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The average woman will gain between 25 and 30 pounds during her pregnancy, but how many women do you know that have gained upward of 50 pounds or even more? Keeping your weight gain in check can be difficult when you’re eating for two, but with the help of a personal trainer, you can ward off the inevitable excess baby weight.

Studies have shown that exercising throughout your pregnancy is not only good for your body, but good for your mind as well. Exercising makes you release endorphins which in turn can make you feel happier, and more stable. With the inevitable rapid moods changes and decreased energy that pregnant women experience, prenatal exercise can be very beneficial to both husband and wife! Prenatal exercise can also have a positive impact on the length of delivery and post partum weight loss. A woman who has more muscle tone and cardiovascular endurance will fare better in a labour room than one that does not. This is a true marathon event, and you want to be ready.

If you’re the type of woman who already likes to exercise and has a program in place with a trainer, there is no need to slow down just yet. With your physician’s approval you may continue your program until your body starts to slow you down. If you are not currently exercising and want to begin, you may also do so, but you need to be careful about going into it with your eyes open. Pregnancy is not a time for weight loss goals, but instead, healthy weight gain goals with the forward focus on post natal weight loss.

During pregnancy, there are many issues to be concerned about such as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and lethargy. At the 2002 annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Dr. Tanya K. Sorensen stated that vigorous exercise during pregnancy appears to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia. Exercise can help keep all of these conditions from occurring, and utilizing a personal trainer can help you get the most benefit from your workout. Just as you would during your regular sessions, your trainer will modify exercises for you as she sees fit, and tailor a program to meet your specific needs. You and your trainer will decide what feels best for you at each stage of your pregnancy, and you will feel at ease exercising knowing you are doing exercises that are good for both you and your expanding belly.

Most non- pregnant women who exercise solo have a program in place that they vary infrequently due to lack of fitness knowledge and uncertainty about technique. More than ever, those things are important during pregnancy. You don’t want the same routine in the first trimester as in the third, and a trainer can help with that. The type of workout that you get with a personal trainer is so customized to your specific needs throughout your pregnancy that you don’t need to worry about doing an activity that might not be in your best interest. Proper technique and choice of exercises are most important during this crucial time since you could do more than just pull a muscle; you could effectively harm your baby.

Any questions or concerns you have about your program can be brought up and discussed with your trainer to make you feel completely confident that you are executing each exercise properly.

With the guidance of a personal fitness trainer, your prenatal workout should be worry-free, full of interesting exercises, and preparing your body for the biggest workout yet.

written by Nicole Palacios
Experienced certified fitness leader and personal trainer in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. She is the creator of Stroller Fitt. Her website is Perfectfit.ws

Exercise during and following pregnancy may seem like a foreign concept to you, but it is an essential item on any active woman’s to-do list. During pregnancy, you may remain active with a doctor’s consent; however, strenuous postnatal exercise is not recommended for 6 weeks following the birth. Even though your regular cardiovascular and strength routine will have to wait, there are gentle exercises you can do immediately following the birth.

Following are 6 exercises for prenatal and postnatal women. These exercises are recommended for women with no known contraindications, and should be followed according to your own body cues.

1. The Kegel- both pre and post natal
Muscles- Pelvic Floor
Lying on the floor with your feet out in front of you and your knees bent, just relax and let your body weight sink into the ground. Imagine you are urinating, and then stop the flow of urine. Simply engage in a small contraction of the sphincter, and then a relaxation. You can do this exercise as a progression- start lightly, build your way up, hold, then slowly release. You may do this sitting up in a chair, or in any position that is comfortable. Build your way up to 2 sets of 30 each day.

2. The Bridge- pre natal>
Muscles- Gluteus Maximus Lying on the floor with your feet in front of you hip distance, and your knees bent, squeeze your buttocks and slowly raise your hips up off the floor. You may keep your arms down by your sides. Keep your belly pointed toward the ceiling, not dropping to your side. Hold on top for 5-10 seconds, then release back down to the floor. 2 sets of 15

3. The Cat Stretch- pre natal
Muscles- Up: strengthens abdominals, Down: stretches lower back On all fours, take your hands under your shoulders and your knees hip width apart. Start with a neutral spine, keeping your head in line with your spine. Slowly roll your spine up toward the ceiling like a cat stretching. Think of pulling your abdomen in toward your spine. Slowly release down past your starting point and gently arch your back. 2 sets of 15

4. Ball Crunches- pre natal
Muscles- Abdominals
With an exercise ball propped against a wall, lean back on your ball until your buttocks are about 6 inches from the floor. Feet are on the floor in front of you about hip width apart. With your hands across your chest, and your chin tucked, slowly curl up, imagining your abdomen curling forward into a C shape. Exhale as you roll forward, inhale as you roll back slowly. You do not need to curl up very far. 2 sets of 15

5. Pelvic Tilt- post natal
Muscles- Abdominals
With your back flat against the floor and your knees bent, take your legs hip width apart and drop your arms by your sides. Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, slowly roll your pelvis towards your shoulders, pressing your back deeper into the floor. Do not lift your hips up off the floor. Stabilize your abdominals as best as you can. Build up to 2 sets of 20

6. Belly Button to Floor- post natal
Muscles- Abdominals
With your back flat against the floor and your knees bent, take your legs hip width apart and drop your arms by your sides. Take a deep breath in, and as you exhale, think about drawing your belly button down to the floor. Relax, and then repeat. As you are doing this exercise, think about the belly flattening and compressing. You belly button should be pulling itself right down against your spine. 2 sets of 20

written by Nicole Palacios
Experienced certified fitness leader and personal trainer in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. She is the creator of Stroller Fitt. Her website is Perfectfit.ws

When a man receives a diagnosis that his sperm is not able to get his wife pregnant, a state similar to shock may ensue. This seems to manifest as a type of post traumatic stress disorder. The man may then go through some, or all of the following ‘D.E.E.P.’ mental, emotional, and physical stages;

Denial: ‘not me!’, numbness, depression [*this exacerbates the stagnation of Qi].

Emotional: ‘why me?’ anger, hypersensitive, over-reactive, sad, withdrawal, poor mental function, *humiliation, shame, isolation, ‘is anyone else going through this?’ [*the Liver and Heart share this load].

Ego: central to being a man is the role of keeping the special woman in their life happy and protected. Being the ‘provider’ is also fundamental. Some men feel so inadequate with their inability to provide a child that some may even push for divorce.

Physical: damaged pride & shame are a breeding ground for sexual dysfunction, along with a wide array of physiological signs and symptoms (from insomnia to poor digestion, headaches to back pain).

It should also be noted that when a couple decides to go through A.R.T. (artificial reproductive techniques) many invasive procedures and medications are administered to the woman. This can affect the ‘protector’ aspect of a man, breeding fear for her health, and guilt towards being powerless to keep his wife out of harms way.

Chinese medicine and acupuncture, diet and lifestyle changes, proper supplementation, Qigong, education, and proper counsel to regarding the D.E.E.P. implications of male infertility, will restore confidence, and produce profound effects that show not only on a semen analysis, but also in the everyday wellness of the man and his relationship with his wife.

written by Spence Pentland
Fertility specialist; the President of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of British Columbia (TCMABC), and practices at Acubalance Wellness Centre (http://www.acubalance.ca/) where he treats only Men’s reproductive health mens.health-info.org and Women’s fertility issues infertility.health-info.org.

Baby has been here for some months now and is cute as a button, but you still have a little extra around your midsection, or a little something around the hips. Isn’t all the extra fat supposed to just melt away after the baby is born? All the books tell you that nursing will help you regain your figure, and once you’re running around after your active little one, you will shed those last few pounds. How can you regain your pre-pregnancy body once and for all?

Exercise and Proper Nutrition
These are key components in achieving your goal body. Dieting is a no win solution, lifestyle changes are. Take a look at your typical day. During baby’s naptime, you probably feel like you need to clean up. This is valid, but this could also be your chance to burn some fat!! With one hour of nap time (ideally), you could do an exercise video, go for a jog, or if you have home equipment you could use that. The American Council of Sports Medicine (ACSM) advises a minimum 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise five days per week to obtain weight loss. During this time, you want to make sure your exercise intensity will be most advantageous for you. To find your target heart rate the ACSM advises you to take 220 - your age; multiply that number by.6 (lower range) and .9 (higher range). The beginner should stay near the bottom range while the more advanced exerciser should be closer to the middle. Take your heart rate while you’re exercising to find out if you’re working hard enough.

You should also add some strength training. A well toned body will tend to burn more calories at rest and thus become a more efficient fuel burner for you. Lifting light weights will not make you bulk up or look masculine, but instead will increase your muscle tone and your metabolism. Start with low weights and high repetitions. 1-3 sets of 12 -15 repetitions is a good start for building muscular endurance. A variety of exercises for upper and lower body, beginning with larger muscle groups and working your way down to smaller muscles is the way to go. You can do this regimen 2-3 times per week and get results.

If you don’t have time for both cardio and strength training, try doing just one or the other and alternate days. You can also exercise while your baby is awake, making him a part of your routine. Babies love music and movement, and they will enjoy having you lift them into the air from the floor (chest press), or hold them while doing squats, or whatever creative maneuver you can come up with. Try to do abs at the end of your routine every second day. There are many abdominal exercises that you can do with your baby, such as: abdominal crunches holding baby up on top of your knees; plank, having baby lie on the floor directly in front or beside you as you hold your body weight up on bent elbows and toes, keeping your body long and straight like a board; standing twists holding baby are great for working the waist. Use your imagination and enjoy this workout time with your baby if that’s what it takes to fit it in.

Try getting outside with other mothers for walks. You can discuss your babies while you’re burning calories. The longer the walk, the better!

What are you eating these days? I know, things happen on the fly and it’s hard to make healthy, balanced meals every day. Try to be more conscious about what you’re eating, and also when you’re consuming food. Avoid eating right before bed, as your body has no means of burning those calories. During the day, strive to eat 5-6 smaller meals to make your body metabolically more efficient.

Try putting up a sample menu of easy to prepare, healthy meals to inspire you throughout the day. Remember that the more brightly colored the fruit or vegetable, the more nutritious it is. Red, orange, and yellow are colors worth eating.

Moderation is a good theme to implement when it comes to eating for weight loss; allow yourself a treat now and then but don’t go overboard.

Goals
Having a game plan is important. Sit down and think about what you really want, and write it down. What do you need to do to fit into those jeans again? Do you need to lose 1 or 2 inches around your waist? Maybe an inch around your hips? Set and try to reach definite, specific goals. Short term goals should be attainable within a few months while long term goals should be reached in about a year. Put your goals in a visible place so that you see them daily and are reminded of what you’re working for. Maybe keep the jeans out so you see them more often and want to wear them even more. Telling others about the goals you’ve set will make them more concrete and make it harder for you to forget about them.

Hiring a personal trainer is always an option for some people, whether you want to spend the money for that service is up to you. If you feel that you’ve tried everything and are getting nowhere on your own, maybe it’s worth a try.

Whatever you decide to do, make it your own personal mission, and don’t worry about what other people are doing. Every body is different and will lose inches and pounds on its own schedule. With regular cardiovascular exercise, light weight training and good eating habits, you’re sure to say goodbye to your baby fat in no time! Good luck and have fun!

written by Nicole Palacios
Experienced certified fitness leader and personal trainer in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. She is the creator of Stroller Fitt. Her website is Perfectfit.ws

It can get quite nerve wrecking or head spinning when its time to buy a great gift for the women in our lives. You might be in any corner of the world, but nothing quite says, ‘You’re Special’ or ‘I Love You’ in any language than a great bouquet of flowers. Vancouver is no different, birthday flowers are top choices as gifts for that special someone.

Canada is known for its vast lands fertile with flora. Getting fresh flowers is guaranteed, so when you want to send birthday flowers from Vancouver, you need not worry about their freshness. It doesn’t matter if its their 16th or 50th birthday, you can be sure that a gift of birthday flowers would be most welcome to the celebrant and will be received with a wide happy smile.

A plethora of Vancouver flower shops can cater to those demands and can offer a wide variety of designs with balloons and baskets to make the bouquet even lovelier. You can try to contact them through their numbers in the yellow pages or better yet, there are flower shops from Vancouver that have their own websites, meaning you can order them online and have them delivered, some of them even offer free delivery for local orders. What’s a little flower to show how much you love your woman, a birthday flower if you live in Vancouver is a fantastic idea, cause if you forgot her birthday, you’ll probably get a lot more than your head spinning.

written by Susan Campbell
Florist whi makes it fun and easy to find the prettiest flowers and best florists

Circuit training is the trend right now with clubs like “Curves” popping up on every corner in every city across Canada and the United States. Across the globe there are over 9000 clubs, no small feat. Other circuit training facilities such as “Figure It Out” and “Liberty Fitness” have also infiltrated the market with other types of circuit programs.

Circuit training is so popular because it is effective. One 30 minute session can burn up to 200 calories, besides giving you cardiovascular training and toning your muscles. If you engage in circuit training three times per week and burn 200 calories each time, that is 600 calories per week burned. Also, fitting everything in to one workout gives you time to enjoy the rest of your day and lets you focus on other things in your busy life.

If you can’t see yourself joining any gym, let alone a circuit training facility, then why not create your own circuit at home? With very little equipment and space you can design a program that will start shedding the inches in as little as 4-6 weeks.

To begin, you will need some light hand weights (soup cans work too!), a step (or stairs), a mat or thick towel, and some energy.

Start out with 8-10 stations and build up to 10-12 as you gain endurance and strength. Begin with larger muscle groups and work your way down to smaller muscle groups. Complete the workout with a few abdominal exercises on the floor.

Work Out:
Warm up for 5 minutes: step touch, knee raises, marching on the spot
* Station 1: Squats
* Station 2: Knee Raises
* Station 3: Push Ups
* Station 4: Jumping Jacks
* Station 5: Rear Lunges
* Station 6: Step ups with weight
* Station 7: Bent Over Row with weight
* Station 8: Jogging in Place
* Repeat: Ab crunches: 2 sets of 20 + Ab side to side crunches: 2 sets of 20

Cool Down: gentle marching, deep breathing, gentle step touch Stretch: Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds. Stretch all major muscles groups exercised.

In the comfort of your own home with very little equipment, you can get a great workout in and still have plenty of time to burn. Circuit training is an effective and versatile way to burn calories and get in shape.

written by Nicole Palacios
Experienced certified fitness leader and personal trainer in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. She is the creator of Stroller Fitt. Her website is Perfectfit.ws