Disclaimer: I received access to the Oh Baby! Fitness Certification in exchange for promoting their program and classes on social media. All opinions are my own.
Oh Baby! Fitness is a certification to help people interested in prenatal and postnatal fitness develop their expertise. You can complete the class the completely online, at your own pace. Then you have the opportunity to attend a LIVE workshop, meet the founders, and apply what you have learned. You can learn more about the Oh Baby! Fitness program in my previous post. I was so excited for the opportunity to meet the Oh Baby! Fitness founders and have the opportunity to apply everything I learned online.
One of the core values of OhBaby! Fitness is creating an environment where women can feel comfortable and build a community. We kicked off our day with intros, among us were a labor and delivery nurse from New Orleans, 2 new moms - sisters from Tennessee and Virginia, an Oh Baby! Fitness pilates instructor, an OBF Yoga instructor, a mom to be/fitness enthusiast, me, and founders Kathleen and Clare. If you have not read their stories you should, OBF founders. They both have amazing stories and are so passionate about creating a supportive community for moms.
Prenatal and Postnatal Key Points
We covered all the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, psychological changes, physiological changes, possible ailments, recommended modifications, and goals for each trimester. Here are a few highlights from the workshop.
Benefits of Exercise During and After Pregnancy
- relieves common pregnancy complaints
- quicker recovery from labor
- less postpartum depression
Physiological Changes
- increased hormones
- changes in weight
- postural changes
Psychological Changes
- adjusting to pregnancy
- fatigue
- changes in mood
We had the opportunity to ask questions and get clarification on any of the subject matter that was new to us. The founders did a great job elaborating on some complicated physiological changes and using examples that we could easily relay to our clients. All of the information was very specific no fluff, they taught us exactly what we would need to know to feel comfortable assessing clients, educating clients, and providing modifications.
Practical Application
Let me just say I love hands on learning. It can be intimidating to be put on the spot in front of a room of people you just met, but that is the reality of teaching classes too. Kathleen would present symptoms of 1 of the conditions we had discussed and we had to assess the possible condition, educate the client about what was going on physiologically, and provide appropriate modifications. As she went around the room to each participant I would listen to here present a symptom and practice how I would asses, educate, and modify. When it was finally my turn to go I was surprised by how nervous I was, but we did such a thorough job reviewing the material I was able to recall most of the information immediately. Each person was able to practice at least 3 times during the practical, we covered more than 15 possible conditions. Everyone was very supportive and if we missed anything in our assess, educate, modify demonstration Clare, Kathy, and fellow classmates provided additional prompts. It was a very supportive environment. It was great practice for what we would be expected to do during an actual class.
We also practiced self assessing and partner assessed diastasis recti. Diastasis Recti is abdominal separation occurring along the rectus abdominus. It is fairly common in pregnancy and occurs as the baby grows and your abdominal muscles reach the limit of their elasticity. Detecting this separation can help you determine appropriate modification for abdominal exercise.
Kathleen also demonstrated a few Mom and Me exercises that we could incorporate in a postnatal fitness class.
What's Next
There are many ways to incorporate your new found knowledge. Apply what you have learned and incorporate it in your own fitness routine. Combine your new knowledge with your group fitness or personal training certifications. Become a licensed Oh Baby! Fitness Instructor. Here is more information on the licensing process if that is something you're interested in pursuing, Oh Baby!Fitness License . For me, I'm incorporating my new found prenatal expertise into my personal training, group fitness, and health coaching. Oh and for making sure me and baby have a happy healthy pregnancy.
Are you a prenatal/postnatal fitness specialist?
I would love to hear about your experiences in the field.
I look forward to the new doors this experience will open for me.
Health and Happiness,
Larissa
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