Emamaco was lucky enough to interview this lovely professional and asked about her expertise in pregnancy health and fitness.
Ashlee Lade is a Health Professional, that is Personal Trainer and Health Coach who truly believes a balanced lifestyle full of variety is the key to happiness. She specialises in Pregnancy, Birthing preparation and Post Natal health and Fitness, based in the Whitsundays running group sessions and One-on-One for Pregnancy and Post Natal health and fitness that include birthing preparation, pelvic floor health, mobility, personalised workout circuits, recovery/regeneration, postural alignment, breathing strategies and motherhood movement patterns.
Are you able to keep up a workout routine while pregnant? What does your workout schedule look like?
Absolutely! The right kind of movement is critical during pregnancy not only to stay healthy but to enhance the recovery process 4th trimester.
What’s your favourite workout and did you have to adjust it for pregnancy?
I love 3dimensional strength training because it has so much variety about every movement, whole body strength in much less time, creates resilience in the body for long term health & injury prevention. So thankfully not a whole lot to change during pregnancy but definitely some modifications to exercises as my tummy grew & being very mindful of how I was feeling listening to the body, not pushing on tired days but opting for gentler movements then making the most of workouts when energy is at a high!
Model in 2nd trimester wearing Emamaco maternity leggings and crop top
What 2 (or more) workouts should you avoid when pregnant? And Why?
Crunches/situps & holding planks - This creates excessive intra-abdominal pressure possibly creating injury, likely an excessive Rectus Diastasis that can be really challenging to recover from post natal. Diastasis (abdominal separation) happens during pregnancy, it has to, to allow the baby to grow but if the integrity of the tissue line between the abdominals is compromised this will affect the pelvic floor & as mentioned before a long slow process of healing if at all in some cases.
What are your top 3 workouts for pregnancy and what are their benefits?
BREATHING! If you do not absolutely nail breathwork during your workouts combined with pelvic floor, not only are you seriously missing out on optimal results but the chance of injury is massively increased, especially lower back & pelvic floor. Breathwork will also be a huge benefit during labour itself & plays a massive role and really simple way to enhance recovery in the 4th trimester. ViPR Halo, this can also be done with a broomstick or band - It is amazing for posture, opening up the chest (also amazing 4th trimester from slumping while feeding whether bottle or breast) is great for hip & thoracic spine mobility, when done with a ViPR also adds amazing shoulder strength. Activation Exercises - These are great for whole body workouts, are simple & gentle but gosh you can feel it!! Again I love that they double as great Post Natal recovery exercises, the first I started back with after my babes.
Do you have any nutrition/diet tips for pregnancy?
Eat whole foods! Include a high quality Fish or Cod Liver oil supplement, amazing for brain development & keeping iron levels in check. Avoid inflammatory food (canola, vegetable, sunflower oils, refined sugar and refined carbs) for obvious optimal baby growth but also to enhance the recovery process 4th trimester, & especially during the last month - as any inflammation within the body will be drawn to the pelvic area or any weak areas within the body, hindering recovery regardless of the type of birth you have. Did you know the baby consumes bacteria from the birth canal during birth which actually helps to seal the gut microbiome, think strong immune system, brain function, development, digestive support - Cool hey!
If you want to reach out to Ashlee follow her for some great tips and advice or maybe visit her studio in Queensland you can find her details here:
Insta: @ash.lade
https://www.facebook.com/AshLadeHealthCoach/
https://youtube.com/channel/UCuHJQOPdyjX7Q8zfwT2Q3vw
https://ashleelade.wixsite.com/ashleeladehealth
