Thursday, February 26, 2009

Precision

This is interesting that it's my topic this morning, because I was going to deviate from the series to talk about how sometimes, your body might need small, tiny movements that seem like they might not be doing anything, when in reality, they are working on a whole host of issues.

Specifically, I'm thinking of you new moms who want to get your pre-baby belly back. If you have a diastasis, you can do all of the crunches you want, you will not flatten your belly, you may quite possibly make your diastasis worse. Small transversus pulses using a splint will help bring your rectus back together while at the same time toning your corset- so when your split closes, you will have that nice hour-glass feature again. During this time of small, precise movements, you might not feel like your abs are getting a huge workout, you may not be sore for the first few weeks, but you are doing what your body needs at that time.

Along the same lines: in group classes, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT look at your neighbor and see what they are doing. The first few classes when you're learning the exercises it's fine to learn what to do, but when you know what you're supposed to do, comparing yourself to what someone else is doing is a recipe for disaster. First of all, you don't know that person that you are watching. Maybe they are a professional athlete. Or maybe they are doing a modified version of the exercise because they are injured. If you copy them, you are going to cheat your body out of what it needs.