Okay, so we’re well into February now, and a lot of us have ‘fallen off’ our New Years resolutions. This is about the time it starts to happen… I get a lot of questions about which workout programs are the best – the easiest to do at home, the quickest, the most efficient etc, so I thought I’d put together a little post for you of some of the programs (and resources) I’ve used over the last little while.
Yes, I was pregnant until December and am now [almost] 10 weeks postpartum (OMG!), but that didn’t mean I really took it easy with my training. I was SO fortunate to have an amazing pregnancy where I was able to continue working out (with fairly limited modifications) until the day Raeleigh was born (see above for proof! ha)
Alright, so here’s a little of what I did during pregnancy and what I’m continuing with now.
OK… first up…
>> Hannah Eden – Unleashed
I can not say enough GOOD about this program…honestly. It’s probably my favourite that we’ve done so far. I have a love hate relationship with it actually… it was REALLY hard. But so great! We started this one last year I think in January, so this is the one I was doing when I found out when I was pregnant… so I continued this and because it was relatively early pregnancy I didn’t need to modify at all which was great!
I can not say enough GOOD about this program…honestly. It’s probably my favourite that we’ve done so far. I have a love hate relationship with it actually… it was REALLY hard. But so great! We started this one last year I think in January, so this is the one I was doing when I found out when I was pregnant… so I continued this and because it was relatively early pregnancy I didn’t need to modify at all which was great!
I would recommend having access to a gym if you’re going to do this program. There were definitely a couple workouts from this program Greg and I managed to do at home, because we just needed dumbbells or whatever the case was, but most of them we were happy to be at the gym (needing things like the rower, various kettlebell weights, somewhere to toss the medball, etc)
It’s a 12 week program and you get 30 workouts! So you only repeat the workouts once, six weeks apart. LOVED this program so so much!!
NOTE: Hannah has another program called ‘FOCUS’ that just came out, and we’ve purchased it but haven’t started it yet! I wanted to get back into the swing of things PP before hopping into her intense programs! But you can check that one out here. It’s a little more expensive than the UNLEASHED program but it comes with a meal plan, and there’s also a mindset component to it! I will do a post once we’re more into the workouts!
Second…
Another one of my faves (who am I kidding, these are all my faves, otherwise I wouldn’t be posting about them, haha)
>> Jess Allen – The Blonde Ponytail – Functional Fitness Defined!
I’ve been following Jess for a while and LOVE her workouts. She posts them every so often on her instagram and I’ve done many of them. So when she put out her most recent program – Functional Fitness Defined, I knew I had to try it out. I did this one in late pregnancy… This is the one I was loosely following until Rae was born. I did have to modify some of the plank and push up stuff (for obvious reasons) when I got super big, but overall I was able to do most of it til the end. She had an interval day on Wednesdays which I usually subbed out for something else to be honest because a) I was too pregnant to comfortably do the running cardio the plan called for, and b) I just don’t love running so I did some extra stretching and core stuff on the interval day!
Jess is a fan of Hannah Eden as well and has done several of her workouts as well, so these workouts are definitely a similar style to Hannah’s which I LOVED.
This program is 8 weeks in length with 5 workouts a week.. no repeats!
Third up!
Andrea Allen – Deliciously Fit n Healthy – Ultimate Pregnancy Guide
I’ve been following Andrea for awhile as well, since before I was pregnant, and she’s got some great stuff! Obviously, this is geared towards pregnant ladies so if you’re NOT, I would recommend one of the other programs I’ve listed here. To be honest, I loved all the info in this guide… tons of stuff on Diastasis, pregnancy safe info etc… but the workouts themselves I found a little bit simplistic (for what I was interested in). They just weren’t really my style. They were VERY straightforward and easy to understand though, so that might be just what you’re looking for!? I DID pull from some of these workouts – mixing and matching, but I didn’t actually follow the program listed in the guide.
The nice thing about this program is you get 25 workouts total (some upper body, lower body, full body, etc) and in her calendar it will say ‘Upper body day’ or ‘Full body day’ and you select which one you want to do on that day. It’s also great if you want some meal suggestions (she’s not vegan so these weren’t that helpful for me) or like I mentioned, lots of info on DR and pelvic floor stuff! Overall it’s a good plan, it just wasn’t completely my style.
Lastly – I alwayssssss go back to recommending the Beachbody on Demand program (man I’ve recommended this thing so much I really should be selling it haha).
There are so many workouts available to you if you purchase this program. It’s 100 bucks for 1 year of use and it’s MORE than worth it. This is my go to if I’m travelling, working out at home or just need something tried and true! The programs are amazing and so many of them you don’t need anything at all… just a tiny bit of space and some willpower to get through it 🙂
I don’t think I am missing any of my recent faves, but if I am I’ll do a follow up post ! Would LOVE to hear about your fave workout programs. I am ALWAYS interested in trying new ones. Also, if you have any fitness people you love following on Insta… please share!! I get so many of my fave workouts from there 🙂
Have an AMAZING long weekend, friends! I’ll see ya soon with another post on some of our fave things we’ve been using with/for Raeleigh!
xoxo
Andrea