Do you want to get back into some form of activity and exercise but are not sure how to do so?  Does your baby resist sleep and want to hang out with you and be held by you? Do you feel like you’re getting nothing done and have no time to exercise?

Well it’s time to take control of that situation and use it as bonding time with your baby!

If your baby likes being close to you and wants to be held, well lucky you, you have just gained yourself a nice little weight to use for exercises. Not only will this benefit you but it will benefit your baby and allows you to still spend time with them. It also gives you the chance to have some, ‘concentrate on mummy time’.

The other day my baby was upset and just wanted to be held. We put a bit of music on and we bopped and danced around. I then decided to do a few little squats while holding her in close, laying in my arms. She began to smile and enjoyed being rocked and bopped along. I thought “Yay, winning! She is enjoying this! What else can I do to keep her smiling?”.

I have recently really wanted to return to a bit of exercise. As a former athlete, not having trained in any real sort of way for more than a year (before falling pregnant), I really wanted to regain some of my old self. I wanted to do this for my benefit and also for my baby’s, as I want to be fit enough to run around and enjoy my child as she grows.

So I continued to explore what exercises I could do while holding my baby and involving her in the fun. She loves being lifted up high above my head. Yay, that means an upper body workout for mummy. This was the first time in over a year that I had considered doing any form of exercise other than walking. So I was going to be starting off slow. Nothing major and not too many of anything as I didn’t want to be too sore the next day or do some damage to my body- there’s no benefit in rushing back too fast! So my circuit of exercises was just one round to start with.

By the end of our little workout I’d completed:

Stage One

With my baby in my arms held close to my chest-

• 10 squats
• 20 calf raises
• 10 single leg calf raises on each leg
• 10 single leg squats  on each leg
• 10 lunges alternating leg

Stage Two

• 10 push press squats (squat and at the top of the squat when you stand push your baby up above your head)
• 10 bench press with the baby instead of a barbell
• 10 sit ups holding my baby in front of me as I sat up.

Stage Three

• Superman- laying on your belly raise your arms and legs off the ground- hold for as long as you can and repeat as many times as you can. I did 5 and then went opposite arm and leg holding in the air.
• Planks for as long as you can hold. My core strength is very poor at the moment so 10 sec was my maximum at this stage and I did 2 reps.
• 10 push ups on my knees

By the end of our workout, I was tired and my baby had had enough also. I plan on repeating this kind of activity 2-3 times a week for now and slowly increase the amount of sets I will do of the circuit and perhaps the amount of days I do it.

If you too feel like you want to regain some strength join me in returning to exercise. I will keep you updated with different exercises I have done and if they are successful or not.

Watch this space for more ways to include your baby in returning to exercise!

NOTE: Always seek professional medical advice before starting or doing any form of exercise after you give birth!!

By Clare at Relaxed Parenting Blog