Mommy Style Exercise!

[Little_Katie]

Hey fellow moms, but I was wondering- what do you do for exercise on those days where your kids keep you so tied up that you can’t hit the gym?

Any tips? Tricks?

Another question along the same lines… What advice would you give to a new mom who was on bed rest most the pregnancy and hasen’t had much in the name of exercise for over 9 months! What’s a good and SAFE way to get back into an active routine?

I used to be in the military, so I used to be pretty fit- but after so much inactivity I just don’t know what my body is capable of.

 

[whatevergirl]

***Pilates…I just love it. I would recommend that, you can buy a dvd and just workout at home…or just old fashioned walking with the baby in a stroller, etc…The nice thing about pilates, is it is cardio, and strength training in one session…if you feel like you need to go slow, there are beginner levels until you get back into your groove. I used to be an avid runner…and that is another great exercise. If it’s been a while, start slow with whatever you choose.

You should visit the baby stroller thread in the parenting section. ***

 

[Little_Katie]

Yeah I took a peek at that thread!

Personally, I plan to jog again, as it’s the only exercise I can honestly “feel” the benefit from instantly.

But I haven’t done more than a brisk walk to the store in over a year >.<.

So I wanted idea’s on how to start off slow and not have to worry about rushing to a gym, as the baby can’t come along.

I have been doing some yoga videos and some tye bo videos… but I don’t feel much benefit. I have the hardest time following along w/ the video. I always feel like I am not doing it right, actually I KNOW I am not doing it right on the more cardio type videos… I flop around like an elephant trying to copy the people in the video. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

 

[whatevergirl]

Yeah I took a peek at that thread!

Personally, I plan to jog again, as it’s the only exercise I can honestly “feel” the benefit from instantly.

But I haven’t done more than a brisk walk to the store in over a year >.<.

So I wanted idea’s on how to start off slow and not have to worry about rushing to a gym, as the baby can’t come along.

I have been doing some yoga videos and some tye bo videos… but I don’t feel much benefit. I have the hardest time following along w/ the video. I always feel like I am not doing it right, actually I KNOW I am not doing it right on the more cardio type videos… I flop around like an elephant trying to copy the people in the video. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

***lol! aw.
Well, I hear ya…I have kick boxing workouts on dvd, and they are hard, if you ask me! I agree about running…I was at my thinnest (and fittest) when I ran regularly…
Hey, check out our exercise support thread here…I should be going in there, tell michael welter I sent you…lol Seriously, it’s a great thread…and everyone is so motivating to one another…all fitness levels are welcome

I would just start power walking…and then run 2 minutes, and then walk, and then run 2 minutes…and then jog, and then walk slow…and then, run at top speed two minutes, and so on…it’s the intervals that I have learned, really work.

You’ll get back there again…it is hard, when you have fallen away from the core habits. I bet in the military you were in amazing shape, no? What were your workouts like back then? I’m interested! ***

 

[Little_Katie]

Well I was in really good shape when I was in training (boot camp and then tech school) because we had really strict work out routines.

In boot camp we started off w/ about ten minutes of stretching every morning and ran every day for about 30 minutes around a track (getting yelled at the whole time and told we were fat from eating too many donutes etc). Then our whole day was just FILLED w/ pushups, situps, and what was really just torture- flutter kicks, which were all used as punishment.

Tech school was just as hard but less frightening. You were treated like a person! Ha ha. You just had a tough workout routine every other day. You ran 30 minutes around the school area of the base and did a ton of push ups and sit ups (can’t remember the exact number), and of course we stretched.

But after I got into my actual job, which consisted of 12 hours a day at a desk, I was not in that great shape. But I still had to exercise to maintain the military standards on my free time, so I was in decent shape.

When I got pregnant I decided to get out so I wouldn’t have to worry about leaving my baby behind when going to Iraq or something like that. Then I ended up having problems w/ my placenta in the pregnancy and was put on strict bed rest most of the pregnancy.

And let me tell you- you loose muscle (and ENDURANCE!) sooooo fast. So being out of shape for so long has honestly put me back at square one. Arrrg.

 

[mom2Grace]

It is shocking how fast you can get out of shape, isn’t it? I took my kids out for a 1 mile walk on flat surface at sea level 2 days ago and yesterday my legs were sore all day. Here I’m hoping to go for some mountain hiking this summer. I have a ways to go!

I’d just say start out walking if you have somewhere safe to walk. Increase your speed as you feel able. I keep some weights behind the couch and I should remember to pick them up in the evening if I have time to watch tv. I do have a pilates video that has beginner-advanced on it, so I can click to the level I am on. (back to beginner )Hmmm I need to do that more often. It’s hard to just find time and get everything else done too. It’s like working out is last-at the very very bottom of the list of things to do! It’s easiest for me to take the kids for a walk because then I’m taking them out and about and working out at the same time, and they are contained in the stroller (ie not getting into stuff).