Coach Molly

11/04/2021

Momma's gotta get her squats in!!!

Children are always welcome at Thunderbolt, and they are *especially* welcome in the Prenatal/Postpartum class. This class meets at noon - no other classes meet at that time. Some babies sleep 😴 and some babies coo 👼 while Momma lifts... on the other hand, any babies having a rough day may get rocked or held by the Coach 🙋‍♀️

10/14/2021

MOVE because it gives you pleasure and makes you healthier... Treat your body with respect and kindness... Prioritize spending time together over things... and your children will learn these values too.

In Coach Molly's Postpartum/prenatal Fitness Class, "littles" are always welcome (Even when their squat form shows us up 😄)

09/28/2021

Strict Pull-ups are my jam... ask anyone who knows me 😊

Want to get a pull-up? Here is a little tip - Negatives! Negatives are worth their weight in gold. Jump to chin above bar and lower your body as slowly as possible all the way down. The slower the better! Start with just 2-5.

Modification? You can use a band. Or (as shown) set up a bar at chest level - hang from the bar with your feet supporting you in front. Focus on going slow as you lower yourself. Using as much (or as little) support as you need from your feet.

09/24/2021

"You are your child's hero. With all your imperfections, faults, and weaknesses. Exactly as you are.
Your child's hero." -Elizabeth Pantley

Coach Molly's Prenatal/Postpartum class: babies/children always welcome.

02/27/2021

After having a baby:

✔It's important to be intentional about the return to exercise postpartum.

✔Your core and pelvic floor are still healing from pregnancy and birth (no matter what type of birth you had). It's important to work on making your whole trunk strong and stable again.

✔Slow is fast when it comes to healing. Your diastasis can take 6 months to a year to functionally close. This is normal - you can't rush healing. But you can make healing take much longer if you restart an old exercise routine or start "ab" workouts too early.

✔During pregnancy, your body made some pretty awesome adaptations for your growing belly, including an inhibited diaphragm and quad dominance. A return to exercise needs to include diaphragmatic breathing, and specific work on strengthening your posterior chain. (✊ )

❌Don't just jump back into your old exercise routine.

❌ Don't settle for a coach who gives "mods" or scaling. You deserve intentional, postpartum-specific rehab.

BIRTHFIT Postpartum Series with Coach Molly starts Tuesday. Whatever exercise routine or gym you will be returning to, set a solid foundation with rehab and healing.

⏩Find a BIRTHFIT Coach who will help you return to exercise the right way.⏪

12/19/2020

Oxytocin at the birth

❤️Love Conquers All at Birth
_
Oxytocin - the “love” hormone - is always present at birth. It helps start contractions and keeps labor progressing forward. When labor seems to stall or stops progressing forward, as a doula, we do a handful of things that include TOUCH, which facilitates the release of oxytocin.
_
Perhaps I’ll encourage the partner to hug and kiss mama. I may leave them alone for some intimate time. There’s lots of hugging, touching, massaging, and hand holding going on. And a favorite of mine, is having mama focus on my eyes or her partner’s eyes, simply letting her know that she is strong, she is loved and she is safe.
_
So essentially, at a birth, love really does conquer all. ❤️
_

12/13/2020

I know this statement is tough to swallow. I know it can feel hostile, harsh, and exaggerated to some folks.

As someone who has been working with pregnant and birthing folks as well as their support and care teams for the last eight years, I am 100% confident this statement is true. And if you've followed Birth Monopoly for any length of time, I know you agree. But listen...

Last night I was talking to a friend/colleague who provides mental health services for healthcare providers. She was saying how heartbreaking it is to see people who care so deeply and have worked so hard to get to where they are--coming to the realization that they've participated in a system that is abusive to patients.

I have to say, it actually gives me hope! It takes critical thinking and self-awareness to acknowledge you could be doing better--especially when "doing better" can mean going against the flow of your training and environment. It takes courage and strength to ask questions, learn how to do better, and make that change.

These are EXACTLY the kind of people who will change the system from the inside. We need folks who are able to think independently and stand on the courage of their convictions, if we are going to humanize this system for patients AND providers.

Trauma can be cyclical and self-reinforcing--but so can healing

11/18/2020

👏

Babies are no more manipulative in seeking warmth, nursing, and an emotional connection than an adult is in seeking a heat source, dinner, and friendship.

11/11/2020

Thank you for your service 🇺🇸

To all of our veterans, we thank you and we honor you today and always 🇺🇸
_

11/10/2020

Who wants to nerd out with me?!

I am a BIRTHFIT coach and this is one of my postpartum clients. She has a diastasis recti - a separation in her ab muscles. Every pregnant person has a separation after giving birth... it's an amazing compensation to make room for a growing baby! And this is one reason why we *must* take time to heal postpartum.

I tested her diastasis today. She did a mini-crunch as part of testing. Her separation is about 3 fingers wide, and it's deep (my fingers sink in deep -it feels like there is no tissue resisting my fingers).

BUT then when she took a stability breath - properly engaging her core muscles - there was zero separation and no "sinking" in. This is in the picture: normal core function, no separation, no gap.

BREATH, STABILITY, and HEALING. That's what we're doing over here in my Postartum class 🎉🙌

11/06/2020

When you arrive at the hospital in labor, you will most likely be screened for COVID-19. If you test positive, or if you have symptoms that suggest you might be infected, then you and your clinical team will have to decide together: