Pretty Pilates

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a pretty much full on abs session. Pilates is a mat based class that focuses on your core muscles - your abdominals.

3 Factors for Pilates Success

There are three REALLY important factors to Pilates;
1. Breathing
2. Core Contraction
3. Neutral Spine

1. Breathing is vital... thats a general statement. But it is vital for training Pilates properly. You need to slow your breathing down and visualise your breathing cycle.

Breath in (through your mouth) - 4 counts in
Breath out (through your mouth) - 4 counts out

Try this:
Slow your breathing down and start breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Four counts in, four counts out. Now imagine when you breath in that all the oxygen goes in through your nose, travels right down into the base of your lungs and your inhalation allows your rib cage to expand. When you exhale, slowly, allow all of the carbon dioxide to leave your body through your mouth, allowing your rib cage to knit back together. The technical term for this is:  breathing lateral thoracic.

2. To an onlooker, pilates can look really really easy, but if you're practicing it properly, then it can be quite challenging. There are two steps to engaging your core fully.
          Step One:
          Pull your belly button into your spine.
       
          Step Two:
          Pull your pelvic floor up an inch, so that you can hold onto it.

The result should be a tight feeling in your abs. If you're breathing properly you should be perfectly able to engage you core, perform the movements and breath all at once.

3. Finding you Neutral Spine is the final piece of the pie for Pilates. Neutral Spine is where you have a tiny gap under your lower back (where you could fit your finger tips under your lower back). It is vital to be performing exercises with proper posture, so being aware of your N Spine is very important.

Try this:
Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor, shoulder width apart. Check your head is on the floor, chin is into your chest, shoulders are shrugged back and flat on the floor, your abs are engaged and you're breathing properly.

     Breath in = prepare
     Breath out = push your lower back flat on the floor
     Breath in = release, arching your lower back  
     Breath out = push your lower back flat on the floor
     Repeat

N Spine is half way in between those points, where you could fit your finger tips under, it's as if you're standing tall with good posture.

These three factors are a great way to train yourself to exercise properly. I think that everyone should do Pilates, it teaches you the basics of how to create posture, breathing and core contraction to improve whatever training regime you like.


Whats the difference between yoga & pilates?

We love Yoga too :)

Ps: Home Workouts Coming Soon...

New Year, New You!

Good Morning Girls!!

OK, so you can decide right this second if you want 2014 to be as good as 2013, or even better!! I know that I want to make progress this year in terms of my fitness, so if you do, I've designed a little progress report that you can download and print off. 

Now the key to making dreams a reality is to actually physically see it! So use this progress report and stick it up somewhere that you can see it every day. 

So, fill out the correct information and watch your results happen over the next 12 months! I'm looking forward to starting mine on Wednesday!! To download this PDF, please click here (dropbox)

But you see, I think this is key!

I'm also going to offer food plans and workouts for any of you girls who want kick ass this year and get where you want to be!! Please just private mail me on facebook. 

Have a fantastic new year and just remember...

Healthy Regards, 

Erica xx

Tis the season to be jolly...

Fa La La La La, La La La La....

Christmas time really is the most wonderful time of the year, so... ENJOY IT!! You are allowed to indulge (a little) :)

My advice for the festive season of celebrating:

1. Nibbles! 
Nibbles are lethal, you're sipping your bubbly and before you know it you've eaten have a bag of tortillas, handfuls of salted nuts and copious amounts of Roses. Either ditch the nibbles or limit them to 1-2 swallows per drink...

2. Drink
Now, just because you're limiting your nibbles to your number of drinks does not mean you have to drink faster! Watch the booze, it'll lead to more food and an uncontrollable amount of junk the following day. I'm not saying no drinking this season, I'm just saying no binging!

3. Exercise
You know that you really don't want to wake up on January 2nd and realise that all your hard work in 2013 has been undone in two weeks! That won't be fun! Get some sessions in! Most gyms will be open and I'll put up the daily workouts for the Xmas holidays so at least thats 10-20mins a day. Trust me - you'll feel SO much better if you do it :)

4. Drink LOTS of water
Water does so many wonderful things to our bodies, but it really is vital for us when we consume alcohol! Alcohol completely dehydrates us, so it is essential that you're drinking your 2-3 litres of water per day!

5. Have fun & be jolly.

Happy Christmas
Erica xx

Weight Training While Pregnant

Morning girls, ok one thing I need to get straight before I start, this blog is about women who are ALREADY FIT and who have ALREADY been weight training BEFORE they got pregnant :)

So, you're pregnant, you are a gym bunny and your worried about continuing your training regime in the gym? Well the first this to do is;

- Talk to your doctor (if it's a-ok to continue what you've been doing) then
- Talk to your personal trainer

There are two things that are going to have to hit home (they sound obvious, but most women need gentle reminders about it throughout their pregnancy)

1. You body IS going to change
2. Your training goals CANNOT BE about achieving your fastest time or heaviest lifts aka you training goals HAVE to be about maintaining your existing fitness level, keep strength and having fun!

"combining regular exercise and pregnancy appears to benefit both mother and baby in many ways" American College of Sports Medicine

Training throughout the 9-months

Within the first twelve weeks, I seem to find that most mothers are too nauseous to train, if thats the case then that's ok! If it's not the case then you can continue to train. You need to make sure that you listen to your body when you're training and that you're taking much longer rests (where you used to take 45 seconds change to 90 or 120 seconds).

You do need to be careful that you're not doing a serious about of impact as you are now heavier and this is going to have an impact on your joints.

In general I would just recommend basic programs which allows you to release all your endorphins, keep you happy, keep you strong and keep you lean so that you're weight gain is baby weight gain which is awesome!

An example of a pre-natal program;  

a1. Stiff Leg Deadlift x 10 reps
a2. Incline Chest Press x 12reps
120sec rest, 4 sets

b1. Step Ups x 12reps/leg
b2. Lat Raises x 15 reps
120sec rest, 4 sets

Please remember that you should be sticking to very healthy diet, just because you're pregnant doesn't mean that you're eating for two!! You should be adding about 300kcal onto your diet and more if you're training hard. Make sure that all your food is rich in vitamins and minerals, avoid processed food and continue drinking lots and lots of water!

"A physically active expectant mother would therefore have a higher caloric need, in order to compensate for calories burned off during strenuous exercise...  

well hydrated, fit pregnant women regulate their core body temperatures more efficiently than sedentary people, and undergo less temperature variation during exercise. " American College of Sports Medicine

Classes & Pre-Natal Classes


To be honest, I don't really recommend a pregnant lady attending a general class unless your trainer know's exactly how to adapt the class to tailor your. You should really be doing one-to-one training.

However, in terms of pre-natal classes - go for them!! Pre-natal Yoga and Pilates are amazing for helping mums to be become aware of their body, their breathing and their pelvic floor!! Plus they're generally relaxing and when you're pregnant YOU DO need to do relax and chill!!

TIP for your PF:

Pull your PF up as high as you can at every red light!!

" participation in regular weight-bearing exercise has been shown to improve maternal fitness, restrict weight gain without compromising fetal growth, and hasten postpartum recovery. In addition, the psychological benefits of exercise are undeniable, and should be nurtured by all who care for pregnant women. " American College of Sports Medicine

Ps. Thank you to our model above (isn't she awesome training hard!) who is 7 months pregnant and looking, training and eating great! 

Spinning makes you sweat!

Spinning is awesome. 

Spinning is just an excellent workout! I would recommend spinning once or twice a week, it's great cardio workout and it'll leave you looking like a smiling tomato. Spinning is a sweaty session that you just feel amazing after! The music is pumping, your legs are moving so fast and every stress in your life just flies out the window!

Don't forget water and a sweat towel!

My fav aspects of spinning:

• A 45 minute spinning class burns around 500kcal - woo hoo
• If you keep good posture when spinning you'll give your abs a good session
• Spinning is low impact, which means no pressure on your knee's or joints!
• You can spin in Winter! 

Other joy of it: 

• When you pedal fast = you burn fat 
• When you pedal slow = you isolate your muscle group 
• Spinning focus' on your core muscles, thighs & bums!
• Reduced risk of injury when you spin in comparison to other cardio workouts
• You can adjust your resistance! 

If you like cycling, you'll love spinning! It's an indoor version. 

The best thing about cycling is the view, the best about spinning is the music! 

I'm a nervous pervous cycling on the road... only my mother can make me do it! 

Check out some of my spinning classes here 

See what makes you smile!

Mindset makes a difference. This is true. 

Scenario: You wake up, the sun is shining, the dogs didn't pee in the kitchen & the countertop is clean from last nights dinner - yippee - it's going to be a great day! You go up & get dressed, check yourself out in the mirror, you're looking good!

The the next thing, your boss rings & that's never a good sign... You put down the phone & you're annoyed now!

You go back to brush your teeth & you now "look like s**t".
(If this has never happened to - you're a lucky duck!)

The ONLY thing that has happened is that your good mood turned bad... BECAUSE YOU LET IT! You feeling upset/bad/annoyed whatever the circumstance may be, makes no difference to the existing problem, it only makes a difference to you!

You look EXACTLY the same as you did ten minutes earlier, you just FEEL different. However, the only difference was your mindset! So find a solution to stop this happening.

Soooo pick something you like, something that you love (I love flowers) and when you see it - feel grateful & happy. I keep flowers in my kitchen, in the garden, when I drive, there in other people's gardens, they're outside shops, they're everywhere - they're my constant reminder of everything I have to be grateful for.

Choose whatever you love and let it be a trigger to remind you of all the things in life that your love!

This is a long topic which ill tap in & out of over time!

Have a happy evening girls :)