Postpartum Fitness Blog

Keep Falling Off the Workout Wagon? Here’s How to Stay Motivated

Before I start working with a new client I always ask her some very important questions. Two of the most important ones are:

How do you feel about exercise?
How badly do you want to reach your goals?

Her answers to those questions gives me some insight into the best ways I can train her to help her get to where she wants to go.

For example:

If the answer to #1 is, “I can’t stand it!” and the answer to #2 is, “Meh, I could honestly care less” I know that chances are this isn’t gonna be easy (for either of us! 😉 )

And if you find yourself constantly falling off the workout wagon – you do it for a week or two, maybe even a couple months, then something happens and you don’t workout for a while, then you get back into it, then you fall off again… – you, my friend need to ask yourself 3 very important questions as well.

How to Prepare Your Body (& Mind) For Birth

I remember the first time I Googled “How to prepare for birth”.

The results were overwhelming. Over 80 million blogs, websites, videos and articles telling me what to do, what not to do, and really what not to do. Not all of it helpful. Some of it terrifying.

When I first launched SweetMomBod, I promised to be the honest mom I would want to have in my circle. Someone who wouldn’t scare the pants off everyone, but be the wise friend who would tell you the truth in a helpful, supportive way.

That’s why I’m pumped to have Anita Lambert from Holistic Health Physio on the blog today chatting about how to prepare your body (and mind) for labour and birth.

There are so many ideas out there but you don’t need a 20+ page birth plan to feel confident heading into the delivery room.

If this is your second, third, fourth… kiddo, you know that stuff happens and plans may get tossed aside in the thick of things.

If this is your first kiddo, keep in mind that stuff happens and plans may get tossed aside in the thick of things.

But you’ll feel much more confident heading into labour if you have essential strategies in your back pocket like the ones Anita shares with us today.

You can prepare your body and mind for labour – whatever labour you’re hoping for – and it doesn’t have to take a ton of time or energy. Simple strategies can work extremely well.

And most of the strategies Anita shares can work for both a vaginal delivery and c-sections, as well as medicated and unmedicated births.

No One Cares How You Look As Much As You Do (And That’s a Good Thing)

How many times a day do you worry what other people are thinking about you?

How often do you put on a bathing suit only to throw on a cover-up and wear it all day because you’re worried someone (or everyone) will notice some extra jiggle in your middle?

How does it make you feel when you notice someone looking at you?

Are you worried they’re examining all your flaws and thinking nasty things about you?

Well I have some good news for you:

No One Cares As Much As You Do.

(And that’s a good thing).

10 Minute Core Workout For Busy Moms

How often do you feel so darn guilty saying, “Today is the day I’m going to get that workout in!” and it just never happens?

How many times do you jump into your workout gear first thing in the morning and end up wearing it all day without actually lifting a single weight (besides your chunky monkey toddler) because you thought you’d have time, but you just didn’t?

How true is it that 8pm rolls around and the last thing you want to do is drag yourself through a 30+ minute workout DVD with an obnoxiously happy trainer who obviously didn’t spend her day dealing with a toddler meltdown because you dared to offer said toddler a piece of toast with raspberry jam instead of strawberry? (How dare you).

Being a mom is exhausting.

Even the best days take a lot of energy.

Which is why I get it when moms tell me that they just don’t have time to workout.

Between the poopy diapers, the music and play classes, getting your business-y work done, and cleaning what looks like yesterday’s lunch off the floor, there’s not a lot of time (or energy) to spend working out.

The thing is though, you don’t need a 1+ hr workout 5+ days a week to feel stronger and start seeing results.

A little bit here and there can go a long way.

That’s why I love mini circuits.

Think You Have a Prolapse and Feeling Terrified? Here’s What You Need to Know

Being a mom in the age of the internet can be overwhelmingly scary.

Google “prolapsed pelvic organ” and you’re surrounded by terrifying images and horror stories on mommy forums that leave you with more questions and less hope.

Navigating life as a mom is hard enough. You don’t need your Google search results to scare you to tears.

Yes. Having a prolapse can leave you feeling worried and less than confident. But it doesn’t have to be so scary. Your life isn’t over. Your running/lifting/enjoying all the things life doesn’t have to end.

There are some key strategies and tools you can use to feel strong and confident again.

And the first step to feeling more empowered is to know exactly what you’re dealing with. The second step is knowing how to manage your symptoms and enjoy your life without constantly worrying if something you do (or don’t do) will make it worse.

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Peeing Yourself Isn’t Your Non-Refundable Entry Ticket Into Motherhood

“I pee a little whenever I run.”

“The other day I laughed so hard a little pee came out.”

“I pee during every workout. This is my life now.”

“My youngest daughter is 2 now and I still pee – especially when I do any kind of jumping workout. Hopefully it’s only temporary and will eventually go away.”

These words.

These are the words I see online constantly in mom groups and forums and hear in workshops I’m hosting and during consultations with potential clients.

These words make me simultaneously so sad and so motivated to keep getting the right information into the right hands because peeing yourself is not your non-refundable entry ticket into motherhood.

Having a baby does not mean you need to wear dark or patterned workout pants or pee-proof underwear for the rest of your life because you’re in constant fear of peeing yourself in front of everyone in your workout class.

This isn’t something you have to just live with.

The truth is, if peeing yourself (even just a smidge) was simply part of the package that comes along with a baby, then 100% of women would experience leakage after giving birth.

But this obviously isn’t the case.

So why do some women have problems with leaking and other mamas don’t?

Does it have to do with how big your newborn baby was?

The kind of labour you had?

Whether you gave birth vaginally or with a C-section?

Genetics?