SKo-Fit

It’s been a hot minute since I posted to this page, as I’m rebranding my name thanks to my SKo-Fit Instagram account getting heavily censored and shadowbanned. 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄

So I thought I would get in on the Spirit Halloween meme. 🤣

It was a beautiful day to ground my feet.

Do you know the benefits of grounding?

I’ve been just pushing the sled when I go to the gym but yesterday I decided I wanted to finish with some sprints after heavy pushes. I wanted to test if I would leak. And I surprised myself! I got through several rounds leak-feee, until the end when I needed to use the bathroom. But I took it as a win.

The last time I really consistently ran leak-feee was after finishing PFPT in September 2017. Since my pregnancy with Izzy, I struggled again with incontinence. The thought of running felt defeating.

When I took Katie St. Clair’s Empowered Performance program a year ago, she programmed plyometrics and I immediately thought it would be an uphill battle.

But all the work paid off and here I am! It’s a step in the right direction. Now if I can finally figure out why I’m still leaking when I sneeze in standing, I would be happy. 😩

I found out that my friend Billy Witte was diagnosed with ALS.
I met Billy years ago when I first started out in the fitness industry in Chicago. He always had a just a positive outlook on life. I watched him help many clients improve their health, especially helping kids start on their fitness journey early. He always stopped to say hello and chat with me, especially asking how I was doing during my pregnancy with my second daughter Izzy.
It came as a shock to me when I heard the news, so that’s why I’m helping out with a Cards for a Cause fundraiser! 🎉
If you’d like to participate, my goal is 60 boxes of 30 beautifully embellished cards for just 💲30 a box!! 1/2 of the proceeds will go to Billy to help with medical expenses.
Put BOX below to check out all the options or DONATE to contribute what you can via PayPal.
Thank you friends!
If you can’t participate, consider letting a friend know who might like to join in on the fundraiser. ❤️

I was so excited to win the June box from Cater to Mom last month! I don’t win a lot of giveaways, so i was so happy! The theme of the box was breathing which made me even more excited. If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know that I’m all about teaching the importance of breathing!

I discovered Cater to Mom through Nyssa and it’s a brilliant concept. Their monthly boxes support pregnant and postpartum mamas. The even have boxes for dads too!

The boxes are beautifully made and I want to share the amazing items from the box:

✅ Leto Collection ocean kimono
✅ The Bathologist sleep bath soak
✅ Breathe Mama Breathe by Shonda Moralis, LCSW
✅ My face factory Dream Garden chamomile facial
✅ The Bella Bars cinnamon roll bar
✅ Mindful Mamas Club breathwork tips

My sleep 💤 🛏 quality has hit the rank thanks to co-sleeping and nursing a toddler, so I’m grateful for this box.

This box makes a great gift for a new or expecting mama. ❤️

This is a post that is partly exercise related as it relates to parenting. I hope that by sharing, it can help others going through the same struggles.

See that last spike in my heart rate? I had already done a long walk and strength training session, but my third mini workout was courtesy of my 5-year old daughter Gaby.

She was disregulated because I said it was time to give me my iPad back. As I was doing dedicated time with her younger sister Izzy, she started hitting and kicking me. I told her that hands were not for hitting, but only hi-fives and hugging (a tip I learned today). She didn’t understand the boundary, but I stuck to it and decided to hug her while spinning around. When she continued to hit, I grabbed her hands to start dancing and twirling her. She started laughing.

When she started to kick me, I said legs are not for kicking, but stomping or dancing. She didn’t understand the boundary and continued to kick. I grabbed her hands and started jumping and squat jumping with her. Every time she hit or kick I repeated my boundaries. My heart rate shot up to 117 bpm, but she enjoyed the interaction and my heart rate didn’t raise from me yelling. I was tired though.

But guess what? She calmed down because I was able to help her calm down by co-regulating (through regulating my own emotions). Trust me, it was hard and I didn’t think it was going to work, but I held my boundaries. She also “cooperated” in finishing getting ready for bed. It wasn’t a fight.

It has taken me a long time to get to this place. They don’t teach you this in parenting books. Gaby’s meltdowns and tantrums trigger me but I realized it triggered me from memories of my childhood. I was never seen or heard. I was told not to cry or express emotions. My parents couldn’t regulate their own emotions, so they couldn’t help me learn to regulate mine.

But I know now that I need to heal myself before I can help my children. Behavior is communication. We need to get to the root cause of the behavior and not the behavior itself. I couldn’t help my inner child but I can help my children be seen and heard - so that I can help their future generations. ❤️

Chris was watching a video of an animal chiropractor doing a home visit to help a dog. He noticed this Rogue Fitness pull-up bar in the dog owner’s apartment. He realized what it was when he noticed a bunch of bands attached to it. He went to Rogue’s website to look for it and asked me if I was familiar. I said definitely and I’ve been needing a pull-up bar to work my way back to getting my unassisted pull-up. The last time was right before I got pregnant with Gaby 6 years ago. And since I haven’t been back at the Y since last March, my home setup has been limited.

In the almost 20 years we’ve been together, he hasn’t shown interest in exercising. I offered to help him but he always was stressed out just running a business, cooking for us and taking care of his household chores. The most he could do was yoga, but after Gaby was born, he couldn’t make classes anymore. Then we moved to Indiana from Chicago and it was even harder.

But in the last few months he was feeling off and started testing his blood sugar. He realized he needed to start making changes. He made adjustments in his food. He bought a Fitbit to track steps and started walking in the morning on weekends. He borrowed my weights to do some strength training. I gave him suggestions on how to modify his push-up. He expressed interest in doing a pull-up and created a essentials backpack to do a loaded carry on his walks. He saw huge improvements and noticed his clothes getting too big for him.

He realized that as a parent he needed to be in good health for his kids. C0VID taught him that he needs to armor his immune system with exercise, good food and essential vitamins.

I learned that even though I possessed all the knowledge to help him, he needed to come to the conclusion on his own. Also, Chris notes that it was brilliant marketing for Rogue for this purchase. ❤️

Izzy, our 2.5 year old is starting Montessori school with her big sis this August, so we need to get her at least 85% potty trained (usually once they see their friends use the potty, they learn pretty quickly!). 😩

So what do bubbles have to do with potty training? Blowing bubbles can help relax a child’s pelvic floor while also making using the potty fun. Gaby wanted to use it when she saw me have Izzy try. Of course it helped her.
She fights me to p*e on the potty but her teacher thinks it’s the only thing she has control of these days.

Hey, I have enough power struggles with my kids. Do I need one more? Parenting is hard already. Can I get an AMEN?

It’s been awhile since I introduced myself, so if you’re new to following me, welcome!

Just a few facts about me:
✨ I’m a mom of two amazing girls - Gaby (5) and Izzy (2.5).
✨ I’m a personal trainer that started specializing in pelvic floor health after the traumatic birth of my daughter Gaby. I found out I had pelvic organ prolapse at 14 months postpartum. Since then, I’ve been on a mission to not only to help pregnant and postpartum moms, but anyone that wants to move better. We all have a pelvic floor.
✨ I’m also passionate about spreading literacy and getting books into as many kids’ hands as possible. You can follow my other account Suzanne's VIP Book Club to learn more!
✨I love good food and will support my local farmers and businesses. I was told that Chris and I eat like celebrities, but I think we should all have access to good food.
✨ I’m also passionate about seeking out the truth. Since we lost everything in the crash of 2008, we started to question everything going on. I think you should too.
✨ I love good music and used to play classical piano as a child. Later I learned East Coast Swing and competition-style ballroom. My love of both fueled me to teach group fitness, before going into personal training.

Whether you want help not p*eing in your pants (thanks to Dr. Jocelyn Connolly for the fab tank) or building your child’s library - I’m your gal! DM me to learn how.

Tell me about one fact about you!

I'm hosting an online event this Thursday night in my private VIP Usborne book group. The event is in celebration of Mother's Day, geared towards self care for moms. I'll be sharing self care tips, featuring businesses I support, as well as giving away free Mother's Day printables. Two people will walk away with $50 in books from me (books with moms in mind) or Fourthwear postpartum gear from Nyssa!

You don't have to attend live, but participation in posts are required to win the prizes. You just need to join the group here: https://bit.ly/SuzannesVIPBookClub.

I was recently featured on my friend Sarah Smith Strength's podcast, talking postpartum hypertension and dental issues. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/DirtyStrengthPodcast!

My friend and mentor Dr. Perry Nickelston has impacted me professionally and personally (how I view health). After taking Katie St. Clair’s Empowered Performance course last fall, I thought he would be a great guest speaker for her Empowered Performance community.

I’m so glad I connected them because today’s call was so mind blowing and powerful. I had to turn off my video as I found myself crying. Dr. Perry’s work touches so many lives and I learn something new every time from him. Thank you Dr. Perry for your time and knowledge. It was so generous of you. It made my Monday and the start of February even better. The Big Six lymphatic resets made feel better, as I came on the call feeling off. Big love to you. ❤️

Sharing a personal story today. I’ve been trying to figure out why I have blood pressure issues but I realized my nervous system has always been in “fight of flight” mode.

“Do you have any memories of your childhood?”

Chris asked me this question and I can honestly say I don’t remember much. Our older daughter Gaby can remember vividly things we did or places we visited. I was blown away. The very few memories I have are not happy ones, like the first time I lied about not going to the zoo with my summer camp. My best friend wasn’t going, so I stayed at her house instead after my dad dropped me off. When I got picked up, I described what I saw at the zoo. I felt so bad about lying that I told my mom the truth afterwards. My dad got so upset with me that he hit me so hard to discipline me. I have this image of me in the bathroom trying to hide. He brought up this incident decades later of when I first lied to him. I had just gotten married but he felt the need to remind me. Days later, he collapsed from a stroke. He has recovered, but is not moving as well.

Becoming a parent has brought up a lot of unresolved trauma. Watching my girls reminds me of the non-existent relationship I have with my brother. I don’t know why but I think the fact that my parents favoring him has a lot to do with it. I bring it up to my mom but she adamantly denies it. Well, if your son’s birthday is your code for everything, you are in denial.

Pregnancy and postpartum has finally made me realize that my nervous system has always been on high alert, as a result. When I turned to exercise in college, it helped me so much. When my parents told me to stop exercising because my calves looked like men’s calves, I cried. I now realize that exercise managed my blood pressure issues. It has always been a life saver - quite literally. I lived in fear my entire life. My parents said it’s good to fear. I believed them.

My two strong-willed kids came into my life for a reason. To teach me to pause when they trigger me. I find myself wanting to response how my parents responded to me as a child. I was told to shut my emotions down. I internalize everything. It takes all my will to sit through a tantrum and meltdown. When my daughters scream, cry, hit or yell, I practice patience. By helping them, I heal my inner child that was never seen. ❤️

Happy New Year everyone!

One of my promises to myself was to get to the root of my dental issues (I had a tooth extracted and implant placed. Second one for me.) and my postpartum hypertension that returned last April (It had been a year since I weaned off my medication.).

I finally found a dentist local to me that took a holistic approach. One of the issues she brought up was dry mouth, due to possible mouth breathing at night. I wear a night guard for teeth grinding, so she recommended a nasal dilator from Mute and mouth taping. I decided to try a pack from Somnifix when they had a cyber weekend sale.

After two nights, I saw an improvement in sleep quality (less restlessness, less awake time, more REM cycles) and I felt better waking up. I really think this affects my blood pressure, as numbers are typically higher in the morning. I’m also going to look into a myofascial therapist, as the mouth breathing and grinding is probably due to tongue thrust.

While my amount of sleep still needs work (kids that fight going down and a co-sleeping 2-year old that nurses), I think I’m headed in the right direction. I’ll be posting more of my progress.

I think we all can agree that 2020 was not a great year. I really felt defeated in many ways with what was going on with my health and my business (postpartum hypertension returning and the surprise news of a tooth extraction).

Making the time and financial commitment to another continuing education course was not something I planned for. But something told me that Katie St.Clair Fitness's Empowered Performance course was what I needed. It gave me a different lens to helping clients. The weekly calls were the highlight of my week and having a group of supportive women to brainstorm with was so what I needed. I am so grateful to Katie and my fellow coaches. I highly recommend her course if you want a tool to help your client from a whole body perspective.

What is your infrasternal angle and why does it matter?
I had no idea what this was until I started Katie St. Clair’s Empowered Performance course almost two months ago.

I know how important breathing is for movement, but every person needs a different breathing strategy based on their position. The body works together and not in parts. We need to understand the position our rib cage, pelvis, scapula, and spine are in, in order to understand where we need to expand during breathing. This will restore a position that allows our thoracic and pelvic diaphragm to function optimally.

The infrasternal angle (ISA) is the measurement of our ribs:
✅ Narrow ISA (expanded): if you’re rib cage is narrow (measurement is less than 90 degrees), your internal obliques and transverse abdominis are not very active. We can use a long sighing exhale to help turn these muscles on.
✅ Wide ISA (compressed): if you’re rib cage is wide (measurement greater than 90 degrees), the external obliques are not very active. We can use a specific forced exhale to help turn these muscles on.

Figuring out your ISA is the first assessment that happens. From there a specific breathing strategy is used and this gives me the tools to program design. As you can see, I’m a narrow ISA and my second pregnancy impacted my rib cage. I’ve been seeing some huge gains in my movement already, especially with plyometrics - something I stayed away from. If you are interested in learning more, DM me!

True story!

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Tight pants. Tight clothes. Tight bellies. Tight pelvic floors.

Relaxing the body in a sustainably effective holistic way requires us to communicate to it over and over and over again:

You are safe.
You are loved.
Let down your hair.
Stop bracing.
Allow everything to move freely.

For many women, tight waistbands start a painful chain of reactions due to tension in the body.

Personally, I rarely wear them anymore.
Stretchy waists they have give are my fave!

Maternity jeans with that band are cool, clown clothes in general, leggings if thy don’t make you suck in, and athletic gear are great options.

Think about it!

Take my FREE course, Better Than Kegels-linked here in my bio! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Just signed up for this! I can’t wait to level up my knowledge for my clients and myself.

I’m so excited to announce that The Empowered Performance Program is officially available for the 3rd round! 🔥🔥🔥⠀
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If you are a female health and fitness professional that wants to be EMPOWERED with cutting edge information on movement, breathing mechanics, and training, while pushing the limits of your own athleticism, and be a part of a powerful community, this is the program for you!⠀
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Empowered Performance isn’t just another certification course like the others that you have taken, It’s a 12 - week intensive process that will help you go from feeling confused and stuck to creating and implementing programs for your self and clients based on solid understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, and first principles of the most cutting edge information available regarding breathing, position and athletic movement.⠀
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Click the link in my bio to sign up and learn more! 👆⠀
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My amazing client! with
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Me with babe loving our Postnatal Reboot class with . Went to the pelvic floor PT for an assessment last week, nearly two months postpartum. She says everything looks good and I’m quite strong inside. What a relief!!! I think I was waiting for something to be *wrong* - because it’s 2020; because I had a rectocele last time, after second baby, without knowing what it was for almost two years; because sometimes we humans are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Also something felt kinda flappy down there. Turns out, it’s just the way the tissue stretched and it’s now finding its new normal. So in our PT work, we can focus on stamina.

This great news was the result of a team effort. I decided I wouldn’t have another baby until my pelvis floor was strong, I’d addressed all pain and dysfunction, and I felt my body was really ready to carry a third human.

So I gathered a team, over the last half-decade. And now I say thank you to my team - who saw me (in person and virtually), who listened, who reassured, who worked with my budget, who helped me believe I could heal and be strong and create and carry and birth and recover from carrying and birthing another human.

💪🏽 pelvic floor PTs
Shanté Cofield
Lindsey Vestal
Bianca Ambrosino at Spear PT

💪🏽 personal trainer
Suzanne Ko , who assesses my progress and consults with my PT and creates new workouts every month

💆 Amazing bodyworkers
Katinka Locascio
Simone Burgos
Cynthia McCright
at Earth & Sky

🌸 TCM practitioners
Emily Morrison & Sean Orlando at Integrate Health & Wellness in Beacon
Stephanie Propper-Poole of Propper Acupuncture

🥗 🍪 Nutrition Coaches
Karina Verespy and Josh Citron


👶🏼 Midwives
Tanya Wills & Robina Khalid
Savannah Fassero
Katie Page

💫 Doulas
Samantha Moody
Susanna Timmons .anna2
Julia Bradner
Carlie Copal & Raven

Shirt by ❤️

Join me tomorrow as I chat with my friend Annie from Forest Coaching and Studios about pelvic strength and women’s health!

Head over to her page (Forest Coaching) at 10:30 AM CST!

I never had blood pressure readings this low even before postpartum hypertension. When we were in week 5 of COVID, my postpartum hypertension returned with a vengeance and it was terrifying. After seeing a doctor, she had me back on my medication at my original 400mg/day dosage. A month later I sought out The Women’s Health Series to find out the hormone correlation. She put me on an adrenal protocol and 1 1/2 months later, I was able to drop my evening dosage to 100mg. Now a month later, I’m able to drop my morning dosage to 100mg. I’m now at half the dosage I started with!

Once I get my tooth extracted, I’m sure things will shift again, but I’m so glad to be making good progress. If you’re not satisfied wi

I never had Netflick and never will, especially after their debacle with the Cuties. They contribute to you bring unhealthy. Change my mind.

with
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When companies invest billions to get us hooked on distraction, the result can often be a compromise in our health
👣
When Netflix admits that sleep (aka an essential pillar for health) is it’s enemy...it’s time to take a stand
Take responsibility for your experience. If you don’t consciously make decisions, companies will make them for you and they don’t give a s**t about anything beyond capturing your attention and making their billions
Prioritize your sleep. It’s a health superpower and has a massive impact on your mood, energy levels and capacity to fend off threats (......like a virus)
👣

When are we going to support postpartum moms beyond the standard postpartum checkup? When are we going to have as much postpartum care as we did prenatal care?

We are still fighting for pelvic floor physical therapy to be the gold standard for moms. Why are doctors and midwives just telling moms they are cleared to exercise when they have no idea what they are clearing them for? A c-section is a major surgery, but a c-section mon doesn’t receive the same rehab that a knee surgery patient receives.

I’m 21 months postpartum with my second baby. I found out I need to get a tooth extracted, the same tooth that I found out had a cavity after Izzy’s birth. Why aren’t dentists treating the whole body and supporting moms from preconception to postpartum? Why am I just learning now from Dr Steven Lin? I can’t find a functional dentist or biological dentist near me. I’m getting dismissed by regular dentists about my concerns as a postpartum mom.

I’m still trying to solve the mystery of my postpartum hypertension that started 21 months ago. I’m paying out of pocket to work with a functional medicine doctor because my regular doctor doesn’t understand how hormones impact blood pressure. She said that doctors don’t see the connection or importance. So she’s just giving me medication and not good about returning messages. I’m essentially managing my own health. No wonder allopathic medicine is the third leading cause of deaths. My tooth could be affecting my blood pressure. I’m told I could have peripheral vascular disease because my BP readings are higher on the right. I wouldn’t have known to check if it weren’t for my friend Dr. Perry Nickelston.

I’m still breastfeeding. I’m not getting quality sleep. I’m fu***ng depleted. There has to be a better way for moms to get answers.