Vanessa Barker Fitness

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Vanessa Barker Fitness

⭐️ Mobile Personal Trainer ⭐️ Pregnancy, Postnatal and Peri-menopause Exercise

26/02/2024

It’s YEARS since I worked in a gym, and when I train now I sometimes come across equipment I haven’t used before. Which can be intimidating, but also fun.

The curved treadmill is one example, but I’ve been using it this week for the first time 🏃‍♀️

Have you tried it? Want to? What do you think of it?

I really like it, as it lowers impact so is good for joints, and I feel more glutes engagement as I drive the belt. It’s really easy to have in a circuit too, as you can get on and off so quickly. It feels more challenging though, compared to being able to set the speed on a flat treadmill and then have that maintained for you.

I’m interested in your thoughts though. And is there any kit you see in your gym that you haven’t tried yet and want to?

19/02/2024

Am I hitting the start of perimenopausal brain fog…?😭

Jumper was in the gym for 3 days and I didn’t even notice, not sure how I walked out without realising I had one less item of clothing on. I’ve also lost a pair of prescription sunglasses I must have left somewhere, and I lost something else annoying but I can’t remember what it was right now.

I’m still studying perimenopausal exercise- 3rd Age Woman qualification done, Meno Strength underway. Brain health is a HUGE part of it which good movement can help with, along with other lifestyle factors. Trying to learn more by reading Dr Lisa Mosconi.

What are your top brain health tips?

Also, my gf was checking for hairs to see if it was ours because she says I moult and leave my hair on all clothes including hers 🤣

(Bonus: ⭐️ for anyone who spots the 2 most le***an things about these messages 🏳️‍🌈 )

09/02/2024

I’ve found this info really useful, to share with clients and remind myself.

Tbf, usually when we have a break from training it’s because of life (like sickness) and it is really frustrating, but having a few weeks off from training really isn’t a problem, and here’s why.

The second slide is the result of research following 2 groups. 1 trained continuously for 24 weeks, 1 had 6 weeks of training then 3 weeks rest before another 6 weeks, rest, repeat.

After 24 weeks the overall improvement was virtually the same.

The longer you train, the more your rate of improvement decreases. So after resting, yes you’ve lost fitness, but you’ll improve quickly again.

In the grand scheme of things, the break isn’t important, getting back to your regular routine is.

I will add, for a few clients in particular: please note there has been a decrease in fitness after the break. Reduce the workload when you first go back to training, do not go straight back to the same level as before. You know who you are 👀

CTR = continuous training
PTR = periodic training
TB-CSA = tricep measurement

(Since I can’t link it here, for the paper google ‘Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month of continuous and periodic strength training’. October 2012, European Journal of Applied Physiology)

06/02/2024

I sent this photo to my gf last year when I’d dragged myself to the gym for a workout but was NOT feeling it.

I’ve struggled with my motivation on a few fronts over the last year or so, including with my training. And I thought it might be useful to share that even someone who likes exercise and has made a career of it doesn’t always want to go to the gym.

Most recently, a super stressful house move (but yay, I finally have my own home 🎉), along with a few other things, meant a break from training. I have this conversation with clients a lot, as it’s so frustrating when a break (usually due to illness) means a drop on fitness. For me, that combined with the break in the habit makes it hard to get going again.

What works for me: make it easy to restart the habit.

The thought of doing my old programme and feeling unfit and finding it super hard can put me off doing anything. And I’ve lost fitness, so I don’t *need* to train as hard as I did before.

I reduce my sets, I lower my reps, and I allow myself an easy workout just to get to the gym. And I build up slowly. Suddenly the prospect of my workout doesn’t feel so awful. By the time I’m pushing myself the habit is back and I’m okay with the harder workout.

Plus- overdo it on your first session back and you ache for days, meaning you’re less likely to get back to the gym for the next session.

So, although I feel like as a PT I shouldn’t admit it, sometimes I don’t wanna go to the gym.

Is motivation something you struggle with?

03/10/2022

Very proud to have completed my 3rd Age Woman certification with Burrell Education

Health and fitness coaching through peri to post menopause, and keeping informed to guide myself through my own transition too.

05/07/2021

Posted • My name is Sheridan, I am 36 weeks pregnant I’m a midwife and I’m currently one of the people who NICE would recommend has induction of labour at 39 weeks.
I am at a 3 fold increased risk of dying during or just after my pregnancy.
But I will tell you one thing.
My blackness is not something to be “fixed”with induction.
It’s not me, or people like me, that is the issue here.
The new draft NICE guideline offering induction of labour at 39 weeks to ALL Black and Brown women and birthing people regardless, of if they have a healthy pregnancy, as a response to the increased mortality and morbidity rates amongst Black and Brown families and their babies.

It took me a while to summon up the emotional capacity to create a response to the NICE draft guideline. I’ve had a difficult pregnancy, I have experienced first hand the racism of our maternity system, I have been made to feel that my body is faulty, I have been ignored, my pain invalidated, my concerns not escalated. There have been scary times, and dark times.
This recommendation is another blow. It is harmful, racist, and calls for zero accountability for the root cause of the racial disparities to be addressed. There is no evidence base for this recommendation, the statistics are a result of systemic racism; and to offer such a serious intervention based on skin colour has the potential to widen the gap between people of different ethnicities and in all honesty has a vibe that is very similar to eugenics, it’s a very damaging and dangerous slope.

We have until the 6th of July to respond to the recommendations. Do it.

I can speak from my postgraduate research and from personal experience that it’s not the physiology of Black or Brown people that is the risk… it is the system that is meant to care for us that puts our bodies at risk.
Black and Brown people’s bodies are not broken.

So no thank you, I don’t want your routine induction at 39 weeks because I am not broken.

Head over to the amazing to hear her speak on this. Or to or for more information.

29/12/2020

Cos they’re bu****it.

****it

08/12/2020

Currently still online and outdoor sessions only, but still having fun and getting results with them!

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

30/11/2020

This article is a few months old (see the final photo and Google it) but it’s well worth reading. There’s a poignant beauty to his words as Elliot shares what really matters when you strip away the noise.

Start your week with gratitude. If ever there was a year to appreciate your body, and growing old, this is it.

27/11/2020

Love my clients, love my job, and feedback like this makes my day ❤️

26/11/2020

As usual gift certificates are available, and thankfully it seems I can include massage vouchers again this year!

You can give the gift if fitness with 1-2-1 personal training or Pilates, or massage, including sports, postnatal, pregnancy and ScarWork treatments.

Just get in touch if you’re interested in buying one!

24/11/2020

Deadlift progressions.

I train a lot of beginner clients who often, when we first speak, say they’ve struggled with technique in the past, or find the thought of gyms intimidating.

So I thought I’d show you how an exercise can be broken down, and how using simple things like a chair to guide the body can help learn a new movement. It’s just about finding the right progression and starting there.

1. The hip hinge. Use a wall to push your bum back. The deadlift requires a bend at the hips, not the knees, so this helps drill that. I usually start clients practising this as a stretch.

2. A chair can be used for this too. Anything that blocks the shins so if they start to move forward you feel it and can correct the movement.

3. A resistance band is a great place to start for adding some load. At the hardest part of the movement- when bent forwards- the band is at its most slack, so reduces the risk of pulling on the back if you struggle to control it here (which I demo). This is when the idea of maintaining tension through the core and upper body is introduced.

4. It can be hard to maintain that tension, so 2 tricks here. A band around the back and under the armpits- you have to squeeze your arms in (using the lat muscles) to keep it in place. This ‘squeeze the lats’ tension is important to maintain alignment when deadlifting. Option 2 is use the band on a door- you have to squeeze the lats to keep your hands close to your body as the band pulls them away. Both mean you can recognise how this feels, and know what I’m going on about when I tell you ‘lats tight’ when you’re lifting.

5. Then we introduce weight! Kettlebells, barbells, different foot positions... however you do the deadlift it is a fantastic full body exercise. Even if postnatal, starting with an appropriate weight is a chance to build in the pelvic floor and make sure you use the core breath to reduce pressure on it during day to day lifting.

These are the basics, let me know if you need any specific tips 💪🏻

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http://www.vanessabarker.com/

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