General Wellness - Moving Like A Mother

4 for 4 (Four Resistance Band Exercises for 4 Muscle Groups)

Posted on October 15, 2020May 16, 2023 by Monica

I recently had a patient who told me he wasn’t doing his home exercise program because felt like “he wasn’t getting much out of the exercises”. Ohhhhhkayyyy, not the greatest excuse. I guess he felt as though the exercises were too “low key” and he wasn’t making the most out of his time. Upon further discussion I learned that he enjoyed exercises that strengthened more than one body part. And I totally get it. I mean when you only have so much time in your busy life you want to be efficient and effective. So I thought I would share these four simple band exercises that are highly effective for prevention of pain in four different body parts.

If you only have a minute to squeeze in exercise you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck, right? Well I’m going to share with you four exercises that are good for your core muscles, your hips, your knees, and even your pelvic floor. All you need is an exercise band and something to hold onto if your balance is less than ideal.

These exercises are a favorite amongst therapists in the clinic and loved by patients. They are easy to work into your day because you can do it while watching TV, waiting for food to warm up in the microwave, or as part of your daily exercise program.

So don’t wait any longer and give these four band exercises a try:

4 Way Hip Standing Resistance Band Exercises:

1. Hip Abduction:

Place the band around your ankles. Stand upright with your core braced and your shoulders down and back. Use a chair, countertop, or other support surface for balance. Keeping your body in an upright standing position kick your leg out to the side slowly and with control. Keep your knee locked straight and avoid leaning your body. Repeat 10 x on each leg.

2. Hip Extension:

Perform the exercise with the same instruction as above. However, kick your leg backwards keeping your knee locked straight. This is a small movement and you should feel it in your gluteal region. Repeat 10 x each leg.

3. Hip Flexion:

Perform the exercise with the same instruction as above. You will likely want to turn sideways and hold onto the support surface with one hand only. Kick your leg forwards keeping your knee locked straight. Keep you core brace and your hips tucked under your shoulders. Repeat 10 x each leg.

4. Hip Adduction:

Stand upright with your core braced and your shoulders down and back. Keeping your body in an upright standing position kick your leg across your stabilizing leg. Keep your knee locked straight and avoid leaning your body. You should feel this working your inner thigh. Repeat 10 x on each leg.

Repeat these exercises for 2-3 total sets.

A word about resistance bands:

There are many different resistance bands on the market. I personally use therabands. Resistance bands have varying resistance levels based on color. Generally the lighter the color the easier the band. The Theraband brand in order of lightest to hardest resistance level goes yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple. For all exercises that require use of a band find a color that makes it challenging to complete the full 10-12 reps. As you get stronger you should think about increasing the band resistance or increasing the repetitions.

If you are just starting to exercise you can perform these without the band. But using the band requires your moving leg, your stabilizing leg, and your core to be tight and activated throughout the routine. These exercises build strength in your TA core muscle, your gluteal muscles, and your stabilizing pelvic muscles which are important in prevention of pain in your low back, hips, knees, and pelvic floor.

What’s next?

These 4 moves are a great compliment to any workout routine. Those who suffer from back, hip, and knee pain would highly benefit from incorporating these stability exercises. These moves are also great for runners to increase pelvic and core stability.

For more great exercises check out some of my earlier posts:

5 Exercises for A Better Belly

6 Pelvic Stability Exercises You Should Be Doing

How to Get Rid of the Mommy Pooch

HIIT the Stairs!

Happy stabilizing!

-Monica

HIIT The Stairs (A Total Body Stair Workout)

Posted on October 8, 2020May 16, 2023 by Monica

I used to belong to a gym. The gym had loads of fancy strength equipment, various free weights, a pool, and a wide variety of cardio machines. Years ago when I would work out I spent way too much time on the cardio machines. I think I was intimidated by the crowds on the strength equipment and a little too obsessed with burning calories opposed to building strength.

But these days I don’t have a gym membership and many of my workouts are just made up at home. And I love it so much more and honestly my body is stronger and healthier looking than when I stuck to straight cardio. Having more exercise variety keeps my muscles guessing and also it’s kind of fun to mix it up. Not to mention it’s far more convenient to workout at home.

I don’t have much fancy equipment. And one of my favorite ways to workout at home is to use my stairs. Exercising on the stairs can be great for cardio and strengthening. Just be careful because it does involve a bit of balance and coordination at times. And if you have a 1 year old who is obsessed with crawling up the stairs (like I do) you need to keep a watchful eye.

So check out these great moves for at home, total body exercise routine using just your stairs.

Total Body Stair Workout

1. Quick feet toe taps

Quickly alternate tapping your feet on the 1st or 2nd step. Repeat for 30 seconds.

2. Push ups

Place your hands on the second step for a modified push up. Repeat 10x

3. Mountain climbers.

Place hands on second step and quickly bring knees up towards your chest. Repeat for 30 seconds

4. Tricep dips into hip flexion kick

Place hands on second step facing outwards. Perform tricep dip and then raise one leg upwards keeping your knee straight. Repeat 10 x each leg.

5. Single limb lunges

Place on foot on 2nd step facing outwards. Stand upright and perform a lung ensuring that your knee does not go beyond your toes. Repeat 10 x each leg.

6. Single limb squats

Stand sideways and place your leg on the second step with your knee extended. Squat down ensuring you are seating back into your glutes. Repeat 10 x each leg.

Ensure you are maintaining good form with core braced throughout.

Repeat the circuit for 3-4 sets. Increase reps, sets, or try holding weights for more of a challenge.

Next, curse my name.

Then, throw in a load of laundry.

And finally, be proud of the total body workout you just completed. You’ll never look at the stairs the same way again.

You can find more at home workouts below:

My At-Home, No Equipment, Full-Body Workout Routine

-Monica

How healthy are you? (Why you need to consider your holistic health)

Posted on September 10, 2020May 16, 2023 by Monica

Now more than ever it’s important to stay healthy. But when we think of health we most often think of things like avoiding getting sick with a cold or other illness. Or maybe some of us think about being thin, fit, or having six pack abs. But health is actually so much more than just our physical health. Health is multi-dimensional. When thinking about your health you need to consider your holistic health when deciding just how healthy you actually are.

What is holistic health?

Holistic health is looking at a person’s health and wellness as a whole. Instead of just focusing on a specific illness, body part, or impairment we want to look at the complete person and how they interact with their environment. Holistic health emphasizes the importance of the mind, body, and spirit being in sync. Each system supports one another and in order for a person to be their best possible self all these systems need to be functioning well.

The 5 typical components of holistic health

Physical Health

When thinking of health, physical health is usually what comes to mind. Physical health is how your body moves and performs. It includes the wellness, function, and efficiency of all your different body systems. (musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, integumentary, cardiovascular, etc)

Social Health

Social health is your ability to build meaningful connections with others and adapt to various social situations. Did you know that studies have found that those with close friendships tend to have reduced stress and lower blood pressure?

Mental Health

Mental health is related to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being. It affects your ability to think and process emotions and experiences. Our mental health is responsible for how we respond to different situations and what choices we make.

Spiritual Health

Often people think spiritual health means being religious. And while spiritual health can involve religion, health in this area means being connected to your inner soul and the world around you.

Emotional Health

Emotional health is very closely related to mental health. It is our ability to feel, respond, and react to different life events or situations. Emotional health can be impacted by demographic, economic, and situational factors. Being in touch with and recognizing our emotions can aid in making other healthy decisions.

Why a physical therapist (& all healthcare providers) should look at holistic health

Again each of these components has an impact on all the other areas of health. For example if you are feeling stressed you may develop a stomachache or headache. Or if you are feeling lonely or disconnected from others you may develop sad feelings which may cause more lethargy. Holistic health is like a web and all the parts need to be strong. Also, it is important for healthcare providers to treat holistically. We should see the complete picture and always treat the whole you. As a physical therapist I am always asking questions about lifestyle, home environment, emotions, work status, family relationships, so on and so forth, because these all play a HUGE role in our overall physical health and well being.

“Holistic Health is an ongoing process. As a lifestyle, it includes a personal commitment to be moving toward the right end of the wellness continuum. No matter what their current status of health, people can improve their level of well-being” – The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Body-Mind Disciplines, Walter Suzan

Ways you can improve your holistic health

Practice yoga
Practice mindfulness or meditation
Have a balanced diet and good nutrition
Stay hydrated
Participate in community groups, church groups, clubs or programs
Place a phone call (not a text) to a loved one
Organize or participate in a group zoom call or google hangout with friends
Read or listen to books or podcasts
Journal
Rest or take a nap
Exercise
Join online special interest groups, book clubs, etc
Practice good sleep hygiene
Therapy (all the kinds)
Spend time in nature
Practice your religion
Take a digital detox

Ways other Moms work on their holistic health

Below you can check out some other great ways mamas work on their holistic health.

Self-care tips for busy moms - tiffanydoesitall.com

Mental Wellbeing-couple sitting in nature-pinnable image

ideas for self care, self care, mental health, what self care really is

12 top methods to reduce stress pin image

What’s next?

There are many different ways to work on your total health. And it can seem overwhelming and maybe even just downright stressful to work on all the areas of holistic health. So just pick one or two things a day to make you a happier and healthier you. After all, self care is the best care.

–Monica

Why I took a break from social media (the health effects of media)

Posted on September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 by Monica

Before starting Moving Like A Mother I would have described myself as an average social media user. A little Facebook here, a little Pintrest there, and a nice lil’ dose of Instagram. But lately the time spent online on my phone and my computer has sky rocketed as I try to develop and grow this blog and it’s related social media platforms. Trust me, I know, my iPhone has yelled at me for my screen time. And while I am absolutely loving creating and embarking on this new adventure, I am definitely feeling a little worn down physically, mentally, and emotionally from being immersed in social media. So I decided to take a little break from social media, and here’s why.

taking a break from social media — Hiking the Badlands, SD

Why I needed a break from social media

A question I get asked a lot lately is how I am finding the time to work on my blog. My answer, I’m legit flying by the seat of my pants. I work full time as a physical therapist and I’m also a full time mom and wife so my free time is very limited. And lately all that little bit of free time has been devoted to working on Moving Like A Mother and various social media platforms. Between the hours of 8 pm and 10:30 pm every night you can find me working on blog posts, creating Instagram images, engaging on Pintrest, or editing videos. And as much as I hate to admit it I am often thinking, planning, plotting and interacting online even during hours I should be playing with my kids or talking to my husband.

Unfortunately all this extra time on social media has started to effect my sleep, my mood, my relationships, and other aspects of my holistic health. So I made a decision to take a digital detox for a week and a half to reconnect with myself and my family. I know I can’t be the only mama or person to feel they have (or maybe dabble) in an unhealthy relationship with social media. And since my purpose is to help women in all areas of health and wellness I thought it might be nice for a little 411 about social media’s effects on health and wellness.

Possible negative health effects of social media

Anxiety

There is A LOT of heavy stuff happening in the world right now. It’s all over social media and everyone has an opinion about everything. All of it can be extremely over-whelming and anxiety inducing. I support standing up for your values and being an advocate for what you believe in. But you also need to be a smart consumer of social media. Know your limits and know when to power down.

Lack of sleep

Lack of sleep is one of the biggest ways social media is negatively impacting my health. I stay up wayyy too late engaging and/or scrolling. And sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep even after powering down because my mind is racing with what I saw on social media. Plus studies have shown that the lighting from electronic screens can disrupt the natural levels of melatonin in your body, thereby disrupting your ability to fall asleep.

Decreased self esteem

“Comparison is the thief of joy”. And boy, it is hard not to compare on social media. Scrolling through images makes it very easy to compare life styles, body image, and so much more. This can have an hugely negative impact on your self worth, emotional, and mental health.

Decreased productivity

Spending your time perusing through social media may keep you from doing more productive things. For example, you might not be getting your job work done or skipping exercise or self care. It may seem relaxing at the time but ultimately you might feel stressed and anxious that you didn’t get to some of those other more important things because you spent too much time on Instagram

Decreased social connections

While it may seem like social media builds connections it can keep you from connecting to those closest to you. For me I have found less time to talk and hang out with my husband because I am spending so much of my free time on social media. Remember that those that matter the most are usually just a hug or a phone call away.

Positives of social media

So I know I have just been harping on the negatives of social media. But there are definitely some positives too. Social media is a great place to learn (ahem…maybe like, health and wellness for mothers). I follow loads of accounts that have helped me learn about cleaning, parenting, fashion, health, fitness. etc. Just be smart about what you read. Social media can also be a great place to connect with others. I know I said it can decrease social connections, and it can. But you can also build connections with other’s who are going through the same things you are. Finally, social media can be a very powerful platform. Lets just hope it gets used for good and not evil.

What I achieved from my week break with social media

Digital Detox — Badlands National Park, SD

I am loving creating and sharing all my content with the world. It has been so fun to branch into something new and learn about website design and social media interactions. I have even been able to reconnect with women I haven’t talked to since high school or college, and that is awesome! And my husband has been very supportive and I am slowly getting into more of a rhythm. But even still, I realized I need a mental vacation and a digital detox for all the above reasons and to allow myself a reset.

So after feeling a little worn down from the social media world I decided to ditch the Gram (and all other platforms) for a week during a little family vaca. I wanted to be present for all the little moments during vacation. Taking a break from social media would allow me to spend quality time with my kids and my husband without any distractions. I wanted to wake up in the morning, sip my coffee, and just be present in my mind. No comparing or thinking “I should be doing XYZ to grow my blog“; I just wanted to be.

And that’s what happened. A week long digital detox was just the reset I needed. I encourage all of you to give it a try. And at the very least just make sure you keep a healthy relationship with social media in order to keep yourself healthy in mind, body, and spirit.

-Monica