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Review of Deborah Mackin’s ‘GETTING BACK 

Available from the NCT £12.99p.

Deborah's website tells us she is “......... an RSA qualified teacher who has been teaching fitness to women for almost 20 years.  She has taken a special interest in women’s health & the challenges they face during pregnancy and motherhood to stay fit & healthy”.

 The video begins with a very friendly & reassuring introduction. There is a detailed explanation as to the content of the video & practical advice on the mother’s general well being & personal issues that might be of concern to her both from Deborah’s personal experiences and advice from a GP.

 The video is divided into three sections: 

Part One deals with the immediate postnatal period concentrating on pelvic floor muscles, correct posture and the abdominal muscles.

Part Two is subdivided into 5 mini workouts targeting specific areas.  These include an energize warm-up, thighs, buttocks & hips, upper body & back, abdominals and stretch & relax.  It is advised that “each of these sections can be performed one at a time or all in one go.  The user can pick and mix depending on time, energy & fitness level”.  

Part Three is devoted to healthy eating & weight loss.

Deborah has a wonderfully reassuring & down to earth manner throughout the video and her presentation & technique for the exercises she has chosen are excellent.  However I would question the suitability of the video for postnatal mothers starting an exercise programme or indeed returning to exercise.  

In section one I thought the visual illustration & explanation for the diversification of the rectus during pregnancy was very informative.  Although there was reference to the gap in the rectus postnatally, I felt greater emphasis should have been placed on this when referring to abdominal exercises.  There was no advice for mother’s whose gap was still greater than two finger widths.   I also felt that there was insufficient progression for the abdominals in this section.  At fourteen days curl-ups were introduced but rather than starting off with a basic curl-up, Deborah immediately introduced curl-ups with both hands behind the head & oblique work.  Although she did mention that these were hard exercises and not to be discouraged if only a few could be performed. 

I would also query the use of developmental stretches for the hamstrings in this section. 

I enjoyed the presentation of section two which showed Deborah quite prominently in the left corner of the screen performing each of the exercises, whilst her class performed the exercises on the left-hand side of the screen.  Deborah’s technique is excellent, her sequencing of moves is easy to follow and she supports this with plenty of teaching points. 

Personally though, I felt that some of the moves were not entirely suitable for a six-week postnatal mother.  There was no reference to hip stability during the movement sequences & some of the sequences were quite dynamic with lots of unsupported leg work.  I felt it would have been appropriate to give adaptations to some of the exercises with particular reference to possible feelings of discomfort that might be experienced in the pelvis for example. 

The explanation & teaching points given for the upper body workout section again were very good.    Although Deborah only encouraged mothers to use free weights when they felt ready, she demonstrated all the exercises using free weights.  I felt it would have been appropriate here to show a member of her class demonstrating the exercises without the use of weights. 

I was very impressed by section three & the way in which Deborah has portrayed the importance of combining exercise & a healthy eating programme inorder to lose body weight.   

In summary, for the general postnatal public I would be confident in recommending they purchase the video for the information in sections one & three (although I would be cautious about some of the abdominal exercises in section one).  However, I personally feel that section two would be more suitable as a follow on to their postnatal exercise course.

Emma Backshall - Guild Member

P.S. The Guilds recommendation is that you try and attend a course run by a properly trained teacher rather than try and exercise from a video. But if there is no teacher in your area then a video is a place to start, but LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and do not strain or overstress yourself. It is not wise in the postnatal period.