Episode #54: Strength training during pregnancy with Jamie Straker
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Audible
In this episode, Dayna and Rhonda welcome special guest, Jamie Straker, to talk about all things strength training during pregnancy. We discuss how Jamie got into the field of pregnancy and postpartum fitness coaching, the advice she was given during her pregnancies, we bust some myths, and more!
Jamie Straker is a Certified Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach with over 6 years experience supporting pregnant people in their fitness journeys. She has a passion for helping people feel strong and confident throughout their pregnancies, as they prepare for labor and birth, and during the postpartum period. Jamie is a mom of two who loves to be active, whether it's strength training, joining a group fitness class or training for an upcoming run or triathlon.
===============================
If you liked this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness, share it with a friend, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts!
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE
Brianna Battles - Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism
Antony Lo - The Female Athlete Course
Mommy Berries Health on Instagram
“If we lived how we train” - @beardthebestyoucanbe on Instagram
PODCAST LINKS & RESOURCES
Check out Rhonda’s FREE Resource Library
Pelvic Health and Fitness Podcast
Book with Dayna (Rebirth Wellness)
SHOW NOTES:
(0:52) - Introduction to our special guest, Jamie Straker!
(1:31) - Jamie tells us about her journey into the world of postpartum fitness coaching
(3:59) - What was the most challenging part of exercise during Jamie’s pregnancies?
(5:35) - Where in her journey did Jamie realize she needed to learn more? And freedom of exploration
(10:03) - How does Jamie work with her clients through the all-or-nothing mindset?
(16:09) - We talk through some common myths about exercise during pregnancy?
(30:00) - How does strength training during pregnancy prepare clients for birth and postpartum?
(35:40) - Final words from Jamie!
(36:05) - Where you can find Jamie!
-
Episode #54: Strength training during pregnancy with Jamie Straker
We're excited to have you join us for this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness. I'm Dayna Morellato, Mom, Orthopedic and Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. And I'm Rhonda Chamberlain, Mom, Orthopedic Physiotherapist and Pre Postnatal Fitness Coach. On this show, we have open and honest conversations about all phases of motherhood, including fertility, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, menopause, and everything in between.
We also provide helpful education and information on fitness, the pelvic floor, and many aspects of women's health, including physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Please remember as you listen to this podcast that this is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical conditions. Please contact your medical provider if you have specific questions or concerns.
Thanks so much for joining us. Grab a cup of coffee. Or wine. And enjoy!
Welcome to another episode of the pelvic health and fitness podcast. Today we are honored to welcome our friend and colleague, Jamie Straker. Jamie is a certified pregnancy and postpartum coach with over six years experience supporting pregnant people in their fitness journeys.
She has a passion for helping people feel strong and confident throughout their pregnancies as they prepare for labor and birth and during the postpartum period. Jamie is a mom of two who loves to be active whether it's strength training, joining a group fitness class, or training for an upcoming run or triathlon.
Welcome, Jamie. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to chatting with you both. Woohoo! So, uh, we heard a bit about your history and your story there, Jamie, but can you tell us a little bit more about you and what got you into the world of postpartum and pregnancy fitness coaching?
Yeah, so, uh, I'm currently living in Kelowna, um, we've done lots of, lots of moving in the past couple of years. So before having kids, I was an elementary school teacher and then, um, so I did that for like five or six years. And then we moved to Arizona for my husband's work and I was pregnant with my daughter and then couldn't work.
So, um, I was trying to think about like what I could do. Work wise that fit in with my life as a mom with kids was doing lots of group fitness classes have always like had it on my bucket list, teach, teach fitness, like be a fitness instructor. Right. Um, we moved back to Canada then when I was pregnant with my second, with my son.
And so then I took my group fitness certification and started teaching some pre and postnatal classes and started to realize the huge. gap in, um, knowledge, even from like the courses that I first took, I was like, wait, I am now certified, but I don't feel comfortable. Like I don't know enough to teach these people or to support them.
Um, and even in my own journeys, like the information that I was told was just so lacking, right? Like, oh yeah, you're fine. Just go do it, do whatever you want to do. And then. Made me do nothing because I was like, well, I don't really know what that means. I'm confused, right? Um, and then and then um, yeah, I just started taking courses and learning more and just got this real passion for making sure that people during this period feel supported and confident and able to kind of Um, still move their bodies and feel strong and feel like themselves.
I feel like that was taken away from me during my pregnancies, like, Oh no, you're pregnant. You can't do all these things. Right. And I found that really hard. So it's just kind of, the more I learned, the more I want to be in this, um, this genre and helping, helping people and making them just feel confident and good in this really cool time in their lives.
Absolutely. You're not necessarily fragile, right? You're doing this amazing task and certainly considerations to make, but you're, you're not fragile. Right. Totally. Yeah. So what did you find to be the most challenging part about exercise during your pregnancies? Yeah, so I think the information that we know about exercise during pregnancy is always changing and evolving as far as like, just do what you've always done is kind of what I was told in my first pregnancy, which then that was confusing.
I felt like there wasn't enough guidance around that. Um, I remember the doctor even saying like, well, you could just go lift that car up there. You'd be fine. Really? Really? I don't, right? Like, I don't do that in my life. Like, I don't think I would actually be fine. Um, but so that was the information given in my first pregnancy.
And then my second pregnancy, the, the pendulum had kind of gone completely in the other direction in terms of information. And it was very, Like constricting, like, don't do this. Don't do that. Like, don't jump. Don't run. Don't lift anything heavy with no consideration for the individual and What they like to do, what makes them happy?
What are they actually capable of? Um, like no context, right? It was, don't do these things because you're pregnant. And I found that really hard again, confusing, frustrating left me feeling like, but I love to run. I love to jump. Why can't I do these things? And there was never really a good. reason, right?
It was just, just don't do it. Yeah. And then, so Jamie and I are both fellow pregnancy postpartum athleticism coaches. So where along your journey did you start to realize, okay, I need to learn more. And yeah, what did that look like for you? Yeah, I think after I had been teaching group fitness for like two months, maybe I took like some rink eating weekend course, not even weekend.
It was probably took us like two hours to go through the course. And that was when I was like, Whoa, I really know nothing. So then I took the girls gone strong course. Um, and I was like, okay, I have a really good, Base knowledge, but I want to know more, like there's more information out there where I want to know how to support people even better.
So then I came across, um, Brianna battles course, the pregnancy and postpartum athleticism course, and, uh, took that and again, felt like, okay, this is more like, this is more higher intensity getting women to, or supporting women who want to do lift heavy weights, who want to do more intense exercise. Um, And then after that, I think I came across Anthony Lowe's work.
And that has really driven me more into like seeing the whole person and really supporting each, each person individually. Yeah. So good. Anthony Lowe is like game changer for a lot of us, right? Of just empowering people to realize. Yes. Yeah. Like Dayna said, we're not fragile. We're not invincible. I feel like Rihanna Battle says that too.
Yes, considerations to be made, but there are so many things the pregnant body can do and still feel like yourself, still feel like the person that you are. Yeah. I think like we've talked a lot about how there's like blanket statements given and I feel like those just are like, are such a disservice to people in, well, in general, but especially in these periods, I feel like in pregnancy and postpartum, there's just these rules or these, um, statements given out to people.
And it doesn't take into consideration the person in front of you, which I think Anthony does a great job of teaching us how to work with the person in front of us. For sure. For sure. And it's the same thing with postpartum. Like you were saying too, it's just six weeks. Yep, get back to whatever you like.
And on the other side of the coin, it's like where there's no guidance. So it's either we've got these blanket statements or like zero guidance. So it's important to have people like you who are sort of bridging that gap. And I think Rhonda and I talk a lot about this as well, just teaching people to listen to their Body, because I think intuitively a lot of clients will come.
I'm sure you hear this as well where they're like, this feels okay, or this really doesn't feel okay. But X, Y, or Z is telling me I should or shouldn't be doing these things. And you're like, let's start with your body. Like, how does it feel? Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Go ahead, Jamie. That's one of the first questions that I have with people is like, what do you want to do?
Right. Yeah. And the listen to your body. I feel like that, that was the advice I was given and that, you know, is well intentioned as well, but can be problematic because especially if we're people with athlete brains, for me, listening to my body was ignoring my body for many years as an athlete or listening to my body meant.
You know, if I had extreme symptoms or pain or things that were talking to me that way, then I would stop. But yes, I think learning about what does listen to your body mean is a big one too, right? So a lot of us are not even aware of our pelvic floor and what symptoms in our pelvic floor can feel like and knowing what to pay attention to is so important.
So empowering, I think, to teach people like, yes, listen to your body. Here's what it might look like. And I think people get, like you said, either again on that pendulum where we're one way where I'm not, I am listening and really you're just ignoring or like listening to everything. And so like hyper aware of everything that maybe they don't need to be.
So finding that middle ground of like, what should you listen to? What does that feel like? And kind of giving them freedom to explore. Explore what their body needs, what feels good, what might not, how to adjust, just giving them power in their journey, instead of being told by some random person what to do.
Right? Exactly. Absolutely. All right. Fantastic. So how do you help your pregnant clients work through the all or nothing mindset with exercise? Yeah, I think a lot of people who look for my support, um, are either really fearful of exercise, like on that one side of the pendulum, where they're like hyper aware of everything, don't want to hurt themselves, are really unsure what to do.
Um, or the other way, they're just like, go, go, go, but they've been told that they shouldn't be doing those things. So they're looking for guidance. So I think with the all or nothing mindset, it's just teaching them about. Like, yeah, teach them about what is going on in their body so that they have understanding so they can use that information to give themselves grace and help them guide their decisions like that.
Maybe the reason I'm feeling these things is because I'm, my blood volume is like doubling at this time. And so it's not that I'm weak or I'm not feeling lightheaded because I'm weak, or I'm less that it's just simply because these changes are happening in my body and it's okay to respect them that I'm not doing myself a disservice.
I'm actually helping myself because of these changes. Right. Or like maybe I'm leaking. Because this is too much for my body. Again, just shifting the way that we view, um, changes in exercise. I think often like modifications are viewed as this thing that's like weak or it's gonna, you're gonna lose all your fitness during pregnancy when in actuality you're probably meeting your body where it's at and you're going to be further ahead in the long run and not be injured, not be so sore.
Yeah, I think just giving them understanding is a huge thing that I do for them. I love that, Jamie. And you and I did an IG live recently talking about the all or nothing mindset and how, you know, working on it and working through some of those mindset shifts during pregnancy is so beneficial. To then carry you over into postpartum, right?
And just like you said, just learning to honor your body and meeting it where it's at is such an important skill for life, not just pregnancy postpartum, right? We go through phases where we might get injured day to day life. We might get sick. There might be things, you know, stress in our lives that, you know, our body then is telling us slow down a bit.
And learning to honor that and learning to respect our body in that sense is such a good skill. So I think that's amazing that you're teaching this to people during pregnancy to then help them carry over that, that learning into postpartum and the rest of their lives. Yeah, I think being a safe place for them to explore that, right?
Like you're, I'm not going to be angry with you if you miss a workout or if you cut a workout short or if you change the reps. We can talk about it. We can learn maybe why that was a good thing. I'll help you celebrate it. Just being this space where it's okay to pull back if necessary. Um, and also giving them, um, Yeah, like we talked about in our instagram live like celebrating the wins, right?
Like even the smallest win Um, especially during pregnancy like maybe you showed up. That's your win today um again finding those little wins whereas maybe before pregnancy your wins were like I hit a PR or I, my heart rate was so high or, you know, I did like 50 workouts in a row and just shifting what constitutes a win during pregnancy I think can also be helpful.
I find it so fascinating that a lot of times during pregnancy I'm, I am reminding The pregnant person about how much they are doing at baseline, and it's like giving permission to slow down. It's wild sort of if you step back and think about it, especially as you get through your, I shouldn't say especially because the first trimester is no walk in the park for many people, but you're growing a human.
That's a lot. And then you're sort of just expected in a lot of cases to continue with the rest of your life as if that massive task isn't soaking up so much of your physical, emotional, mental energy. So continue to work your full time job. If you have parents that you have children at home, come home and then parent.
And then sort of the expectation is, well, you've always been active. So you've got to have that level of activity in there as well. And I'll often have pregnant clients in my office that are sort of like, I just feel like I'm failing because like, I don't have any energy. I'm like, of course you don't.
Yeah. Sometimes being that mirror for people is really important. Like I'll list back all of the things that they've said to me that they've done. I'm like that 20 minute walk you did was fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. It all counts. Right. And I think that is huge to set you up for postpartum too. If you can start to see how active you are in your day and that it all counts and it all adds up into how you feel, then you can use those tools, those skills you already have, those mindset shifts.
That's really important. For postpartum, when you're like up rocking your baby, constantly moving all day. And then wondering, you know, like, why do I have these pelvic floor symptoms or why am I tired or, oh, I have to work out because I have whatever program, but then you're able to realize like, oh, wait, I've been active all day.
Or, you know, I picked up my kid 10 times. That was 10 bicep curls. I did. Right. Like, yeah. And if you feel great to get that workout in, that's also great. Like you're going to have days where you do feel like, yeah, I've got that bandwidth to do that strength training. And I think having guidance from people like you is so important for, for that reason.
Yeah. To help them like, um, wade through those thoughts, those feelings and yeah. That's so important. So let's switch gears a little bit and we, before we hopped on to record, we were kind of discussing a lot of, you know, pregnancy myths that exist out there in the exercise world, which there are so many, like you said earlier, just blanket statements, black or white comments about do this, don't do that.
Um, so why don't we just touch on a few of those and just kind of bring some awareness to people for some of them. So like one of them I always hear is don't lift over 20 pounds during pregnancy. That seems to be a common one. So what do you talk to your clients about that, Jamie? I mean, if you have a toddler at home, let's think about this, and your toddler is 20 pounds or more, how is that realistic?
Wait, you can't pick up your kid, but you've been picking up your kid all along and you have no symptoms, right? Why wouldn't you pick up your kid? Right. Yeah. So I think that, like, I don't even know, like, where did 20 pounds come from? So arbitrary. Right. Totally. I think that's a problem with these statements is like, maybe for some people picking up 20 pounds is problematic, but then I would like to support them so that 20 pounds isn't problematic because when you are postpartum, your baby and your bucket seat are going to be close to 20 pounds right away.
So hopefully we can be strong enough to To live your life. Um, but yeah, I think a lot of people are lifting heavier and the research that we're doing now is starting to really push the boundaries of what people are capable of and what we know to be safe during pregnancy. Right. So I try to always tell people like, what are you comfortable with?
What feels good in your body? Um, and then let's go from there. What do you want? What do you want to do, right? Like, do you want to lift over 20 pounds? Like, that matters, right? What do you need to be able to do? Yes. Yes, that too, right? Like we said, if your toddler is 40 pounds, then we should be, well, in my opinion, um, at least working to that place so that you can live your life pain free and confidently.
For sure. Yeah. I think I mean, we should also just like as a sidebar, we're talking the average popular like outside of any sort of medical conditions in this space, of course, but like, yeah, 20 pounds. I'm just trying to think like, I feel like a grocery bag could easily be 20 pounds. Well, like, and you'd be like taking one, you, how many trips would you have to take from your vehicle?
If you couldn't have more than 20 pounds, like a video of a dog with like a big bag of dog food to be like, ah, hold on. Yeah. It's funny you say dog food, cause I pick on dog food bags all the time in the clinic. I'm like, do you have a dog? Do you lift their bag of food? Cause like, that's a lot of weight.
And awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Yeah, I think another one along that same line is don't let your heart rate get over 120 to 140 we kind of said so I don't know about you, Jamie, I used to always use kind of like the talk test with my clients right like try to, you know, get to a level that you can still comfortably have a conversation but It is okay to get out of breath during pregnancy and sometimes that happens sooner because your body is already so taxed being pregnant.
So yeah, like if we have, again, this fear mongering of like, Oh my goodness, checking my watch all the time. Like, Oh shoot. Like I just went over 140. Like, what does that mean? Right. Like that. That in itself is going to cause problems, the stress associated with that. Absolutely. Right. Like the way that people move their bodies, the way that their nervous system is feeling, if they're worried about some number I like you, I use, I use sometimes a talk test or I even use like, do you feel dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous?
How are your energy levels throughout the day? Like if you have no energy after your workout, Maybe we should be tweaking your workout. But I think like labor is going to be physical. Your heart rate is going to get up there. Like if you spend your whole pregnancy, granted, if you have, um, like medical conditions where you can't exercise, that's different.
Like we talked about, but if you spend your whole pregnancy, not being active in your heart rate, only going up to like a hundred, How is it going to feel when you're in labor and all of a sudden you're getting a contraction? Your heart rate is going up, right? For sure. Yeah. It's the athletic event of a lifetime.
Training for it is important. In whatever capacity you're able to, of course, but like I, my daughter's I think about this one a lot too, because I did not have an Apple watch at the time, thank goodness, because I'm definitely someone who could have been obsessive about this one in particular. And her daycare was, it's the only one in London where basically it exists over four stories.
So when she was in the toddler room, when I was in the later stages of my pregnancy with my son, It was literally like climbing Everest to get her up there. I can only imagine what my heart rate was by the time I go back to the car. If you had that fear of the heart rate thing in you, then yeah, that would have been a very stressful event for you.
Like, you'd have to leave your house extra 10 minutes that you could just very slowly go up the stairs. But heart rate is also so personal, right? Like, some people's heart rate, depending on the training that they're doing before pregnancy, their heart rate lives a bit higher, right? And that's okay for them.
So to just give out this. Random number, I think is not helpful. And then the last one, sorry, I was gonna say, I think it's so important. You say that cause not everybody's resting heart rate. You're normal. It's not the same across everybody. So again, the blanket statements. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, the last ones we had jotted down were positional.
So no lie, don't lie in your back. Don't lift up. Don't lift anything over your head, which Dayna, you said, your grandma used to say that to you. That's me one time. And I was like, well, into my pregnancy and I thought, man, that's where the cereal is. So yeah. And no twisting is another positional one. So I know for me with clients lying on your back, what, what is the reasoning behind that?
Something to do with like, What is it, Dayna? Do you know? So my understanding is this is based on very old, it's a very old recommendation made for pregnant women. And the reason that it could still be an issue, even though it is an old recommendation is as your tummy and your uterus grow, when you're lying on your back, the pressure of baby in your uterus could press and put pressure on your main ascending and descending blood vessel, your aorta basically.
Right. But We terrify women from the time they pick pee on the stick that they cannot sleep on their back. And so, um, I think again, it's all about the information and the message that's provided. And if your main ascending and descending aorta are having some pressure put on them, you will know. Yeah, you will Friday will send bigger warning signal.
Well, yeah, it won't be like, uh, Oh, you know, I woke up and I'm like a poor women, right? They wake up, they're panicked. They're on their back and they're like, Oh gosh, I hope I didn't hurt anything. And I often have clients come in. They, I hear this at least once a day, if I'm honest. And I'll say, did you wake up calmly and move over onto the side?
And they'll say, yeah, it was just like my brain was worried. Did you feel sick to your stomach? Did you feel like you were going to pass out? Did you feel like you were profusely sweating? No, those are the main signs, um, that something is wrong. with that pressure. Interestingly, what I just heard from a massage therapist, and I had not heard about, heard this until about a month ago, uh, those, if you're having a massage where they have the pregnancy cutout, so you can lie on your tummy that also can have the same risk lying on your belly because of the pulling down or something, but it's not for everybody.
Like some pregnant people are totally fine to be on their back. Yeah. At least for short periods, like if you are having killer hip pain and you're not getting any sleep because you're only allowing yourself to lie on your left hip, it's probably okay to sleep for a bit on your back. Prop yourself up a little bit if you feel like that's going to make you feel better, but you will know if you need to move.
Yeah. Yeah. They wake up like so tense too, because they're so worried about moving or like being on their back and then you're not getting sleep, you're not moving like all of those have repercussions as well. Right. But nobody talks about those. Nobody talks about that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We use that in exercise too.
Right? Like I can give you the option to be on your back to do an exercise because there's lots of great exercises you can do on your back, um, but it doesn't feel good for everybody. And also like getting onto your back can be uncomfortable at some point. So I mean, if it's your, if it feels good in your body and you're not having any of those symptoms, then all the power to you, let's keep doing it.
But if it doesn't, then let's change it and do something else. Right? Right. Right. Yeah, I think it's sort of like we've been chatting about if you're there and you're like listening for any signs in your body, but you're comfortable, you're probably okay. If you start to feel pain or short of breath or nauseous or sweaty, like those big ones, of course move.
But please, if you're worried about it, I think that's really valid. If it's something that you just can't get out of your head. But if you're just like waking up in the middle of the night from a sound sleep and you're like, well, you can't get back to sleep because you were sleeping for a little bit on your back.
It's okay. You're okay. Yeah. And like the only, the only thing I can think for lifting overhead. And I think we learned about this in the pregnancy postpartum athleticism course, Jamie is more like super heavy, heavy weights overhead. Maybe Just, you know, considering the linea alba and yeah, we didn't even touch on this yet, but, um, during pregnancy, our abdominals will spread apart.
That's a very natural, normal process that happens to nearly a hundred percent of women or the people in the back. Say it again. Yeah. So diet is not preventable. Yeah. It's a normal adaptation. So yeah, like, you know, sometimes when people are doing a heavy press overhead or like a hang overhead, they might start to get a little bit more like doming or coning, which is a bulging that happens in the linea alba, but I think more and more research, research is starting to show that That isn't necessarily something we have to concern ourselves hugely with unless it's like a hard, hard dome, but again, during pregnancy, it's going to be hard anyway.
So I feel like that's such a great one. So, you know, maybe that's something to consider, but. I don't know. Those movements are just hard, right? And your body is changing and your core is changing and the way it works, it is changing. So your body is telling you those movements are really hard. I have to work really hard to do this.
Maybe at some point it's just too hard for you. So then you change it. Right. But I don't think like the safety aspect, right? Like you're not going to in general, like it's not a blanket statement. I don't think you have to worry about Putting your hands over your head, lifting overhead, reaching for things.
Doing the cereal box down is probably fine. Yeah. Yeah. And if, and if you do want to get the cereal box down, but you are like having that tempting condoning or feeling like something is leaking out of you or like your something is falling out of you, then we can change the strategy. Maybe that's the problem.
Or maybe we just move the cereal boxes for the time being. Stool and then the twisting. I feel like twisting, you know, Jamie, before we hopped on day-to-day life, you're putting on your seatbelt, you're, you know, putting something in, you know, a counter beside you, you're going to be twisting. So again, probably just more so listening to our body again, right?
Like maybe excessive twisting, just because as your body and your belly gets larger, those movements are gonna feel different, right? Mm-Hmm. . Yeah. I think. Yeah, we do a disservice to people by telling them you can't do these movements that you have to do in your everyday life. So then all of a sudden we're not strengthening part of our body and we need those muscles for postpartum, right?
We need those muscles for life. So as long as they feel good in your body and you feel strong and capable, like let's keep doing them in some capacity and keep those muscles strong for you. Yes. So good. Handing, handing snacks to the toddler in the back. Yeah. Can you imagine? Oh, hold on. I'll just get my like stick and grab it.
There's a product there. That's a mat. Yeah. I'm going to reach your arm. Just throw it. You get a glove for your kid in the back cause he can't twist. Oh boy, that's a whole other podcast getting snacks to your toddler in the back of the car. How do you do it? Uh, uh, okay, great. So how does strength training during pregnancy prepare your clients for birth and postpartum?
We've obviously touched on this a little bit, but Any further thoughts on that? Yeah. I think a lot of people experience lots of aches and pains throughout pregnancy. And sometimes we see pain as like a red flag, like, Oh, well now I can't exercise. I should rest. I like to view it as kind of the opposite in that maybe we should move our body and strengthen in a way that isn't painful at this point and then build up so that you don't have pain because.
Um, for example, if you have pain when you're picking things up off the floor, let's say we don't pick things up, we don't hinge, we don't pick things up off the floor throughout your whole pregnancy. Like, what does that do to your body throughout your pregnancy? And then you're going to live your life on the floor in postpartum.
You just don't. You're constantly picking things up. So to be able to be strong for that, right, like, um, even in labor and birth, like you're going to get down off the floor, you're going to be up and down, you're going to be moving. You're going to have like one leg up on a chair, one leg down on the floor.
You're going to be rocking back and forth. You're going to be in a deep squat. Like I want people to be strong in all of those positions so they know that they are available to them and that they are comfortable in them. Um, Yeah, I just think like keeping your muscles strong in your whole body just has so many more benefits, um, than being scared to move or be strong.
Yeah, that's true. Do this a lot with people who have experienced injury to like the fear of certain movements, but then if you never trained into those positions, you're almost more vulnerable. Yeah. Yeah. I think for a long time we were so worried about diastasis or diastasis recti during pregnancy that we took away a lot of like, um, exercises that strengthen the rectus abdominis, right?
Like the planking, the sit ups. We took all of those away from pregnant people. And then we found that, um, they did have a lot of that, had a lot of repercussions in postpartum, right? Like the core just took so much longer to get strong again. And they were just having more pelvic floor symptoms, more back pain.
Whereas if we can keep those muscles strong by still doing Set up, still doing planks, still doing all sorts of different core exercises. Then people just are more equipped to, or like able to heal quicker, I think. Yeah. And that's. I think you do such a beautiful job of this, Jamie. On your Instagram, you talk about, you know, modifying core movements all the time.
Because again, I think those blanket statements are given so people avoid them altogether. Or again, some women go to the opposite extreme and do All of the core movements without knowing how to modify or why to modify. So I think that's the beautiful thing with exercise. It's infinitely modifiable.
Right. So yeah, something like a sit up, you can break it into pieces. Right. So like if a full sit up from ground to sitting up, maybe, yeah, it feels funny in your tummy, you feel that pulling, or it's just too hard because like you said, things just get hard when we're getting bigger. Yeah, why don't we break that into pieces, right?
Who's to say that doing like a bit of a crunch is going to be bad? You're going to do that as a functional movement in your life anyways, or like a reverse it up, like just leaning back slightly, just see how that feels, right? There's so many ways to still do those movements in a modified way. To again, like you said, just keep a little bit of strength and stability in those muscles to help us prepare for postpartum.
I think like one that we see often is like being told to roll onto your side before getting up. So roll onto your side and then press up and that can be a really great tool. But in the middle of the night when your baby's crying, are you going to be like, Oh, hold on. I just got to roll onto my side and press up or like even fearful to like crunch because you're, you've been told that.
Um, it's wrong, it's unsafe, or you're not even strong enough to do that, right? Like, I want to be able to do all those movements and be able to get people continuing to just do a sit up as long as possible so that they, yeah, so they have all the, all the movements available to them. Absolutely. I remember Jesse Mundell saying this.
I think it was between my two kids and I thought, yeah, you're so, so right. Like for a long time, women were told not to flex their spine, but that's the position. If you choose to have an epidural, what do they want you to do? They want you to flex your spine. How do you pick your baby out of a crib, pick your baby up out of a crib without flexing your spine?
Like you have to be really, really tall. Yeah. Not me. I'm not tall. Yeah, life is full of awkward movements, right? There's a, there's a fun Instagram account where he demonstrates if real life looks like functional movements that we do in the gym. Have you seen him before? Yes. I should put it in the show notes if I can find his name.
But yeah, you know, very robotic, like bend down, pick it up, stand up, turn, like that's not real life. Real life, especially as a mom to a newborn, it's Is full of awkward, uncomfortable movements. So yeah, if we can train our bodies and move all the ways that is just going to set us up to feel so much better.
Yeah. Motherhood is physical. I say it every day. I'm going to get it printed on a t shirt. I have so many ideas for t shirts. Um, okay. Jamie, is there anything else you love to leave our listeners with? I think I just want all pregnant people, all postpartum people to just know how strong they really are.
Yes. I'm all like, if anything, I just want them to know and feel in their body and their soul that they are strong and capable. Yeah. Beautiful. And how can people find you, Jamie, where's the best place to look you up and work with you online and in person. Um, so you can find me, my website is J striker fitness.
com and I'm on Instagram, same handle J striker fitness. Um, so you can find me there. Um, if you'd like to work with me, I am in Kelowna. So I do some work in person in Kelowna. I have a prenatal fitness class and, um, do some personal training and some, um, rehab type work with, uh, with Mel from Mommy Marys for physiotherapy here.
And then online, um, Yeah, I offer some personal training online and I have a DIY just like hit the button. There's your workout type membership as well. So lots of different options no matter where you are. Awesome. And are you doing postpartum too, Jamie, or just pregnancy now? Um, I like to start working with people during pregnancy for sure.
Um, yeah, I have a couple clients that I'm supporting in postpartum, but I love to work with people in pregnancy and just build that foundation right from the get go to set them up for success for life. Ever. Amazing. It's such a needed area too, Jamie. I think that's, again, if we can learn all of these things during pregnancy, just so many wonderful things that people can take into their postpartum phase, you know, with them.
So that's so wonderful. Yeah. Awesome. Thanks for joining us. so much for chatting with me.
Thanks for listening to today's podcast. We hope you enjoyed the conversation. If you liked what you heard, we would love if you could share this with a friend, leave us a review, or subscribe to anywhere that you listen to your podcasts. Thanks for being here.
