Ever wonder why you see so many pictures of Drew like this?
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| No clothes, ma! |
It's because, here in Georgia, the temperature has been above 90 (and many days above 95) for the last two months (and more!). It's so darn hot! Drew has developed an almost permanent heat rash; even inside, with the air conditioning, it just doesn't seem to get cool enough, so he stays in only his diaper most of the time.
That heat has also been my excuse for not being more active yet. I've been wanting to "get moving" for a while, but getting to the gym means I need to plan ahead so when I think about it I just keep telling myself, "oh, we'll just take a walk when it gets cooler this evening." But it doesn't ever really get cooler.
On the particular evening shown above we thought it was finally a
But now I've had my 6 weeks of recovery time (plus some!) and it's time to get serious because of this...
That? That's my bridesmaid's dress for my friend Lisa's wedding on September 11th. September 11th!? Yup, that's less than 3 weeks away (probably pretty darn close to 2 weeks by the time I get this post published!)
Thankfully the dress fits. Fits is about all I'm going to say though because it definitely doesn't look very complimentary. I may already be below my pre-pregnancy weight, but my pre-pregnancy shape is nowhere to be found. Where there used to be (some) solid lines there now seem to be squishy circles and curves. And while some of those circles and curves will probably be part of my "new shape," I'm still hoping to rein things in a little.
So I've made the commitment to hit the gym again. Stacey, my faithful gym buddy while I was pregnant, teaches right by my house and gym so we've agreed to meet up again on the afternoons that Jason is off from work (so Drew doesn't have to go to the daycare yet). We've finally been able to get shakin' on the ellipticals again (my fave! But they were a little too bouncy for a woman with a watermelon for a belly) and we've even hit up a Spin class (talk about a good butt workout!)
And while the cardio is obviously good for me, especially my CF, my main goal is to tighten these abs again.
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| I left this picture out yesterday because of my wonderful marshmallow belly |
and these...
and these...
and even some of these...
But I'd love to know your go-to moves for tightening this problem area!
What about working the obliques (I think that's what they're called), those muscles along the sides of your body? That might help pull in the abs.
ReplyDeleteThose are good too! I was actually working on those the past 2 days with Drew's help. We were dancing to music and I was swinging side to side (feet planted) with him in my arms, then I was bending side to side at the waist. It's much more fun to do exercise with a baby!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any exercises to recommend, but wanted to share an anecdote:
ReplyDeleteA few minutes after delivering Katie, I looked down at my tummy which, like yours, had effectively hidden my southern half for many, many weeks. Out loud, I marvelled, "Wow! Look how small my stomach is!" The doctor (who was busy stitching me up), chimed, "Just wait till you stand up."
Oh, too true. (Though it wasn't very nice of him to burst my bubble.) Even after the uterus returns to its original size and mom returns to her pre-pregnancy weight, there is a certain softness left behind. Kind of makes me want to make a Heidi Klum/Gisele Bundschen dartboard.
Something you can do around your house is bring your knees up to your chest while walking, like a high march type step. It works the lower abs and is kind of cardio and will make Drew laugh probably.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorites is to do a standard crunch, but hold it at the top and squeeze your arms together like you are doing chest press. You can really feel your abdominal wall tightening with that one.
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