woman exercising inside

HIIT that!

Posted on by Jelena

Seems like an appropriate time to write this workout post with the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and everyone trying to stay active at home. I was going to the gym 4 times a week up until the day prior to having my second , but gave up my membership while on maternity leave to do home workouts. You could say I’ve become quite well versed at stalking the online personal trainers over the last 8 months!

In saying that, I thought I would share some of my favourite workouts that I have been doing (from post natal recovery to now). Some are programs which you pay for, others are just videos on YouTube.

  1. The Bod – Sophie Guidolin
    This has now been turned into an app but I bought the Maintenance and Pro editions a few years back when losing weight from my first pregnancy. It’s good as it also has meal plans, and gives you gym and home options for each day.
  2. Centr – Chris Hemsworth
    Did I get sucked in thinking I’d get to work out with Thor every day? Maybe, but I’d actually heard good things about the app from a friend. I just finished week 1 of the Centr 6 program and am feeling the burn! Each workout is no longer than 30 mins and includes warm up and cool downs. There are things I haven’t even yet touched such as recipes, mindfulness, yoga and 100’s of workouts so looking forward to sticking with this one.
  3. Yoga with Adriene
    I love this channel. All free, but such good yoga that will leave you feeling refreshed and woosa. She also has a 30 day challenge if you can commit to daily practice, and her cute dog is featured every now and again 🙂 .
  4. Bodyfit by Amy
    I liked using Amy’s videos for my postnatal workouts while I was getting back into things slowly. She also has some good 15 minute kettlebell workouts.
  5. Sydney Cummings
    The best but and legs workout I have found.. for those who have no weights and just a resistance band. Sore for days! Sydney also has some great HIIT workouts that you can do in even 10 minutes for when you are short on time.
  6. SWEAT Summer series – Kelsey Wells
    4 weeks of postnatal exercises (mostly using body weight) to strengthen your core etc.
  7. HIIT workouts by Heather Robertson
    Quick, high intensity workouts for when you’re short on time. You only need your mat and some space inside.
  8. Boxing with Nate Bower
    If you have a boxing bag and gloves, these videos are awesome to work up a sweat. Just takes a few mins to get your head around the moves if you’re not a boxer as he refers to them as numbers rather than the actual punch (hook etc.)

Feel free to add any other recommendations in the comments!

sleeping like a baby

Sleeping like a baby

Posted on by Jelena

I don’t know about you, but when I think of the “sleeping like a baby” saying, I don’t see a restful night ahead. Passed out and undisturbed is the exact opposite of how they sleep. Babies wake up… A LOT. It may be more accurate to say ” slept like a drunk” but probably wouldn’t have the same ring to it.

Yeah ok, I have friends who have had the dream baby that has slept through at night at 6 or 8 weeks. It’s definitely not the norm though. I can also confirm formula feed or putting rice cereal in the milk for a breastfed baby will also not make this magic happen. I tried it already.

The unicorn

Both of my kids haven’t slept through at 8 weeks or similar. The first was such a cat napper through the day that we ended up at QEII Family Centre . Although the advice and help was great, we still didn’t manage to extend day sleep past 40 mins without being held by the time we left.

Side note, the ‘Love to dream’ swaddles are so worth the $. If you have a baby that hates being restrained, give up on the wrapping and just buy a few of these.

A bit of silver lining

My son was actually a huge improvement. I partly also attribute this to not being an absolute rookie anymore and missing tired signs etc. Now at 4 months, we generally get 5 hours from bedtime and then the early morning is up and down depending on the day. Day wise, I can get at least 3 x 45 min naps, and if it’s a good day we will get a 2-3 hour stretch. I just need to become smarter and actually go to bed when he does.

Routine

Oh I was obsessed with this first time round. Dr Google, friend’s advice, Save our Sleep and Sleeping like a baby books. You name it, I tried it. After all, I only had 3 months to get this baby sorted before I returned to full time work. Did it work? Nope. And the worst thing was, that the books didn’t really have a “What to do if your whole routine craps itself” section for dummies.

Going with the flow

This time round, I’ve embraced not following a routine. I’ve got time up my sleeve, and I take my cues from him. And man is it so much nicer, and stressless! You’re always going to have regressions, always going to have a sick kid, and life generally will throw curve balls. I think both ways have their pluses, but given I’ve still got a preschooler running around, this works better for us.