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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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8 Ways To Lose Your Mummy Tummy

There was an article this week that showed Zara Phillips/Tyndall out for the day, dressed up, enjoying herself.  The photo showed off a bit of a bump so people were assuming she was pregnant again.  She then had to issue a statement that she wasn't.  I must admit, I felt a bit sorry for her - nothing worse than being asked when baby's due when you're not even pregnant...

Anyway, the article went on to assume that Zara had diastasis recti.  This is a possibility as 36% of women have it past 8 wee…

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take a deep breath

I wanted to talk about breathing this week. For something that should happen automatically, it's often the hardest thing to get right! Most beginners starting off with Pilates struggle with the breathing. It's ok not to get it, as long as you breathe! But if you do get it, it is integral to proper form, pelvic floor health, core strength and general well being.

One of the reasons people feel so relaxed in Pilates classes is because of the focus on thoracic (or rib cage) breathing. Day to day we …

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no shame

No blame, no shame - own your birth story No blame, no shame - own your birth story

I posted a link to a blog on Facebook this week giving another perspective on mums who've had C-sections - taking pride in them instead of feeling shame.  It had struck a cord with me as I had felt such a failure when I didn't get the home birth I wanted and ended up having the most medicalised birth possible. Seems it struck a cord with other people too, as it became my most liked, shared and viewed post! Here's the link if you want to read it for your…

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Mother's Day



A Mother's Day Love Letter A Mother's Day Love Letter

I'm often wary about mentioning Mother's Day as it has different connotations for many. I'm particularly mindful of it following some of the conversations and emails I've had this week. But that has made me more grateful this year than usual, for my own mum and the sacrifices she made and also for how lucky I am to have my girls.

Sometimes being a mum is just so hard and thankless. There's a never ending list of stuff that needs to get done. There's our bodies which ha…

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Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) is a secretive, not often talked about thing.  And yet last week every single day I ended up speaking with people about their prolapse so it just seemed destined that that is what I would write about today!

Prolapse is the descent of one or more internal organs that then push into the vaginal wall.  There are different stages – mild, moderate to extending outside the body.  There are many symptoms, many of which could be attributed to other ailments.
  • Urinary incontin…

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