Some workout advice please!

If you have been doing these things before your pregnancy then you probably have a deeper knowledge than most. Personal trainers need good qualifications, a six months’ course will only give one the basics. They will not realize the limitations of the old or those with a medical condition or as in your case POP. Be careful your one is not a boot camp type who will push you beyond where you need to go both for the sake of your prolapse and incurring other injuries; for injuries, two weeks (stress injuries) and then again at 2-3 months (connective tissue injuries) are the danger periods. Having not worked out for two years, you would know to best go slow.

As for regaining body shape I am assuming that you still have a little extra weight on you and that you need to lose weight as well as sculpture your body. The most effective way to lose weight is to give up sugar. It’s not dangerous as when you starve yourself and it works gradually so that you don’t have stretched flesh hanging. Even obese people can shed their weight over a two year period just from giving up sugar, for people with just a few pounds on, you are talking weeks.

When you are talking about strengthening connective tissue and ligaments, you are looking at a minimum of three months of exercise for this to kick in.

You mention that you have Christine’s book and are familiar with the basics, have you been assuming WWposture and doing the wholewoman workout, starting P122? If not, why not show them to your personal trainer and get her to go through them with you to start? This would provide a nice gentle approach to see where you are at to begin with, or go through them yourself before your personal trainer’s session. This would give you some indication of your present capability in regards to your prolapse. You must never lose sight of the fact that the state of your body, and your treatment of it, is your responsibility and never delegate this to anyone else except in some dire emergency where you are not in a position to help yourself.

I am also surprised that you have not been doing the exercises that Christine has on a number of DVDs.
These have been designed specifically for women with prolapse.

Reasonable weight bearing exercise, if the weight is held close to your body and you are in WWposture, is good for strengthening ligaments and connective tissue and thus your prolapse.

Exercise which involves speed, impact and fatigue can lead to injury and this goes for everyone even soldiers in training. Don’t be talked into awkward positions and increased loads.

If I were you, I wouldn’t be seen outside, or in, with a personal trainer, but to each his own. Good luck to you, Fab

Karono, I agree with Fab and I am actually a bit confused. If you are doing the Whole Woman work, then you will know the importance of keeping to the posture ALL of the time; and you will also know the importance of doing certain types of exercise and avoiding others. Why go out and hire a personal trainer who knows nothing about prolapse? Are you asking us to help educate you, so that you can educate this personal trainer, who will somehow then magically be able to help you lose weight in a prolapse-friendly way? I say, back to Whole Woman work, and take charge of this yourself. The cost of a personal trainer versus the cost of one or two of Christine's workout DVD's - a no-brainer. - Surviving

PS: I've been doing this work for a few years, and my results didn't really start to take off until I stopped dabbling in Whole Woman, and started living it. I have the impression that you are still in the dabbling phase, and I just want you to consider stepping things up a notch or two.

In striving for good health and a good strong body, I think you will do very well with considering a daily 2-3 mile walk in beautiful WW posture and one of the WW dvds each day or every other day. If you want to add a bit of arm strength training, then do so sitting with all aspects of the posture there. You could do biceps, triceps and side raises with small weights. The walk itself is really the basis for good health and good body when you do it properly. the Pop dvd or rotated with a yoga wheel from Christine, will address our special needs. Unless your personal trainer is a woman experienced in prolapse, then it is very questionable as to whether they really can help you in knowing the special care and understanding that we need. Many personal trainers are pilates trained as well and there is a lot of pulling in of the abs there which as you know, is a no no for us. I do agree with fab and surviving here. Money will be well spent on the WW dvds and you will become your strong beautiful self with no compromise. Best wishes.

Hi there. I'm far from a expert here, I am still waiting for my dvd, but I do fairly heavy cardio workouts. My approach is to avoid jarring and impact (i.e., I walk briskly, I don't run) and I don't strain beyond what is comfortable. I haven't noticed my pop getting any worse doing this.

Personally, I love them all! Each, including the "First aid for prolapse", has something unique about it, and at the same time really compliment each other by working the body in different ways that is very beneficial in strengthening the ww posture. Everyone is different in what they can or want to do, so I think it is a personal choice in how you want to do it, just as long as you do!
Myself, I believe variety is the spice of life, so I vary them every day. If I am especially strapped for time I will do first wheel yoga, which to me seems the easiest and shortest.
I am noticing though that if I get lazy on exercises and posture, the symptoms start to come back.
Christine says in one of the videos that how often you do it is subjective to the individual, so do what makes you feel good is all I can say.
Good luck to you and have fun with it!
Oh yes, and walking in whole woman posture! Fantastic!

Hi Karona – Do you have the book and/or basic DVD, “First Aid for Prolapse”? These are the best sources for basic information about how to manage posture and prolapse as you go throughout your day. In particular, the Dictionary of Movements in the basic DVD is a great explanation of how all the moves work to help prolapse.

If you are working strictly from Yoga First Wheel, please pay special attention to the anatomical information in Part I and to the description of WW posture that appears at the beginning of the workout section, Part II. Being in posture all of the time, not just during workouts, is the key to Whole Woman work and it is the only thing that will give you results with your prolapse. This workout is not created so much as a weight-loss tool, but as a way to strengthen the muscles that support Whole Woman posture. I know that you are interested in a weight-loss program. But it is really important to get your mind and body totally in the zone with these posture principles first. Then and only then will you be able to incorporate more active, calorie-burning activities into your workouts. First things first, learn how to maintain your prolapse so that you can basically do whatever else you want without worsening your symptoms. I assume that’s what brought you to this site in the first place. WW workouts and lots of WW posture walking, plus maintaining posture throughout your day, with some firebreathing for good measure, and proper diet and bathroom habits will get you there! - Surviving

Karono, Surviving has described the way to use the videos well. When you get sick of the first one you can try the second and third. If you buy them both you will have a wider choice.

Louise

Surviving, I agree with your comment about dabbling. I have been on this site for well over a year now, but really only consider myself to have been working at this properly for just on a year now. It has to be a 24/7 thing. WW Posture and the FAFP dvd is my daily ally. Just wish I could master fire breathing, think I do it right, I just don't get that light bulb moment people talk about where they notice its effects.
Incorporating WW walking into my daily routine is another step to master. But my littlest starts school in a few weeks, so I will finally have time to commit to that-i look forward to the benefits of this that many speak of. If I was a morning person I could of course have managed this before now.
Best wishes to all.
Lindy

OK Karono, I will stop lecturing now! I think I had an extreme reaction to the idea of hiring a personal trainer, who will most likely know nothing about prolapse management, and will therefore be in a position to do you harm. If you're pursuing that, it is vital that you immerse yourself in WW knowledge so you'll be in a position to dictate what you will do, and what you won't do. So.........why even bother with the trainer, if you have to supervise the trainer? I have lost several pounds while doing WW work, not because that was my goal, but because I was motivated to walk more, exercise more, and eat more healthily. If I had made weight loss my goal (and it would have been a secondary goal to prolapse management), I would have lost a lot more. Take charge! - Surviving

Hi Aussielou - If you are certain that you have the breathing sequence correct in firebreathing, then keep doing it and don't worry if you are not feeling that light bulb moment. I usually bend forward and do some jiggling to get the organs well into the belly before I start to FB. This tends to lessen the feeling of organs moving during FB, because they are already there. But it still gives me that feeling of helping them to stay where they belong, especially if I stand up slowly in excellent WW posture afterwards. - Surviving

I know you ladies will probably get after me for saying this, but I can take it. Lol!
I really think it should be up to,the individual in how they want to do the exercises. I see your point in mastering the techniques, but if I had to do just one of these DVDs for a long time, I would get bored and quit. I did not start noticing positive affects until I started the first aid for prolapse; that is when the posture got easier for me, because it so much strengthened and lengthened my slouchy body. But I have only noticed more and more positive affects by adding the others as well. No, I haven't mastered any of them, but they are all benefitting me in some way.
Ok, get after me now.

Graceful, I don't think anyone would disagree with you there! The more you can do, and the more you mix it up, the better off you'll be. - Surviving

You are so right. Mastery is a very long term project. I too rotate them and do not feel I have any of them mastered. I do feel that I am doing my absolute best however to maintain the posture. I think that is all we can do -- our best and then the rewards come, little steps. Best wishes to you.

Hi Aussielou,
I've never had the light bulb moment with fire breathing either. Have you tried nauli? I can feel my cystocele sucking forward with nauli, as long as I hold the vacuum, but it slips back as soon as I let the vacuum go...

Wow light bulb moment? Do not know what that is. I do not fell anything at all when I do fire breathing....but I just started it.....I am hoping it will help.....I need to just give it time....but looking forward to everything everyone says.

Mika, don't worry about it, just make sure that you have the breathing sequence correct. Belly expands during the inhale, pull navel to spine during the exhale. This is the basic breathing for lots of the exercise moves. - Surviving

Hi curiosity,
Yeah, I did the nauli. Seem to have the basics of it, still perfecting it. I do feel it benefits, but like you not for an extended time.
It's late here, better get off to bed.....but first my FAFP routine:)
Lindy

I have noticed, at least for me, that fire breathing seems to work the best after evacuation and on an empty stomach. I first do some jiggling to get everything In a higher place, and then I will do it on all fours, and sometimes also the standing position, or either or, depending on how slouchy I feel down there.
I am still working on nauli; this is more difficult for me. At first I couldn't figure out the right rotation, but after watching the third wheel yoga DVD, it made more sense to me. Christine gives a very good description and demonstration of fire breathing and nauli. But, I still can't hold the vacuum long enough, and I seem to be rotating my hips instead of just my belly. I guess I am belly uncoordinated! I will keep working on it though.

Helped create my prolapse. :(
If you find someone who understands female anatomy and the special requirements and/or will listen to you when you explain to them your limitations/accommodations then go for it! My guys (and girl) had my doing exactly what I should not be doing: heavy lifting, intense abdominal work. It was the class joke that I always needed to go to the bathroom before we started jumping and straining. I wish I had known. I just wish I had known.
I do have a question about walking: I walk between 3.5-5 miles a day on the treadmill since the weather is cold (Wisconsin!). I have only knowingly been dealing with prolapse since November 2012 so this is new to me.

Is walking on the treadmill at high incline not a good idea? It is difficult to stay in posture, but I do try. It is the way I feel satisfied these days. Some days my prolapse is bothersome and others it is not. That seems to be more related to bowel movement success but I wanted to ask about the walking.

Sorry to hijack the question.

I can verify that, for me, going sugar-free or minimal sugar drops pounds and adds energy like crazy! I almost don't know what to do with the person I become when sugar free. I am so used to being 'blah' and it feels a bit foreign.

I don't need to lose much weight at all, but I find I can eat a lot more good food without any weight issues when i don't eat sugary foods. When I do, I seem to go up and down 5 lbs all of the time which is frustrating. I'm little (5'3") so 5 lbs is the difference between feeling good in my clothing or feeling restricted; especially in my belly. I don't feel the urge to 'suck it in'.

I too walk a lot on the treadmill this time of year (it's either that, or no walking at all). I find it very easy to stay in posture when I am walking with the treadmill flat. I haven't tried the incline since I discovered prolapse. If you find the incline makes it harder to stay in posture, I would avoid it. It's all about the posture. - Surviving

Hey Karono,
ok, so you are ready. you want to return to your pre pregnant level of fitness. What exactly does that mean? I ask because it's good to know what exactly we are talking about. What level of fitness you are hoping to reach.
Personal trainers can be helpful, if I ever got back into it (My degree is in Exercise and Sport Sciences) I'd make a pretty good trainer for someone like you I suspect :) but they can also be completely ignorant and you could end up worse off like Spamelah.
So first I think you might like to send your trainer an email about your specific condition. Go ahead and give the medical name and the info for this site and the wholewoman teacher contacts so that the trainer can ask any questions.
Second, I've found (and not just me...lots of research) that losing fat is easier when you are not exercising. Exercising really increases your appetite. You might consider a strict plan for eating because otherwise, that weight will be stubborn.
Third: find a cloth measuring tape. When you start working out you may gain weight- but lose inches. The tape will help you more than the scale.
Fourth: You can do most things you like in the gym, but I recommend free weights only. You can really pay attention to your posture this way. Also, watch out for things like squats, you can do them with a slight turn out and it will probably help your prolapse, but doing them toes in and trying to push up too much weight could have disastrous results. So start with your own body weight and build up from there.
Fifth: abs. Planks! no sit ups or crunches or anything!
6: don't hold your breath. avoid yoga until you are sure what WW positions to substitute for the ones that are not good.
7: walk, jog, run all in wholewoman posture. If it feels bad, don't do it
8: recover. give yourself a day between workouts to gauge how your prolapse is feeling
9: don't be discouraged if at first things seem worse. As long as you return to your baseline by the next day, stick with it.
10: switch it up and have a good time. I love to exercise and it's a big part of my self care- including my mental health. I like to do something different each day (maybe I have ADD). Go slow, build it back up, take all the time you need. Listen to your body.