Post Baby Shape Up

These are some pictures from my "surprise 40th" birthday party last Saturday!

After a few weeks of really training hard to get ready for my next workout, I am finally starting to see results!

Being a brand new mother, I had no gauge for how my body would respond to post baby. Having a c-section set me back a little bit but I tried to be patient and do a little bit every day. I filmed my Post Natal workout at 6 weeks post delivery and you will see a noticeable difference in my body at 6 weeks post natal and now. I thought just because my doctor gave me the green light to resume my workouts, I was going to be able to jump right back to it! Not quite the case! I thought I'd start with Zumba because it was lower impact and not as intense on the cardio front. I found myself getting really winded, I was very sore and my joints ached horribly, my hips especially! This was discouraging but I realized I was doing too much and needed to scale back and give my body a chance to really heal. I listened to my body and did my best to stay active in a reasonable way, if something hurt, I'd back off, but I never stopped working out, I just adjusted my routine to fit how my body felt. Being sleep deprived didn't help me either, my body was physically exhausted and I was trying to take it back to a place it used to be when it was strong and well rested. As the time passed and Scarlett grew, I noticed I was not as sore and could squat down and pick up her "binky" without hyperventilating! Each week I started to feel better and better and now 20 weeks later I feel great! I'm still not where I need to be, but I'm getting there and am determined to stay with it and do my best.

Some things I did that helped me stay on track; I kept at it regardless of how long I could workout or how much I could do, I did what I could, I made the necessary changes to my diet, when I felt my body getting stronger I amped up my workouts - increasing the intensity, duration and varied my routines. This was key - I changed up my workouts on a regular basis to keep my body guessing and it helped, plus it cut back on the boredom!

I am 5 months post baby and I am finally feeling like me again. My ab strength is back 95% and my endurance is back 95% - this took some time. I am just now able to do plyo jump tucks, air jacks and butt kicks. You may see one or more of these in my next workout! I still have a ways to go, but I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel. Each week I feel stronger and leaner. So, please be patient with yourselves and don't give up! If what you are doing is not giving you results, try something new, push a little harder, I know that is no fun, but I know you can do it!