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Archive for the ‘Ladies’ Category

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on the new addition to your family.  The most important thing to consider as you look at exercise is your safety and the speed at which you heal. 

When you think abut the fact that most deliveries today are caesarian section, you need to consider that any sutures or open wounds first need to recover. Added to this is the internal damage you might have incurred through your delivery. What this means for you is that your abdominal musculature might be torn and you will need to take it very, very easy. I recommend that you begin by walking only for the first 2 to 3 weeks.

After that, I would suggest tightening your lower abdominal region using pelvic tilt movements as described in my post ‘Know your Psoas”.  

The biggest mistake you can make is to push too hard too fast. Granted you might have picked up a few unwanted kilos during your term, but begin slowly. Really, listen to your body. My advice is to focus on getting rid of the not-so-perfect dietary no no’s that tend to creep in to most eating regimes during pregnancy.  As for exercise walk on the treadmill at an incline, or ride the stationary bike if it’s comfortable.

It is definitely advisable for you to exercise after you have had your bundle of joy. It is well documented that increased blood flow produced by exercise speeds up recovery and improves circulation to the extremities…. This will help with oedema, which is common in pregnancy.

 Using pelvic tilt exercise and slow rehab is recommended over doing massive amounts of crunches, lunges etc. This is probably the only time I will recommend Pilate’s type exercise as it is non- invasive and focuses the stress on your core rather than movement systems. (I have nothing against Pilates; I just am one of those people who need to move. I need to be completely and utterly challenged by the way my muscular systems move as one powerful, explosive machine!)  Focus on movements that will strengthen your static strength like bridging, tripods, planks etc.

Initially I recommend staying away from lunge type training as your body still has the hormone Relaxin floating around which causes hyper- elasticity, and this could cause injury.

Therefore, after 6-8 weeks of training has passed you should be able to start running. Keep your workouts short and keep moving. Do not try to accomplish too much. Use circuit type training to develop overall strength and increase your fitness. As before keep doing those pelvic tilt movements. Get your tummy strong, Don’t forget your lower back too… you need strength there to help with picking up and carrying baby. 

Some health clubs offer post natal classes and these are often beneficial as you get to socialize with other mums who are experiencing the same joy as you are, as well as the mission of getting rid of weight.

These classes are circuit type classes…just make sure that the person taking them actually knows what’s going on and is not just a dummy trying to make some extra cash. Interview the trainer to find out if they actually know anything about what your body is going through.

As with all exercise, I recommend professionals: If in doubt hire a trainer who IS PROPERLY QUALIFIED to help you recover. Too often, people just use their ‘friends’ trainer, trusting that they are equipped to handle your special needs. Remember that you person is unique and it could be dangerous if some idiot makes you jump up and off a box one week after you give birth…trust me I have seen some freaky stuff out there.

It is necessary that you maintain communication with you doctor during exercise. Let your trainer talk to him/her to find out if you have any special needs. If you have, any unusual pains clear it with the doctor… not your friends or parents who don’t have proper medical training.

I hope you have success in your efforts to regain your body. I personally have helped many women to recover first and then exceed their previous fitness and strength goals after pregnancy.

Ps if you need advice on your training just e-mail me at jason@functionaltrainer.co.za

Kind Regards

Jason Hough

Hello there fans… 

 The reasons are mainly physiological:  You need to remember that fat plays an important role in both men and women when it comes to brain function, insulating nerves, shock absorption and reproduction.  Without sufficient fat stores, you will cause major damage to your body. 

Firstly, women are designed differently to men, so they need to hold more fat. The body recognizes that it will eventually be going through menstruation, childbearing and it keeps energy, as fat. Female breast tissue is also comprised of fatty cells and it is vital that the body keeps up these fatty stores. Therefore, genetically, female DNA is coded to help you store fat differently than men do.  That is why women generally have fat stores around their hips whilst men carry their fat on their tummy.

Secondly, men generally have more muscle than women do. This is because of testosterone. The female hormone estrogen actually works to reduce muscle size and promote fat storage, whilst testosterone causes muscle growth and fat burning.  This explains why some women gain fat weight when the use certain strong contraception, the increase in female hormones causes increased fat storage!

Therefore, because men carry more muscle, their BMR, or ‘fat burning engine’ is bigger and requires more energy to keep it running.   So how do you fight your genetics?This is the million-dollar question.  If you recognize that you are different, you can adapt your training to counter what is happening in your body.  Women need to do weight training exercise to stimulate their muscles to burn more energy. (See ‘Why women should do weight training’)

 More importantly though women need to be especially strict as to what they eat. Diet is most important. If you feed your fat storing system, it will store fat! You need to be aware of your cycles so that you avoid the chocolate binge just before you start. This is a time your body is looking for extra energy to help with menstruation. Remember though that your body has stored this energy already through the month and if you give it the extra calories, you will not use your fat stores! I have found that most female clients tend to be carbohydrate dependant when it comes to their eating. You need to be balanced in what you eat. Eating high GI carb meals generally causes an insulin response and that encourages you to store fat.  Eat quality carbohydrates and know which foods have better glycemic loads and eat those.   

I feel it is important to mention that the danger level for female body fat is around 11% and you should be aware that you could lose menstral functioning completely if you stay lower than this level for extended periods of time.  A Safe target is around 16% and you should aim for 14% as your optimal goal!

Kind regards  

Jason Hough

Personal Trainer

Renaissance Body Science Institute

Cape Town

Mobile (27) 763 970 284  

 Hello there… 

Today I would like to explain why women should not be afraid to pick up the dumbbells and join men, actually dominate most men, when it comes to weight training. 

Firstly, I would like to discuss the role that testosterone has in building muscle tissue… Simply put, without testosterone you cannot really create large quantities of muscle.  Women do not have testosterone, therefore the fear that women have is totally unscientific and FALSE.   Sure, you do not want to be a bodybuilder and I understand that those women have taken things to extremes.  Ps… Female bodybuilders generally inject testosterone to give them that amount of growth! It is not going to happen to you. 

Secondly, I also understand that weight training and resistance work can seem intimidating at first. The point is that you need to become educated in techniques and movements that will help you to achieve your goals:  Toned muscles and low body fat. You cannot improve muscle tone through cardio training alone.   It is important to note that generally women do not ever lift the same resistance as most men. Why is this important… well consider how men strive to get big, but very few do. They are lifting much more weight than you will, yet the resistance does not stimulate their muscles to grow huge. This is great news for you because whilst you are doing similar movements, you will not develop the same size, as you are not doing enough resistance. Remember that your goals are not he same as a man and you should not train in the same way.

 So why do I say that you can out perform most men….Consider this… most men just want big arms & big chest! If you have read my previous posts, you will see that I am trying to combat this archaic attitude.  You though want to do legs, legs and more legs because most women want to firm Butt, hips and thighs. This puts you at a distinct advantage: The muscle groups in your legs are larger than your upper body, so by focusing on leg training you can potentially burn a substantial amount of calories. This is because you need energy to perform movement and the bigger the muscle group stimulated, the more energy you need!  The more energy you burn, the less fat you will have. 

So where to next…. 

Although resistance training is vital, it needs to be structured. I do not recommend that you train the same way as a man. Personally, I find that using circuits of several different exercises is much more effective than doing repetitive sets of one movement.  Get your trainer to structure a progressive program that will cover all body parts in a circuit system. Do not stop moving, you will keep your heart rate up and stimulate your muscles to get strong and toned. 

We have a perfect system at Renaissance called ‘Kinesis‘ which works unbelievably well to help women do resistance training without being intimidated. I will write a post about kinesis soon, otherwise feel free to contact me for a trial.

Also, keep doing cardio. I recommend using interval training twice a week and doing two long fat burning sessions a week.  Try to do your cardio after your training as you will burn more fat! Read this:   Training Jane, not Tarzan  Kind regards Jason Hough

Personal Trainer

Renaissance Body Science Institute

Cape Town

Mobile (27) 763 970 284

Hello there… 

This is a nice topic to discuss because it is very exiting topic for potential new moms and it makes for interesting adaptations to your training regime. 

The actual truth is that training during your pregnancy will definitely assist your in carrying-, delivering- and recovery after pregnancy. 

There are, however several important things that you need to be aware of: 

Firstly you need to lower your intensity of your exercise. It is important that you decrease your weights and increase your repetition range. Cardio exercise should also decrease in intensity and brisk walking is recommended over running, as you want to decrease the impact on your joints etc. 

Secondly, you need to know about a hormone called Relaxin, which is released by your body to loosen your joints to help you to give birth. This is a good thing for baby, bad thing for exercise… Now that you are flexible you need to aware of the fact that you can easily overstretch your muscles and tear them. This means very controlled movements are essential, and if you do lunges you need to have perfect control, as your hip flexors are very elastic. 

Next is the Valsalva maneuver.  For a detailed explanation please see my post: ‘What is the Valsalva maneuver’.  Basically you want to avoid exercises where you placed increased pressure on your abdomen because it increases abdominal pressure and could hurt baby. 

Once you reach your second trimester it is important to note that exercise could cause dizziness, so try to be seated for most of your training routine.

Because of blood pooling in your lower legs, try not to stand for too long.  Walking is still fine and so is the recumbent bicycle.  You need to avoid movements where you are lying down as this will place pressure on the Vena Cava, a major artery that feeds your fetus, and that is  bad. 

Those are the precautions, but what about the benefits:

Regular exercise whilst pregnant will increase your body’s ability to provide blood and oxygen to your developing fetus. This is definately and advantage as fitter moms generally have healthier babies. 

Exercise will help you to keep your body weight and muscle tone in check, because stimulating muscle helps them to keep using calories.  Please make sure that the calories you consume remain of a good quality as this will affect the nutrients you give to your fetus, as well as your recovery.  

Remember that increasing your blood flow to your legs helps prevent vericose veins.

It is vital that you consume enough water to keep your blood volume and also body temperature constant.  The normal recommendation is 8 glasses a day. 

Lastly I would like to warn you not to use the power plate if you are expecting. There is not enough evidence to suggest that the vibrations have no effect on the fetus, so don’t take any chances there. What I do recommend is using the Swiss ball for sitting, as well as for exercise. There are simple and effective exercises to help maintain proper stability and even to relieve the discomfort of baby growing.

The major benefit of training during pregnancy seems to be recovery. Because your body is fitter, you are at less risk of infection, oedema and  blood clots. Also moms who exercise generally have more abdominal strength and a higher pain threshold, two things that definately play a role in childbirth.  Post delivery recovery is definately quicker in fit moms, as well as return to normal life. 

This is a very exiting time for you and it means you need to be careful.  Exercise serves well to keep you in shape and to help with you carrying your new family member. Remember that your focus needs to be on assisting the birth and not on weight loss or toning goals. Consume enough quality calories and take it slow. Use exercise as a tool and enjoy the excitement of bringing in a new life to this world! 

Kind regards

 Jason Hough

Personal Trainer

Renaissance Body Science Institute

Cape Town

Mobile (27) 763 970 284

This is a stabilization mechanism of your abdominal wall against your spine which allows you to lift heavy weight. 

It is imperative to all Power Lifts that you develop the proper breathing pattern so that you allow your Thoracic – Lumbar Stabilization Mechanism to provide the needed support for your lift.

The Valsalva maneuver requires that you first inhale to fill your lungs before you begin your lift.  This allows your abdominal muscles to contract against the air volume and press into your spine, providing tremendous stability and protecting your vertebrae.
It is important to note that ladies, who are pregnant, should be especially aware that they AVOID all exercises increase intra-abdominal pressure, as this can decrease blood flow to baby, who is already competing for space!
 Read more…  

Kind regards

Jason Hough

Personal Trainer

Renaissance Body Science Institute

Mobile ( 27 ) 763 970 284

Hello there,

It is largely dependant on whether you have had the surgery under- or over the pectoral muscle.Generally over the muscle causes less stress to your body and clients have been known to begin walking around after a week or so.As a general rule you should avoid any pushing movements or raising your arms over your head for the first 6 weeks.  You need to remember that your body forms a capsule around the implant and while this is happening you need to be careful with what you do.

However, you can do mobilization exercise and cardio training, I recommend using the elliptical trainer.  Your doctor will tell you to massage and this is more important for your recovery process than anything else initially.

Under the muscle is more tricky, but exercise can resume once the swelling subsides.

Again pushing movements will force pressure onto the implant and sometimes it squeezes out to the side. The implants will return to their normal position, but you need to be aware of any irregularities, as your body needs to adjust to the procedure of breast augmentation surgery. 

  It is important that you discuss the details of your surgery with your M.D. as he/she will be more familiar with your specific details.  Medically there is no reason you should not train if you have healed properly and your ‘capsule’ has already formed.Again you might experience some discomfort when beginning again so take it slow with your upper torso movements, but feel free to train legs and cardio as normal.Another peace of advice is that you must wear support when you train.  I know you are very happy with your surgery and you want to show off… but gravity is not your friend!!!and if you dont support, the implant it will, over time, stretch your tissue and cause sagging.

  Kind regards

  Jason Hough

Personal Trainer

Renaissance Body Science Institute

Cape Town

Mobile (27) 763 970 284