How often should you do Post Natal Pilates to see results?
I don’t think that I am going to provide you with the answer that you want to hear but I challenge you to make it all the way through this article. I promise that it could have a powerful impact on your life.
I am assuming that if you are reading this, you are looking for results after having your Bub. That is by no means a bad thing! In fact, it’s a great thing. As human beings we like to set goals and strive for an outcome. It brings us clarity and keeps us accountable and motivated. My concern is with the original intent of that goal, which can lead to an unhealthy journey towards the result.
I urge you to set goals but I encourage you to question what you are truly seeking.
Let me explain what I mean with a story, but first let me give you some context...
I have worked in the fitness industry for 10 years and have witnessed patterns of behaviour around exercise from clients AND trainers. I can say without a doubt that some work and some don’t, and in my opinion, it has a lot to do with the persons initial mind-set.
Ok story time – about body image
I have witnessed a lot of people fall into a habitual loop of feeling bad about their body, starting an exercise program and hoping for results ASAP! They fall off the band wagon after a few weeks and at the end of it – they feel like a failure for stopping. This feeling of failure has much deeper consequences for that person.
Months or years later, they go through the same vicious cycle.
Picture this
You begin an exercise program and your main goal is to lose 5kg. You have been told that it is ideal to lose 1kg/week so it will take you 5 weeks to reach your goal! Doesn’t sound so bad right? You go into a calorie deficit and you drastically change your diet and cut out coffee and alcohol...maybe have some shakes and ‘skinny tea’.
2 weeks later you find yourself at a birthday party with food and alcohol around you and you have an internal battle about whether you should go for it and get back on track on Monday OR you sit there miserable and watch everyone else have a good time. You end up eating and drinking at the party and wake up Monday hating yourself and feeling unmotivated to get back into your shakes, tea and exercise regime. Suddenly, it’s week 3 and the end of week 5 seems like a lifetime away.
It becomes mentally and physically exhausting to keep up this routine and you consider giving up.
Your mind is conflicted and filled with negative self-talk and you look for any excuse to convince yourself that this diet is not for you, and it might be best to find another diet that will work better.
Whether you stop now or make it to week 5 and then stop, the damage is done. You now consider eating healthy and exercise to be too exhausting and not worth pursuing long term.
Now imagine if you change your initial mind-set.
You decide that you want to find a physical activity that makes you feel joy and happiness.
An activity that makes you feel energized when you leave and which makes you want to come back for more the next day. You realize that you much prefer to exercise in the evening as a way to destress rather than forcing yourself to get up at an ungodly hour. You also find healthy foods that you enjoy eating and preparing and focus more on ingesting foods that provide you with a tonne of nutrients because it makes you FEEL GOOD rather than the foods that an app says has the lowest calories. You go out for dinner with friends or family and don’t stop to think about the calories or how many minutes you need to run on the treadmill the next day to burn it off. Instead, you are present and engaged with the people closest to you.
You don’t worry about scales and instead focus on how much happier and fulfilled you are by making long term, healthy, sustainable changes to your lifestyle. Changes that YOU chose for yourself.
All of a sudden it’s week 5 and you have no plans to stop what you are doing....
Who do you think is most likely to lose the 5kg?
The point to my story?
If dieting and extreme exercise regimes aren’t working for you…I challenge you to consider an initial mind-set shift.
Ok, so back to the question! How often should you do Pilates to see results? Here is my answer:
I am a Pilates Instructor so Pilates is my thing! The question above can however, be applied to any form of exercise. Just replace the word ‘Pilates’ with whatever you prefer.
I want you to make a commitment to try ‘Pilates’ for 1 month. At the end of it, answer these 3 questions:
Do you feel happier after each class?
Do you feel excited to go back?
Can you see yourself doing ‘Pilates’ in 10 years?
If you answered yes to all of these questions – I encourage you to keep going! I can almost guarantee that the aesthetic results that you originally hoped to see will happen as a BY-PRODUCT of finding an exercise that you LOVE!
After all, life is too short to focus on scales and measurements. Not to mention, it is way to exhausting to stay self-motivated for the wrong reasons.
Focus on self-care rather than self-control and you will be amazed at how far you can go!
WRITTEN BY ALEX RICHARDSON
PILATES INSTRUCTOR BIO
Passion and purpose is her driving force, the visionary and driver behind the Duo wheel. A Registered Nurse, Doula-in-training and Cancerian. Nurturer at the core. Knowledgeable, personable and empowering, Alex comes with a wealth of experience & a proactive approach to health.
