Learning and practicing coordinated pushing can help prevent this (along with other things, like tearing) and encourage an easier and faster delivery. It can be hard to learn at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's so important to practice and use during delivery!

Performing belly breathing is a great way to practice contracting and strengthening the abdominals. Kegel exercises are just as important and great for strengthening and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles. The trick to coordinated pushing is including both of these exercises in a combined manner. As the saying goes, "push with your gut, not with your butt!". Practicing by contracting the abdominals and relaxing the pelvic floor is exactly what should also be done during the pushing phase of delivery.

Check out this video from the Oh Baby! Fitness blog on combining Kegels and Belly Breathing to perform Coordinated Pushing.

To strengthen your core, pelvic floor, and learn more about coordinated pushing, sign up online today for a Prenatal Oh Baby! Fitness class taught in Berry Hill in Nashville. More than just prenatal yoga, we focus on cardio, upper and lower body strengthening, core and pelvic floor health and strength, and some yoga stretches!

Click HERE to sign up!

Too busy to exercise?

We all have such busy lives. Family, work, friends, church, hobbies, children. Where does health, wellness, and fitness fit into our daily lives? It's easy to let the day get away from us. To say "I'm just too tired" or "I have too much work to do" or "just another 20 minutes of sleep". But what we don't realize is we're just cheating ourselves out of some legitimate and healthy benefits that would actually counteract those feelings! Exercise will wake you up. It will get those brain juices flowing and help you complete tasks in a more efficient way. And it will help you sleep better throughout the night, making you feel more rested!

It's easy for me to say all of these things. And sometimes life really does get complicated with legitimate stuff. Having a baby, a big presentation at work, the basement flooding, losing a loved one, or discovering that you yourself have some type of illness. 

But for those who use a lot of those excuses that I mentioned at the very top, then this post has your name written allllllllll over it! ;)

So to prove that you are NOT too busy to exercise, I've come up with some workouts and facts to help you get your booty into gear!

****According to ACSM, one continuous session or multiple shorter sessions (of at least 10 minutes) are both acceptable to accumulate the needed amount of daily exercise.

(click here to read the entire article)

****Exercising helps you fall asleep faster, and sleep deeper!

****Being active lowers your chances of feeling depressed, anxious, or overall edgy.

(click here for the article)

****Exercise has been shown to improve work productivity, from better time management, to increased work output, to even creating a friendlier workplace between coworkers.

(click here for the whole article)

So with just these four facts, I'm going to give you five (3 cardio, 2 strength) exercises that you can do in your office, at your desk, in the stairwell, or in your home. These exercises will get your entire body working which increases your heart rate, gets your lungs working hard, and activates those muscles!

#1 --- Squat jumps

(cardio: works glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, abdominals, back, and shoulders)

#2 --- Plank

(strength: works shoulders, chest, abdominals, back, and legs)

#3 --- High Knee Twists

(cardio: works glutes, quads, hamstrings, abdominals, and back)

#4 --- Pushups 

Pick your own level!

Wall Pushups

Pushups on knees (for the 2 methods below: shoulders over hands, back straight, abs contracted!)

Full pushups

(strength: works shoulders, chest, abdominals, back, and legs)

#5 --- Jumping jacks

(cardio: works quads, outer thighs, inner thighs, shoulders, abdominals, and back)

Be sure to do what is right for YOU. Use your discretion. If you have bad knees, maybe no jumping jacks, or just squat instead of doing jumping squats.

Do 1-3 sets of 8-15 repetitions. Feel free to repeat this quick and simple circuit however many times you would like! I would say repeat 4-6 times. But if you only have time for 1 circuit, then that's one more for that day!

Feel free to contact me for more information or if you have any questions. I do in home personal training, but I can also come to your work!

Now stand up and get moving!

Exercise Myths: Spot Training

In the world of fitness and exercise, there are several assumptions, lies, and myths that constantly circulate in our society. One of these that I would like to spotlight is the concept known as "spot training" or "spot reduction". Spot training is the idea that if a person performs several sets and reps on one specific area of the body (i.e. abdominals, biceps, or triceps), then they will not only tone that area more and lose fat in that specific area, but that it also won't affect other parts of the body. And unfortunately, this is absolutely not true. 

The way the body loses weight is through total body high intensity cardiovascular movement, such as running, swimming, biking, circuits, kickboxing, etc. Anything that gets that heart pumping and those lungs working. Strength training does help increase the metabolism, which in turns helps burn more calories. However, this doesn't mean that strength training a specific muscle group will help burn fat in just that area. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that everyone is different. Genetics plays a huge role in this. Everyone stores weight and loses weight in different areas of their bodies (legs, chest, arms, abdomen). Everyone's bodies burn calories at different rates (quick weight loss vs. long, slow weight loss). It is SO key for people to understand this concept. Especially my clients. This isn't negative or positive (well if you look at it negatively, then that's your prerogative). It just is what it is, and that's okay. It also means that you have to be intentional in your life.

Losing weight is very hard work. But more than that, making a healthy lifestyle change that involves healthy habits, such as daily exercise, a healthy diet using moderation, good sleep, low stress, and some indulgence now and then is even harder.....and more REWARDING!

Well, enough of my soapbox...and back to spot training. :)

According to ACSM, working to lose or maintain weight is an eventual circumstance. It is an on going, lifestyle change. For more information on spot training and other myths, check out these articles:

Exercising Caution on Fitness Machine Claims

Fitness Myths

For questions, comments, or concerns, I would love to hear from you!