6 ways to measure progress without using a scale

I am often asked if I do before and after photos or take people’s measurements or weigh them as a way of tracking progress. And I always respond with a hard no. If that’s something that is important to you, you do you friend. For me, constantly weighing myself and measuring my waist size doesn’t work. Yes it provides data but I don’t feel that data reflects my progress towards my goals. I have also found over the years that weighing myself adds so much stress and anxiety to my life. It leads me to restricting foods and being overly conscious of things I just don’t want to spend my time and energy on anymore - so it’s not something I do with clients or promote in my programs either.

But, I love to track and celebrate progress and gains and improvements!

Here are 5 ways to track your progress without ever stepping on a scale.

1. Track your energy levels - Movement and improved fitness levels leads to an increase in energy when done right. You should find over time that you have more energy and you feel more energized.

2. Measure your sleep - Exercise is proven to improve sleep. Take note. As your fitness improves, does your sleep as well? Do you wake more rested or wake up ready to start your day? Do you fall asleep easier? (I know many of you reading this might be in a chapter where sleep is out of your control. If that’s the case, just keep this one in your back pocket for the day when you are sleeping more - I promise that day will come.)

3. Notice how much weight you can lift - As your fitness and strength grows you will be able to lift heavier weights. It doesn’t happen overnight but over time you will see these gains. This is why we are repetitive with programming and exercise selection. We squat over and over again so you can get better and better at it and truly see where you started and where you are now.

4. Take note of your confidence - We can measure how we feel about ourselves. As you progress and get stronger and fitter, you might just notice that the corners of your mouth turn up a bit more and you stand a little taller and you start to feel good about taking time for yourself and you become proud of what you can do and what you have achieved.

5. Measure your endurance - Conditioning sets are a great way to measure progress. When you first start out, short intervals might be achievable for you and as you progress you will find that those intervals get longer and longer.

6. Track your symptoms - As you get stronger and develop strategies that work for you, you should notice a decrease in any pelvic floor symptoms like leakage, heaviness and pain.

I could go on and on with this list - less pain, better digestive health, improved mood, increased speed, etc. etc. etc.

The thing I love most about the list above is that they, except maybe the sleep one, are within your control. Whereas the scale can be so tricky. You can go to the bathroom and weigh less. Or maybe have a rough sleep and weigh more. Or enjoy a fancy meal out and weigh more. Get your period and weigh more. Gain muscle and weigh more. Drink less water in a day and weigh less. Get your hair cut and weigh less. So does that number truly reflect your progress - I’m going to go with another hard no here.

I do want you to know that there is no right way to track progress, if you want to track at all. But tracking where you are going and what you have achieved can be a great motivator. The trick is finding what works for you, making it meaningful for you and leaning right on into it - it’s kind of a theme around here right?

This is why we don’t talk about weight loss in Core Restore or in the Stronger Together Membership. In the postpartum period so much is up in the air and is constantly changing. We focus on what you need, what’s going on in your life and your body and we celebrate how you feel and what you can do. We celebrate your little wins and leaning into your needs as you rebuild strength postpartum. If this is the kind of support and community you’re looking for in your postpartum journey, check out Core Restore. It’s 6 weeks to rebuild strength postpartum, from the inside out, without any pressure or talk of getting your body back or losing weight or any discussions of mummy tummy.

So no, I don’t weigh people or take measurements or take before and after photos. Those measurements and photos are simply a snapshot in time. I want to see the whole story. I want to celebrate what you can do and how you feel. And you are in the right place if that is what you are proud of and want to celebrate too!

4 ways to use fitness to help you prepare mentally and physically for labor and birth

Giving birth is a physical event - so physical in fact that it has often been likened to running a marathon. When people sign up for a marathon they train for it, but how do you train for an event that might be longer than 24 hours?

Truth? You don’t. You can’t and you don’t need to. You educate yourself on what is happening in your body, you surround yourself with a support team, you learn how to leverage your body to help you birth your baby, you prepare mentally, you control what you can and you let the rest go. While we’re talking about this - these are all things we cover in Birth Prep 2.0. And in Strong Mom to Be, we give you opportunities to not only stay strong and move your body in ways that feel good, but we practice everything you learn in Birth Prep 2.0 too.

So today, I’ve got 4 ways you can use fitness to help you prepare mentally and physically for labor and birth.

1. Learn about your tendencies when things get hard. Often when we experience pain or discomfort, our natural reaction is to tense up. We clench our jaw, squeeze our hands and often our pelvic floor gets tight. During a vaginal birth, your baby is going to pass through your pelvic floor and it can make it easier on your uterus and baby if your pelvic floor is relaxed. So during a workout when we’re holding a plank or a squat or in the middle of a set and things get hard, we can start to learn what our initial reaction is and if it is too much tension, we can practice letting go of the tension that isn’t serving us and focus on sending that tension to places in our body that will help is in that moment.

2. Practice positive affirmations. We know labor and birth are hard. We know they are physical events. We also know they are mentally challenging events too. Fitness can give us an opportunity to develop our mental toughness. Many birthing people find positive affirmations helpful. Why not practice them throughout your pregnancy and in situations when we are challenged mentally and physically? When we are faced with a challenging set in our workout we can start to tune into the thoughts we have and the phrases we tell ourselves and practice different positive affirmations we think might work for us during labor and birth.

3. Learn how to relax your pelvic floor in different birth positions. This may come as a surprise but your uterus pushes your baby out and your pelvic floor just needs to get out of the way. And it just so happens it’s easier for your pelvic floor to get out of the way if it’s relaxed. Many people don’t know what this feels like or even how to accomplish this. This is why it can be beneficial to learn this during pregnancy and practice it in different birthing positions so it’s second nature when the time comes.

4. Tap into your breath. Much of pregnancy, labor and birth are out of your control but your breath is something you can control. It’s something that is constant and something you can focus on when things get hard. We can practice this during sets, through each movement and during rest periods. And by practicing this throughout pregnancy you are able to take advantage of this super tool during labor and birth.

There you have it, 4 quick ways you can prepare mentally and physically for labour and birth in Strong Mom to Be, an online, prenatal, strength and conditioning class that runs live, Saturday mornings at 10am EST. Grab a class pass or a membership to practice these tips and so much more. Head to LegitFit to create an account and register.

5 tips, to find motivation to workout, for the busy mom

Whether you’re postpartum trying to figure out new mom life, a seasoned veteran with a million and one things on the go, newly pregnant and feeling the exhaustion and nausea, busy from the holiday hustle, trying to settle into a new routine after returning to work or feeling the slump from the cold and dark that has made its way into our world, I’ve got 5 tips to help you find a little time to move your body, get a little solo time and get those endorphins flowing.

1. Do 5 minutes: Set your timer for 5 minutes and just move. Maybe push play on a workout. Maybe choose your favorite strength movement and do 4x8 of that. Maybe turn on some music and dance. Maybe go for a walk around the block. The goal is to move until that timer goes off. Once you hear that buzzer stop and ask yourself how you feel. If you want to keep going, do another 5 or 10 minutes in the same manner. If you’ve had enough, cool. You’re done with no judgement because 5 minutes count.

2. Skip the warm-up: Make it easy! Nobody says you have to do a warm-up if you don’t want to. You have the freedom to skip it if that removes a barrier for you. And while we’re at it, feel free to skip the cool down too.

3. Stop, drop and go: Let’s remove even more barriers. Workout clothes, shoes, bras - they’re all optional. There are no rules saying you must be in a certain attire to move your body. If it works for you to set your clothes out or change into workout clothes, that’s awesome. If it’s a chore to change and the thought of changing is something you dread, remove that step and just move.

4. Enjoy it: It is so much easier to make time for something that brings you joy, especially when things get busy or hard or you are lacking motivation. If you think you “should” be running or lifting weights or doing a hiit workout but you actually dread that thing - don’t do it. Release those shoulds and move in a way that you enjoy.

5. Accountability can be a game changer: Find a friend to message or to meet up with, drag your partner along, join a class, register for a class, participate in the Christmas Cheer Up (Check out my instagram post for more about this). Nobody is internally motivated all the time. Sometimes a little external motivation is the little boost we need.

And if all else fails it might just be a sign that maybe in this season you need a little rest and that is also A-OK.

Give these tips a try and let me know which ones work for you. Sometimes we just need a little momentum to get us going or a little shift in routines and/or mindset. And if you ever want accountability, send me a message. I love hearing how you’re doing and celebrating the amazing things you’re doing and achieving. We are Stronger Together!

Jamie

Finding the right sports bra

Last week I posted a video on instagram, teaching you how to find the bra that works for your cup size and the activity you want to be doing. In case you missed it, you can check it out here.

In this post I’m going to share with you some trusted brands that you may want to check out.

Before we get to those I have a few reminders for you:

1. When shopping, choose a bra that fits on the largest setting so you can continue to get a good fit as the fabric and your body changes.

2. Look for bras that have multiple adjustable pieces. This will allow you to get a good fit for you.

3. The band should fit pretty snug and run straight around your rib cage.

4. The straps should lie comfortably along your shoulders - not digging in and not able to be lifting off or sliding around.

5. The cups should lie flat against your breasts - no spilling or digging in and no gaps.

6. You should feel comfortable and shouldn’t have to think about your breasts while moving.

One more thing - a bra that provides both encapsulation and compression will provide the greatest amount of support. Depending on your cup size, comfort level, and activity, you may want to look for a bra like this. Encapsulation bras are built with individual cups that surround and support each breast. This can help limit the up, down and circular movement of the breast. Not all sports bras that are marketed as high impact actually do this. If you’re comfortable with just compression, you do you. If you find your bra isn’t cutting it, this might be the culprit.

Ok, onto the shopping. Check out the selection for each brand. Once you’ve found a bra you are interested in, check out their sizing guides to know what size to purchase - keeping in mind that your regular bra size may not work for the sports bra and every brand and style fits differently. You could even try to find a store near you that carries the bra so you can try the bras on.

Brooks

Anita

New Balance

Lululemon

Knix

I found a variety of bras at Sport Chek that look like they could be good options as well.

Some other brands that were suggested to me, that you may want to check out: Oiselle, Cadenshae, Senita. I personally haven’t tried these brands so can’t speak to their quality but you might find some good options that work for you.

I feel like finding a good sports bra can be like finding a good pair of jeans. Just keep looking and trying new styles and brands until you find the one that works for you. And if you have any questions, please ask.