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Words of advice for new mums

And your first piece of advice is - feel free to ignore this advice.  As a new mum you are likely to get a lot of advice in the next few weeks, most of it unasked for and much of it unwanted.  The biggest thing you can do is take courage, forge your own path and not worry what anyone else thinks.  If there was only one way of doing things then there would be only one parenting book...

The right way to parent

Having said that, here's some things that helped my mums - many of the same things came up…

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A Pain in the Bum 2 - Piriformis Syndrome

I have already talked about pain in the front and back of the pelvis and the hips - Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) - caused by the hormone relaxin during pregnancy.  You can read the original post here.  Now here's another pain in the bum! Piriformis Syndrome can occur in anyone but it is particularly prevalent in pregnancy.  The piriformis is a muscle that connects the thigh bone (femur) to the spine at the sacrum.  It also blends into the pelvic floor so can affect the function of the pelvic floor t…

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Incontinence Part 2

November was national incontinence and bladder health awareness month in the U.S. As lots of the training resources I use come from there it seemed an ideal time for me to bang on about my favourite subject again!

I've already covered stress incontinence, which is the most prevalent

/stress-incontinence/

But there are other types as well. And bear in mind incontinence isn't just urine, it can also be faecal
  • Stress - leaking due to a change in pressure on the bladder eg jumping, running, sneezing,…

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10 years!!

Just over 10 years ago I took my one year old daughter to a family event at Reddish Vale Technology College (RVTC).  I hadn't really gone back to work at the gym since I'd had her - I'd covered one class and did too much too soon. From then on I didn't really feel like I belonged any more. Plus I wanted to carry on spending time with my girl.

I got chatting to people who worked for the extended schools programme at RVTC. They wanted to offer fitness classes at the school in the evenings.  It was …

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What's with the six week rule?

There's been a few people in my classes recovering from injuries and minor operations recently.  Then of course there's the mums who are recovering from childbirth - considered a trauma whatever experience they have had!  But despite the range of severity and site of injuries, there seems to be a six week rule - no returning to exercise until after six weeks .  What's so special about six weeks?

Stages of Wound Healing

The answer lies in the four stages of wound healing.  Tissue is the same no m…

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Stress Incontinence

So last week a blog was doing the rounds on some of the Facebook pages I follow.  It was talking about the incidence of urinary incontinence in exercising women.

There are various types of incontinence. Stress incontinence is the most common (1 in 3 women) and is where you leak urine when exercising but also when laughing or coughing. It's due to the weakened pelvic floor not being able to withstand an increase in intra-abdominal pressure.

What I found particularly interesting in this write-up w…

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C-Section Recovery

There is more to successful c-section recovery than just stopping driving and no hoovering!  Do try to get as much help as possible in the early days - I know we always want to do everything but you have just had major abdominal surgery.  So even if you feel ok you still need to take it easy otherwise recovery can take much longer.  A general rule of thumb is to not lift or push anything heavier than your baby for the first 6 weeks - this includes the pushchair. Other considerations are:

  • Cont…

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Crunches are a waste of time

I'm always being asked about exercises to flatten the abs so I should explain why I don't do crunches in my classes. One of the main things to bear in mind is the saying that abs are made in the kitchen - it's more about nutrition than anything else.  You cannot choose an exercise to reduce fat in a certain area and according to Men's Health Magazine it would take over 22,000 crunches to burn 1lb of fat.  And for us women, the stomach is where we mostly accumulate fat.  So watching what you eat …

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A Pain in the Bum - Pelvic Girdle Pain

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP), sometimes known as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) or SI Joint Pain - can be felt in the back, bum, legs and front of pelvis.

It’s a common problem in pregnancy – 20% of pregnant women get it, although it can be as much as 50%.  But remember common does not mean normal - so you don't have to just put up with it! The good news is that it does tend to clear up after pregnancy – only 7-8% women still have a problem postnatally.  But how you deal with it in pregnancy wil…

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Fit For Life? The Benefits of Exercise

It was my birthday last week and I think my subconscious must have been telling me something - the Facebook posts that had been catching my eye were all of elderly exercisers!

It is one of my fitness aims that I will be able to stay healthy and mobile as I age. So these older women have become my new inspiration! And the great thing is - many of them came to exercise in later life because of their health problems. So it's never too late to start!

I know a lot of people, myself included, first turn…

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