Exercising in the chaos of motherhood may seem difficult.
But it’s important to regularly engage in physical activity given the huge benefits exercise has on both physical and mental health.
Annelise Worn is passionate about getting mums moving – she runs mums and littlies fitness classes in Torquay.
Here, Annelise explains the benefits of exercise for new mums.
For most of us, our perception of motherhood had to be readjusted after having our babes.
This readjustment can be tough if you go from being a productive go-getter to barely managing to feed yourself and make your bed in the morning. Add to that limited sleep and a mounting to-do list, and mental health becomes a very real issue.
Most of us know some of the incredible benefits exercise has on our physical health. It strengthens bones, builds muscle tone, assists with weight loss, decreases risk of chronic disease, delays the appearance of skin ageing (sign me up!). But it also does amazing things to our brain. Not only does the increased oxygen flow help our brain function, but exercise also increases our brain sensitivity to the hormones that relieve depression, and makes us produce the ‘feel good’ hormones, endorphins.
Regular exercise also helps our quality of sleep. Which when you’re getting four hours total of broken sleep night, is a real selling point. For the sake of the whole household, those four hours need to be quality. Exercise also energises you during the day. Although it seems counter-intuitive – expending energy moving your bod actually boosts your overall energy levels.
Incorporating movement into your day doesn’t have to mean taking an hour out to go to a pilates class (though if you can get some ‘me time’, please do). There are lots of exercises classes that accommodate children along the Geelong Coast, but there are also plenty of ways to incorporate movement at home.
Adequate movement in your day can be as little as 3 x 10 minute blocks broken throughout the day. This might look like dancing with bub to your favourite song on repeat, push ups and abs exercises on the mat next to bubba, and lunging down the hallway when settling them. Getting outside for even a short, slow walk can also do wonders for both you and bub.
It’s also really easy to fall into the trap of not eating, or eating on the run and grabbing carb heavy food lacking in nutrients.
You wouldn’t put the wrong fuel in your car and expect it to run well, and our bodies are the same. Food is both fuel and medicine. Putting the right fuel in can change the game entirely. If you can clear a few hours once or twice a week to cook up a storm, batching can really help to take the pressure off. Roast a chicken and a heap of root veggies, make a soup, cook up a whole heap of leafy greens, make some quinoa and bake some savoury veggie filled muffins. With all this in the fridge/freezer, meals can be just mix and match, heat and go.
Regular exercise and adequate nutrition can do truly wondrous things for your body and mind, but they don’t help bubba sleep more, make a dent in laundry mountain or decrease the to-do list. Food and movement can go a long way to supporting a positive frame of mind to deal with this, but the thing that’s going to make the biggest difference is adjusting your expectations and calming self-criticism. It’s okay to want a lot from yourself, but be aware of burn out and be kind to yourself. The days are long, but the years are short. Enjoy your little ones, and try to be okay with the fact that sometimes all you can do is throw out the to-do list entirely and live in the moment.
