062 - BENEFITS OF WORKING OUT During Pregnancy & Postpartum WAY MORE THAN BOUNCING BACK

I mean I know we should... but help me with my WHY
 
Hey Shayla Podcast | Ep: 061 WAY MORE Than Bouncing Back: Benefits of Working Out During Pregnancy & Postpartum

I have been an affiliate of Expecting and Empowered for 4 years and a HUGE advocate!
Go to https://www.heyshayla.com/expectingandempoweredPOD and used discount code HEYSHAYLA for a discount!

Krystle and Amy are sisters and the founders of @ExpectingandEmpowered a pregnancy and postpartum workout app that takes you week by week to give you safe workouts to help you prepare for labor and then repair from labor. 
The workouts include pelvic floor, 4 strength circuits and pregnancy safe core!

Krystle is a women’s health and orthopedic physical therapist and pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist.

Amy is a personal trainer, registered nurse, and trained doula.

Today they're talking to me about the BENEFITS of working out while pregnant and postpartum... and it has nothing to do with "bouncing back"

Thank you for listening to the Hey Shayla podcast! Here, we love to learn new things and decide what works for us and our family.. We're the moms that support instead of judge and know there are many ways to do something right. I'd love to connect on Instagram @heyshayla

Xo Shay

Join the email list to be notified when episodes go live HERE!
http://heyshayla.com/podcastemail

Companies I work with and am an affiliate for
ALL DISCOUNT CODES ARE HEYSHAYLA unless specified
*Expecting and Empowered: Pregnancy and Postpartum workouts
https://www.heyshayla.com/expectingandempoweredpod
*TushBaby: Great “Up-Down” Baby carrier
https://www.heyshayla.com/tushbabypod
*Iksplor: Wool base layer
http://heyshayla.com/iksplorPod
*hypnobabies: hypnosis for labor and delivery
http://heyshayla.com/hypnobabiesPod
*PlushBeds: NonToxic Mattress (no discount)
http://heyshayla.com/plushbedsPOD
*GoDiaperFree...

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

It is a very physically and mentally demanding time in life for women and we totally understand why sometimes it takes a backseat right, Like everyone's so busy. You know, maybe you don't feel well, you don't have the energy, but we just really like to remind people that the reason you do it is for energy, it's for sleep quality. Like a lot of pregnant women have trouble sleeping. If you are exercising, it improves your sleep quality. It reduces stress, which I think we could all use. It improves your self-image and your body image. So you know, seeing your body change can be really hard, but knowing and feeling like you're strong and that you have control over that part of your life can be so helpful.

Speaker 2: 0:53

Hey guys, my name is Shayla. Welcome to the hey Shayla podcast. I went from full-time travel to full-time new COVID mom and now I'm a mom of two. And holy wow is motherhood and adulting a learning curve. There are so many decisions we need to make and a million ways to do it right. I created this podcast to interview some of my gurus, to share their knowledge and empower you on your journey. Let me be your guinea pig and ask the question. Think everyone else knows here. We're a little hippie. We try to do things as naturally as possible, we're open-minded and we don't take ourselves too seriously, but above all, we support one another and work to find what works. If you're into it, you're our people. Let's get started. Hello everybody, and welcome back to the hey Shayla podcast.

Speaker 2: 1:38

Today I am talking to Crystal and Amy, who are the founders of Expecting and Empowered. Expecting and Empowered is a pregnancy and postpartum workout guide that I have used for four years through both of my pregnancies now my third pregnancy and two postpartums. I love it. So I'm having them on today to talk about the benefits of working out during pregnancy and postpartum. I am an affiliate with them. If you do decide you want to use the app, hey Shayla will give you a discount. You can go to HeyShaylacom slash. Expecting and Empowered.

Speaker 2: 2:07

Let me tell you a little bit about Crystal and Amy. They are two sisters. Amy is a personal trainer, registered nurse and trained doula. Crystal is a woman's health and orthopedic physical therapist and pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist. They are on a mission to empower all women to thrive, both physically and mentally. Throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journeys and after becoming moms, they realized just listen to your body wasn't going to cut it. They were tired of hearing outdated recommendations and they knew that with their backgrounds and experience they could make this better for women, and hence expecting and empowered was born.

Speaker 2: 2:39

So I am immensely grateful for this, because I know that my workouts are safe. I know that they're not only helping me prepare for labor, but they're helping me repair from my body. They're helping me repair from labor. I just love it. So I'm excited to talk to them to learn about the benefits of working out, just because it's hard. It's hard to work out when you're pregnant or postpartum or have children or whatever, and so sometimes, knowing that, why is the kick in the butt we need? So let's get started. Hello, you guys. Welcome Hi. Thank you so much for having us. I'm so excited to chat with both of you. I feel like I haven't connected with you in a while, but I connect with you every day because we work together. You're just busy in the world of babies.

Speaker 3: 3:21

Good golly yes.

Speaker 2: 3:22

And by the time this comes out, I will have announced that I'm pregnant, so we can talk about that. Today I want to talk to you guys about the benefits of working out while pregnant and postpartum, because sometimes the motivation is low and knowing your why can help you to like start moving a little bit.

Speaker 1: 3:43

Yeah, absolutely, it's this idea that it is a very physically and mentally demanding time in life for women and we totally understand why sometimes it takes a backseat right, Like everyone's so busy. You know maybe you don't feel well, you don't have that energy, but we just really like to remind people that the reason you do it is for energy, it's for sleep quality. Like a lot of pregnant women have trouble sleeping. If you are exercising, it improves your sleep quality. It reduces stress, which I think we could all use. It improves yourself image in your body image.

Speaker 1: 4:25

So you know, seeing your body change can be really hard, but knowing and feeling like you're strong and that you have control over that part of your life can be so helpful. It also is really really important for those when we go to give birth. So we say that's an endurance sport. Like you've been through two labors, you're going to head into another one. Like it is physically demanding on your body and there's some really cool studies to show that it actually, if you exercise regularly, it can shorten the second stage of labor by 30%. What, yeah, Well, that's a bet. I mean, that's motivation enough.

Speaker 2: 5:04

That's amazing. Well, all that is like so true in it. It's just, oh, my last one. I was going to say here we go, pregnancy brain already.

Speaker 1: 5:16

But I think that the energy thing really gets me.

Speaker 2: 5:18

You're like okay, I'm exhausted, but if I work out and I'm going to have more energy, like this, but then as soon as you get started, I think you guys shared the tip of like you know you're going to have to do a lot of things, You're going to have to do the same thing. I'm going to share the tip of like just tell yourself you're going for 10 minutes and if you do 10 minutes, congrats. You're freaking Lations. You just did 10 minutes of moving your body. But then what usually happens is you keep moving. You start to feel good, you got up, You're moving your body's like okay, yeah, let's do this, and then maybe you do 15, then maybe you do 20, and then maybe you don't. Maybe sometimes you just stop at your 10, and you're happy with it. But typically it's that first initial like get up off the couch and start moving.

Speaker 1: 6:00

And then it you just that's still happens to me. I do our elevated and empowered program and I'll be like, okay, you just have to do two circuits, just make it through two circuits, that's 10 minutes, yeah, and then we'll see what happens. And then all of a sudden, I'm in the next section. I'm like, okay, you can do this, you can make it through this. So sometimes it is really helpful for moms to just break down and chunks your workout. And then, as to your point, it's like usually starting is the hardest part and I won't even lie, like sometimes the first circuit, I'm like gosh, this sucks, yes, but usually it starts to churn and you start to feel really good about it and, like people always say, it's like you never regret a workout. You're always like gosh. Thank goodness I took the time to do that, because it makes me a more patient mom, it makes me a nicer spouse, it makes me feel better about myself.

Speaker 2: 6:50

Most of the time. I feel like I'm a little bit like sometimes that still be turning you up.

Speaker 2: 6:56

No, but no, not Seth, the children. I'm like Seth is at the gym getting his like one on one gym time and I'm like the gym membership is really expensive, and then these children will let me leave and so I'll be like I'm going to get my workout in. Where you? Will you get your workout in? And then I call them and I'm like how long are you going to be there? Are you, can you come home soon, because I'm trying to do a pushup. No, I don't do pushups, I'm trying to do a squat. And they're on my shoulders and they're pulling my hair. Like I just need your help here and I get really frustrated with them. But still, even if the whatever it's supposed to take 40, 30, 45 minute workout takes me a little longer, I'm like Seth, I did it, I, you don't even. I'm done now you don't even need to come home early because I finished it. But like it can be so frustrating. And then they're like mom, I need water. And I'm like, yeah, me too, because I'm working out.

Speaker 1: 7:44

Yeah, I mean we share. Still, like Crystal this morning had in our Instagram story, her third child was like on her back during her core section and and there are those moments and we built the program so that people could have those moments. And I would just say, too, there are times where it's like you know what, wait until Seth can watch the kids and like, have some time to yourself, because I think that we shouldn't always have to sacrifice that, that rejuvenation time. So, like we get it, it's going to happen. But like there are times to say, okay, this is going to be mom's time to just workout and get through this.

Speaker 3: 8:24

Yeah that makes sense.

Speaker 2: 8:26

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 8:27

I love the workout hack to where, when, like Seth would take over, you literally just put like your headphones on so you cannot hear the chaos, or when it's nice enough we live in the Midwest, so it's not nice all the time but like then go outside Like you're literally disconnecting, like you still probably don't have enough time to go to the gym, but you at least are like okay, seth, 30 minutes you got the headphones in outside, acting like you don't have children.

Speaker 2: 8:55

Well, and it's not even like if I asked him for that time and be like cool, take two hours, shay. But I just don't ask him for it. I'm like, well, I'm just, I'm going to hang out, it's just a mess. So I'm asking, I'm asking one more, bringing you to your breaking point and you will ask.

Speaker 3: 9:08

I love that.

Speaker 2: 9:10

I was told that about two. They're like no, you have to ask for help. I'm like, and I have, yeah, well, but to your point, the program literally is set up for that. Because if it was just like a 45 minute video press play, you know you're going to be I would get real frustrated. But I can be like, okay, I can do a circuit, I can pause it. Let's go get your water. Okay, here's your water. Okay, now I'm gonna do another one. Okay, now you wanna hang on me? Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Let's do these two exercises in this circuit so you can hang on me. And then I need to do this other one where you get off of me and like you can kind of plug and play to make it doable, which is really really nice.

Speaker 1: 9:48

Yeah, absolutely. The pause button was an update in the app and people have just been like thank you, it was so needed.

Speaker 2: 9:56

Yeah, or I'll even do like in the morning I'll do the pelvic floor and the core because I feel like that's a little bit less intense where I can do it with them hanging around me, and then when I get the moment to do it, I will go bust out my circuit in the afternoon or whatever, and so just to have that flexibility is so nice, I love it so. Obviously expecting a power is for pregnancy and postpartum, but like what is the difference between your program and like a non-pregnancy or postpartum workout exercise thing? Like what makes it pregnancy safe?

Speaker 3: 10:31

Oh my gosh, there's so many differences. So pregnancy really is such a unique time for our bodies, right, there's definitely ways that we want to change how we're moving. So my first pregnancy I was just like a gym rat. I lifted at a functional gym and I was like still competing with like the 50 year olds that were in the class, and that pregnancy I had like debilitating pubic synthesis pain, but for somebody else it could be like incontinence or whatever. So I was like exercising, right, so I'm doing what I'm supposed to, but I really wasn't supporting my body.

Speaker 3: 11:03

So there's a few things that we really want to focus on in pregnancy. One of those is actually core strength, and when I say core strength, what I mean is the diaphragm, the pelvic floor, your back muscles and then your abdominal muscles, which is what most people think about when we say core. And we want to learn in pregnancy how to regulate pressure. Pressure is like a big issue because it tends to cause mom related issues. So diastasis recti, that's a pressure problem. Proleps, that's a pressure problem. Incontinence, pressure problem those are like quote unquote happened because of pregnancy or in that postpartum season. So we really want to focus on this core. So just to run through it too. When we inhale in, what should happen is air travels down to our pelvic floor. Our pelvic floor has a nice little relaxation moment and then, just like the waves of an ocean, it goes back the other way, like a tide going in and out. So we exhale, the pelvic floor rises up, pulls back up. So in the guide, too, you're gonna see a lot of emphasis on breathing, which, again, is kind of what you're talking about, like that slower morning stuff, so like bending over at your counter. Breath is like the laziest thing, so it will go to the area of ease. So in pregnant moms, we have stretched out bellies or we will start chest breathing, which also, though, makes us more anxious and stressed. So we want that breath to really pull into areas that it doesn't wanna go, like our back or the sides of our rib cage, like pregnant moms often will have, like those achy ribs.

Speaker 3: 12:44

So that's a huge key, obviously, keeping mobility and strength in our mid-back. This is an area that I think is like severely underlooked in this population. Our mid-back, or our thoracic spine, has so many vital functions. Our parasympathetic nervous system lives here, so that creates that like calm or relaxation or restful feeling in our body. Whenever we do reels on Instagram about sleep, it's like such a hit, here's like a hit.

Speaker 3: 13:13

If you work out, move this area, it's sleep quality. And then too it also innervates like the muscles in our core. So you know, like when you're pregnant, and you kind of just like either let it all hang out or you feel supported. If we keep our mid-back moving, we can feel like more supported, we can keep our bump over our pelvis more, instead of letting it all kind of like hang out there and then also our hips and pelvis. We just want this area to move and have symmetry.

Speaker 3: 13:47

So, like when I was competing against that like 50 year old, doing lunges, I'm only doing them in one plane. The hip is a ball and socket joint, so we want to move it in different planes. So we want to move laterally, we want to rotate the hip in and out to like circle band exercises. So we want that area to kind of stay calm, because, too, that's going to help us in labor and delivery, because our pelvic floor has to be nice and soft and supple. But if we don't do all those different motions in the hip joint and the socket and the pelvis, it's going to create a lot of tightness because that area is just then hanging on for like dear life. It's like, oh my God, the pelvic floor is like the best helper ever. It's like the lady at church that like signs up for like every meal to bring. Got like 10 kids and it's like, dude, just do your own job, like you don't need to bring every meal to church. So the pelvic floor if we make those hips work better, it will like allow our pelvic floor to do what it's supposed to do.

Speaker 3: 14:47

And then, lastly, our ankles. So our ankles will get really tight in pregnancy. But we love like feeling young, don't you? Like having spring in your body. Our feet need flexibility and mobility. In pregnancy they'll typically rotate outward, which creates a lot of tightness in them. Because they're just rotating outward, because they're trying to keep you balanced, we lose a lot of balance and pregnancy. So really keeping those guys moving can create that like less stiffness in the body, more spring in the body, and then also we can absorb shock there then. So then that shock doesn't go to our knees, or our knees aren't hurting, or that shock doesn't go to our pelvic floor. It's all about like moving smoothly.

Speaker 1: 15:30

I've never even seen ankles. Yeah, I was going to say, as you guys can tell, crystal's a physical therapist. Ok, so she is looking at like all of this stuff. But to break it down for your listener, it's like, basically, because she's a physical therapist, we are able to make sure that your body feels as best as it can throughout pregnancy and then into postpartum. So like that's everything that goes into it, but for you it's a very simple product to use.

Speaker 2: 16:00

Right, totally, and that's what's. I know some of the things you're saying. I'm like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, cool, cool I'm not totally sure.

Speaker 2: 16:07

But it's like the. It's not the squats and it's not the like bicep, it's like she's like yeah, cool, cool, let's be strong, but let's also make sure that, like, our ribs move properly, because this is what happens in pregnancy, and let's make sure our hips move properly. And I remember pelvic floor. There's two things that you've said that through the years that have like stuck with me is one it's not just about making it strong, like everyone's like Kegels. We've got to work that muscle. We need a strong pelvic floor and when I was doing the well way back, it was like your pelvic floor was an elevator and you were like pushing out and I'm like why the H am I pushing down when I should be strengthening this muscle? And it's like none of that. We also need to learn how to like relax, because you need to relax for your baby to come out Like you don't want it to just be Totally everybody too, like if you walked around with your biceps curled all day.

Speaker 3: 16:59

What that like look a little weird, but in the public floor, like in social media in general too, right Things go through trends. So everybody's like do Kegels. Then everybody's like, only stretch your pelvic floor. Then everybody's like only do movements that incorporate the pelvic floor and whole body movements. But we actually need all three of those. So, like in the guide, you'll see relaxation of the pelvic floor and contraction because somebody's got to hold up that watermelon baby, and then you'll see movements that it's incorporated with other muscles, that it works nicely with.

Speaker 2: 17:33

Well, and also I remember thinking and I asked you I think we did a C section or we did a public floor podcast and I was like do C sections, mom, c section moms need pelvic floor stuff because they are not going to be using their public floor to push out their baby? And you're like that was like okay, but you're like they still have to hold up a baby for nine months and they still like those muscles are working all the freaking time. And I was like, of course, like that's so obvious.

Speaker 3: 18:04

Totally. Your body doesn't know whether it's going to have a vaginal or a cesarean section, so like that has to support and to like with C section moms, or if you had a vaginal birth and have tearing Once you affect one of those four cog wheels that I was talking about. So, like the core, once one piece is affected, it affects all the different ones.

Speaker 3: 18:25

So you're only as strong as, like your weakest link really. So if I had a table that has four legs on it, if I cut one leg in half, like, the table is not going to work that well. And the same thing is really true with our pelvic floor and our core Interesting.

Speaker 2: 18:41

Yeah, oh, that's super interesting. We are going to take a brief break to talk about hypno babies. If you are pregnant and you want to have an unmedicated birth, I cannot recommend hypno babies enough. I've done it with my first two. I'm absolutely doing it with my third.

Speaker 2: 18:57

It's twofold, so it's first it's a labor and delivery course. So you go through the course, you learn about how to have a healthy pregnancy, you learn about how to deliver, about what happens in delivery, you learn about your options. There's so much good information in there. And then it's audio tracks that you practice while you're pregnant to help you relax, to help you not fight the contractions, because that's going to make it hurt more, but instead just let the contractions roll over you. If you're into meditation or mindfulness, this is amazing. It's amazing.

Speaker 2: 19:26

I get DMs all the time telling me how much people love hypno babies. I've also had people go on to have C-sections and say that the hypno babies help to keep them calm. It's just all around the best. So hayshaylacom slash hypno babies pod. Hey, shayla, we'll get you a discount on the courses. Let's get back to the show. Another thing that has stuck with me is the whole lateral bilateral movement, because I don't remember what it is, I just follow the guide. But in one trimester you want to do the lunges and another one you need to do the squats.

Speaker 3: 19:58

Yeah, in pregnancy we want to go from more like dynamic movements. So like in the beginning of the pregnancy guide you'll see stuff that's even like mountain climbers or like really deep lunges. But then, as you progress through pregnancy, we want to get more to symmetrical movements, because our joints and stuff just can't take that much stress or strain on them sometimes. And again it's not like can you do a lunch that's super deep in the third trimester, or could you do mountain climbers? Yes, but then like we really want to protect our body during this time and keep our body moving efficiently. So again, like we're totally into empowering people. But then I think it's just like what can we do that moves, smart, that like kind of almost like preserves our body during pregnancy? Well, and that's what.

Speaker 2: 20:49

I. That is exactly why I love the program, because I mean that there's so much thought that's going into all of this of like I don't know. I'm like a lunch is a lunch. You're like no, no, no, we need to like change it as we go on. And so I love that I can just blindly follow because you guys have done all the work to make sure that it's all safe and efficient. So that's like my favorite part.

Speaker 2: 21:12

We are I guess we kind of talked about this but the other part that I love about your program is that there is the pelvic floor and the core in addition to the exercises, and I had no idea how much the pelvic floor and exercises like were important in pregnancy and like in the beginning I didn't even really know. I'm like what do you mean? Push down, pull up like elevators, cause I've never had to work my pelvic floor before and so to have to do all that was really like interesting, and so would you say like I'm super glad that it's in the program. Would you, as a physical therapist, do you think that expecting empowered for normal pregnancy is enough, or do you think that we need to do more pelvic floor work? Well, I could kind of see a smirk Like, no, we need more. But it's just not in the U S, it's just not a thing.

Speaker 3: 22:05

Yeah, and honestly, in an ideal world everybody would see a women's health physical therapist before and after birth and they would really be doing the program in combination, like two. It's like interesting Cause in the clinic I'll often say like, oh, this is like a me problem. So like, like me as a physical therapist, if you come in with a tight back or a tight pelvic floor, I can help you release the tissue or get it stretched out to optimize it so that you can access it. But then if Shayla isn't going home and doing her stuff, you're like only with me for one hour, right? So your brain and your body isn't going to incorporate that as well. So you almost have to do the guide. But I would like, we would love, and that's like we're trying to spread more knowledge for people to make informed decisions about their pregnancy and postpartum journeys.

Speaker 3: 22:57

But in other countries you do have to go see one. So in like France, germany, czechoslovakia, you get checked after having a baby by a physical therapist. My friend in Germany, she had nothing wrong that she thought was wrong with her, so it wasn't like she was like peeing her pants or having problems having sex with her husband, but she was in physical therapy or pelvic therapy for a year because she did have pelvic floor issues that the therapist, like, assessed and was like, oh, you should be coming in until we fix this and that was like a whole year long process. So we always love sending people to PT but you still have to do it yourself. Like in the clinic. People want me to fix them all the time, but sometimes it's like a Shayla or a you problem, like you have to put in the work. There's no way around that piece of it. You could pay me as much money as you want coming into the clinic, but you, your body, your movement, like I can't do that for you.

Speaker 3: 23:55

So that's where they do make like such a nice coupling.

Speaker 2: 23:58

Yeah, the physical, I, I it's. I went to physical therapy after my first second and it was hard to do the exercises at home because there was this little and like repetitive, and I was like yeah, you're doing them, though, because they're in the guide.

Speaker 3: 24:18

Honestly, most of the stuff that I give to patients, it's the exact same stuff in the guide. Oh, okay.

Speaker 2: 24:24

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 24:26

Honestly, it's like the same stuff over and over. But it is interesting that you could have done, but yeah it's hard to do that stuff, though it is.

Speaker 2: 24:34

but it's also interesting that the U? S is just kind of like like my six week postpartum with my first was virtual. What the fuck? Seriously. It was just she's like so how are things going? How are you feeling? Oh good, all right, great, Like bye.

Speaker 3: 24:52

Have a great day.

Speaker 2: 24:53

That was my midwife and that was that, like, that was that I had nothing else that I did with her. I was like, all right, well cool, I guess I'm good. Birth control, what, like what. So it's just, it's just so interesting, like what you're saying with the Germany, or like you guys share all the time. Just because you pee your pants, just because everyone pees their pants and you think it's normal, doesn't mean that it's what's supposed to happen.

Speaker 3: 25:18

Yeah, and it's really so sad though if you think about it, it like makes me mad and sad at the same time but like the problems that we have in pregnancy and postpartum, that's just the start. You know so. As we age, our muscles everywhere become weaker and the problems become amplified. So if people actually pee themselves during pregnancy, you're 15 times more likely to pee yourself like down the road. You know so. As we age, you know so. Let's say you were pregnant and you just piddled a little bit in your underwear, like when you moved or coughed or laughed or sneezed, you're way more likely to pee your pants down the road than your counterpart that didn't do that during pregnancy. So it's just like, or prolapse Like. I have so many women that are like in their 60s and they're literally debilitated, like they can't leave their house, and one out of 10 women will have that surgery in their lifetime.

Speaker 3: 26:17

So it's not like a rare stat, but it's like one out of 10 of us will have surgery for prolapse, but there's a lot that we could be doing for it when I'm talking about regulating pressure or working on the core stuff, when we're younger and more able to work on it, or during this pivotal time. What is prolapse? So prolapse is when either your bladder, your uterus or your rectum falls into the vaginal wall so it can create a host of symptoms. It can be like painful, hard to hard to initiate urine. You could leak a ton of urine, like unexpectedly. So that's where I'm saying people don't leave their house because they could just like empty their bladder on the floor at church. They can have pain with sex, like they can have problems pooping. It's very debilitating and so common and something that could really be reduced if not avoided. Wow.

Speaker 2: 27:14

All right. Well, that's good to know, that's I mean. There you go. There's the why, there's the motivation to either get to physical therapy or start this program, because that's I mean, that's with all things right. Start early, when it's easier and the benefits compound. Okay. So, going back to the workouts I so in this pregnancy I was like I found out when I was like four weeks pregnant or something like I did the early test. I got like barely aligned. I knew right away and I was like, okay, game on, I need to start working out before I feel like dog poop. And so I started just working out as much as I could because I knew it was coming. And then when it came, I was like, oh so what tips do you guys have for working out in the first trimester, when you are just feel like trash?

Speaker 3: 28:10

So, honestly, that is a really hard time. I think, too, women need to change their mindset a little bit when it comes to exercise. Like before, you know like you had to get your workouts in and when you start feeling bad, do any movement that like helps support your body. In the programming we have yoga, so like maybe doing yoga instead of strength, or maybe going for a walk outside, and again, it's almost like start it and then see how you feel. So you could like start moving and if it makes you feel better, do like a little bit more of it.

Speaker 3: 28:50

And the first trimester I'll really tell people to try to time it out. So you might be like a normally like a mid-afternoon exercise or a morning exercise. Well, if you don't feel well in the morning until like three, you might have to do it like cut your work day a little bit short and then work out right before you like go home to your other kids or something like that. So like maybe adjusting the time and then to realizing that maybe your body just needs rest. You know some people don't get that sick and some people really do, and so not forcing this idea like in your head that like oh my gosh, I know all these benefits to working out during pregnancy, but maybe my body like needs to chill and dude once I hit the golden trimester and I know some people never do. But, like, once I hit the golden trimester, like then I can like really move my body better. But giving yourself grace, like that's a really hard time and just changing the mindset about what you need to do versus what you're capable of doing.

Speaker 2: 29:55

I love that and I think getting rid of the comparison too, because if you see, if I see you working on and I know you're in your first trimester and I'm like I can't get off the couch or just like whatever, I think giving yourself grace is really good and I love the idea of just like start and if you feel better, keep going, and if you don't, you just walked around the block. Good job, Congratulations. I remember something time you like, let's go to the gym, I think you'll feel better. And I was there and I was just like laying on the floor and I was like not feeling better. This is not the way.

Speaker 3: 30:27

Please don't do this again.

Speaker 2: 30:31

I love that. That's the advice. We talked about this a little bit, but what I mean? You both have three kids. You obviously have been pregnant three times. What advice do you have for working out with children?

Speaker 1: 30:48

Yeah, I think that the most important thing is to get your mind right. A lot of us were used to being able to go to the gym for an hour, having a really tough workout, sweating so hard, like having that type of experience. And this is a time where, like we said before, if you can get 15 minutes in because your baby woke up and no one else is at home and you have to stop and go help your baby like that's gonna happen and it's so important to like give yourself credit for what you did. We've helped a lot of women with that because, like they would feel so bad they didn't finish their workout. Inside of our app. It actually like celebrates you for whatever you do accomplish, because we truly believe that. So just know that it is a really hard time in life to get your full workout in, but whatever you do is better than nothing.

Speaker 1: 31:42

So I think that that's, first and foremost, once your baby's a little bit older or if you are pregnant. I think it's really about time management. So it's like when is this gonna work into your life? When is it gonna be best put into your life? How can you plan and, if you have a partner, work with them so that you can get the workouts in. When I was pregnant all three pregnancies I was a nurse for my job and so often doing weekend workouts just did work better. I was able to because I had to go stand on my feet for 12 hours.

Speaker 3: 32:15

Like that was already a lot.

Speaker 1: 32:17

So I would work out on the weekend and Drew just knew that and he was on kid duty and it was just that was the best way for me to get the workouts in. So, really, whatever schedule you have, try to work with it. I always tell people like it might be different in this season than it used to be, Like you might have to work out in the morning and you're not used to that. Like you'll just have to figure it out, be flexible, be fluid. Don't I don't know just have the mindset of like you can do this, you can fit it in. We just have to figure out how and what works best for you. And then, like we said, we really believe that every person should know why they're working out. So like, why is it important to you? Like a lot of us, our kids give us a great reason, Like I already think about. Like, as I age, I want to be able to play with them, I want to be able to run around. You know, we see the grandparents that our kids have. A few of them are very mobile and they can do everything and some aren't. And like that starts now, Like, if you're taking care of your body, it's gonna pay dividends. So we really think, like figure out why you're working out.

Speaker 1: 33:30

For me too, I've been telling people for 10 years it's about my mental health. Like of course I love the physical benefits. Mentally, it really helps me to control my stress, to control like I was more anxious when my kids were smaller. It really helps that, Like there are so many benefits and if you can get yourself in a pattern where you're regularly exercising, that's when you can really feel those. So like give it a chance. We know it's hard to start, but give it a chance. And then usually people are like, oh my gosh, why haven't I been doing this? Because you just you're gonna be dripping in those benefits.

Speaker 2: 34:08

All right, we're gonna take a brief break to talk about non-toxic mattresses. Did you know that was the thing? I went down the non-toxic mattress rabbit hole, which is a gnarly place to be. I found flush beds, and I am a mega fan. I have had this since 2020,. I bought a second one for the spare room. They're very comfortable, but it's adjustable. They never get returned because they're like oh, it's too firm, we can make it a little softer because it comes in layers and, depending on how you order, the layers makes it softer or harder, and it's non-toxic. So if your babies are sleeping on your bed with you, like mine, do I feel real good about sleeping on this mattress, so I am a super fan. I do not have a discount code for them, but they are always running sales. So if you go to hayshaylacom slash plushbeds, pod, pod, you will find it and it is magical.

Speaker 2: 34:58

Let's get back to the show, one thing that I love that you guys share. Now that your kids are older, you're like hey, mom, I see you with, like, the kids that are three and under. That's not the case for me anymore. It does get easier. It is a phase it is and like. So you guys are kind of talking to us who are in the think of it, like, okay, I see you, you want it to be how it used to be. I'm gonna tell you it's not gonna be like that. Once you accept that you're still kind of in the think of it, trying to get this workout in with these little babies, it will get easier. And when I see those posts from you guys, I'm like okay, okay.

Speaker 2: 35:34

Like it's hard now I see you, I hear you, but you're telling me that as my kids get older and more independent, like I can start to get that back and that might be five more years for me. I don't know, but it's, and I told that to Seth. I was like in our forties can we be like gym rats? And he was like yeah.

Speaker 2: 35:51

I was like cool. But it's really helpful when you share that because you know the struggles of doing it here and you can be like, yes, that was a phase, it was very difficult. Whatever you got in is great, and now that things are a little bit more schedule-wise and we're not dealing with babies waking up from naps, like it's a little bit easier to do, and so that's always helpful for me to see. Yeah, that's what I was gonna say about that. Yeah, I think that the program is set up for it and I think, yeah, I just I'm just a super fan over here. But also the program has changed a lot.

Speaker 2: 36:35

And this is something that I wonder while I'm working out, because I got the PDF and I actually had the book where I got to like open up my book, do my workouts from what it was like laid out, and it took a lot longer, like the workouts were a lot longer and they were. It was just different. And so I want to know, like how this has evolved into the app and like what kind of like the pause button or different things. Like how come we're not using the book anymore?

Speaker 1: 37:03

Yeah, I mean, the book is what we started with, because it was crystal night did this business together from the start. We put our own money in. We were not willing to like take a note out on the house and we that was what we had money for and we knew it we kind of wanted to prove that we could get women to buy in and do this. So when we were able to establish that and help thousands of women we knew our customer has always told us basically our next step so, like they would, we made the pregnancy guide and they were like we need a postpartum guide, and so we made that.

Speaker 1: 37:36

And then obviously we heard so many women say we want to app, we want to app, like we kept hearing it. But we kind of waited till we could afford it and we could do it really well. And and so we went down that road. It took a year to develop it I can't even imagine but made it into an app and the usability, so like it's so much easier to use because the model is doing the exercise that you need to do, so you just get to look at her and copy her, and so that's really great. Obviously, we heard from women that some of the workouts were really long. Something that you guys might not know about crystal is she is a very fast worker out there.

Speaker 1: 38:15

I think, when she was like, she's like what, Amy? What, what do you mean? It took you 40 minutes. I'm like, it took me 40 minutes. I am telling you 40 minutes.

Speaker 2: 38:24

I feel like this fast, it would take me like an hour or more.

Speaker 1: 38:28

So she is like a very fast, very efficient worker outer and I have to remind her I'm like crystal, not everyone can go as fast as you like. I promise you they can. So we took that into consideration. We're like, okay, they need shorter workouts, like they want to leave feeling accomplished. If they can finish this 30 minute workout, it's almost better for her mindset. So we took that into account. Crystal is a physical therapist. She's constantly going to courses. She's constantly learning more. Like that's huge for her. So she'll go learn something and then we'll go back and and put it into our programs. So like we're constantly evolving.

Speaker 1: 39:03

It's something that we take very seriously to be like we want to make this the best it could possibly be, and so, like, is it always fun to go in and make changes? No, but we do it because we think it's for the good of the women that are taking it. And then, of course, we were hearing other things, like people really wanted prenatal yoga. I mean, who doesn't love a good prenatal yoga? So we did that. And then, and then people were like, wait, what about postpartum yoga? So then we did postpartum yoga, so we really connect with our customers, we understand them and we listen to them. So when we hear something enough, like the pause button, for example, we're going to put it in for you. Like we're going to work on it. We can't do it tomorrow, but we put priorities in with our app developer and then we get those out. So it just continues to evolve and it makes us so proud as owners. It's a cool part about having an app is that you can constantly improve it.

Speaker 2: 40:01

For you Totally. That's what I was just thinking. The book, once it's printed, you're like well, we learned something new, but we have.

Speaker 1: 40:07

Go to page 56.

Speaker 2: 40:09

Yeah, but you've already got him printed. It's like what are we going to do? But the app, you can just plug it in and like, yeah, that's, that's awesome, that's so cool and I love that. I love that it's been guided by like you're behind the people. Instead of trying to like predict what they want, you're like no, we've gotten this feedback, let's incorporate it. That's amazing.

Speaker 1: 40:29

Yeah, we love our customers. They are vocal.

Speaker 2: 40:32

They will tell us, and like it's our job to listen Totally Well, and the other part that I like is some. I was on like a kick run, like no, I want a good sweaty, hour long workout. And so instead of because now I do each circuit two times through and so even if it's not in five minutes, I still just pause it and finish my two circuits but I was like I'm doing three circuits and I'm doing them hard and I would do extra weight and I would do three circuits and I would pause it and I'd go back or I'd do whatever. And then my workouts were much longer. But I was like this is what I want. Or I'd be like I would do a crystal workout and I'm like, all right, kids are sleeping, I got it, and I would just like power through this and just go as fast as I can. I'd be like skip circuit I've already gone through twice and you can like adjust it as you're feeling that day, which is nice and and that's.

Speaker 2: 41:19

I feel like some people are like, well, I am already a gym rat, I don't need this like thing. Is it going to be strong enough for? Is it going to be hard enough? It's like, yeah, use more weights or other people. Yeah Well, I'm not working out. Is this going to work for me? Don't use any weights. Do the, do the modifications. Yeah, it's literally for everyone.

Speaker 3: 41:37

Yeah, if Shaila can do it and pound those weights in. And we have Olympic athletes and we have moms that haven't worked out before, like they feel so good once they start using it. It's like I think exercise a lot of times, like always, like that Monday mindset, Like it's hard to start but it's easy in the app. You just do it.

Speaker 2: 41:58

Yeah. Well, then I also want to talk about the app a little bit, because this, when it was coming out, I was like what is the app going to be? I loved my book. I really, I really loved my book because I was off my electronic, it was sitting in front of me, it was great. So I was like, okay, this app, do we have a 45 minute, whatever? And so do you want to kind of explain the layout? Or do you want me to explain the layout of the app? I'll do it. The right, yeah. So there's, there's three sections to it. It's the pelvic floor, Like I said before, the circuit and then the core at the end, and so you start it and it's three exercises in each one. Right, you go, you go, you go.

Speaker 3: 42:34

Okay, I mean, I do it every day, but the main component in the app is the strength, and so within the strength there's pregnancy strength and then postpartum. Postpartum strength looks different for a vaginal birth versus a C section, so there's two different strength programs for those. And then after what Amy alluded to earlier is she's doing the elevated and empowered guide. So that is like once you've graduated from the postpartum, then you do it. So in the pregnancy and postpartum you get hit with that Like what we're talking about, like we want your core to stay well. Part of that is flexibility in your pelvic floor and it's really like a lot of breathing stuff in there too. So we do that in the beginning and it's a nice little like warm up to your exercise. Then, boom, you get hit, like with those circuits, and so then those are five minute circuits that you run through. So it's kind of nice because you can predict how long the workout will take you.

Speaker 3: 43:27

It's anywhere from like 30 to 35 minutes in the elevated and empowered guide there's like a like a midsection, if you will, where it's like heavier resistance training and then you go back into the circuit and then into the core. So that's the strength stuff. There's other programs inside the guide. So, like Amy said, we've added a lot like the core, like women want to work on their core after having kids. There's a C-section and a vaginal core program in there and those are videos that you just follow along and do it and it's like crazy the results you can get if that's what you want to focus on. And then again, like the yoga, those are just videos where we have like really great yoga instructors running you through what you should be doing. And then two we haven't mentioned but the running section. So in the running section there is just like weightlifting and postpartum. There should be a certain progression that we bring stuff back with running.

Speaker 3: 44:26

Most women will get that like six week green light and then they just hit the pavement and then they want to run there like five miles that they did before. But then clinically, you guys, I've seen people that like get injured and stay injured for years, like one of my best friends and patients in the clinic is on her third knee surgery because she went gung-ho crazy after having kids wanting to get back in shape and it's like I feel horrible that that's like her experience, but it's just been such a slow go and I think a lot of that could be avoided if we slowly step back into things. So the running program is really cool. It literally tests. It will be like it's kind of like a physical therapy session, to be honest. It will test muscle strength or like foot mobility. Amy's like why are you making me like spread my feet in these videos?

Speaker 3: 45:14

or lift my toe, but all of that stuff is so important to like being able to run and a lot of it. We have problems with postpartum, so that has like it basically tests you out and then it gives you your individualized exercise program, because Shayla's body or my body or Amy's body are going to look so different after pregnancy. I've actually used it a lot too on my patients that have pelvic floor issues. I'm like let's just run you through this test and it gives you like those exercises that a PT would give you for your body. So there's the running program and then they all. We also have like a return to running where it's like me and Amy coaching you through that first 12 weeks of what you should be doing running. And again, that's a program so that you don't get injured. It's like done very systematically so that your speed increases, your distance increases and then you can go out and do whatever crazy marathons or triathlons or whatever. But it's just such a nice system to get you back to running safely.

Speaker 2: 46:16

I love that. Okay. So the programs are pregnancy, which you have first, second and third try. You've got postpartum, vaginal, postpartum, c section. You have pregnancy yoga, postpartum yoga, the core program, the 12 week which I loved, by the way. Then you have the running program. Is that all of them, okay? And specifically in the pregnancy and postpartum, I just want to explain how it's laid out. So, basically, there's five minute circuit, so it's a timer for five minutes, and it gives you three workouts. And you see, let's just say it's squats. So you see one of you lovely ladies doing squats and then you're like okay, it says to do 12 squats, done 12 squats. Then you press the next button and then it tells you now you're going to do lunges. So you see the person doing lunges. You do 12 lunges on one side, then 12 lunges on the other side, then the next one is whatever. Mountain climbers.

Speaker 2: 47:14

Yeah, yeah so then you do the RDLs. You do 12 RDLs, then you go next and it goes back to the squats. So you do the squats, the lunges, the lunges, the RDLs, and then usually your five minutes is up. Or if you're going for three, you go again, like me, or you're finished, whatever. Then you go to the next circuit and it's a five minute circuit and you have those next three workouts and you press next, or you press pause or whatever, and so it's all timed out so that you don't have a variable workout of like maybe this might take me two hours, Maybe this might take if you don't have to pause, If you don't have to pause.

Speaker 2: 47:46

But that's that I think. I just wanted to explain, like the programs that you had, because there's a lot to offer, and also what it actually looks like. So it's just a looped person squatting and then if you're like wait, I've never done a squat before there's a little info button that you can press and it's like okay, here's how you're going to do your squat. And if you have DR I never say that how do you say it?

Speaker 3: 48:14

The diastasis recti yeah.

Speaker 2: 48:16

Here's your modification and so it's just. It's, it's so simple to use and it's yeah, I just really like that. There's the visual, but it's just a loop, so it's not like oh, I had to go get water. Now I skipped three of the exercises. What do I? There's pause, there's the next, there's oh, back, whatever. It's just very I love it. So thank you for doing that.

Speaker 3: 48:41

Well, we love you, thank you for moving your body.

Speaker 2: 48:45

Yes, and then, other than like the workouts and everything that's included in the app, does expecting and powered offered anything else?

Speaker 1: 48:57

Yeah. So I mean, obviously our favorite resource we have is the app like that's the one we absolutely recommend. But we have made a couple other resources for people. We have a labor and delivery course that prepares you. It goes through everything from body wise like Crystal has a bunch of physical therapy things in there, like the positions you could be in to move, move your labor along. But also mindset like mindset so important what your partner could do, like it's a. It's a great resource. So if you want to know more about labor and delivery, that's a great course.

Speaker 1: 49:32

We also made a C-section recovery course. So a C-section is a abdominal surgery, a major surgery, and we just feel like women don't get enough information after it. So many of my friends have been like they. They literally just like send you home. So Crystal has had three C-sections and has become really passionate in helping women recover from cesarean sections. So that course will take you through everything you need to know about having a good and smooth recovery. So those are our other two, two things that we offer, would that?

Speaker 2: 50:06

be something. Obviously, if I know I'm having a C-section, I can do it during pregnancy and then, if I have one.

Speaker 1: 50:15

Yeah, you could absolutely take it ahead of time If you knew that you were going to have a scheduled C-section. What we know is that a lot of people don't know that they're going to have a C-section. So you know when you get home from the hospital. It's it's a very easy course to to put up on your laptop and run through. So if you get home and you feel like you don't know what you're doing, yeah it would be a great resource. For you.

Speaker 2: 50:41

You also have. Do you still have the C-section?

Speaker 1: 50:44

kit. Yeah, we have the C-section kit, which it is everything that you need at home to recover and instructions to do so, so it's just a really nice resource, yeah, like massaging out your scar.

Speaker 2: 51:00

Yeah, oh, that's just cute. I feel like that would be so painful.

Speaker 1: 51:06

But things that are important right, yes, things that are important and that people don't know about.

Speaker 1: 51:12

And we see, like we see all the time on Instagram, like no one ever told me Basically, like we're trying to be the people that tell you like we, like we talked about before, like America to catch up where we should be in healthcare, it's not going to happen for women coming in the next couple years. It's just not. It changes very slow. It's not headed in a great direction. So we really take it upon ourselves like we need to get women this education and we need to try to help less people feel like they had no idea what was coming.

Speaker 1: 51:44

Like we want to tell you everything that's coming and how to handle it. I love it.

Speaker 2: 51:49

I love it. You guys are like the angels of keeping your body good during a vagina Magina angels. Oh my gosh, what is that? How you? One time you're like, yeah, what do you say? Like you have to do exams, and you're like I can have a sandwich on one hand and my hand vagina doesn't bother me. I was just like you are a special breed.

Speaker 3: 52:14

The crazy thing is, I never even was interested in this field but, I did take a course and I just learned all of this stuff that we teach people and it made me so sad Like so now I'm interested but, at the time I was like, oh, I don't want to do that to people. And, like I said, it's just a muscle, it's a body part Totally. It's actually no big deal. So, sandwich in hand, here we go.

Speaker 2: 52:36

Well, I'm so glad that you were intrigued a little bit to help people. All right, awesome, Thank you guys. So so, so much for taking the time and chatting about all of this with me. Like I said, I think that the why is what's going to get people motivated to do it and to keep doing it, and it just compounds their whole life.

Speaker 3: 52:59

like you said, to help them start now and help them when they're older and if anybody is interested to, Shayla has a code which is hey Shayla for 20% off a yearly app subscription.

Speaker 2: 53:13

Yes, I know, and the app is so freaking affordable, I'm like I don't need a gym membership, I'm just going to get this app and I'm going to just save myself so much time and heartache and money. So that's right, thank you All right. All right, thank you guys. Thank you All right. Thank you guys, so much for listening. If you enjoyed it, please share with somebody you think would love, and I would be so honored if you would subscribe to the podcast and leave a comment and rating below so I can know what you guys are digging, what you want more of. Just connect with you a little better. Thank you so much for listening and I'll see you next time.