General Wellness - Moving Like A Mother

Time to straighten up (5 exercises to improve your posture)

Posted on August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 by Monica

Maintaining good posture is not easy. Often the set up of our environment makes it hard to to keep our bodies in a good position. Plus our muscles become weak or tight making it even harder to keep a straight and erect spine. And unfortunately studies have shown that low load, long duration work loads placed on muscles can cause significant pain and muscle trigger points (also known as muscle knots). What does this mean? It means it doesn’t take a specific sudden mechanism of injury, like a car accident or falling down, to cause damage to your muscles. Instead, it is often the little things we do day to day that cause the most damage, like having bad posture. So how can we straighten up and improve our posture?

Common everyday activities where you might have bad posture:

Doing work at a desk or computer
Reading or looking down at a phone
Driving in the car
Nursing or holding a baby
Prolonged standing (with any work or household activities)

Headaches, jaw pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, and back pain are all associated with bad posture. Maintaining good posture and avoiding posture pitfalls is very important for good overall health. But let’s get to the good stuff and learn how you can straighten up and improve your posture.

How can we improve our posture?

Improved ergonomic set up

An easy way to improve your posture is to make sure your work space is set up properly. This is called ergonomics. You can learn about setting your home environment up for better body mechanics and ergonomics when caring for a baby on my post about basic baby body mechanics. But in regards to desk work the general rule of thumb is everything should be at 90 degrees. This means your hips and knees should be at a 90 degree angle when your feet are flat on the floor while sitting. Your arms should be supported so your elbows fall at a 90 degree angle. And your computer screen should be straight ahead at eye level to prevent neck craning or looking downwards.

Core strengthening for better posture

Our backs are not solely responsible for holding us upright. In fact our core or stomach muscles play the largest role in keeping our spine and bodies upright. Incorporating strengthening exercises for your core, specifically your transverse abdominis, muscle is crucial for good posture. Check back in two weeks for great exercises for strengthening more essential core muscles.

Stretching for better posture

Prone press up: Laying on your stomach press your body upwards and look up towards the ceiling. You should feel a stretch in the front of your hips and stomach. Perform slowly while taking full deep breaths. If this hurts your low back, stop. Repeat x 10.

Supine chest stretch: Lay over the top of an exercise ball, a foam roll, or even just flat on the ground with a towel rolled up between your shoulder blades. Let your arms fall out to the side and bring your hands behind your head. You should feel a stretch all across your chest and and your stomach. Hold for at least 30 seconds and repeat x 3.

Mid back strengthening for improving posture

The following exercises will work to strengthen your mid back muscles. These muscles work to retract your shoulder blades and keep your spine erect and standing tall. Strengthening of these muscles helps counterbalance the tight muscles around the front of your chest.

Perform all the below exercises laying on your stomach with a rolled up towel under your forehead and your head and neck in a straight neutral position. Your chin should be slightly tucked towards your chest. If these are too challenging laying on your stomach try them laying at a diagonal angle over an exercise ball. Repeat for 2-3 sets slow and with good control. If any of these exercises cause pain, stop.

T’s: Laying on your stomach lift your arms up to the side as though you are making a letter “T”. Your thumbs should be pointing up towards the ceiling. Think about pulling your shoulder blades together. Repeat x 10

Y’s: Laying on your stomach lift your arms up in front of you as though you are making the letter “Y”. Your thumbs should be pointing up towards the ceiling. Repeat x 10.

W’s: Flex your elbows to a 90 degree position and again lift both your arms up off the floor by pinching your shoulder blades together. You can imagine your arms making the letter “W”. Repeat x 10

You can see all these above exercises performed here:

What’s next for improving posture?

Maintaining or improving your posture is a lifetime thing. As we age gravity, activity changes, and life in general takes it’s toll on our posture. And unfortunately it tends to go downhill. But like I have said before the best offense is a good defense. Keeping your body strong and avoiding bad posture pitfalls will set you up for success. Come back for more tips on core, back, and pelvic strengthening to keep you feeling strong and moving like a mother.

-Monica

Check yourself before you wreck yourself (Why good posture matters)

Posted on August 24, 2020October 6, 2020 by Monica

I think most people know having good posture is important. It’s not like anyone wants be walking around looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I just believe many of us do not realize how important good posture actually is in preventing pain and other medical problems. And ensuring that we are maintaining good posture while tending to one of the million daily tasks we are completing is just not high on our priority list. But it should be. So lets take a look at why posture matters.

Why does posture matter?

Generally speaking, good posture is placing your body in the best possible position for all the different systems of the body to work properly. Besides the musculoskeletal system (which is the most obvious system to benefit from good posture) your circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems can all greatly benefit from good posture.

Additional benefits of good posture include:

Less headaches
Less risk of wear and tear on your joints
Improved breathing and lung capacity
Improved appearance
Less low back pain
Improved athletic performance and form with exercise
Decreased risk of injury
Less neck pain and tension

What does good posture look like?

Firstly, let’s review what good posture looks like. Imagine a straight line that passes from just behind your ears, through your shoulder blades, through your low back and straight down to the floor. This is a neutral spinal position (the middle picture above). To achieve basic good posture with a neutral spine pull your shoulder blades back, chest up, chin tucked, and align your hips under your low back.

Bad posture commonly looks like a slouched position with forward rounded shoulders, a rounded upper back, and a forward head. This is known as thoracic kyphosis. A little kyphosis is normal but excessive rounding can lead to shoulder, neck, and upper back pain among other health problems.

Moving down the spine we come to the lumbar spine. Someone with good posture would have an erect low back with a very slight arch known as lumbar lordosis. Slight lordosis is normal but people, especially women, (and especially pregnant women) tend to have too much lordosis. This usually means poor core activation, tight hip flexors and can lead to shortening and tightening of the low back muscles.

On the flip side, men (and some women) may not have enough lumbar lordosis. This looks like a rounded spine in the low back and contributes to an inability to achieve a fully upright erect posture either sitting or standing.

Common pitfalls of bad posture

Ok, so you know why you need good posture and what that posture looks like; but how can we prevent ourselves from slipping into bad posture? Below are some of the common pitfalls of bad posture and quick tips to avoid succumbing to these bad posture traps.

Tech Neck

“Tech Neck” is the head and neck posturing that comes from looking down at our cell phones. This is the second pandemic of our generation. People young and old spend much of their day looking down while holding their cell phones in their lap. This causes a forward rounded posture and stress on the neck and shoulders. Instead try propping your arms up on a table or pillows so you are able to view your phone at eye level.

Desk Work

Similar to “tech neck” desk work can lead to very poor posture. Prolonged sitting leads to tightness in the front of our hips which pulls our pelvis forward. It also tends to cause tightness in our chest muscles and a lengthening of our muscles between this shoulder blades. And this can lead to pain and strain of the neck and shoulder muscles. Try placing a lumbar roll at your low back to cue your body to sit upright. Make sure your computer screen is straight ahead at eye level and that your arms and shoulders are supported. Also, getting up every 30-60 minutes to stand and stretch can be helpful.

Body Mechanics

Unfortunately caring for children is setting our bodies up for posture failure. Things like carrying our babies, carrying diaper bags, nursing, changing diapers, and picking kids up all have the potential to place our bodies in very bad positions. Luckily there are several easy ways to try and avoid these posture pitfalls which you can read about in Basic Baby Body Mechanics.

Pregnancy

Ah pregnancy. As if growing a baby for 9 months wasn’t hard enough. Our growing belly tends to cause many posture problems. As the belly grows larger the lordosis in the low back increases. Additionally, to counteract the weight of the belly pulling forward pregnant women tend to lean their upper trunk backwards. Strengthening hip and back muscles during pregnancy is one of the best ways to avoid muscle strain and pain that can come from bad posture during pregnancy.

What’s next for fixing bad posture?

The good news is posture can be fixed! Hooray! By stretching some of the tight muscles and strengthening some of the weak muscles we can help our bodies achieve a neutral and upright position. Be sure to come back later this week to check out the best exercises to fix bad posture. Until then be sure to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

–Monica

Six pieces of equipment to get the most out of at home exercise

Posted on August 6, 2020May 16, 2023 by Monica

Way back in the time of B.C. (before children) I used to belong to a gym. It was nice. I would do cardio on all the fancy equipment, occasionally dabble in an exercise class, and definitely gawk at all my fellow workout buddies. Because when you don’t have two tiny humans that depend on you for all their basic needs you tend to have a lot more time on your hands for driving to and from the gym, as well as the actual workout itself.

But things are different now and fitting in exercise between working full time and caring for my darling children is a challenge. That’s why since having my first born I no longer pay a gym membership fee. All my exercises are done within the comfort of my own home (or the streets around it) and it’s pretty great. So if you’re a busy mom who can’t find time to make it to the gym or you’d just rather workout at home because of the global pandemic, there’s a few essential pieces of equipment you should have. I want to share with you my six favorite pieces of equipment I use for exercise at home.

My go-to equipment for exercising at home:

1. Dumbbells

Dumbbells are a great way to work strengthening into your at home routine. Resistance exercise (or strength training) has numerous benefits including increased bone density, increasing your muscle mass and metabolism and prevention of joint aches and pains. You should definitely do some sort of strengthening as part of a complete fitness program. You can find dumbbells ranging from very light (1#) to very heavy (20#+). I personally have a set of 5#, 8#, and 10#. This is a nice range for me as I use the lighter weights for arm exercises and the heavier weights for leg exercises.

2. Exercise band

An exercise band is another great piece of equipment for exercising at home that can be used for resistance strengthening. The bands are wonderful for tying around your legs if you are trying to add more resistance during hip or pelvic strengthening. Exercise bands typically range in resistance level based on their color. Typically the lighter the color the easier the resistance or the more stretch the band has. They make many different types of resistance bands. I personally just have a Theraband I stole from work (shhh…don’t tell) that I use to strengthen my legs and my arms.

3. Exercise ball

An exercise ball is a very versatile piece of equipment you can use for exercising at home. You can use it for core strengthening or stability training by using it during bridges, sit ups, planks, or push-ups. It’s also great for postural strengthening by laying over the top and performing lower and mid trap exercises (T’s and Y’s). A ball can also be wonderful for pelvic mobility exercises during pregnancy by using it to sit or bounce on. I use my ball fairly regularly at home. And if you have one sitting in a corner at home take it out and google exercises with Swiss ball and you are sure to find thousands of fun exercises you can do at home.

4. Yoga mat

I love my yoga mat. It’s soft and feels nice on my palms and on my back when I’m stretching or doing some yoga flows. I tend to get pain along my spine from pressing into the ground if I don’t use my yoga mat while doing stretches or crunches. Plus my mat has a great non-slip surface and it rolls up nicely so I can tuck it away in the corner of our living room for a quick grab when it’s time to exercise at home.

5. Treadmill

I also really love my treadmill. I probably wouldn’t exercise half as much as I do without it, especially in the months from November to March (I do live in Wisconsin). When the weather is crap, or you can’t leave your napping baby you can just hop on a treadmill and put in a few miles. If you’re not a fan of running an exercise bike will achieve the same thing. There are numerous benefits to cardio exercise and getting your heart pumping is also an important part of regular exercise. You can find great deals on used cardio equipment (treadmills, bikes, elliptical) online from people who originally purchased it with high hopes of regular exercise but then found they were only using it as a laundry rack. I’ve gotten a nice elliptical for $15 at a garage sale and my treadmill is my Grandma’s from lord-only-knows when. But hey, it gets the job done.

6. Step tracker

My final favorite piece of equipment for at home exercise is a step tracker. There are many different brands and types on the market but I am referring to any electronic device that will track your steps or activity for the day. I used to have a Fitbit but I currently own an Apple watch. Being able to see exactly how many steps you have taken for the day is extremely motivating. Most step trackers allow you to set individual step goals which is even more encouraging to stay active throughout the day. The general recommendation is to aim for 10,000 steps a day. That is my personal daily goal and when I am close (or not close enough) I find myself wanting to go for another quick walk or chase my toddler around so I can see those little rings flash when I meet my goal.

What’s next?

These are my six favorite pieces of equipment for exercising at home. Do you need all six of these to workout? Nope. Actually, you don’t need any. There are many different ways to exercise at home without using any equipment at all. But I find I am able to get the most out of my exercise as well as partake in more at home exercise with these items. Check out some of my other posts if you are looking for a quick at home full body routine, some pelvic stabilization, or core strengthening. I’ll have more home exercises coming soon. So be sure to subscribe to Moving Like a Mother to stay up to date on all the latest exercises, tips, and tricks to keep you movin and groovin.

-Monica

Working Out at Home (With Your Kids)

Posted on August 3, 2020May 16, 2023 by Monica

There are so many amazing benefits to exercise. Increased energy, improved mood, increased life expectancy, stronger muscles, improved circulation, and one of my personal favorites…exercise burns calories so you can indulge in some sweet treats or beverages with less guilt. Sweet!

But it can be hard to find time to get outside for a run or to make it to the gym when you have kids. Also, these days many gyms are requiring you to wear a mask while working out (that sounds tough) or have limited capacity.

So when Adidas asked me to write about how I fit in exercise with my kids at home I agreed to share my go-to, at home, full body, no equipment routine. I was not paid for the article nor am I a spokesperson for the company. There are many pros to working out at home and you can achieve all the wonderful aforementioned health benefits without stepping foot out your front door.

Benefits of At-Home Workouts:

Time effective

Working out at home is incredibly time effective. This is the number one reason I workout at home. No time is wasted getting in the car and driving to the gym. I usually don’t even change what I am wearing. That’s the beauty of wearing cute athleisure attire. You just need to slap on a sports bra and get right to it. And as soon as you’re done you can move onto the laundry, or dishes, change a diaper, or do one of the other 10 million things on that day’s to-do list.

Free

Doing exercises within the comfort of your own home is totally and completely free. With the exception of possibly having to pay for a few equipment essentials there is nothing else you need to spend money on.

Clean

Sure, when you work out at home there are likely millions of toys scattered about on the floor. But, you do not have to worry about germs or sweat from a stranger on your equipment.

Are at home workouts effective?

Yes, at home workouts are very effective. There are so many different types of workouts you can do at home including strength, yoga, cardio, and HIIT workouts.

And you can switch up the type of exercise so that you achieve even more of a benefit by burning more calories and working different muscle groups.

Also, when you workout at home you are more likely to squeeze in a few minutes of exercise when you might otherwise skip it. So fitting in a quick little strength or cardio circuit while your kids play around on the floor is better than just not exercising at all.

Why I like working out with my kids

Don’t get me wrong, if I am able to get an hour to myself to exercise I LOVE that time. But on the days I’m not able to get away I enjoy working out with my kids. It’s fun to interact with them and be silly while also getting my heart pumping or my muscles burning.

Plus, I believe that having my children see me exercise is good for instilling healthy behaviors and starting a fun relationship with exercise. My son has learned that jumping around or doing downward dog is really fun. He loves joining in and doing his own little toddler version of squats, upward dog, and burpees. And if you’ve never seen a tiny tot do yoga you’re missing out.

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

Try my go-to total body workout below. Aim to complete 3 sets but if you can only fit in a set or two that is great! Just do what you can mama.

Alternating jump squats and jump lunges –Perform 30 reps total
Extended plank toe taps –Perform 10 each leg.
Extended plank hip extensions –Perform 10 each leg.
Skaters –Perform 30 total
Forward step ups with step back lunges on stairs –Perform 10 each leg
Burpees -Perform 10 total
Lateral step ups with kick outs on stairs -Perform 10 each leg
Reverse bridge tricep press up with toe tap -Perform 10 each leg
Modified side plank crunches -Perform 10 each leg

Repeat this circuit 3 times. Feel free to change the laundry, feed your toddler a snack, or let the dog out in-between sets.

More ways to work out at home:

There are many other great ways to fit in exercise at home including:

Going for a walk or run with your kids
Doing a YouTube video
Finding an Instagram routine
Using at home equipment (treadmill, bike, elliptical, etc)
Dancing with your kids
Doing some yoga stretches before bed

For more at home exercise routines you can do with your kids be sure to check out @movinglikeamother on Instagram. Below are some of my favorite athleisure pieces from Adidas that allow you to go from mom life, to workout, and back again with ease, comfort, and style.