About 5 weeks ago, I stood in the middle of my lounge area while the boys and my hubby were fast asleep! I stood there looking deep into Shaun T’s eyes. He asked me if I was ready and I quietly, nervously and sheepishly nodded and said “yes”. And, then it began!
Before I knew it, I was all over the lounge, up and down in every direction sweating like never before! He made me do things I had NEVER done before and it was great – I loved it! My so-called affair was on for 6 days per week and although some days were more difficult than others to meet up, I made sure I didn’t miss seeing him – it just felt so great!
Then, this last week, I met Jaco. Jaco doesn’t like Shaun T so much as he’s totally banned me from seeing him for a fair amount of time. He’s a real party pooper. I’m seeing him now more than Shaun T, but hopefully it won’t be long until I get to look into Shaun T’s eyes again and pick up where I left off.
Now, just to provide some clarity on the situation: I decided enough was enough when my jeans were just getting tighter and the frustration with my diet reached a point where I couldn’t handle much more. I decided I would go ahead and do the INSANITY program and it has been awesome!
People have noticed I’ve lost centimetres and generally my energy and fitness levels have been amazing. HOWEVER, I managed to overwork a muscle and landed up seeing a physio (Jaco!) to relieve the pain I’ve been experiencing. It turns out that as a result of having 2 babies, my back isn’t quite as strong and flexible as I would have liked. And, well my stomach muscles just aren’t cutting it (thanks to 2 caesareans!) and my back is over compensating which has left me seeing Jaco 3 times in less than a week and having needles stuck into my ass (dry needle therapy) to help reduce the pain.
Moral of the Story
- If you’ve had babies, make sure to not overdo the exercise because believe it or not, you can hurt yourself and possibly cause more damage. One doesn’t realise the strain our backs take when we carry a baby and sometimes it shows up much later. So, be careful!
- Listen to your body – if you have pain, make sure to stop when you need to.
- While exercises may be the way to a flat stomach and tight buns, always make sure your “form” is correct.
- When doing ab exercises or certain stretches that are ab focussed, be careful to watch where you are hurting or working most especially if you have had a C-section given that the doctors cut through your muscles and tissue to get baby out. Your back may overcompensate and you can hurt yourself (badly).
- Stretching is VERY important, so make sure to do it. Remember that it takes around 30 seconds for a muscle to stretch properly, so take it slow and stretch it all out!
