The Frog

This exercise may be done with or without an exercise band to increase resistance. It's completely up to you.

The Frog works the core as well as the legs. It encourages you to utilize the major muscle groups in the legs (calves and quads) and to engage the core for stability.

To start, find your neutral spine; your shoulders and tailbone should be connected to the mat. Each vertebrae should be nestled into your mat as you prep. Legs lift with knees bent, whether or not you're placing the band across the balls of your feet. The heels should be touching and the toes should be turned out, NOT touching. Knees should be about shoulder-width apart when they are over the torso.

If you're using the band, keep your elbows planted at your sides while pressing the legs long. These photos depict the model lifting her elbows off the mat; I find this may hinder your ability to maintain proper posture. While extending those legs, be sure your tailbone does NOT come off the mat. You can choose whether or not the head is lifted in this exercise.

Your legs can extend at any degree of difficulty that you'd like depending on the challenge you need. As you extend, the knees come together while you maintain turnout in your feet. Use your exhale to extend and your inhale to pull the legs back into the chest.

Repeat 6-8 times, building up your stamina and challenging yourself to eventually extend the legs closer to the floor in the future.

Pilates and Yoga in Ogden this week:

Monday: 4:30p Pilates at Wasatch Therapy
$10 drop in

Tuesday: 8pm Yoga at Farr West Tumblers
$5 pre-pay (24 hours in advance)
$10 drop in
*check out the March special!

Thursday: 5:30p Pilates at Wasatch Therapy
$10 drop in
8:45p Pilates at Weber State University
FREE with active ID card
$6 drop in

Friday: 10a Pilates at Farr West Tumblers
$5 pre-pay (24 hours in advance)
$10 drop in

See-Food diet... see food, eat it!

One of my personal theories is that there is no such thing as "bad" food. There is, however, such as thing as too much food.

I've never dieted because I simply don't have the willpower to deny myself certain foods. So in order to maintain a healthy body weight, I've had to work on portion control. It's a great way to enjoy things I love like ice cream and cookies and carbs and yeah... everything that people claim is "bad."

A friend created a support group on Facebook for those trying to lose weight, and from it I learned about a couple of online programs that can track your calorie intake, helping you stay on track to either lose or maintain your weight. I've signed up for MyFitnessPal.com and have successfully logged about a week of meals. Woo! The only problem with the site is that I can't figure out how to factor in the extra calories I burn as a nursing mother. To contemplate, I mentally allot 500 extra calories for my daily intake.

My goal is to maintain my current weight so my summer clothes fit like they did before pregnancy. I have so many great pairs of shorts and summery tops that I'm looking forward to wearing again (since I was pregnant to the max last summer).

Have you used a calorie tracking system? Or do you keep a food diary on paper? What has worked for you as you've tried to get and stay healthy? So far I'm finding it annoying. I knew before signing up that I wasn't consuming enough calories based on how much I exercise, so it's frustrating to see those numbers on "paper." With that in mind, I'm going to go have a snack!

Tummy Toners - Scissor Kick

Scissor kicks are a great way to tone not only the core, but the legs. Throughout this movement, you're reaching long through the balls of your feet, keeping length in each leg the entire time.

While on your back, you have the option of lifting the head or keeping it lowered on the mat. Tucking in the abs, extend both legs long to the sky. With the exhale, allow one leg to lower to the mat as much as you'd like while the other is pulled gently to the torso. With each exhale, you switch those legs.

Imagine them moving close together like a pair of scissors, almost touching but not quite. This posture is a great segue to many others- The Bicycle, Single-Leg Extension, Criss Cross, and many others we'll get to.

Tummy Toners - The Hundred

Oh how I love the Hundred. Doesn't it sound fun? In Pilates, the Hundred is a posture that requires you to do 100 repetitions of breath- 5 counts in and 5 counts out. Too bad it's not just about the breathing though.

Level 1 is to keep the back on the mat with the legs in the air at any angle you want. The tailbone needs to stay connected to the mat though, so if it lifts, the legs are too low. While in this position with your back on the mat, lift the head and shoulders slightly while the arms are elevated at your sides. The arms will pump with each breath, like you're slapping water.

Level 2 is to lift the torso to a V posture with the legs, balancing on the tailbone. The knees are bent, and the arms are still at your sides, moving with each breath.

Level 3 involves lengthening the legs while the torso is lifted.


Work your way into the posture that works best for you on any given day. Some days your hips might feel too tight to elevate the legs, other days you may just feel too tired to straighten the legs. It's completely up to you. Just remember to breathe in and out for 5 counts each, forcing those abs to MOVE with each breath.

In any of the levels, imagine you have a string connected to the top of your head, allowing you to pull and lengthen the neck. The spine must be straight if your torso is lifted. If you find that your back is curling, you're not yet ready to be in that posture. Take it down a level until you have full control over your posture.

Once you've counted 10 sets of inhales and exhales (100 total beats) you're done! Relax that body back on the mat and stretch.

Gym discounts

For the month of March, Farr West Tumblers is offering an awesome incentive- bring a friend to any class and receive a $10 credit on your account.

This can be used any way you'd like. Bring a friend to one of the Yoga classes and get the $10 credit! Bring a friend to your child's tumbling class and get a $10 credit!

$10 will get you TWO free Yoga classes, so it's totally worth talking your friends into coming. There isn't a limit on how many times you can redeem this credit, so get all your friends together and work out! Yoga is Tuesday at 8pm and Friday at 10am.

Included in the Yoga classes is free child care if you need to bring the kids with you.

Health tips for nursing mothers

I've realized there is a lot of confusion regarding good health when nursing a baby. The information I've gathered is based on what I've experienced, and what I've read on websites like BabyCenter.com, eHow.com, FamilyEducation.com, and iVillage.com.

A common misconception is that you can't exercise while nursing because you'll "lose" your milk, or "dry up." I'm here to tell you from personal experience THAT AIN'T HAPPENIN'.

I found myself teaching fitness classes 6 weeks post-partum after receiving the okay from my doctor. I didn't teach at 100% because, let's be honest, my lady parts still needed some TLC. So I taught classes at my own level, and encouraged participants to do what they needed in order to feel challenged. I also did a lot of walking right after my daughter was born. Now that I'm 7 months post-partum, I'm still nursing, and I'm teaching at least 4 classes each week on top of my own personal exercise. I never once experienced a loss of milk because I ATE AND DRANK TO MY HEART'S CONTENT.

I can't stress that part enough. You must eat and you must drink like it's going out of style when you're nursing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating non-stop, especially if it's good food. Just avoid empty calories; go for filling snacks like apples with nut butter, or tuna fish mixed with tasty mustard on a piece of toast with avocado. Greek yogurt with your favorite fruit and honey. Find what fills you up and enjoy it. And drink water like it's going out of style.

If anything, working out was helpful to my nursing schedule. Since I sometimes missed a feeding, it gave me a chance to pump the milk that was building up so it could be used later. As long as you stay hydrated and well-fed, exercising will not adversely affect your milk supply.

An average nursing woman will burn 500 calories each day. That amount will differ based on your nursing routine. It's safe to say that if your baby nurses for 30 minutes at a time, each time, you're probably burning more than 500 calories per day.

Numbers don't really matter though. If you're hungry, eat. You do the same for your baby, right? I haven't paid attention to calories since my daughter was born. I eat when I'm hungry and I exercise 5 days a week. I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight and shape, and I have a lot of energy.

The point is, find what works. Do what feels good for your body and for your baby. If it means you track calories coming in and being burned, so be it. If it means you eat willy-nilly and don't exercise for a while, so be it. If it means you find a happy medium, so be it.