even though i’ve been teaching fitness for over 15 years, when it came to the pre and post natal field, my knowledge was limited. my knee-jerk reaction to taking on private clients who were expecting has always been to pass them off to the expert, aka erica ziel, creator of knocked up fitness–the leading pre and post natal program in the country.
a mother of 3, erica has spent her entire career educating herself and others on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy. her knowledge is cutting edge, experience-based, and major media, ie the new york times, parenting magazine, people magazine, etc. routinely reference erica as the leader in the industry. she is currently on the board for fit pregnancy, educating the public on the do’s and don’ts of pre and post-natal fitness.
i am so lucky to consider her a friend and colleague.
but as of nine months ago i have started seeing her as a client; she has provided me with immeasurable comfort and support during this physically challenging and whacky time of my life.
here’s a glimpse of some of what we do to keep me as strong and comfortable during this pregnancy:
i warm up each session with a cat/cow type of stretch using an exercise ball.
this is nirvana for my tight back, but also strengthens my core.
one of the most eye-opening take-aways from training with erica has been her knowledge on core-strength. so much of what i had been taught and told to do for mamma’s and their core, specifically what i knew about preventing diastis recti: the separation of the abdominal wall that happens to many pregnant women, was actually counter-productive to keeping the abdominal muscles strong.
erica’s post on avoiding any and ALL crunches during and right after pregnancy is a must read!
i was doing the occasional isometric crunch here and there, thinking that because my core was already strong i could continue with abdominal flexion—NO! NO! NO! apparently this type of core work can encourage the split in your rectus muscles!
here we are strengthening my back and opening up the front of my chest.
erica is consistently getting me to “MOVE” through all ranges of my back–an area i’m typically timid with due to chronic low-back pain.
during our workouts erica encourages me to really activate the spine—this has helped me tremendously with staving off the occasional lumbar flare up, and so far, with three weeks to go, i haven’t experienced sciatica-a common ailment during pregnancy.
if you’ve been working out prior to pregnancy, strength training is still allowed and encouraged to keep you feeling as agile and pain-free as possible, even though everything else on your body gets bigger and activities become harder–getting out of bed for me these days warrants a standing ovation and straight across “10’s” from the judges’ table.
here is my favorite exercise to do with erica! she “lets” me do these every session.
it works the core, glutes, arms and legs!
see erica’s instagram for how to correctly execute.
having erica as a weekly touchstone has given me so much stamina, relief and peace-of-mind during this crazy time.
the amount of conflicting information on pre-natal fitness is mind-boggling, and i’ve come to believe opinions and advice are typically given from a place of fear rather than knowledge.
erica has broken it all down for me with her decade-plus experience.
she has empowered me with knowledge that i can take into all my other activities these days–such as spinning, strength training, and pilates reformer classes.
she is someone i will continue to seek guidance and education from way after my little person is delivered.
erica’s post-natal program is perfect for busy moms everywhere!
luckily we all don’t need to live in southern california to take advantage of her expertise.
erica is graciously donating her 3 dvd sets and knocked up guide to pregnancy book to one of my lucky readers.
there are several ways to enter this giveaway:
simply leave a comment here on my website, my facebook page, or instagram page.
 liking my facebook page, following me on instagram and twitter also earns an entry.
enter the drawing more times by following knocked up fitness on twitter and instagram, and liking knocked-up fitness on facebook.
that’s nine entries right there!
erica’s dvds are great workouts, and are not limited to just the pre/post natal–anyone can do these workouts and see amazing results regardless if you’re a man, woman, momma or not.
good luck m’loves…contest winner will be announced next monday 4/6/2015.
——–contest closed.Â
