Body After Baby – Week 2

Well this week I’ve definitely felt a million times better than last. Having somewhat of a routine has helped things get back to normal around here. This time around we are taking advantage of the baby sleeping so much during the day; trying to get things done in and out of the house. Seeing some of the extra weight come off has given me even more motivation to get back into the gym. I’m still going to wait until a month post-baby to start CrossFit again, but I have set a plan in place to slowly introduce different fitness elements back into my life. Here’s a layout of what that will look like:

2-3 Weeks Post-Baby (Today!): Rowing

3-4 Weeks Post-Baby (16 June): Body weight movements and mobility

4-5 Weeks Post-Baby (23 June): Strength Training (Lightweight dumbbells)

5+ Weeks Post-Baby (30 June): CrossFit Classes

Over the next month I’m planning on only exercising 3 times per week; Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’m currently programming all of the workouts, which I will post in this series! Progression will be slow but will leave room to either scale workouts down or intensify them, based off how I’m feeling. We have a Concept 2 rowing machine in our garage; I’m going to start exercising again using this machine first to introduce light cardio work back into my routine. I will then add body weight exercises to start gaining back strength and muscle I lost during pregnancy. This will include squats, lunges, push-ups and other exercises without using any equipment or added weight. Week 3 will start to include weight in the form of dumbbells. These will be basic movements that add resistance to the workouts from the previous week. Rather than focusing on specific areas of muscle loss, I will program workouts that incorporate overall body strength. As I am reinstating my gym membership in July, this brings me right up to that point. This is where I will start to attend CrossFit classes; knowing I can scale however I need to.

While recovering from my first pregnancy, re-developing my core muscles proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be. With limited resources on postpartum exercise, I basically just listened to my body and did what felt right. Last week I was introduced to a physical therapist at church who specializes in postpartum care. Who knew!? I’ve never had to go to physical therapy for anything before, so naturally I didn’t think of this as being an option. I’m definitely getting the ball rolling on the referral process to get assistance in rebuilding those essential core muscles.

While this approach doesn’t make sense for everyone, I encourage you to listen to your body (and doctor!) when it comes to beginning a fitness routine, especially post-baby. Stay tuned for my next post in the series where I will start sharing my workout program! For now, here’s a sneak peak at what I did today:

 

The following are side-by-sides of my progress thus far. As you can see, weight loss has slowed down and while the excess weight had previously settled in my lower abdominal, it’s now slowly moving and settling in my sides right above my hips. This is pretty similar to what happened in my last pregnancy; and gives me a good idea of what core exercises to incorporate into programming.

Workout Gear

All three items are from Lululemon; I love their shirts specifically because they fit my long limbs well (It’s super hard to find long sleeves that are actually long enough). They also work well as everyday attire!

You can find the long grey tee here.

Purple shorts here.

The long sleeve was on sale! Find it here.

 

What I ate in a day

Breakfast: Siggi’s icelandic cream-skyr yogurt. The absolute BEST yogurt I’ve ever had; thick texture, good flavor, and a lot less sugar than other brands. I mix in blueberries and a handful of Purely Elizabeth gluten-free granola.

On-the-go snack 1: Go Macro bar and Yerba Mate tea. I’m working my way through all the flavors of this bar; I’m liking all of them so far. Just a note: this tea has way more caffeine than a single cup of coffee, but it’s sooo good!

On-the-go snack 2: Okay so I originally was planning on going to one of my favorite coffee shops on the way to Lululemon, but I figured it would be faster to just go through the Starbucks drive-through. I was wrong. Although, my iced coffee with heavy cream was delicious. I picked up some Larabar bites at Sprouts; these are my favorite!

Dinner: I made my super easy 20-min skillet chicken that is seasoned with bacon flavoring, among other herbs and spices. On the side are garlic green beans, half of an avocado and a steamed sweet potato topped with a little salt, pepper and grass-fed butter.