Exercise Anyone???

[JillyD]

Hey out there!
So, how many of you have started exercising again? I know, its hard to find the time & energy...so i thought i would start this thread in hopes of motivating myself and possibly others.

I am 3 weeks PP and get totally down when I look in the mirror. It's so hard to go from that beautiful pregnant belly to the deflated PP belly...though, of course, it's all worth it. I am still missing being pregnant and also find that time seems to be slipping by so fast (yeah, i know, it has only been 3 weeks). It's amazing how quickly these newborns change huh? Anyway, I did some really mellow yoga today and it felt SO GOOD! I have also been on a few nice long walks since giving birth. I feel like exercise will really help me to get back into the swing of things mentally and physically. What have you all been doing?

[javilu]

nak
i went on a nice walk yesterday. this baby nurses nearly all day long, so it's hard to find time, but i popped him in the sling and went out for a bit yesterday. it felt great. i don't know when i'll be able to get back to the powerwalking i used to enjoy, but even the regular walk yesterday was great and very motivating.

[eewieew]

nak

we have been hiking as often as i can get us out...3 times this past wk. i picked up a yoga dvd that i plan to start tomorrow when she goes down for her nap...want to go 2 class but am very poor
i can't WAIT 2 get back on my bike.

[Multimomma]

Well, we're three weeks postpartum, and still not doing much since I had some trouble due to his size. Sticking with small stretches to loosen up sore muscles and try to build strength around the pelvic girdle.

We've started slow walks through the park next to our house, but will probably wait three to five more weeks before we get back to exercize.

[Conchobhar]

I've been walking with DD pretty much every day that has been nice enough to walk. I'm still waiting on the OK from the MW to return to lifting weights and crunches.

[vanessab23]

My DS is 6 weeks and we started back on the treadmill just to walk (him in the sling) at about 3.5 weeks. I get restless leg syndrome and it's been worse since the birth so I need to get my legs moving....and goodness it's just too hot/humid to sling and walk very long here-- you should see the look on the peoples' faces when I hit the treadmill in our gym in my condo building.....

He falls right to sleep when I put him in the sling, so I am lucky that I can just pop down to the gym when he needs settling (and when I'm tired of doing laps around my house). I even give myself a good incline on the treadmill to work on my cute round squishy postpartum butt

[galincognito]

i've tried to walk with the girls but the weather has not been very cooperative around here however it is taking a turn for the better and we've been out a couple of times now. dh was out of the country for the past 2 weeks so it was difficult to do much other than get out for walks but now i'm looking to get back into shape. the summer ultimate frisbee season is just around the corner :and i can't wait to play !!!!

[GoddessJ]

When I was pregnant I would have dreams about exercising, riding a bike, running really fast. I had one about taking off and running with abandon last night. Ah, can't wait until I am at that point.

I have been advised to take it easy for at least 6 weeks before really returning to exercise, although I have been doing some yoga and workouts on my birth ball. I also went hiking a few times.

Maybe an exercise support group would help everyone. I have 50 pounds to loose and a lot of body fat...I lost so much muscle during my pregnancy.

When I can I plan to do pilates, yoga, and bike riding for cardio. I would love to get back to my gym, but I have moved away from it and I doubt I could do it with breastfeeding the baby and all.

[eewieew]

Originally Posted by galincognito

i've tried to walk with the girls but the weather has not been very cooperative around here however it is taking a turn for the better and we've been out a couple of times now. dh was out of the country for the past 2 weeks so it was difficult to do much other than get out for walks but now i'm looking to get back into shape. the summer ultimate frisbee season is just around the corner :and i can't wait to play !!!!

ultimate frisbee sounds great. b and i took the baby to the park and tried to throw one ard but she kept waking up.

Originally Posted by GoddessJ

When I was pregnant I would have dreams about exercising, riding a bike, running really fast. I had one about taking off and running with abandon last night. Ah, can't wait until I am at that point.

I have been advised to take it easy for at least 6 weeks before really returning to exercise, although I have been doing some yoga and workouts on my birth ball. I also went hiking a few times.

Maybe an exercise support group would help everyone. I have 50 pounds to loose and a lot of body fat...I lost so much muscle during my pregnancy.

When I can I plan to do pilates, yoga, and bike riding for cardio. I would love to get back to my gym, but I have moved away from it and I doubt I could do it with breastfeeding the baby and all.

your workout routine sounds just like mine. that's exactly what i did to lose 100 pounds before i got pregnant. i intend to do it again to get this flab off of me. i was happy, though, to go hiking and realize that my body isn't as damaged as i think it is. i'm in much better shape than i thought, just fatter than i'd like.

i also plan to do either bellydance or hoopdancing...apparently both are fantastic for the core, which is where i need the most help. anyone have experience with either? i was watching hoopdance videos on youtube and it looks so freaking cool.

the real test is getting back on my bike. i cycled everywhere before i got pregnant, and stopped last sept. i haven't gotten back on yet. this saturday is supposed to be sunny and 70 here, so i'm thinking that'll be the day! i'm going to start tinkering with it this week to get it ready...i can't wait :

[galincognito]

i was bike riding a lot the last two summers (after a 6 year hiatus when i was rollerblading) and i'm going to miss not cycling as much this summer. it has been our primary mode of transport for the past couple of summers but with no safe way to cycle with an infant, i guess it'll be on the back-burner this year.

[JillyD]

I'm not super into biking but we have good friends who are - they got a Chariot trailer and it has an infant insert (kinda like a sling) and they were out biking with their daugther when she was a few months old. You might want to look into that if that seems safe enough. I would be okay with a kiddo in a trailer if I was an avid biker but not everyone would...

[YayJennie]

I have been walking everyday since about 1 week pp when I was comfortable walking again. I have a large dog, and wanted to get back to walking him as soon as I could. I wear baby in a moby wrap, and we walk about a mile everyday with the dog.

Besides that I just started doing "real" exercises a few days ago (I'm 3 weeks pp now). I'm mostly doing easy strength exercises and stretches, trying to build muscle back up. I also just got an indo board, which is AWESOME. I highly recommend using an indo board!

I can't wait until I can get back into rock climbing. I rock climbed a few times a week before I got pregnant, and really want to get back into it, but I am far too out of shape right now for it! I'm hoping by 6-8 weeks I'll be able to at least try to get out again.

[JillyD]

I rock climb too. DH & I were super into climbing before DD was born. After she came along, we couldn't really go out climbing like we used to so we took up bouldering which really fits well with a kid. I got really strong bouldering though it to FOREVER to get there...so it was hard to be okay letting some of that go during this pregnancy. That said, I did go to the climbing gym through my entire pregnancy. In fact, we were on a bouldering road trip when I found out i was pregnant and I was at the climbing gym when I went into labor (hence, his middle name being Stone). I was mellow about climbing while pregnant but wanted to at least try to keep my arms a tad bit in shape. I am thinking of going either tomorrow or this weekend...taking it easy of course. But, it's a really great workout and am looking forward to it.

I wish it was going to be sunny and 70 here this weekend!!! ugh...I feel like it's been rainy and dreary since this LO was born (maybe a couple sunny days...maybe). I am sooooo sick of this weather. Guess that is spring in seattle for you.

[JMJ]

I did my first exercise Sunday, going for a light couple mile hike at 1 week 6 days PP. It felt pretty good. I'm trying to add walks around the neighborhood (or a nearby college campus since it's safer) this week. I'm only about 10 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight (and I was underweight then), so there's not a big need to lose a lot of weight, but I really want to get active, and I'd love to reshape my deflated belly. I know that the huge, dark stretch mark down the middle of my belly is probably there for good, but I'd love to flatten everything else out.

[eewieew]

i'm thinking about the trailer...but i would need to find a good deal. i have a race bike and i am definitely not a leisurely rider. i would much rather get someone to sit with the kid so i can ride the way that makes me happy, if that makes sense.

oooooh, climbing. i live right up the street from a huge climbing gym and can't wait to get back there. i do a lot of outdoor bouldering in the spring/summer and can not wait to get back to it.

as it stands right now, my exercise for this week will consist of:

-an hour on the elliptical at the gym,twice, if someone can sit with e.
-yoga, either the dvd that i bought or a class if i can find one.
-thursday hike with my cousin, hopefully we'll get to do about 4 miles.
-saturday bike ride...hope to ride 10-15 miles
-random unplanned activities interspersed throughout...walks, hikes and the like.

we should start doing the weekly exercise threads again.

[JillyD]

yeah - they are spendy - we got ours on craigslist for $300 and it included the bike, jogger, and stroller attachments. it wouldn't work so well on a race bike so perhaps the plan of getting out w/o babe is better for you - it's good to do things for youself and by yourself anyway...though, i have found that i'll stick with an exercise routine much better if i can bring the kid along...which is why i started jogging last time even though i hate it.

[YayJennie]

JillyD- You climbed through your ENTIRE pregnancy?!? Wow momma, that is awesome! I did go to the climbing gym a few times during the pregnancy and did some bouldering, but after 18 weeks I was too off balance to trust myself on the walls! I can't believe you were climbing right before labor! My husband and I also prefer bouldering, and now that we're in NY, we mainly go indoor to the gyms. But we're hoping to get outside a bit over the summer. We'll see! Let us know how climbing goes for you postpartum! I bet you'll be awesome seeing as you kept with it the whole pregnancy

[stellarae]

ive mostly just been walking. we have a gazelle downstairs that i might get on here and there if the weather is icky, but other than walking just getting outside and playing soccer has been wearing me out.

i want to start running soon. and add me to the cant-wait-to-bike group