Items tagged exercise

The Value of Buddies

One of the things I love about my work is seeing the friendships that are being made here at Catalyst. From what started out as a Women’s Strength class, we now have a group of 12 women going off on a 4 day tramp this summer.

Women’s Strength Class

From one of the bootcamp classes, a day hiking group has formed, and once a month they meet up and go exploring for the day.

Hiking Group

From running our Active Women’s Retreats, there is now a group of friends who keep in touch, and are planning a catch up and glass of wine at Rimu Bar soon.

Adventure Weekends

Us humans are generally quite social by nature, and once we find or meet others who share similar views and values, we want to spend more time with them. We like doing things as a team, or in a group, and it’s very rewarding to witness the friendship and comradery that is happening. I was recently away for two weeks, and some of the class members arranged to carry on with their workouts, making the commitment to each other to turn up at the usual class time, and have a training session together.

If you are struggling to find the motivation to exercise during the winter, or if your training sessions are feeling a bit boring and uninspiring, consider asking some of your friends to join you. Make the commitment to each other to turn up and work out. If none of your friends are keen on that, then come along and join in with one of the groups or classes at Catalyst. You may start out as a new class member, but it won’t take long and you will be “one of the guys/gals” and you’ll have a new group of friends to motivate and cheer you on.

Karyn Holland
027 223 9561

I’m too old to go to the gym, that’s for younger people

I’ve heard people say that before, and I’m sure you have too. Or maybe you have even been someone who has said, or thought that. The thing is……you are wrong!! You are not too old to start exercising, to join the gym, to start getting stronger. And it’s not the place for only young fit people.

I have clients and gym members ranging from 16yrs old through to 91 years old, and they are all benefiting from the training they are doing.

As we age, we start to lose things we previously took for granted, like mobility, strength, muscle tone, agility, balance and the speed of recovery from exertion.

By following a program that works on those things, you can not only slow down the rate of decline, but even find you are gaining in those areas.

A suitable program for our older members would see them working on gaining muscle strength, improving balance, especially whilst moving over and around obstacles or an uneven surface, and some stretching and mobilising of muscles and joints. If that sounds a bit confusing…..think squatting and lifting. Reaching up, pushing and pulling. Bending and turning. All movements we do every day in our usual environment.

If you are finding you are losing some strength and muscle tone, you can’t move as easily as you used to, or you just want to feel more confident when you are moving around outdoors, then pop in and let’s have a chat. We would be happy to visit you at home to do an assessment and discuss your requirements. This is done with no obligation and with strict confidentiality

This winter, Catalyst is running a twice weekly class for our older people. It will work on all the areas I have mentioned above, and will be a lot of fun as well.

Let me know if you think you would like to participate.

New mums and exercise

Hey guys, and more specifically ladies with babies for this blog post!

Today I wanted to focus on how exercise can benefit new mums and their babies and why it is something that is very important to include in your new, and no doubt, very busy routine. Once things settle down from the labour and birth, and of course depending on how the delivery went, it is safe to start doing some gentle exercises. In the early days this will include some regular pelvic floor exercises as this is an area that is really important to re-strengthen for future bladder control and subsequent pregnancies ( I know you don’t want to hear that right now, but trust me there likely will be a day when this seems to be a good idea again). You may also feel up to getting out for some gentle and short walks either with baby in the pram or wrap or just a few minutes to get some fresh air. Sunshine and fresh air will do wonders for restoring your energy even when you are completely sleep deprived. The hardest part is always getting out the door and it takes time to work out when the best time of day is for you to do this. Over the summer months, you need to be careful both for yourself and your baby not to get sunburnt. Make sure baby is well covered with breathable clothing and hat and any exposed skin is sunblocked. Babies skin is very sensitive to sun so keeping baby shaded is the best option. Also make sure you take water, sunblock and a hat for yourself and if you can, avoid the hottest part of the day. In the winter this is a bit easier but of course the opposite is true for clothing making sure baby is well rugged up! Go somewhere you feel comfortable walking and as things settle down, increase the time and speed at which you walk to get more out of it. At some point you may also feel ready to run with the buggy but build it up slowly.

I usually say from 6 weeks postpartum, you can start to increase the exercises you are doing (for some mums this can be sooner if you have had a very good pregnancy, labour and birth however, give yourself and your body break and enjoy the bonding time with your baby). This means you can start to resume things you did pre-pregnancy or start a new programme either at the gym or at home. It can be very helpful to have a personal trainer involved in writing a personalised programme at this stage. Another great way to start back into exercise is joining a mum and baby class where you can meet other mums and babies and have fun together improving your fitness. Keep in mind, exercise is not only about losing the so called “mummy tummy” but also about realising that you are not alone and it’s a fantastic way to clear your head and recharge the batteries. There are many exercises that you can do at home too and these can be with or without your baby. They don’t require extra equipment if you don’t already have it as there are plenty of bodyweight exercises available that will give you a fantastic workout. Just be careful to keep good technique so you don’t injure yourself. If an exercise does not feel right, stop and check if you are doing it correctly or if it is appropriate to be doing at this stage. If you are using your baby for some of the exercises, pick a time when baby is generally happy and alert and stop if he/she is showing signs of tiredness.It really is a bit of trial and error and soon they will begin to enjoy this time of interaction.

The most important thing with any exercise you do resume is that, you are ready for it (check with your midwife or GP if you are unsure), and that you can enjoy it. This may be hard in the beginning as you will feel sore after your first few workouts but hopefully beyond this, you will be able to find a bit of a routine and balance that works for you. Hopefully thereafter you will begin to have fun and feel the benefits. So remember, even if it isn’t working one day, stick with it and give it another go the next day. Your baby will constantly be changing their needs but try to roll with it and somewhere in there, take just a few minutes of time for yourself. Happy Mum = Happy Family

Stay strong. Stay healthy Amber.

Tagged as: exercise