Postnatal Exercise - Like you Have Time!

My post today is intended to simply spread a little mummy-camaraderie, empathy &, hopefully motivation & encouragement!

At the mere mention of ‘postnatal exercise’, all mums will say they HAVEN’T GOT ANY BLOODY TIME. Believe me, I know. I’ve got 2 youg children, a business & a household, not to mention a very energetic dog…

But it is often assumed that my postnatal exercise regime, being a personal trainer & all, consists of regular hour-plus long structured workouts. Now I’m a little odd I admit in that I actually like working out. Nevertheless, I honestly can’t remember the last time I did one of those workouts.

That’ll be because I haven’t got any bloody time…

So I’m hoping you might get a couple of ideas from my ‘exercise routine’ that help you inject a little momentum into yours.

My most enthusiastic running buddy!

If I get to walk the dog sans kids, I put my trainers on & run. If I’m walking her with kids, they think I’m hilarious doing my walking lunges, or stopping to do some pull ups from a bar. We have races, I carry them on my back & run around… you get the idea.

If you wait for an hour ‘gap’ to ‘do your workout’, guess what? You will NEVER get that hour gap. Result: no exercise at all. Feel a bit *failed* & a bit rubbish. Result: eat biscuits.

I’ve got 2 suggestions on where you go from this obvious truth – that mums have no time - both with a very positive outcome.

1. You can be disciplined with yourself & your other commitments, & schedule that hour. It’s your entitlement & you totally deserve to spend some time on it. Everybody is motivated differently, & it may help you to get changed into some ‘proper’ workout gear & do an exercise DVD you enjoy, or go to the gym , or to a class. If it’s in your diary, however hectic that diary might be, then you will find make the time.

2. So you’re looking at option 1 & shaking your head, ‘Ain’t gonna happen’. An hour? Plus travel &/or shower time? Forget it.

In which case, my suggestion is to do what I do & just take what you can get. By that I mean 15 minutes. 25 (even better). 5 minutes even. Use the ideas in the interval workout post, & simply DO any combination of lunges, squats, press-ups, a minute’s plank (come on, you’ve got one minute).

Do some core activation (learn how in this post) & pelvic floor exercises while you cook tea or do a jigsaw with the kids. Use tidy-up time to do some serious squatting in perfect posture everytime you pick something up. When you lift your little one, do so with your core fully activated & do some squats or raise her above your head in a shoulder press. Next time you’re in the park, grab the next railing & do some pull ups (video) (your baby / kids will think you’re doing it purely for their entertainment). Don’t watch them run around – join in.

Get your heart rate going & work big muscle groups. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that to do some real good.

The key is to stop THINKING about doing some exercise, & just DO some. Just start. If your partner gets home early or someone offers you a half hour break, grab your trainers & get outside – it doesn’t matter what you look like or how long you’ve got… I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.

When you’ve got a minute let me know how you fit exercise into your day! Do you MAKE it happen, or do you never seem to quite find the time?