Kendra Petrone: It’s A Stretch

One thing I have to say about the personal trainers at Fitness Together – is that they definitely keep safety first. As a part of each personal training session, they do what’s called movement prep dynamic stretching for the first 5 minutes of each workout. It warms up the muscles and increases the blood flow to areas that will be used during session.

The last 5 minutes of my workouts are my favorite because we focus on stretching!

For me being pregnant I have to do a modified stretching routine — which means all stretches that I do — I have to either stand or sit as opposed to lying on my back and tummy. This is the best practice for any pregnant women who are in their 2nd trimester and moving forward. As my pregnancy progresses, the amazing trainers will work more with the bench and stability ball.

My co-worker Katie had an amazing stretch session as well. Trainer Brett and Katie worked on lower body so it was natural for her to stretch out the area that she worked! Brett performed assisted lower body stretches on Katie which are more effective because the muscles tend to relax more allowing for a better stretch.

Check back to see what happens at our PACK* workout!

Kendra’s Blog at Kiss108fm

*PACK by the way is FT speak for their group training sessions. A highly effective, low cost small group alternative to personal training.

Kendra trains at FTMedford

To find a FT Studio near you, go to FTGetsResults

Kendra’s Week Five: Feeling Better Than Ever

I completed my 5th week at Fitness Together in Medford – and I am feeling better than ever!! We mostly worked my legs, back and shoulders… I have to say, I never thought I would feel this good at 17 weeks pregnant but I do!!

Kendra’s Blog at Kiss108

Kendra trains at FTMedford

To find a FT Studio near you, check out FTGetsResults.com

Kendra’s Week Four: Eating The Rainbow

So now that I am in my second trimester I should be gaining about a pound a week and my trainers Maria and Kristine have told me that my body fat percentage should be be increasing slightly.

However, I lost inches everywhere!!! (my chest, arms, legs, and shoulders). I lost 6.5 inches from my total body and only gained 2.5 inches in my belly.. which is obviously needed being that I am pregnant.

My body fat went up .5% and I only gained 5 lbs! …but aside from my results (which even shocked me!!), when my trainer Kristine asked me what my fitness goals, nutrition goals and treats for myself would be she also asked if I was “Eating The Rainbow”

And I looked at her funny and said, “doing what?!” (haha)

‘Eating The Rainbow’ means eating all the foods with colors in the rainbow (since I can’t take Pre-Natal Vitamins because they make me sick). I thought this was the greatest line ever.

I will surely be Eating The Rainbow!!!

MY NUTRITION GOALS

To keep eating at least 6 meals (a variety of healthy foods)

MY FITNESS GOALS

To add in more cardio in between my training sessions, to keep up my endurance and heart rate

MY TREATS

I will plan a nice pedicure and maybe pre-natal massage for myself as a reward!

 

Follow Kendra’s workout blog at Kiss108fm. Kendra works out at FT Medford

To find an FT studio near you go to FTGetsResults.com

The earlier posts:

Kendra’s Wedding Party Workout: It’s In The Details

Week 4: Kendra & Katie Get Results

Kendra’s Week 3: You Are What You Eat

Week 2: Feel The Burn

Kiss108fm’s Kendra Petrone Joins The Wedding Party Workout

To take advantage of the special Kiss108fm discount download the coupon.

Kendra’s Wedding Party Workout: It’s In The Details

by Martha Hicks Leta

When Kendra Petrone signed on to participate in Fitness Together’s Wedding Party Workout, she went in with the goal of getting herself photo-ready for the slew of weddings and baby showers she would be taking part in during the coming months.

Along with all the social commitments, Kendra’s job as producer and on-air personality for the morning show at Kiss 108 FM often puts her in front of the camera for promotional events and concerts. In addition, Kendra’s work shooting small weddings, birthdays and special events for her photography business “Let’s Take A Picture” leaves her keenly aware that photographs can be pretty unforgiving.

So when Fitness Together partnered with Kiss 108 to promote the Wedding Party Workout, Kendra was really excited to begin training with Maria Pasquale Marques and Kristine Barry, who were really excited to get the chance to work with a local celebrity.

At Fitness Together in Medford, Kendra would undergo a fitness assessment and then participate in the 8-week program of nutritional coaching as well as one-on-one and small group training. But, as someone wise once said, all human plans are subject to revision by Nature and when Kendra discovered that she was newly pregnant with her second child, her training plans had to be revised.

While this may have seemed like a curve ball to the Wedding Party Workout promoters, it wasn’t much of one for Advanced Certified Personal Trainers Maria Pasquale Marques and Kristine Barry.

“As a matter of course, we customize our programs for each of our clients, so we always vary workouts to give a well-rounded alternative to the typical workouts of other gyms,” says Maria. That includes tailoring workouts for pregnancy.

And so, without much fanfare, Kendra’s Wedding Party Workout became The Healthy Pregnancy Workout.

Maria says there are very important factors to consider when training during pregnancy, with the primary focus centering on the well-being of mother and child. After getting her doctor’s clearance and guidelines, Kendra received a fitness assessment from her trainers who then designed her personalized program.

“Kendra was near the end of her first trimester when we started training. She was already at a decent fitness level and her weight was well within the normal range, so the goals were to maintain her ideal pregnancy weight with proper nutrition, boost her cardio to give her the stamina for labor and incorporate exercises that improved flexibility, strength and functionality.”

Kendra found the workouts were challenging, but noticed the positive results almost immediately. “Working with trainers Maria and Kristine has really given me more energy and has taken away a little of my nausea. Plus, I am doing things now that I never thought I could do before I was pregnant!”

Along with the challenging and fun workouts, Kendra also really appreciates the fact that her trainers remind her frequently to listen to her body. During each workout they encourage her to drink plenty of water, rest and modify anything that feels uncomfortable. And while most women worry about gaining weight during pregnancy, Kendra’s trainers say that with pregnancy challenges like heartburn and nausea, women should be more concerned about getting enough of the right calories.

“When we sat down to do a nutrition assessment with Kendra, we discovered she actually wasn’t getting enough calories,” says Maria. “So, part of the nutrition plan we set for Kendra was for her to take in about 300 more calories than she did with her pre-pregnancy diet. In her second trimester we want Kendra to be gaining about a pound a week and we also want her body fat percentage to be increasing slightly,” says Maria.

She says that the best remedy for maintaining energy and proper calorie intake is to have more frequent and smaller meals throughout the day.

Kendra agrees. “I learned it’s all about portions and food choice. I eat 6 times a day. I try not to eat the same foods every day and I use the Fitness Together online nutrition journal to log in my daily intake of food. It’s not complicated and it’s not overwhelming. It makes a huge difference when you see what’s going into your body.”

Maria says her new client is definitely embracing the whole Fitness Together Experience. “Kendra had a great retest! She raved about how amazing she felt while pregnant! Kendra lost inches everywhere that she could (chest, arms, legs, and shoulders). She lost 6.5 inches from her total body and gained 2.5 inches in her belly. Her body fat went up .5% and her weight went up 5 lbs. Perfection!”

Follow Kendra’s workout blog at Kiss108fm. Kendra works out at FT Medford

To find an FT studio near you go to FTGetsResults.com

The earlier posts:

Week 4: Kendra & Katie Get Results

Kendra’s Week 3: You Are What You Eat

Week 2: Feel The Burn

Kiss108fm’s Kendra Petrone Joins The Wedding Party Workout

 

To take advantage of the special Kiss108fm discount download the coupon.

 

 

Fit for Motherhood

By Martha Hicks Leta

My husband is training for a ten-mile adventure race, which involves, among other things, scaling towering obstacles, commando crawling under barbed wire, jumping into an ice-cold vat of Jell-O, and carrying a 30 pound log for three miles.  The race is called the Tough Mudder. I’m not so impressed by this set of challenges. I would like to see a race called the Tough Mother in which men get to experience third trimester pregnancy while sprinting for a connecting flight through Dallas as they push a sweating toddler strapped into a stroller with a broken wheel while carrying a sticky car seat on their head and a gigantic diaper bag slung over their shoulders filled with leaking juice boxes and stale snacks. At the end of it they get to fold laundry, clean out a refrigerator and then give birth while reading “Horton Hears A Who” with all the voices and accents to the aforementioned toddler.

Having been through pregnancy and early motherhood myself more than once, I now know what I wish I knew then: this is something a person should think about training for.

Motherhood and certainly labor itself is nothing if not a test of strength, courage and endurance, so maintaining your fitness program, or even starting one sometime well before the doctor says, “Push!” may be in your best interest. But many women find safely navigating the challenges a fitness regime for a body that, at times, can seem alien (or like it’s growing one) can be confusing and overwhelming. Should you give up those Zumba classes and switch to yoga? Or is it best to stay off your feet and catch up on “Lost” for the next few months?

Megan Anderson was one of those tentative people during her first pregnancy. Despite the fact that she was a seasoned competitive runner who knew her body pretty darn well, she was so unsure of what she should or shouldn’t do during her pregnancy she erred on the side of caution. “My doctor’s recommendations were the basis for my workouts. By the end of my first trimester I’d given up running and resistance training and would try to walk outside three to four times a week. I didn’t enjoy my pregnancy and often felt uncomfortable and lethargic.”

Three months after her daughter was born, Megan was downsized from a job she didn’t really love, which allowed her to shift gears and meld her interest in athletics into a new career. She went back to school and became an Advanced Certified Personal Trainer. A short while after landing a position at Fitness Together in Westborough, she took on the challenge of studying for her prenatal/postnatal certification, all while continuing to work as a trainer, caring for her toddler and navigating her second pregnancy.

She credits her education in personal training with giving her the wherewithal to surmount such a daunting set of challenges. “If I hadn’t continued my cardio, resistance, and flexibility training throughout my second pregnancy, then I would not have had the energy or motivation to juggle it all!  But I was able to complete all the required reading and studying and complete the exam to send it in two weeks before my second child was born!”

The experience galvanized Megan’s commitment to help other women by guiding them through an appropriate fitness regime before, during and after pregnancy.  “I am excited to use my knowledge and personal experience to help others, especially moms-to-be, to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle and to enjoy it at the same time!”

There is certainly a lot to know about exercising safely during pregnancy, so finding an experienced trainer like Megan Anderson with knowledge of pre and postnatal exercise is a great way to go, and the payoff will certainly be worth it. The right amount and the right kind of exercise during pregnancy can keep your energy up and your weight gain to normal levels. It can also mean a shorter and less complicated labor and a quicker recovery, which will let you be the best mother you can be.

To schedule an appointment with Megan Anderson at Fitness Together in Westborough call 508-366-0099 or go to FTWestborough

To find a Fitness Together training expert near you go to FTGetsResults.com

Megan has suggested some additional articles mothers, or mothers-to-be, or even those, ahem, Tough Mudders, might want to check out:

Happier Smarter Babies
Running While Pregnant
Running Goals During Pregnancy