Monitoring Training During Pregnancy
What should my heart rate be? How much weight is too much? What can I do to monitor myself? These are the million dollar questions for monitoring training during pregnancy. However, there is no one-size-fits-all model for training throughout pregnancy and the initial twelve months postpartum. Tools we use …
BIRTHFIT Coach Is an Honor: Requirements and Recommendations
We frequently hear from personal trainers and/or coaches (women and men) wanting to be a BIRTHFIT Coach. However, when we share our BIRTHFIT Coach Education and application requirements and recommendations, many people vanish or have a hard time understanding why we cannot just “let them in”. Our BIRTHFIT Coach …
The Role of Transversus Abdominis as Part of a Functional Core
You’ve probably heard that the transversus abdominis (TvA) is essential for core stability. You’ve heard right, but that’s only a small part of the whole story. The truth is, the TvA is *part* of a dynamic core (referring to the entire region from your neck to your hips). Why …
Intentional Training Before and After Birth
Webster dictionary defines intentional as: ”deliberate, to have a purpose behind a task.” How can this be applied daily to our lives and any training we are pursuing in the Motherhood Transition? The intent will be personal to us each, and specific to our season, but the concept is the …
Deadlift Is Queen: The Ins and Outs of the Deadlift
In BIRTHFIT training, we love deadlifts. You may hear us say that the “squat is king” for so many obvious and valid reasons. I would go on to say that the “deadlift is queen” and equally as important to maintaining functionality throughout all stages of life. As tiny humans, we …
About that Lupus Thing
I’ve had several questions about how I reversed Lupus. I also was diagnosed with a second autoimmune condition called Sjogren’s Syndrome, but since no one knows what that is, I rarely talked about it. But that’s also no longer present. I was diagnosed with these autoimmune conditions in January 2017 …
The Benefits of Lifting Weights for Women
Women Lifting Heavy? Until recent years women weren’t typically all about the barbells and squat racks. Even today, as weightlifting is becoming more normal for women, we are still surrounded by stereotypical ideas about what fitness should look like for us and we are faced with unrealistic ideas of …
How to Keep Your Feminine Rhythm without a Menstrual Cycle
You can use the following wisdom to create harmony within your body whether you’re pregnant, nursing or do not have a menstrual cycle for other reasons. Did you know that the phases of the moon mirror the phases of our cycle? We can tap into this celestial rhythm in order to …
Symphysis Pubis Pain aka “Lightning Crotch” or Pelvic Pain During Pregnancy
Symphysis pubis pain is un-affectionately known as lightning crotch. It’s that feeling that 20% of pregnant women know all too well—the sharp and sudden pain deep in their pelvis. The feeling of their pelvis shearing, pain that can stop a mama mid-step or leave her gasping for air trying to …
How Slow is Fast Worked for Me
When I began participating in high-intensity group functional fitness classes in the fall of 2014, I knew my husband and I wanted to start a family in the next year or so. Indeed, part of my reasoning for a new exercise routine was to prepare my body for a healthy …