Postpartum Exercise

One of the things i could not wait to do after i had baby M was get back into the gym for a good sweat sesh. Looking back i was uber careful during my pregnancy with working out, i basically stopped all cardio and stuck with light weight lifting, walking and yoga. Im happy i did, because it gave me piece of mind that i was not overdoing it and potentially causing harm to the baby.

My first "workout" came about two weeks after i had M, i went down to the gym for an incline walk. This was a great first workout since i had stopped working out about a week before birth plus the two weeks after birth. The next time i worked out was at 3 weeks pp (pp= postpartum). This time i decided to step it up and do some high intensity interval training, mainly in the form of burpees and air squats. The higher intensity felt great, but i was dead by the end of it (30 minutes or so). Over the next couple of days, i noticed a big decrease in my milk supply. After a quick google search, i realized that my intense exercise may have caused this (inadequate hydration was another culprit). I was a little frustrated since i was so excited about getting back into the swing of things, and firming up my core! So i took it easy for the next 2-3 weeks, only going for walks with baby M and some light yoga. I also made sure to drink a TON of water and eat a lot of healthy fats. About a week ago i decided to attempt a high intensity workout again, this time making sure i was hydrated before and after and making sure to eat an extra meal high in healthy fats to make up for the workout. My milk supply didnt suffer and i have been able to maintain working out 3-4 days a week for the past 2 weeks. Looking back, i think the mistake i made the first time was not drinking enough water. Lesson learned!

I have been focusing on lower body exercises because i have a 10 pound 6 ounce weight that gives me all the upper body training i could possibly need :)

Here is the workout i did this morning, it was a doozy!

Workout 1
Lunges with Rotation (20 on each side)
Squat with cross body medicine ball (20 reps)
Burpees (1 minute- as many reps as possible)
Squat with side kick (20 on each side)
Curtsey squat with kick (20 each side)
Air Squats (1 minute)
Laying plie squat (20 reps)
Arabesque (20 reps)

Cardio: 30 minutes on stair mill