Summer Postpartum Workout Guide
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Summer is known for being a season of relaxing, vacationing and indulgence. We spend quite a bit of time from January to April preparing for these warmer months, and a big part of that prep work is focused on fitness. But once pool season hits, are you still prioritizing working out or just dialing it in?
I spent all of my spring season very pregnant and had a baby right at the start of summer. So after getting cleared to work out 6 weeks postpartum, I was able to ramp up my fitness routine a little bit.
So like me, if it has been a while since you have prioritized working out (say after a vacation or just because the kids out of school and taking up all of your time), use these tips to start building up to that momentum you had back in January!
How to Set Summer Fitness Goals
One of the first things you need to do is set some fitness goals. These goals don’t need to be focused on losing weight, but more on just staying active and maintaining the routines you put in place back in the spring.
For me, coming off of a pregnancy, my goals do have a little to do with losing weight, but mostly I am focused on keeping consistent workouts (3x a week) and building up endurance.
I have a spin bike in my house that is a big part of my fitness routine, and it allows me to track how much I improve with each ride. It is motivating for me to see how far I have come since my first postpartum ride. Those little wins give me the encouragement to keep building!
So set a few fitness goals for yourself this summer. Feel free to invite your kids and spouse to set goals with you! The more accountability you have to keep active, the better!
Find Time To Work Out (With Kids)
Doesn’t it seem like in summer that time moves both extremely fast and very slow? It can be so easy to think you will find time during the day to work out, but then things with kids come up or a dinner with friends, and before you know it, the day is gone and you didn’t find the time to be active.
When you set your fitness goals, take some additional time to write down a few ways that you can add some extra activity to your routine.
If you can get up before your family and work out – great! I am not a morning person so that doesn’t work for me. But I have built-in time to take a walk every evening after my oldest goes to bed and right before my newborn’s last feeding.
You don’t even have to make a trip to the gym to build extra activity into your day. Instead of driving to the neighborhood pool, get the family to ride bikes there. Take an evening hike around the neighborhood after dinner. When you take your kids to the park, run around with them instead of sitting on a bench.
All of those little adjustments will add up to big progress on your fitness goals!
In this season with little kids, I feel like I don’t get much time to work out on my own. So I do involve them, almost out of necessity. We go on walks together or I ride my bike while pulling them in the bike trailer.
But I think this is actually setting a great example for them and introducing fitness into their routines from such an early age. I hope that by starting early, they will have a healthy view of working out and be able to see all of the positive effects that exercise has on our mental and physical wellbeing.
Get the right workout gear
One of the biggest reasons that I opt not to go to the gym or leave my house to work out right now is because my postpartum body doesn’t fit into my pre-pregnancy workout clothes.
So for me, buying a few flowy, loose workout tops makes all the difference in how likely I am to actually work out.
It is also important to make sure that you have cool, breathable clothes for any outdoor workouts you may do in the summer. Opt for shorts and tank tops whenever you can. The big bonus of working out outside is that you can work on that summer tan while also burning calories. That is for sure a win, win!
Below are a few of my picks for great summer workout gear. I especially love the Adidas Cloudform shoes!
Stay Hydrated
Being totally honest, on a summer evening, I am way more likely to grab a glass of white wine than a glass of water. And even during the day, I feel like my family is moving around so much during the summer months, I almost forget to drink water throughout the day.
I totally feel a difference during my workouts depending on how much water I drank that day. Not to mention drinking more water can help with weight loss (oh hey baby weight!) and it helps keep my milk supply up while I am feeding our newborn.
Here are a few ways that I sneak extra water breaks into my routine to help me try to drink more H2O.
- Put a bottle of water on your nightstand when you go to bed and then when you wake up the next morning, drink that bottle before you get out of bed for the day.
- Drink at least one glass of water with every meal or snack you eat.
- Keep a water bottle with your purse or diaper bag and try to drink all of it any time you have to break to give kids a snack or while you are in the car in between errands.
Find A Workout You Love
The summer is a great time to try new workouts. There are tons of outdoor options like hiking or swimming. Or you can enjoy the AC and try a few classes at local studios to see what you like best.
After our daughter was born 2 years ago, I spent some time trying out several different gyms and testing out their classes to see what workouts I would like enough to stick to while I worked to lose my baby weight. Which is how I found out that I loved spin classes.
As much as I love walking outdoors in the summer, living in Texas means that there are days where it is just too hot to get outside. So having that indoor option of spinning is a huge help in keeping me on track to my fitness goals.
Finding a workout that you enjoy and that is still doable for you in the hotter months will make sticking to your fitness routine much more doable.
Use these tips to amp up your summer fitness routine and maintain all that hard work you put in during the first half of the year!
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