Get Back in Shape After Baby

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How Do I Get Back in Shape After Baby?

Have you recently had a baby? Have you wondered how you're ever going to get back into those "skinny" jeans? I sure did. I had my third child 15 months ago and it seemed like my metabolism had completely stopped. I actually put on weight after my daughter was born. What the heck?

Anyway, after months of feeling fat and frumpy, I found a plan that worked for me. This plan helped me balance my hectic life of being a mom, a wife and working a ful-time job while at the same time finding a few moments a day to work on getting my body back into shape. My weight is FINALLY starting to go down instead of up, I have tons more energy and I can almost see my cute little shape trying to reappear from under pounds of flab! I wish I had found this plan a year ago. I would have gotten back into my skinny jeans alot sooner!

If you want to check it out for yourself, go here:
Fit Yummy Mummy.


Also check out GetBackIntoYourSkinnyJeans.com.

7 Fat Loss Strategies For Busy Moms 

By Holly Rigsby, CPT

Would you like to "jump start" your metabolism and lose your 'mommy belly' once and for all? If so, the following seven tips are exactly what you need to improve your workouts and ignite your metabolism. Try some or all of these tips, but beware, the result may be a number of admiring second glances and the need to pull your 'skinny jeans' out of the closet.

1. The majority of your workouts should be composed of free-weight, bodyweight or cable exercises.

Compared to machines, free-weight, bodyweight and cable movements often require more skill, create muscular balance, and have a greater metabolic cost. For example, it is more difficult to balance the weights, and to coordinate muscles when performing free-weight exercises. Although this may sound like a disadvantage, it is actually a benefit. By balancing and stabilizing free-weights or cables you are working more muscles through a greater range of motion resulting in more muscles developed and more calories burned.

2. Use exercises that work more than one muscle at a time.

When focusing on fat loss, you can't worry about "shaping" exercises, instead you should use exercises that'll get you the biggest bang for your buck and work as many muscles as possible. Isolation exercises can be used at the end of a workout to work on a specific target area, but they just serve to supplement your core movements.

Virtually every savvy fitness professional is privy to the fact that compound exercises recruit the most muscle groups for any given body part.

If you seek lean, toned muscles and the increase in metabolism that comes with them, you must choose exercises that work as many different muscles as possible. One of the main reasons why squats are superior to leg extensions for improving your body is that they also work your butt, hamstrings and inner thighs in addition to toning your quadriceps while leg extensions focus on just the front of your thigh and don't really offer any other benefit. That same rationale hold true for arm exercises too. That's why dumbell presses and dips will are more valuable for your arms than triceps kickbacks and pushdowns.

A good rule of thumb is to use movements that will allow you to use the most weight. These will have a systemic effect on your body that'll help maintain or increase your lean muscle, and in turn ignite your metabolism.

3. Pair exercises.

Pair your exercises together so that you alternate between upper-body exercises and lower-body exercises or between exercises that target opposing muscle groups (e.g. chest and back).

This type of approach will keep your workouts short and efficient by eliminating much of the downtime that comes between sets of a single exercise since you are working on one movement while resting from another. This approach can also yield huge benefits in your mission to burn fat. Since you'll constantly be moving and keeping your heart rate elevated, you'll be burning far more calories than you would during a typical workout.

4. Keep your reps between 8 and 12.

Through research, it has been determined that the best range for building lean muscle is roughly between 8-12 reps. Since the main focus of your resistance training efforts is to gain lean body mass and stimulate your metabolism, this rep range fills the bill perfectly. "High reps for tone and fat loss" is one of the biggest (and most unproductive) training myths! Somehow the aerobics, yoga and Pilates' community have convinced us that when we perform bodyweight exercises or light resistance training for high reps, our muscles magically take on a beautiful shape without growing or bulging. On the other hand, if you challenge yourself with moderately heavy weights, your body will take on a bulky, unflattering appearance. If you believe this, you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy!

5. Rest only 30 to 60 seconds between sets.

When you keep the rest periods under one minute, it's easier to stay focused on the task at hand and keeps your heart rate elevated. In addition, it forces your muscles to recover more quickly between sets, along with keeping your nervous system revved up.

If your first movement in an upper/lower body pair is squats, you might want to rest 60 seconds before attempting your second movement. However, if your first exercise is a fairly "easy" exercise, like lat pull downs, you might only wish to wait 30 seconds before doing the second part of the pair.

6. Perform total body workouts.

You must drop the notion that muscle groups work independently of one another. Muscles work together and should be trained that way. Besides, not only does this approach mean less time in the gym, but by working the whole body three times per week, you'll be maximizing the fat burning effect of your program.

7. Cardio is not the cure-all for fat loss.

Cardiovascular exercise aids in the creation of a caloric deficit, but the caloric expenditure during cardio is temporary. Strength training addresses the core of the problem by permanently increasing the rate at which the body burns calories by adding muscle. The best programs will include both strength training and cardiovascular training, but the core or the programs effectiveness is resistance training.

Take these strategies and incorporate them into your workout routine. Not only will you save a lot of time, but you'll also soon see a leaner and more toned body. Not to mention a few more turned heads and the re-emergence of your skinny jeans.

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized women's fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book - Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back. Go to FitYummyMummy to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."

Start Slow 

Speaking from my personal experience, I started out trying too hard and ended up injuring myself. I had 30 extra pounds to lose, and I didn't think about the fact that starting out running with all that extra weight would cause problems on my hips & knees.

Keep in mind that you need to start out slowly and build up gradually. Every pound you drop takes 4 pounds of pressure off your joints.

Short workouts can be as beneficial as one long session and are easier to fit into your busy schedule. This makes is easier to stick with.
It's also wise to use a softer surface to ease the impact on your joints. the road is softer than the sidewalk - but watch for cars of course! A dirt trail or rubberized track may be your best bet.

Week 1: walk for 10 min, twice a day, 5 times a week

Week 2: walk for 15 min, twice a day, 5 times a week

Week 3 & on: walk for 20 min, twice a day, 5 times a week.

Eventually, increase your pace and work up to 60 - 90 minute walks.

Weight Loss Articles and Information 

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Fitness Lenses 

Get Back in Shape Links 

Get Back Into Your Skinny Jeans
Tips, Tricks, and Plans to Help You Get Back Into Your Skinny Jeans!
lose the baby fat | Fit Pregnancy
7 surefire ways to get back into shape after having your baby. Plus, our best ab exercises.
How to Lose Baby Weight: Find the Right Routine for Your Personality
Struggling to shed extra pounds post pregnancy? The key to successful weight loss lies in discovering the plan that suits your personality.
Top Secret Fat Loss
Find Out Why You're Fat and What You Can do about it.

Get Back In Shape Books 

Body After Baby: A Simple, Healthy Plan to Lose Your Baby Weight Fast

Amazon Price: (as of 07/04/2009) Buy Now

Get Your Body Back: Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Fit After Having Your Baby

Amazon Price: $16.99 (as of 07/04/2009) Buy Now

What Folks Are Blogging About... 

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Share Your Thoughts... 

Lensmaster

FitSteph

Wow what a great blog! If anyone is looking to chat about workout programs , this is one of my favorite health & fitness sites. It lets you track food, plan meals, build workouts, and count calories!

ReplyPosted April 20, 2009

happinessrules wrote...

5 stars for a nicely done lens! I also have been busy losing my baby weight and I made a lens about losing baby fat. I have not tried Fit Yummy Mummy but I have heard good things about it from several sources! Good Luck!

ReplyPosted July 27, 2008

herbie66 wrote...

Welcome to the 'Pregnancy and Baby' Group
( http://www.squidoo.com/groups/pregnancy-baby )
5 stars for your great lens!

ReplyPosted June 17, 2008

Lensmaster

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ReplyPosted March 07, 2008

by DeniseN

Hello.  My name is Denise, but most people call me Dee.  I'm interested in lots of things and I have a variety of lenses to prove it.

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