ashleyd /

Weekly Workout Recap

Happy Monday! After a few weeks of steady workouts I feel like I’m finally finding my rhythm again. (Side note, I can NEVER spell that rhythm correctly on the first attempt.) Since I know that postpartum women are still prone to relaxin-induced injuries even 12-18 months after they give birth, I am being very careful not to overdo it with my training. Right now, I am focusing on rebuilding my strength and endurance while hopefully losing a few more pounds.  During my crazier than normal weeks when I find it hard to balance everything, I do my best to pause and remember that even getting on our Flywheel bike for a 20-minute ride is better for my mind and body than doing nothing.  I laugh when Timehope reminds me of the days of doing two workouts or enjoying boutique fitness classes throughout the city before most of Manhattan was awake. I remember my phone alarm pinging at 11:59 am reminding me to log on Classpass and book the next week’s classes. Oh, how time’s have changed. These days my cell phone goes off at 5:40, reminding me to log off and head out to get Katie in case I’ve lost track of time due to work.

These days, working out is still something I do for my emotional, mental and physical well-being instead of a means to achieving a time goal. While I am looking forward to getting back to that point in the next few months, I’m in a casual base-building stage right now. My workouts can’t be a source of stress at this point in my life. Instead, they need to be enjoyable, efficient and productive. So, as promised, here is a more casual post, recapping last week’s workouts and training including the highs and lows.

  • Monday – I knew it was going to be an especially busy week so I woke up bright and early and got the week kick-started with a 45-minute Flywheel FlyAnywhere theme ride. It was so much fun to jam to 80’s music before starting a crazy week and the playlist helped me forget about the fact that it was 5:15 AM!
  • Tuesday – Pouring rain caused me to hop on the bike again instead of heading out for my planned run. While I am typically someone who enjoys running in the rain, it was only 40 degrees and the wind was howling when my alarm went off at 5:15. I was beyond proud of myself for resisting the urge to push the snooze button and instead walking over to the bike and quickly changing clothes and clipping in for a 30-minute ride. I swear that keeping spin clothes and a filled water bottle near the bike makes it SO much easier, especially early in the morning.
  • Wednesday – Rest Day
  • Thursday – I was so excited to finish the 4-mile run with the local moms feeling stronger than normal.  Waking up at 5:15 doesn’t get easier but I always remember how amazing I feel when it’s only 6:30 and I’ve finished my workout and am already sipping coffee after a warm shower. Our pace continues to get a bit faster each week and one of the local moms just qualified for Boston so it was fun to hear about her marathon experience and the training that helped her chip away at the qualifying time.
  • Friday – Rest Day
  • Saturday – I rarely sleep past 7 AM but after a busy work week, Bo offered to let me sleep in while he managed Katie’s morning routine. I happily took him up on the offer and swapped my morning run for a 45-minute FlyAnywhere Flywheel Power ride which was focused on a long climbs and fast, powerful sprints. I think I waddled from the bike to the shower when I finished the tough ride. I’m thankful that I spent 10 minutes stretching and foam rolling after class as my body was very thankful for the stretch and recovery time.
  • Sunday – Most week’s, Laura and I do our best to squeeze in one of the strength workouts offered at the YMCA but unfortunately this week none of them worked with our schedules. Instead of abandoning our goal of doing more strength, we did a sweaty, 30-minute Pop Sugar TABATA workout on our back porch. It was a great reminder that our porch is the perfect place to break a sweat thanks to a yoga mat, plenty of space, an assortment of weights and a television.
  • Monday – I squeezed in 38 minutes of Dionna Littleton’s Method 45 FlyAnywhere Flywheel class before I had to hop in the shower and get ready for the day.

As I look back on the past week, the high was the consistent workouts and the low was only making it out on two runs and an absence of yoga. Luckily, the weather this week looks PERFECT for lots of runs and maybe even a porch yoga session while we’re out in the Hamptons this weekend!

Photo credit Alexis Damen Photography.

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ashleyd /

Weekly Workout Recap

I don’t know if it is the sunshine or finally being nine months postpartum but guys, I finally feel like myself again.  I slept soundly each night, my workouts felt strong and physically and emotionally I felt very healthy.  My clothes are also fitting better and it seems like I’ve started to move past the plateau I’d hit the past few weeks. This is the first time I’ve felt comfortable enough in the above tank top to wear it for a workout which makes me SO happy since I have four of these Brooks Pickup Tanks folded in my drawers!  Since I was able to enjoy a number of workouts both here in Brooklyn and in Arkansas while traveling, I wanted to share them with you.

Hopefully the warmer spring weather is helping each of you get outside more and stay active.

  • Saturday – I squeezed in a 20 minute FlyAnywhere spin class and a 1 mile run before we headed to New Jersey for the day.
  • Sunday –  I started the day with a 1-hour Full Body Conditioning class at the YMCA with Laura. The format of this class changes weekly so we never know what to expect accept that we will definitely be dripping sweat by the end and it will be a good mix of cardio and strength.
  • Monday – Rest Day
  • Tuesday – The hotel in Arkansas only has two treadmills so if I don’t wake up early enough it’s almost guaranteed that I won’t get one. I was in the gym by 5:15 and able to snag a treadmill for a 5k run which included a quarter mile of incline each mile.
  • Wednesday – Instead of doing our 1:1 connect in a huddle room, my co-worker asked if I wanted to join her for a 4 mile run instead. We knew that the fresh air and sunshine would make our join-up even more enjoyable and since the purpose of our meeting was to get to know each other better and talk a few topics, we didn’t need access to a computer. While the 75 degree temperatures felt wonderful, by the third mile I could definitely tell that I wasn’t well hydrated nor accustomed to running in the heat. We also had a bit too much fun the first two miles, going out entirely too fast for my current fitness level. We finished the 4 miles in less than 37 minutes, including a few walking breaks during the final mile.
  • Thursday – Our office in Arkansas has THREE gym spaces. Instead of working out at the Courtyard Hotel gym I headed over to the office early and took advantage of the gym access. I felt like a kid in a candy store! There were so many choices based on the array of strength and cardio equipment available as well as lots of fun items like TRX, Jacob’s ladder and more. I decided to do a HIIT workout which was 1/2 mile warm-up, BBG STRONG Full Body workout and a 1 mile run to end.  Just for fun, since I had access to the tools I also did a few box jumps and some TRX arm work in between the BBG routine and the run.

Image result for bbg full body optional week 14 sunday

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ashleyd /

Five Tips for Returning to Exercise Post-Baby

Hello! I am thrilled to share a guest post with you today, that answers one of the most frequently asked questions since I started working out again, six weeks after giving birth to Katie. Each day, at least a few people reach out over email, Facebook, Instagram or blog comments asking for tips for returning to exercise in a safe and healthy manner after giving birth. Since I am not an expert on the topic, I figured I’d enroll the person who helped me return to strength training – Carolyn. Carolyn is a pre and postnatal health coach and personal trainer who lives in Brooklyn. During my maternity leave I had the pleasure of attending her mother & baby workouts with her two times a week for almost three months!  Enjoy!

I’m so excited to be guest posting on Ashley’s blog while she is adjusting to life as a working mom.  My name is Carolyn and I’m a pre and postnatal health coach and personal trainer – and also first-time mom to Charlie who is about to turn 1 year old! Whoever said that with a baby “the days are long but the months are short” nailed it. I have no idea where the time went, but what an amazing journey it has been so far.

When I became pregnant with Charlie, I was in the process of studying for my health coach and personal training certification. As I learned about various dietary theories and fitness components the body needs to thrive, I felt so lucky that I had this information that I could immediately apply to my own pregnancy. Armed with this wealth of knowledge, however, I became hyper-aware of how little we’re counseled on how to have a healthy pregnancy and postpartum recovery unless we actively seek the information out.

In most cases, we’re told by our doctor that whatever form of exercise we were doing before getting pregnant is fine to continue (within reason) and then we’re quickly given the go-ahead to resume all exercise at 6-weeks. I’ll never forget at my 6-week postpartum visit, my OB cleared me to start running again. It was exactly what I was hoping to hear, but I looked at her in total disbelief. My core felt so weak (and by weak I mean non-existent) and my hips and pelvis felt like – well like I had just pushed out a 9-pound baby! I had exercised almost every day before and during my pregnancy, but pounding the pavement felt like the last thing my body needed. Each and every person’s body is different and every recovery is different, so if you were able to lace up your sneaks at 6 weeks – all the power to you! But if you are wondering how to safely ease back into an exercise routine, here are 5 tips to get you started:

  • Listen to your body. Ashley talks a lot about her fitness journey pre, during and post pregnancy and how she is always reminding herself to build back up slowly. This is so important. No matter what kind of birth you had, your body just went through an amazing, life-altering, endurance test and you know yourself best. If something doesn’t feel right, take a pause. Now isn’t the time to force it.
  • Remember to breathe. Did you know the diaphragm is actually the most important muscle of the core? Here’s a test: Put one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly just below your rib cage. Now take a deep breath. Does your chest or belly rise first? For a variety of reasons, including desk jobs and chronic stress, most of us have become chest breathers, when in fact breathing should come from the diaphragm. While it sounds simple, changing the way you breathe can impact everything from our stress levels to our digestive system.

  • Reconnect with your core. Your core is the foundational aspect of your body that impacts everything else. If you recently had a baby, your core has been stretched in some places, tightened in others, and has been holding everything together for 9 months. It’s tired. It’s weak. It needs some love. Breathing through your diaphragm, doing Kegels and practicing modified abdominal work will help strengthen the inner layer of muscles that have helped carry and protect your little one up until this point.
  • Fire up those glutes. Second in importance to the core, the glutes help support your hips, pelvis and lower back, all of which have shifted around over the past 9 months. Strengthening these guys will help ease any residual aches and pains and provide support to the core. Squats and lunges are the best exercises for your buns and are easily done with baby in tow.
  • Stretch with caution. You may have heard about the hormone Relaxin that is released into your body throughout pregnancy. Its primary job is to loosen up your ligaments to prepare you for childbirth, but while It’s unclear exactly how long your body continues to produce it, some believe it can last up to a year postpartum. So, if you can touch your toes for the first time now that you can finally see them again, just be careful not to get overexcited, it could still be the Relaxin talking. Only stretch out areas that feel tight or like they need to be lengthened to avoid overstretching.

If you have other questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments and, if you are local, I would love to see you for one of my workouts in Carroll Park or Prospect Park.

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