Random New Baby Edition. No, Not Ours

On Tuesday evening, Lindsay’s sister gave birth to a healthy and happy baby girl, which turns out to be three kinds of fantastic. First, the baby came through relatively easy (says the guy who had absolutely nothing to do with it), everyone is doing well, and hopefully both mom and baby will be going home soon. Second, this is the first baby on Lindsay’s side of the family, so her parents get their first grandchild instead of just having grand-dog’s. Third, the baby came around a few days before the wedding, instead of on the wedding day, which means there will be a good possibility of her doing a cameo at both the ceremony and reception, and also means Lindsay’s sister isn’t going to have to miss anything or wind up stealing her thunder by having her first kid drop during the ceremony. Because let’s face it, no bride wants to be upstaged by anything or anyone on their big day.

Now this is just plain cool. We found a video of Samuel L. Jackson reciting a kids book written by Adam Mansbach called “Go the F#$k to Sleep.”

ARVE Error: id and provider shortcodes attributes are mandatory for old shortcodes. It is recommended to switch to new shortcodes that need only url

We loved it so much we found a copy of the book and gave it to Lindsay’s sister last week as a sort of funny pre-baby gift. There’s nothing like a mix of heartfelt adoration for your child and the simmering profanity of Sam Jackson to make an instant classic. I always figured he should do Disney cartoons, and this has completely validated that thought. Can you imagine him in “Sleeping Beauty??

BITCH WAKE THE F#$K UP AND GET YO’ ASS IN THE KITCHEN AND COOK ME SOME DINNER!!!

. We definitely know how to class it up.

If you want to get your own copy of “Go the F#$k to Sleep,” Check it out HERE.

Now a very common thought among most new-born moms is trying to regain their pre-baby bodies. This presents a few specific issues, as the postpartum body is in the midst of a systemic (Re: total body SHIT-STORM) inflammatory process that causes a rapid and sometimes extreme weight gain , as well as a reduction in basal metabolism, sleepless nights, and less time for your own meal preparation standing in the way of weight loss. Top it off with the fact that the act of delivery can cause some pretty substantial muscle de-activation and possible damage throughout the core (you try pushing a grapefruit through a key hole and tell me that nothing gets messed up!!), as well as ligamental laxity through the SI joint and lumbar spine, and you have a big hurdle to overcome in order to get back into Victoria Secret runway shape.

Now typically if anyone comes in to train with me who has recently had a child, I send them off right away to a physio I’ve worked a lot with who specializes in women’s health and can do internal exams to make sure the muscles involved in childbirth are fully functioning, and if they’re not she can work with them in that specific context. That’s something a big deadliftin’ dude in the middle of a gym floor can’t really get away with, so I let the pro’s handle that.

If I have someone come in who has had a child more than one year ago, I still do core function testing to see if they have adequate control and activation of their major muscles. One easy check I use is to see if they have the presence of a rectus diastasis, which is where the intraabdominal fascia has torn between the two parts of the rectus abdominis through the linea alba (band of connective tissue between the abs) during the fetal growth phase. This is pretty simple to do and much less invasive than an internal exam. I just have them lay on their back on a table with knees bent, palpate beneath their belly button along the linea, and have them lift their head up to make their abs contract. If the rectus is split, you can literally feel it tense on both sides of your finger instead of being just a solid fusiform band of connective tissue.

I’ve had some clients who had their kids 20 or more years ago who still have a diastasis, which can affect the function of the rectus, transverse, pelvic floor and diaphragm as they all interconnect and function as a unit to control spinal and thoracopelvic motion. A dysfunctional core can pre-dispose someone to shear injuries of the spine, as well as a general inability to get a rockin six-pack midsection. So most of the time if this is present and bigger than 2 finger widths I send them to the physio to get a session or two as needed, and then progress through a core training series. The series is outlined in my seminar on “Advanced Core Training” on the upcoming Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body DVD package, so stay tuned to get your learn on!!

 On another more serious note, Lindsay and I are both huge animal lovers, specifically dogs. We take Bandit to doggy day care once a week, and it’s without a doubt the most exercise he gets all week, and we can’t believe we waited so long to start taking him there. The place we take him, Dog’s Paw, also has an animal rescue non-profit associated with it, and like many animal non-profits, it relies on donations from the public to survive. Now normally I don’t ask for much from you, the good readers of this rambling website, but in the spirit of our upcoming wedding, I was hoping that in lieu of a “wedding gift”, that some of you good out there would be willing to make a donation in our names to Paws for Life in Edmonton to help rescue and give a better life to a few pets who truly need it. Any amount would be fantastic and I know that from seeing the work they do that it would truly be appreciated.

To make a donation of any amount, click HERE. Thanks to all who make the effort to help those who need it the most.