Follow my blog with Bloglovin My Post Partum body and starting my post baby fitness journey

I am now five weeks and four days post partum and I am now on a mission! I did something I have never before done today and took a picture of my body from all angles (okay maybe Richard helped). My reason? To actually look at myself as other people see me, without 'sucking in' my belly in the mirror and conning myself that I have a flat stomach and so that I can clearly see the areas of my body that I need to focus on in terms of exercise.
It also gives me a starting point. I want to be able to see my progress so I am motivated to continue with exercise, it's easy to become dispondant when you are working out and the number on the scales is not going down, but exercise and building muscle is about so much more that just your weight. Muscle weighs more that fat but is much denser so by building muscle and toning up your weight may not go down (it may even go up) but you will be able to SEE the results in photo's of yourself.
So here it is that picture...don't judge me! (Oh and my face is blocked out because it was the morning, pre-workout and I had no make-up on, I'm not quite brave enough to reveal myself with no make-up just yet!

 So here is all 5ft 8inches, 130lbs of me post baby number one. 
Clearly I have some problem areas that I particuarly want to focus my workouts on. My stomach is one of those. My waist has gone from 25inches (24.5 on a good day) to 28 inches, and I have a lot of loose skin. I've never actually had a six pack but it used to be a lot more toned pre-baby.
I do not have my six week post baby check up until Tuesday so I am going to wait until I have had that before I start tackling the 'mummy tummy'. Diastasis recti, the ab separation that pregnancy can cause, can be made worse by conventional ab exercises like crunches so I want to check that I do not have that before starting. I want a post baby six pack though so my stomach will defintely be a big workout focus!
 
Then there is my bum...or lack of! I have never been blessed with a voluptuous, peachy derriere but it is looking particuarly flat post pregnancy, probably due to the fact I used lighter weights in my pregnancy workouts and found lower body exercises more challenging (and therefore avoided them). 
I tend to come up with my own workouts and I am now doing my own glute focused workout at least three times a week (when Rafe lets me) in an attempt to build a perkier bum. I am using heavier weights and I'm back doing kettlebell swings which are good for the glutes.
I really enjoy working out with kettlebells. I use two a 8kg and a 10kg depending on the exercise. The 10kg was put away during my pregnancy but I am using it again now. I purchased the 'Kettlercise' workout DVD from Amazon which is really good and I

would defintely recommend it to anyone new to kettlebells as it contains two DVD's, one instructional that teaches how to use a kettlebell correctly to get maximum results from the exercises and to prevent injuries. The other has two workouts, one longer and then a short express style workout for when you are short of time (or have a baby!)
The moves are challenging, but I find that the workouts go quickly because they are not repetitive or boring. 

I have also been trying to get walks in as often as possible when the Bristish weather and Rafe co-operates! This offers some LISS (Low instensity steady state) cario to do alongside the the weights. I am not back to running or doing anything high intensity as I am breastfeeding and it is defintely not comfortable. 
I also use YouTube for different workouts. It's good to keep mixing up your workouts and keep your body guessing, there are some great, free workouts avaliable on YouTube. I recommend 'Fitness Blenders' workouts, you can choose how long of a workout you want and the areas that you want to target and they are easy to follow. Also 'Bodyfit by Amy' has great prenatal and post natal workouts and kettlebell workouts which are quick enough to get done between baby feeds and nappy changes!

So there's a little post baby fitness and body update, I have always loved exercise and what it can do, not just for your body but for your mind, self-esteem and general health and wellbeing. My goal for myself is to have a better body post baby than I did before I had him, especially focusing on my problem areas which I think effect a lot of women post partum. 
I am going to include my own workouts and my post baby diet aswell and document my own personal progress.

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