When you’re ready to return to exercise after having a baby, it can be helpful to define your goals and priorities and to discover your true WHY. Too often we stop at a high level ‘why’ which doesn’t keep us motivated in the long run. Stick with me as we uncover the steps to staying in the game when we don’t feel like exercising or prioritizing our own health.
Discovering Your Goals 
When it comes to goals, know that your goals are likely different than your friend, cousin, sister, co-worker, neighbors, etc who just had a baby. When we start comparing our own journey to someone else’s journey, it becomes very difficult to ever feel successful.
Some of your goals may include:
- Safely returning to exercise and reducing the risk of injury or postpartum conditions such as worsening diastasis recti or pelvic organ prolapse.
- Improving posture
- Building lean muscle and/or losing weight
- Recovering from pregnancy and childbirth
- Feeling confident and comfortable in your body again
- Regaining functionality and strengthening your core and pelvic floor
- Returning to your favorite group exercise class after having a baby
- Running again after giving birth
- Fitting into your pre-baby clothes again
Tossing Common Roadblocks to the Curb
As a mom myself, I get it. After giving birth to our daughter I had to figure out how to make exercise fit in my schedule again. Luckily, as a prenatal and postpartum fitness coach, I knew what to do, but I know many moms who are short on time and don’t have a spare minute to figure out how to reach their goals safely let alone what exercises to do.
Some common questions I hear from moms that tend to prevent them from returning to exercise after giving birth:
- How do I know what exercises to do to safely recover from pregnancy?
- What postpartum exercises will help heal my diastasis recti?
- What exercises should I avoid after giving birth?
- How do I drop the baby weight?
- How do I build back lean muscle?
- I’m tired, stressed, and emotional. How do I regain my energy and manage my stress?
- I’m scared to return to exercise. What if I do it wrong and hurt myself?
- I can barely pick up my baby. How can I feel strong again?
- Can I start strength training after having a baby?
- My kids are a few years old and I haven’t started exercising again. How can I get started?
- I’m not losing weight while breastfeeding. Is this normal? Why isn’t the weight falling off with nursing?
- What type of cardio is safe after having a baby?
- Can I still exercise while breastfeeding?
- What exercises can I do to look and feel better?
- How can I strengthen and flatten my core?
- What ab exercises are safe after having a baby?
If you’ve asked any of these questions, know that you aren’t alone. If you’re ready to get started, contact Coach Ashley today.
Prioritizing Your Health
You are important and so is your health. Too often moms tell me they simply don’t have the time, energy, or money to take care of their own health. Yet they find themselves spending countless dollars on quick fixes that never help them reach their goals. They have little energy to play with their kids, they are overwhelmed with their everyday life, and they don’t know where to find more time. However, the moms who take time to exercise and improve their nutrition find they have more energy and accomplish more, stop wasting money on quick fixes, start living a life they love, and finally reach their health goals. So what are you waiting for? Let’s discover your why!
Discovering Your Why
The first step to reaching your goals is to identify why you want to make a change in the first place. When we know our why, we have clear direction and purpose. Once we know where we want to go and why, the journey becomes easier. You may find you have to dig down deep to find the answers and it’s possible some uncomfortable emotions come up – and that’s ok. We’re human!
As a new mom, I was thinking I simply wanted to lose the baby weight. After going through my 5-whys, I uncovered when the reality was I wanted to feel in control of my eating especially when I was emotional or stressed.
Other moms tell me their goal is to lose weight but their ultimate why is because they deserve to feel amazing!
Some moms want to be a positive influence on their children.
Other moms want to live to see their grandkids.
I encourage you to complete the questions below and to hang your final ‘why’ where you will see it daily. Then, when you don’t feel like prioritizing your health, take a look at your WHY and see if it helps you move in the right direction.
Let’s see what you’ve got! Really take some time to think about these answers so you can discover your true why.
- Define your goals
- Why do you want to reach the goals mentioned above?
- But why do I want to (#2)?
- But why do I want to (#3)?
- But why do I want to (#4)?
- But why do I want to (#5)?
- Do you feel any different? If yes, describe the feeling in ONE word.
Ready to get started? Let’s chat today!
