It feels so amazing to be working out again! Let me tell you what though, I thought I was "easing back into it" properly...I was highly mistaken and my knees let me know it loud and clear.
When I got cleared for exercise at my 6 week postpartum doctor's appointment, it was so exciting!
Two weeks postpartum to six weeks postpartum
My doctor told me to make sure I eased back into things and I said "Of course I will!" with a huge smile on my face. I went home that afternoon and did my first workout in 6 weeks, Cize Crazy 8's with Shaun T on my Beachbody on Demand. It was AMAZING! I sweat, I was out of breath, and I felt like I had worked my body in a way that I hadn't in almost a year.
The next day I took Liam out for a run/walk. I did 2 minute intervals of running and walking for 4.5 miles and it felt awesome! That was on Thursday and I finished out the week with another run/walk and another Beachbody workout. The following Monday Jim and I took Liam out for a 5 mile run/walk. I started out feeling good, possibly too good. I got overconfident and pounded the pavement too hard, and probably ran a little faster than I should have. By the end of the run I was complaining of knee pain, but I thought it would stop after the workout was over. WRONG. The pain got worse everyday for about a week, and in the mornings my knees were so stiff and hurt so bad it would bring tears to my eyes if I moved wrong.
I was devastated. I was frustrated. I was scared. I was annoyed with myself.
"I've really hurt myself, I have permanently damaged my knees," I thought.
I decided to just lay off my legs...forget low impact, even that wasn't working. I stuck to upper body and core for a couple of weeks to let my knees really heal.
Last Monday they started to feel almost 100% again. Without any pain medicine they felt like they had with medicine since I had hurt them. But I have been really easing back into it this time. I've incorporated legs back into my workouts this week, but low impact. I've done three Hip Hip Abs workouts this week and I love them! They really work my whole body and give me great cardio without a lot of impact on my knees.
I had to learn a serious lesson...I feel like I have learned a lot over the past year or so.
Constant learning.
I found out the hard way that when you need to "ease back into" working out, you REALLY need to listen to your body. Don't get taken over by the excitement of being able to exercise again and overdo it. I didn't feel like I was, but obviously I was doing too much and my body made me learn that the hard way.
It might feel great to just jump right back into what you were doing before, but you really need to take it easy. Especially when you haven't worked out, except for walking, in 6 weeks. And before that you had toned down your workouts for a good 9 months or so.
Postpartum fitness is a balance.
You want to workout hard enough that you're going to get your body close to the shape you used to be in, but you need to be careful not to injure yourself by overdoing it. I feel like I should have known better than to try and jump back into things like that, but you live and you learn, right?
I was just so ecstatic to move my body again.
Oh well, at least I got in a couple of weeks of really good upper body and core workouts, right? ;)
XOXO,
Courtney
Seven to nine weeks postpartum
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