It’s important for us ladies to find ways to get in  “me time” – incorporating whatever elements keep us happy and balanced. For me, one of those elements has always been exercise. Over the years I’ve been a swimmer, a runner, a Crossfitter and a gym regular/wannabe bodybuilder – no matter the forum, I thrive from the mental and physical strengthening a hard workout brings. However, I’ve found that my expectations of myself and what my workouts would look like postpartum needed a little re-adjusting. I’m sure even more adjustment will be necessary once I head back to work!

I truly thought I would be [superwoman/mom] able to jump quickly back into everything I loved to do before being pregnant/giving birth when it came to workouts. I dreamt of sprints, high intensity interval workouts in many iterations, heavy squats, etc. while the baby would have “daddy time” with AJ…I worked out 4 times a week throughout my entire pregnancy, even when I really didn’t feel like it, with the assumption that I could pick up where I left off after delivery.

I’ve since discovered that plan o’ mine is just not going to pan out due to unexpected, lingering pain resulting from a delivery complication – pelvic disruption. Frustrating? You bet. But rather than feeling discouraged and giving up altogether, I’m doing what I personally can to continue to stay consistent with working out [as well as making regular trips to my chiropractor!]. I can still rebuild strength & fitness around this issue.

The way I see it is that this pain [and my new, softer belly] is a reminder that I was Taylor’s home for 9+ months, and that she is now safely here with me – blessings worth ANY amount of discomfort.

How and when we get back into a shape we feel good about after pregnancy is a challenging, individual journey with no time limit. We mamas have to remember to be gracious with ourselves in this and all things – after all, our priority is loving our babes and keeping them healthy and happy every day. I’ll continue to share with you as I figure out ways to make fitness fit [oh, that’s catchy!] into my new, baby-centered reality, especially as I head back to work. 

In addition to getting in workouts in our garage gym [thanks, Hubby!], and the occasional jaunt over to 24 Hour Fitness, I’ve been coming up with a lot of quick, bodyweight workouts that you can complete in about 15-20 minutes in your home.

I came up with the workout shown below the other day and it took about 13 minutes with 45-second planks each round. Next time I may even tack on a few extra rounds!

Try it out, let me know your time and how it goes in the comments:

P.S. If you’re interested in more of my postpartum workouts, subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss future posts on that topic : )