Injuries sustained in pregnancy or postpartum, can plague clients for decades after the fact…
About that extra weight....
The majority of folks that I talk to these days believe they are carrying some extra weight…
Read moreKettlebells, prolapse, pfd and tension breath
When working with my postnatal and pelvic floor rehabilitation clients that have been diagnosed with an inactive pelvic floor or pelvic organ prolapse, we spend A LOT of time both inside and out of the gym re-learning to breath.
Read moreBeing vulnerable and honest about my struggles has helped me help more women
This is a woman that feared telling ANYONE about her diagnosis for fear they would be uncomfortable, assume the worst, conduct a Google image search and then assume that my body looked like the horrifying images they saw.
Read moreDiscover your Primal Pelvic Floor, Part 2!
In the same way that your minimal shoes are helping you to resurrect the muscles in your feet, and your primal diet is restoring your gut and brain function, these three steps to discovering your primal pelvic floor are (Plus my DPPF Program) are going to get your pelvic floor back online, more akin to the pelvic floors of our ancestors and, give you an overall better quality of life.
Read moreYou asked questions about the pelvic floor and pelvic organ prolapse and I answered!
I 100% DO NOT believe in rules and formulas when it comes to working with the pelvic floor.
There are some very helpful guidelines and effective strategies for dealing with pelvic floor dysfunction and related injuries, but I will tell you that EVERY CLIENT I SEE IN-PERSON OR ONLINE presents with pelvic floor issues slightly differently and therefore we tailor their programming to their unique problems.
When it comes to fitness, vagina and vulva health matters and yes we can talk about it!
I first began to work with female athletes in 2004, they were high school track athletes.
Two days into the job, I realized how much our fitness and athletic performance is tied to our unique female anatomy and how being one of the only female coaches was going to mean I better have some tampons and pads handy 24/7.
So what's the deal with pubic hair removal????
Well, pubic hair is basically like eyebrows and eyelashes for your vagina.
Like the eye, the vaginal canal is a sensitive part of the body open to the outside world!
It is susceptible to invasion and infection by bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoans.
As a moist environment with mucosa-lined membranes, it can provide the exact niche preferred by some of these foreign invaders.
The coarseness and shape of the hair makes it easier to trap foreign particles like dust, pollen, pathogenic bacteria....
So if you're like me, you might be thinking, "Ok, but is that still necessary in the modern era? How likely is it that foreign particles are going to get into my Lululemon leggings that I can barely get into myself?"
Trick # 3 ....
Everyday that you try to exercise there will be a million other things that you could, should, and want to do.
Guest bed buried in laundry today...and many days.
The fear of being interrupted, the inconvenience of actually getting dressed in workout clothes (don't forget Trick # 1!), a work call you have to make, that laundry you need to fold these things stop us in our tracks.
They give legitimacy to our procrastination.
Our lives are demanding, so we put off working-out until later...and later...and later....months, years can go by and those hindrances are still there in one form or another and we're still not exercising.
Exercise is never going to be super convenient.
I'm going to teach you how to be as efficient and low-tech as possible to help you make it happen AND get results.
Even with that help, you will have to create space in your home, your life, and your mind.
Maybe you want to be healthy and you want to do it in a way that is realistic for your life.
Or you already know the excuses and the legitimate reasons you have for not exercising, but you also know that you need to make it happen, and you're not exactly sure how to do it.
If this is you, here's my advice,
JUST START!
Or just "staht", as we say in my middle class New England family.
When I'm tired, crunched for time and I have lists upon lists of things that I need to accomplish I say to myself, "Just start the workout and see where it takes you," and 7 out of 10 times, I finished it and felt better for having exercised.
Other times, maybe I got 5, 10 minutes in before being interrupted by life, but it was better than nothing AND by just starting that mini-workout, it was easier to "just start" the next time I needed to.
How did I start doing this?
Six months after having my first baby, I started attentinding a workout class with other moms who supported one another in fitness, motherhood, and life.
I knew it was good for me, and I felt bad when I missed a class, but sometimes with a new baby and the exhaustion, I just couldn't imagine myself getting there and THEN working out for an hour.
So I started trying to just get there.
I gave myself the permission to do it as IMPERFECTLY as necessary, to stop if I needed to...and sometimes I even left early.
Having that freedom made me feel in control of the process, this was also the beginnings of my cultivation of a #persistenceoverperfection of #pop mindset!!
No one was forcing me to workout, I made the choice and some days I chose to stop because I needed the rest.
I needed to be gentle.
Oddly enough, this gave me the power to start the workouts and more often than not, push through to the end.
After that, I used this same approach for attending other exercise classes, getting to the gym, and I found that my attendance was even better than it had ever been.
Maybe for you, it's not about workouts. You're not even there yet. You're not sure how to "just start" because you don't even know how to work out. For you, it's more like taking that first step towards living better?
If that's the case then I am happy to tell you, you're already doing it.
By reading this post, you're seeking, researching what to do next.
Keep it up.
Keep researching.
Find people online (like myself) and in person that inspire you to make good choices, to learn what good choices look like in your life. These folks will help you be accountable to the commitment you wish to make.
Start using the mantra, #persistenceoverperfection!!
Every baby step you take towards creating habits of wellness in your life, the closer you get to looking and feeling better and the easier it becomes to live your live health-full life.
Sarah Smith is a personal trainer, level two Russian Kettlebell Instructor, postnatal fitness specialist and pelvic floor and gut health advocate with a Masters in Agricultural Science.
She works online and in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Sarah specializes in helping women online and in-person feel strong, confident and capable in their bodies!
She is a mom to three boys and one English Bulldog. She loves soil, coffee and not folding laundry. Come follow her on Instagram or Facebook.