Get Fit at Work

Looking for a great way to get fit at work? Here are a few exercises that you can do in your office. And don't forget to take a walk or jog at lunch time and take the stairs as much as possible to add cardio into your day:
1) Bridge-to strengthen the glutes and abs.
2) Opposite Arm/Leg-Start on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Your head and neck are in line with your spine. Lift the right arm (to the height of your shoulder) and your left leg (to the height of your hips). Focus on squeezing in the lower back and hold for two seconds. Lower and repeat for 10 repetitions. Do 2 to 3 sets on each side. This exercise strengthens the lower back.

3) Plank-to strengthen the abs.

These exercises can be done by expectant mamas too!

Go Low!

A few weeks ago, I talked about doing plank and how it is the single most important exercise to do. Plank is good for strengthening the transverse abdominal muscles. It is also very important to strengthen the muscles of the lower back, which oppose the abdominal muscles.

Expectant mothers often complain of lower back pain as a result of carrying a little extra weight and a shift in their center of gravity. New mothers will also often deal with lower back pain from having to lift heavy children, car seats, strollers, etc.

*Warning to new parents: make sure that the handles of your stroller are set to the right height for you. If the handles are too low, you will have to walk bent over to reach them, which causes lower back pain.

Most people don't realize this, but strengthening the lower back is often the best thing to do to prevent or get rid of lower back pain. When your lower back muscles are strong, they can handle weight gain, a shift in the center of gravity, and heavy lifting better.

Here is a simple exercise that you can do at home that will make the lower back stronger. It is called opposite arm/opposite leg:

1. Start on all fours with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips. The knees should not touch.

2. Engage the abdominal muscles.

3. Lift the right arm and the left leg and concentrate on squeezing the lower back muscles. Make sure your hips stay square to the ground.

4. Lower down (make sure the wrist is under the shoulder and the knee is under the hip).

5. Lift the left arm and the right leg and concentrate on squeezing the lower back muscles.

6. Repeat to do 12 on each side. Take a break and do 1 or 2 more sets.

You can do this exercise 3-4 times per week.

When you are done, stretch the lower back by doing cat and cow

Your children can even do this exercise with you!

Preparing your Abs for "The Main Event": Labor and Delivery

The single most important exercise you can do (ever) is the plank. Every client that I have, no matter what age or condition, does some variation of this exercise. It is the best exercise to strengthen the abdominal muscles. Everyone wants to focus on crunches, but crunches are not that important. They are also not good to do if you have diastasis recti (the separation of the abs that sometimes occurs during pregnancy). When you think of your abdominal muscles, you are probably thinking about the muscles that you associate with having a six-pack. The plank strengthens the layer of abdominal muscles underneath those that are responsible for giving you good posture, protecting your internal organs, controling incontinence, pushing out a baby, giving you good balance, etc.

To do the plank:

1) Start on all fours with your forearms on the floor, elbows directly under the shoulders.
2) Engage your abs. This means to act as though you are pulling your belly button in towards your spine.
3) Extend one leg all the way out and then the other. This can be a very difficult position to hold. Feel free to bring both knees to the ground without changing any other body position-keeping your shoulders above your elbows. If your back starts to hurt, this is normal. That will go away with time. Bring your knees to the floor.
4) Hold for as long as you can. Take a break and repeat one or two more times.

**Make sure you are breathing the entire time!

Set a goal to hold the position for 30 seconds. After you have mastered that, work your way up to 45 seconds and then 60 seconds.

This is a great exercise! If you don't make time for any other exercise during the day, make time for this one. It will only take about 5 minutes out of your day (max).

The full version looks like this:



But this is something to work towards. Don't worry about doing that now.

(pictures courtesy of babyfit.com and all-about-abs.com)