Getting married 8 months after having a baby isn't the most ideal situation as neither my figure, my exercise routine or my diet is back to normal...in fact, I often have to remind myself that I no longer have an excuse for eating cake, let alone a second piece. I've been very fortunate though that I have had a few things work in my favour - firstly breastfeeding, which helped shed some of the baby blubber initially and secondly, being busy looking after both Mildred&Co and a baby (and now organising a wedding). Who has time for eating a proper meal when you are running from dirty nappies to the office, right? But what I haven't been doing since Willow was born is much exercise apart from walking, and even that I find hard to fit in around work and Willow's eat/sleep/play/repeat routine. Gone are the days of being able to chuck on my Nikes and go for a run or to the gym on a whim. Instead everything has to be so much more planned.
I considered joining an intensive bootcamp to really get the wobble shifted, but after 15 months of only doing the most genteel exercise, even the thought of a doing a burpee was enough to halt that idea. Plus, I am a big believer in moving in a way you love. If you love the exercise you do, it won't feel like it's a chore. So instead of torturing myself, I have decided to do what I love best, a trio of the following as often as possible. Now I just need to drag myself out of bed and sneak out the door at the crack of dawn before the wee one wakes...
YOGA
One of my favourite yoga studios is
The Centre so I have booked myself into a 5-week course with yogi guru, Swami Yogamani. Through dynamic energising practises from the ancient art of yoga, these sunrise sessions promise to up my vitality, boost my immunity, rev up the metabolism and strengthen and tone my body. After the first class my body ached where muscles hadn't been used for awhile, and after each time I feel like I have been stretched and lengthened in the best way possible. As an added bonus, starting the day under Yogamani's guidance is like drinking a booster tonic for the mind, body and soul. Her motto to 'live each day as if it is your last' is a positive reminder of how precious life is.
BARREFIGURE
A fusion of ballet, Pilates, yoga and strength training,
Barrefigure has always sounded up my alley but I never imagined it would be such a workout! My first class was a shock to the system to say the least as the last time I used my 'core' was probably in 2014. But I survived and I loved it. Using your own bodyweight as resistance, Barrefigure classes target muscles in your arms, thighs, seat and abs to the point of fatigue then stretches them out for relief - creating a leaner, longer-looking and more graceful physique in as few as 8-10 classes. You can expect to tone your arms and back, sculpt your thighs and gain a lifted seat and get a strong, flat abdomen. All of this sounds more than alright to me so my plan is to go twice a week up until the wedding day.
WALKING
It's free, has no time constraints and I can take Willow with me, so walking is probably the easiest and most accessible exercise option I have. Plus pushing a pram with an 8kg baby, bundles of toys, milk bottles and other miscellaneous baby
paraphernalia adds a bit more resistance to the upper body so I figure I am killing two birds with one stone - entertaining the baby while working out. So it is my mission to give up meandering along Ponsonby Road (and accidentally shopping), and instead walking up and down hills and walking faster and longer.
So off I go with fingers crossed that all of the above actually works its magic!
Milly. xx
