1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,600 Welcome to Manifestation, Motivation and Passion. If you're looking to transform your life, 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:16,880 this is the podcast for you. It's all about improving yourself on the inside to see transformation 3 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:24,240 on the outside. I look at how to find and improve motivation and manifest lasting changes. 4 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:30,680 Thank you so much for joining me today. Today on Women Empowering Women, we're talking 5 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:36,360 physical health and wellbeing with Emma from Ulala Mummy. Emma completed a Bachelor of 6 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:43,400 Science and Exercise in 2001 and started her career as an exercise physiologist. Thanks 7 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,960 for joining me today, Emma. Perhaps you can start by telling us what drew you to a career 8 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,800 in fitness. Great. Thanks for having me, Quinn. I have 9 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:57,440 a real strong passion for health and fitness and even as a younger child I've always exercised. 10 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:02,200 So I guess it was just something that I was interested in and thought I could see myself 11 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:10,040 helping other people enjoy the same passion that I had. When I graduated, I wasn't quite 12 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:15,320 sure. I moved into corporate health first, so I worked a lot with corporates and delivered 13 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:20,640 a healthy lifestyle program with another fitness company. After this, I decided that it was 14 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,840 time to specialise a little bit more in the aged care and help those that maybe haven't 15 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:31,280 got the opportunity or are still needing to stay active and as independent as possible. 16 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:37,760 So that's where I kind of moved into. Then I moved into the medical field and worked 17 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,240 mainly with people that were suffering from chronic illness and medical conditions that 18 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:47,160 required that one-on-one help and direction with their exercise so they could get the 19 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:52,720 attention that they needed before I fell pregnant. So that's where I kind of stopped with that 20 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,320 area and then Ulala Mummy came about. That sounds like quite an achievement. 21 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:05,000 And then Ulala Mummy started. And Ulala Mummy, you welcome children as well. 22 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,920 That's right. So it came about because having children of my own, they didn't really want 23 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:15,240 to go into creation and I also wanted to get back and help other mums find a balance in 24 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,800 their life after having children. So I thought it would be a great opportunity to deliver 25 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:25,600 classes where mums could come along and bring their babies and children in a safe environment 26 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,520 where they were exercising by their side. So if they needed to pay some attention to 27 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,640 their children while they're exercising or I could help out in some way, I thought it 28 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:41,880 would be a great opportunity to do so. And it sounds like a great way to get children 29 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,440 active as well. Do you incorporate any children's activities? 30 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:51,640 It's a win-win really. The little kids actually become my best friends as well. And we have 31 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:57,120 picnics set up. They get a free play date. They make new friends. They run around. They 32 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:01,920 cheer their mum on. We're always saying, run mum, run. And they participate as much as 33 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:07,880 they can. There's always a ball there for them to play with. Babies get tummy time and 34 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,880 the mums can relax and they actually enjoy the process of talking with other mums and 35 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,760 sharing their experience with motherhood as well as exercising. 36 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:20,960 And what a positive way to demonstrate to your children that exercise is a good thing 37 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:25,960 and it's beneficial. 100%. Yeah. We see the kids squatting and doing burpees all the 38 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:31,080 time. I wish I had have kept those up. It would have been a lot easier now. Yeah, that's 39 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,760 it. So for those that are just beginning, proactive approach that we can take to get 40 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,560 into the activities and what's the best timeframe to go for? 41 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:46,080 Right. So depending on whether it's following an injury or starting exercise for the first 42 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,880 time, because there's many people that have never had an interest in exercise and for 43 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:54,400 one reason or another, they decide that it's probably time to get into that. Or those that 44 00:03:54,400 --> 00:04:01,400 have had babies and they're coming back first child or second child perhaps. Obviously it 45 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:07,520 is important that you have your medical doctor checkup, just a general checkup. If you've 46 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,560 had a baby, it's most important that you've had your six week check with your obstetrician 47 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:16,720 and given the all clear. It also depends whether you've had a natural birth or a cesarean as 48 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,160 well. So that can sometimes take a little bit longer. The most important thing is that 49 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:26,760 you start slowly. If you try and rush something, you've got these major fitness goals, it's 50 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:31,960 only going to set you back a little bit longer if you push yourself too fast too soon. So 51 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:36,880 I always encourage the mothers like I say, or even the dads, we have dads that come along 52 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:42,480 as well to the fitness classes. Just to get their checkup first, if they're starting for 53 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,520 the first time, I like to have a good chat with them before we get going. Everyone completes 54 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:52,840 our health lifestyle questionnaire and a medical assessment from myself prior to their first 55 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:58,560 training session. Then we can build up from there. That's where we normally start just 56 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,240 through the paperwork process and the chat over the phone so I get to know the individual 57 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,440 a little bit more. 58 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:11,400 You briefly mentioned injury in there. So if someone is recovering from injury, is going 59 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,680 in the pool one of the best situations? 60 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:20,280 Yes, so depending on what the injury is. I deal a lot with people that have maybe had 61 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:24,680 sporting injuries, a lot of the moms are starting back netball for the first time and rolling 62 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:33,280 ankle. I deal a lot with rolled ankles, calf strain, tight shoulder muscles or shoulder 63 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,720 injuries and things like that. So I always say that it's actually important to find balance 64 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:44,520 and variety with your exercise program. It's important to mix up your usual routine, maybe 65 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,600 something different for the body. So this might mean that if you're a runner and you 66 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:54,400 spend a day swimming instead of your usual run back to back run or trying a variety of 67 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,440 activities will give the muscle group some time to recover as well. Our risk of injury 68 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:05,840 is lower when we do a variety of activities. So definitely to take the weight off the body. 69 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:10,320 The swimming is a great idea. However, if you're suffering from a shoulder injury, then 70 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,440 it's obviously important that you increase some walking or some stationary bike riding. 71 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,840 So depending on the injury will depend on the type of exercise program that you should 72 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:23,520 be engaging in. So if you've got a shoulder injury, maybe focus on some leg exercises 73 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,720 so you're still getting some exercise that you're just not putting pressure on the one 74 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:32,600 that's recovering. Correct. But there will also be a rehab program that's involved with 75 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,640 a shoulder injury. So there would be a light resistance band and they would be working 76 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:42,400 on resistance exercises, increasing the resistance load that they would be taking into that muscle 77 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:48,800 group. Yeah, perfect. And you mentioned pregnancy before. So we know it's okay for women to 78 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:54,680 continue doing exercise, but are there any exercises that or activities that pregnant 79 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,520 women shouldn't be doing? Yeah, a good question. What happens is a lot of people decide as 80 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,720 soon as they get pregnant, wow, I'm going to start an exercise program for the first 81 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,160 time, which is not ideal. It is important to move. It's just not important to go all 82 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,720 out gung-ho when you're just starting for the first time. If you are somebody that has 83 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,960 always exercised and you've always been a runner or a gym goer, it's okay to keep going 84 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:23,560 with those exercises. Your body will tell you when enough is enough. You will also find 85 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:28,280 that the impact, everybody's body changes at different rates and different times. You'll 86 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:33,360 find that the pelvic floor muscles, everything starts to change. Your ligaments and tendons 87 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,520 start to loosen with all the different hormones coming into the body. So therefore you're 88 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:44,640 more prone to injury. It's really important that you work through and slowly decrease 89 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:48,320 the amount of impact that you're doing on the body. The running may have to stop and 90 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:53,200 you might be on a stationary bike or a cross trainer or stepper or something like that 91 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:58,440 rather than that high impact running and the contact sports will also stop. It's important 92 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:05,200 that people maintain their pelvic floor exercises and abdominal exercise will also change. However, 93 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:09,680 that doesn't mean you have to give up doing core exercises. It's just not your typical 94 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:14,320 lying flat on your back because of the oxygen supply for the baby and crunching. That will 95 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,600 not help during pregnancy. 96 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:22,840 As far as pelvic floor exercises, do you do a bit of Pilates in there as well? 97 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:28,200 We do a lot of resistance work. I have a lot of women that come through with me. They'll 98 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,280 fall pregnant, they'll tell me, they'll give me their little wink, wink, let me know that 99 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:36,320 they're pregnant so they don't want to tell the whole class which is fine. I'll give them 100 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:41,640 alternative exercises. Those that have just told me they're pregnant, they may only be 101 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:47,360 early stages like four weeks pregnant that they tell me and they won't really want anyone 102 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:53,880 to really know until about 12 weeks. We do a lot of Superman planks. I just basically 103 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:59,280 cut them out from doing their abdominal work and I'll give them standing exercises. I'll 104 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:05,880 always emphasize squeezing their pelvic floor muscles, whole three counts. We do a little 105 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:11,000 bit of ball work as well and we do some elastic work. It's really important that they maintain 106 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:15,520 their squats and their lunges and their upper body strength and everything like that because 107 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:20,000 that will help with labor and birth and the recovery rate as well. It's important to keep 108 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:24,280 them going as long as they can and it might be that they stop running at a certain point 109 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,640 because they're uncomfortable or their pelvis hurts or they're getting lower back pain. 110 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:33,840 We just listen to each individual basically and their needs as they go. 111 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,960 You mentioned earlier on in the conversation that you also used to work with the elderly. 112 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:43,400 For anyone that's listening, are there any exercises that they can be doing at home just 113 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:48,800 as an active approach to keeping their mother and daughter up? 114 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:53,120 I just absolutely love working with the elderly and I actually run two fitness classes a week 115 00:09:53,120 --> 00:10:00,120 on a Tuesday and I work at 10 o'clock for 50 plus. I have about 18 to 20 members in 116 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:07,120 a session and work on range of movement. We work on balance, flexibility, independence 117 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:13,120 and we use dumbbells. We use medicine balls. I think we cooperate as much as we possibly 118 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:20,120 can to keep them as independent as possible and avoid falls which is our main basis. Once 119 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:26,120 we have a fall sometimes it's facilitated and we end up in aged care as a result. We 120 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,120 keep everybody as strong as we can and independent as possible. 121 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:35,120 That's a great way there. Great. With winter coming up, whereabouts do you do your… 122 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:40,120 We try and stay out until the winter. The thing is I think in the 10 years I've been 123 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:46,120 operating probably on a couple of times due to severe weather. I have accident falls so 124 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:51,120 I've been up in Melbourne. I've got a lot of experiences there. He's always allowed 125 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:57,120 me to do that. I also use the Seventh Day Advent Church Hall in Pelmyra so I have another 126 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:04,120 hall there. If possible we try and use undercover areas. I often run sessions from my own home 127 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:09,120 in Attedale where I've got a small private gym. I also like to go under sporting clubs, 128 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:14,120 verandas basically, so we still get the fresh air and we still get that feeling of being 129 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,120 in the outdoors and in that community environment where we encourage the community to participate 130 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:23,120 as much as possible. Fantastic. If anyone wants to contact you, 131 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:27,120 what's the best way to go about it? Most people like to contact me through Instagram 132 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:36,120 or Facebook or the website so I have contact details on there. It's just www.ulalaamummy.com.au 133 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:42,120 all one word. You can shoot me an email at emma at ulalaamummy.com.au and I'll get 134 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:52,120 back to you as soon as possible. I'm Quinn Carnegie and I hope you enjoyed this 135 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:58,120 week's episode of Manifestation, Motivation and Passion. I'm so thrilled you chose to 136 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:04,120 spend time listening and would be even more grateful if you left a positive review. And 137 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:09,120 if you found value, no doubt your family and friends will too. I'd love it if you share 138 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,120 it with them. Thanks again!