My Post-Pregnancy Come Back Week 7 – Working out like the baby is going to
I’m now 7 weeks post-partum and I admit my come back has been a bit challenging. Primarily because I’m so sleep-deprived and have reached a point of chronic exhaustion. Everyday I fight the (mental) battle with myself whether or not to power through and get in a workout or make it a rest day. Some days I wish I would have taken the day off, but other days it feels pretty good and energizes me for a portion of the day. Today, for example, felt good. I decided to get up at 5:00am and get my workout in before the kids got up. I was crossing my fingers that my newborn would sleep until 7:00am, like she does on most days. So while I was down in my garage with the baby monitor, I was working through my reps and sets as fast as I could. I wanted to get through as much of my workout as I could before my little one woke up. About 40 minutes into my workout, she started to make some noise so I kicked it into gear even more, keeping rest periods to a minimum. Thankfully, she ended up falling back to sleep and I was able to get through my entire plan. But it was a non-stop 65 minute workout.
Hoping my sleep deprivation doesn’t get the best of me, here is my plan for this week.
Monday: Rest/recovery and planning day.
Tuesday: MMA workout 1 (modified) from Men’s Fitness March 2009
Wednesday: Indoor cycling
Thursday: MMA workout 2 (modified) from Men’s Fitness March 2009
Friday: Rest/recovery day
Saturday: Outdoor boot camp (I’m the Instructor)
Sunday: MMA workout 3/circuit (modified) from Men’s Fitness March 2009
I’ve been wanting to do the MMA workouts in Men’s Fitness. But since I was pregnant, it would have to wait until post-pregnancy. I can’t do them exactly as they are written because I do most of my workouts in my home gym and don’t have all the equipment. So I find alternatives. I also tweak the suggested reps and add a bit more intensity to make my limited hour worth it. This is my 3rd week doing the MMA workouts in the March 2009 edition. I’ll probably do one more week then change it up. I really enjoy this style of training and it works great for a busy mom with a limited amount of time to workout.
I have not been very happy with my progress pics. They just aren’t what I see when I look in the mirror. Granted, they are just taken by my non-professional photographer husband with our point-and-shoot camera. I also have zero training in how to pose. Still have some saggy skin in the abdominal area, but my weight is a tad less than my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m 123 in this pic taken 6 weeks post-partum. A couple of my husbands buddies made a comment the other day on how good I looked after having a baby just 7 weeks ago. I guess that’s worth more than the pic.
