T H E B L O G

In this quick pregnancy workout Rebecca Fredericks, pre and post natal exercise specialist,

shows you 4 different exercises that you can do from home to work almost all the muscles in your body.

This little routine is brilliant if you want a workout but aren't feeling very motivated or don't want to move away from your home environment but still want to get your heart pumping and your muscles strong.

It will only take you around 7 minutes to complete but do take as many rests as you need to.

ALSO if you're still feeling strong and energised after the second set please feel free to do a third set!

I've just done two sets here but don't feel limited to doing just two.

Additionally if you are feeling really tired and can't manage the second set - don't worry!

A little exercise is better than no exercise so just do what you can! 

Many people, and particularly mums, can experience something called ‘lazy glutes’, another term for this would be a ‘flat bottom’.

We can get a flat bottom for a number of reasons and the main one we’re focussing on today is because of poorly firing glute muscles.

When we have poorly firing glute muscles our hip flexors tighten and our quads (thigh muscles) have a tendency  to take over. 

This can be a problem with exercises like squats - where the quads rather than the glutes do the work.

So today I’m going to take you through 6 different exercises which force your gluten to do the work.

The format I’m using is called Tabata - each circuit consists of 2 exercises each of which you’ll do for 20 or 30 seconds for a total circuit time of 4 minutes.

Circuit 1:

Quadruped Back to Side Taps - right leg

Quadruped Back to Side Taps - left leg

Circuit 2:

Bridges

Bridge Pulses

Circuit 3:

Standing 1/4 Circle Taps - right leg

Standing 1/4 Circle Taps - left leg

Give it a...

If you’re anything like me, you start each year full of grand plans and lofty goals. Many of which are exactly the same as last year (no I really really am going to give up chocolate this year…)

But 2020 has been.....errr unexpected, unprecedented, horrific (insert appropriate adjective) and has probably thrown you way off course.

So, in today’s article I want to share with you the simple 3 step plan I’ve put in place for myself, and my clients, to ensure that we turn this sh*t-storm of a year around and make it a great year for us personally.  

And, whether your goals are to get into your best shape physically, start that new business or even just get the washing done without killing a small person - I'm hoping these 3 tips are going to help you:

1) Set Yourself Targets

Obvious. Yes. But I’m not talking about goals here, I’m talking about targets. Targets are more focused than goals and they’re easier to manage and realize.

The trick, when creating your targets is to focus on...

After having Ava (baby number 1) I found that breast-feeding completely depleted my bottom from any muscle or fat that I'd had there. Gone was my round little bottom and it was replaced with a couple of empty pitta breads...attractive!

Is your bottom a bit of a problem area too?

Is it not as pert as you'd like it? Does it lack shape? Or is is just a little on the large side?

About 80% of the clients I work with want me to help them tone up their bottoms, so in today's episode of RebeccaFredericsTV I share with you 4 easy bottom exercises that you can do from anywhere.

As always, if you want to make them harder add some weights!

Try doing 15 reps of all 4 exercises, without taking a break. Then rest for 3 minutes before performing the set of all 4 exercises 2 more times. Ouch!

Before you start to exercise it’s really important that you are clear on ‘why’ you are exercising.

Do you want to lose fat?

Do you want to tone your body?

Do you want to build muscle?

Do you want to improve your fitness?

Because it’s only by knowing what you want to achieve with exercise that you’re actually going to exercise in the correct way.

Let me break it down a little for you:

Let’s say your goal is to BUILD MUSCLE:

Weight: Heavy enough that you have what's called 'muscle failure' after the 8th rep - this means you can't possibly perform another rep without your hard earned rest period

Perform: 3 Sets of the exercise

Perform: 8 Repetitions of each exercise

Take a Rest between sets of: 2- 3 minutes

Frequency of exercise: 2/3 times per week

This means you would do 3 sets of 8 reps (e.g 8 tricep dips performed 3 times in total). After each set of 8 reps you would rest for 2 - 3 minutes.

Alternatively let’s say your goal is to BUILD MUSCULAR ...

Sleep is important. That’s a no-brainer. But why is it so important, and what exactly does it do for our bodies and minds?

Well, this is something that has interested me for most of my life, and even more so with the severe and brutal sleep deprivation that comes with having a new-born (it's a form of torture for a reason!)

Why is it that I get ill as soon as I have a couple of nights of 4-5 hours sleep?

Why am I snappy, bordering on vile, first thing in the morning when I’m still sleepy?

Why do I feel horrible all day, lacking in energy and craving sugar when I’m tired?

Does sleep, or a lack of, really cause all these behaviours, and, if so, why?

So this week I wanted to share some of the surprising discoveries I made about sleep.

Let’s get going:

1) Helps to prevent inflammation
I’m sure you’ve heard of inflammation and the detrimental effect it has on the body.

Inflammation is linked to a multitude of health problems and diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, ar...

Did you start the year thinking:

This is the year! this is the year I'm going to do it! I'm going to lose the weight. I'm going to get that promotion. I'm going to take the family to Costa Rica. It's going to be the BEST YEAR EVER!!

And then COVID-19 strike. Homeschooling. Working from home. Less time than ever before.

With the best intentions it's probably all come crashing down.

But even if Covid had never happened, research shows that it takes just 10 days, on average, for us to fall off the bandwagon and return to our old ways.

That means that most of us will have reached the 10th day and dropped our goals like a hot potato, so what can we do to help ourselves to get back on track?

Well, here are my 10 top tips:

1) Throw away all the naughty foods you have in your cupboards
If your cupboards are stacked with delicious and tempting treats that are full of empty calories and sugar you’re probably going to eat them.

So, throw them away before you do. Remove all temptation, so t...

This week my carpal tunnel has been keeping me up!

Someone definitely told me CP would go after pregnancy - they lied! 5 years later and it's as bad as ever - even with the gorgeous black wrist splints I wear to bed (they really are a thing of beauty...lucky Joe ;))

So, this week I’ve been researching healthy ways to fight or overcome some of the chronic conditions we're all beginning to experience as we get older (sigh).

Because, whether we’re currently in pain or not, more and more of us are turning to foods to self - cure.

And, if you’ve heard of functional medicine, you’ll know that more and more medical professionals are also looking to food and lifestyle rather than medication as a way of treating and preventing health problems and diseases.

So this is what today’s article is all about – using healthy foods to encourage us to empower ourselves to take our health into our own hands.  

In this article I share with you my 5 favourite health foods that are not only good for you...

Detox! Oh it's such a hot term right now. 

But doesn't it mean drinking nothing but celery juice (with the mud still on obviouslah) for 18 months? Or rubbing crystals of epsom salt directly into you cellulite 7 times a day?

Well - no. And certainly not if you're a mum because...who on earth has the time or energy for any of that kind of cr*p??

However - a detox actually is rather a good thing to do. For both our bodies and our minds.

Because, we often become ‘toxic’ after periods of overindulging with fatty foods and alcohol, as well as other toxins.

And when our body is toxic, our natural detoxification system can no longer cope, it becomes overwhelmed causing every other system in our body to become negatively affected.

If you’re suffering from constipation, food allergies, an inability to lose weight, acne, rosacea, eczema, persistent headaches, muscle pain or muscle fatigue – you need to detox.

And, even if you’re not suffering from any of the above, putting your body through a si...