Favorite Workouts.

I am writing this post to help encourage me in my process of "getting back in shape" after baby #3.  I had about a 5 month stretch between the end of nursing my 2nd child and getting pregnant with our third child.  And before that.....our first two are 15 months apart so there was no lag in time.  Lets just say in 3 years this body has taken a beating.

Before our first child was born, my husband and I completed P90X.  Yes, P90X the infomercial.  But, I am here to tell you that if you give it your all and eat right you will see great results.  P90X uses muscle confusion to reconstruct your body.  This work out is full of pull ups, push ups, and lunges.  Get ready to work.  It is a HUGE commitment.  Ninety days of at least 1 hour a day workouts and some days are longer than others.

After our second child was born my husband and I completed Insanity.  Insanity is exactly what it's called....INSANE!  It is one of the best cardio workouts I have ever done.  It is non-stop intense 45 minutes for 60 days.  I have never sweated so much in all of my life!  Get ready to work...this is not for the faint at heart and I will admit sometimes it feels boring doing the same videos over and over and over again.

And now after our 3rd child, I am working my way through a 30 day Crossfit program put together by some staff members at our church.  My husband has been doing Crossfit since last November and he loves it.  He loves to come home and tell me all about the crazy things they do at Crossfit during daily workouts.  I have to admit sometimes I think.....I really could never do that.  And honestly, gyms really intimidate me.  So I am working through the 30 day challenge to ease me back in and then I will see where the road takes me.

I really love this website by Lindsay Brin.  I found her site during maternity leave with our second child.  She really encouraged me through her "real life" pictures pre-baby, pregnancy, post baby, and back into fitness shape.  She documented her fitness track back after her first, second and third babies.  Love her sense of "realness" and her honesty about eating and cheating.  She is a fitness guru for moms pre and post baby but she always makes you feel at ease.

I love the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels.  I used this video a lot after our second son to "get back in the game".  It is not too intense like P90X, Insanity or Crossfit.  It really helped me prepare for something like Insanity.  I will say that it gets a little mundane but I just tried to keep the end goal in mind.

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Really these days for me it is all about the MAXIMUM amount of work in the MINIMUM amount of time.  My goal is to get finished with my daily workout before "the real" workout begins {3three&under}.  Somedays it is hard for me to get this in but TRULY I feel better about myself and I really do feel like a better mom to my kids.  It is something for me.  Something where I can set goals, achieve them, and see results.

My goal is not about skinny.  My goal is about healthy, having a good self image, and being able to keep up with my kids.  {And I would like to wear my pre-baby clothes again and not have to buy a whole new wardrobe}

These are just my thoughts.  I am sure other people have varying opinions.  I get asked a lot about P90X and Insanity so I thought it might be nice to blog it out.

 I would love to hear what you are doing/have done to get back in shape post baby/(ies).