I couldn’t come up with a better title for this post hence this long boring title to post an update on my postpartum fitness progress after 10 months of giving birth. 🙂 In the last few months, I have made good progress in building a stronger core through regular Yoga practice and bodyweight workouts.
I have been working on improving handstands by following some new tips and tricks I found on Youtube. I wasn’t sure if they would work when I first started doing them. But over a period of time, I am seeing improvements in my practice. I was even able to do a few advanced yoga poses that I had never been able to do before.
Eka Pada Koundinyasana
In January I was able to hold Eka Pada Koundinyasana for a good 10 seconds. Earlier I could hold that just for one breath before falling out of the pose.
Eka Hasta Bhujasana
Last week I could successfully do Eka Hasta Bhujasana or Elephant’s Trunk Pose. It was the first time my leg actually lifted off the ground. I wish I had a pretty picture but the struggle is so real that my face can’t hide it. 😀
Hollow back Handstands
Practiced some Hollowback Handstands for the first time after pregnancy. I found out that I could hold handstands better on a carpet than on my yoga mat or on the floor. My palms tend to get sweaty making it hard to hold a stable handstand on slippery surfaces.
Hollowbacks aren’t something I practice frequently but I do work on improving handstands a couple of times a week.
Side Planks
These are my favorite goto core workouts. After pregnancy, I had to transition into side plank variations very carefully as I could feel a pull in my inner thigh. This was a strange discomfort that I guess one feels after childbirth. But slowly as I got stronger, I stopped feeling the discomfort and could transition into a one-legged version without hesitation.
You can read about post-pregnancy fitness here – postpartum fitness – 16 Weeks update
Splits Progress
In January I had installed an app to do splits in 30 days. The one good thing that came out of this was that I practiced targetted exercises for flexibility consistently (with breaks in between). There were 20-22 exercises to be done each day that took 20 minutes to complete. I can see a slight improvement but for some reason, my left side is more flexible than my right side.
Running
The only time I have seriously run before was to catch a bus or train to work. Well, never thought that I would be saying this – but I have started running – for fitness. 🙂 I have avoided this for a long long time, but hopefully, I will continue it this year. I mostly run/jog for 30 – 45 minutes and try to burn 200 calories. Till now I have run for 3 km (a mix of running and fast walking actually). Since I am a beginner, I am slowly building up my stamina to run longer and also prevent any injuries.
Even though I exercise regularly, I should state that my postpartum body is still very different from what it was before pregnancy. I struggle to fit into my old skirts and there’s still a little overhanging belly. From the very beginning, I had accepted that it would never be the same again. Years ago I worked out to get rid of muffin top or to have slimmer thighs. Now, I work out to be strong, to have stamina and agility that usually diminishes as we age or have a desk job.
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I don’t think I could have done these when I was 15, let alone postpartum! Impressive, and good for you – stay strong!
Thank you 😀