Looking for Quick Workout After Baby

HI K.,
If you have Comcast Cable, they have great workouts on their On Demand under Exercise TV....

i love billy blanks 8 min tae bo, with things like that you need to push yourself to "punch" hard to get your best workout, you can't do it half way or it won't be worth it

Right after the birth of my baby, I found a dvd at Target (target brand) that used the baby. I've seen it recently in the baby section at Target.

I also did Exercise TV on Comcast on Demand (if you have it), and there are lots of workouts online at exercisetv.com (i think). 20 minutes is all I ever had time for, too!

Yoga is the best thing, it is slow and truly works! Just put the baby in her swing or bouncy and she will love the music! They have some wonderful DVD's out there. Yoga has done a lot for my body! You will be impressed. Hope this helps!

Why don't you bundle the little one up and walk. or there is something 90 out there i am not sure but I think its fitness 90. Good luck!!!

Invest in a Wii system and then buy the Wii Fit. It is a fun workout to do. I hate to exercise, but I love the Wii Fit program. You can work out for as litle or long of time as you want. You save money on gas and payin for the gym. It is well worth it.

Hi there K.,

You know what, after my daughter was born I walked. I put my daughter in a carrier or her stroller and we just got outside and walked. That coupled with breastfeeding dropped the pounds in about 7-8 months.

Also, for the stomach, if you have a large exercise ball, lay on it stomach up. Roll yourself backwards so your sort of upside down a bit, then do some crunches. It works your abs really really well. A fitness instructor showed me this years ago. You can feel it through your entire upper, middle, and that pesky lower ab region. The further back you roll yourself, the deeper the crunch.

I'm sure you know this already, but remember to be patient. Remember, it was only seven weeks ago you had the baby! The great news for you is that it is the ideal time of year to start walking outside. With all three of my kids, walking took the weight off quite effortlessly (doesn't take that much to put baby in stroller :). If I couldn't walk outside, I walked on treadmill.

Having said that, there are a couple of key things to add to walking that will really speed up the weight loss with not much effort: LUNGES will build the muscles in your legs and butt. This is super beneficial since those are the largest muscles in your body and will continue to burn calories even after you've stopped exercising. REBOUNDING looks like an acient form of exercise (very 80s :) , but jumping on a mini-tramp even just 5 minutes a day does wonders for your energy/lymphatic system and forces you to engage your 'core'....I swear that is what made me flatten my belly almost instantly after my 16 month old was born.
Yoga is a divine luxury (gives great strength and flexibility with a mental retreat too!), but it may be hard to find the time to do it until baby is on a regular nap schedule. I loved the great instruction of the Kathy Smith Yoga series when I first started years ago/finally had the time to do it ('Advanced' is her best dvd, but 'Beginner' is where to start if new to Yoga).

An ideal workout for you at this stage would be taking a walk with the baby for 30-40 minutes (this requires no time away from her), then when you get home put her in her bouncy or play gym and do some jumping for 5 min. (you can get a mini tramp at any Dunhams, etc.). You can then hold her and do lunges for 2-3 minutes (I used to do this throughout the day all the time when the baby was tiny!). And of course holding the baby throughout the day will get your arms in the best shape they've ever been in! As far as ab work goes, there is a pilates move called "the hundred"...it is a powerful, compact move that by itself only takes about 1 min. but works wonders! Google it and do it after the walk/jumping/lunging, and you have an effortless workout that will only take several minute "away" from the baby.

A word of caution: If you decide to do the rebounder (which I cannot recommend enough for speedy weight loss), you may need to wear a couple of sportsbras AND maybe even wrap an ace bandage around your chest (esp if you are nursing). Also, start with slow/low bounces the first day(s) and "think kegels" (engaging core and 'kegel area'). I remember I thought I was going to wet my pants the day after I first tried rebounding. But then the days after that I worked up to bigger bounces with no problems.

I found when I had my little ones. that the Windsor Pilates was a good workout alot of strechting and breathing, and it had to be first thing in the morning or I wouldn't do it. If you do start it there might be a couple moves that are difficult at first but they will come to you. Also I have done the Core Secrets with Gunnar Peterson they are a good workout to begin things after a baby.
Good Luck,
J.

Now that it's beginning to get nice out, a good walk with your baby is excellent. Your little one can get out and get some fresh air and walking really works your middle section. If you're feeling good enough then try to keep it at a pace where you get your heart rate up. Try to do at least 2 miles / day to start (about 30-40 min). You can split it up too if that works better.

With my last baby I even bought one of those baby carriers that strap to your chest and carried my son in that.

Cindy Crawford has a great one designed just for women who've just had a baby. I loved it!

I just got 10min. trainer. I love it! it comes with 2 dvds that have 4 or5 diff. workout each 10 min. I have really enjoyed them.

Hi K.,

I, too, have the Winsor Pilates DVD's, but find I'm not all that flexible.

I do Billy Blanks' Tae Bo 4 days a week and love it. His newest, T3 or the Total Transformation Training Kit, has (I think) 6 different sessions on it, 3 available in "express" (about 20 minutes each) and 3 more available in express and the full workout, almost an hour long - a great option for when you have more "me" time! There's a video included where he walks you through each exercise, too, so you know what you're doing. The kit also comes with hand weights. I think I paid about $30 at Best Buy. A good deal for the options you get, and it's really a great workout!

Best of luck to you!

L.

Hi K.,
I have the Mari Windor pilates DVD's. There is a 20 minute one and also an advanced which is about an hour. I love them both. When I don't have alot of time I can do the 20 minute and when I have extra I have the option of a longer one. They came together. For me it worked great. It made my stomach and thighs much thinner.
~Chris

K.- I bought a pilates 20 minute workout at Target after my first. It is a pretty good tape...I can't think of the name of it right now, sorry.

On another note. I LOVE fitness 19. I go to the one in teh Papa Joe's plaza in Rochester Hills. They do have a childcare room there...when you are ready! The girls are really very good with the kids.