fit mom

Mom Talk | Fitting in Fitness & My Fitness Goals

10 Comments

I’ll be honest since having our third child I haven’t been making fitness a priority. I spent my first 3 postpartum weeks recovering and really caring for my body and since then I feel like I have been surviving and not thriving. I have been just simply trying to make it through each day and have really not carved out anytime for me to focus on getting stronger and losing the baby weight. However, as with most new years I have a new fire to get back to feeling strong, healthy and get to a weight that makes me feel good. 

The thing is all of those “obstacles” that I felt in the last 7 months are still there so I am having to figure out creative ways to increase my activity while juggling three kids and all that comes with that. Luckily, I have a little more time these days because Neil’s 2.5+ hour commute has been cut down to 0 which means there is more time in my day to focus on my fitness. That being said life happens so I have also been relying on alternative ways to get active and have my kids involved. 

Set Up A Schedule With Your Partner. Your partner wants you to be successful and wants you to reach your goals so TALK with them about your needs and create a schedule together that allows you to have kid free time to workout whether that is at home or outside the house. 

Get Your Kids Involved. Ideally you will have time to workout without your kids but that doesn’t always happen so it’s about figuring out what you can do with them. 

  • Go to a family yoga class.
  • Head on over to YouTube and do a family yoga class together! We love Cosmic Kids Yoga. 
  • Go on a nature walk! 
  • Head to the playground and get in a playground workout such as this one! 
  • If you have a child who will still go in a stroller head to a stroller mama bootcamp.
  • Turn music on and dance it out at home! 

Utilize Any Down Times During The Day.  Find times during the days such as when your kids are napping or having screen time or before the wake up to fit in a quick 7-10 minute workout. There are a few great apps for short workouts search around and find one that works for you or you can try this 7-minute plan.

When All Else Fails Go For A Walk. Get outside and more your body. The change of scenery, the fresh air and the movement will feel good and you can easily bring the kids along. 

Get your kids excited to join your workouts with their own outfits just like yours. Make them feel a part of the process and you will all benefit from getting out the wiggles and spending time together. That being said don’t forget about yourself; make sure you too have the gear your need to feel confident and ready to take on each workout. I know it might sound vain but the truth is when you feel good in your clothes you are going to want to workout and want to continue to reach your goals. 

Speaking of goals….

This month my goal is to workout 21 days this month. This could be going on a class, spending 7-minutes going hard, getting all the kids out for a walk, hiking or setting up for yoga in the living room. Whatever it is I want to move my body more simple as that. 

What are you fitness goals? If you have kids how do you make time to workout? What tips can you share?

Outfits c/o JillYoga.com

JillYoga.com carries yoga clothes for babies, kids and women!

Also JillYoga.com just released their Spring line and I’m dying over these ice cream leggings.

Postnatal Running “Plans”

5 Comments

I know that having a baby is hard work on the body and that breastfeeding and sleeping are going to be two of my top priorities once this baby arrives however I do want to set some postnatal running goals.

I would love to get back to walking regularly as soon as it feels right (and my midwives give me the okay), starting with short walks at first and then as I feel up to get going longer. I eventually would like to get back to running, even if that means starting out with a combo of walk/jogging.

I was curious to find out when other FitFluential moms had decided to get back to running post-pregnancy and to my surprise there was quite the range of answers:

  • “I was a slacker, I didn’t start running again until she was 6 months old and I could put her in the stroller to go running. My advice: don’t put too much pressure on yourself, your body is entirely different now. Do the best you can and be happy with the results!”
  • “I didn’t get back to running straight away because it didn’t feel right for me. I did other cardio, yoga and lifted but didn’t push myself because there were so many changes after baby. Find what works for you, your baby and family and do what you can when you feel you can.”
  • “With both of my boys, I started back at about 6-8 weeks after birth (both were uncomplicated deliveries). I had no stamina and was super slow, but I just tried to listen to my body and take it easy. If you are breastfeeding, nurse right before you go. Full boobs are not fun to have during running. Make sure you hydrate well as nursing + running can really dehydrate you. Even if you aren’t nursing, make sure you have a super supportive bra.”
  • “I started running at 6 weeks when I got the go ahead from the doctor but I was walking as early as the first week. Little bits here and there. I used a bjorn to bring E along.”
  • “While I totally have the desire to be running regularly and my body would certainly tolerate it.. I have a little boy who doesn’t sleep well at night (11 weeks old).. so sleeping and making sure I eat enough (so hungry while breastfeeding!) are much more important to me now than getting regular with running. I know it’ll happen in time though!”
  • “I started back at 4 weeks bc it felt right. I was super slow and did run walk intervals. I just listened to my body. I ran a 1/2 marathon at 6 months pp. Definitely agree with Erika … Nurse or pump before running! And drink LOTS of water of youre bfing.”

The reason I was curious about what others have done is because I would like to start “training” (I use that term loosely) for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in November. You’re probably now shaking your head and saying what is she thinking!? Well if you have been following Running With Tongs since last Fall you’ll know that Neil and I signed up for the Disney Half Marathon last January but due to his head injury a few months before we decided to defer to the Wine and Dine Half this Fall. At the time we deferred I wasn’t/didn’t know that I was pregnant, had I known we may have decided not to defer and just eat the cost of admission we had already paid. Anyways we did defer and are planning to visit Disney with my parents aka the race night babysitters and run (well I’ll be wogging) the Disney Wine and Dine Half.

That being said, I am comfortable with not being able to finish the race in the allotted 3.5 hours. I also know that I may even decide that I need to back-out all together once this baby arrives but I figure we are going, Neil is running and I already paid I might as well plan to at least try. Since I am not sure when this baby will arrive (i.e. early, “on time”, or past my due date) I haven’t settled on a training plan. I am debating between doing a modified Jeff Galloway Plan since I know I won’t have 18 weeks to complete it or doing the 12 week Hal Higdon Walking/Wogging Plan. I know I sound over ambitious and maybe even a little crazy but I figure I might as well try.

Question: When did you start postnatal running?