By Sherinne Winderley
How soon after having your babies did you start exercising?
Short answer: 6 months after first baby; 8 weeks after second baby (both births were c-sections) Long answer: I started experimenting with exercise about 4 months after giving birth to my first baby via c-section. I met a friend for walks with our prams, attended the odd mom and baby yoga class at Bub Hub Broadacres and did pilates once or twice a week but was in a weird space psychologically. You see, 14 months before my daughter was born I’d had major back surgery (a disc replacement at L5/S1) as a result of an “addiction” to road running that had loved my waistline but not my spine. Post-back op I’d been strongly advised to give running a skip and since you’re not supposed to do anything during pregnancy that you weren’t doing before pregnancy, well, let’s just say the term couch potato is, er, kind.
Point is, if I couldn’t run or throw kettle bells around a circuit at the gym, I had no idea what to do. I was also scared – scared of undoing my textbook recovery, scared of getting injured. But by the time my daughter was 6-months old I was holding onto more than self-doubt, I was holding onto an extra 15kgs I didn’t need and lovingly nursing it by the light of an open fridge door at 3am ‘cos, you know, breastfeeding’s supposed to burn calories, right? So when my daughter was 6 months old I finally called the number of “an awesome personal trainer” a not-so-subtle friend had given me and the rest, as they say, is history.
…and what forms of exercise did you start with?
My personal trainer and I started by figuring out what I could do and what I couldn’t within the realms of cardio (boxing, pad work, stationery bike) and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). We started slow, we listened to my body. We mixed it up. We aimed for two hour-long training sessions a week. If we managed a third, bonus. If we didn’t, it didn’t matter. It was a marathon, not a sprint. Just NO running, much to my frustration. We spent a lot of time stretching and teaching me to trust the process and even more time slowly rediscovering and reactivating my core. I learnt how to lunge and squat properly, how to kind of look like I knew what I was doing around a boxing bag and how to give “maintenance” (stretching and foam roller “rolling out”) the respect it deserves.
Why do you do “Stupid o’ clock”?
I have a full-time job as a Creative Director at an advertising agency; two children – Aeryn (4 “and a half”) & Connor (2) and a “Mr” to my “Mrs Winderley” who runs a very demanding business. The only time I can train is before my husband, my kids and my clients are awake. So 5am it is! I know, it’s stupid early.
What drives you to get up out of bed before the sun comes up – when you have a full day ahead?
Besides the fact that the ‘gram will know that I didn’t if I don’t post a story? Joke! (kind of). No, seriously, what drives me to get up out of bed is that I’m better with physical exercise as part of my life than without it. I like getting stronger. I like that for an hour it’s all about me. It’s not about meeting the demands of my home or my work, it’s about meeting with myself. Does it suck getting up? Totally. Has it gotten easier? No. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Also, I get home and get between 10 and 15 minutes of complete silence with a cup of coffee and my insta stories… #winning
We see you have a personal trainer – do you find that assists, and would you be able to do it without one?
A personal trainer is a luxury but I saw it as an investment in the short-term for long-term wellness. I didn’t grow up in a fitness-focused household and wasn’t particularly sporty at school, and when I started running in my mid-twenties I never laid the groundwork, I just went from never road running to running half marathons in the space of 6 months. Um, you can see how maybe I ground my lower back to dust. When I started training postpartum I couldn’t have done it without a personal trainer. I needed someone to hold me accountable. I needed someone to help me not damage myself. Now, four years (and two kids) into my postpartum fitness journey I could totally do it on my own because I have the knowledge and I’ve formed the habit. (Note: not all personal trainers are created equal so do your homework, get referrals and don’t trust anyone who says, "sure, it’ll be easy”.)
If one can’t afford a personal trainer, what would be your top tips to getting started?
Top Tip 1: Get Started. It sounds stupidly simple because it is. Get yourself some cute leggings or a new pair of trainers or a Pinterest-worthy tree-hugging-green-juicing glass gym bottle, pick a date and a time, and start.
Top Tip 2: Get On InstaFrom @ash_fitmom to @emilyskyefit to @brookburke to @kayla_itsines to so many other fitspirational instagram accounts, there is no shortage of free trial workout programmes and affordable downloadable programmes on the ‘gram.
Top Tip 3: Get Eating (right)That old adage “abs are made in the kitchen”? Completely true. I’d say that I owe 70% of my postpartum weightloss results to what I’ve put on my plate not what I’ve done in the gym. I train properly 3 hours a week but I eat properly 6 days a week. Nutrition is absolutely key to my #stupidoclock shenanigans. But that’s an entire blog post of its own.
Top Tip 4: Get Real Baby steps. Don’t go guns blazing’ outta maternity leave vowing to train 5 days a week and run a marathon by your bundle of joy’s first birthday. I started with committing to training on a Tuesday and Thursday morning. Then once I’d managed that consistently we tried three times a week. My goals were as small and seemingly silly as “I want to be able to plank for 15 seconds” by next month or "I want to be able to do a proper set of push ups easily by this time next year.”
What have been your biggest challenges on this health and fitness journey post-babies?
Sleep! Definitely my number one challenge. It’s so well documented the whole "sleep is as important as diet and exercise in weight loss/fitness” thing. But I haven’t had 8 hours of consecutive sleep since January 2015 so it’s still my biggest challenge. Other than that, shamelessly making the time for me and not feeling guilty about it is an ongoing mental tug of war (mom guilt is real!) and the whole #nevermissamonday thing. I mean, what if the Sunday night movie’sreally good?
What is your biggest word of advice for moms who are feeling down about their new mom bod?
Don’t! Your body built and birthed a human (or humans). It is literally a miracle worker. It deserves your kindness and respect. It also deserves your love and support. Your “new mom bod” is infinitely more resilient and intuitive than your “old bod” and it has the ability to evolve and transform and do things that your “old bod” could only dream of. Focus on what your body can do, not what it looks like… #progressnotperfection #strongnotskinny #consistencynotcomparison #loveahashtag #canyoutell “We either make ourselves strong or we make ourselves miserable, the amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Casteneda
Sherinne Winderley also blogs her journey on Instagram www.Instagram.com/MrsWinderley, and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MrsWinderley/.
Watch out for her #StupidOClick adventures on her stories. Hopefully they can inspire you, as much as they have inspired us! Being a copy writer by profession, we also love how she tells her story.
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