I don’t know if you have noticed this but I have a tendency to wear baggy t-shirts when I workout because I’m self-conscious about my mid-section. This doesn’t do my cute lululemon pants any justice but I just don’t feel comfortable wearing the tight-fitting shirts yet.

After having kids my stomach hasn’t been the same. I’ve got a crazy amount of stretch marks and loose skin. It’ll improve with weight loss to a point where nobody would notice unless they saw me naked. But in the end the hanging skin just shrivels and makes for a very unhappy looking belly button. I’m afraid the only way to fix it would be to have a tummy tuck.

When I was pregnant I was measuring a month ahead because of how badly my abdominal muscles had split apart. When I gave birth to Penelope at 40 weeks my stomach was measuring 44 weeks.

Right after having her I would get a strange out of breath feeling every time I stood up. It felt like someone had punched me in the gut knocking the breath out of me. I would literally grunt. (It was attractive.) My doctor gave me a girdle to help pull the muscles together. He told me that this is usually issued to women who have had twins but since my diastasis was so bad he felt like I needed it.

He said that the good news was that with a diastasis this bad it was a possibility that my insurance would cover part of the cost of a tummy tuck. I could get that mommy makeover which is so popular.

I’ve toyed with the idea of having a tummy tuck since giving birth to Bridget. I go back and forth on how I feel about it. Part of me would love to have a flat stomach. The other part of me is fine being the way that I am just as long as I’m fit and healthy.

This morning I was playing with Penelope on the floor as I was washing clothes. When I started to sit up I checked to see how bad my diastasis was by digging my fingers into the space where my muscles are split. There has definitely been improvement since I’ve been working out so hard. Instead of having my guts bulge through when I do a sit up motion my muscles pull together and then split apart again when I lower down.

When I went to get ready to go to the gym I realised that none of my favorite workout t-shirts would be dry in time for my WOD. I hesitantly put on a tank top and headed out the door.

I drug both of my girls with me and had Bridget take pictures of us while we worked out.

A word from the wise… never have your kid take pictures of you working out if you are looking to have any form of self-esteem in tact once you see the pictures.

I had her take pictures of everything we did so that I could illustrate the workout…

BAD IDEA!

I felt awesome while I was working out. My movements were great and I felt like I must have really looked like an athlete.

We use resistance bands a lot when we do Brent’s workouts. I knew that if I wore my tight tank top the bands were going to slice my belly fat in half showing just how much fat is really there. But once I got there and started working out I forgot to be self-conscious about it.

This is how I thought I looked…

This is how I really looked…

Oh! There’s more where that came from. Here are a few fine shots from today’s workout…

 

I think it’s fair to say that I’m not in “tank top” shape yet… No matter how awesome I feel while doing a movement.

Also, remind me to never ask a ten-year old to take pictures of me bending over… ever again. There are some somethings I just don’t need to see.

Lastly, please feel free to refer any good plastic surgeons who are in the Denver area.

Now, the WOD.

We’ll call it…

I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This Jelly…

 WOD

(a little long-winded I know, but appropriate.)

Part 1

6 rounds

Snatch 3 times for every 90 seconds

Pick a weight that is 85% of your max strength… Here’s an instructional link.

Part 2

8 rounds per person

Resistance Band Sprints

20 seconds on then switch with your partner.

Part 3

8 rounds per person

Resistance Band Planks

(You wrap a band around your waist while you do a plank and your partner pulls on the band in an attempt to pull you off balance.)

20 seconds on then switch with your partner.

Part 4

(I don’t know what to call this.)

3 rounds each

Switch after every 20 seconds

You put a few resistance bands around a weight rack (see picture above) and pull your chest to it trying to keep your body parallel with the ground. While you hold this for 20 seconds your partner will shake the band to make it more difficult.

Part 5

Mean Kettle Bell Swings

6 rounds of 20 seconds each

You start off by doing a Russian Kettle Bell Swing

 Each time you swing it to shoulder level your partner will push it down as hard as they can in an attempt to throw you off balance. You feel really mean while doing it and you may be tempted to go easy on your partner but it’s best if you are just a bitch about it. You switch after every 20 seconds until you’ve each done it 6 times.

Part 6

Squat with a medicine ball and throw it across the room to your partner.

We did this for 6 rounds of 20 seconds while the other girls finished up another workout.

Part 7

The Ab Workout From Hell

each exercise was done for 8 rounds of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off.

Flutter Kicks

Mountain Climbers

 Kettle Bell Side to Sides

The end… finally.

I felt so good doing this workout! That is, until I got home and actually saw myself in the pictures.

I seriously considered scrapping the whole idea of writing a workout blog today and just pretending like I didn’t even see those pictures.

I decided to go ahead and carry through with my plans because this blog is about being brutally honest with myself. It will be a great reference to how far I’ve come in a few months down the line when I can actually wear tank tops without looking like the Michelin Man.