Post Baby Workouts

Reaghan will be 2 months old next week, which means it is high time that I get myself in gear and start working out to shed some of this baby weight.

Actually, the weight is pretty much gone. I only gained 25 pounds during my pregnancy and the number on the scale has returned to what it was pre-pregnancy (give or take 2-3 pounds depending on the day) but there is just so much flabbiness that I didn't really have before! I wasn't really doing more than walking the last month of my pregnancy so a lot of muscle turned to, well, fat. And then theres the belly.

Oh the belly.

Don't get me wrong. I actually still love my belly now, flabbiness and all. I take so much joy in what my body was able to do this past year - I mean it grew another human! - and I know my belly is a reflection of that. I need to get back in shape because I want to be strong and healthy for my next go-a-round at growing a human, not because I am ashamed of my body now.

With that being said - I made sure to give my body a good 6 weeks of healing before doing anything extremely strenuous. I wanted to give my body a chance to figure out the whole new sleep schedule + producing milk + returning inside parts to where they should be before getting back into running. And having a background in physical therapy I know it takes a good 4-6 weeks for the physiological healing of most things. During the first 6 weeks I did walk a lot around the neighborhood, did lots of Kegels to start strengthening my pelvic floor and squats to get some functional strength back as well. Active healing is always better than just sitting around!

But now it's time to turn up the heat. I am running my first post baby race November 22nd and plan to run my first post baby 1/2 Marathon in the spring so I am excited to start training again and have something to train for! It always helps me stay motivated. Also, nursing burns an extra 500 calories (estimated) a day so I definitely want to take advantage of that! It's the easiest 500 calories you'll ever burn!

So what am I doing now? A little bit of everything - running, some cardio workout videos, and just some general strengthening.

This is what I try to do 2-3 times a week