WHOA. Sorry It's Been FOREVER - GREAT Fitness Referrals!

Well.
I don't even know if I mentioned it in any of my posts last May (I can't believe it's been since May since I posted last!), but we got pregnant with baby #4 last year! So, I was sick for quite a while last year, until I realized it was dairy that was making me ill. Other than that, I had a lot more physical trouble with that pregnancy being my core is completely shot!

I've learned a lot in the past few years about fitness, especially relating to core (abs) and how damaged we can be from natural things like pregnancy or even just chronic bad postures and laziness in posture and how we carry things or lift things. But I'm definitely worn out! This pregnancy my stomach hung over so far, and I looked and was so huge! I had a lot of trouble with baby's position too, which I blame on the fact that my core was not doing anything to hold baby upright. Labor also revealed this to be true, in order to really kick things into gear, we had to use a robozo to lift baby more upright and get more pressure downward. This labor didn't last any longer than the last 3 really, still blasted through it in 2 hours or so. But the physical work it was definitely wore me out. My 3rd pregnancy I also hung out over, but not as bad as #4. After #3, I also had horrible hip pain I could barely walk for a week after I had him. #4 was not like that thank goodness.

ANYWAY, I had discovered a few businesses that anyone anywhere can do, because they're online!

The first is The Tummy Team!
https://online.thetummyteam.com/?ref=214

The next one is Fit2B!
https://fit2b.us/?ref=479

They both have a lot of resources and information and fitness things to do. For me, I view The Tummy Team as core rehab or physical therapy. Fit2B is full of fitness routines for the whole family.

I love how both of them are so real. Neither one of them are super fit body builders. Neither of them are these perfectly sculpted athletes. That makes you feel like you're working out with a friend, not being trained by some perfect specimen of a person.

The biggest thing with both of them is how they treat the core. 

FIRST: NO CRUNCHES, NO CRUNCH LIKE MOVEMENTS. 

Seriously.

You would have to watch the videos at The Tummy Team to fully get the picture. They have a whole page of free resources!
https://online.thetummyteam.com/free-resources?ref=214

They have different programs for core rehab, for preparing for surgery (csections, or any other abdominal surgery), programs for during and after pregnancy, and refresher courses, as well as professional advancement as well!

Anyway, they teach you about your core, and how to activate the muscles in your core that are supposed to hold you up! It is your literal built in corset. This is more than fitness and rehab, its education. They have courses for professionals as well.

But seriously. No crunches, and still get great abs? Well, I'm not sure if getting great abs is even the point. The point is healing and gaining strength for life, not getting that perfectly sculpted 6 pack. I suppose if that's truly something you want, start here, and do that other stuff after. You might notice if you look at some of those "perfect" 6 pack abs, they are separated by a huge canyon! This is a diastasis. I know, I hadn't heard of it either, especially not from any of my doctors. But people, this thing is for real. I am starting to wonder how much of my mental and emotional health is actually rooted in my core weakness and disconnection. Right now, 3 months after baby #4, my diastasis measures 6 fingers wide at my belly button, 6 about 3 fingers length up from there, and a 4 below my belly button 3 fingers length. This is not the end of the world, I learned, even the founder Kelly Dean, had a diastasis with similar measurements. She healed most of that in 8 weeks. So that's minimum what I expect to need to do to start healing mine.

They often recommend splinting as well, which I had been doing a lot of, but my splint is literally unraveling right now! So I have to get a new one right now. I don't have a good way to judge how exactly it makes my body feel, but I do know I feel something different, I just feel held together and almost natural. Sometimes the splint shifts and I have to fix it but for the most part, I put it on and I don't think about it much. It does really tell you when you're slouching into it. I am not good at not slouching, this I definitely know for sure. It seems much worse post pregnancy, which isn't that surprising.

They also offer skype sessions where they can give you personalized feedback. 

Anyway, now I'll talk about Fit2B.
https://fit2b.us/?ref=479
She also continues the tummy safe fitness. Neither of these two programs believe in the "no pain no gain" mentality. So what you're going to get is a lot of support to listen to your body and please, stop if you have pain! Both intend to not only help you find ways to implement fitness into your life, but they are also very focused on healing your body. 

Fit2B also has a podcast - Fit2b Radio. I have learned so much and I just find myself nodding my head - they are so great! I wish every single woman - and man - could hear it. It's stuff so basic that it frustrates me that we have to find it ourselves, at this point. Doctors are still not really trained to know their limits and refer appropriately. Physical therapists even are not really fully understanding the broad scope of what they are doing. Though I found the physical therapy I've done to be rather gentle, much of it compromised the fact that my core is weak and separated, and the things I was told to do were things that made it harder to activate my core and heal the problems I was and am having.

Fit2B's website is fabulous. You can literally pick and choose from a whole list of options, from what kind of workout to how long you have, even sitting workouts! I haven't gotten to explore it fully yet. I'm still just dipping my toe in the water of all they have to offer. Most of what we've used has been through the Roku - yes you can hook Fit2B up through your Roku! The kids love to do the kid workouts! They are not scripted, so it is so fun to watch. Kids just get moving! It's fabulous. Theres a lot of yoga in there, but for me personally I take a lot of caution with those groups of exercises, but I know a lot of people love them. My point is, their workouts aren't painfully intense, but I was just watching a circuit routine and she was definitely sweating. So don't knock the gentleness of the workout! It's still movement, and it's still a workout!

I have yet to start the foundational 5, but most of my day is literally holding a baby, so I'll get there. I also should look more at the neck and shoulders routine because I could probably do that while nursing a baby. It's just going to be some time, I fear, before baby will allow me enough hands free time to focus on something like that. But I keep watching and listening to the podcast and trying to remember to keep better posture and think about how to put movement into my day. I'm not very good at that, I'm rather tired and it seems some days I can't manage to get anything done. Its supper time and bed time and I feel like I've literally done nothing. But, I have a 3 month old. This is a normal natural season for this. I also have to remember to rest and recouperate. My body has been through a lot - growing babies - and it deserves rest just as much. But I do need to really move more.

ANYWAY, my point is, these two programs, either alone or together, could very likely change your life. It's likely you're like me and have no idea that you even have this problem - diastasis, or pelvic floor issues. Even if you know about them, what you're told from your doctor is usually disappointing, that surgery is your only option or that this is just a part of being a woman/aging/having had children. We do NOT need to accept this as normal! Something they say a lot at Fit2B (and The Tummy Team too I think) is that something that's common doesn't mean it's normal. You can tell by the fact that every woman has heard there are certain problems you get as you age or post childbirth, that it's common. That doesn't make it normal, and we shouldn't be accepting it as if it is! We have the power to heal ourselves, we just need to know what to do and how. BOTH these programs will do that.

Start following them on social media and watch out for sales! That's how I bought my programs and memberships! Just get yourself a program! The links I've included here are my affiliate links, I just started doing that. I figured since I was literally tagging The Tummy Team and Fit2B everywhere I see women talking about things like this, I might as well make some good out of it maybe. ;) So please check it out and I hope you get yourself a program and start working!

ANYWAY, I didn't really intend to write this long of a post about this stuff, but in true aspie fashion, I get obsessive. I just feel like everyone should know this stuff. It kinda bothers me that it's almost a secret. I don't even know how I came across this to begin with, but it's rocked my world. I hope you get something out of it as well! They are posting things all the time, so even if you just follow them and just learn a little here and there watching their free info, it's better than nothing!

Thanks for reading.

I NEED TOPICS! If you have a topic you'd like me to write about, please let me know! I know I've left quite a vast desert since I last posted, I don't really want to keep doing that, but I get busy and distracted and it's sometimes hard to think. I wrote most of this post while my kids were goofing around with Fit2B's kid workouts. ;) SO there! 

Muscle Tone, Core Strength & Aspergers - LINKS

As I've been doing my physical therapy for core strength and whatnot, I keep thinking to myself, "Isn't there some connection between Aspergers and strength"? I keep thinking I had to have heard or read about this somewhere, and I have just forgotten to actually google it. 

So I found this:
http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.com/2008/04/what-does-low-muscle-tone-hyptonia-mean.html

"As children, aspies often find that they are able to easily perform feats which require flexibility but not strength or balance, such as splits, backbending and shoulder rotation. They may display unusual flexibility in other joints such as fingers."

Yup. I was the kid who could touch the ground BEHIND her feet, while maintaining straight legs. I could do (and still can do) backbends/bridges. I can scratch almost every spot on my back with a little effort. I could do the splits, though not perfectly, and had I cared more, some simple stretching would have solved any imperfections on that move. Even the chiropractor tells me that I am very flexible to adjust. Doing certain physical therapy positions takes great effort to get them to do anything for me because of that flexibility. I could, for a period, dance like Shakira (though I have NO interest in that anymore at this point in my life). Shoulder rotation is a lot better than my husband, and I just thought he was a stiff guy (he does have a lot of tight muscles). 

"Such flexibility comes with a price and aspies are usually quite uncoordinated and clumsy. In running, this contributes to the famed "unusual gait". It's easy to imagine that low muscle tone only affects the big muscles but this isn't the case, it affects all activities requiring muscles including most notably, speech, pencil grip and writing."

True. I feel I'm clumsy, I feel like I don't run well, and I had and still have pencil grip and writing issues! My son is having these same problems and has also been determined to have little core strength, just like me. Interesting, right? 

"When sitting or standing for long periods, aspies tend to slump quite a bit. Sometimes, they will stand with their legs crossed in what appears to be an uncomfortable fashion. My mother was constantly trying to correct this stance and while I'm reasonably aware of it at work, I still find myself standing that way regularly. I'll point out now that although this looks uncomfortable, this is actually a very comfortable stance for aspies."

I TOTALLY do this. I know I stand oddly. People usually don't comment on it, but when they do its usually wondering if I'm comfortable, or even if I have to go to the bathroom. It is neither, it is just oddly comfortable to stand like that. I don't know why. (I wish I had a picture of me standing like that. I might try this later.)

"Aspies often sit with their head and shoulders rolled forward and will frequently lean on walls, furniture, door frames and desks."

Exactly. This is my major problem. Bad posture. Terrible posture.

"Dangers inherent in Low Muscle Tone

While the slumping and leaning behaviours aren't necessarily great posture, they're not particularly dangerous to the aspie unless the position is adopted for very long periods without proper breaks.

I have first-hand experience with this problem as I've had episodes of "overuse syndrome", a kind of RSI, with my hands, arms and shoulders from sitting at my computer for too long. It took quite a while for OH&S to work out that the issue wasn't with my hands, or even with my workspace. It was simply due to excessive time spent in an unsupported position. 

Fixing the ProblemAs I said earlier, the fix isn't normal weight training, it's physiotherapy and specialized muscle training. There is also a need for awareness and constant correction of one's position. In my case, the muscles most needing training were small ones high on my back. Correcting my keyboard "slump"moved my arms and shoulders back into less damaging positions. I have to be constantly aware of my position and correct it thoughout the day. I also do a bit of stretching and strengthening work on them at the gym."

WOW. That is exactly how it is. I have to work on these things. It is terrible how bad my muscles are in my shoulders. They hurt, and they are the ones that prevent me from good posture, they are the ones that are super tight, and screwed up. 

So, basically, I see a lot that there are connections between Aspergers/Autism and muscle tone or strength issues. Oddly enough, the information I'm running across indicates that there should be delays in speech, and crawling and walking. For myself, I don't think I had any delays whatsoever, and my son, whom I suspect has Aspergers as well, definitely didn't have any delays, as he was walking at about 7-8 months old. So, I don't think that everyone has their act together on this information and how it relates to ASD. 

Anyway, what are your thoughts/experiences with muscle tone/strength and ASD?