Fit and Female

Welcome To The Fit Female Blog!

My name is Geralyn Coopersmith.  I'm the author of Fit + Female, an exercise physiologist and a certified personal trainer. 

I'm also the creator of a complete weight loss system, The Best Me Ever.  I've been helping women get in the best shape of their lives for the past seventeen years.  So I know what works -- and what doesn't.

One thing that I've learned is that most women (most people in general, for that matter) have the same issues that prevent them from getting fit.

• They are fed up with workout programs that are boring -- or painful
• They don't have any (or enough) time to exercise
• They find it difficult (if not impossible) to get to the gym on a regular basis
• They aren't motivated to workout at home
• They can't find a "diet" that really works in the real world -- with real food!

This blog, and The Best Me Ever are all about breaking down all the barriers that keep us from getting in shape and staying that way.  Ultimately, it boils down to three critical factors.  You have to change:

• The Way You Think - This can mean everything from having realistic expectations about what YOUR body is supposed to look like at its most fit -- to making your fitness a daily priority.
• The Way You Move - You need to exercise almost every day.  But you don't need to beat yourself up.  The secret is balanced, time-efficient exercises that give you some muscle toning, some fat-burning cardio and some flexibility.
• The Way You Eat - Healthy food, is for the most part, non-fattening food.  You can eat a heck of a lot of fruits, veggies and lean proteins without gaining weight.  Sure portion control definitely plays a role, but learning to focus on nutrient-rich, high fiber foods makes daily weight loss very easy!

If you continue to read this blog you'll see that these are on-going themes that I like to address. 

With The Best Me Ever, I've developed a step-by-step system that teaches you how to workout to get the best gains in the shortest period of time, what to eat to lose weight and keep it off and how to think about the importance of fitness in your life.  The beauty of it is the simplicity...if you follow this system, it works -- plain and simple.  In fact, I'm so proud of it -- and so convinced that it will work for anyone, that I back it up with a 90-day full money-back guarantee!!

I was recently interviewed by celebrated fitness podcast host, Anthony Renna of The Better Golf With Fitness Podcast and The Strength Coach Podcast.  Anthony asked me about some of my training philosophies, female fitness myths and misconceptions and the reasons that I developed The Best Me Ever.  Click on the player below to listen.

Powering Up With Plyometrics

Happy 4th of July!!! I was live on The CBS Early Show this morning talking with anchors, Erica Hill and Chris Wragge about plyometrics on a beautiful (but windy) Independence Day.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Musings on Michael - Lessons to be Learned from the Life of Michael Jackson

It is amazing the aftershocks that go on after a famous person dies. 

I'm sure that a lot of it is because the death of a famous person shoves the reality of our own mortality right in our faces.  It reminds us that death is a given and nobody can avoid it regardless of their station in life. 

Moreover, it's a wake-up call that every day is a gift and as my Grandma used to say, "tomorrow is not promised to us". 

I think every person you meet has something to teach you, either directly or indirectly -- by word or by deed. 

To my mind the central take-away from the life of Michael Jackson (that all of us can learn from) is that happiness can never, ever be found outside of yourself.  Or as I heard someone say recently -- your lasting and on-going happiness needs to be on "self start" (thanks for posting on FB, Felicia!!).  Nobody and no thing can "start" it for us.  

In the sad cautionary tale that was the larger-than-life life of Michael Jackson we saw that...

• Lasting happiness can't be found in being talented (even gifted)  in a particular area (plenty of miserable geniuses in history)

• Lasting happiness can't be found in your work, regardless of how great your achievements are

• Lasting happiness can't be found in being wealthy or buying things

• Lasting happiness can't be found in being famous

• Lasting happiness can't be found in being adored -- even by millions of people (if you don't love yourself none of that matters)

• Lasting happiness can't be found in obsessing about and/or altering your appearance - if you feel "ugly" inside no amount of plastic surgery or procedures will change that

• Lasting happiness can't be found in your personal relationships with friends, family and lovers

• Lasting happiness can't be found in substance abuse

• Lasting happiness can't be found in having children (you may love them, they may bring you moments of incredible joy, but they aren't responsible for/capable of making you truly happy)

All that said, I'm not going to be so presumptuous as to tell you that I know the formula for lasting happiness.  I (like all of us, I suppose) am still tinkering with the recipe on a daily basis. 

But there are a few things that I am sure of (only because I've seen it time and time again in my life and the lives of others), specifically:

1) Lasting happiness can never be found outside of yourself.  Happiness is largely a choice based on our internal dialog and the meanings we choose to give to the experiences that we go through 

2) Living your life feeling constantly grateful for all that you DO have in your life (the glass half-full perspective) always makes you feel better

3) Sometimes you really have to force happiness.  You need to fake it til you make it -- rather than waiting for it to descend on you

4) Its a lot easier to be happy if you are always truly living in the present moment rather than worrying about the future or ruminating about the past

And that's about all I do know on the subject from my 44 years on the planet... so I will leave it for some of our greatest minds to weigh in with something far more profound...I love these...

The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy. -H.H. The Dalai Lama

My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right? - Charles Schulz

Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. It is not what we see and touch or that which others do for us which makes us happy; it is that which we think and feel and do, first for the other fellow and then for ourselves. - Helen Keller

If you observe a really happy man you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his son, growing double dahlias in his garden. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that has rolled under the radiator. -W. Beran Wolfe

Stopping Negative Self-Talk

For reasons that I don't fully understand, most women (to one extent or another) feel compelled to focus on their perceived physical imperfections.  Put a few women in a room and invariably the conversation will turn to them pointing out (to all the other women) everything that is "wrong" with their body. 

Sometimes it actually turns into a competition about who has the most to complain about.  We say that we are: too fat, too bony, too busty,  too flat, our butts are too big, too flat, too small, too flabby, our hair is too curly, too straight, too frizzy, too flat....it's endless. 

The real tragedy here is that we aren't just speaking this way to other women -- we are speaking this way to OURSELVES -- all the time.  Whether it takes the form of looking at images of other women in magazines and telling ourselves how we don't match up...or staring at our various body parts in the mirror and analyzing what's wrong with them...or some nasty comment we make to ourselves when we step on the scale and don't see Kate Moss' body weight pop up (funny that)...ultimately it is all very poisonous to our own self-esteem. 

So okay, you're not "perfect"...I'm not "perfect"...most models (truly, I've trained them) are not "perfect".  And that's a good thing, because our "imperfections" are often the things that make us more interesting, that give us our own unique brand of beauty.  Think of some celebrity examples...Cindy Crawford's mole...J-Lo's derriere...Angelina's lips...Jennifer Aniston's nose...Sarah Jessica's hair.  They are all unusual features, trademarks that make these folks memorable.

One way of breaking the cycle of garbage self-talk is to put yourself on a "diet" where you vow to stop.  It is a contest with yourself where the goal is to link 30 days in row where you avoid all negative self-talk. 

The idea is simple.  The second you realize you are saying (or thinking) something negative about your body you need to stop -- an you go back to day one.  You keep on doing it until you can do it for 30 days without screwing up.  The idea is after 30 days it becomes your new habit. 

And just like with a food diet, you will probably find that there are triggers that you will need to avoid in order to be successful.  This could range from not reading women's magazines, or not speaking with certain people, or not getting on the scale, or leaving that bikini alone (you know the one that didn't fit you when you it bought on sale 5 years ago but for some reason you feel compelled to try on whenever you're bloated, PMSing and on a chocolate binge-- come on you've been there, too ;-). 

Whatever it is for you, try to isolate it and avoid it.  Or at the very least the minute you start to "go there" and bash yourself...do whatever you have to do to stop.   You have a minute to cut it off and before it takes hold and make another choice...if not you're back to day one.

So give it a shot if you dare.   It's not easy, but it is very powerful. In fact, if you can do this for 30 days, I guarantee you that you will:

• Feel infinitely better about yourself
• Realize that you are in control of what you chose to think and how you "speak" to yourself
• Know what things typically "set you off" and figure out strategies to either deal with them effectively or ignore them entirely

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

5 Things You Didn't Know About Exercising During Pregnancy

Despite the many concerns some women have about exercising during pregnancy, the fact is most of the research shows that it is safe and beneficial for both mother and baby.  Here are some surprising research findings (most from James Clapp III MD in his excellent book, Exercising Through Your Pregnancy)

1.  Exercise helps make the placenta (the fetal lung) work more efficiently improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the baby.

2.  Exercise is associated with delivery of "easier", "less fussy" babies.

3.  The babies of moms who workout are actually leaner -- but of a healthy, appropriate weight and normal measurements.

4.  Women who workout through their entire pregnancy report significantly fewer orthopedic complaints (such as low back pain).

5.  Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women have an easier time dissipating heat due to higher blood volumes, more delivery of blood to the skin's surface and lower daytime body temperatures.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Preventing ACL Injuries

There are several types of training that have shown promise in the prevention of ACL injuries.  According to The American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine, it is important to focus on: plyometric training, balance training and single leg training. 

In his excellent book Functional Training for Sports, legendary strength coach, Mike Boyle agrees with the importance of plyometrics (particularly with regard to proper landing and deceleration skills) and single-leg strength.  Coach Boyle also encourages movements that incorporate changeof direction as an effective way of reducing ACL injuries.

Plyometrics are movements done rapidly to train the neuromuscular system and increase muscular power.  They can be dangerous (particularly to the knee) if not the mechanics of each exercise are not coached properly and/or if they aren't progressed properly.  So these exercises are best done under the supervision of an experienced coach or a trainer who has worked with high level athletes.

Balance training are exercises designed to teach the body how to react to and withstand challenges from shifts in posture or sudden changes in the environment (such as an uneven or slippery surface).  These kinds of workouts can use balance devices like Bosu balls, foam rollers, wobble boards, Airex pads and the like.  However they can also be done with single leg movement (which challenges balance by minimizing your base of support) -- or even by closing the eyes (which deprives you of visual feedback which is a key ingredient in balance).   Again it would be advisable to get input from a certified fitness professional on which exercises would be best for your situation...and also to have someone watch your form.

Single leg exercises according to Coach Boyle are "frequently ignored in strength programs but essential to the improvement of speed and balance and the prevention of injury".   Double leg exercises do not develop single leg strength and stability in the same way that single leg work does.  Single leg exercises recruit muscles differently challenge muscles not activated to that same degree in double leg work.  Many people can squat very heavy weight loads, but can't do a even one single leg squat with their own body weight. 

When you think of how most of life is done with one leg in one position and one in another (stepping, lunging, running, walking up stairs) so its easy to understand how single leg training might better prepare us for the challenges in our daily lives that can lead to ACL injuries.

The bottom line is there are specific ways that you can workout in ways that not only increase your fitness level but also potentially prevent an ACL injury before it even happens.  The key is having a trained professional design a program for you and at least get you started with good technique. 

If you're interested in learning much more about prevention of ACL tears in women be sure to check out the upcoming www.SCwebinars.com webinar with celebrated strength coach,  Tim Yuhas entitled, "Reducing the Risk of ACL Tears in Female Athletes" coming up LIVE on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009.  If you miss it just visit www.SCwebinars.com (a great newly-launched education resource for fitness pros, fitness enthusiasts, physical therapists and strength coaches alike) the webinars are archived after their live airing, so you can access them and view them at anytime.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Some 411 on The ACL

 

ACL is the abbreviation for "anterior cruciate ligament".   It is one of four primary ligaments that provide stability to the knee by connecting the upper leg bone (the femur) to the lower larger leg bone (the tibia).

It is found in the middle front of the knee and forms a diagonal X with the PCL (or posterior cruciate ligament) behind it.  In fact, the word "cruciate" means "cross" and both ligaments are so named because of this X or cross formation.

The main role of the ACL is to prevent the tibia from sliding out in front of the femur.  It also provides stability against rotation for the knee joint.  The PCL prevents movement of the tibia behind the femur.

The ACL provides about 90% percent of the knee's stability. 

The ACL and the MCL (the medial collateral ligament, which limits lateral movement on the inside of the knee) are the two most commonly injured of the four major knee ligaments.

Hamstring tendons (muscles on the back of the upper thigh) are frequently used in ACL reconstructions.

It is estimated that 90-95% of those who undergo an ACL reconstruction will return to full function within 6 months.

Women are up to 10 x more likely than men to injur their ACL, for many reasons.  Click here to read about Women and ACL Injuries

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Women and ACL Injuries

Did you know that women athletes are much more likely than men to experience an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury?  In fact, some experts say they are 10 times more likely than males. 

Scientists have long speculated that female hormones play a role in this and that there must be a particular phase of the cycle during which women were more vulnerable to injury.  

Recent studies published in British Journal of Sports Medicine and The American Journal of Sports Medicine did indeed find increases in joint laxity as a result of hormonal shifts throughout the month -- but the laxity occurred in different parts of the menstrual cycle for different women. 

Researchers now theorize that there is indeed a connection between female hormonal fluctuations and ACL injuries, but unfortunately it may not be in predictable "one-size-fits-all" way. 

Some other reasons that women are more likely to experience ACL tears include:

• Women have a more narrow space (called the intercondylar notch) for the ACL to move within making it more likely that ends of the femur bone (the femoral condyles) could pinch the ACL and rupture it. 
• Women have a wider "quadriceps angle" (aka "q angle").  The q angle is the angle at which the femur (or upper leg bone) meets the tibia (or lower leg bone).  Because females have a wider pelvis there femure comes in at more of an angle relative to their tibia, which means more force on the ligaments of women's knees whenever the knee twists.  
• In general, women have looser muscles, tendons and lligaments than men (again because of those darned hormones!) potentially providing less protection from rotational forces.
• Women have less muscle strength relative to bone size than men do, meaning that the ACL needs to work harder in women to keep in the knee aligned properly. 
• Women are often not encouraged to participate in sports as young girls and/or to the extentthat young boys are and therefore may not develop the muscular coordination, proprioception and reflexes as well, making them less able to handle the stresses of competitive play much later on in their physical maturation.  (Even more reason to get girls playing sports earlier!)

Coming up next...more on what the ACL does and what you can do to reduce your risk of injury.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Natural Childbirth is for Horses

Anyone who's ever known a mother has heard a story of a labor/delivery that seemed to go on forever.  8 hours...12 hours...24 hours, but some how I managed to be in labor for - FOUR DAYS.  Yep...it's true!!!   "How is that possible" you might ask.  Well, the short answer is -- because I was an idiot. (so you can just stop here if you're a Reader's Digest-type)

The longer answer is because I had a ton of misconceptions about what delivery was supposed to be. 

I'm an overachiever by nature.  Sure, I think that I've gotten better over the years,  but typically there is a part of me that wants to be head of the class in everything I do (which is another blog in itself, I suppose)

So when I was pregnant, I was going to have an A+ delivery.  None of that hours of messy, painful, unattractive, unfeminine, screaming and carrying on stuff for me...I was going to have The Mother of All Deliveries.  Calm, serene, maybe some candlelight and a little Mozart (supposed to be good for the baby's brain).

I read EVERYTHING I could about giving birth, books, websites, pamphlets...you name it.  I actually wrote (and this is hysterical to me in retrospect) a 3-page "birth plan".   For the record "birth plan" is an oxymoron. I've said here before...there are things you can "plan" for -- and then there is birth.  Which does with you as it damn well pleases.

After weighing all of my birthing options, I decided to go the "Hypno-birthing" route.  Hypno-birthing is basically a method of self-hypnosis that helps you manage your contractions, so hopefully you are not writhing in pain -- and carrying on like a complete lunatic.

My husband and I went to about 8-weeks of this training with three other similarly clueless couples (ALL of whom had never given birth before...hmmm... ka-winky dink?  I think not.)  Anyway, as part of the technique I had to look at this big picture of a pink flower... a chrysanthemum or something.  We were told to think calming, relaxing thoughts and breath very deeply.  And true-to-form I went to my classes and I did all of my "homework".  I was very committed to the process and I got REALLY good and putting myself "under".

The Hypno-birthing teacher took every opportunity to share with us with tales of the great evils of the medical profession.  Her loathing of doctors was palpable.  She portrayed a dark conspiracy of OB/GYNs who'd give you a C-section, just so they wouldn't miss their tee times. 

She told us of all of the "dangers" to the baby and mother from C-sections.  She told us how epidurals were baaad...very baaaaaaad for mother and baby.  She told us how inductions were baaad...very baaaaaad for the mother and the baby.   

She also took it for granted that ALL of us were breastfeeding, because only a really selfish (or ignorant) woman would rob her baby of the many benefits of breast milk. Her opinions and agendas went on and on.  And I bought into everyone pretty much hook, line and sinker.  Like I said, I was an idiot.

If you have ever been to some of these pregnancy sites, you will know that the current vibe in  is much more in line with her viewpoint than one that touts the virtues of the medical profession.  In fact, virtually everything I read seemed to back up the kinds of things that she was saying.   So I was determined.  No drugs, no epidurals, no inductions...the list of things that I was not going to have done got longer and longer as the pregnancy progressed.

Then before I new it I was in my 9th month and 9 days past my due date.  Late one Saturday night I got this weird crampy feeling, not too painful but it definitely got my attention.  I was up all night and I started timing  the contractions (I wasn't even sure that's what they were, maybe they were Braxton-Hicks).  They were happening every 15 minutes or so.  The doctor had said that I should call her when they were about 7 minutes or so apart, so I wasn't there yet.  So I waited....and waited.. and waited...I used my Hypo-birthing breathing, I looked at my pink flower picture and I spent most of Saturday night and all day and night Sunday waiting to see if the contractions (if that's what they were) were going to get worse or closer together. 

By Sunday they were definitely worse, but still no closer together, but surely this couldn't go on indefinitely.  I figured it was just a matter of hours before the contractions would be 7 minutes apart and I would call the doctor and go to at the hospital.  But they never did.  They stayed the same.

By Monday, still not believing that I was REALLY in labor, I drove myself to the doctor.  The doctor did an exam and said that I wasn't dilated enough to be in labor yet and that the contraction were still too far apart.  I told her that I'd been up for two nights now, because I was so uncomfortable.  But she assured me that I wasn't ready yet.  Besides, I had driven myself to the doctor's office...and apparently you can't do that when you're really in labor. 

This went on all day Monday and all day Tuesday.  The pains never got closer together, but did get more and more intense and painful.  By Tuesday night it was really unbearable, I looked at that picture a lot and tried to stay calm.  I bit my lip a lot, I grabbed on to the back of chairs to brace myself, but the contractions were still about 10 minutes or more apart.  I called the doctor and said, "Listen, I know they're not seven minutes or less, but I have been up since Saturday night and I'm in a lot of pain."

So they told me to go to the hospital.  The doctor on call (one of my doctor's partners whom I had only seen once during the pregnancy) checked me out and said I wasn't dilated enough yet and the contractions were still too far apart, but that I could stay in the hospital.  Whew!!

I had planned to have a doula which I think is Greek for "G-d's greatest gift to a woman in labor".  This woman was a saint.  She arrived about an hour after I got there and stayed with me until the bitter end.

For the next 26-hours I labored in the hospital.  I never slept.  I just breathed, looked at the picture of that stupid flower, went in and out of a hot tub (it's was not as much fun as it sounds, believe me), tried to walk up and down the hospital halls -- anything to get things moving in the right direction.  But they never did.  For 26-hours three different doctors (none of them "mine) tried everything to get me to have a "normal" delivery. 

• They broke my water
• They gave me Pitosin to speed up the contractions
• I had something called,"tetanic contractions". Normal contractions typically last for less than a minute.  Overachiever that I am --- mine lasted for about 5-minutes on average.  (At the time I thought they said "Titanic contractions" and I remembered how that story ends...didn't sound promising) 
• Groups of residents came in with senior doctors, pointing at screens and speaking in hushed tones -- they looked very interested in what I was going through.  By the way -- that's never a  good thing, having doctors looking amazed and curious.  You want them bored and yawning.  What the hell were they doing in there anyway?  Didn't they have a tee time to make? 
• And then about 20 hours into it, they recommended an epidural, which I begrudgingly accepted.  But, I felt like a total failure.  Even that didn't go smoothly, they tried and couldn't get the needle into my back.  I swear.  Finally, they had to get a stronger needle -- a little tip for girls who workout, most doctors are NOT used to dealing with muscular backs. "Geez, you've got a lot of muscular development in your back".  "Good to know, Doc.  Thanks, how about you grab a bigger horse needle and we get the show on the road here")

But once they got the needle in, WOW...that was some serious pain relief!!!  Presto -- Gone!!!  After almost four days of really being in pain -- I wasn't anymore.  I wanted to find whoever invented the epidural and kiss their feet.  For the first time since Saturday night, I was able to sleep (for a whole 45-minutes).   

However, things weren't progressing it was looking clearer and clearer to me that a C-section was in the offing.  Truthfully, by that point I didn't care, I was so drained and exhausted from the pain and the lack of sleep.  Besides, this epidural stuff rocked!  I figured they would keep me numb and I would still be awake and able to see my baby being born.  BUT SURPRISE...

The epidural was starting to wear off and they were just getting ready to give me another dose when my son's vitals took a turn for the worse.  They had been monitoring him all along for any signs of fetal distress and things were fine up to that point.  Then all of the sudden I must have sent off some silent alarm in the nursing station, because it seemed like the entire hospital came rushing into my room. 

They all started yelling at me to get on all fours on top of the bed, which instantly turned into a gurney.  I later learned that this is what they do when they are worried that the cord is wrapped around the baby's neck, causing "cord compression".  But my legs were still kind of numb so they flipped me into this all fours position and tried to hold me there.  Staff was all around me, pushing the gurney and running down the hospital corridor along side of me.  My Doula was right next to me, holding me in that position and calmly saying like an angel..."don't worry, everything is going to be alright". 

And within a minute I was in an operating room with an anesthesiologist leaning over me with a Mickey Mouse nose.  But the funny thing was, at this point I was calmer than ever.  I honestly didn't care if I lived or died.  I wasn't frightened at all.   Whatever happened, I knew that this ordeal was going to be over in the next few minutes. I calmly and quickly told the doctors leaning over me about my allergy to a certain medicine and the history of bleeding problems that is in my family -- and with that I was out.

I woke up 2 hours later (I think) alone in the recovery room.  I could here the nurses talking.  I asked what I had (I didn't find out the baby's sex in advance)-- and I heard a voice say, "you had a boy".  I asked if I could see him and they wheeled me up to the room.   

My husband was up in the room with my son and my parents.  My parents live at least 2 hours away, so I figured I must have been out for awhile.  But the truth is, my parents were so freaked out during this whole ordeal that they had (against my "orders") driven to the hospital and were waiting in their car in the parking lot.  (Now that I'm a parent I understand that completely.  If it was my kid I would have done the same thing.)

Then they wheeled my son in.  All cleaned up, swaddled, sleeping, wearing a silly blue hat and looking well...kinda like Papa Smurf.  And they handed him to me...I held him and I was crying a lot.  I'm not exactly sure why, but I was a mess from the C-section pain (they had me on a morphine drip), not sleeping for four days, the 26-hours in the hospital, the laboring at home before that, my hormones being outta whack...everything.  But mostly, I was so grateful and relieved that he was okay -- and that I was alive to see him.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the moral of this very long story is. 

But I do know that if I had it to do over again.  I would have been A LOT more vocal and insistent that there was MORE medical intervention...A LOT SOONER.  I wouldn't have tried to control my pain.  Something tells me if I had been screaming and cursing like a banshee things would have moved a whole lot faster.  Labor is not the time for good manners or being quiet and controlled. 

I also would have had an epidural right away -- for sure. Yes, I know there are plenty of horror stories about epidurals, but there are also horror stories about natural childbirth...I think I just told you one.  If I had been more pro-active and open to more medical involvement, I believe that I would have been in labor for a lot less time and that I might have been able to actually see my son being born.

I also think that many women who have C-sections feel like failures because they didn't have a "real delivery".  But, the truth is if I was delivering my son while going across the country in a covered wagon, both he and I probably wouldn't have survived.  I'm very grateful to be living in a time where I had the option of having a C-section. 

So if you are having a child, I recommend you tune out other people's (even mine) opinions and agendas. 

Do your own research and talk with your doctor about options.  Availing yourself of medical interventions which can make you more comfortable and ultimately save both lives is nothing to feel guilty about. 

Give yourself permission TO DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO do to make the experience as pleasant and comfortable for BOTH mother and baby.  Rather than having a single "birth plan" (which I can almost guarantee you will not pan out) give yourself a whole host of "birth options" that you feel comfortable using. 

I think society places a ridiculous amount of pressure on women to "do it the right way" when they deliver.  That's ridiculous.  The "right way" is whatever way makes it as tolerable and safe for you and your baby.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Training The Body From a Joint-By-Joint Perspective

This is an idea that's taking root in the fitness industry, driven most notably by Coach Michael Boyle and the famed Physical Therapist and FMS creator, Gray Cook.  The concept is that there are joints in the body that (based on their design and inherent function) are supposed to be more mobile and move well -- while other joints should actually avoid motion and stay stable.

Injuries and dysfunctions occur when stable joints are moving too much or mobile joints aren't moving enough.  Of greater interest is that the injury is typically experienced at a joint either above or below the joint that isn't functioning properly. 

Here's a quick breakdown of stability and mobility in the major joint structures of the body.

• The neck is supposed to be mobile

• The shoulder girdle is supposed to be stable

• The shoulder is supposed to be mobile

• The lumbar spine is supposed to be stable

• The hips are supposed to be mobile

• The knees are supposed to be stable
• The ankles are supposed to be mobile

According to Boyle and Cook, a "knee problem" (for example) is often REALLY a hip or ankle dysfunction causing pain in the knee. 

In other words, if one of those two regions (hips and ankles) doesn't have good mobility the knee is forced to become more mobile -- even though it's supposed to be stable.  In this case the knee gives up its stability leading to pain, injury and dysfunction.  So your "painful knee" is really a poorly functioning hip and/or ankle.

It's fascinating stuff.  You can listen to the recorded webcast with Coach Boyle that I heard live tonight -- at a new educational resource www.scwebinars.com.   Great stuff for the fitness professional, body worker or exercise enthusiast.  Be sure to check it out!

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

I'm quoted by Newsweek in an article on the worst machines in the gym...

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/pv6aog

Mother's Day

 I manage the personal trainer education for a high-end fitness chain.  At big meetings we sometimes do an "ice-breaker" called "Can you top this?"  The idea is simple...you have to tell a fact about yourself that is very impressive.  The one that is so impressive that nobody else can top it is the winner.

It usually it starts with someone saying, "I scored 45 points in the Pee Wee League Basketball Championships" or "I had a growth that looked like Richard Nixon removed from my backside". 

I love this game!!  Typically I lay in wait and then when I've heard from everyone, then I jump in with, "Well, I was in labor for FOUR DAYS!!".  Invariably ooohs and ahhs ensue and as impressive as the Nixon growth is, I usually win. 

(Although there was that one time one of the managers had been shot in the neck and still had some bullet fragments in there.  Okay, so she won that one. In the "Can you top this" hierarchy gunshots to the neck beat prolonged labor) 

But usually I win.  Because it's kind of hard to top that. 

Especially when I add in in that I was doing "natural childbirth" up until the bitter end (when I had to have a highly unnatural c-section under general anesthesia).

It's funny when you're in shape and pregnant everyone on the planet tells you that "you're so fit, you're just gonna pop that kid out".  It doesn't necessarily work that way.  I've known fit people who were in labor forever and deconditioned women who practically delivered in the car on the way to the hospital -- and vice versa. 

The point that is from the very start, NOTHING can prepare you for motherhood.  It's kind of like going to Paris.  People describe it, you've seen photos, you have ideas about what it will be like in your head ...but until you get there you don't know diddly.

In fact, I was so completely ignorant that I actually wrote a four- page "birth plan" describing this peaceful, granola-crunchy, zen birth.  I don't know who coined the term "birth plan" (it had to be a man or a woman who had never given birth).  Whomeever it was -- they need to be seriously bitched-slapped. 

The very phrase, "birth plan" is an oxymoron.  There is stuff you can "plan" for -- and then there is "birth" which does what it damn well pleases, dragging your clueless ass along for the ride.

And things continue on from there.  You've heard about the sleep deprivation, but until you have a kid you really don't understand what that is.  I thought, "Sleep deprivation?  Get real!  I'm a personal trainer, I get up at 4:30 or 5:00 everyday anyway.  I'm already sleep-deprived.  What's the difference?".  

Well, the difference is as a mom you're getting up every 2 or 3 hours round the clock to feed and change a tiny, little, defenseless person whom you're terrified of killing accidentally. "Watch his neck!!" "Don't drop him!!" "What was that sound he made?!" "Is he breathing?". 

You just get through the trauma of delivery and then it hits you -- that was just the beginning of the job and you have no idea how to do this. And that's the truth.  No matter how many babies you've been around, or how many siblings you have -- it's different when its your own. 

It's on-the-job training like you've never experienced.  To give you some idea of how psychotic I was...I used to imagine my infant son singing that old jingle for The Army, "we don't ask for experience...we give it!...You won't read it in a book...you'll live it!"

 But you do learn...day by day they teach you, you make your mistakes and you adjust.  At about five weeks you get that first real smile, the one you know wasn't "just gas" and it sinks in-- okay there's a huge upside here, too. 

And before before you know it you're the veteran.  Talking to your pregnant girlfriend on the phone (as you change a diaper with one hand) giving advice to the "newbie" ...and laughing inwardly as she tells you about the "birth plan" she just wrote.  

Happy Mother's Day!  Sending lots of love to my Mom -- and all the other amazing moms out there!!

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

 

All or Nothing?

I’ve always been fascinated with the yin-yang symbol and the concept of balance and moderation that it represents.

It’s a particularly powerful concept for us here in The West where so many aspects of our existence seem to be all or nothing. Perhaps nowhere is this truer than in the area of health and fitness. On one end of the spectrum we have the “couch potatoes” that don’t exercise, eat whatever they want and sit back watching their waistlines expand year after year.

On the other end are the “health nuts” that tyrannize themselves with stringent diets and exercise programs. These folks use the words “always” or “never” a lot. They’ll tell you in a self-righteous (and slightly accusatory) tone, “I always go running every morning” or “I never eat sweets”.

As a personal trainer you might think I would applaud the latter group for doing all the supposed "right things". But the fact is these “nuts” get on my nerves just as much (if not more so) that the “potatoes”.

My thought is that for every person that these extremists inspire to start working out and eating right -- they probably turn-off another 10 to the idea entirely.

De-conditioned folks usually point to these health freaks and they say to themselves, “Yeesh, they’re really obsessive -- I don’t want to live like that.”. And I agree with them!!

Ironically, many of these fitness-obsessed people are actually hurting their health in the name of wellness. They often have multiple injures caused from training too much or not resting enough in between. Or they may have nutritional deficiencies from being on an extreme diet of one type or another.

I honestly don’t understand why people can’t find a middle ground between the two extremes. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be an all or none proposition. Why is it that over 95% of all diets fail? Because they are designed to be so extreme that people can’t live like that for very long. They go on them, they may (or may not) lose some weight and then sooner or later they go “off the rails” because they’ve been living in a state of deprivation for so long.

My friend Joy Bauer, “Nutritionist to the Stars” (that’s my characterization, not hers) has a best-selling book called The 90/10 Weight Loss Plan. It’s less of a diet and more of a change of perspective in the way that folks think about eating. Joy’s basic premise is that you eat healthfully 90 percent of the time and 10 percent of the time you get a little crazy and make a conscious choice to eat some crappy stuff – just because it’s pleasurable.

The same is true with exercise. You don’t have to be sitting on your duff watching OR training for the NY City Marathon. There is something easier and far less extreme in the middle. In fact, scientific research would suggest that from a health perspective you’d be better off taking a brisk 30-minute walk most days of the week then training aggressively for a few months for a specific event. The habit of a daily 30-minute fitness walk would give you a great return on your fitness investment in terms of: potential weight loss, lowering of blood pressure, reducing risk of developing Type II diabetes and heart disease – with virtually no risk of injury. Plus it’s free! Open the door to your house, walk in one direction for 15-minutes turn around and walk back home.

Here are some other simple suggestions for small, simple changes that you can make in your daily life which payoff in looking better and being healthier.

 Cut down on non-nutritive drinks particularly regular sodas.

 Try to eat lower fat or fat-free dairy products most of the time.

 Spend five minutes while you’re watching TV gently stretching your hips and upper back.

 Do five minutes of deep breathing and meditation at some point each day.

 Reduce your alcohol consumption.

 Do 10 minutes of calisthenics like a quick circuit of body weight squats, push-ups and dumbbell rows two or three times a week.

The point is when it comes to taking care of your body and your health, you can’t cram and a little goes a LONG way. True and lasting wellness isn't an all or nothing proposition.   So I challenge you to make a small shift in one thing that you’re doing that you know isn’t great for you in the long run. Commit today to make one little change. It doesn’t have to be major shift. It doesn’t have to be an “I’ll never, ever, do that again” shift. Just an “I’m going to “cut back on that a bit” or a “do more of that” shift.   

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

I'm on The Food Detectives on The Food Network Tomorrow

Sunday, May 3rd 4 PM EST.  It's a show entitled "All You Can Eat" where I am interviewed about what a calorie is by former Queer Eye host, Ted Allen.

The Operational Definition of Insanity

You've probably heard the saying, "the operational definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result".

That's something I see quite often in people who have difficultly either losing weight or keeping it off.  Inevitably, these people have a lot of very strong opinions about what they need to do to lose weight.   It's as if their case is completely unique and no one else has had the same weight loss struggles -- or been able to overcome them.

Given the fact that many of these people have never been successful with weight management it is surprising to how locked into their beliefs they can be.  Usually there is a lot of talking about the problem, but very little action.  And too often they are closed off to any advice -- even from a health professional!

Case and point...I was working out at my gym the other day and someone I know approached and started asking me a lot of questions about weight loss and exercise. 

Now at the risk of sounding obnoxious, I usually try to avoid having conversations with people while I'm working out for a few reasons.  For one thing I consider that my "off duty" time, so I take my trainer hat off and try not to look at the million issues I see all around me that I would correct if I were wearing my trainer hat.  Another reason I don't chat much (and keep my iPod headphones in my ears) is that I (like most people I know) am often pressed for time, so I'm usually focused on getting as much done as possible in whatever time I have.  And last but not least...honestly, I don't like people giving me unsolicited opinions or feedback while I'm exercising -- so I try not to do that to other people.

But I really like this woman, so stopped what I was doing and I answered all of her questions. And wouldn't you know, she had answers for everything she was asking me that were in direct contradiction with my answers.  None of them were based on science.  In fact some of them were in direct contradiction to exercise science.  But it didn't matter.  She knew what "works for her". 

It's kind of hard to argue with that line of logic.  But it does beg the question...if her system works so well, why is she still struggling with the same significant weight problem year after year?  Why wouldn't someone in her situation entertain the suggestions of someone who has been successful in this area?  Especially when she's asking -- as if she wants to hear the answers?

"Success leaves clues" (as my buddy, Tony Robbins is fond of saying).  If someone else has done something and been successful at it...if you find out what they did and you do it too it should work for you, as well.  Or you can keep on doing as you've always done and see how that works out for you.

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!

Born To Run (Outside) - Part 2

Running or walking outside also involves some "rules of the road" to make sure that you are safe and avoid serious injury.  Here are some things to consider:

• Try to run in areas with little to no traffic, if possible.   Even if this means driving to another neighborhood, parking and running there.  I often walk over to a subdivision near my home and run there.  Very little traffic.

• Get off the road.  Try to run where there is a size-able "shoulder" which is relatively smooth, ideally paved.  Nothing worse than a runner/walker in the middle of the road while two passing cars try to guess what to do.

• Run on the same side as the traffic (facing the traffic) so that you can see them and they can see you.  When you run with traffic it is easy to move out in front of a car behind you.

• Unless they can't see you. The exception to this is blind curves or hills where your view (and the view of the drivers) is obstructed,

• Don't suck up fumes.  Avoid running near high traffic areas (like along a  highway shoulder).  The body has a greater affinity for carbon monoxide than oxygen, so you will be breathing in lots of toxins during your run.

Let 'em know where you're going.  Always let someone know where you plan on running.  Have a few set routes and tell someone which one you're taking that day, what time you left and approximately when you should return.  Always carry ID, cash and a cell phone

Dodging dogs.  If you encounter a dog off the leash and no owner is around to contain them, stop running (if you are) and walk.  Do not make eye contact with the dog, don't speak or yell.  Just look straight ahead and keep walking.  Most likely the dog will walk along side of you barking for a while and then turn away.  Continuing to run and/or yelling at the dog will increase the likelihood that you'll get bitten. 

Share the road with other fitness buffs.  Be alert for bikers and rollerbladers in places like public parks.  It's a lot harder for the person on wheels to do a hard stop.  Collisions are not uncommon and usually one person assumes the other: 1) saw them and 2) was going to/should have stopped.

Not to be a Nervous Nelly, but these are time-tested for outdoor fitness and safety.  Be safe, be smart and have fun out there!

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, author of Fit + Female:  The Complete Fitness and Nutrition Game Plan for Your Unique Body Type and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women.  It's a first of its kind program designed to fit into a busy women's life.  Lose weight and look great -- 90 Day Unconditional Money Back Guarantee!!