This is the Plyometric workout that i've recently started doing! Try it out at your next visit to the gym!
These are just some things that made getting back into the gym a little easier on me. I hope you find them helpful, Happy Training!
Now that I am back in the weight room, supplementation was something that I had a billion questions about Supplementation while breastfeeding can be a bit tricky because everything that a mother ingests has the chance of making it into her breast milk, which can affect the growth and development of her baby. With the help of reputable studies, my midwife team, and my sons pediatrician, I have come up with a supplement “stack” that is perfect for my muscle building goals and isn’t going to be harmful to my son. (before we go any further, please note that I am not a medical professional or nutritionist. Before trying out any kind of supplements you should talk to your doctor and pediatrician about your goals and get the go ahead from them.) Protein: Everything in our bodies is made up of proteins and these proteins are constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Protein is an important macronutrient because it replaces the proteins that are being broken down. When a person weight trains, damage is being done to the muscle, and protein is what helps rebuild the damage. It is also a main component in breast milk, which means a nursing mother has a higher protein recommended daily intake then a non-nursing woman. I try to get most of my protein from food sources such as lean ground beef, ground turkey, and chicken but sometimes I have trouble hitting my protein goal for the day with just food choices. That is where a protein supplement comes in. I drink a protein shake right after weight training and one before bed. Studies have shown that taking in protein right after a session of resistance training helps increase muscle hypertrophy, post-workout protein equals gains! Drinking a shake before bed insures that your muscles have fuel to recover while you sleep. What kind of protein do I supplement with? Well this is the tricky part! Before and during pregnancy I supplemented with Whey. Once my little man arrived I discovered that he has a dairy sensitivity, that meant no more whey protein for me because whey is dairy. I went on the hunt for a vegan, plant based protein powder and found one that works great for me. When searching for any protein make sure it has quality ingredients this means no artificial sweeteners (a big no-no for a nursing mom) and no fillers! When searching for a vegan protein make sure that it is certified USDA organic. Branched Chain Amino Acids: Muscle is made from protein, and protein is made up of amino acids. Branched chain amino acids are Leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Sipping branched chain amino acids during a workout provides your muscles with a pool of readily available fuel! Using BCAA’s during a workout has also been shown to battle muscle as well as mental fatigue. Many Whey protein powders already contain BCAAs but the protein that I choose to use does not, this is why I supplement them. Pre pregnancy I sipped BCAAs throughout the day, now I only drink them when I am training. I only use one scoop (5g) of unflavored BCAAs. Be careful with these, you don’t want to take in too much because they will be present in breast milk and an excess of BCAAs in infants, and even in adults, can cause a deficiency in the other amino acids since they compete for the same receptors in the intestine. Prenatal Vitamin: Nursing mothers should continue to take their prenatal vitamins. A professor once told me that any woman of childbearing age should take prenatals, pregnant or not. This is because prenatals are a good source of iron and folate, vitamins that a lot of woman are deficient in. Vitamin D: Vitamin D is essential to aid in the absorption of calcium which promotes bone growth. I use a vitamin D supplement because a recent study has shown that breastfeeding moms who take in 6,400 IU of vitamin D daily will have the vitamin in their breastmilk, which means baby gets vitamin D too! Many babies are vitamin D deficient because they can’t spend a long periods in the sun yet. My pediatrician wanted me to give Nash a vitamin D supplement which I didn’t feel comfortable doing. I started supplementing vitamin D during my second trimester of pregnancy due to my own deficiency and was overjoyed when I came across the study that showed it can cross over into breast milk, which meant I didn’t have to give my son the supplement. Between my prenatal vitamin and a separate vitamin D supplement I am able to meet the recommendation for the amount needed to cross into my milk. Preworkout?!: Don't freak out just yet. I do not use a pre workout right now and I do not recommend any nursing mother to do so. When I need that extra push to get me into the gym I usually drink a cup of coffee. Moderate caffeine intake is okay while nursing. I try to keep my intake at 200mg a day, thats about one cup of coffee. Some babies are sensitive to caffeine and i wouldn't recommend it your baby has a sensitive stomach or acid reflux. After a day of lounging in bed watching an entire season of The Office, I decided that it was time to get my butt out of bed and get a workout in. I really didn’t feel like heading over to the gym because it was prime gym time and I really wasn’t in the mood to fight for workout space. Plus yesterday I did a full body, weigh-room workout which already had me pretty sore. Instead of the gym I opted to head over to Georgia Southern’s outside recreation space and get in a good body weight workout and a long walk with Ryan! This is a no equipment needed workout, besides a wall and a chair (or tire in my case) and is sure to make you work up a sweat all while being safe for you and baby. Always warm up before a work out! I opted for a walk around the track, but if you are working out at home you can always do some dynamic stretches to get your muscles ready to get moving. Exercise 1: Body weight squats 4 sets of 15-20 Exercise 2: Walking Lunges 3 sets of 20 (10 on each leg) Exercise 3: Tricep dips 4 sets of 15 (I did mine on the tire, but these can be done on a chair) Exercise 4: Wall Push-ups 4 sets of 15-20 (I did mine on the tire) Exercise 5: Side Lunges 3 sets of 20 (10 each leg) Cool it down with more walking and stretching! Really make sure you do a cool down. The first time I did this workout I was lazy and didn’t stretch after. That was a mistake because my sciatica hit me hard about an hour later. Slow and controlled is the name of the game with all of these movements. Since labor is so close, the hormone relaxin is making the joints and ligaments in our pelvis lose for birth. Unfortunately, relaxin doesn't just work on the pelvis, it works on all of our joints making them unsteady. Be careful and take your time to avoid an injury. I hope you lovely ladies enjoy this workout. And for a little side note, the squats and lunges will help encourage your baby to move down if you are close to your due date like me!
Xo, Ster |
Sterling here, the girl behind the keyboard. I'm a slightly hippyish, fitness fanatic, first time mama who loves pizza, protein, and music festivals. Take a step into my life and get comfortable, get inspired, or just stick around to laugh at me trying to be a proper adult. Thanks for visiting!Categories |