Like most moms, I've struggled with either gaining too much weight while pregnant with my three children or losing weight after each pregnancy. Well, except for my second pregnancy, but then I gained weight while nursing and craving chocolate chip cookies! I've gained anywhere from 10 to 40 pounds per child during the pregnancy and first years of motherhood. In fact, I would dare say that I extended the early years to make myself feel better about the "baby weight." My third pregnancy was the only one where I worked out the entire pregnancy. I ran and pumped weights up to the day before Matthew was born. Once my water broke, I delivered Matthew in 45 minutes.
Two of the reasons that moms struggle with working out is the time commitment that it takes and child care. While some gyms have child care, not all moms feel comfortable bringing their children into these environments. Even celebrity Moms like Jennifer Lopez face this issue. Her trainer, Gunnar Peterson, talking about J. Lo's 50 lb. weight loss after the birth of her twins, said, "She was very hands-on with the babies and needed to fit this in around them."
I discovered a great workout app for moms called the Super Mom Workout by Brandy Yearous. I love the easy yet challenging workout and the fact that I could use all my modern day technology such as notebook, computer etc. I decided to talk to the creator.
Mia: What started you on this fitness journey?
Brandy: Super Mom started after my first child was born in 2001. Everyone told me that if I nursed the weight would just 'fall off', but three months later I was still wearing my maternity clothes. The real problem was that we had gone from two incomes to one since I had wanted to stay home with the kids, which meant cutting expenses going to the gym. I thought that since I was staying home I would have nothing but time! But little did I know my precious son would be up every two hours for the first year of his life. I was a zombie for the first few months.
I found myself one night in a dark nursery pacing and bouncing my son to sleep when his pacifier fell on the floor. When I squatted down to pick it up I realized that motion made my legs sore. My first thought was, "Holy out-of-shape-cow Batman!" My second thought was "Hey, I just did a squat ...Why don't I just work out right now since I am already awake?" So at 3 a.m., I got all my squats, kicks and lunges in for a full leg workout, all while holding my baby. The next day, I found myself trying to find other ways to work out around the house.
My background is in Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, so I knew the exercises and techniques to use to target my problem areas. I looked at all the activities I was doing around the house, and found ways to get aerobic benefits from them. Instead of trying to find time to fit in a workout, I was working out throughout the day.
Two weeks later I was in my regular clothes. My friends noticed my change in wardrobe right away... How could they not? They all wanted to know how I suddenly found the time to work out. I told them that I just remembered how to multi-task. It was amazing how the five minutes I spent in the laundry room actually turned into a mini-workout, but more importantly it was also my "Mom-Me Time." Chores didn't seem so daunting because I felt like I was getting something out of it too. It gave me good mental health, and it sure helped that the mini-workouts were producing results that made me feel human again!
Mia: Is it possible for any mom to exercise using your app? How does it work?
Brandy: Yes! Any mom can use the Super Mom Workout app. After watching the videos in the app to see the exercise examples and proper form, you will be able to look at a load of dishes as 30 squats, vacuuming as 50 lunges, brushing your teeth as an entire ab workout... etc.
Mia: What type of equipment is required to use your program? (computer, tablet, phone etc.. or mat)
Brandy: There really is no equipment required since your house is your gym. If a household item is needed for an exercise (such as a towel or toothbrush), it is mentioned at the beginning of the video. There is a series of videos where I review fit ball types, helping choose which one is best for you, as well as some exercises you can do using them while at your office or watching T.V.
You can find out more about Brandy and the Super Mom Workout app here:
Website: http://thezonie.com/supermomworkout
Twitter: @supermomworkout
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supermomworkout
Try the Super Mom Workout app for yourself and let me know what you think!