28 Minute Postnatal Standing Bodyweight Strength & Cardio: NO REPEAT AT HOME Workout after baby

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from BodyFit by Amy, and this is your postnatal standing body weight, strength, and cardio workout. This workout is great for anyone who is in the postpartum period, whether you had your baby weeks ago or years ago. And really anyone who is looking for a standing body weight workout, we're going to keep it in a flow. We're not going to worry about intervals. I'm going to give you low impact options, high impact options, and we are going to be incorporating the, the core, the lower body, the upper body, but in a way that allows you to do it all standing. I know what it's like. Sometimes you have to pick up a baby, sometimes you're multitasking. Maybe you're wearing the baby in the carrier. So I wanted to give you some options that you can do from a standing position with just body weight. And I will be incorporating a mini loop band. If you don't have one, no big deal. If you do have one, we can add it for a little bit extra lower body. Are you ready? Let's do it. Okay, so we're going to start just with a gentle march, getting our heart rate up, just getting a little bit of blood flowing. Again, I want this workout to be accessible for everybody. Maybe you're just getting back to it after having a baby. Maybe it's been years and you just need something to get back into working out or to get into working out, or you just want to get that energy up or you just need to wake up. So we're going to get it all in with this. And again, I have tons of other work workouts and postnatal workouts where we get focused core on the mat. We get glutes, we get upper body, we get lower body. We incorporate more equipment. But I know it's nice to have something that's all body weight, that you can do all standing and make it work for you. So we're going to keep it moving with the flow. Of course, we'll take some breathers, but anytime you need water or you need a break, go ahead and stop. Don't worry about it. You can hit pause, you can listen to me talk, you can take a stretch break. Let's roll those shoulders right here. So once we have that heart rate up, we're going to get in touch with our posture and a little bit of core. Not very much, but just to be aware, especially if we've been through pregnancy and labor and delivery, those core muscles really go through a lot of trauma, and it takes A lot to really restore that posture, that alignment, and really get those muscles to wake up and want to work. Because we have to do all the things right before we can rebuild that strength. We are caring for other humans and doing all the things. So a lot of times, our other muscles jump in to compensate. We want to get those muscles working and also heal that core and restore that function. So now that we got a little blood flowing, let's take our hands right here. You can put your thumbs on the back, hands in the front. I like to call this TA breathing. It's often for transverse abdominis, often called diaphragmatic breathing. But we're going to do a big inhale. As we inhale, we're going to expand through the belly, but also through the sides and the back. And then exhales, bring everything in and up. So it looks like this big inhale again. I'm not just pushing my belly out. I'm just letting it expand, but I'm also expanding through the sides in the back. Exhale everything in and up. Inhale to expand. Let that pelvic floor drop. Exhale in and up. So just a few of those. Just to get our core waking up and ready to work and really thinking about that deep core connecting. While we're doing that, I want you also to check in with your posture, making sure that those ears are stacked over your shoulders, shoulders over your rib cage, rib cage over your pelvis. We often get here during pregnancy or here during postpartum. So trying to align rib cage and hips, and then over your knees and your ankles. All right? Notice when you do that, and we bring everything in and up, you feel that core turn on, right? So I want you to remember that. And then let's go to a little step touch. All right, so that TA breathing, that diaphragmatic breathing, is something that you can do throughout your day. I always advise people to do it in front of the mirror. Maybe a few when you wake up in the morning, maybe before you get in the shower, before you go to bed, lying on the mat, if you're doing tummy time with the baby, but always to, again, reconnect. You don't have to be thinking about that full process of the breathing while we're working out. But I do want you to think about trying to recruit those muscles to stabilize and being aware of that posture. Again, everything in mom life pulls us here. You want to be here, but not here. Pull it in. All right, so just starting with some gentle cardio. And again, if you are Newly postpartum, as in Those first maybe 12 to 16 weeks, it is a good idea to keep it a little lower impact depending on how you're feeling. If you've already been strength training, you may be able to take it up a little higher, but those muscles, again, are still healing. If you're further along and you want to add a little extra intensity, feel free to add that little hop step. And again, I designed this workout to be something that you could do if you were holding a baby or you had a baby strapped to you in the carrier. Please don't take it high impact, safety first. But you probably can move safely. Keeping it low impact, you decide what's best for you. But I don't want anybody doing those higher impacts. I just want to give you that option. Right. If you are in that place in your journey and you're working out alone. Right, right through here. So getting that heart rate up, moving in that lateral motion, so we can, we can strengthen those hips. Hips and glutes are such an important part of our strength journey as we're healing postpartum. Let's get 3, 2 and 1. So tap it out, breathe in between. Now we're going to keep that, but we're going to add a little more upper body. So if you're not holding something, we're going to take it as we step with just a little mock bicep curl. Right. It doesn't have to. If you wanted to add weights, you can. It doesn't have to be super tight or holding your breath, but just getting our arms working while we keep that chest open. Here we go. So you can keep it just lower body like we did before, or adding a little upper. So we're adding that upper, but we're keeping it body weight. We're still getting mobility. And if you can track that muscle, you're still getting the strength too. So I don't want anybody to worry that they're not getting enough strength. Right? You're gonna get it done. The most important thing is that you are here today and moving that is hard enough when you've got littles at home, right. You need to take it slower. You can right through here again, if you wanna take it to a little more of that hot step, maybe side, one down, one up, up to you. Three, two and one and release. Now let's take it to a little cross behind. So we're just tapping behind, tap behind. You don't have to go super deep with it, but I want to give you that option so you're here. Tap behind. You want a little extra legs. Drop it in that curtsy lunge. Maybe that's not right for where you are. So you just want to keep the tap. You're going to tap behind. Core engaged. You're still pushing through that hip, glute, outer thigh, but you're not getting as low. You want to get a little lower. Take it here. Breathe right here. If you want to add a little higher intensity, you can. Looks like that little speed skater right up to you. 4, 3, 2, 1. And breathe. Catch your breath. Now we're going to add a little bit of a chest opener. So I want you to think of your pull down as if you were doing a pull down with a band or. And if you have a band, you can add it or on a machine. We're going to pull down, push up, pull down, push up again. You can keep it. Tap back. You can take it to that curtsy lunge. Already feeling that heart rate? I know I am. So if you need more time, take your time. We're gonna get water in just a minute. Let's take it right here. We're gonna step behind. Push up, pull and push. But I really want you to think about opening that chest again. Everything we do is pulling us forward, lifting, changing, feeding. So getting that chest opener to get your heart rate up, but also really get that stretch again. If you want to go a little quicker, you can. If you want to keep it more, that tap behind you do you is something that I always say, be where you are today. Maybe you're sleep deprived. Maybe you just want to get moving. This is your workout, and I'm so proud of you for being here. So do you. Three, two, and one. Oh, I'm feeling that. I don't know about you. Let's grab a sip of water. All right, team, we're gonna get a little isolated core in just a minute. That's also going to be some cardio. Now we're going to start this on the wall. Then I'm going to give you the option. So either hand on the wall for a little bit of balance so we can really isolate the core, or sturdy chair, countertop, couch, whatever it is, something to give you a little balance. And then we'll give you the option to move off the wall and feel it a little bit more. So we're going to take it here. We're going to stagger those feet again, wall for balance. We're going to start just bringing the knee in and up. So I want you to wrap that core in, zipping up the core. Nice, stable core, but you're still breathing. And then we're going to bring the knee in and down so you can tell what's happening. This leg's getting the work. This arm is getting the work, right? We're getting that mobility. And then our core is contracting without having to really get a whole lot of work in the spine. We're getting the core working. So we're here. If you need to keep it a little lower again, maybe you got a baby on you still. Just focus on the core connection. Bring it up. Breathe. There we go. We've got 4, 3, 2, and 1. Standing core. I love it. Right, so then we're gonna wrap it here. Now we're going to take it to the side. So I'm going to show you first, you can either just pull in here again, everything pulled in, getting those obliques, or you can do eventually two arms, but start here. Again. Stagger. Here we go. Bring it up. Staying in the wall. And then we'll take it off st. So again, you probably feel those hips, too. Again, hips, glutes. Super important to our postpartum journey. One, because we need those muscles to be strong, but also because they connect to our pelvic floor. So glutes and hips working hard. Breathe. Yes, you can. 4, 3, 2, 1. Now, I want you to step away from that support if you want. If you're feeling too off balance. Or again, if you got a baby on you and you want to just keep it here, totally fine. But if you want to step away, we're gonna go right through here. And then here. Let's breathe. We're gonna get 30 seconds of each, but I don't want you to worry about the clock. Your own pace stable in that leg. So the leg is working, getting the core working, getting those arms working. In three, two, one, one. Here we go. So you can keep it here. You can keep it nice and slow. You can keep with the balance. If you want to add a little bit of intensity, you can pick up your pace. You can bring that knee up even more. But again, it's up to you. Where are you? Do you want a little extra? You want to feel that leg burning a little more. Get a little lower if you want to keep it nice and slow. Keep those arms getting that mobility. Keep it here. We got 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Breathe. So notice I know that leg is getting some work too. Let's take it to the side. So again, we're here. You can either go here with or without balance or two arms nice and tight, chest open. Pull it in for obliques. Getting the hips, getting the heart rate up, and, of course, getting a lot of core working. Here we go. Bring it up and down, nice and slow and controlled, with or without balance, or you can pick up your pace. What do you need in this moment? Breathe. I really want, really, all of my workouts to feel accessible where you have options, but especially if you're in the postpartum period, and if you've heard me say it before, once postpartum, always postpartum. So if you've had babies, you've been through pregnancies, you are in it, right? So things are going to feel different. Maybe you have been working out for a while. Three, two, one. Maybe, like me, you have been working out for a while. My babies are a little bit older, but I want to challenge myself. But maybe I got a really bad night's sleep. I haven't had enough water today, and I really want to take my time. That is what be where you are is all about. Be where you are today. Let's take it on the wall for the other side. Catch your breath. We're going to start slow. I want you to think about that core engagement. Inhale to expand. Bring everything in. And up. Lift. Connect with that pelvic floor. Here we go. Bring it in again. I want this one balanced and a little slower so you can think about the core engagement. Right, again. Let's leg is working. This leg gets a little breather. But also, if you are new to exercise or you're just getting back into it, I want it to be accessible for you, too. This might feel really challenging, or it might feel really easy. But remember, we are all on our own journeys, and there are a million reasons beyond our fitness level that things are going to feel a certain way. Catch your breath, right? Tap it out. We'll do the same thing for the side. Remember, we want to think about the obliques, the hips, the core, that upper body pull and chest opener. Let's get it done. Here we go. And breathe. Then we'll take them off the wall. So a little standing core. Remember these core exercises again. Maybe you're in the kitchen, maybe you're taking a break from your job, standing up from your desk. Or again, maybe you got your baby in the bouncer in the high chair. You can add some of these standing core, Even just the breathing and connecting. It's really helpful in that core restoration. Breathe. 3, 2, 1. All right, take it off the wall. All right. Team. So here we go. Remember, you can keep it slow and controlled. You can keep it low. You can get a little power. You can get a little lower in the legs. You do what's best best for you. And let's get the core working. And upper and lower. Here we go. If you follow me for a while, you know, I'm all about time efficiency. So anytime we can get a lot of things working, like, we get that core, like we get that upper, like we get that lower, like we get that heart rate up for cardio, you know, I'm gonna do it. I like finding ways to keep things time efficient, especially as moms. I don't have time to do hours and hours, but I do want to get it done. 3, 2, 1. All right, catch your breath, and we'll get the side. So again, remember, you can take it here. Pulling it in. You can go two arms to the side. You can keep that balance either way. Let's wrap that core nice and lifted. Here we go. Starting slow. If you want to take both arms. And again, if you want to pick up that pace, you want to just keep it pretty small, that's okay too. So things I love to do in my kitchen, just, you know, holding on to the countertop because I can get that heart rate up. Maybe I'm feeling super tired, or I can feel like I got a little strength, work, a little mobility for my body. 3, 2, 1. Let's grab another sip of water. We're gonna grab that band. If you have a mini band, this little mini loop band, we're gonna add a little bit of extra work for those glutes. Again, glutes are super important when we're restoring our core. They connect to our pelvic floor, that deep core. But also we need those strong glutes and hips for all the things we do in our daily lives, right? So if you have a band, maybe you have one like this, maybe you have a fabric one. We're going to put it above our knees, and we're just going to do a little movement with this. Again, we're going to think about getting lower body, upper body, and core. Also getting that heart rate up for cardio. If you don't have a band, it is not a big deal at all. I promise. You're still going to feel it. All right, so let's start with just a little side step. Then we'll add some optional upper body. And of course, I'll give you some options to take it up or down, if you want. Here we go. So we're gonna side step for two, and then side step for two. I like to move my arms just to get a rhythm with it, but it's up to you if you want. Again, maybe you're here. I know for me, especially my second, I had to be moving to get her to sleep, so. So I often would find movements like this. Side lunges, plie squats, things that I could do to feel like I was a little more aware of my core control, a little more aware of where my back was, versus just the endless. Right bouncing. All right, team, so if you want, you can take it a little lower in a squat. It's up to you. If the side step is fine for where you are with or without the band, you can take it there, right? Maybe you want to get a little lower in a squat, Get a little more glutes. Again, your workout. Let's take it. Four, getting low. Three, two. Last one. Burn. Right, so now let's add a little upper body. Again. If you wanted to add a band or even some dumbbells, we're gonna think of a little row, right? So here, squeeze. Here, squeeze. I want you in a slight hinge position, but what we don't want is here. So if you feel like you're getting to that lower back, I want you to stand a little further up. If you've got weights, you want to be in a little hinge. You've got the biggest band. You want to be a little further up. If you got just your body weight, you have your pick. So let's start with that side step. We'll add some upper. And then if you want to take it low in the squat, you can. Here we go. So side step for two again. Lateral movement. Super important to our daily lives, but we don't always get it in a lot of what we do. Now let's add some upper. So again, you can be standing. Pull those elbows back, open up the chest. Or you can have a band or a little hinge. Right. Back and shoulder muscles. So important. If you want, you can add a little squat to it. I know. Breathe. Depending on what kind of band you have. If you have a thicker one than me, you're probably really feeling it. I'm proud of you either way, because I am. One more each way. Pull those arms back. Yes. And breathe. All right, one more thing. From here, we're gonna take it to a little tap back. Tap back. Then we're gonna isolate one side. We're gonna push back for triceps. So elbows are high Again, you can have some lightweight weights. You could have a band. But I want you to think about that front leg working, that glute working. Will alternate to start. So you're standing here. Here we go. Push back. And again, if you don't have the band, if you want to think more along the lines of a lunge, you can. That doesn't feel good. I want you just to push back in that band. Right? Breathe. You can take it even slower than me, so smaller range of motion. You can take it quicker than me. Up to you. Or again, you can take it to that lunge. We've got four, three, two, and one. Right here. Team, we're going to wrap those elbows in. I want to be stanced here, so I'm going to do a little lift. Again, similar to our core, we're going to feel that front leg working. Hamstrings, glutes, you need some balance between here. You can push back with just one if you want to push back with two. So this leg's taking the weight. This leg is doing a small lift. You decide how far you want to go up, if at all. And then we're pushing back for the back of the arms, keeping our back tight. Here we go. So little lift and lower. So almost like a little bar workout. All body weight if you need it to be. I promise you're still going to feel it. Band if you want it in that glute. Right? Up, up. Squeeze. Let's go. 4, 3, 2. Just the arms. Little pulse. Pulse, right? I know. 4, 3, 2. Just your legs if you want little lift. Feeling this one, right. Four, three, two, and relax. Ah. All right, team, those glutes are gonna feel it. I hope that you at least feel that mobility in your upper body again. Our upper bodies are always working hard with everything that we're doing all day long, but we really want to open it up. We want to get that mobility. Let's get the same thing. Other side. We're going to isolate it right here. Again, if you need a little balance, keep it here. Just your body weight. You have light weights, take them. Otherwise, we're lifting the leg. Pushing back. Core is engaged. That strong foundation. Elbows up, back tight. Here we go. Squeeze. You want to feel that front leg a little more. You can add a little half bend. Right. Little lunge. You want to feel that back leg even more. Lift a little higher without arching that back. Squeeze. Yes. Team, hold them up this time. Let's pulse them in like this. So we really get the back of the arms. But we're also getting our back, our shoulders, all those feeding muscles. Three, two, one. Little lift pulse. Yes. Squeeze in the glute. You can do it. Four, three, two. Relax. All right, team, take that band off. Grab a quick sip of water. We're just going to finish out with a little mobility. Just again, to finish off with a little bit of cardio. Be aware of our posture, our alignment, our core, and a little gentle mobility. Because again, our lives are so busy, especially when we have newborns at home or babies. But we also do a lot of things in a fixed position. Again here, here, sitting in the car, maybe for you, it's sitting at your desk or whatever you do for your job or just taking care of kids. We're on the go all the time, and we're also in a fixed position or sitting a lot too. So getting that mobility. Starting with just a little tap forward. Just a couple minutes. Then we're going to get a nice good stretch and then we'll call it a day. Right here, tapping in front. Let's tap behind, similar to what we did with that little curtsy lunge. But I want you to open up in the arms right here. And again, maybe you still got that energy. You want to take it a little quicker, a little more cardio. You can. But I want you to think about that mobility. Really think about that. Hip openers right through here. Make sure too, that you check out all of my other postpartum postnatal videos because we have so many. If you want to just be on the mat again, maybe you're doing tummy time. If you want something that's just 10 minutes, maybe you want something a little more strength based. Dumbbell, kettlebell. I have got options for you. Right through here. How about we take it side to side? Big arms again, shaking it out. Or just a little tap. Breathe again. If you want to take it quicker, you can. And then little side lunge if you can. We're gonna sit deep. Bring it up. You can do just the lower. This is one that I used to do to put my daughter to sleep. Little hinge. If you want. You can reach down, reach up, open up the hips. Yes. Team, let's go. Last four and breathe. Three, two, and. And one. So take it right here. Let's take those legs out. You can also take this sitting in a chair. If this feels good for you, just roll your shoulders right through here. Just going to get some quick little stretches. I hope that you were leaving this workout feeling better than when you started. Let's just Do a little hamstring scoop. If you feel too off balance, just grab onto the wall and you can just do one arm. We'll switch halfway through. Got two arms. Switch it right here. You don't have to go as fast as me, but again, hamstrings. So I hope you got a little energy. Sometimes it's so hard to remember that when we feel like we don't have the energy to do the workout, which is often, often. Right, let's hold it here again. Balance if you need it. Remember, the workout is going to give us that energy. So I always tell people, just get five minutes. If you're not feeling it and you have time and you're able, just five minutes of any movement. Again, maybe it's just a little dance in the kitchen. Maybe it's just some step touches, holding the baby. Whatever it is, a walk outside. Often those five minutes are going to lead to more because you're going to know you feel better and you get, get that energy. Little standing cat, cow right here. But again, if you need to rest, take a rest. Honor your body and do not feel guilty about that at all. I feel like it's so hard. Especially as moms, we feel the guilt either way, right? We feel the guilt when we're taking time away from our kids or time to take care of ourselves. We feel the guilt when we don't. Right. We feel like we need to be doing more to take care of ourselves. It's a cycle. Don't let it be. Know that you are worth it. Know that the best thing you can do for your kids, for your partner, for the people you love, is to take care of yourself for that self care. But also being your happiest, healthiest self, healing good, so, so important. So let go of the guilt. Show up in the ways that you can, can. Maybe that's five minutes here or there. Maybe you can get a full 30 or 40 minutes. Maybe you can get once a week. Maybe you get something every day remembering how good it feels, how good it is not just for our physical, but for our mental health and just celebrating everything that you're doing. You're doing so much, mama. So much. I don't even know you, but I know you are. So remember that. And you deserve this. You deserve to take care of yourself. You deserve to feel good. And it doesn't have to look any certain way. Just show up and move your body. That is what we are about here. This is my philosophy all the time. But it's also my philosophy, especially in the pre and postnatal periods show up, keep moving, be where you are today, and know that you are enough. Let's get one big, deep breath in. And out. You did it. That was your postnatal standing body weight, strength, and cardio workout. Great job, everybody.