Postnatal Exercise

One thing that is really important to me is physically taking care of my body, which is why as soon as I felt like it, I began doing postnatal exercise. I started out with slow walking and some yoga, but since I was so active before and during pregnancy, I was ready to start running and weight lifting again quickly. Of course I did wait the minimum 6 weeks postpartum before I began these more intense exercises, but I was definitely mentally ready sooner.

Since I was so active before, I really didn’t think I was going to have much difficulty with starting again. Boy was I wrong! Finding motivation, energy, and time was tough, but I knew doing postnatal exercise was something that was important to me, and I wanted my daughter to see me work hard for the goals that I have, while also being kind to my body.

I am now four months postpartum. From September 5-18 I had the opportunity to try out a 2-week exercise program from Queen of Hearts Coaching (@coachsamvro), so I jumped on it.

Coach Sam in all her glory

Coach Sam

Coach Sam

Sam has been a personal trainer for over 6 years. Since she struggled with postpartum depression, she was inspired to become a trainer because she wanted to advocate for the mental health of moms. She realized the importance of taking care of herself physically and mentally and wanted to help other moms do the same. I really strongly believe that as mothers we have to take care of ourselves first so that we can be the best we possibly can for our babies, so that is why I make sure to do postnatal exercise even on days when it’s tough!

Sam’s program is really user friendly and is geared toward busy moms (but really, the workouts are great for anyone). There is an app where the workouts are easily laid out day-by-day. There are also videos that show you how to do the movements if you aren’t sure. It even hooks up to various workout apps such as your Apple watch/health, Fitbit, and Garmin.

Now let’s talk about motivation…I found her program to be very motivating and I WANTED to do these workouts. After you complete a workout, you get a little note saying “Congratulations” and how many workouts you’ve completed (see photo below). There is also a group where her clients can chat and support each other through the workouts and just life in general! While some days my motivation was lower, after I completed the workout I was really proud that I got up and got it done, even if it was difficult that day.

Motivation in the app

Since her program is all online (on the app), it wasn’t like I had to make it into the gym each day to see her face-to-face. I could do the workouts whenever it suited me and from wherever I wanted, so the flexibility of this program is amazing! I did many of the workouts at home and found I was able to get by just fine with the minimal equipment I have - a 5 lb weight, two 15 lb weights, a resistance band, and yoga ball. You definitely don’t need a lot of equipment to be able to effectively do her program.

I found some of the workouts were a bit long, and I realize that you may not have time in your day to complete it all at once. My suggestion would be to either complete ONE of the movement’s reps at a time, or go through one set of each movement once and then complete as much as you can! And remember to give yourself some grace if you don’t get through it all, you did what you could and that is something to be proud of! When I told Sam that I had adapted one of the workouts because I was so sore, was I met with negativity? Absolutely not! She replied with “You’re a rockstar momma! Keep going 👏👏👏”. This made me even more motivated and wanting to do the workouts.

This is the first postnatal exercise program I have tried out, and I highly enjoyed it! I noticed that the 2 weeks of workouts were fairly similar from week to week, so I asked her about this. She does her workouts in phases, where each phase has the same workouts for 4 weeks. Why would she do this? Because then you can see your strength build each week through lifting more weight, doing more reps, or doing the workout faster! I had honestly never thought to do the same workout for a couple weeks at a time, but now I definitely see the value in it even after just 2 weeks!

Sam has a few tips for us mommas to help get her workouts in.

1. She says to start the day with a bulletproof mindset. Make sure to fuel and exercise your brain before anything else - through practicing gratitude, affirmations, journaling, listening to a meditation or motivational podcast.

2. Book your workout in just like you would any other appointments - doctors, dentists, etc. - think of it as an appointment with YOURSELF and your health!

3. Make sure you understand your WHY. Dig deep. If you think about not showing up for yourself over the years, how does that make you feel?

Now, not gonna lie. This program was TOUGH! I have not been this sore in a while, but I also haven’t felt this strong or proud in a while either. So while that soreness may come at a cost, for me it is definitely worth it to feel how I do. From doing her workouts for only 2 weeks, I improved my running time significantly compared to pregnancy and postpartum so far, so I can’t imagine how much stronger I’d feel with completing her postnatal exercise program for 6 months! If you’re needing some motivation to complete a great postnatal exercise program, I would highly recommend Sam’s!