Q: I had a C-section 10 weeks ago and I want to get my tummy back in shape. What are the best exercises for me?
A: This is something you need to discuss with your doctor. It will depend on the type of surgery, complications and level of fitness prior to and during pregnancy. Your best bet is to get recommendations from your obstetrician and seek some professional guidance (think personal trainer), at least initially, so you can perform the exercises safely and make the most of the exercises and your time investment.
Q: How heavy should free weights be? My husband has 20 pound weights but I can barely lift them!
A: I’d say those are definitely too heavy for you to start out with! What are your goals? Fat loss? Toning? Power lifting? Each goal has a different style of lifting. My guess is that your goal is probably a combination of fat loss and toning. You want to use a weight that will allow you to do at least 10 repetitions to begin with, building to 15–20 repetitions. When you can easily perform 15–20 repetitions of a given exercise, then increase the resistance you’re using (the weight), drop the rep range back to 10-12 and begin to build on that.
Q: Should I eat before or after I work out?
A: Both! You want to have some sort of light carb meal before your workout and follow the workout with a protein/carb combination. I found that as my workout intensities increased, I had to adjust my carb intake accordingly to allow me to have enough energy to perform the exercises safely and effectively. The reason for nutritional intake after a workout is to start the protein replacement needed for the repair of the muscle fibers damaged during the workout as well as refilling the “gas tank” to have energy for the rest of your day.
Q: How should I choose a personal trainer? A lot of people pass out business cards at my gym.
A: Seek out the answers to these important questions. What is their background? Do they carry an accredited personal training certification from a reputable training program? Some well-known organizations are ACE, ISSA, AFPA, AFFA and NASM, just to name a few. Inquire of the individual how long it took them to earn their certification. Did they simply pay a fee get it by mail? Did they attend a weekend class? How long did it take to obtain their certification? Do they have any other college education to back their personal training certification – such as that of nursing, physical education or kinesiology.
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Ask around and don’t be afraid to ask for references and whether they carry liability insurance. Something else you can do is to observe the trainers in action when they are working with other clients. Does their personality seem to align with yours? Last, but not least, does it look like the clients are having fun and enjoying a dynamic yet challenging workout? Does the trainer appear to enjoy what he/she is doing?
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Exercise should be fun and something to look forward to – not boring or something to be dreaded.
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Debbie Corey aka “mdsqueen”, RN, certified personal trainer
