TOPIC: What Is The Best Workout To Shed The Pregnancy Weight?
The Question:
After giving birth the body can be in much needed help to restore the sexy physique that was once achieved.
What is the best workout to shed the pregnancy weight? Be specific.
How long does it take to shed the weight using this program?
Bonus Question: What are the best supplements to take post pregnancy? What supplements should be avoided?
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The Winners:
- mrkdrt View Profile
- Opiewags99 View Profile (Mighty Kev)
Prizes:
- 1st place - 75 in store credit.
- 2nd place - 50 in store credit.
1st Place - mrkdrt
View This Author's BodySpace Here.
After giving birth the body needs help to restore the sexy physique that was once achieved.
Having a baby can be a lot of work. Feeding, cleaning and nurturing aside, getting your body back in shape can be one of your toughest assignments.
Workout
What Is The Best Workout To Shed The Pregnancy Weight? Be Specific.
Be sure to have your diet in check and have medical clearance before starting out the weight-loss program. Eat nutritious foods every three hours for the entire time you are awake. Keep the fat intake minimal, but focus on healthy fats.
As you are nursing your baby, you don't want to lack in nutrition in the first place, and severe under-eating can also cause problems in this area. This said, do not drop caloric intake rapidly!
Now, if you haven't been active during pregnancy, don't jump right into intense workouts. But, each day, be sure to do at least something active. Starting out, going for a walk (also showing off your new baby) around the neighborhood or parks is a great way to do something. Then, start working up to faster-paced cardio exercises like jogging, swimming or cycling.
If you really want to control your calories, weight-training can help you build and maintain muscle, which burn calories much more than fat does and will tighten up your body. Not only that, but you may even improve your look and fitness more than it was before! I personally recommend mainly all compound exercises, which really helps overall muscle stimulation rather than certain muscle groups.
For example a sample week of weight training and cardio can be as follows:
Sunday: Rest Day:
Monday: Legs:
- Lunges: 3 x 6-10
- Wide-Stance Barbell Squat: 3 x 6-10
- Stiff-legged Deadlifts: 3 x 6-10
- Leg Extensions: 4 x 6-10
- Seated Calf Raise: 4 x 6-10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday.
Tuesday: Cardio or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and Abs:
- Cardio: 30 minutes at ~75% Max HR OR HIIT: 5 minute warm-up, 15:45 second intervals (15)
- Crunches: 4 x 10
- Knee Raises (Parallel Bars): 4 x 10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday.
Wednesday: Chest:
- Incline Dumbbell Press: 3 x 6-10
- Barbell Bench Press: 3 x 6-10
- Cable Cross-overs: 4 x 6-10
- Dips: 4 x 6-10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday.
Thursday: Cardio or HIIT and Abs:
- Cardio: 30 minutes at ~75% Max HR OR HIIT: 5 minute warm-up, 15:45 second intervals (15)
- Crunches: 4 x 10
- Knee Raises (Parallel Bars): 4 x 10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Thursday.
Friday: Back/Shoulders:
- Barbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 6-10
- Bent-Over Barbell Rows: 3 x 6-10
- One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 x 6-10
- Wide-Grip Lat Pull-downs: 3 x 6-10
- Shrugs: 4 x 6-10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday.
Saturday: Cardio/HIIT and Abs or Yoga:
- Cardio: 30 minutes at ~75% Max HR OR HIIT: 5 minute warm-up, 15:45 second intervals (15)
- Crunches: 4 x 10
- Knee Raises (Parallel Bars): 4 x 10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Saturday.
Remember, just because this workout has you doing some sort of activity each day does not mean you won't have time to take care of your baby or enjoy yourself.
Some of these days' workouts will take only 20 minutes to complete. On Saturdays, do the cardio or HIIT, but instead of abdominal exercises try to attend a yoga session. This can help not only strength and flexibility, but also can help you relax from your hectic schedule.
Also, don't forget to be active on weight-training days too. Walking around or do step exercises on the stairs holding your baby can even keep your blood flowing.
How Long Does It Take
How Long Does It Take To Shed The Weight Using This Program?
The time frame to get your body back to your pre-pregnancy weight depends greatly on your commitment. Obviously, if you're not willing to stay true to the meal-plans and workouts, your goals won't be met nearly as fast as if you are dedicated.
The plan I put together for my sister took her about 8 months to get her body pretty close to what it was before pregnancy. Fortunately for her, she only gained about 25 pounds of "pregnancy-weight," which helped the process not take nearly as long.
Like any "cut" program or weight-loss plan, do not plan on losing more than 2 pounds every week. Starting out, this will be tough to do, and more than this will put excess stress on your body (that has already gone through an ordeal) and may make it harder to maintain the weight loss.
Bonus Question
What Are The Best Supplements To Take Post Pregnancy? What Supplements Should Be Avoided?
Right after you've delivered your baby, try not to get right into supplements. Like any workout program, try to reach your goals first without help of supplements. If you find your progress is slow then read up on products you might be interested in. If you require a protein supplement, soy, hemp, wheat and whey are viable options.
If whey is your weapon of choice, be sure to use whey protein isolate for this type of program. Another reason to not rely on supplements is that you will be breast-feeding.
Artificial sweeteners found in many supplements, including proteins, might not be optimal for the baby's sake. Obviously, fat-burners and other products high in stimulants should be avoided. For the baby's safety, just play it natural starting out.
A good multivitamin is also useful for anyone on a workout program.
Cheers,
mrkdrt
References:
2nd Place - Opiewags99
View This Author's BodySpace Here.
After giving birth the body can be in much needed help to restore the sexy physique that was once achieved.
Workout
What Is The Best Workout To Shed The Pregnancy Weight? Be Specific.
Pregnancy is a beautiful part of life, but it is also one of the times in a woman's life when weight gain is for all intensive purposes unavoidable.
Perhaps one of the most detrimental parts of the pregnancy emotionally can occur after the birth of the child. There you are, no longer pregnant, but with much more fatty adipose tissue than before.
This is the time for you to get back into shape, not only so you can look and feel better about yourself, but so you can also take care of your newborn child to the best of your ability.
The following workout is designed to help you lose that extra pregnancy weight:
For the first couple of weeks after childbirth, you need to take it easy, and slowly ease in to working yourself back into shape. Begin by walking for 30 minutes every day.
After you feel that you can safely begin resistance training, begin working on compound movements, which are weight bearing movements that incorporate the use of multiple muscle groups to get the maximum amount of muscle use with the fewest amount of repetitions and sets of an exercise.
The Workout
Begin by walking on the treadmill for 15 minutes to warm-up. Next perform some dynamic stretches, such as jumping rope or jumping jacks.
Click Image To Enlarge. Jumping Jacks
Next begin the workout:
- Bodyweight squats: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Push-ups (Or knee push-ups): 3 sets of 15 repetitions
- Crunches: 3 sets to failure
- Bodyweight lunges: 3 sets of 10
- Assisted pull-ups (or negative pull-ups): 3 sets of 8
- Supermans (or hyperextensions): 3 sets of 10
Click Here For A Printable Log Of This Workout.
Immediately following the workout, perform 20 minutes of moderate intensity cardio. Vary the type of cardio from workout to workout, for instance if you do the treadmill one day, do the elliptical or rowing machine the next workout day.
This workout will be performed three days per week, with a 30 minutes low intensity walk included on all of the off days. Take rest days whenever necessary, and remember, you're a bit more fragile than you have been in the past, so take things slow and be patient. If you're sore, take a day off and continue the next day.
Make sure to fully stretch your body out after you finish the complete workouts every time, the increases in flexibility that you will gain will keep you healthy and prevent injury.
How Long Does It Take
How Long Does It Take To Shed The Weight Using This Program?
With the use of this program, you can lose that unwanted pregnancy weight in no time at all, assuming you have your diet in check. I've always said that in weight loss, diet is more than half of the battle, so you should absolutely check out some of the diet articles that Bodybuilding.com has to ensure proper caloric intake as well as the right types and kinds of foods for you.
Keep reading, because the more you learn about getting to that healthy weight and being able to maintain it, the better off you will be in the long run.
Keep in mind, the idea behind why this workout will work in addition to your diet is that this workout will help you build a little bit of muscle, which will increase your metabolism and multiply the effects of your cardio. This is why the people you see on the cardio machines at the gym day in and day out never lose weight; they're just burning calories as well as muscle, keeping their metabolism low and slow.
Resistance training is key in ensuring weight loss. And don't worry about putting too much muscle on, because it's a slow process and you will have time to decide if you're getting too bulky or not well in advance. Keep working hard and you can succeed before you even know it.
Bonus Question
What Are The Best Supplements To Take Post Pregnancy? What Supplements Should Be Avoided?
The absolute best supplement to take post pregnancy would be whey protein. Supplementing with protein not only will help you make gains in lean muscle, it also requires more caloric input to digest, making your body burn more calories throughout the day. Now I know it may seem silly to you to be drinking a protein shake, but it really isn't as odd or out of place for woman to do that at all.
Almost all of the best female athletes out there supplement with whey protein, and don't you let anyone tell you any different. They'll be the ones envying you and your new sexy little body a couple months from now, and they will bite their tongues about how they might have criticized you about drinking protein shakes.
Definitely try out Syntrax Nectar. It's one of the best tasting protein supplements out there, or if you prefer to avoid artificial sweeteners; I'd advise trying out Optimum Nutrition's Any Whey.
On the other end of the spectrum, you don't want to be taking any supplements that could be harmful to your health. Although many other people may disagree, I wouldn't advise a person to take stimulants or fat burners post-pregnancy, especially if you're nursing the baby.
There are a number of supplements and ingredients out there that don't have tons of research backing them, and although may not be harmful to you they could be harmful to the child. Stay away from anything that your doctor says to avoid, as they know best and want you and your child to stay as healthy as possible.
Thanks for reading!
-Opiewags99