Welcome to our first Street Parking Pregnancy & Postpartum newsletter!

We're thrilled to bring you resources, tips, and community highlights to support you on this incredible journey of motherhood and beyond. Many of our newsletters will focus on the pregnancy and postpartum season, however, our resources will also often benefit people in any stage of life. We will be covering many different topics as we go, so stay tuned!

Now, let's dive in!

“In the Zone” Endurance Tips & More!

Are you eager to get back into running after having your baby? Or maybe you’ve suffered an injury and aren’t sure how to get started again. Our Return to Run Assessment PDF is a tool you can utilize to help you assess strengths and areas of opportunity so you can effectively train forward.

Download it now to get started on your Return to Run journey!

📥 RETURN TO RUN ASSESSMENT

🌠 Did you know…? We have a YouTube playlist — Movement Tips and Strategies! These videos offer customizations designed specifically for pregnancy and postpartum, as well as core and pelvic health considerations.

This month our tips are aimed at helping you stay "In the Zone" by exploring our Endurance programming here at Street Parking and all it has to offer, no matter what stage of life you are in! During these seasons in particular, take time to adjust and modify exercises, implementing strategies that support pelvic health. When you do, it allows you to continue to focus on your cardiovascular health while also meeting yourself where you are.

Check out these videos for our best tips and strategies for all things ENDURANCE!

New Blog Alert!

We know diastasis recti (DR or DRA) is a common concern during pregnancy, postpartum, and even years beyond. Our latest blog post dives deeper into DRA offering valuable insights and strategies to help you on your journey.

“While ‘do this/don’t do that’ advice regarding exercise may be well-intended, research does not support limiting certain activities or movements in the prenatal or postpartum time frame. There are no research-supported best exercises for DRA rehab. We suggest a well-rounded, progressive strengthening program that is SIMPLE enough to get done but NOT EASY — you need to be challenged to drive adaptive change! Consider customizing or modifying an exercise if you experience hard/firm doming. If you still have questions and concerns, consider seeking support from a trusted rehab or fitness provider for individualized advice, and reach out to us as needed at mamas@streetparking.com.”

🔑 Read the full blog HERE.

How to Rebuild Sit Ups Postpartum

Should I do sit ups postpartum?
I heard that sit ups are bad, what should I do to replace them?
When can I start them?
What if I have diastasis recti — should I avoid them?

These are all really common questions in regards to rebuilding sit ups postpartum (or even after abdominal surgery) and could apply to anyone looking to build their sit up strength.

In the Diastasis blog you’ll read about why limiting certain movements isn’t supported. Of course this is individual, but for most folks, following a progressive strengthening plan to return to a movement is recommended!

Where to begin? We recommend first going through some basic rehab and breathing exercises. A great place to start is our FREE Street Parking Recovery program which is a valuable program whether you are postpartum, injured, or recovering from abdominal surgery.

Next: Start exploring with head lifts and curl ups (aka crunches). You can test various strategies, for example, trying an exhale breath as you lift your head up.

As you become more confident with head lifts and curl ups, it’s time to start progressing! We love utilizing bands to help load the sit up for additional support in an eccentric phase (that’s the “going down” portion) and then allowing it to help you come back up to the top of the rep.

Start low and slow here. Assess how you feel, test positions to see what feels good and what you may have more opportunity to strengthen (for example, you’ll notice a knees up versus a butterfly style could feel very different). Then gradually add in volume and even increase the tempo. You can progress with the bands by using minimal support or only when you need it most.

If you don’t have bands or you want to try another progression, you can try a weighted sit up. But wait? Isn’t that harder? Well, that depends…

We recommend using a light weight (5-10#) to use as a counter weight. As you sit up, it will actually help make the sit up feel a bit easier! Continue to explore positions as well as breath, tension, and pressure strategies. Start with lower volume and intensity here and gradually build. These could be a great to use in a SHIFT workout with lower volume sit ups for a #fitnessfreedom opportunity!

As you continue to rebuild strength, we don’t have to stop at the sit up. It’s a great movement that we need for activities of daily living; however, you can continue to develop strength by adding extension with an abmat and then a GHD machine.

Finally, there is no timeline for this. Some people may need a few weeks to rebuild the sit up, while for others (depending on their own unique and individual considerations) it may take much longer. That’s ok. So, the main takeaway? It’s great to rebuild sit ups! The process can help with your postpartum healing and recovery to keep you moving forward towards all your fitness goals!

👉 Check out THIS VIDEO for examples on how you can progress sit ups and tag us with the progression you like best! #spmoms or #sppregnancyandpostpartum

Community Highlights: “We See You, Mama!”

This month we are highlighting one of our amazing community members, Lauren Bunting!

Lauren has been an inspiration to so many of us, consistently working out and sharing her pregnancy journey. Her videos show how she stays consistent by utilizing customizations, Extra Programs, and really just keeping it real whether that’s some days being able to up the intensity or do “More Than Nothing.” Lauren’s kids often make her IG videos and you can feel how much fun they are having with their Mom who is leading the way.

From one of Lauren’s recent posts, she shares:

“Storytime: I was pregnant during covid with a previous baby, almost the same time as @fearlessmiranda with her second when she was posting weekly pregnancy updates. Those updates were so relatable and made me feel less alone. I have gone back to those updates during this pregnancy as well. Looking back at how hard the end of pregnancy is for so many people. Mentally and physically. There are so many reasons to be thankful for Street Parking. It’s not just about the programming, but also the community, connections, and coaches/leaders.”

We see you Lauren, and we're cheering you on every step!

📲 To read more on Lauren’s journey, you can find one of her IG posts HERE!

FOR QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK, OR COMMENTS:

📧 mamas@streeparking.com
📲 @coach_katejohnson
📲 @terri.elder.dpt

“A Newsletter is Born”