Y’all -- I went to the gym this morning AND went to my first public yoga class in years! This might seem small, but it’s such a major accomplishment for me. If you need me, I’ll be basking in my proudest moment of the week…
Confession time: I didn’t work out not one damn time during my pregnancy! Let’s face it: it’s really nice to aspire to stay very active through your pregnancy - it’s even recommended! But the reality is you are likely tired, swollen, huge, uncomfortable, self-conscious and damnit, just not up to hitting the gym while preggo. Being an ex-athlete and a reformed gym-rat, though, had me pretty ashamed of my 100% sedentary lifestyle. But, to be fully honest here, even before pregnancy, I wasn’t hitting the gym much. I’ve suffered a number of back injuries over the last few years that kept me from being as active as I once was - I mean, I used to run 6 miles a day, people! Yep, just getting a little brag in here..
After Chase arrived, I tried (not that hard) to get back into the gym. We had access to a gym in our apartment building for FREE! Ask me how many times I went. My very valid excuse? I was fucking TIRED, OKAY?! I also lacked major confidence in myself - I was used to killing it in the gym and I knew I wouldn’t be able to perform like Old Lauren. Yes - I was being hard on myself… and I was honestly just tired. Pregnancy exhaustion just turns into newborn exhaustion, which turns into sleep-regression exhaustion, which turns into teething exhaustion, which turns into omg-baby-is-running-now exhaustion.. Need I continue? FACT - you will always be tired as a new parent. Hell, my momma has two kids over 30 and we still exhaust her! It never ends!
Eventually, I think you kinda just learn to operate while exhausted. You figure out your new normal and how to survive it. In terms of exercise, for me that initially meant taking the steps, parking far away from the Target entrance, and counting my morning commute as my exercise for the day. As time went on, I finally found myself motivated to do more. In order to hold myself accountable to at least one workout a week, I hired a private Yoga teacher - it was my way of having someone show up every week and force me into a gym setting. Full disclosure: a private yoga teacher is pricey, and I’m lucky enough to have my job cover most of the bill by way of our Wellness Stipend. Once I was making it to the gym once a week, I challenged myself to add in another non-yoga day. And once my 12 weeks of private yoga classes came to an end, I challenged myself to go to a public yoga class.
And so, here I am! Almost 17 months postpartum and finally finding time, balance, and motivation to get active and stay active. The main thing that’s truly worked for me has been taking teeny-tiny baby steps - No joke, my goal right now is to make it to the gym for 30 minutes, twice a week. That’s it! It’s a small goal, but it’s attainable and during a good week, I’ll surpass it. Another more important thing that’s worked for me is reminding myself that I will never be the workout queen that I once was, and I don’t have to be. I’m creating a brand new relationship with moving my body & breaking a good sweat, and keeping things simple will keep things going.