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#78 - Emma Dowling: Balancing fitness, family and female health
1.1k Plays1 year ago
In this episode, I chat with personal trainer Emma Dowling, who specialises in pre and post-natal health.
Emma shares her insights on parenting, fitness, and balancing a busy life.
We discuss everything from the importance of modelling healthy behaviours for children, managing hectic schedules, and finding time for self-care to training during pregnancy, pelvic floor health, and Emma's holistic approach to fitness.
We chat about:
- How to balance fitness with family life, and how to incorporate exercise into a busy schedule
- Why it is important to model healthy behaviours in front of children, and how can parents make time for their own fitness?
- What are the key considerations for training during pregnancy, and why is pelvic floor health crucial for new and expectant mothers?
- How Emma addresses misconceptions in fitness, especially regarding women's health, mindset, and nutrition
- What Emma's thoughts are on diet culture and its impact on long-term health and wellness
This conversation is packed with practical advice and inspiring stories, offering valuable insights into the unique challenges and rewards of maintaining fitness and health during the parenting journey.
Whether you're a busy parent or interested in women's health, Emma's expertise provides a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate your fitness goals.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health tips and updates, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
Disclaimer: The content provided in this podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your health routine.
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Transcript
Introduction to Emma Dowling
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast. So in today's episode, I chat with Emma Dowling. Emma is a personal trainer and she is qualified in pre and postnatal health and fitness, along with female health in general. And in this episode, she shares her expertise in so many areas. We start by talking about parenting. and how important it is to kind of model strong healthy behaviours in front of our children. Our children will do what they see, not what they're told. We talk a ah a good bit around that modelling
Balancing Parenthood and Self-Care
00:00:47
Speaker
behaviours. We talk about being busy parents and running a business and
00:00:52
Speaker
trying to manage everything like like we all do with jobs, kids and how crazy it can be. And she talks very much about, you know, just kind of being realistic about your expectations and what you we can actually manage to achieve and in a day and that doing things consistently. pays off majorly over time. Does that sound familiar? Because I think it might sound like something you might've heard from me before. But also we talk about prioritizing you and how important it is to make that little bit of time for you in your day and how everyone else in your life, your your kids, your partner, your family members, your friends, everyone will benefit from you that gets taken care of as well.
00:01:32
Speaker
We talk a good bit about her twin pregnancy. So Emma has three kids. She has an older boy and she, and she has twin girls. Her twin girls are almost three. When she was pregnant with her twin girls, Emma trained all the way up to a few days before she gave birth. And then afterwards she documented her journey back to fitness, following obviously very much step-by-step postnatal approach. And so she literally did the definition of modelling behaviours.
Fitness Advice for Pre and Postnatal Health
00:02:01
Speaker
to her clients, she walks the walk. She doesn't just talk the talk and she has some amazing advice around fitness in pregnancy and post pregnancy. We talk a good bit about training in pregnancy and, you know, what's safe, what's not.
00:02:18
Speaker
We talk about pelvic floor health, which is a huge issue for a lot of women. So if you're listening to this and, you know, it's sometimes a wee yourself when you sneeze or you can't jump in a trampoline or do any skipping or running without having a little leak, then listen up to what she has to say because she has some fantastic advice around this. We talk a bit about the gym and about pushing yourself and knowing when you're when it's time to push yourself a little bit and when it's time to maybe just show up and as you are and do what you can and getting that balance right, which can be so hard.
Nutrition and Body Image
00:02:47
Speaker
We talk about nutrition and taking the approach again of, you know, it's not all or nothing, but how can we fuel our bodies to make them healthy, to make them strong rather than it being in constant restriction? And we talk a little bit about what it's like to have that mindset growing up in the 80s and 90s, the early 2000s, where we grew up believing that we had to be smaller to be attractive, that that's women were supposed to be small and not necessarily strong and how that's changing and how it's now
00:03:17
Speaker
yeah younger girls are are striving to be strong. So yeah, we we we cover a lot. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. So without further ado, here is the episode with Emma Dowling.
00:03:33
Speaker
Emma, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. And Kate, I'm so happy to finally get this chat with you. Yeah, like we were just saying off air, just trying to get our too busy schedule so that we can actually sit down and soam have this chat. But I'm excited about this chat because there's you have a lot of expertise and and in areas that will, you know, will be really relevant to a lot of
Holistic Fitness Approach
00:03:54
Speaker
the listeners. So I'm excited to kind of dive in, talk through a few kind of female related topics, I suppose. I suppose, will we start? And do you want to tell everyone what you do? It's a bit about what got you to where you are today. Yeah. So my name is Emma. My business is Empowered Movement. I was formerly Empowered Mama. Um, my business basically is a female focused fitness business, but we like to take a very 360 kind of holistic approach to health and wellness and fitness. And so incorporating training and nutrition as well as mindset and mindfulness. Um, I suppose yoga, like all different aspects of fitness and training that people might enjoy, um, all into one.
00:04:41
Speaker
really accessible, and great value space that people can easily do at home or in their gym or wherever wherever they want to. I suppose because I'm a busy mum of three, I have a soon to be seven year old and two, soon to be three year olds. I understand that it's really hard to get out of the house to train sometimes. It's just, you know, with the commuting and all of that, the time just isn't there. So training at home can make, you know, fitness a little bit more accessible for everybody in particular, busy, busy moments at home. Yeah, definitely. And a lot of my clients would be doing home workouts. It is like, and I think it's becoming a little bit more, I suppose, widely done that it's like all you need are a few sets of dumbbells, maybe a resistance band or two, and you can get a really decent workout in at home and you can get strong at home. I totally agree with that. I think sometimes like we have this preconceived idea that training must be
00:05:39
Speaker
for an hour in the gym, three times a week or whatever, but that's not the case. I think sometimes, you know, doing those 20, 30 minutes um at home if you're following like that progressive strength program and is super effective, especially if it can increase your training frequency, which, you know, sometimes going to the gym and all of that, that is involved in doing that between childcare, commuting, traffic, like everything, it's just not feasible for so many people. Definitely. And I remember like my oldest is now 14, which is scary, 14 and my older two are 14 and 11. But when they were small and I first started getting into fitness, it
Modeling Healthy Behaviors for Children
00:06:20
Speaker
was homework. It's like I would literally either get up and do it in the morning before they'd wake up. Like I get up at 6 a.m. and get and get it done. And it was really nice, quiet time for me where, you know, the kids were not there or else if I didn't if I didn't get up and I was doing it later in the afternoon.
00:06:35
Speaker
It was, but it was great because they were, you know, they saw me do it at home. And I think that there's so much power in, especially small children, well, even the older children, like they, they take in what they see. And if they see their mom on the kitchen floor doing pushups, like that's, I think that's really cool. I love that that's kind of the norm in our house for my kids. And at the weekend only, I brought them to the gym. My husband came with us, so it was a little bit, you know, of controlled chaos. But them seeing me training and that they were literally imitating what we were doing. they were jumping and they were like trying to get up in the pool of bars. And I was like, I just love that that's normal for them, that they're just like, you know, whenever like they talk about their mom and ah like what I do, they was like, my my mom loves exercise, but I just think it's great.
00:07:21
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's amazing. i like they You can't teach that to someone without showing it. like And I think when it is so normal to to exercise, to be strong, and that's what it is, especially for you have you have a daughter as well, don't you? You have two girls, yeah. You have two girls, sorry, you two girls. for a girl in particular to see that it's normal, or not normal, like, you know, that it girls can be strong and should be strong. And like even my 11 year old is is a girl, they they hear me talk a lot about calories, and you know, a lot of this stuff, whether it's online or whether it's, you know, client check-ins. But Layla, my daughter, and actually my younger son, they understand calories as a thing, like as a thing that you need to have lots of.
00:08:01
Speaker
to be struck to be strong and to have energy. Like my smallest boy, he sees it as like, I think as he play he plays a lot of computer games on his tablet, he sees it as it's like, oh, you get loads of calories to like go faster, kind of. I think he thinks that's what it's like. your am And he'll sometimes say to me, he'd be like, mommy, how many calories have you got? Which is actually kind of embarrassing when he does it in public because I'm like, it sounds unhealthy. But I think you can, you can show children by your lifestyle what, like if they just take things um at face value, what's normal. What is normal and like that, you know, teaching them, I suppose the calories are not a bad thing. We need calories to be able to run fast. We need we needed to be able to jump high. We need to be able to go out and play with our friends, to be able to focus in school.
00:08:44
Speaker
They're the kind of things that I love to say to my older files, Jacob in particular, you know, when he won't eat his dinner or whatever, I'm like, but you're not going to be able to run as fast in football training tonight and all of that. So, yeah, I do that too. And if he's a really good game, I'm like, that's never, you had that lovely, like you ate your potatoes or you're never, I'm like, no. Yeah, no, definitely, yeah, that, you know, their dinner is their fuel and putting it to sport and being like, this is going to make you faster. This is going to make you stronger. My oldest boy now has started in the gym. He goes to the gym once a week with a personal trainer and not me because and we kill each other. He's like, he loves it, that strength. And even now he came home and he's like, ah Tom says I need to eat more protein.
00:09:27
Speaker
ah ah And I'm like, okay, so what's what's in, what are you going to find protein in? And like it just become, he's like, oh, just tell me, like, you know, tell me what to eat. But it's cool. It's so great. I overheard Jacob talking to one of his little pals the other day in the house here and Jacob was drinking some chocolate milk and he was trying to convince his friend to try some. And the friend was like, no, I don't like chocolate milk. And Jacob was like, but there's protein in it and it's really good for our muscles. Like you should try it. I was like, yes. this is great he is listening
00:10:00
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I suppose, since we're talking about our kids, I did want to talk to you a little bit about, I suppose, balancing everything as parents, because a lot of my clients, I'm sure a lot of your clients, are i trying to balance full-time jobs.
Balancing Business and Family Life
00:10:14
Speaker
They're trying to, you know, bring kids to all the different sporting activities. They're trying to, like, manage their household. Like, literally, were a lot of us, quite overloaded. What is your advice, I suppose, to manage the whole being like you're a busy business owner, how do you manage parenting and, you know, growing your business and working and doing everything, basically. It was great difficulty, but I get it done because I know when I can drop the balls, I know what balls I need to keep in the air and days I know what balls I can put down and pick up tomorrow. I think realising that you don't have to do everything all at once is is or in the one day.
00:10:56
Speaker
is really important. Knowing your limitations, adjusting your expectations of yourself, but also of your children is really, really important. And yeah, just being really realistic about what is achievable and also remembering that you, even on a busy day with work, deadlines, kids, things, you know, trying to make time for a relationship, all of these things that we kind of do, You still just be really high on that list of priorities. Even in the busy days, especially in the busy days, you need to be up there. So be that getting your walk in, be that sitting down and having a really substantial lunch that's going to fuel your day. Be that scheduling in your training session and showing up to it like it's an important appointment. Be that meeting your friend and, you know, not exercising, just enjoying some time off or getting into bed and reading your book for 10 minutes.
00:11:53
Speaker
prioritizing yourself every single day. This is not something that needs to be just done when you're at the end of your rope, when you're at the absolute end of your teed tether and can't, you know, you're you're spiraling. You need to to prevent getting to that place and just mind yourself every day. You're you're worthy of that and for yourself but also your family, your job and everything are going to benefit from you being in that really positive space. Not all of the time because let's be realistic sometimes even doing that it gets too much but most of the time that's where we should be living. Yeah and I think a huge part of this is dropping
00:12:31
Speaker
the all or nothing mindset. And this, I really think perfectionism is like the worst thing when you're looking to, you know, improve your health or actually for anything. it's Perfectionism is just a form of procrastination really. But I do think, you know, if you're trying to do everything, It's, you know, you're setting yourself up for failure. And I think that's where a lot of people go wrong. but Like it's too hard. I can't track my calories or I can't eat healthier. I can't eat more protein. I can't get my walk in and my workout in and do, and it's, they're trying to do everything. It's like, why not just do something for yourself today? What can you do? Yeah. And I think that focusing on what you can do.
00:13:09
Speaker
Stop focusing on what you can't do. We can't do loads of things, especially as parents, because we've got so many other commitments, but let's focus on what we can do and let's make that like really small, digestible thing that is kind of a non-negotiable. I think that I love setting up those non-negotiables with clients. You know, is that going to be something as small as, you know, going to bed half an hour earlier? you know, drinking two liters of water a day, like these really small things all add up and they just create such a lovely foundation for us to build on with, you know, kind of things that people might see as being more challenging obstacles, take starting a training program, all of these kind of things.
00:13:49
Speaker
Let's start small, nail those basics and build. And I think you are an absolute perfect example of this because I was following you after you had the twins and we'll talk more of it about that as well. But, and and you know, that you literally, you know, i have to you know after having you two babies to look after as well as an older child and and building yourself back up from pregnancy and trying to manage your business. And very much I would imagine having to take it in a very step by step. approach? Absolutely, absolutely. It was really was one tiny step at a time and some days no steps, some days the steps were just let's try and survive this day. I think you know I always think this as a parent and as a business owner be that you know having the t twins I had pretty complicated pregnancy in the first trimester which involved seven full weeks of complete and utter bed rest which as I'm sure you know as a self-employed personal trainer is not ideal.
00:14:47
Speaker
Okay so a little bit of a and connection error but anyway we were talking about your journey after having the twins and so I suppose that must have been quite a difficult time for you obviously a wonderful time for you as a mother and and you know in the family but your fitness so obviously you would have been really strong really fit before getting pregnant and then like I know what it's like to you know go through pregnancy And like particularly my third pregnancy um was difficult. It was a single pregnancy. It wasn't a twin pregnancy. And whereas you had to carry twins and it was so motivating watching you train. Like you trained all the way up, didn't you? to I had the twins on a Friday and I trained up until the Tuesday.
00:15:32
Speaker
Yeah, so you were in the gym, obviously modifying, but but happily shoprifying but and the keeping active, keeping strong. And then you documented, I suppose, your journey afterwards
Benefits of Staying Active During Pregnancy
00:15:46
Speaker
with getting back to gentle movement and then building it up back up to where, I suppose, where you're at now, what, nearly three years later? Yeah, I can't believe it's three years. Yeah, I trained the whole way through, apart from that kind of seven weeks that I had to go on Total Bed Rest um in the first trimester. Once I got the all clear to kind of come back and doing a little bit here and there, I just built it up really slowly. I actually used it as a time as well to completely reprogram my prenatal program because I feel I'd learned so much and so much new research had come out.
00:16:19
Speaker
since I'd recorded the first kind of edition, I suppose, of that, and probably four years prior to that. So it was a really good opportunity for me to really genuinely feel how it was to train in pregnancy again, what's realistic, you know, and bring all of that new data in as well. and So I really enjoyed that aspect of it and it kept my mind busy. And like, I love my work. I love what I do. I love building programs and connecting with and particular people who are at similar parts of the journey as I am in their fitness journeys. So and that kind of kept me motivated as well to keep going. And yeah, just the kind of mental headspace. I was also very much geared up for premature delivery and with the twins and from 29 weeks. I was basically told to have my hospital bag ready that I could be brought in at any time. You know, we were
00:17:14
Speaker
very much kind of geared up for the girls having to do some time in NICU and all of that kind of stuff. So I know from my work and you know all of the research that I've read that training in pregnancy and resistance training in pregnancy is really, really good for the babies as well as the mum. Babies actually benefit hugely from the mum being physically active in pregnancy. From a premature and birth point of view, babies who are born to women who train in pregnancy tend to have slightly higher birth weights. And, you know, from a premature point of view, even a couple of grams would make such a difference to these little babies. And and they have lower body fat, higher muscle mass, you know, loads of other things as well. But that was something that really was important to me. And so that's kind of kept me going training and as well, just knowing that even just that one little bit of
00:18:08
Speaker
research. I was like, this is enough for a reason for me to keep training because the likelihood is that the girls are going to be hurt here early. They weren't in the end. I was induced to 38 weeks. They were absolutely massive. Lucy was eight pounds and Willow was seven pounds. What? Oh my God. That's amazing. Yeah, they were really big babies, really big presenters, but I had an amazing birth experience as well. I was very lucky. I managed a vaginal delivery for the two girls. I didn't have any stitches, you know, I just had a really positive breath experience and I know that that all, not all of it, a lot of it comes down to luck, but a lot of it also comes down to staying physically active in pregnancy and keeping a really positive mindset and a resilient mindset as well, which I think you really do learn in training. I don't know if you'd agree with that, do you? Yeah, definitely. I think that's just so inspiring to hear though that, you know, that
00:19:08
Speaker
It makes, that i I think a lot of people probably don't know that information about how, not obviously how good it is for you, but how good it is for the babies and to to hear such a positive story. And I know not everyone's story is is necessarily going to be that positive, but I feel like if you're listening and you're planning on getting pregnant or you are pregnant and you're listening to this, that that's a pretty strong way to be able to or to keep you active. It's not easy pregnancy, in my opinion. Well, no, it doesn't really. Obviously, it's fantastic. But you know, it's supposed day to day, it can be pretty shit sometimes. And and
00:19:45
Speaker
Having a really, really strong eye like that, but you and I suppose with some of us with single pregnancies probably wouldn't think in the same way as you know with a twin pregnancy where you are facing like the probability of a premature birth that is a really, really um important reason to put that extra work in. But I suppose none you you don't know. i am And it's it's yeah, that was really interesting to listen to. Yeah, so it is it was kind of the don't know. I was like, sure, I have nothing to lose by doing this. Do you know? So let's go. Let's try and keep going. Now, the gym that I was training in at the time, the kind of weights room was on the third floor. And I used to have to get the lift up. I couldn't even walk up the stairs. Like, I was so huge. But I got to that weights room. When I was doing my thing as best I could, I think the personal trainers working in the gym were like, she's back again. Oh, God. Let's try and deliver babies in the gym today.
00:20:44
Speaker
No, that's absolutely brilliant. And I suppose let's talk a little bit about the misconceptions because I know that there will be a lot of people who don't have the the correct information and would think that lifting weights when you're pregnant is dangerous, that you're dump you hurt your back, you're damaging your babies, you could go into early labour if you're squatting with it when you're pregnant or whatever, you know, all these silly things that people believe. i I suppose would you share a little bit of the i suppose the science behind it for us?
00:21:16
Speaker
Training in pregnancy, yes. So training in pregnancy, once you are having a normal and uncomplicated pregnancy is an extremely positive thing that you can do for both mom and baby, as we talked about earlier.
Strength Training in Pregnancy
00:21:28
Speaker
A lot of people, I think, do you know that advice that's given out? If you didn't do it before pregnancy, don't do it now. That applies to a lot of things. In my opinion, it doesn't apply to resistance training. You can start resistance training in pregnancy again, once you're having a normal uncomplicated pregnancy, once you're training, with somebody who is qualified. And I would also say experienced, you don't want to be some newbies guinea pig when you're pregnant. so You need someone who's qualified, but also experienced working with people in pregnancy. Motherhood is like an endurance sport and that begins in pregnancy from like growing a baby, carrying a baby, birthing a baby, whatever your birth experience might look like, recovering from that.
00:22:12
Speaker
And then going into motherhood, like literally a few minutes later, do you know, like it's wild really when we think about it like what we're doing. Um, so we're lifting newborns, we're lifting bags, we're lifting all of that kind of stuff. We need to be strong. We need to be robust. We need to be able to be strong and robust with pelvic floor considerations in mind as well, you know. It's really, really important to your pelvic floor. If you are experiencing any pelvic floor dysfunction in pregnancy, postnatally, maybe like you've never had a child or aren't thinking about having children yet. If you are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, leaking, pain, pressure, pain during sex, difficulty inserting a tampon, anything like that, you need to get to a women's health physio. There is no, oh, but it's only a little bit. It's only like the odd time.
00:23:05
Speaker
If you are experiencing symptoms like that, there is something underlying that is not optimal. Very often it's a very quick fix. Sometimes it might take a little bit more time. but it's really essential for all females in particular to take that bit of information on board, I would say. With training in pregnancy, any other myths? Like, honestly- Can we talk a little bit about the pelvic floor there for a second? So are we talking about, okay, even, you know, mothers like myself years later and we still can't, like, for example, I can't bounce into trampoline without, like, weeing myself.
00:23:40
Speaker
Um, so I'm just like, oh, I did, I didn't obviously at the time do any postnatal training. So is there something that the likes of myself or other mothers listening, who's kids or older, is there anything can be done that can be done now? 100%. It is never too late. Like even if you're in your sixties and your seventies and you're still having symptoms or you start having symptoms, because very often menopause will exacerbate symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, and but it is never too late. So even if you you are that mum, he's like, Oh God, I can't do skip or I can't, you know, jump with the trampoline or the odd time. If I sneeze, like I'll get caught and just have a little leak. It's really, really common, but it's not something that you need to put up with. And it could be an indicator that things could go a little bit awry. Maybe when you do go through menopause,
00:24:33
Speaker
and because pelvic floor symptoms do happen to get a lot worse in perimenopause and postmenopause when that oestrogen drops and there's more laxity in our body. So nip it in the bud. If you are experiencing any symptoms, even like that sporadic ones, go and find out what's happening because it's not ideal what's happening. this is, you have no idea how liberating this is for me, because I genuinely, because I remember a midwife, I had my first child when I was 23. And I remember the midwife saying to me, make sure you do your pelvic floor exercises, or you know, you you'll be raging when you're 40. And now I'm nearly 40. And I'm like, God damn it, I didn't even know a pelvic, but I didn't know when I was 23. I was a teacher, I wasn't a personal trainer back then. I didn't know what a pelvic floor exercise was. And I think
00:25:21
Speaker
I actually think it's a disservice to women that we're not directed straight to a physio after we have children that it's not part of our care. Like it's it's insane because I was just like, Oh, 23 this grand just, you know, get, get on with it. And didn't really think about it. Then two more kids later, but it was the damage. I did the pelvic floor exercises after the other two, but obviously not well enough because I had, yeah. Yeah. And it's funny because, you know, kegels are not super essential, but I think The only way that we can really know what we want is a physio kind of getting in there and having a look because you could be experiencing leaking because your pelvic floor is too tight and then you're doing loads of kegels on top of that, making it tighter. It's like going around at your fist closed and then being like, my hand isn't really functioning that well anymore.
00:26:10
Speaker
because my fist is tense the whole time. So I could sense it more instead of just letting it go. So we need to find out what's going on because yes, there could be weakness, but there also could be tightness. So. Okay. Female health physio. It's like appointment being made as soon as I get home for my holidays. They have really long waiting lists. Those most of the floor PTs. So, you know, make the appointment sooner rather than later. Cause you could be waiting a while. Amazing. Okay. So like, it's is there access to this? Like. through the public health system in Ireland, or like do you have to go privately? You can go through the public health system. You will be waiting yeah months, if not maybe a year, if not more. Oh, I've waited this long. I feel like I've thrown myself on the list. yeah But there are some amazing and private ones around. and So yeah.
00:27:02
Speaker
There's the just option. They wouldn't even start naming them off because there's so many, but there's some and really, really great ones around. So I would definitely get in touch with them. And it's probably one of the best investments you will ever make for your future health. I think that's such valuable information. I think there'll be a lot of women listening to this being like, what, I don't actually have to live with weighing myself when I, when I sneeze. But now I did notice the difference that strength training made. So I, you know, my pelvic floor would have been quite weak after Jayden and Layla. And then I got started getting into fitness. And then when I got into crossfit and I started lifting heavier weights and you know, doing a lot of core work.
00:27:37
Speaker
I think I kind of accidentally fixed a lot of it. Like I remember starting in the gym and skipping and like I couldn't skip. Like I had to, the days that was skipping, I had to wear like a pad and like black leggings. And over time, as I got stronger, that went away and it wasn't an issue anymore. And I, we did a lot of core work, a lot of, you know, and I would have been really starting from scratch with lifting, you know, barbells. And and so I really think I, I did a lot of healing there. So I think what happens there and Kate is. Our pelvic floor kind of needs to be supported. So if you imagine and like your glutes, your core, your abductors, like all of those muscles, your back, all of that, everything, up all of your intercoster muscles of your ribs, your abdominals, like
00:28:22
Speaker
That is all like ah scaffolding, supporting our pelvic floor. So even if there's tightness in the pelvic floor, even if there's weakness in the pelvic floor, if we can get everything else around it a little bit more stronger and more and functional, I suppose, all it's going to do is support it. So it's brilliant. And I think that's why like ah a lot of people get a lot of success from training in my program because we really well incorporate the pelvic floor work with the strength training. giving people kind of you know a dual approach, I suppose, to healing their pelvic floor and also strengthening their total body. Yeah, that's brilliant. And and what is your thoughts when you hear like personal trainers basically training women the same way they train men, but women being small men? Do the biomechanics, in your opinion, work the same for everyone? It's hard to say because I think nearly all personal trainers, apart from a select few, actually train women like small men.
00:29:23
Speaker
because they don't know any other way because the scientific research is treating women like small men. So it's very hard for people to know what to do. Are the biomechanics the same? I would say largely, yes, I haven't trained a huge amount of men in in recent years, to be honest, but I think the training philosophies and the training principles, yes, are the same, but there is definitely a couple of series caveats there with regards pelvic floor and you know using our breath correctly when we're training so that we're not building up that intra-edominal pressure through our core and damaging our pelvic floor through lifting. I think all of that stuff is really important, like using weightlifting belts, all of that, in my opinion, is just an absolute no.
00:30:10
Speaker
This is what, this was actually going to be my next question because how I was taught to lift was to, you know, deep breath and brace pushing out. But in then I learned from someone else. um who would be trained in pre and preim postnatal, that that is not really how women should brace, am I correct? No, that is not how women should be lifting. And also men, you know, if men are having symptoms of like hernias, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, that's generally a pelvic floor issue as well. That's a pressure issue in their body. They should not be belting up and bracing and stuff through workouts. So always thinking about exhaling through the effort.
Proper Weightlifting Techniques
00:30:49
Speaker
So like say we're doing a squat, even a heavy barbell squat, I'm gonna inhale at the top, continue the inhale as I come down. And then as I'm like really pushing my feet in through the ground, standing up, I'm doing a big exhale and and then letting it all out at the top. and And that's just literally, if you think of your core, it's like a highly pressurized canister. If you were holding your breath and you were pushing pushing in with your abdominal muscles, where is that pressure gonna go? It's going to go down into the next week's point in our, in that highly pressurized canister down into our pelvic floor. Um, which like is obviously our anus, our vagina, and our urethra. That is where that pressure is going to go. So for us to continually do that, like over years, plus adding this really crazy heavy load sometimes. What do we expect is going to happen?
00:31:43
Speaker
Yeah. wow No, it's mad. You know, just a few simple adjustments of that. Exhale as we come up. Are we going to hit the same weights? No. Am I going to lift as much as I could if I belted up and, you know, attempted like a push press or something with that belt on? No. Does it matter? Like, what are might go my goals? My goals are to be functional, to be constant, to be able to stand up, you know, go from a seated position to a standing position. to be well, to be functional in my life now, but also in my future. And and getting an extra five kilos or 10 kilos or two kilos on the bar, like who actually cares? Let's like keep the big picture in mind here.
00:32:25
Speaker
Yeah, and I think this can be the issue that a lot of people are not clear on their goals. Like what do you want from fitness? What do you want from your gym sessions? Whether it's group training like a CrossFit style or whether you're going into the gym and your headphones doing your own thing, your body doesn't know what weight it's lifting. So you're going by what feels difficult, make sure you're doing things right. and But I think in a class like in a class setting is great, obviously, because you've got and you've got a coach, hopefully as a good coach, that can you know help you with stuff like bracing and you know how to do that properly if they don't. But do there's a lot of coaches that are teaching it wrong. There's also that point of not, and I remember this being you know from being in in classes, that you're looking at what other people are lifting and you're like, oh, I want to lift that, I want to be stronger.
00:33:08
Speaker
How are they deadlifting 100 kilos and I can only deadlift 65? And then you're, then you need to remember, you're like, no, well, I only weigh 60 kilos and I've, I have deadlifted 65 or whatever. And that person might weigh more than I do or been training longer than I am. And it it can be very easy to compare yourself to others. And I think this is where people start making silly mistakes that end up causing them injuries. Yeah, absolutely. It is like, I always think that because like when it comes to training, it's such a huge part of my identity. between CrossFit, I was a competitive Olympic weight lifter for about three years, like in a highly competitive training environment with some of the strongest girls I've ever trained with. Like I wouldn't go near their numbers in a million years. It was so good for me, so good for me. And even though ah it was really hard at times, cause I was like, I want to do what they're doing. And it's like, my body just couldn't do it. So from going to that through the pregnancies, all of that, the number one thing, I think every time I go through the door,
00:34:05
Speaker
is check your ego. Check your ego as you go to the door because no one cares what I lift in the gym. No one cares what I do in the gym. Everyone only cares about what they're doing. So if you can just keep that little ego, that little gremlin inside that's going, pull a belt on, you'll get an extra 10 kilos. If you can just keep that little guy in check, you know, you'll be fine. Yeah, and I think sometimes when I'm in the gym, it can be hard-canted too. Like, I will sometimes be like, am I pushing myself hard enough? Or am I, you know, taking it handy on myself? Or am I actually working hard enough and I'm just trying to push myself harder and I don't need to? Sometimes that can be a difficult one to to balance cant it balance. It's something I really struggle with. And
00:34:44
Speaker
I actually I don't actually do it now but for a long time in that kind of time that I was coming back after having the twins I kept to try a very detailed training diary and it was like looking at where was I in my menstrual cycle, how did that affect my performance, and how were the kids sleeping, how was I sleeping, how were my stress levels, how was work going, how were my relationships you know with my partner, with my friends, with my family all of that kind of stuff And seeing how that kind of corroborates into my training. So now I know I go into training like tomorrow, I say, and it's like, okay, well, I was up with the kids four times last night. I'm a week three in my cycle. Like all of these things, I have the dad, I have the information on my own body that I know today is a day you can push. Let's push and see where we're at. Keep a note of how we feel later on after training and how we feel tomorrow.
00:35:35
Speaker
Or today is a day like, you know, let's just keep pull back a small, but reduce the weight in the bar a little bit. And, you know, maybe instead of going out running, um, in the workout, hop on a bike or do something a little bit more at low impact and less stressful on the body. So I feel like I'm so heavily armed with information on how to train my own body now that finding that balance is a lot easier for me. And we really try and do this with our clients and our check-ins. And I know you do as well. trying to get them to see the patterns in their own body so that they know this is a week where I'm going to push. This is the week where, you know, work isn't as busy and whatever, like whatever it might be. and in the The menstrual cycle I think is a huge part of it as well. and
00:36:21
Speaker
so to helping them get the information and kind of interpret their own but information because life is so busy. It's very hard for us to sit down and, you know, so actually see the pattern. So I think having a coach to help you do that is really, really important. Yeah. And it really comes back to that all or nothing mindset as well. Like, you know, that it's You don't have to go and smash your workout every time. Some weeks when you've got a lot going on, whether it is to do with your cycle or whether it's to do with your home environment or any like any type of life stresses, that sometimes just showing up and just keeping that when you don't, just go showing up, going to the gym when you don't feel like it. And like the amount of times I've gone to the gym and said to myself, I'm just here to move.
00:37:03
Speaker
Yeah. Or I'm just going to do 15 minutes and see how I get one. And then half an hour later, you're like, do you know what? I might do another 10. Or do you know, it is just adjusting those expectations of yourself and finding where you're at on any given day. I think as females as well, our bodies are like, it's kind of like, I feel with me anyway, like I have two bodies a month. Do you know, it's like my follicular phase body where I'm like, pushing, work is great, I can actually get a sentence out in a podcast. So i've been like, for what was the question? yeah All of these things versus, you know, my luteal face body where I'm literally just so oh tired, just showing up, reducing the weights.
00:37:45
Speaker
kind of more there just to kind of see my friends and anything else, you know, increasing my calories, increasing my carbohydrate intake, maybe selecting different types of training on certain days if I need to, maybe skipping a session and staying at home and like, I'm actually going to use this hour to hop into bed and read my book, or I might just do a short homework instead. i think it's just such powerful information. I'm almost pissed off that we weren't taught this in school. That, you know, that I like, ah I went through definitely, I would say the first 32 years of my life, not understanding that. Yeah. From like, so many different points of view from like, a physiological point of view, a psychological point of view, like all of that, I just feel kind of a little bit hard done by, you know? Yeah, definitely.
00:38:33
Speaker
This ties in nicely with nutrition as well. like that It's the same thing. like It's not black and white, and it's not always about being perfect. And it's not always but like, I have to stick to these calories, or I have to have everything perfectly. Sometimes, especially coming up to your period, you might just want a bit of fucking chocolate. like And that's OK. And it's OK to have chocolate every day if you want. That's fine. But it's about getting having that flex flexibility. And it doesn't have to be black and white. And there are days where you're just surviving. And there's other days where you're like, i um I can take on the world. Yeah, I think just yeah learning that and accepting it is so powerful, so powerful. I love that in our WhatsApp group as well with you know my clients. like When the girls like start talking about this stuff, i but like I'm having a really crappy day and
00:39:20
Speaker
they start kind of like troubleshooting for each other. I'm just like, oh my God, it's just so fab. You're just like- Yeah, it's so empowering. I love it. So gorgeous. I'm like, we all have like a little group of cheerleaders there in our pocket, just been like, do you know, if you can do it, like we're behind you, but like, you know, some days it's okay to like not do it. Yeah. And I think as mothers, um, a lot of us, like there's very few of us that are lazy. That's, it's not like, if we're not reaching our goals, it's not because we're lazy. If anything, we're trying to do too much. And I think what you have just said there about listening to your body, knowing what you need in relation to everything else that's going on is hugely empowering. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, it it is hard to remember, remember it as well. Sometimes, you know, I was, um,
00:40:07
Speaker
away on like a work event there recently. And the few days coming up to it, I was like, Oh, my God, I just like I'm just so like, I can't wait. And I'm just not feeling good in my clothes. And I was like, What is wrong with me? I was like, I just had my period, like, I should feel really good. But I got to the event. And that night I got my period. And I was like, the weeks just get away from you sometimes. Yeah. I was like, Oh, this is what's going on. Okay. You got out the window. And you know, I'm not useless. you know, all of these like imposter syndrome things coming in. It's just like, oh, it's just my period. Okay, that's fine. We'll continue. Yeah, we can keep going. But with training, before we finish to tie up what we were saying about training. So you you do you still do CrossFit? Is that how how you like to train? Yeah, I love to do CrossFit. So I do CrossFit just twice a week. Like I'm not able for any more physically
00:41:00
Speaker
time-wise and in all departments two a week is plenty for me and then after that I might do a little strength workout at home or some exercise snacks. I find those exercise snacks just brilliant just in 10 minutes or 15 minutes here and there. I'm trying to get out walking most days and That's pretty much it. Like it's very simple, really. Do you know? And when I am going to CrossFit, I very much cherry pick the days that I go to. So we get our program a week in advance. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to go to the squat day and I'm going to the deadlift day. And what else do I like here? Okay. The running day, I'm going to miss that one. So I really do keep in mind that I'm going there to enjoy myself.
00:41:43
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. You're not trying to win the CrossFit Games. Or like I'm not there to hustle for the grind. I'm just like, I'm just here to enjoy myself. Yep. That's the goal. Keep it keeps strong and enjoy yourself. And and ah like training, it's funny because like I've obviously trained in a CrossFit environment. I'm now kind of training in a body but bodybuilding gym. And so you're going to get seen seen both worlds, like, and, um, it it can be very easy to get caught up in the training to look a certain way. and I think it's really, really important to remember that at the end of the day, our training really should be, like you said earlier, to set ourselves up for later in life. and you know Functional training really is most important. but so you know Can you sit down off a chair and stand back up when you're older? Can you reach the top shelf? It is about squats and
00:42:39
Speaker
Yeah, training in a way that's going to actually benefit you day to day. Yeah, I fully plan on living to a hundred, so I really want to be functional. Functionally living like till I'm a hundred years old. That's my long-term goal. If I don't make it to a hundred, I'll be actually Devo. Really, really want to. Yeah, no, that's my goal too. We can hang out. And we can go to the gym together because I plan to still go to the gym then. Yes, a hundred percent. And I heard such a great thing recently and it was like talking about not your lifespan, but your health span.
00:43:10
Speaker
So like the amount of years of healthy years that you have, the amount of years that you're well, that you're functional, that you're living independently. And like that was summed it up perfectly. Yeah. And I think sometimes that, you know, that the old age can seem very far away, but like I'm only 38 now. And I must say I'm starting to feel some aches and pains. Like, I'm like, okay, right. I'm so glad that I am training because, you know, that is left hip there starting to act up a little bit. If I didn't, if I wasn't as strong, that would probably be worse or, you know, that I think it's really important too and yeah to, to... Yeah, I'm really accepting like that those aches and pains are coming for us all.
00:43:47
Speaker
you know, I'm starting to feel like my elbows and stuff like that as well, just getting some aches and pains. But as I only said to my husband view of the other day, and I was like, I can either be weak and in pain or strong and in pain. So the pain is going to be there regardless, I'm pretty sure, you know, for most of us in some aspect of ah in some part of our body. So let's just be strong as well. Yeah, be strong and be in control of what we can control as well. You know, our our nutrition, like in I know i but we won't dive too much into nutrition. I'd be conscious of time as well, but that's looking at what we eat as not, as not in a restrictive way, but in a, what can I put into my body to fuel my body? And we talked about this in relation to kids at the start, but it it's, it's very true, you know, that what, what can I give to myself today to live, to feel good. And that's going to help, you know, build these building blocks, these foundations for, you know, a healthy future as well.
00:44:46
Speaker
who Yeah. Nutrition is a tricky one, I always think. And I think and somewhere, something that a lot of clients have a huge block with. And I think even though trainers like me and you are like, I the exact same mantra, I preach off the same hymn sheet as you Kate, like, let's think about fueling our bodies. Let's think about building muscle. Let's think about getting our fiber and our fruit and vegetables, all of that. Let's have the treats as well, because we know that food is also so much more than fuel. It's there to be enjoyed. It's part of celebrations. It's part of so much. There's so much, like,
00:45:26
Speaker
positive experience so experiences around food as well, that even though we're saying to clients, this is what we believe, this is what we're trying to teach you, they're so ingrained in that diet culture, in that restrictive mentality that was so rife through like the 80s and 90s when we were growing up, even I'd say that the 2000s, that it's really hard. like It's kind of like you're trying to, it's like a great unlearning early with clients that you're like, I know this is what you know, but it's not the only way. let's like It takes weeks sometimes to turn people around, even months to be like, to turn that mindset around. But when they get it, it's just,
00:46:09
Speaker
such a ah liberating mindset for them to to get into. And I think one that will serve them, not only for the course of the time that they're training with us, but long beyond it. And hopefully they're telling their friends, they're telling their kids, do you know, this is what it should be. Not how little can I put into my body? How do I make every single meal that I eat lower in calories? You know, it's just so much more than that. Yeah. And I think a lot of clients can be aware, like, you know, as that they start to work with me, can be aware of that mindset that's so ingrained in them. And they know that, like they know the information that they need to know. And it can be so hard.
00:46:52
Speaker
to overcome, but it just takes repetition and they're overcoming it. and I think to be patient with yourself while your mindset is changing. you know If this is in your subconscious mind from growing up, being told that attractive is being the smallest you can possibly be, or you know that you everything should be low fat or low calorie, that takes time. Even though you know different now, it takes time for that really to reprogram. Yeah, it is like a reprogramming. That's such a great way to put it. Yeah, definitely. And I think I do, like, I feel hopeful. I feel that I look at the younger generation. This this makes me sense. so older i I look at the younger generation, but when I'm in the gym and there's a lot of young girls in, in the gym that I go to and.
00:47:32
Speaker
they are all there to get strong or to grow glutes or whatever. But like, even if it is a bit body focused, I suppose when you're in your 20s, it is kind of like you want to look good and you know, in our 30s and 40s and 50s, we also want to look good. That's fine. There's something wrong with wanting to look good. So the girls are there and they're in their little shorts and their crop tops and they're looking in the mirror at their glutes. But I think it's fantastic in some ways, because they're looking to get bigger. Yeah. Yeah. and So I'm hopeful for the future that it is about girls being strong and girls being fast and running is the new, isn't it? This seems to be the new influencer craze as well, doesn't it? Everyone's out running now. Yeah, that won't be me. No. Me neither. I went for a lovely walk this morning and look it was really early. There was no one around and I was like, I could run, but I won't.
00:48:24
Speaker
I like to still enjoy it. I know I did this for a while. I started running and only short distances. It was more to kind of, you know, to help with kind of my training when I was still doing CrossFit and I'd go for like three kilometer run or four kilometer run. And I remember always running and being like, I wish I was walking and enjoying the scenery. Okay. Yeah. So like, yeah, it's definitely not for me. Whereas I could go out, I could walk all day long. Love it. and But yeah, no, running's not for me. Same. totally on the same him sheet there as well. Right, last question. What does the word health mean to you? So the word health, what does that mean to me? So the word health, I suppose, is more than the body, it is more than the mind, it is the body, mind and soul all together, all working in harmony, but in a place of balance, in a place of happiness. And and
00:49:19
Speaker
in a place of feeling good in our everyday, in our body, in our mind, in our soul, and also understanding that that's not going to be like that every day, being able to give ourselves grace to show up exactly as we are. But I think, you know, that is what all of us should be kind of aiming for in whatever way that we feel, you know, we can show up and in those three realms. Yeah, great answer. I think that's so true. That there's the the combination combination of the three and also that that aspect of of accepting yourself as you are and showing up as you are. And that, yeah, you might want to get better or stronger or faster or thinner or whatever it is, but that you need to be able to look at yourself and be like, I'm perfect just as I am as well. Yeah. And I'm and i'm not, ah I'm unafraid to show up exactly as I am. Yeah. This is it. This is what I've got to take it away. Yeah, exactly. Quite, quite liberating when you can get there. And I know we all have our ups and downs with it, but when we're in that mindset, you really do feel like you can take on the world. Yeah. Do you know, it is, it's great. And I think as well, I, I'm certainly in a place where I'm like, exactly as I said, this is what I can offer. This is what I have. Take it or leave it. And if the world doesn't want what I have, I'm still very happy with it. And, yeah you know, it's all good.
00:50:43
Speaker
That's so motivating. Great place to finish. Emma, before we finish up, at where, and if people want to check you out and look you up online, where's the best place to catch you? I'd say on Instagram, I'm at EmpoweredMovement.ie. And then our website is www.empoweredmovement.ie. Yeah. And yeah, so check Emma out and that she's got loads of, like you do, there's online classes and everything included in your memberships, isn't there? Yeah. So in our, in our memberships and across the course, actually all of our package, we have our prenatal program or postnatal program. We have a monthly subscription, um, with kind of beginner workouts, like strength workouts, more advanced strength workouts, but also through all of our programs, we have Yoga Pilates bar.
00:51:28
Speaker
and sweat classes all done live, but everything is saved because we know we're busy moms, we might not make it to class on time. So everything is kept there and we do, you know, regular challenges and stuff like that as well, just to really get that community vibe and support and coaching check-ins as well. Amazing. Emma, thank you so much for your time and for your expertise. I've learned loads. I'm going to book that physio appointment now. and definite Thanks so much. Talk to you soon. what you soon thanks I just want to say thank you so much for listening to the podcast. It really means so much to me that there are people out there actually listening to what I have to say and to the conversations that I'm having with others. So thank you so much. If you are enjoying the podcast, could you please make sure that you are subscribed? And if not, if you could hit that subscribe button, it really does make that much of a difference. Also, if you would like to leave a review
00:52:24
Speaker
on any of the episodes that you listen to that you particularly enjoy. I would love to hear what you have to say. And also, if there's an episode that you've enjoyed, please do share it on your social media, in your WhatsApp groups, with your friends. If you're sharing it on your stories, please tag myself in it and whoever I'm interviewing. And this would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you're interested in working with me and my wonderful team, please do you contact me about applying for coaching. So you can contact me at Kate Hamilton Health at gmail dot.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all Kate Hamilton Health, and you will be able to apply for coaching. We can organize to have a chat and see if it's a good fit for you and get you moving towards your goals.