Episode 21: Mastering Functional Core and Pelvic Floor Health with Erica Wald

In this episode we’re joined by Erica Wald, who is a pelvic floor health, functional core, and prenatal and postpartum specialist, to discuss why true core strength is about much more than just six-pack abs. Drawing from her own difficult pregnancy and labor, Erica explains how a functional core and a healthy pelvic floor are essential for managing back pain, preventing leakage, and supporting the body through motherhood. 

We talk about how to master 360 breathing to manage internal pressure, what exercises are best for a dysfunctional core, and how to listen to your body’s notifications during exercise. Whether you are currently pregnant or years postpartum, this conversation offers simple, actionable tools to help you reconnect with your body, and heal and strengthen your core. 

Resources from this episode can be found at: https://www.fuelwitherin.com/podcast/v/episode-21-mastering-functional-core-and-pelvic-floor-health-with-erica-wald 

CONNECT WITH ERICA

Instagram | @ericwald_

Website | Erica Wald

RESOURCES

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LETS CONNECT

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Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this podcast and its show notes is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice or as a substitute for the advice of a physician or other healthcare professional. Using this information does not create a doctor-patient relationship.

Do not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problem or to prescribe any medication or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or medications, or before starting any herbal or nutritional supplements. Statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk. This disclaimer also applies to any of the guests on the podcast.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I wanted a six pack when I was gonna get married and I wanted to like a flat stomach. And I think that is one. I think you're chasing something that you can't get if you don't have a functional core. So I think that it's a little bit out of reach for me. And so I think that I really regret doing like a leg lift, for example, like I couldn't keep my lower back totally on the ground. Well, that was a sign that my deep core really wasn't strong or was at least wasn't engaging and activated. And I was plenty strong, you know. And I think that's the difference is dysfunctional doesn't mean you're weak, but functional means that you are a system that can handle anything. And that means like injury prevention. It means a pregnancy, you know.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Hello and welcome to another episode of Find Your Fuel. I'm your host, Erin Martin. And if, like so many women, you've struggled with your pelvic floor, wondered how to approach fitness before or after pregnancy, or like me, didn't do anything to heal your core after kids, then today's conversation is for you. Our guest today is Erica Wald. She's a specialist in pelvic floor health, functional core, and prenatal and postpartum training. She's also the founder of Commit Fitness and the creator of a digital fitness platform, her. She's a wealth of information on all things women's fitness and functional core as your fuel for today.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

When I got my degree in biochemistry in college from the University of Kansas. And um, I don't know, it was one of those things where I worked in a lab for a year after college and quickly realized like I was working hard to be okay at it. Um, and I danced my whole life, certainly like understood my body very well. I wouldn't say I was like a personal trainer at that stage at all. But um, my girlfriend and I moved to Denver sort of on a whim. We're like, let's just see what we can do. I thought fitness was intriguing and I thought I was just gonna be better at it. Um, and I do enjoy learning the body, especially like even on a cellular level. Obviously, I did get my degree in biochemistry, so I am still interested, I was always still interested in that. I think I just, you know, didn't feel like it was a good fit. So when I moved here, I quickly started working with brides. That was my first um, it was more marketing than anything else, but it became like really a passion too. I mean, working with brides is so fun. It's very different. There's a lot of motivation, and obviously it's a great age for change for anybody. Um, and it was like sort of, I mean, it was just me. I rented space. So it was just me for a very long time. I think I did that for maybe six or seven years before we got our first studio. Um, met my husband, had this kind of like out there dream that maybe we'd open a gym one day. I always thought I always knew I wanted a family. So when you're a personal trainer, you think like, how do I do that? Right? Like, okay, right now I wake up and I get to the gym at 7, 6 a.m. And then I have to be there in the evenings. Like it just doesn't feel conducive. So in my head, I always thought like I'd have to have a gym. Like that was my mentality. And there's other ways to do it, but for me, that like made the most sense. And it also was a way to help more people. I had a full calendar. And for since I started training almost, I've it was something I was good at, like in comparison to science. It was something that was so natural to me. I enjoyed it. I love teaching and like problem solving. I'm certainly that Enneagram where I problem solve and I like to, I like to find the answers, and I'm okay not having them because that's almost like a challenge for me. Um, so yeah, so that's sort of how it started. Um, obviously, my clients who got married had babies and got pregnant, and I um was kind of on a similar trajectory. My husband and I got married in 2018, um, and we got pregnant in 2020, so not too far off. Um, and so I think I got by with stuff like research for my clients in the beginning. But then once I became pregnant, everything really changed. Um, I quickly realized like I had been in this industry for seven years, and I knew so little about my body at the time. Like it was changing. There were things that like I thought I was great, and I probably was in some way still a great trainer in a different realm. But in the that space, I was like a little baby. You know, I had no idea what to do. I I was honestly through pregnancy, I want to do it again so bad because I like regret everything I did. I was like, wow, I learned so much by doing things wrong. Um, and I won't like couldn't ruin anything necessarily. I could have done things so much better and had a much simpler recovery. Um, but I really didn't start learning until my certification was finished, which wasn't really until like I basically had my son. Um, at that same time, we were opening our first studio in Wash Park, Denver. So I was about three months pregnant, I think, when we signed our lease, middle of COVID. It was an insane time. I don't know why we did that, but it turned out okay. Um we at that time I was like, okay, this is what like we need to focus on this. Like, I need to learn more about it. And we all need to start teaching people this because I was almost like upset that I had spent years coaching women the best of my to the best of my ability, but still wrong when it comes to pregnancy and postpartum. You know, I think everyone though is doing that. Everyone who's not certified and who's not trained is doing what I did. And in my head, I'm like, that was a disservice. And I've learned and I I mean, I still have most of those clients today. So I feel grateful that they've grown with me. But at the same time, I um I think that it's like just this realm that no one understands till they're there. And of course, if anyone, if everyone would just like do it before they got pregnant, everyone's body would be better, whether you were gonna never have a kid or or have like five. But ultimately, until it becomes relevant for you, it's not really a priority. And obviously, I think I'm sure you can speak for your like speak to that. And obviously, that was my own story too. Um, so I think for me, it became like, okay, this can't just be me. I'm only one person. I already have a full schedule, I'm about to go into labor, um, you know, and I have my own recovery. So I really used myself as a guinea pig on the postpartum side of things. Um, my pelvic floor, my birth was so long and hard. It was 36 hours, and it was five hours of pushing. I got an epidural so early, too early. I wish I wouldn't have um done it that early. And uh my pelvic floor was just trashed afterwards. Um it was, yeah, it was like I didn't do any mobility, I didn't do anything. So my son just did not want to come out. Um, and so I think just with that, I've learned so much. And that became like a huge passion of like, okay, how do we make that not happen for other women? Like how I know there's ways. Like I said, I'm a problem solver. So I really dove deep into it and surface level, obviously I got certified, and I think the certifications are sort of more of a check on the list, in my opinion. I think they're fine and I think they're necessary, but hands-on experience is irreplaceable. It's irreplaceable. I've worked with now hundreds. Uh, like a pre and post-natal certification. So they have like general ones where it kind of walks you through that. And the principles are important, like it, you know, is it surface level breathing? Um, it does talk about yeah, it talks about the public floor and deep core and posture and movement patterns, that kind of stuff. Um but you've how many kids do you have? I have two. So you have two kids and two pregnancies, and now times that by, you know, another hundred women, everyone's story, all of them are so different, and everyone's pregnancies are slightly different, and it's just like insane because the book just teaches it kind of like a general way. And when you work with people in person, you have to see it on like a spectrum. You know, everything is has to have gray areas, it has to have give and takes, and it has to have like more what's the word, like progress. I think when a coach looks at it as like you just can't do this, or this is what a book says, I think it can really like halt or stall progress for women. Um, because every sometimes you can do so much more than you think you can in one area, but maybe in another you can't. Maybe it's posture that's your real limiting factor. Um, but that doesn't mean that you can't go on and, you know, progress in other ways and and work um and push yourself in other ways. So that's where I became really passionate and that's where I wanted to be different and I wanted to really change the way pre- and postnatal fitness um was taught. Like I wanted women to have an op a, you know, a more open mind and be really more like malleable malleable and flexible with with her body because um it is like such a like it's such a beautiful thing. Like pregnancy, it's it's like supernatural to me. You know, I'm like, that's not real. You know, it's so crazy. Um, but I mean the fact that we can do that, like there's we can do way more than I think people think. So I became super passionate, and um, now we have like nine certified instructors who work at both of our studios. They're all incredible. Our certification is very intensive. Um, it goes really deep into a lot of scenarios, and it requires a ton of hours of um shadowing and hands-on experience. And so obviously, like teaching other people has really helped me too. But I still see things that are shocking to me, you know, and I've been doing this for a long time. And I hope I continue to learn because it is so rewarding helping women.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah. And what are some of those initial things that you wish you would have done prior to pregnancy? Um, and then we'll get into today, like post-pregnancy, like me, for example. I'm so excited for this conversation because I didn't do anything, like a lot of women, after pregnancy, and just the thought that it's not too late is also very inspiring. So I'm so excited to pick your brain on that too. But first, curious what you wish you would have done. Is it just a stronger core? Is it fitness in general going into delivery? Like, what are those things that you wish you would have done?

SPEAKER_00 10:19

Yeah. Um, I mean, I certainly think learning the core on more of a functional level versus just abs. I wanted a six-pack when I was, you know, gonna get married and I wanted like abs, you know, is the best way I can describe it. I just wanted a flat stomach. And I think that is what one, I think you're chasing something that you can't get if you don't have a functional core. So I think that it's a little bit out of reach. Um, and for me. And so I think that I really regret. I doing like a leg lift, for example, like I couldn't keep my lower back totally on the ground. Well, that was a sign that my deep core really wasn't strong or was at least wasn't engaging and activated. Um and I was plenty strong, you know, and I think that's like the difference is like functional doesn't or dysfunctional doesn't mean you're weak, but functional means that you are like a system that can handle anything. And that means like injury prevention, it means a pregnancy, you know. And so I think building that, and you can build it when you like I said, most people don't really have the motivation to do it until they're pregnant or even postpartum, but you can start working on that during pregnancy. And pregnancy is really it's awesome if you do because pregnancy is a great opportunity to learn different ways to work your core that are not abs because it isn't super intelligent to lie on your back and do a leg lift past like 20 weeks pregnant, you know. Um, I don't really love like saying you can't do things. I don't love that. I but I do coach on an online platform and I coach coach thousands of women. So I do have to have some standards of like for the most part, this is gonna be really challenging to do it without cone or dome or you know, so that's kind of how I look at my online platform if I'm not in person with a woman. Um and a leg lift is a great example. Like there's just better exercises, you know, in in that stage in your life and that stage in pregnancy. Um, like working overhead more, I wish I would have done, and thinking about the spine as like our stabilizer and then like where our strength comes from. Um, mobility, I think so many women are told not to twist during pregnancy, and then they come out of pregnancy with like really dysfunctional spines and like thoracic areas, so that middle part of our body. Um, and so really learning that I could twist, but in the right way. Um, so I think that would be something. And then mobility, I talk a ton about mobility, but I I 100% feel like there's a couple of reasons, but that's one of the bigger reasons that my son was stuck in my pelvis for so long and why I pushed for so long. Um, you know, I was a dancer, so I have like a natural turnout, and that's fine. That's what gets the baby down there, right? That's like the kind of opening your hips up if you think of if you think of your pelvis, like, you know, the external rotation is like what we all think of for like stretching. Um, that's fine, but that's a good way to get stuck. And so really needing to teach your pelvis to also rotate internally to actually push your baby out is something I I didn't even know about. Honestly, I didn't even know about it two years after postpartum, and then I injured my back. And that's when I really started understanding like spine hip pelvis mobility um on like a greater scale and like how how important that is for things like aesthetics too. Like, I don't know, people like you think you want to look a certain way, and I've been there, so I I understand that, but um like that sometimes is a limiting factor. So anyway, I think mobility, certainly like unique and better ways to work the core um in a more functional, everyday life type of um way versus just wanting to look a certain way. Um, I think those are like the two things that I wish I would have put more energy in too.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Yeah. And I have heard that your core is like the steering wheel of your body. Like it's really the foundation and everything of how, yeah, like your stance, you know, your back pain. I mean, we often think when I think pelvic floor, the first thing I think of is keggles, you know, jumping out of trampoline and peeing yourself, you know, all of those classic things as women, but there's other things too that having a strong functional core can contribute to that's beyond just, you know, the peeing yourself factor.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Yeah. And I mean, these days, like especially in Denver, people are so fit and active that a tight pelvic floor is so common. It's actually, I see more of a tight pelvic floor these days than I do a weak pelvic floor. And like, think about just like a runner, 100% of the time, they have a tight pelvic floor. That is going to create a ton of back pain, spine, like uh spine issues, and then also leakage, pain with sex, um, like pelvic that that to me is not any worse or better than a weak pelvic floor. It's they're both dysfunctional. I always think of it as like if you were doing just like a half squat and you're kind of stuck in that like halfway squatted position, you're only working one tiny part of your leg. That's like this middle part of your quad. If you go all the way down in your squat and then you come all the way up, now you're working your entire lower half, which is what a squat should do. A pelvic floor like working your pelvic floor is exactly the same way. If you're always engaged and flexed in that like tight position, you're just only exercising that one piece of your pelvic floor and you're never totally getting a full contraction, which means that there's a lot of dysfunction in there. Um that's fixable. Like, I don't say that with like be afraid or be worried. Um, it is not even that hard. It just takes intention, if that makes sense. Like I think it feels like such a big task to a woman. Um, and it's not, it's tiny little things that you could add into your day or your workout. It doesn't have to be this huge thing. It's it's just like small little habits that that so that helps so much. And I think um I understand how it can feel so overwhelming and like kind of like I'm just screwed, you know.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah. Or people just think, again, I need to do keggles. And then, you know, you're driving and you'll attempt some keggles and you're like, well, that didn't work. And then it's like, okay, well, what do I do? So I think the fact that we've moved to having more options, that there's, you know, people like you out there who's educating and available as a resource. I mean, when we get when we got punted out of the hospital, I remember getting a call from a nurse being like, How are you doing? And it was like that was it. Like, there's no like, you know, questions about the pelvic floor or like specific questions about mental health. So there's all these things that we're learning and we want to do better for the next generation. Yeah. Um, and I'm curious for you too, what are some of those cues or like little things that we can do to incorporate on a daily basis? And for me, I even personally selfishly just think about my own hot yoga class. It's like I so often they have a little 10-minute section of core. And just, you know, before kids, it was like, I can do anything that the chick next to me can do. Like I'll just plow through it and do it, even if it's bad form, even if it's not what is truly working a good core. And now I'm rethinking everything that the instructor is telling me to do from a core perspective, trying to remember some cues of like, okay, how do I engage? How do I modify or do something that's very different and built for me and working for the way I should, not just, you know, what every single lady is trying to do out here that might be bad for.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

So yeah, I mean, biggest thing is do not sleep on 360 breathing. It is really hard to move past any type of it's hard to recover. I haven't seen much recovery be successful without truly putting emphasis into the 360 breathing. And that's because it's I don't know if you watch your child breathe, but I watched, I've when I started learning this, I started watching Asher, my son, breathe, and he was like two at the time. And he's breathing the way you should be breathing. When you inhale, air fills you up. When you exhale, your tummy draws in, right? So he's two, he's naturally breathing the way we're supposed to. We all grew up in this skinny culture. So more times than not, I see people breathing in reverse. So when they inhale, they suck their tummy in, and when they exhale, their stomach expands out. That is in reverse. So, and that's just like a sign of dysfunction. But because we grew up in that culture, and because we grew up in trying to always look skinny, think about how you've sucked in, or I don't know if you have, but like that's a really common thing. I know I did when I was 13. Um, but with that, we need to reteach our body. So this needs to be like a habit that we reteach. So I teach this starting, I start right when someone's pregnant, if I'm working with them already, and I introduce it. Having it down by 16, 20 weeks is when it becomes super important. And if you've never done it in your postpartum, it's not too late. But, you know, in an ideal world, you've really learned it because that is how you should walk and talk, pick up your kids, pick up your groceries. It is how you should breathe all the time. Every time you do a 360 breath properly, that's basically just managing the pressure in your body. So pressure, like if you avoid jumping on a trampoline, I get it. But at the same time, like everyday pressure is still there. So avoiding impact isn't the answer. It's also not the answer to go jump on a trampoline six weeks postpartum for the record. But it's the but but but but introducing impact is something that's really scary. And I understand that. However, it's something that is so important and key in this. So when we breathe, we inhale through our belly, our back, and our pelvic floor. Air fills us up. And when air goes places, that's when an area should relax. Okay. So we fill up sort of if you were to have an inner tube around your waist. You want to inhale short or uh long and slow and fill air everywhere around your body. Okay. So tell me breathing, people are really used to saying tell me breathing is not an appropriate saying for what I'm talking about. We want to get air even into our back, which is like into our rib cage. Um and so as we inhale, we expand and relax. As we exhale, we draw up, starting with our pelvic floor, and we engage kind of like you're zipping up your pants. From the bottom up, we want to bring our hip bones up to our rib bones versus bearing down. Because as you bear down, that is pressure going out. So that's when you might feel leakage. That's when you might um, like mostly leakage, I guess. Queefing even is like a thing that you might feel that's you know, not a healthy thing. Um, so breathing is something that you need to learn and you need to not get lazy with it. And if it gets shorter and you get bored with it, so did I. I get it. I feel like I always say there's like a relapse around nine months when you start like seeing and feeling change and you stop doing that. You a lot of times have like a pelvic floor relapse. It's okay, just get back into it. Um, but with that, I would say breathing is the most important thing. And then adding in lightly, adding in impact. Doctors, I don't know why there's like don't do anything for six weeks, and then there's do everything after that. It like is a very big uh miss, in my opinion, for women. Um, I do think working on the breath work right away, lay in bed with your newborn, perfect. It's not impactful. It's great for you. I always, my program, it's called reconnecting. So the weeks one to six program I have in my app is reconnecting with your body. We're reconnecting with our core, with our pelvic floor, with our back, and with our glutes, everything that's in the center of our of our body. And we're trying to get it to talk as a unit. So that is, I would say, like the most number one tip.

SPEAKER_01 21:48

Um This breathing thing is blowing my mind right now because I for sure am the one who's been doing it wrong my whole life. Like I literally, as you're walking through, I was trying to like practice doing the inhale, relax. Inner tube and then the exhale zip. And that that is, I can't do it. Like that, I'm going to have to practice.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yes. And you should. Um, it it is hard. And that's why, like, reps. I tell every woman, like, I always say the first 10 reps are throwaways, you're gonna do it wrong. Even if you don't do reverse breathing, you still probably won't do it right. You might breathe with your chest or your neck or you know, something like that. Um, but throw them away. It takes a lot of reps, it takes like five, 10 minutes a day. That's why postpartum, early postpartum is such a great time because you're just, you know, you're in newborn stage and you're tired. So it's such a great time to practice it. Um, but it's a habit. I mean, I don't know how long they say habits take to form, but it's not fast, you know. Um, so kegels are something I've never told anyone to do for the record. So this is of like the new age Kegel, if that makes sense. Coaches who are coaches who are on the progressive side of pre- and postnatal fitness, they're going to be telling you this. They're not going to be saying go do a Kegel. Um, now other things that if you have a tight pelvic floor, pelvic drops, um, which is basically a method to relax your pelvic floor. Um, I recommend those at nighttime or after workouts. Um yeah. And then I think other than that, it's it's understanding the cue or understanding the like I always say, a symptom is more like a notification on your cell phone. It should be answered. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Um so like say that you're, yeah, say you're in your yoga class and you feel pressure or you feel conning maybe in like a high plank. Um, okay, well, that's a notification. Okay, I need to respond to that. Maybe bring your knees down, do a big 360 breath, engage again the way we just talked about, bring your knees off the ground, see if we can hold that position without that. If so, then you're good to go. We don't need to just immediately modify. We need to step back and be like, maybe I can try to do it right and then see what happens. And if you if you can't and you're just coning and it's a lot of pressure and you're leaking, whatever it is, then you stop and then you modify. There is a time and a place to modify, but it shouldn't be the first thing I think we like, you know, our mom and dad didn't give up on us when it comes to walking, right? Oh, nope, she fell down. No, thank you. Like, no, they didn't give up on us, right? Like this is the same thing. Like, we don't give up. We have to just keep working at it and getting better at it. And um, soon enough it will become a habit and you won't even really notice that you're doing it and you're breathing properly. But um, but yeah, that was a long time.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

And when describe coning, so what is like what should we look for when coning's happening and then adjust?

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Yeah. Yeah, coning, it kind of looks or feels how it looks. So it's so doming, there's two different things. Coning is gonna be the most common when you're actually pregnant or postpartum. So we have we have our abdomen, right? Um, and then there's imagine someone with a six pack. There's sort of a line in the middle, right? And then you have like the hard edges right next to that line, okay? So what holds those edges together is called linea alba. That tightens, that's holds our abdomen together. When we're pregnant, that stretches out because we need it to. It's essential, which is why DR, diasis recti, which is what we're talking about here, it's it's not a huge deal. I'm five foot one. There's nothing I could do fitness-wise to make it so I didn't split my core when I was pregnant. I'm very short and I had a normal-sized baby. So when that happens, our abdomen splits. But our linea alba can stretch and it can also thin in some such situation situations. If it is thinned or we're not managing the pressure, we're gonna cone. Okay, so you imagine kind of round and then it kind of points in the middle, sort of like a dinosaur spine in the middle of your belly. That kind of makes sense. Um, that is gonna be called coning. That means that you're not managing that pressure. Um, and so it kind of feels how it looks also. It feels kind of like a little tugging. It doesn't hurt, it just feels how it looks. Doming is more of like a plateau or like or what's the word I'm looking for? Like a yeah, like a little flat top that's longer than a cone, but then it still pushes and protrudes out. That would be more common for someone who's probably never had a child who just has a dysfunctional like core, like a weaker um internal core. So that is a little bit different. Um, a lot of times you might see more doming like further along too in your recovery. Um, but the linea alba is something that I've seen people with a huge split in their core, like, you know, for whatever reason. But their limania alba, if it's strong and thick, it doesn't matter. It's hand you're handling pressure, you're managing it. So that's really not the issue. It is more about managing pressure with time. Your DR might come to be come back together or it might never. Um, I still have a little bit of a split. I don't ever cone. I couldn't barely cone if I wanted to at this stage. So um, yeah, does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

Yes. Yeah, that's super helpful. And I think another thing that I always have in the back of my head too, to prevent that conning or have good posture is when you are doing abs. If you're again doing abs, working on your core, on your back, is to ensure that you can have a blueberry sit in your belly button correctly and not roll out as a tip. I don't know where I heard that from, but is that accurate? Like, how do you want to think about other cues in your body of having good, you know, structure posture approach?

SPEAKER_00 27:36

Yeah, I think it would depend how deep your belly button is. My belly button's kind of deep. I think my the blueberry would stay. Um but but I hear where that's coming from, and it's not a bad cue. Um big biggest thing is gonna be that your lower back is like flush on the ground. Um that would be a big thing. Bringing your hip bones to your rib bones, so like that upward, which is sort of like a pelvic tilt motion, if that makes sense, sort of like having your hips in tilts. But a really good modification and something that's so easy is just putting like a little towel, say you're in a class, like fold your towel up till it's maybe like, I don't know, a couple inches high. Put it right underneath your tailbone, and then that's gonna put you in the correct position that you need to be in, right? It's gonna kind of give you that little um help that you need to get you into that right position. That is way better than doing the exercise wrong or like like arching your back. Um, a Pilates ball, if it's like, you know, you're at home and you have one, that's another way to do it that adds some instability. Um, but it's really just keeping your lower spine flush onto the ground.

unknown 28:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

That makes sense. That makes sense. And that's what I always just try to remind myself because it's like the work that I'm doing, like I need to be feeling more connected to my core and pelvic floor to understand where those boundaries are, where I'm applying too much pressure. And it's very much me. I can't be like, okay, try to do this, you know, yeah, 20 times in a row because everyone else in class is doing it and I'm just as strong as them. It's like you gotta completely shut that down and just really try to be in tune with your body to understand how to tailor everything to your own situation in group classes.

SPEAKER_00 29:10

Yeah, I say that a lot in group classes. So when we have women who who ask, you know, oh, should I do the groups or should I not? I always tell them, like, especially if they're not interested in our pre and post-natal, which normally they are, but I always say it really depends on how competitive you are, because if that's your outlook at that stage in in postpartum, it's tough, right? Like that isn't where you are right now. You're in a season, you know, like it's okay. And also, you're gonna probably come out stronger than most of those people because you're gonna be training intentionally and like truly functional, having building a functional core. But I do always say, like, it kind of depends how competitive you are, because you don't want to be looking to your left or your right and feel like you need to be doing more than you are. Um, it just needs to be doing like the right thing more than you know, you need to be doing the right thing for you. But that is why there's so much power in like learning your body and learning really where you can push and where you can pull back, because I think it can feel super defeating to feel like you always need to pull back. And that's something that I just it's a stigma I want to like not be there for women because it's not true, you know. Like there are usually you have one or two bigger things. You don't usually have everything going on with your body when you're postpartum, you know. Um, there's many women who have a C-section and their pelvic floor is usually okay. Um, so there's a lot of things they can go jump on every trampoline, you know. So it really is dependent on the person. And I think learning about that is so powerful. And it really can be like uplifting for women realizing, like, oh, I can do X, Y, Z, and maybe I just need to be attentive to this.

unknown 30:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:42

Yeah, and put in the work. I think that was one thing I didn't really realize, I mean, at all post pregnancy was you like this is PT. Like this is you need to think about it as straight up. You know, it's not you're in this craziness of a newborn, you're trying to like survive. And I wanted to get outside to just get some fresh air, like get back to running because that's what I loved. It was more about activity for me, it was more about the uh mental health and also moving my body and some of those things. But I just had no clue about the PT side of it and how critical it would be to heal properly and not go from okay, two weeks doing nothing, jumped into a run. Like I remember the first I did a race, maybe three months after I gave birth, and like felt great. It was so fun, but just halfway through, I was like, oh, I'm completely peeing myself. Like this is like new and horrible. And then I didn't, I don't even think I did anything about it. Like I wasn't like, oh, now I'm fluided. I should probably strengthen my core. I think I was just thinking, like, maybe that'll resolve. I don't even know what I was thinking, but now here I am today. I'm like, okay, time to get serious. I downloaded your free uh five-minute guide to be able to see like what can I do now?

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Um, to be able to just I mean, I think honestly, like I can relate so much to just like being ready to go postpartum. Like, and that's a good, you know, it's a good thing. And the mental health piece, to be honest, that is better to focus on if you only have room for one or the other. A pelvic floor can be fixed, but like mental health being there with your baby and your family, like I'm not one to say that that that's not as important because I think it, I think it is. I really do. In my ideal world, I just think you can do both. Like I really do. I think you can run. Maybe not a race at three months, but like I think you can maybe have a goal for nine months, you know, like and and easing into it and working up to it. I always say, like, what I teach and what we teach with our women is we are the gap between personal training and PT. That's where we are. We're right in that in-between space because we can pick up barbells, we can lift heavy, we can do things controlled and put our body under pressure. But first we activate our core and pelvic floor, then we activate our glutes, then we make sure that I don't know, our posture and we do upper body posture things, and then we get into the movement, right? So I think that's like the space that people don't realize is is available to them because that is something that I was like, I'm not going back and just doing, you know, I think people look at pregnancy fitness or prenatal postpartum fitness and think it's boring. And I think because a lot of it is bland, I'm not gonna lie. I think there's a ton of bland programs out there, and I'm not hating on anyone. I think it takes so much effort and energy to learn and be confident enough to speak about this topic. So there is nothing wrong with anyone who's putting anything out there at all. But as someone who cares about like not feeling like I have to do less, this is like a space that I'm super passionate about because it is available to anyone who wants it. Um, and so I think that that's something I want women to really understand is like both is totally doable. You just have to be willing to learn about yourself, you know?

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Yeah. And all the I think new tips or tricks or tactics that we just never learned about that are so foundational. I mean, it's crazy to me that, you know, like we learn the foundations of nutrition. We, you know, there's foundations of other things that we learn. And as women, this birth is a huge big one. Like, why don't we learn the foundations of healing our bodies after something like that as well? So for someone like me, then is it helpful to know if you have too tight of a pelvic floor or too loose? Or what would be a best next step for me? Is it does it not even matter to really know because there's some core things to work on that are helpful regardless, like the breathing and then doing some core exercises right? Like, what's the best approach?

SPEAKER_00 34:57

Uh, it's definitely valuable to know. I mean, I think symptoms would be like my first question like, are you leaking? Are you, do you have like lower back pain or pain with sex? Those would be signs of a tight of a tighter pelvic floor. So um, seeing a pelvic floor therapist is is the limit of someone like me, right? I don't do internal exams and no one is going to do an internal exam besides a pelvic floor PT. So seeing a pelvic floor PT for any of those signs is like absolutely something I would do. You don't have to go a lot, like once, twice, get information. That's the biggest piece, is get information. Yeah, it doesn't have to be uh thousands and thousands of dollars like over the course of months, even if they're asking you to do that. As long as you're willing to put in the work outside of there, you don't have to. You just need the information. You need them to tell you what it is. Because here's the deal I went and saw a pelvic floor therapist around the time when I was having like low back pain post um, I had that like a year and a half after my son for reference. And I lost the weight fast. I went hard, I did all the things too, right? But I wasn't totally healed. And so that's where the pain comes in, and that's where like injury can sometimes creep up on us. Um, and so I went and saw a pelvic floral therapist. My mind was blown. I mean, I geek out on this kind of stuff, but there are like, I'm gonna butcher this, but there are like so many more muscles in the pelvic floor than you would imagine. I we should like find a picture and put it up here for this because when she told me she was like, Yeah, this one, because I was having some like weird hip something, and she saw one tight area in my pelvic floor pushed on it and it referred to my hip pain. So, like, it is so minuscule on what can be affecting it. And they can dry needle, which I know sounds scary, but it's really good if you're open to it. Like they can dry needle, even just like massage or like the feeling if your breath work is correct, is really helpful too. Like they can physically be like yes or no. That tactical feedback can be really useful for you. Um, so I think that like seeing a pelvic floor therapist is invaluable. I think it's absolutely something you should you should do, and certainly anyone should do if it's in their budget. Um, but like I said, I don't think you have to go a million times. You just need information. Um, then I think beyond that, it if you have never healed or put effort into healing, then you're still postpartum, you know? And that's okay. Like that's totally fine. I remember I worked with a woman who had three children. She had like one uh C-section, then she had a V back, and then she had something else crazy. There's maybe a lot, I don't remember, maybe another C-section, but all kind of like up and down. She was like 15% body fat, so very lean. She was a runner. Her core, her stomach looked like she was 30% body fat. It was crazy. And it was the skin. It's skin, right? It's not fat. It just looked like that. And it is the activation. So, like the muscles go dormant, and if you never wake them up, they don't come back online, if that makes sense. So, like that's where the breathing comes in. It basically is like an accordion in and out, like just kind of like pulsing and like helping those muscles get some life and some blood worked into them. So if you've never done that, it doesn't really matter how old your kid is. Like my mom, before I knew all this, she went and did that surgery, so she stopped peeing herself. And I was like, I wish, like even then, with you know, I was probably 25 at the time. Like I I would have even then been like, you still could work on that. She probably wouldn't have though, but um, but yeah, ultimately it's about it's about like treating it just like that. So I mean, you obviously aren't gonna like probably pee yourself quite as much as you would if you were brand new postpartum, but um, yeah, treat it like that, learn the breath work, apply it to every single movement. Inhale on the easy parts, exhale on the hard parts, keep it simple and work into different positions. I think looking at posture can be really valuable. I have an online postpartum assessment that is a self-assessment that I walk you through on my app. We also do it in Denver in person because there's just so many things that um, like I said, you might be fine in a lot of areas and there might be something that is really important for you. So I wish I had like a very clear-cut answer for everyone who's just like listening and looking for that. But ultimately, just like you heard the first time you're pregnant, like everyone's body is different.

SPEAKER_01 39:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Applies and it's so true. So I think like yeah, I think that if there's a professional available or like doing like a postpartum assessment, which I created that, so I probably just have to do it from me, or if anyone you can meet in person, I would say that's like the most valuable thing you can do is information.

SPEAKER_01 39:40

Yeah. And I'm curious what the posture piece too. Um, it's also like after birth, we're holding toddlers on a hip, and like, of course, I only did one hip. I don't know why. I wanted my right hand free, so it was my left. So, what's going on with the posture piece of it? Is it that we're not strong enough to hold correctly, or is it that we're just like standing wrong that's impacting things? Like, what's happening there?

SPEAKER_00 40:04

So, posture is just another piece of your core. So, and it's your spine. Posture is all obviously is about your spine. So, our spine is is in our trunk, which is in our core. So, if you I mean, posture is it's frustrating because you get pregnant, your boobs get bigger, your belly gets bigger, so you get into that anterior pelvic tilt. That's kind of like when you stick your butt out, if you know what I'm talking about. That works against you. Then you have your child, you breastfeed or you hold your baby, that works against you. Posture is something that um is tough. I'm not there's not like a great way to sugarcoat it, but being aware of what your posture is, which that's not hard to deduce. Take a picture sideways in a mirror standing, don't try to stand perfect, right? Stand out you would normally stand. If your butt sticks out and you have like an arched lower back, there's a dip in it, that would be an anterior pelvic tilt. If your butt sticks in almost like looks like you have like a pancake butt, you don't have one, and your shoulders are rounding, that's a posterior pelvic tilt. They both have their challenges. Some people pregnant or some people postpartum have both because of pregnancy and then holding your baby, it's it's tough. But what you can do to work against it is let's say that you've got rounded shoulders, that's a really common one. You need to strengthen the muscles that are on the other side of it. So all of our like our posterior um upper body, like a rear delt. So the back of your shoulders, um, your lats, your yeah, your trap, your lower traps, those muscles. Because if you think about it, if they get stronger and flex, they're gonna pull you upward to stand up like taller and straighter. Um as for your low as for your um anterior pelvic tilt or your butt sticking out, okay. Well, it's impossible. Like if you stand, you can sit with your butt out, it's like impossible to flex your abs in that position, right? So we need to strengthen the abs to then put your posterior put your pelvis in a better spot. Now, with that, our spine does not need to be rock solid straight. We want a neutral spine, which is what we call it if you have neither. Of course, you want a neutral spine most of the time, right? When you're walking, standing up tall, all that kind of stuff. But what you don't want is you don't want an immobile spine, like doing cat cows, body rolls, like free moving spine mobility is so valuable and so not common. Like who's just doing spine rolls? Like, you know, is not common. Um, but like I remember when I injured my back, I was going snowboarding that weekend and I told my Cairo, and I was like, I'm nervous, like this doesn't seem smart. She's like, actually, that type of spine mobility when you're like moving freely and not doing a strict like deadlift or a squat is better for you. And it did not hurt, and I did feel better after I snowboarded. So that is one thing that is so easy to do. Like doing body rolls and cat cows every morning just makes it so that if you do want to strengthen those muscles, now your spine is gonna respond. Um, so yeah, I I don't want you to think it has to be rock solid straight, but you can correct some of the things that are like really working against you, which is pretty much everyone who's had a baby. Does that help?

SPEAKER_01 43:18

Yeah. Yeah. And that snowboarding example is so good too, because it made me think of just, oh my gosh, as we get older, you know, you stop playing recreational soccer. Like you're a little bit more nervous to ski or snowboard. I mean, there's just like all these things as you get older, or life gets crazy with kids, and you just don't do as much playtime stuff that moves your body in that getting mobility in way. So it's like, okay, we need to replace it somehow. Like go play, or like do a few cat cows in the morning for five minutes. I mean, it's amazing how small of time five minutes is, but just like you gotta have it stack it in somehow. Yes. Like, however. You do it, like prioritize it and have a stack it in, and you can do it because five minutes will fly by. It's so easy, but oftentimes just never happens.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Totally. I I talk so much about not sitting on the sidelines as a mom. That is like really important to me. And I think to my community, it seems to resonate. But like what happens as a mother, and I think in the past, especially like for our moms, and I I do think that we are changing this narrative, and that's a really great thing. But I think it's common, it was common to just sit on the sidelines. Like, I can't jump rope. I can't, I'm gonna pee myself if I run and play football with my son. And it's like dad who gets to do those things. And I just feel so strongly like I'm not gonna miss out on the playing with my son. And I don't think any mom really wants to, you know, like I think deep down that is something that's like not what they would want if they look back on it. And I think it's so hard because we think what our, you know, what our priorities are. But like to me, my driving force has always been my son. Like, even when I was pregnant, I was like, okay, I'm gonna work out every day now because I'm taking care of him. Like I'm like it starts now, right? And this is the same exact thing. When I think like five minutes, like if it matters, you'll do it, like anything. If it's a priority, you'll do it. And that is how I really try to coach women on this. Like, if it's just about, hey, I want to stand straighter, I don't think that's powerful. I think what's powerful is I want to play with my son and I want to have memories with them that I will look back on. I don't want to think that I didn't or that I missed out. So I think the why is so important for creating those habits and like sticking to them.

SPEAKER_01 45:40

Oh, I love that. And that reminds me of just like spring break is next week. And it's like, my kids want me in the pool, and I for sure don't want to get my like nice hair all wet. But it's like F the hair. I'm getting in the pool. I am splashing, I am playing, I'm moving my body, I'm having the best time in the pool in spring break with them. So it's just like I love that why because you just forget you're like, no, I'm reading a book or I want to do this, and we're so tired and busy that just laying and sitting for a hot second feels so good. Yeah. But it's so much better for life, for your kids, for your body if you can play and move too.

SPEAKER_00 46:24

It is. I mean, that's a different kind of energy, right? It's different type of endorphins that it gives you. And resting is good too. Um, you know, balance is important, I think, more than anything. Like I'm a Libra, it's all about balance. Um, but yeah, I think um, yeah, whenever I think about memories, I just think like, will I will I be able to like, I don't know. All the all the best ones are the ones when you think you didn't want to do it and then you did it. I think those are the ones that stick the most, like swimming in the pool with your kid. That one would probably stick, you know. Um, I always ask my son like what his like core memories are, and they always shock me. And they're usually like just small times. Like he always talks about a water gun fight me and my husband and him had in our backyard. And we were running and jumping, you know, like and I think about that a lot, and it kind of helps me like really put things in perspective. It doesn't always have to be like the most extravagant thing, you know? I mean, sometimes it is, but I think that that always like hits me.

SPEAKER_01 47:18

Yeah, I love it. Yeah. Well, I know we're coming up on time, but I'm also curious. So, how how old's your son? How far out from birth are you? He's five. He's five. Okay. So what do you do now to keep an awesome core? Sounds like continual breath work. Like, what are other kind of fitness and uh strength moves that you do on the daily?

SPEAKER_00 47:39

Yeah, I mean, honestly, it doesn't look a ton different. Like I I still include all the core moves that I think are way better than like a leg lift, if that makes sense. Like I could do leg lifts if I wanted to, but it's just like for me, doesn't feel like it's the most like bang for my buck anymore now that I know a little bit more. Um, I really try to keep it functional and quick. Like I I am a mom and I do have multiple businesses and I don't want to waste an hour working out, even though I enjoy it, it still is like not what my plan is. Um, so usually I'll start with some breathing and mobility, then I'll I'll make sure my workouts are hitting the core in different ways. Like, like I said, like an overhead reverse lunge is better than just like a lunge with your hands at your sides. So, sort of just thinking like bang for your buck in a movement without being like crazy creative, right? Like keep the basics and now, like what if I just put my hands over my head? Anytime keeping it as simple as possible, whatever your weight is stacked on top of is what's working. So if your hands go over your head, everything is working. Does that kind of make sense?

SPEAKER_01 48:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:46

Yeah. So like that's how I like to think. Um, and then usually I have like one compound movement in my workout. Um, sometimes I'll just do two to four exercises four times through. And then running is something that gives me a lot of like mental clarity. So I keep my runs like no longer than like anywhere between two and four miles is maximum. I've never been like a distance runner like I have, and I just it was not for me. Um, but I keep them nice and short. And I think that's just like for me at this age, when we become like over 30, running isn't gonna give us the things it did when we were younger. Um, but for me, it's a mental piece that is like really freeing for me, and it's also very quick. I can do that in 15 minutes and then I'm done, and I feel like I'm done for the day. I don't feel like I did less or anything like that. Um, so yeah, I keep it simple. I move probably four to six days a week. Um, usually I'll take like a day off, and it's usually a busy weekday. Um, weekends always try to work out with my son. I think the more we do it with our kids, the better. He thinks work is working out for the record. That's like what he thinks. He's like, mommy's going to work, and I'll be like doing kettlebells in the backyard. And I'm like, he's really gonna be confused when he gets older. Um but uh but yeah, so I always try to include him. We try to include him as much as we can, and it gets easier, it gets better. The more they are exposed to it, the less they are annoyed by it, if that makes sense. Like then they want to be a part of it, and that becomes really rewarding. So um, yeah, now it's just that I like nutrition, I don't think hard about it. I don't, I I eat things I want to eat, but I don't overeat. Um, I think that's like the biggest piece of it. I think I've spent so much time, like I said, kind of pre-pregnancy in this world of like needing a flat stomach and all of that. And like I don't know. I think that I'm just so happy where I'm at. I think I'm proud of what my body has done. And I think every mother should be proud of what their body has done, especially if you're doing the work, you know. Like, I'm not saying you shouldn't be proud if you're not doing the work. I just think like in the back of your head, if you're like, I'm working out, I'm showing up, I'm happy with what I'm doing, then what what more can we want? You know, like I think that that's perfect and that's exactly what it should be. And there might be another time and place in our life when we do have two hours to work out, and maybe when we're 50, we get six packs, but like, you know, that's not where my life is right now. Um, and so I think there's a lot of like if you can take that high cortisol stress that doesn't need to be there out of your life, your body will actually respond like so much better.

SPEAKER_01 51:19

Yeah. I think that's the struggle with the external validation piece too, because everyone, kind of like you were saying, like in me in my 20s too, you get caught up in how you look and how the external validation is, you know, do people see you as a hard worker and like having a hard work method. And in reality, like you can't see your core, but that's you know, those type of things matter. Like inside your mental health, all the things that you can't see are key pieces that matter. And so it's how do we know, have that internal knowing of having strong core, having a strong mental game, you know, focused on what's valuable in life. Like all of those things need to be front and center, and knowing how proud we are of our bodies, of making it through this crazy thing called birth and raising kids. Like all those pieces are so important, but still we're like, oh, my, you know, my body's destroyed from the outside and like everything's hell in a handbasket. So it's like that mental reframe is huge.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

It is, it's hard, it really is. And I I think like what I can always tell women, like especially the the ones I work with in person, and they're saying, you know, I I want this, I want that. I kind of like the things you were just saying, and I'm in my head or out loud to them, I'm saying, where is the time for the things that you want? You know, like the time isn't there. That's okay. Like, you being these kids' moms, like when I'm I'm thinking of a specific client who has three young kids, and one is like six months old, and she's really hung up about her body not changing. And I'm like, one, you're showing up here two days a week. It might not be the speed that you want it to be, but this is what you have to give, and that is perfect. Like, I think we overassume, like, I think we think we can do so much as a mom, and we can, but at the same time, there is always gonna be a limit, and there has to be things that you look at and you're like, I am glad I'm giving my time to my kids instead of to my more time to my body. Like, I am giving time to my body and I am slowly working towards it. I'm not doing nothing, but like where I'm at is where is where I'm like happy because I think I think like expectations are the hardest thing, right? You think you just go to the gym two times a week and then you're gonna change. And I think that is not always true. And I think if you think that now you're disappointed. So I really try to give women like realistic expectations of like you might not get exactly where you want to be right now if you don't have five days a week to work out for 20 minutes or 30 minutes each. If you have two days a week, that is still good and you are still doing enough because right now you don't have a nanny and you have your son and your daughter and your other one's not sleeping. Like, like there's times when it'll come back around. And I think seasons are just such a really like useful way to look at it as like this is a season. But yeah, I think like stepping back and taking that bird's eye view and also realizing like I am doing everything that I can, um, I think can be helpful. And and then I think there is gonna be a time when you do have more time and now you can do more, you know. Like if your kid is sleeping through the night, like you probably can wake up and work out in the morning. You know, it's not about being soft forever, but I think having a softness to motherhood and to yourself when the time is right is important. And then I think being realistic and being like, well, I've been sleeping eight hours a night for the last two months, I could probably wake up and work out in the morning. Do you know what I mean? Like, I think there's the right balance.

SPEAKER_01 54:54

Yeah. And I wish I would have known that or been at least flexible and creative thinking around it from the get-go, too. Because for me specifically, I'm thinking, I was like, workouts have to be 45 minutes. They have to like, you know, really hit home to do it. So I was very much like, let's schedule that in, like, let's do it three to four times a week from the beginning, when really thinking back on it, it's like, no, I could be lying on the ground playing with my toddler and doing something for five minutes that could really benefit me once a week. Or like your kettlebell example of being in the backyard. Like if you had a kettlebell 15 minutes and then your kids go where you go and they're outside playing while you do a kettlebell workout, like doing that once a day or you know, for five days a week is amazing. You don't need to do an hour for every single day or just one walk a day. You know, whatever that small amount is that works for you, it can integrate with being with your family. You don't have to carve out an hour every day to disappear for a workout.

SPEAKER_00 55:59

A hundred percent. Yeah. I think it just comes down to like keeping your mind really open and being like okay with flexing and like seeing things in different ways and just like realizing that we have to grow and shift and move with this whole life of ours as women. Like, we don't stay stagnant. Women don't stay stagnant, they don't stay the same, they change. And I think that like evolving with yourself is like the best way. And I think the most healthy mindset I've se women have is when they're like open to evolving and changing things because that's how life goes.

SPEAKER_01 56:31

Yeah, so good. Well, is there anything else that we didn't cover in terms of tips that you think are super critical? I'm like have so many good takeaways, like keep my back flat. Yeah, I'm gonna check my posture after this. Is there anything else we didn't cover that you'd want to throw out there?

SPEAKER_00 56:49

No, I think we covered a lot, honestly. I think it's good. And then some of the stuff is so tough to teach on here, so I would definitely say like stay patient and like you know, visit my Instagram. I post a ton of free things, and I think like find um find support like from a coach that you trust because I think um it I don't have an accounting degree, I don't do my accounting. So if you don't have a personal training degree and a pre- and postnatal degree, I don't think anyone expects you to know what to do. Um, so I think like let yourself off the hook and I think it's certainly the best time to pay for a program um to have someone walk you through it because um it's tough, it's confusing. So stay patient.

SPEAKER_01 57:28

Love it. Well, Erica, thank you so much for joining us. Yes. Thank you for having me, Aaron.

SPEAKER_00 57:33

This was so much fun.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

And then if people do want to learn more, where can they visit you?

SPEAKER_00 57:39

Yes, so at Erica Wald underscore on Instagram. Um, that's the best place to do it. EricaWald.com has a lot about my programs. I offer a free week always if you just want to give it a shot. And if you're in Denver, I own Commit Fitness Studio. So absolutely come check it out. You can mention this podcast and I'll give you a free class.

SPEAKER_01 57:58

Awesome. Well, thank you again. Yes, thank you, Byron. Thanks for listening to another episode of Find Your Fuel. If you enjoyed the show and want to support us, please leave a comment or review. And before we go, I have to give you the obligatory medical and legal disclaimer. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. The advice and recommendations we discuss are not intended as medical advice and do not replace the treatment or care of a physician or any other primary health care provider. Using the information shared today does not create a doctor-patient relationship and it should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, exercise routine, or medication. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk. So, in a nutshell, let's be smart and remember these stories and conversations are for educational purposes only to help other women find the fuel to live their best lives. We'll see you in the next episode.