Body After Baby: The Fitness Plan Part 2

Posted: January 10, 2011 at 12:03 pm

Catching up from the weekend? A few fun posts for you:

Fitness is my passion. Or one of them at least. I love finding new ways to challenge myself physically. It motivates me. It gives me strength. It makes me downright giddy inside. No wonder I anticipate going for such goals again.

I have already discussed the general manner with which I plan to approach fitness after giving birth. I believe shooting for a gradual increase in intensity will help me stay motivated and continue to see improvements. Now, for more specifics!

Weight Training
My heart lies with strength training. I believe it always will. I gain such a sense of accomplishment from seeing my body get stronger and stronger. Plus, there are so many fun ways to mix it up! Listed below are some steps I plan to use for getting back into weights workouts.

1. Light at-home circuit workouts 2-3 days per week.
2. Begin back at the gym with 1 or 2 full body workouts a week, focusing on using machines to reacquaint my muscles with the moves.
3. Ease back into Bodypump style classes 1x/week with the above workouts.
4. Move on to more traditional workouts 3 days per week – adding in more free weights moves. Beginning to add more intensity with things like supersets.
5. Branch out to 4 day workout rotations with a focus on free weights and compound body moves. Add in even more fun and intensity with plyometrics, drop sets, giant sets, and more. Not sure what all that means? Stay tuned and I will be happy to share as I progress to these workouts. We can do them together!

Standard Cardio
Since I love all aspects of fitness, I love cardio as well. The only requirement I have for cardio is that I have a variety. I can’t do machines every workout. Nor can I go to class after class after class and upkeep motivation. I plan to incorporate the following for cardio workouts, rotating them regularly. I have a lot of cardio options, including the running I mention later, but will make sure to not go overboard.

1. At – Home DVDs: Turbo Jam and Cathe Friedrich are my top options currently. I already own them and they never let me down. Cathe tops everything though! She has a great variety with kickboxing workouts, fun step routines, and some great high intensity boot-camp style drill workouts. I LOVE those! Maybe eventually I will get to add Insanity or Turbo Fire to my collection as well.

2. Spinning: That will be the main class I use at the gym since I can do kickbox DVDs at home. Perhaps I will fit in an occasional Zumba as well.

3. Machines: I like to use machines (especially the stepmill) on occasion. Its a fun challenge to switch things up that way and they are great for interval style workouts. Must have a magazine though!

Running
I know running is cardio, but I’ve included it separately. Why? Well, I want to give running a more solid effort. I have always shied away from running because I felt I was no good at it. Now, I realize from blogs that its a personal challenge and I expected too much from myself before. I don’t have to excel at something to feel accomplished doing it.

I want to give it a real chance. I used to love running, but lost sight of it somewhere along the way. I plan to start out with the Couch To 5K program and run my first race ever. Who knows if it will lead to more running? I also have my thoughts on possibly doing a longer distance at the end of the year, depending on how it fits into my overall fitness picture and how much I enjoy it again. That’s all I will say about that for now. Don’t want to get all you running fanatics too excited.

Yoga/Stretching

I know I need to continue focusing on flexibility. I let stretching slip way too often in my past and my body could feel it. I want to make sure I stretch fully after each and every workout. Ideally, I will also manage to fit in yoga 1x/week as well. However, with the gym’s schedule and the cost of yoga studios, that may not be feasible. I will look into options though and do what I can to focus on keeping my muscles limber. Foam rolling will certainly be involved!

So, that’s part two! I’m so ready to get started!!!!

Question of the Day – What workout have you refrained from trying or fully giving a chance because of fear/uncertainty/not feeling good enough?

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64 Comments to “Body After Baby: The Fitness Plan Part 2”
  1. Yes, I’ve never really given yoga a solid effort. I’m flexible by nature and the yoga classes I’m tried so far have just been boring to me. I know there are so many different types of yoga so maybe I just haven’t found my style. I’ve heard great things about hot yoga and think maybe in 2011 I’ll give that a try. I just hate how expensive yoga is!!

    • Tina says:

      Yes! It is way too expensive. And the classes at my gym were nice but not something I feel benefits me enough to make sure I get in over regular stretching.

  2. Good for you on having a plan 🙂 It’s very motivational! I’ve never gotten into weight training for fear of looking ridiculous at the gym

  3. yay! i love reading how excited you are to get going on these plans. i have a goal of adding more yoga to my workout rotation too. i really can’t think of anyone who gives yoga a real chance saying that they don’t like it!

  4. I know you are so ready! I am pretty open with any kind of workout, but I can’t run. I look Phoebe from friends and I feel like I am carrying an extra 100lbs. I have never tried spin before, but that is one I have always wanted to give a try!

  5. All of this workout planning of yours has ME really motivated! Can we join you in your body after baby challenge? 🙂

  6. I hated yoga when I first tried it 10 years ago, and I’m so glad I went back to it! It is changing my life!

  7. Lauren says:

    I really want to get into spinning but I’m Afraid of being the beginner in the class. I think starting out with a 5k is a great way to start running! There’s a ton of free yoga videos or audio online if you can’t fit a class into your schedule. Search iTunes yoga podcasts. I’m excited to read about your weight training and get ideas!

    • G says:

      Don’t be scared to try spinning! One of the things I like about spinning is nobody knows how much resistance you put on – everyone tailors their workout to their own level/needs! Plus, keep in mind that everybody was the newbie at one point! 🙂 Good luck, I hope you try it out soon – spinning is so much fun!

    • Tina says:

      Ditto to what G already said. Spinning is great and you really can make it work for you. Get to a class a bit early to have the instructor help you set up your bike and no one will be the wiser you are a newbie. 🙂

  8. Stephanie says:

    I rarely refrain from anything. I look like a goober pretty much doing anything! I do get mostly intimidated by weights when I’m alone at the gym. But I’m going to just get over it!

  9. These are great fitness goals! I love how you’re allowing yourself to ease back into it 🙂

  10. Lee says:

    Yoga. I always shy away from it because I am not very flexible at all. It is my goal to do it more in 2011. In fact, I’m supposed to go tomorrow night.

  11. Every day I wait to see a post that you are off to the hospital waiting for the little man! 🙂

    You, like me love variety in at home workouts with a big dose of group classes. Spinning + Turbo Fire currently have my heart. I am doing P90X at home for my strength training.

  12. Marie Reale says:

    I love yoga and turbo jam! And I’ve kind of had a fear of step workouts because I’m afraid of hurting my knees. I also never free weight train at the gym…all those huge buff guys standing around watching me struggling to lift twenty pounds. I can just hear ’em hey ma’am do you need me to spot you?

  13. Tina says:

    Having a clear plan and direction always helps! I love how motivated you are! Up until 2-3 years ago I was afraid to weight train, and now I can’t imagine myself ever stopping!

  14. Kirsten says:

    Like Lee, I shy away from yoga. I know that doing it will improve everything that keeps me from doing it… flexability, balance etc… but still I haven’t made it a regular part of my routine.

    To hopefully change this, I have a couple yoga DVD’s that I really want to start doing on a regular basis.

  15. Therese says:

    I’m glad you’re going to give running a shot! I call myself a runner, but I’m also still working on running a 5k without walking (I ran a half marathon in November by alternating running 5-6 minutes and walking 1 minute). 10 minute miles are my dream goal, which is slow compared to other bloggers out there, but I don’t care!

    Also, thanks in part to you, I’ve started strength training again. Nothing big, just a few easy workout DVDs (Women’s Health Wedding Workout even though my wedding was 2+ years ago, and 30-Day Shred– with Jillian’s voice on mute). The other night a flexed my arms and asked my husband if he could tell I’d been lifting weights and he said (without looking at me) “yes I can tell! You’re much more confident!” Which wasn’t a commentary on my muscles, obviously, but quite fitting all the same.

    • Tina says:

      Every step counts! That’s great you are incorporating some weight training. And whenever I start runs, I’m sure walking will still be involved in there too. 😉

  16. Melie says:

    Haha! I know all about super sets and circuits and giant sets. I just hate them! 😛 I refrain from any sort of dancing classes. I just suck at it and at the end of the day I don’t enjoy it. I figure that if I can get my cardio some other way that I like more, why bother?

  17. I need to get some Cathe dvds! People rave about them!

    • Tina says:

      They are great! She does use more equipment than other dvds though. I think that keeps a lot of people from them.

  18. I guess I haven’t given yoga a fair shot. I’m really interested in it, but I always feel like I’m a late bloomer, like everyone is so familiar with it and I’m just going to embarrass myself.

  19. Thanks for posting this–I really needed to read this as I am looking to add more stuff to my routine. I love strength training and workout with my kettlebell but I hate cardio. I have always wanted to try spin but I have a horrible knee so I dont think I would last too long.

  20. Great post!! For me, it’s Zumba. I want to try it so, so much but I keep holding myself back!

    • Tina says:

      A lot of people really dont dance that well in zumba from what ive seen. So if that is what is holding you back – go for it!

  21. Jenn (GH) says:

    I throw myself into everything. It’s my nature. Be it good or bad. 😉

  22. Dorry says:

    I was hesitant to start running for years! I would go on long, fast-paced walks and run for a block or 2 before telling myself it was time to stop. It was all mental. Best advice I ever received at the beginning was to slow down. Then I increased my speed with time just because it came naturally. I think you’ll be surprised and possibly fall in love with running! If not, clearly you have a lot of fitness interests. My sister is 33 with 2 kiddos (6 and 2 yrs old) and she got into running a year or so ago and now she’s training for her 1st half marathon this March. 🙂

  23. Great Plan! I love Turbo Jam too…it helped me lose almost 20 lbs. Now I want to try Turbo Fire…the “high intensity” version of TJ.

  24. lindsay says:

    Im excited for you to get into more running post baby. Its such a great time to clear your head. And with 2 kiddos, you will need that. haha!
    LC

  25. You are so gorgeous pregnant and it is so inspiring to see pics of you working out while pregnant!! I’m not ready to have a baby yet, but you are my inspiration when I do! 🙂

  26. While I did cross country in high school, I was not very good. So I never really wanted to run again because I knew I was going to be bad. When I started running again this summer, I was AWFUL. But I stuck with it and one thing led to another and I’ve run 2 5K’s, 2 10K’s, and most recently a Half- Marathon (! :D) since October. While I never considered myself fast or anything, I am a lot better than I gave myself credit for. And I haven’t looked back. 😀

    • Tina says:

      Love your running story! I can really relate to it. I was never on the cc team, but would go on runs with the members a lot bec I liked running. I want to do that again. Just do it for me and for fun. We’ll see where it goes. 🙂

  27. Lisa says:

    You need to buy Cathe Friedrich’s HIT dvd. OMG its so good!

  28. Tina, just stopping by to say that every time I see this cute pregnant lady at the gym, you pop into my mind, and I say a prayer for you for what’s coming in the coming days and weeks 🙂

    I am excited to read along as you pursue your fitness goals!

  29. Angela says:

    I’m so happy you’re planning to incorporate spin (although I may be slightly biased!!!) I haven’t tried Turbo Jam yet but it looks like fun, and something I totally wouldn’t do normally. Once again, I love your gradual approach to the plan. 🙂

  30. I haven’t shyed away from any kind of workout, but tend to put strength and yoga on the back burner – I’m such a cardio junkie!

  31. Awww great post doll!! I love the pics of you 😉

    This is such a great motivational post for all the ladies out there that thing they are “doomed” after having kids!

    I would have to say when I did P90X, i would shy away from most of the exercises. I could never do a real push up and now I can do many!

    xxoo

  32. Mandy says:

    Wow! You have such a great plan for post-baby, I can’t imagine that it will fail you!
    I’ve done yoga a few times, and definitely know the benefits of it, but I’m a person that wants to kick, shake and jump (or, SWEAT) a lot so it’s hard for me to get into the slow movement and holding poses-thang! I like the instructor at our gym but I just much rather and jump and sweat then sit and breath….

  33. Never heard of cathe friedrich before but I love at home dvds so I will have to look in to her! Thanks!

    I love working out too! I have only recently (within the 3 years) learned the importance of strength and flexibility to my routine. Literally earlier this year I got injured really bad from NOT stretching enough! This year I regularly practice yoga and am constantly stretching…what a difference it has made!

  34. I haven’t fully tried running, I always back out after a few days.

  35. G says:

    Everytime I click on your blog, I get super super excited and expect to see something like “Welcome to the world, Baby B.” If I am this anxious, I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling!!! 😀 Your workout plan seems very realistic (as in, you aren’t completely overdoing it and will not injure yourself) and fun! Thanks for sharing!

  36. It was running until I volunteered with Girls On The Run and I’m ready to take it to the next level 🙂

    Ok I have to tell you something that might creep you out.You were in my dream this weekend, you still hadn’t had Baby B 🙁 so I asked how us bloggers would find out the news when it happened and you told me that you had a draft ready for your husband to hit Publish on when it happens! lol

    • Tina says:

      Not creepy at all! I know I have dreams about bloggers too. LOL No post ready yet but I will be blogging from the hospital!

  37. You are such an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your plans. I’m excited to follow your journey.

  38. Karen says:

    I have definitely been intimidated by running! I always thought I looked silly running. I am going to face my fear and give it a try this year. One of my goals for 2011 is to run a 5k too!

  39. i feel so pumped up after reading this! i can’t wait for you to get started either…working out is really such a rush 🙂 i just need to figure out a way to make more consistent time in my schedule for it. i’m not a fan of having to do 15 minutes here and an hour there, but i’m also not a fan of waking up at 4AM either!

  40. marcia says:

    Great plan of action!
    I think swimming might be next on my list….I hate it. I am baaad at it, which is why I think I must try it. I need to try a triathlon
    (so I am told). Pilates too. It works, but it’s a challenge for me. I must be in a studio though, I need the teacher there to correct me! 🙂
    Baby B is coming tomorrow…are you ready?!?!? 😉

    • Tina says:

      I can so picture your determination to do a tri and pick up swimming. And you would end up killing it too. Youre such a badass, Marcia!

  41. Good for you for having such a great plan! I can’t wait to follow along:)

    I have heard so much about the Cathe DVDs, but have yet to try them. I do, however, love Turbo Jam! Do you do the cardio ones or the strength training one?

  42. TINA! I cannot wait till you have your little baby B!!!!

    I def lack in some stretching which I need to get better at!!!

  43. Good job for being so purposeful and deliberate!

  44. Spinning for sure! I’m just so addicted to something I feel does more for my WHOLE body, like running or body pump. I feel like spinning will either
    1. make me too sore to run for a few days, or
    2. not do much for me, and I’ll feel like a need an arm workout

    I also have never done it before… and everyone seems so into it. Is it difficult as a beginner to keep up? Advice for a skeptical beginner?

    • Tina says:

      It’s not too difficult to follow along but it is a tough workout. Plus you can completely tailor it to your level of fitness! ‘Im pretty sure I’ve heard its good cross training for runners.

  45. Thanks for the recommendations on the at-home DVD’s. I really want to get into that more, since I too get bored by only one cardio activity. I do run some, but lately having been loving zumba!

  46. Jolene says:

    What a great plan!! It is pretty much exactly what I would do if it were me 🙂 My response to your Q? Core Fusion!! I am giving it a real go because I NEED a stronger core and more flexibility! Good luck dear 🙂

  47. amy says:

    I’m afraid to try Zumba because I have no rythm.

  48. Kathie says:

    For At Home Yoga Practice…..www.yogadownloads.com is a GREAT website!! They have a TON of free workout d/l’s as well as some you may want to purchase for $2.99 is the usual going rate. LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!!!

  49. Anna says:

    I have shied away from running. Part of me is afraid I will hurt myself and the other part thinks I will look stupid. I haven’t attempted anything yet but my mind is starting to consider it more so that is a good sign I think 🙂

    This is currently one of my favorite yoga routines: http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/body-sculpting/beginner-yoga-3933

  50. Lisa says:

    Hi Tina! I was reading through this and I have done Insanity! It’s a crazy good workout and it actually helped me get into running! I did lose some weight but I didn’t get any dramatic results because my diet wasn’t on key 😉 but if you’re thinking of trying it, I’d highly recommend it! And since you like turbo fire, you should become a beachbody coach!

    http://www.teambeachbody.com/lflaherty11

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