Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Injury Proof Your Body!!

Wendy a StrollerFit owner in California reminded me today with her blog, how important it is to strengthen and recondition your Core especailly after pregnancy.

Here is what she wrote:

After hearing about yet another friend with a back injury from doing a normal, every day task I felt compelled to say something. One of the perks of bearing our children is alot of stretching, loosening and sagging in many parts of the body...including the abdomen and core. Vaginal delivery or cesarean..same result in this department ladies. I know, I know, this is not something any of us need to be told. We know it! We feel it! We live it!
So the news is this, you CAN do something about it. I quote, "Retraining the core muscles will allow a mom to move through her life with lower risk of injury to her back, less muscular fatigue, less energy loss and greater self esteem." Straight from the restore the core instructor manual. Every single week, someone tells me or emails me about their personal experiences as they build core strength. It doesn't always sound like the quote, but it always is a version of it. "I find myself sitting up taller in the car." "My low back doesn't ache anymore after 30 minutes or MORE of rocking the baby in the middle of the night." " I bought a new pair of pants yesterday... a size smaller than I wore before having my child." "I can run without fear of peeing my pants." Don't be alarmed, these are actual quotes from actual moms. How could I make this stuff up if I wanted to?
What is my core? you might ask. Well, your core consists of all the muscles that attach to your spine and pelvis. These include abs, back, legs, hips and more. By training or retraining all of these muscles to balance each other out and work together you build a strong core. A woman with a strong core will actually engage her core muscles before moving her arms and legs. For example, if you have to reach across your body to quickly catch a bouncing ball (or sprinting 2 year old) while twisting you are much less likely to injure yourself if you have engaged all the core muscles first. Ha ha! Saved from days of ibuprofen, ice, walking slowly and explaining to a child why you can't roller skate with her today.
The restore the core format does just this. A hundred sit ups a day will train your rectus abdominus (the "six pack" muscles down the front of your body) but it will not strengthen your back, obliques or hip flexors that can save you from injury. In each class, we strengthen the core muscles one by one and increase the challenge over time. And there is hope for those of us who have "babies" who are not babies anymore. No matter how long ago you had your children, you'll benefit from this class.

Come try it! Your first class is free. http://www.strollerfit.com/
 
If you live in Central Massachusetts 2 new Restore the Core Classes will begin next week contact cari at Cari.Fisher@StrollerFit.com or StrollerFitblackstonevalley@gmail.com

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