Post Partum Fitness is BIG business. In this episode we chat about returning to exercise after birth, what a diastasis is, prolapse, incontinence and the good, the bad and the ugly of post partum body image.
We chat about how important it is for women to get back into the sports and exercises that they enjoy, and the benefits of movement for mental health.
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Was your sex education in high school sadly lacking? Mine was.
We weren’t taught about consent, we weren’t taught about sex positivity, or pleasure.
We spent a great deal of time inflating condoms and watching hideous slides of STIs.
In this episode I chat about all of the things I WISH I was taught in sex education.
Wouldn’t it be great if we raised a generation of young adults who understood safety, respect and consent? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people understood that sex was meant to be pleasurable?!
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In this episode, I chat about how we’ve relegated women to the cardio section of the gym and encouraged them to use tiny weights, with the promise it will make them look like fitness models.
This is SUCH a bug bear of mine, women DESERVE to be strong, we DESERVE to feel amazing and independent, and we’re simply not going to manage that with 2kg dumbbells.
You’re welcome in the weight room! And you will BENEFIT from being there.
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In this episode I chat with Anna Hearn from Haven Wellness Anna is in the middle of launching her own fitness studio; a unique mirror free space to encourage women to FEEL how they move and enjoy movement for the sake of pleasure, not for changing their shape and size.
Anna has come from a place of overcoming body dysphoria and her fitness journey has led her to fall in love with the skin she’s in.
She believes that honouring the body we’re in now, learning to respect & nourish it from within (rather than
externally consulting a diet book) and moving for pleasure & health (rather than to force it to look a certain way)
gives our body the freedom it needs to regulate it’s own weight and caloric needs - and is a much kinder and
more fun way to live!
All in all, Anna is a fun and bubbly person to chat to, and I’m really excited about the projects she’s working on.
Connect with Anna:
Haven Wellness Women’s Fitness & Yoga Studio, Summer Hill, Sydney
www.havenwellness.com.au | anna@havenwellness.com.au |
https://www.facebook.com/havenwellnessstudio
A special, body-positive, non-diet space designed to help women cultivate a peaceful relationship with their bodies through fitness, yoga & pilates and self-compassion.
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Every so often on Polkadotsi I have a guest who I just have to invite back on the podcast because their ideas are so fantastically mindblowing.
Alex and Shane Harvey from Muscle Potentiation were one of those guests.
It’s uncomfortable being challenged on ideas you hold as truth, and being put into a position where you have to investigate, break down, and question everything.
Coming out of the other side of our interview, I was really excited to explore perhaps WHY a quadriceps stretch isn’t so fantastic…. what are we actually doing when we stretch our hamstrings, and why is it most gym-goers have such a short lifespan in the gym.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to get in touch with Shane and Alex. As a trainer, or as a client who wants to work on pain management.
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Allow me to introduce Emily Smith, Personal Trainer, Mum to 2 children and a Mums Mindset coach. Her journey in fitness really only started when she had her first child. She was never into sport and was always the girl in high school who made excuses during PE.
She was exercising in her early 20s for aesthetic reasons – she wanted a 6 pack. Then once Emily had her daughter she realised she needed exercise for her mental health, and didn’t give a damn about the 6 pack any longer.
In this episode, I chat to Emily about her journey from aesthetic workout junkie to body positive personal trainer and mum of two.
Emily is a breath of fresh air in our industry, and works with her clients to help them make movement as much of a habit as brushing their teeth.
You can get in touch with Emily here:
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In this episode I chat to a woman who has truly walked the talk in terms of self love revolution!
Emma Polette is The Body Love Coach. She is a 44-year-old health coach, personal trainer & yoga teacher. Her clients call her a real woman for real women.
She has run her business Blue Sky Vitality for over 4 years. After spending most of her life thinking a flat tummy would solve all her problems, things changed in early 2017 when she had a hysterectomy to treat her Stage 4 endometriosis. Emma decided her body had been punished enough and has made it her mission to help women live bright & energetic lives free from calorie counting and flogging themselves at the gym.
We chat about how self compassion and the internal work we need to do around body positivity is just as important as the physical work.
You can get in contact with Emma here:
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In this episode I chat to the hilarious and incredible Bernetta Billing!
Bernetta is the instructor for Kangatraining Sandgate & Redcliffe. She introduced Kangatraining to NZ as the Country Leader for New Zealand and the Instructor in the Taranaki region.
She loves sharing Kangatraining with the Mums of Sandgate and Redcliffe. Body positivity is something she feels very strongly about focusing on moving for enjoyment and celebrating what your body is capable of instead of what it looks like.
Her other passion is pelvic floor health, after experiencing pelvic organ prolapse after the birth of her first child, Bernetta is an advocate for pelvic floor awareness, education and not being ashamed of having a vagina.
We giggle about jiggly bellies, wibbly wobbly bums, plucking wedgies, and how to choose swimwear that is practical for post natal bodies.
I loved this interview because Bernetta is so real, approachable and down to earth about body positivity and motherhood.
Bernetta self identifies as the friend who asks about her friend’s pelvic floors after they’ve had their babies. She is a beautiful example of how as women we can change the conversation around birth and recovery, and how we need to talk about prolapse and pelvic floors.
You can get in contact with Bernetta here:
Website : https://www.kangatraining.info/instructor/BernettaBilling/1191
Facebook : www.facebook.com/kangatrainingSandgate
Instagram : Kangatraining.Sandgate
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Let’s talk about fan-girl moments for a minute. In this episode I chat with Jessie Mundell. Jessie is the reason that I decided to steer Polkadotsi towards focusing on post-partum fitness, and really focus on helping women heal, build, and fall radically in love with their bodies.
So you can only begin to imagine how excited I was to record this episode!
For those of you playing along at home,
Jessie is the creator of the Postnatal Fitness Specialist Academy, the Core + Floor Restore series, and the To Pregnancy & Beyond program.
She’s focused on effective exercise during pregnancy, rehab of the core and pelvic floor for moms, postpartum and C-section recovery, teaching women how to eat and exercise effortlessly, and having women feel incredible in their bodies.
We chatted about how she has moved from encouraging women to focus on fat loss, through her mindset shift to teaching them to build strong, amazing bodies.
We also also chatted about her INCREDIBLE upcoming academy for trainers, and anyone else who works with mums and pregnant women; (doulas, midwives, group fitness instructors, I’m looking at you!) The Postnatal Fitness Specialist Academy. This is a program that touches on SO many facets that are important for post partum women, including racism, body image, pelvic health, nutrition and so much more.
Jessie teaches women the questions we should be asking of our trainers so as not to get hurt in our fitness pursuits, and encourages women to steer the conversations about pelvic floors, diastasis recti, and prolapse with their trainers.
I was super excited to have Jessie on the show, because she is changing our industry for the better.
You can get in contact with Jessie here:
Website: http://jessiemundell.
Facebook: https://www.
Instagram: @jessiemundell
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In this episode I get really uncomfortable with some of my ignorance with one of my most interesting guests yet; Shane Harvey from Muscle Potentiation.
Shane Harvey specialises in injury rehabilitation, exercise and education. He is the only Australian to completed the Resistance Training Specialist Certification in the USA, which is the pinnacle of exercise mechanics globally.
For those of us playing along at home, that means Shane works with people who’ve hurt themselves, and through the RTS method, he helps them move pain free again.
More than that, Shane is a passionate advocate for accountability and evidence in the personal training industry, encouraging students to relentlessly question the status quo.
How would he change the world? Pain free movement. I’m down with that.
You can get in contact with Shane here:
