A Taster from our Beez Kneez Mums and Baby fitness session and Mums exercise this week and one of my personal favourites, the Monster Walk.
Target muscle: Gluteus Medius (bottom). This is one of the muscles, aside the tummy, that a new mum wants to tone up and strength first. The role of this muscle is to stabilise the hip during running or walking. If it is weak, it can be a contributing factor in knee pain.
Technique:
• Loop a small length of elastic tubing around thighs, just above the knees or use a resistance tubing with handles and stand on it with feet shoulder width apart.
• Bend knees slightly and start stepping sideways, taking small steps.
• Avoid excessive motion: shoulders should stay over hips and avoid any see-saw type action
• Change direction and repeat
For more exercises, see information on our group fitness courses.
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Thursday 17 September 2009
Top Ten Foods to flatten your Mummy Tummy
1. Porridge Oats
Perfect fat fighting food. Oats fill you up as they contain fibre and keep your blood sugar levels even. This means they stop sugar cravings and give you more energy which lasts for longer!
2. Apples
A great ‘handbag snack’ as they are easy to grab and go. Apples contain pectin - which lowers cholesterol, can help diabetes and improve insulin resistance, relieve diarrhea, and acts as a detoxifier, meaning they help empty the stomach and digestion. This improves bloatedness and aids a flat stomach.
3. Blueberries
Perfect with porridge or natural yoghurt at breakfast. A bag or pack in a handbag serves as a good portable snack. An anti-aging superfood, high in antioxidants. Also containing tannins, which bloatedness and promote a healthy flow of food being digested through the intestines.
4. Almonds
Add to chopped fruit or great as a snack to stop sugar cravings. Keep to 1/4 cup and carry in a small Tupperware box. Good for skin and hair condition
5. Eggs
Great source of protein to help build lean, toned muscle. They also keep you satisfied and energised. Great for a quick, easy breakfast – boil and egg in 3-4 minutes.
6. Spinach
Not just for popeye. Spinach contains 5 calories per cup and is incredibly versatile. Add to omelettes, chicken or turkey sandwiches, wraps, salads. Add some cream cheese and lemon juice for a tasty accompliment to salmon. Very good for energy, boosting metabolism and protecting the body against cancer.
7. Yoghurt
I love Greek Yoghurt with fruit and nuts for breakfast as it’s quick and easy to prepare. Yoghurt is a great source of protein helps digestion and makes you feel fuller for longer. Be careful of your choice of yoghurt here – avoid fruit yoghurts and ‘low fat yoghurt which contain High Fructose Corn Syrup or artificial sweeteners, like ‘yoplait’.
8. Chicken
Grill, roast, bake or poach! Very lean and really satisfies the appetite. Great in a wrap or pitta bread. Ideal to help build muscle tone.
9. Wild Salmon Steaks or Fillets.
These contain omega-3′ - essential fatty acids that lower cholesterol and promote fat loss. Salmon regulates insulin levels so good for diabetes and improve blood sugar control and stops cravings which can lead to overeating. Plus omega-3s help your body to burn off calories before they get stored as fat.
10. Figs
These tasty super fruits are full of fibre to prevent you over-eating on other not so healthy foods. Reach for one of these instead of chocolate – you can bake them and eat them with feta cheese for variety and interest!
BONUS TIP: Beat the Bloat with Peppermint Tea.
Peppermint relaxes the muscles of the digestive system – it helps relieve stomach ache, bloatedness and tension. Great to help digest a heavy meal – opt for this ‘superdrink’ rather than coffee when you eat out. My friends over at Teapigs do a delicious ‘Peppermint Leaves Tea’.
Perfect fat fighting food. Oats fill you up as they contain fibre and keep your blood sugar levels even. This means they stop sugar cravings and give you more energy which lasts for longer!
2. Apples
A great ‘handbag snack’ as they are easy to grab and go. Apples contain pectin - which lowers cholesterol, can help diabetes and improve insulin resistance, relieve diarrhea, and acts as a detoxifier, meaning they help empty the stomach and digestion. This improves bloatedness and aids a flat stomach.
3. Blueberries
Perfect with porridge or natural yoghurt at breakfast. A bag or pack in a handbag serves as a good portable snack. An anti-aging superfood, high in antioxidants. Also containing tannins, which bloatedness and promote a healthy flow of food being digested through the intestines.
4. Almonds
Add to chopped fruit or great as a snack to stop sugar cravings. Keep to 1/4 cup and carry in a small Tupperware box. Good for skin and hair condition
5. Eggs
Great source of protein to help build lean, toned muscle. They also keep you satisfied and energised. Great for a quick, easy breakfast – boil and egg in 3-4 minutes.
6. Spinach
Not just for popeye. Spinach contains 5 calories per cup and is incredibly versatile. Add to omelettes, chicken or turkey sandwiches, wraps, salads. Add some cream cheese and lemon juice for a tasty accompliment to salmon. Very good for energy, boosting metabolism and protecting the body against cancer.
7. Yoghurt
I love Greek Yoghurt with fruit and nuts for breakfast as it’s quick and easy to prepare. Yoghurt is a great source of protein helps digestion and makes you feel fuller for longer. Be careful of your choice of yoghurt here – avoid fruit yoghurts and ‘low fat yoghurt which contain High Fructose Corn Syrup or artificial sweeteners, like ‘yoplait’.
8. Chicken
Grill, roast, bake or poach! Very lean and really satisfies the appetite. Great in a wrap or pitta bread. Ideal to help build muscle tone.
9. Wild Salmon Steaks or Fillets.
These contain omega-3′ - essential fatty acids that lower cholesterol and promote fat loss. Salmon regulates insulin levels so good for diabetes and improve blood sugar control and stops cravings which can lead to overeating. Plus omega-3s help your body to burn off calories before they get stored as fat.
10. Figs
These tasty super fruits are full of fibre to prevent you over-eating on other not so healthy foods. Reach for one of these instead of chocolate – you can bake them and eat them with feta cheese for variety and interest!
BONUS TIP: Beat the Bloat with Peppermint Tea.
Peppermint relaxes the muscles of the digestive system – it helps relieve stomach ache, bloatedness and tension. Great to help digest a heavy meal – opt for this ‘superdrink’ rather than coffee when you eat out. My friends over at Teapigs do a delicious ‘Peppermint Leaves Tea’.
Three easy exercises to flatten your mummy tummy,
Discover your abs again and reduce the ‘bulging’ appearance of the mummy tummy and relieve back ache with these easy to do exercises, which focus on the very deep muscles known as the ‘transverse’ or ‘core’. They can be done if you’ve had a c-section or if you gave birth 24 hours ago!
Get ready to elevate your mood, energise and relieve anxiety and stress without pounding a gym or doing crunches.
Plus you can do them feeding the baby or online shopping or reading emails!
For all these exercises you want to imagine your lungs are in your stomach. Your stomach is like a balloon, inflating as you breathe in.
The ‘Belly Breath’
Most people don’t give much thought to how breathing can help them work their abdominal muscles! That’s because many people are ‘chest breathers’ - ‘anxiety’ led breathing in response to everyday life stressors. Correct breathing comes from the rib cage, taking air in and out from the part of the belly right below your ribs and feeling the inner most abdominal muscle move forwards and backwards.
Babies breathe deeply and correctly – just watch when they are sleeping their abdomen goes forward and backwards, which demonstrates my point!
Deep controlled breathing is also an exercise in relaxation, perfect for a new mum who feels overwhelmed or stressed out.
What to do:
1.Sit in a chair with your back supported against the back of a chair or sit against a wall, lower back touching the wall.
2. Place your hands on your stomach above and below your belly button.
3. Breathe in through your nose and blow out your stomach – your stomach is filling with air so watch it expand!
4. Breath out through your mouth, empty your lungs and draw your belly button back in towards you and towards your spine.
5. You should feel your muscles going in and out, forward and backward.
When? When feeding baby, driving, sitting.
How many? 30 breaths drawing your belly button back x3 times a day.
Tip: If your chest rises up and down, this means you are not breathing from your diaphragm, rather breathing too quickly and with your chest. Keep focussed on breath from your stomach.
Relax your shoulders, pulling them down and back.
Stomach Flattener 1: Belly Stepping
What to do:
Not the contractions you had during labour! These are more pleasant and get you to re-discover those deep stomach muscles.
What to do:
1. Start seated in a chair or against a wall, with lower back supported.
Place one hand above belly button, one hand below so you feel upper and lower abs, moving backwards.
2. Take a ‘belly breath’ in and your belly inflates.
3. Breath out and pull belly button back to the 3rd step. This is your start position. Now hold the belly button at that position and continue to breathe in and out.
4. Draw the belly button back further to 5th step (Ribs come together)
5. Then release just slightly go forward a little to 3rd step (avoid relaxing belly button completely – you need to keep holding). Count out loud for 3 counts.
6. Draw back to 5th step and hold. Count out loud for 3 counts.
How many? Repeat x 50 (starting at 3rd step, back to 5th step and back to third step is 1 repetition).
When? Whilst feeding the baby or online shopping. Babies love this too – they feel the motion of your transverse muscles as it’s the same side to side movement they felt when they were inside you and you were walking.
Get ready to elevate your mood, energise and relieve anxiety and stress without pounding a gym or doing crunches.
Plus you can do them feeding the baby or online shopping or reading emails!
For all these exercises you want to imagine your lungs are in your stomach. Your stomach is like a balloon, inflating as you breathe in.
The ‘Belly Breath’
Most people don’t give much thought to how breathing can help them work their abdominal muscles! That’s because many people are ‘chest breathers’ - ‘anxiety’ led breathing in response to everyday life stressors. Correct breathing comes from the rib cage, taking air in and out from the part of the belly right below your ribs and feeling the inner most abdominal muscle move forwards and backwards.
Babies breathe deeply and correctly – just watch when they are sleeping their abdomen goes forward and backwards, which demonstrates my point!
Deep controlled breathing is also an exercise in relaxation, perfect for a new mum who feels overwhelmed or stressed out.
What to do:1.Sit in a chair with your back supported against the back of a chair or sit against a wall, lower back touching the wall.
2. Place your hands on your stomach above and below your belly button.
3. Breathe in through your nose and blow out your stomach – your stomach is filling with air so watch it expand!
4. Breath out through your mouth, empty your lungs and draw your belly button back in towards you and towards your spine.
5. You should feel your muscles going in and out, forward and backward.
When? When feeding baby, driving, sitting.
How many? 30 breaths drawing your belly button back x3 times a day.
Tip: If your chest rises up and down, this means you are not breathing from your diaphragm, rather breathing too quickly and with your chest. Keep focussed on breath from your stomach.
Relax your shoulders, pulling them down and back.
Stomach Flattener 1: Belly Stepping
What to do:- 1.Start seated and place one hand on your belly button and one hand above with fingers spaced.
- 2. Imagine your transverse (or corset) is a sideways muscle with six steps from belly button round to the parallel point of your spine (lower back). Move one hand around from belly button to the parallel point of your spine.
- 3. Take a ‘belly breath’ in, as above, feel the transverse muscle expand. Breathe out, pull your belly button in as if you are step backwards to the third step (half way between belly button point and spine). Hold your belly button here and continue to breathe in and out, counting out loud to ten.
- Now pull your belly button in more, imagine you going back two more steps to the 5th step. This point is ‘belly button to spine’. Count out loud to ten.
CHECK: Keep shoulders pulled down and back.
CHECK: Your chest has not risen. You should feel your ribs coming together.
Once you’ve mastered this, pull your belly button back one more step to the 6th step, as if it is pushing against a parallel point of your lower back.
How many? 30 repetitions x 3 a day.
Not the contractions you had during labour! These are more pleasant and get you to re-discover those deep stomach muscles.
What to do:
1. Start seated in a chair or against a wall, with lower back supported.
Place one hand above belly button, one hand below so you feel upper and lower abs, moving backwards.
2. Take a ‘belly breath’ in and your belly inflates.
3. Breath out and pull belly button back to the 3rd step. This is your start position. Now hold the belly button at that position and continue to breathe in and out.
4. Draw the belly button back further to 5th step (Ribs come together)
5. Then release just slightly go forward a little to 3rd step (avoid relaxing belly button completely – you need to keep holding). Count out loud for 3 counts.
6. Draw back to 5th step and hold. Count out loud for 3 counts.
How many? Repeat x 50 (starting at 3rd step, back to 5th step and back to third step is 1 repetition).
When? Whilst feeding the baby or online shopping. Babies love this too – they feel the motion of your transverse muscles as it’s the same side to side movement they felt when they were inside you and you were walking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
