I’ve mentioned it a few times over the past few weeks, but Monday was my six week, post pregnancy, follow up appointment with my doctor where I was given the go ahead to work out again. The entire way home, I couldn’t help but feel as if I’d been given back a piece of my life. I’ve felt off for the past six weeks. I know, I know… I just had a baby. Not that kind of off though. I just felt out of routine, as if my flow was missing, which is always hard for me (I thrive on routine .+ rhythm). Beyond any physical benefit of working out, I’ve always looked to my morning ritual as a way to clear my head, set an intention for the day, and get a nice jolt of endorphins first thing in the am. So in the weeks that I was letting my body heal + recover, I put together a simple plan for how I’d squeeze in my workouts with two little ones in tow. Since sharing my excitement to get back into working out again, I’ve been asked to share what that plan will look like…. so I’ve included it all below….
1. Early Mornings: For me, working out first thing in the morning, before everyone else wakes up is the best. It’s gives me a little bit of alone time, and allows me to center myself for the day ahead. I typically wake up around 5:30am to get in these workouts, but with a middle of the night nursing session still happening, I plan on nursing Camille around 4:30/4:45am and then moving right into my workout. I did this yesterday, and while I was tired, I felt so amazing afterwards… and that carried into the rest of the day (Although it is 9pm right now and my eyes are feeling pretty heavy….).
2. At Home: I minimize the amount of time it takes to get to and from a gym by having everything readily available at home. TJ + I began putting together a home gym in a section of our garage towards the end of my pregnancy. We figured that with two little ones, it would just makes life easier… and gives us no excuses. We invested in a Peloton bike (I have a full review of that scheduled for next week), have varying weights of dumbbells, exercise balls, exercise bands, and are looking to add a few more basic items to complete it. I pay for a monthly subscription to Tone It Up (more on that workout plan/app here) and go running outside as well. For me, I don’t need to go to the gym to get in a great workout, which makes working out much easier.
3. Plan It Out: I’m anticipating falling back into my old workout routine, since it always worked so well for me. It looked something like this:
Monday: Run, Booty Toning (I select a workout from Tone It Up app)
Tuesday: Spin Workout, Arms
Wednesday: HIIT or a Walk + Yoga (I like to see how I feel from the previous workouts)
Thursday: Spin, Abs/Arms
Friday: Run, Booty Toning
Saturday: Something with the family… long walk, hike, etc…
Sunday: Rest
Something that I didn’t do after my last pregnancy was really work on repairing the core + pelvic floor, which might have contributed to, or worsened, my diastasis recti. In conjunction with continuing to wear the belly band (likely for less time during the day), I am going to follow Kara Coffin’s Perinatal Fitness Program. The basic concept behind her perinatal fitness guide is that after nine months of growing a baby some of our muscles are weakened, disconnected, or uncoordinated after changing to accommodate a growing baby. Particularly impacted are the core and pelvic floor. By doing exercises that target these muscles, we can reduce common motherhood complaints such as leaking, incontinence, diastasis recti, prolapse, a general feeling of weakness in the pelvic floor/core, back and/or hip pain, etc… I’ll weave these exercises into my daily workout routines.
I have no intention of heading out for a five mile run my first time back at it. I’ll gradually build up my running mileage again, I’ll gradually increase my time on the spin bike, and I’ll gradually work towards increasing the weights I use during my toning sessions. It took 9 months of scaling things back to grow a baby, so it’s okay if it takes time to get back to where I used to be endurance and fitness wise.
4. Be Flexible: I’m working on giving myself grace during this time of my life (balancing two is not joke…), so I want to be flexible. If I’m feeling tired, then my workout might mean loading up both girls into our double running stroller and getting in a slow jog (I can’t run nearly as fast when I’m pushing one of those things). Or maybe I nix the cardio session for the day and just pick a great toning workout that has some cardio woven into it. Having the plan helps me stay accountable, but being flexible will keep me sane!
Ultimately, working out makes me feel clear headed and gives me the start I need for each day. There are so many mornings when I’d much rather get back into bed, but I always remember the quote that says:
“In the end, I am the only one that can give my children a happy mother who loves life….”
So taking care of myself + nurturing my passions ensures I can do just that for my girls.
