You are out of the newborn trenches. Woo-hoo, you made it. But as you look at your new postpartum body, you might be feeling all the things. Today we are chatting about working out after having a baby and why it's important for your physical and your mental health. Thanks for joining us. This is "Newbies."

Welcome to "Newbies." My name is Kaely Garcia, and I'll be your host today. If you haven't already, be sure to visit our website at newmommymedia.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, which keeps you updated on all the episodes we release each week. Another great way to stay updated is to hit that subscribe button in your podcast app.

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This is a fun episode, and I'm excited to start this little series going.

And so today our expert is Lori Harding. Lori, tell us about your family and where you are located and your love for Pilates. Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much for having me on. So yeah, my name is Lori. I'm located in Dallas, Texas. I am a fitness instructor part-time, and my family have one little daughter.

I'm a single mom, a solo mama by choice. So yeah, it's just me and her. And I got that Pi- I got Pilates going on, you know, teaching classes about-- I teach about six classes a week. That's so awesome. Good for you. Geez. And your daughter is under one, which is what we love. Yes. This podcast is all about parenting under one, so the fact that you can do that, geez, that many times is amazing.

Anyway, we will jump into all the fun Pilates questions and mom questions coming up. But first, let's take a quick break. Welcome back. Today we're discussing working out after having a baby. So first, I wanna get a general idea of how you are doing, Lori. So tell us about your birth story, when your baby was born, general idea, and how that incorporated into you eventually working out.

Yes, absolutely. So, my birth story was actually really, a really good one. Yay ... I did have a C-section, but I did have placenta previa, so we needed a, a C-section, so it was planned. And I went in the day that I was supposed to get the C-section. They did all the things, and they got her out, and there was just music playing, like the, my favorite songs playing while she was coming out, and they put her on my chest, and it was, it, it was literally so amazing.

And she is an IVF baby. She was, born on World IVF Day as well- Aw, how special ... which is another interesting fact. Yes. And then, you know, I, I had my postpartum what is it when you... I'm trying to think right now. Maternity leave? Or no, when you like, take time off work. Maternity leave.

Maternity leave. Ah, yeah, no. Girl, I have a infant as well. I have mom brain. Yeah, maternity leave. Well, yes. I went right into maternity leave. I had gotten laid off of my corporate job at seven months pregnant. So, I kind of was already in, like, a maternity leave already right before I had her Alessia.

And then, yeah, I kind of, like, spent the newborn tren- and then... It wasn't really a trench for me. That's good. It was actually really enjoyable, honestly. But I went through the newborn phase, and then right when I got cleared 'cause I did have a C-section, so I waited about eight weeks before I jumped back into working out.

Now, I was a Pilates instructor and doing Pilates before I had Alessia, about two years before So, I already had experience with working out and being on the reformer. And then at eight weeks when I got cleared, I went back and I took a class, and honestly, it's like, it was like I had never stopped.

I, I... It's gonna sound crazy, but we can d- dive deeper into that. Oh, I love that. So I guess backtracking a little bit. Yeah. So once you got cleared around eight weeks, and you said you had a really good birth, which is amazing, so nothing, no major, like, birth trauma or things you had to work through. I guess, when did you start feeling comfortable working out again?

And I'll talk on my end, I don't work out besides walking and chasing- a toddler. So, for me, it was, like, around, I remember in the early phases, like week two, week three postpartum, I would, like, go for a long walk- Mm-hmm ... and then I'd be, like, cramping the next day, and I'm like, "Okay, no." Mm-hmm. So it definitely was after, like, that checkup, that six to eight week checkup for me.

It's like, okay, I can go on a walk and not cramp, and I- Yeah ... stopped bleeding by then, right? And so- Yeah ... it was good. So for your end, when did you start feeling comfortable to actually, like, slowly incorporate Pilates again without, I guess, any aches and pains that come with it? Yeah. It was honestly around the, that eight week mark where I felt safe, really.

I know I was walking maybe a couple of weeks postpartum, honestly, a couple of days postpartum. Because they want you to kind of move your body when you're in after a C-section, but not anything too crazy. Like, I would take a walk in the dr- like, down the driveway, down the sidewalk, up and down- Mm-hmm

the sidewalk. Nothing too crazy. But yeah, I started feeling more comfortable around that, that eight week mark, like, right when I got cleared, right when my doctor said, "You're able to go do some core workouts," things like that. That's when I was like, "Okay." But before that, I was not on the reformer.

Even a little while I was pregnant, I wasn't really on the reformer due to the placenta previa. And so when you did start working out, I guess what type of movements, especially like Pilates related, right? So what's, like types of movements did you focus on? You said core. Yes. I guess for me, I'm trying to think, I wasn't really that sore.

I had a really easy second birth. Mm-hmm. But I for one wanted to work on strength, you know what I mean? Yes. Like I was like, "I feel kind of weak." And so what type of movements did you incorporate early on? Yeah. So the type of Pilates that I teach and that I take right now is Lagree style. I-- and that's more strength training, so it's a very contemporary Pilates.

Pilates inspired, like all the moves like bear, planking the upper bodies. There's moves called like sexy back. That's a Lagree, that's a Lagree style. So it's a little bit more strength training on a reformer a little bit more heavier tension obviously using the center core, really centering through laying on your supine using the lower body to lift and lower, kind of contracting from your core and things like that.

So those are the exercises that I went right into eight weeks postpartum. So really working on my core lower body, arms obliques, basically full body, if you will. I love that. Oh- Yeah ... you've been feeling so strong. Okay. So next question before we jump into our next break is what did you, in the early days, like early months, so like month four, five, six, what did you love or hate about working out postpartum?

And for me, I have two. For me I don't do daycare with my kids 'cause I work from home. Mm-hmm. And so for me it was finding time where they're like both calm and I can actually get away. And then two is the whole, I don't-- I still struggle with this, which is kind of embarrassing, but the showering situation.

Oh, yes. I plan out basically my whole week. Like, okay- Yeah ... today's gonna be a night shower 'cause we went to the splash pad, you know? And like this morning I'm, we're not doing anything, so we're gonna do an early morning shower. So squeezing time in to shower was so difficult for me when I do go outside and like actually take a brisk walk.

I guess, what are some of your things that you love, hate about working out postpartum? Yes. Okay. I will say I love how it makes me feel. Yes ... I love how mentally it works mentally with my, like mind and making me stronger and more happier. And just having that time to myself to really pour into myself so I can be a better mom.

I do dislike, sometimes it is hard to find time to work out, honestly. For sure. It's few and far between, especially as a fitness instructor. So I'm always like helping other people and I even help other moms during postpartum and pregnancy in some of our exercises. So I'm teaching six times a week, and then sometimes I find myself going a couple of weeks without working.

Mm-hmm. Without working out. So that's what I would say I, I don't too much care for, Like with working out postpartum, 'cause it's just the time, you know? And then I'm a solo parent, you know, by choice, and so, it's just, it's just me and I have to lean on my village, and if my village is at work or just not available, those workouts don't get complete, you know?

And then it-- I just have to try to find time. Oh, definitely. I could so relate to that. Well, we talked a lot about Pilates. We're gonna dive deeper into Pilates, but first let's take a quick break. Welcome back. We are continuing our conversation with Lori. So like I mentioned before the break, we talked about Pilates.

What is Pilates? For someone listening and they're like, "Is that yoga? Do you use weights?" Like exactly what is Pilates? And I know there's a, a lot of different types of movements amongst Pilates, so just generalize it for, for a toddler, you know? Just really quick, what exactly is Pilates, and I guess, you know, how can it be so beneficial, and how is it different than yoga?

Yeah. Okay. So I know Pilates, it was created by Joseph Pilates, the late Joseph Pilates and it was to help people with mobility, flexibility, and things like that. And then, you know, throughout the years it's kind of gotten a lot more contemporary. It's like the, a lot of the women do it now.

And I know a lot of people do it for toning and a lot of people do it for like, even recovery if you have like an injury. I know that's like the fundamental Pilates. But what it is today and like what I actually teach now mine is way more contemporary and way more strength training. It's Lagree style Pilates on a reformer.

I know Joseph Pilates also did stuff on the mat, on the floor and then the reformer was to help people to get into those moves. But yeah, it's just like there's that classical side and there's a contemporary side. I can't speak much on the classical side, but I know a lot about the contemporary side.

We play loud music in there. The lights are down. We got It's a lot going on. There's a lot of holds and pulses. Like I said, that's, that's the Lagree style, the Lagree side of Pilates. And it's, yeah, the more strength training side. So there are two, there are two different sides of the whole the name Pilates, you know?

And how did, how exactly, 'cause you said you did it before you even got pregnant. How did you get into Pilates? Like, obviously I feel like we're women, everyone tries different workouts, but you obviously stuck with Pilates. I also really love Pilates. Love it. But what made you stick with it, and what did you like about it?

Yeah. So how I got into it first I was working at a barre studio, and that's more kind of like ballet-inspired workouts. I was working at a barre studio for a little bit, and I was working the front desk, and I wanted to become a barre instructor. Didn't work out. Pandemic happened and everything like that.

So then I went over to it's called SolidCore, and that's kind of like Lagree-style Pilates. I worked the front desk there, and from there the instructors and my leadership encouraged me to be an instructor. I tried out and I became a SolidCore instructor. I went through the t- two-week training, very, very, very intense training.

I feel like that's what got me where I am today. So there I got recruited by Carrie's Pilates, which where, where I'm at right now, Carrie's Pilates. Got recruited by Carrie's, ended up dropping SolidCore, got pregnant. And then just taught throughout my pregnancy. At 20 weeks I was diagnosed with placenta previa, so I could no longer demo on the machine.

So from 20 weeks to 36 weeks, which is what I went up to, I just stayed in just t- instructing, walking around, talking, really giving those cues. And I really liked it because I loved, I loved how strong it made me feel. From when I st- did SolidCore, I felt sore. I felt like I got a good workout. I f- I saw the difference in my body.

I did a 30-day challenge where I did 30 days of SolidCore, which is highly not recommended, but it's just something I wanted to do. I wasn't pregnant. I wasn't pregnant. I did 30 days of SolidCore. I saw such a difference in my body. I felt stronger. And I, and I, yeah, I swallowed that pill and I'm now a Pilates girly for life.

I love that. Oh, I love that. Yeah. I need to find a good Pilates studio near me. Mm-hmm. I love, and jumping into the next question, I love how it-- you talk about strength, right? I love feeling stronger. I love-- I, I actually don't like being sore at all. Like it's just- Okay ... not something I like, but I like stretching- Yeah

if that makes sense. Yeah. And I feel like with Pilates you can kind of tune it to your own, like w- like how far you'll be able to go. And so, and it makes me feel confident, especially postpartum. Yeah. I love that you said you work with postpartum moms. So I guess with your training and your instructor how do you encourage those postpartum moms?

'Cause I feel like we have good days and then we have bad days. Yeah. Some days clothes fit, and then the next day you're like me, six months postpartum and get your period back and you're like, "Okay, now I'm bloated. Like, what is this?" So how does Pilates, working out, movement, and you as an instructor help postpartum moms through the wave of emotions?

Okay. For sure. I love to always give modifications, for sure. So ways that you're able to still execute the exercise in a way that y- like your body is able to, being postpartum. I know, yeah, with the confidence and everything like that, it's like you see all these girls around you doing all these crazy moves and they're taking the amplifications.

I always encourage people to listen to their body and there you'll still be able to get a really great workout doing modifications. So I'm always giving modifications. I know women that are pregnant can't really be on their back, so- Mm-hmm ... I try to adjust the moves where you're not on your back. And just adjusting the class to where it's a lot more smoother and easier transitions and accessible for women that are postpartum and just reminding people that, just postpartum moms that, you know, giving yourself grace and slowly getting back in.

You know, you just had a baby and so many things are changing, like your hair might be falling out- Yeah ... breastfeeding and your jeans might not fit. Just giving yourself that grace and just moving your body for your mental health and for your community, just being around other postpartum moms and things like that, doing accessible moves for your body that are not too crazy or that's gonna spike your cortisol all the way up, listening to really good music while you're working out, going slow.

That's how I encourage the, the postpartum moms. I recently taught a mommy and me or a post- postpartum class, and a lot of the women were postpartum, and I think there was one pregnant woman, but everybody was under a year postpartum in the class, and we made all of the moves accessible. We had fun, encouraging music.

Babies were involved, you know, were in, in the carrier and things like that, and it was just a really good time everybody was able to really show out and show that they could do squats. You know, maybe if you can't go all the way down, you can go halfway. Or lunges- Mm-hmm ... where you can just do a half lunge instead of doing the entire lunge.

You know, some moms wanna sh- you know, show out, like, "I can do this. I..." You know. So it's just wherever-- We're meeting you wherever you're at, you know? If you can do a half lunge, do a half lunge. If you can do a full lunge, you can do a full lunge. Like, you know, we're meeting pe- the moms where they're at, so. Going into the next questions, what are some tips that moms can do in regards to Pilates? But you kinda answered it already. Yeah. But I guess for listeners who are like, "Okay, I'm motivated"- Mm-hmm ... I might put on YouTube, right? And like do a Pilates session. What are some things that you can do with your, you know, under one-year-old in a baby carrier, holding them while nur- I mean, I can squat and nurse- Oh, yeah

'cause I need to do that anyway, with a toddler picking up toys. But what are some Pilates movements that maybe they aren't even aware are Pilates movements that you can kinda... Which you kinda already did, but explain a little bit now. Okay. So like on a reformer or off the reformer, like at home?

Like at home, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Squats are als- always really nice as gets into the lower body. I know we do squats in our Lagree-style class. Lunges, back lunges, taking that step back, bending both knees 90 degrees. You have the baby in the carrier. I know you can get two-pound weights and do some shoulder presses, so raising the shoulders up doing some shoulder presses with baby.

Let's see what else. I know, like, you can't lay on your back with the baby. You probably can, but I know a lot of the, like, mat Pilates are, you know, it's on the back, so it's like the crunches and things like that. But I know getting into that lower body, you can do those lunges, the, the squats use the two-pound weight to kinda do the serve the platter, where you extend your arms out straight, bending the biceps.

Tree hugger, hug the tree. It looks like you're literally hugging a tree, bringing your knuckles together. That's another good one for upper body. And I, I guess for core, like there are a lot of exercises you can do, like standing core with the knee raises, driving your knee up each leg, one knee drive up, the other knee drive up.

Some oblique exercises, kind of moving your torso from side to side, or just even twisting from your torso from left to right. So yeah, those are some couple of moves right there. I wish I could show you guys visually, but Oh no, I love it. Yeah. That's so-- And I guess I'm throwing in a- another question, but like when you started to jump back into Pilates after having your baby, what was your aha moment?

I remember for me, not that I did Pilates, but for me, I like to go on really long walks. I did, at least when I was pregnant, like three, four-mile walks. And I remember like two miles in, I was like looking at my phone and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm doing it and I'm not even tired." Like- Yeah ... I'm finally getting my pink back.

Like, here I go. You know what I mean? So what was your aha moment, I guess? Was it your first class, your 30th class? Was it teaching a new mama? What was your aha moment of like, "Oh my gosh, I'm a mom and I'm now helping other moms and I, I'm good. I'm, I'm back at it." Yes. It was that first class for me when we were doing the exercises and I took the entire 45-minute class.

I did take breaks when I needed them, but I was very surprised with myself that I was able to even, you know, even do a crunch or a kneeling crunch. And j- just things that I used to do before I had Alessia, and I was still able to do it and engage my core, and I didn't feel like I was gonna like pass out or anything.

But I feel like I'm, what? I'm eight months postpartum. I would say within the last two to three months I've been feeling a lot more confident with teaching and just programming my workouts and helping other moms like that. It's, I feel like it's slowly like, you know, coming, that pink is coming back.

But yeah, it was that first class for me, I guess, getting on the reformer and doing all the exercises and it didn't feel like anything new. It just, it felt like I'd, you know, I had been doing it all along. I had just taken, what? Six months off or no, not six months. Eight. Yeah, longer than six months 'cause I was pregnant and so yeah.

I love that. That's when-- Oh, yeah. And then you get into the class, and then now you get to cuddle your baby. Yes. Like, I get it. Everything's so much better. Yay. Oh my gosh. It was amazing. We got a little bit more questions coming up. But first, let's take one of our last breaks. Welcome back to "Newbies." We are continuing our topic about getting your pink back, working out after having a baby, Pilates edition.

So Lori, we spoke a lot about Pilates. We spoke a lot about the at-home workouts you can do. Tell us about where you work, because we have listeners everywhere, and you're in the Dallas area, which is huge. So I feel like some of our listeners are in that area. Where exactly do you work? Tell us a little bit more about that.

Yeah. So I am at the West Plano, West Plano studio. Ca- it's called Carrie's Pilates West Plano. We have a location in Trinity Groves in the Dallas area, and then we also have a location in Las Colinas area as well. Carrie is growing rapidly. She has locations in California, Ca- Canada, and I think, yeah, there's something coming to Houston soon.

So, she's, she's growing. So yeah, that's where I'm at, at the West Plano location for Carrie's Pilates. I love that. Okay, and a few more questions. So what classes generally are offered? And then you said that you did a mommy and me class. Are-- Was that like a one-time thing? Are you gonna do that more often, maybe engagement-wise?

But tell us about the classes offered where you are at. Yeah. So we offer a full body class, so you're-- we're working your upper body, lower body, obliques, and core. Then we o- I, I teach, it's called Abs and Ass, so it's mostly core and lower body the entire class. There's no upper body there. We, we did our first mommy and me class in, on the 11th of April.

We plan on doing more. So they're like special events. They're not like every, like they're not on the schedule, but we- Mm-hmm ... we plan them out. We're gonna have more for sure. I know we did baby, babies that were not walkers, so they want to do babies that are walkers. So we might do something- Oh my gosh

with mats outside. Okay. 'Cause reformers might be a little dangerous for walkers. Oh, yes. So yeah. Yeah, that was a special event. I'm on the schedule in the middle of the day and then on Friday mornings as well, so.

I love that. And it's such a-- That's good that it was crawlers basically. Because-- And there's a huge difference too, 'cause I d- I have a three-year-old and then a seven-month-old. Mm-hmm. From like babies who can walk and like toddlers who can walk. Yes. There's a huge difference. But I do think an outdoor mat would be so nice and pleasant for like a one-year-old, a 1.5-year-old.

Yeah. I think the two-year-old would be kind of like-- 'Cause they can talk by then. They can run. They can say no. And so- They're able to run. Yeah ... that's really funny. Anyway, this has been a very pleasant conversation. How can anyone keep in contact with you? What's the website for where you work? If you wanna give your socials, you totally can.

But how can people get in contact with you if they have any Pilates questions about the studio you work at? Yes, absolutely. So my handle on Instagram is Lori, L-O-R-I, H underscore underscore. I do have a private profile, but I'm okay with anyone who wants to follow and who wants to have questions and things like that.

So that's my handle on Instagram. That's probably the best way to get in contact with me. And then if you wanna book a class with Karis Pilates, you can go to the Karis Pilates website, go to the location, West Plano, and you can see my schedule. And they, there's pictures and there's everything like that.

And I can even give some of the listeners a first time free class if they would like for their first time. So yeah. I love that. Yay. Awesome. Well, geez, we did it. We have two babies with us. Thank you so much for joining me on this episode. I'm excited to continue the conversation and interview different type of instructors.

This was a good, fun Pilates edition. Thank you, Lori. Absolutely. Thank you. Be sure to check out newmommymedia.com where we have all of our podcast episodes plus videos and more. That wraps up our show for today. Thanks for listening. If you love newbies as much as we do, please consider checking out the amazing businesses that sponsor our show week after week, and we'd also love for you to tell another new mama about this resource, which of course is absolutely free.

And if you wanna check out some of our other podcasts we produce such as "Preggy Pals" for pregnant mamas, "Parent Savers," which is parenting multiples, "The Boob Group," all about breastfeeding, and "Twin Talks," then visit our website at newmommymedia.com. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram for more information, giveaways, and more.

Our handle is @newmommymedia. Thanks for listening to "Newbies."