Body Movin’ After Babies
It’s been eight years of pregnancy, babies, nursing, and just keeping my head above water. Before my first child I had a gym membership, a personal trainer, and all the time in the world to workout. After my first kid, then the second, and now the third, my time to workout dwindled in a haze of full time work, a husband in school, income stress, and post partum depression.
But now it’s time. My time. Time to get my body back. My baby is only three weeks old so I know I shouldn’t go into a full-tilt 4 hour a day workout regime, but I’d love to start this process. I’m already walking around my neighborhood in the evenings.
Let me ask you: when do you start exercising after a baby? Are you up and at ‘em within a week or two? Do you take more gentle care and not start until baby is a couple months old? How do you decide when and how much?
And what are your secrets to fitting a workout in your busy life? I have friends who swear by awakening early, before their family, to stretch and work. I know others who have no problem with a late evening workout.
So how do you move your body after babies?
Tags: best workout, exercise, Featured, healthy living, workout, workout program
I start out by walking! After my fifth I bought some of Jillian Michaels DVD’s, 30-day Shred to jumpstart me and I am currently IN LOVE with her No More Trouble Zones…works all those hard to hit places…the love handles, saddle bags, thighs and of course the bye-bye arms!!!! These workouts are AMAZING! I started full board about 6 months ago and am now down to my pre-pregnancy size before #1, and have only 8 pounds to reach my goal! Fabulous, fabulous, FABULOUS workouts you can do at home with the kiddos around! LOVE them!
Since all my deliveries were c-sections, I started walking right away–it helped with the recovery. I was jogging a bit by 4-6wks post-partum and after #2 and #3, running by 8wks. I LOVE my double jogger–a Bob Revolution. I haunted craigslist and got it for $400, a few hundred dollar savings. First I used it with #1 & #2 and now with #2 & #3.
My exercise schedule varies with the time of year and my goals. When I’m training for a race, I run mostly early in the morning. Right now hubs and I are doing Insanity after work, before dinner.
I’m also a huge fan of Jillian Michaels DVD’s. She has a few that take you a total of 25-35 minutes and some longer ones too. http://www.shredheads.net has great reviews and personal experiences with her DVD’s.
I have learned that to stay sane with 3, I NEED exercise. I truly believe that it keeps me off drugs, haha! I don’t mind running w/ my kids, I just need the sweat therapy!
My strollers have saved me. As soon as I can manage, I get the babies in the stroller and out we go – as far as I can manage. With my second we have bought a double jogger that can hold a car seat so my newborn isn’t jostled around (still just for walking, but alot of it) and I bribe my toddler with snacks so he will sit still for long enough to get a good walk in. I can’t seem to get myself out of bed for early morning exercise, so this works well and we go out after breakfast.
Um. My baby was born in FEBRUARY and I haven’t so much as pulled my gym shoes out of the closet. I blame evo.
I was a die-hard early riser for the gym before kid #1, but after I had her, I embraced the evening workout. Swimming laps or walking/jogging on the treadmill worked for me. I didn’t have to make it to a class at a certain time and my time on the treadmill had the added allure of providing an opportunity to listen to highly inappropriate music.
I usually wait several months before going full-out, just doing walks and beginning abs again until then. After my 2nd, I loved going to yoga. It was good to get out of the house, put the kids in the nursery and have 1 hour of calm, balancing, “finding my center” time, and it rebuilds your core as well.