Every mom knows how difficult it can be to shed the baby weight after your little one is born. I was very thin prior to conceiving Logan. I embraced my pregnant body and loved my belly. When the baby was born the weight started coming off very quickly. Breast feeding assists in this I hear. Now I am at a weight I am comfortable with, not as thin as I was before, but comfortable. There is just one problem. I am unhappy with my legs. I have tried to accept that having a baby is a huge deal; that I should wear my legs with pride given what I went through; that most moms don't shed the baby weight for a year. I even get that to most people I don't look like I had a baby six months ago, but I can tell. Its more about feeling good about myself than it is the shape of my legs, but I must say, if I get myself some toned legs and a slight tan (I am very white) I will feel like a hot mom- and who doesn't want to feel like a hot mom!
So I've decided to make a commitment to myself. I will spend 10 minutes a day doing Leg exercises. A friend of mine suggested that rather than focus on the number of reps or the length of time I spend on a specific exercise, I could pick a few songs to play and time the exercises in the length of the songs. I had read this online as well. Sounds easy enough.
I started today. I am committing to a month. I will play 3 songs (about 10 minutes of exercises) and will do one exercise for the entirety of each song. It can be hard to find time to exercise with a little one, but I can always find 10 minutes. There are some tried and true exercises that everyone swears by for great legs that I plan to incorporate. The number one exercise has to be squats. Next I am going for calf raises. I plan to add side lunges on some days and the dreaded sit against the wall bit on others. That one hurts the most but I will accept the challenge.
The problem that I always run into is sticking with a routine. I will get super motivated to exercise, start exercising everyday and then fall off the wagon for a month. I am not the type of person that will go to a gym everyday or even twice a week. I am hoping to do more than just 10 minutes of leg exercises a day, but I vow to at the very least complete the month of 10 minutes a day. I have so much in my area that makes it easy to get in shape. So, if I do end up wanting more I have created a list of what I could do.
The List
-Join a Gym (Lets be honest, this is not going to happen. No classes either- group exercise is not my thing)
-Walk/Hike in Griffith Park (this one I do already!)
-Push the stroller up Runyon Canyon at least a couple times a week
-Dust off the exercise videos and do me some Yoga, Pilates or Aerobics!
-WII Active (I did this a lot before I was pregnant and I enjoyed it)
-Ride that bike that I bought a couple months ago that I have barely ridden
-If I am really wanting to kick my ass I could do some P90X (If my husband can do it so can I!)
and last but certainly not least (drum roll please)
***JOIN STROLLER STRIDES!!! Stroller Strides is a fitness program in my area that allows you to get fit with your baby. This is one group I can see myself being part of! You know, the more I think about it the more I want to join. The group I would like to join meets Monday and Friday mornings so I think next week I will go for it! The first class is free so why not check it out and see how I like it! I've got nothing to lose (except that unwanted fat on my legs)!
In order to keep me motivated I will report on how all this goes. Wish me luck!
good luck!
ReplyDelete