Yes it is possible to stay fit, motivated and driven with a foot and ankle injury or surgery. There is PLENTY to keep you occupied! My new course 'Stay Fit with a Foot and ankle Injury' will give you complete guidance throughout. Go to https://kimsaha.thinkific.com/courses/stay-fit-with-foot-and-ankle-injury (copy into browser). All advice and pictures are taken from this course. 

This article describes how to keep yourself psychologically moti...
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What does a Physio and Fintness Instructor do when she gets Injured? 

So when I fell down the stairs and twisted my foot underneath me I was devistated. I had 3 kids to get to school, a jam packed day of  Pilates classes, HiiT classes, Physio appointments, home chores, relatives staying and more!

The first things that went through my head were those people who walk around on a broken foot and then later find it’s complicated things them doing so. I quickly realised I had way too much on t...

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POSTNATAL FITNESS: 

 

When is it safe to start regaining your fitness after having a baby? 

 

It is safe to exercise from 6 weeks postnatal after your GP check. Although these initial stages are just extensions of everyday movements so shouldn’t cause any problems with your body, however if you do feel anything you are unsure about then you should go and get it checked by your GP or better still a physiotherapist.  

 

Why is it important to regain fitness after having a baby? 

 

Once you’ve had a...

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It is normal to feel tired throughout your pregnancy and sometimes exercise is the last thing on your mind but it is very important you keep your body moving and maintain a basic level of fitness throughout. Some days will be easier than others so roll with it and don’t be too hard on yourself. 

One good way of sneaking it in is to fit exercise into your everyday life. You could decide to walk home from work a few times per week. Take the stairs instead of the lift, within reason of course!,...

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Intro:

As physiotherapist, ex-athlete, fitness professional and mum of 3 I’m very practiced at goal setting when it comes to my multiple journeys back to fitness and that of my clients. You’re probably familiar with the concept of SMART goals, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed. This structure can be applied to the return to fitness and the post natal journey.

Specific:

Your goal should be something you want to achieve… something you feel strongly...

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Firstly I bet each and every coach has been told their athletes need to do Pilates and every athlete has been told at some point in their career that Pilates would help either after injury or to enhance performance.

I also believe that most of you have resisted doing it! and I don't blame you!! I have been a serious athlete and have been a physiotherapist for as long as I remember and I have certainly questioned its place and effectiveness within elite sport. 

So... why did I doubt it? 

Before d...
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Non-Impact HiiT-Pilates

What is it? 
HiiT- Pilates is a typical 'HiiT' workout of 3x 30s bursts of 5 different High Intensity Exercises. The Pilates comes in during the 'rest' periods in-between the 30s bursts. The purpose of the Pilates is to connect with the core muscles during the rest in order to use the body more efficiently during the High Intensity Bursts. The Pilates Exercise is always relevant to the movement pattern needed for the HiiT Exercise. 

What is Non-Impact HiiT Pilates? 
Norma...
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Many people I treat travel with work and it seems to be a real issue with maintaining fitness. Routine is a very important factor that encourages people to maintain regular exercise and regular exercise is the key to getting fit, staying fit and loosing weight.

So if you travel a lot then it may be a good idea to introduce some hiit workouts without the use of equipment that can be done anywhere.

HiiT - Pilates is a workout that has 2 elements... The HiiT element is a high intensity exercise wh...
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In my pilates classes I like to work on abdominals intensively and safely to fatigue.
When doing crunches the overall aim is to shorten the distance from the front lower ribcage to the front upper pelvis. These muscles become long and lower in tone with pregnancy, weight gain and poor posture. Variations of a crunch with the deeper activation of the transversus abdominus (corset muscle) will help to shorten and tighten this area.

However! I'm constantly told that people struggle to get a 'burn'...
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What Is HiiT Pilates?
HiiT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. When I first heard of HiiT Pilates it made me think of some form of manic high speed pilates class with flailing arms and legs. As tempting as that sounds - that is not the case at all. 

HiT-Pilates combines the High Intensity Exercises for 30 seconds with a Lower Intensity Pilates Exercise in the 'rest' period . The Pilates Exercise helps to align the body and engage the core for the next High Intensity Ex...

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After being cut open through the lower abdomen - whether it is to insert a new kidney (yes! a kidney transplant is housed in the pelvis!) or a more common c-section... the lower abdominals will be cut through. This will mean that no matter how long you wait those muscles will not 'come back to life' naturally. You will need to work on them. 

Initially you will need to convince the muscles to switch back on. The body has a frustrating habit / mechanism of switching off stability muscles specifi...
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The recent BBC documentary 'How To Stay Young' has prompted me to write about the age predictor
 test that is described nicely in they article.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/05-sit-down

The wonderful thing is that if you score low on this age predictor test you can improve it and improvements in the test do correlate with a longer healthier life. 

As a physiotherapist and pilates instructor i see people of all ages and fitness levels improve their posture, mobility, strength and stability...
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Exercising whilst breastfeeding can be a thankless process. You may be doing it to loose weight, feel better, gain energy, have some time to yourself or just because you feel like you should. 

Everyone reacts very different to breastfeeding just as they do to pregnancy. Some put on weight whilst breastfeeding and can't loose it until they stop, others have painful joints because of the continued relaxin release in the body and some just have very hungry babies who 'take everything' on each fee...
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