Meet my best friend Brooke.  She’s a wife, mother, teacher, high school soccer coach and former collegiate athlete.  This picture was taken when her son was only 7 months old.  Don’t you just hate her?  Well, if you knew her, you’d actually love her.  She’s kind, loyal, funny…and you eventually learn to live with her touch of crudeness.  Love you Brookey 😉

Brooke is one of those crazy people who actually loves to workout.  It doesn’t hurt that she has one of the highest energy levels of anyone I’ve ever known. Even with that being said, I was surprised when she told me what her workout schedule was when losing the baby weight.  I’m not going to say it’s a cake walk, but she did only work out 3-4 times a week.  It’s doable.  I think Brookey’s workout routine is very “back to basics” and we can all take something away from it.

Brooke’s Pregnancy Workout Routine:

-Brooke worked out 3 times a week during her pregnancy

-On those days she would run 2-3 miles

-She lifted light weights, arm exercises (curls, triceps extensions and lateral raises) and squats with dumbbells, doing 3 sets of 10 for all exercises (no core workout)

– Once Brooke was 6 months pregnant, she only ran on the elliptical. She would run for 25-40 minutes.

Brooke’s Postpartum Workout Routine:

-Once cleared to workout,  Brooke worked out 3-4 times a week. On Those days she did the following:

-At first, Brooke jogged 1/2 mile, walked 1/2 mile until she reached 3 miles. When she got more in shape she increased her running.

-Early on, Brooke continued with light weights. Arm workouts (curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises) and squats with dumbbells —all 3 sets of 10.  She eventually increased her weight as she started getting more in shape.

-Ok, here’s what you want to know. How did she get the abs?  Brooke did 200 crunches each time she worked out.  In addition to crunches, she also added in: full sit ups, leg lifts, twists (about 25 or more of each of these) and side planks (planks you want to aim for 30 seconds each).  She promises that this only takes her about 5 MINUTES. However, she emphasizes that slow, controlled movements with your belly button tucked in, is what makes the difference here. She says if you get tired doing a crunch, move onto another move and then go back to crunches.

Brooke’s Postpartum Diet:

It’s pretty similar to mine, you can read about my (less intense) weight loss journey here.

Breakfast- Just eggs

Lunch- Sandwich, no mayo, sometimes no cheese, a piece of fruit and a granola bar

Dinner- Limited Restrictions, whatever she felt like cooking or picking up, within reason

Brooke’s total weight gain during pregnancy was 32 pounds.  She says she looked normal again at 3 months and lost all of the baby weight before she was 5 months postpartum. She also feels that breastfeeding helped her lose the baby weight.

For more postpartum workout tips check out these articles: Losing the Baby Weight with Youtube and Getting Back Into Jeans, After Baby

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