I’ve got the green light

My six week check up with the OB happened last Monday afternoon. I’m pleased to say he gave me the green light to get back into training.

I’ve been good. I’m restrained myself from doing anything other than walking and pelvic floor exercises (kegels) over the past six weeks. With breastfeeding I’ve managed to lose the majority of my pregnancy weight (12kg) which came off in the first two weeks. Now I’m left with a stubborn 2.5kg that probably won’t shift until I (a) stop gorging on chocolate, and (b) start moving my ass.

The weight itself isn’t the issue. I feel flabby all around. My arms are stronger. Holding an infant that is growing every day has helped with that but my tummy, butt and thighs could really use a decent workout. I’d love to get into the gym (my garage), grab a kettle bell and start swinging but that’s not going to do me any good.

As much as I’d like to sign myself up for a marathon within  a few months it’s just not going to happen. Slow and steady wins the race, at least it does in the case of getting back into shape post pregnancy. So I’m taking it easy over the next four weeks. Here’s the plan:

• Strength training 2-3 times per week with body weight exercises and maximum 3kg weights. Push ups, dips, planks, lunges, squats, leg lifts, crunches, that sort of thing.
• Walking every day if weather permits. This means power walking with Jack in the pram. He likes his walks and I like them even more especially when we had out to Burleigh Heads beach.
• Cycling on the wind trainer. J has fitted my race bike with a new timer (I lost mine during the 70.3 a year and a half ago), set the bike up in the garage, and even fixed up a table so I can chuck my laptop on it and get my daily fix of silly tv shows I’ve grown addicted to. For the first month it’ll be cycling with little resistance.
• Walk/run routine. Yes, I so so so want to get back to running. I miss pounding the pavement in my Asics, feeling my quads burn, sweat dripping down my body. Ok, so that’s not appealing for everyone but it sure as heck gives me satisfaction. Hopefully within four weeks I’ll be back to comfortably running 5km. There’s a great loop in the park near my house so that’s something to keep me on track.
• Stretching and yoga to stay flexible and strong. I really enjoy yoga and would like it to become a large component of my training.
• Consume more fruit and vegetables. I’m at home and have plenty of time to cook, I do like to make excuses though for not doing so. Time to change that and make friends with the kitchen. It’s winter so I want to experiment more with soups and roasting veggies.
• Enjoy every day and don’t feel pressured to do everything at once. I want to listen to my body so there’s strict routine. The above are just guidelines and each day I’ll just go with the flow and do whatever tickles me fancy.