I didn't know how this whole going back to my pre-prego body would go. I was surprised how quickly the pounds dropped immediately after having Bree. I remember the weeks immediately after having Bree, where my belly felt so different. I was used to having a hard, round belly thanks to lil' Miss Brianna at the very end. I mean I can't tell you how long it had been since I'd seen my feet while standing up, or being able to shave without feeling like some sort of circus acrobat. It definitely felt as if something was missing, too gushy as I called it. Suddenly my maternity clothes were looking too big. I of course made the rookie mistake of immediately trying on some of my pre-pregnancy pants....that didn't go so well. When Bree was very young, within the first 6 weeks of birth, I did some light walking around the neighborhood, since I hadn't been cleared for working out yet. Thankfully with Bree having an August birthday, I could use the outdoors to get up and active. For awhile the only way to ensure that she was happy and that I was moving was to place her in the moby wrap and walk around the neighborhood. Once I was cleared for exercise, I started off with my pregnancy yoga DVD, this soon became too easy and I got bored of it quickly. I remember hearing my co-workers talk about Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and how impossibly hard it was. So, I went for it. Initially, working out was very difficult as Bree refused to remain quiet and non-fussy through a 20-45 minute work out, causing me to stop and attend to her. As the months have flown by, I've gotten back into a work out schedule. Three days of cardio. I would like the other two work days to be Pilates days, but since I take Bree to daycare those mornings, I just can't seem to find the time. Either way, here's my analysis on the workout DVDs that I have used so far.
Shiva Rea - Prenatal Yoga: Loved it during the pregnancy. It takes you through each trimester, getting progressively easier as the trimesters progress. This helped me feel like I was working out even towards the end of the pregnancy. Great for stretching. Became too easy after delivering Bree and being cleared for exercise (post-6 week checkup).
Shiva Rea - Creative Core Abs: Not bad. I've used this one a lot in the beginning and less now. It can sometimes be a bit tricky to follow as it expects the user to have a basic comprehension of yoga poses and terminology. I like how it allows you to create your own yoga routine by combining several moves to your own liking, very creative.
Dance Off the Inches Hip Hop Party: I love dance and decided to try several dance routines as exercise DVDs. I love this one. It's creative and fun at the same time. Some of the moves can be difficult to get on the first try, but I love how they go over the moves in a repetitive fashion until they build up to the end routine. Three different routines plus a warm-up and cool-down.
Dance Off the Inches Cardio Hip Hop: I liked the first video and decided to get a second one, hoping it would be different. This one is much harder and moves faster. I still like it a lot and use it often. This one took me awhile to get the steps down. If you're a perfectionist like me, you may feel a bit slow in the beginning (I think I actually started crying because I couldn't get a butt shake/dip right...ha), but stick with it and you'll eventually get the steps.
Brazilian Dance Workout: I've only used this video once and only halfway through at that. Didn't like it at all. The filming was bad. Set outdoors with weird camera angles and sounds. I didn't feel like I broke a sweat with this video. The music and dance moves would have been fun, but I didn't feel like we got enough time to practice them.
Billy Blanks' Tae Bo Cardio: I still use this one quite frequently, because it breaks a good sweat, but I'm not fond of it. I remember when Tae Bo was huge in high school. I wanted to try Tae Bo but was hoping for a video that would have new moves to it...hence the Cardio version. I was disappointed when I realized that the Cardio version still had the same moves that I remembered from my Tae Bo VHS years ago. The cool-down is impossibly long and I often cut it to save time. If you're a fan of Tae Bo, you'll like it. It still works and is a good work-out, but nothing different.
The Bollywood Dance Workout with Hermalayaa: I love this workout. It's not going to change your physique and you won't be breaking a ton of sweat, but it's a fun dance that will get your legs aching by the end of it. I love the music and the energy of the video. I often think of this as my "fun" workout routine. Only downfall is that it's close to an hour long, posing some problems in terms of timing, although you can edit the video on only do certain routines if you didn't have time to finish the whole DVD
Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: My most hated and favorite workout DVD. No joking about it, 30 day shred is HARD!!! It's a mix of 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, and 1 minute abs for three sets. The moves are difficult and halfway through the DVD I want to die...no joke! I often find myself on the floor, yelling at the TV. Jillian is not as evil and mean as I would expect, although I still have this belief that I will find her knocking on my doorstep if I skip a routine. This DVD will give you results, but you have to work at it. It's the shortest of the DVDs which is a plus for my schedule (20 minutes in all). It also has a three level system. I'm on level two. Jason told me he could do level three. I dared him and he did manage to complete it....about killed him, but he was a good sport. I did have to laugh after the first exercise I heard him gasp, "are you kidding me?" when Jillian said to repeat. I didn't feel so bad for hollering the same thing :)
There you have it, my reviews on the workout DVDs that I have tried thus far. I'm pretty pleased with my results and am happy to say that I am back to pre-pregnancy weight and pant size. Many of you guys told me, I'd be back in no time, but I think there was still a fear that it wouldn't happen or that my body would look completely different after childbirth. It does look different (a couple of stretch marks here or there), but I can get used to those. I think I saw somewhere on a mommy site that stretch marks are called badges of honor...I like it! :)
Me at 39 weeks Me at 40 weeks (after Bree's delivery)
Me now that Bree is 9 months old
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