Postpartum Fitness Series - Getting Started

Now you've set your goal, and you have it written down somewhere that you'll see every day. So how do you get started?

Choose an Exercise

My starting point.

No matter what you were doing before pregnancy, you probably need to start off a little slower than where you were and work up. If you weren't exercising at all before having a baby, choose a low-intensity exercise or exercise program.

It's always easiest to stick to something you like doing. If you hate running, don't make the treadmill part of your exercise plan. Do something that works with your current limitations, allowing you to modify as you get stronger. This is probably not the time to start a heavy weight-lifting regimen.

Usually having some balance between working out at home and outside or at a gym works best for moms. The baby may get sick, or it's flu season and you don't want to leave him in child care. Maybe your favorite class is only offered during naptime. Gyms are great to get a break, but having an at-home option is an excellent back-up, and increases your chances of meeting your goal because it leaves you with no excuses. 

Invest in Yourself
You deserve to invest in yourself and your health, so don't be afraid to put some money toward meeting your goal. Buy a quality fitness program (of course I have suggestions), buy equipment such as light weights or a Pilates ball, get a gym membership, even hire a trainer for a short time, or some combination. Spending even a little money shores up your commitment to achieving your goal and gives you some incentive for using your DVDs or your membership.

Plus, you're worth every penny.

Make a Schedule
Now that you know what exercises you want to and have your equipment or membership, make a schedule. Are you going to work out 3 days a week for 45 minutes? Or maybe go for 5 days a week for 30 minutes? Whatever it is, write it down.

Find Support
Being a new mom, especially if you choose not to return to work, can make you feel isolated at times. Having support, whether from family, friends, an online group, a group at the gym, makes a huge difference. Make sure you share your goal with your family and your plan, so they can help you find the time or encourage you to do your workout when you really want to take a nap.

We all need support, especially now, so seek out others who will encourage you and inspire you to keep going. If you need some advice or want to get connected to a group, email me or find me on Facebook. I'll help get you connected with others on a similar journey.

Next time we'll talk about getting your nutrition in line with your plan.

Postpartum Fitness Series - Setting a Goal

You've just had a baby and gained a ton of weight, or maybe not. Either way, most of us are ready within a few months to work on getting at least some of our pre-baby body back. This is the first part in a series about how to get fit after having a baby.

Set a Goal
It's hard to get anywhere if you don't know where it is you want to end up. Setting a goal is more than just saying, "I want to lose 10 pounds" or "I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight."

You want to make SMART goals, but first you need to do a little personal assessment. Realize that post-pregnancy workouts for most normal people who don't have all day to exercise are a phased process. Here are a few steps to get you started making a goal that you can achieve:

Think about any current limitations
Physically, how are you feeling? Have you healed? What limitations do you have right now that you need to consider when beginning an exercise program? Are you nursing? Have your ab muscles grown back together?

Set a short-term and long-term goal
Your body is constantly changing, and your hormones are shifting. You will steadily be losing weight, healing and getting stronger. Start with a short-term goal of maybe 30 or 60 days, along with a longer goal, looking toward where you want to be 9 months to a year from now.

Be Reasonable
It takes everybody different lengths of time to lost the pregnancy weight. Some of us never lost it all, and that's okay. For me, the weight always came off slowly. I gained 55 pounds with each child, and about 6 months out, I usually still carried a good 15 to 20 pounds of that weight. By a year, with moderate exercise, I was able to lose it all. 

Because nursing and hormonal shifts affect our weight, and it can vary a lot from day to day depending on how much water you're holding. Your short-term goal may not need to be weight-based. Maybe it could be to ditch the maternity clothes or to be able to do a certain number of sit-ups or push-ups.

Be consistent
No matter you're goal, make sure it's something you can be consistent with. For most moms, yes, we want to look good, but more than that, we want to be healthy and be role models for our kids. We can achieve that even while carrying some leftover baby weight.

Write it down!!

Accomplishing Your Goal
Now that you have your goal written down, you're ready to get started. We'll talk about that in the next part of this series.