Week 1: Beginning Beginner

I expected to burn tons of calories exclusively breastfeeding baby Frank for the first year of his life; and for the first several weeks, I was. I dropped 20 pounds by Thanksgiving and I was thrilled. But, we all know how that ended (see Battle of the Boobs). I slowly put 10 of that 20 back on by the time the breastfeeding extravaganza was over. 

Cutie-Patootie!

I knew there would be challenges to incorporating workouts in mine and Frank's routine (even more when I head back to school in the fall). Mountain Man works 10:00am-6:00pm Monday through Friday. We currently have one working car, so during this time I am at home with Frank. Most days, I get the dishes done, catch up on laundry, let the dogs out several times, feed the dogs, tend to the reptiles, feed myself, make dinner, work on the blogs, tend to my plants, along with all the things that go into caring for a 4-month old. (I KNOW. Frankie is already four months old. Wahhh!) However, there are a few times a day when baby is napping that I have some quality me-time. Along with paying attention to what I am putting in my body, I pinned several workouts that appealed to me for whatever reason, and have been trying them out during said me-time.

After having been pregnant, my abdominal muscle strength is at a big fat zero. So, I've been completing this ab workout I found on pinterest every other day. Let me tell ya, I certainly feel the burn, and feel stronger already. I've also been doing a beginner's arm workout. I was slightly concerned the first time I completed this one, because it was a piece-of-cake, and my arms were not sore at all. That is, until the next day. I'm still a little unsure of its effectiveness.

One of my goals that I mentioned previously is to run again. That being said, I found this running plan that I have just started. It has been great so far, but then again, it only involved walking this week.

This one was a bit trickier to schedule in. Mountain Man has been partaking in week 1 with me. I'm a bit nervous to take Frank out for a walk by myself yet. But, I can face this fear while testing out the jogging stroller at the same time. I'll fill you in on the experience when it happens. Besides, it's March and the weather is beautiful. We only have a limited amount of time before we will melt if we venture out.

So. MWF are Ab/Arm days. TTRS are running days. I'll be looking for workouts to switch up my MWFs as I go through the full 12 weeks of this running campaign. My calendar is so cheerful with all of its little heart stickers. I decided that instead of weighing myself weekly, or biweekly, I will be weighing in once a month. This way, I can't obsess over the scale, or throw in the towel when I don't see the results I want right away.

My motivation this week? I found some local baby swimming lessons that I will be signing Frankie up for in June. Swimsuit season is quickly approaching!

Stay tuned.