And this is progress right here that I'm proud of and grateful for. I can do a deep squat to put air in my tires. My posture is spot on because my core muscles are very strong. I can twist my neck and back with a full range of motion when I look behind me to check the tire pressure reading on the machine. I am functionally strong, stronger than I've been in my whole life. And even though my gap from Diastasis Recti isn't completely closed, my core is functioning optimally so that I can do everyday tasks and movements with ease, without discomfort. I still have a ... Continue Reading...
Review: MamaWay Post-natal Recovery & Support Belly Band
{I was given this product for the purposes of usage and review. All opinions expressed are mine alone :-)} Let me just say this: I did not just have a baby. Nope, in fact, I birthed my last of the Dean tribe over 15 years ago. So why would I be trying out a post-natal belly band? Great question, and I hope that my answer will help many of you. I have been working through a diastasis recti {read my story here} since the birth of our first child back in 1996. I WISH that I had had a band like this, AND I have learned that I can still benefit from "splinting" ... Continue Reading...
The Tummy Rehab Chronicles part 3
I was having a moment, feeling a little glum about my tummy rehab. I have been working on this tummy situation for more than 15 years, off and on, and I wasn't seeing the results that I thought I should be seeing by now. {Read: closure of my DR, and a nice tight tummy area. If you are coming in on the middle of my journey, feel free to read a little of my story here.} So, I have had to allow my thinking to be shifted to what is realistic ...and also to what is really going RIGHT with my body! [Thank God for prayer :-)] I was missing the power of my ... Continue Reading...
Core Integrations: holding my head up
{ I was given this program for the purposes of use and review, and this post contains affiliate links. All opinion expressed are my own ;-)} I am learning just how important it is to hold my head up. I'm not talking about being proud of who I am and proud of my body, although that certain is a part of my tummy rehab process. No, I'm talking about the physical act of holding my at the proper angle when I sit, work on the computer, walk, and run. Core Integrations from the Tummy Team is giving me the extra information and techniques that I need to integrate core ... Continue Reading...
Continuing #TummyRehab: The Tummy Team’s Core Integrations
As many of you who follow me on this blog know, I just finished some much needed tummy rehab in January of this year. This was due to dealing with a diastasis recti which occurred after the birth of my first child, over 19 years ago. It was such a blessing to be able to do the Tummy Team's Core Foundations online program for some dedicated rehabilitation on my core muscles and functionality. {You can read a review of that program from Kelly Dean here.} So I was excited a few weeks ago when I was given the opportunity to do the follow-up program that Kelly just began ... Continue Reading...
Fitness journey update #1: #MyMarchMarathon !
We are off to a good start! If you have been following me (and for those just tuning in), I start my own fitness challenge for March. In honor of the Disney Princess Half festivities that happened in February (and since I could not be down in Orlando in all that warm weather) I decided to run my own marathon. Now, I am not at the point where I can run all 26.2 miles at once, so the challenge is to do it in the month of March, breaking down the mileage into weekly chunks. And hence, the #MyMarchMarathon was born! You can read more about it here. First, let me say that ... Continue Reading...
#TummyRehab and planks: are they mutually exclusive?
For those who have been following me through the past few months, you have read about my journey to restore my core from a diastasis recti (DR). My tummy rehab journey has been and continues to be a WORK in progress, insightful and rewarding. To catch up on my progress, click here, and for a review of the PT program I just completed, click here. So, a couple of days ago I was pointed (by a mentor and friend Beth Learn) to a post that opened my eyes a bit more and gave me even more hope. This article was authored by Julie Wiebe, an accomplished PT and an expert in her ... Continue Reading...