Before pregnancy, I was a planking machine. Point blank, I loved to plank. I did them almost daily, and my old personal trainer taught me to be a pro at TRX planks – those my friends, are NO joke! From straight arm ab planks to elbow planks to side planks to planks on a workout ball, I did it all, and I often challenged myself to see just how long I could hold them. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes… These “simple” but difficult exercises are one of my favorites. They engage various upper and lower body muscles, and are incredible for core strength.
I continued to plank and do pushups throughout my entire pregnancy; however, I had to modify once I was sporting a large baby bump. I was determined to maintain my strength and body as best I could throughout all 40 weeks. Then I had an emergency c section – and I felt like my core muscles were shot to hell. It was by far the hardest and most painful physical recovery I’ve ever experienced thus far, and at five months postpartum I’m still working on getting my body back.
I was cleared to exercise at five weeks postpartum, and the day my doctor gave me the OK, I signed up for a barre class. I felt better than I expected, except for planks. OUCH! I couldn’t even hold the position if I tried. Doing crunches were surprisingly easier than planks and push-ups. I couldn’t believe how weak and tender my entire core and mid-section was. In fact, they were so hard and so painful that I thought for sure I’d never regain the strength to do them again. But I was wrong. Slowly but surely, with a lot of hard work, determination and dedication, my planks are coming back. And I have a feeling I’m going to be a stronger planker than before.
The barre studio where I take classes incorporates a lot of plank work, which is a plus because when I embarked on the road to regain my body, I may have stayed away from them all together because they were so disappointingly hard. But every class, every plank and every push-up is getting stronger than the one before. I’m amazed at far I’ve come in just a few short months. I gained a whopping 55 lbs during my pregnancy, and as of Monday, I was seven pounds away from my goal weight. I honestly never expected to get to where I am this quickly.
Last night I took a cardio class at my barre studio and we did what I’m officially calling “cardio planks on crack.” Holy hell! So.Many.FastPaced.Planks! It was the first time I had ever taken this particular class, but I was psyched I didn’t have to take a single break during any of the plank work. Ask me if I could have done that a month ago and the answer likely would have been a big fat no.
Out of all the exercises I incorporate in my weekly workout routines, planks are once again becoming my favorite. Only now I feel like my regained strength is a true feat and accomplishment. I sorta feel like I’m planking off my pregnancy pounds, and I’m proud to be in the body I’m in every day. It’s strong, and it allowed me to carry and give birth to my beautiful baby girl. Which is a friendly reminder that I need to continue focusing on being strong and healthy rather than what my size is or what the scale says.
As always, thanks for reading blog lovahs! Be happy, be healthy and stay strong!
~Slparke
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