The Body & Movement

Menstrual cramps or gas

This is my mom. The woman who created the chicken walk.

If you ever asked me if I knew the difference between menstrual cramps or gas, I would have definitively said, “Yes.” With that opening line, you probably realize that this blog may come with a little TMI. I’m going to talk about my bowels more than you may care to know about. I’ll try to make the process at least mildly entertaining. But if you don’t have any menstrual or bowel trouble you’ve been trying to sort out, you can feel free to skip this one. However, if you have ever confused menstrual cramps for gas, keep reading.

Menstrual Cramps or Gas

I’m familiar with gas pain. As a kid if you had gas pain in our house my mom would make you get up and move. She called it the chicken walk. You would make big, exaggerated movements and get your knees up really high, practically pulling one knee up toward one shoulder and then repeating on the other side as you strutted around the room. If you weren’t doubled over in pain from gas cramps it would have been […]

Menstrual cramps or gasMaggie Downie2019-07-31T20:45:46-04:00

Handstand Helper

I’m actually working on my handstand, but this was the picture that had the most of me in it!

For two years I’ve been trying to do a handstand and the planche also known as the Peacock. Two years is a long time to work on something and still not be there. It can be frustrating. My failure at the planche is lack of strength. I’m just not strong enough in my shoulders, back or glutes to support myself in that position. And I can’t find my balance point. The handstand, on the other hand, has nothing to do with strength. I’m strong enough. I just can’t figure it out. If anything I’m not sure my shoulders are flexible enough for me to get in the right position.

I’m not giving up though and that’s the point. So far my experimentation with these exercise has been pretty regimented. Must have strength. Must follow this prescribed format. That has been helpful, but it’s only gotten me so far. My current mode of operation is to be more playful when I’m working on these exercises.

That’s helpful in a couple of ways. I’m less stressed […]

Handstand HelperMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:16:22-05:00

Finding Neutral

When talking about fitness and posture, you’ll often hear people refer to a neutral spine, but finding neutral can be harder than it seems for a natural position our body is supposedly supposed to have. Most often in fitness when instructors say neutral they are referring to the low back and pelvis, but all our joints have a neutral position. Experimenting with where your neutral is in the low back and pelvis is usually the easiest place to start. So let’s experiment with finding neutral in different positions.

Neutral Lying Down

The easiest way to find neutral is to lie down on the floor with knees bent, feet on the floor. This is the easiest position to find neutral because you can actually feel the floor (or not feel it). When you press the lower back toward the floor, known as imprinting, you can usually feel the floor touching your lower back. Conversely, or neutral you should have a slight arch in the lower back. There should be some space between your spine and the floor. There doesn’t have to be a lot of space and everyone’s neutral can be different. Generally, the rule is that you should be able to […]

Finding NeutralMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:23:08-05:00

Get the most out of your ab workouts

Most people I’ve met want fabulous abs. Others are looking for ways to strengthen and support their back knowing that abs play a roll. Whichever desire motivates us (and sometimes it’s both), we often make time for ab exercises. That’s great, but if you’re going spend time doing ab workouts, let’s make sure you are working them the best you can without hurting other parts of your body. Here are some ways to get the most out of your ab workouts.

Knees over Hips

It’s really easy for the knees to creep in, but keeping them over your hips will create a lot more ab work.

There are lots of exercises for the abs where the legs are in the bent in the air. Often on these exercises the knees start to creep in over the stomach instead of staying over the hips. If that happens because you are taking pressure off the back, that’s a form of modifying, but know that you want to build up to being able to support your legs in tabletop position (with the knees and hips at 90-degrees). It’s not worth straining […]

Get the most out of your ab workoutsMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:33:04-05:00

Plank Story: Hiking Mt Kilimanjaro

We are currently standing on Mt. Kili with the peak behind us. That’s how big the mountain is.

Hiking Mt Kilimanjaro was a spectacularly grand adventure and simultaneously self-inflicted torture. On the first night I accidentally peed in my sleeping bag and broke my headlamp. The sleeping bag and headlamp were both much needed tools on the mountain.

That’s me and Matt sitting on the right in the orange jacket. Photo from ready_freddy_123 on Instagram

Day Three

On Day three I wrote in my journal: When you look back on this trip as a positive experience, remember it is not. You are miserable. This is terrible. You did this to yourself. Vacation normally flies by but if you want vacation to pass slowly hike Mt. Kilimanjaro.

That was a breaking point for me. I’d been up the first two nights shivering. Lack of sleep and freezing nighttime temperatures forced me to figure out how I needed to get by on the mountain. That night I put on nearly all my clothes and threw some heat warmers into my sleeping bag and finally slept. […]

Plank Story: Hiking Mt KilimanjaroMaggie Downie2018-02-14T16:29:26-05:00