My Non-negotiables For Self-Care During The First 3 Months Postpartum
Feeling overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood and wondering how you’ll find time for self-care? Balancing the two may seem impossible, but with the right approach, it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of Embrace your Real, I dive into the heart of managing those early, unpredictable months of motherhood while making space for your well-being.
You’ll discover practical ways to nurture yourself, from catching much-needed rest to nourishing your body in small but impactful ways. I'll also explore how setting personal boundaries and leaning into your intuition can prevent burnout + so much more.
I also discuss:
(00:00) Balancing Motherhood and Self-Care
(06:36) Prioritizing Self-Care for New Moms
(14:50) Daily Movement for Postpartum Self-Care
(19:48) Embracing Authentic Beauty and Confidence
and more!
If you want more from me, be sure to check out...
Follow me on Instagram: @juliealedbetter | @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Movement With Julie | App: https://sale.movementwithjulie.com/
Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy: https://www.macrocountingmadesimple.com/
Website: www.juliealedbetter.com
Get my eBook: FREE Macro Counting Ebook
Amazon Storefront: Julie Ledbetter's Amazon Page
Transcript:
[00:00:00] Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with Me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you with each episode and issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get hands, girl. Hello and welcome back to another episode on Embrace Your own podcast. We're diving into a topic that so many people ask me all the time, and that is the role of cardio in strength focused fitness. And that's one of the biggest questions that I get on a weekly basis inside my moment with Julia community, as well as just on my social media. Like, do you need cardio to build the body that you want? How does it fit into your routine? White type of cardio is the best and so much more. So that's what we're going to be breaking down together in today's episode. Before we dive in, though, I want to share this review. It comes from Hot Mess Express Underscore one. She gave a five star review and said such great information. This podcast is full of great reminders and such great information. Julie creates such a cheerful experience while listening. I've listened to every episode once and then went back to save the gold nuggets that are reminders I can keep in them in my back pocket. Episode five Ways to Beat Burnout was such a good reminder for me this morning. While listening, I can't begin to explain the positivity this podcast has had on taking care of ourselves and how it's so important, not just physically but mentally. You will not be disappointed in this podcast. Thank you so much for tuning into this podcast and thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send in this review. Honestly, your reviews mean the world to me and our team. It also helps people who stumble upon the podcast just kind of know how this episode a specific episodes are helping them or the podcast in general, and it also just encourages people who, you know, maybe some upon the podcast through a friend or just through kind of the explore page on podcasts. And it helps them, you know, make the decision if they want to tune in or not. So thank you in advance for doing that. If you guys have an Apple device or an Apple iPhone, iPad or even a Apple Mac computer, you can go to the podcast app, type in embrace your real and first make sure subscribe so that you never miss an episode. And then you can scroll all the way down to the rating and review section and there you'll be able to leave a rating and reviews. And that really just does help us out. And if you are over on Spotify, shout out to my Spotify crew. Thank you so much for tuning in. You can also rate the podcast over there. So if you go to the podcast page, you'll see their rate section up at the top and that just helps us again spread the message of empowerment, education and encouragement, which is my three main goals on this podcast week in and week out. All right, let's dive into how does cardio fit into resistance training and a specific routine, if that's what you have? I first want to start off by answering kind of the highly anticipated question Do you need cardio to build the body that you want? And the simple answer is no. You don't need cardio to actually build the body that you want. Let me repeat that again. You do not need to have cardio to build the body that you want. I know that goes against what we've been told, but stick with me for a minute. A lot of people assume that to get leaner or have that more toned look, they need to spend endless hours, You know, whether that's running or cycling or pushing through these long sessions on the elliptical. And while cardio has its place and can have a place in your routine, it actually is not the key player when it comes to changing your body composition. If your goal is to look lean and toned, what you really want to do is, is start with resistance training and that's going to help to lower your body fat, increase your muscle mass. And that's where it really comes into play. So whether you're lifting weights, using resistance bands or working with your own body weight, my personal as you guys know, if you've tuned in for a while or if you stumble upon, you know, my Instagram or my TikTok, I love dumbbell training, like demo only workouts, that's my jam and strength training itself builds muscle and building muscle is what effectively and efficiently burns fat. And that's what's going to give you that more toned look. Let me say that again. It's the muscle that gives you that lean toned look that you're after. And here's the cool part. Building muscle actually helps to boost your metabolism, meaning that you're going to burn more calories throughout the day, even when you're resting. So, yes, you might burn more calories during your cardio session versus your resistance training session, but you'll actually burn more calories overall through resistance training as cardio only burns calories while you're doing cardio, not after. Plus, cardio alone does not build muscle. So even if you lose weight through cardio, you might not get that lean defined look that you want. You might get smaller, but without muscle underneath, you're likely not going to see that toning. That's what comes from strength training. So kind of what's the takeaway here? You don't need to rely on cardio to change your body composition. However, cardio can be a great tool for fat loss, heart health, endurance. But if you want to look lean and feel strong, you have to prioritize resistance training. Let me say that again. If you want to look lean and feel strong, you have to prioritize resistance training, adding in a couple cardio sessions per week for your heart health. That's awesome. But the majority of your time should be spent building muscle if that's what you are looking. For if you want to build the body that you want and change that body composition. I know you're probably thinking right now, okay, if you don't need cardio, then why even include it into your routine, especially if you don't like it? Right. And that's a great question. While cardio might not be the key to building muscle, it is however important for overall health and fitness and does have countless benefits. If you don't overdo it, which we'll get into in a bit. But studies have shown everything from cardio helping to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, lowering stress levels, improving sleep quality, increasing your overall energy levels and cardio also helps with boosting your immune system, improving those cholesterol levels, lowering blood pressure levels, strengthening your heart health, and helps to reduce cognitive decline in your brain. Also, there's reducing chances of age related disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and so much more. So cardio does have a role in helping your body recover, right? Sometimes doing super like cardio on rest days, like walking your dog or working while you're on your walking pad. This can actually improve circulation, reduce soreness and help overall with your muscles recover faster. Really, it's not about burning calories. It's about keeping your body moving in a way that supports your dumbbell workouts. I me say it again. It's about keeping your body moving in a way that supports dumbbell workouts. And that's kind of the truth. With all of these benefits, there's one common theme, and it's not about burning calories. So many of us, and this was me, you guys for a decade plus my life do more cardio to burn more calories. But like I said before, strength training is going to be the most effective way for calorie burning as it actually increases your metabolism and helps you to burn calories around the clock, not just when you're exercising. So now that we kind of understand that we don't need cardio for building the body that we want, but cardio does have some pretty awesome benefits, how and where and when does cardio really fit into your weekly workout routine? So let's first talk about steady state cardio, which is any kind of cardio where you maintain a steady, moderate pace for an extended period of time. Think walking, jogging, swimming, biking, any type of cardio where you're moving slowly, but you're not out of breath. You should be able to chitchat the entire time. This is also known as Zone two. If you're familiar with the different zones of cardio training. This could be a whole nother episode that I do. But for now, if you're familiar with Zone Training Zone two. So how does this fit into your dumbbell training routine? Well, if you are someone who sets all day long, steady state cardio can be an amazing way to kind of break up your workday and get moving. Whether this is a 30 minute walk over lunch, a quick ride on your stationary bike, it helps to kind of offset the negative effects of prolonged sitting, which has been linked to countless health problems. Also not to mention, you know, just the mood booster that movement has, especially midday when you are sitting for so long, it can really have positive benefits on your mindset. It's also a great kind of distraction or a great thing to do if you're struggling to concentrate. So take a break, do some steady state cardio or better yet, if you have a walking pad and a stand up desk, I find that I get some of my most productive work done when I go down in my basement. I have my stand up desk and I just start walking and working. It really helps so much because it helps to improve circulation. It gets your blood flowing, which can help with focus energy levels, especially if you're spending a lot of time sitting down. If you have, you know, a job that's very sedentary, this can be super beneficial. Another reason why it fits well into your dumbbell routine is that it's a great option for active recovery. So this can help to overall improve your blood flow to your muscles without placing too much stress on them, which can speed up recovery and reduce soreness. And this is ideal for those days that, you know, you're too sort of fatigued to hit the weights, but you still want to keep that body moving. You still want to honor your body with at least 30 minutes of movement, which kind of leads me to the last way that it can fit into your dumbbell routine. So yes, I will always be an advocate, and I believe that you should do resistance training 2 to 5 days per week. However, you guys hear me talk about this all the time, you should be honoring your body with movement daily. So let's say you train three days a week. Steady. Say cardio is a great way to kind of move your body. A couple other days of the week, you really only need 20 to 30 minutes, like 30 minutes of walking, 30 minutes of a super light jog or 30 minutes of a stationary bike, 30 minutes of light yoga, Pilates. You don't need to break a sweat. You don't need to get out of breath. You just need to honor your body with movement. And when you do that, you are going to feel so much more energized, productive and healthy. If you are constantly including this type of movement into your weekly routine. So for me, my steady state cardio on a weekly basis is simply just walking on my walking pad while I'm answering emails, while I'm creating workouts, while I'm creating new programs. Which side note you? Guys. We have so many amazing things coming for the end of this year, beginning of 2025. Inside Movement with Julie. I'm so excited for you. But that is my steady state cardio. It doesn't have to be this formal cardio session. It just needs to be moving your body. So now that we've kind of discussed steady state cardio, I kind of want to dive into high, intense cardio. And this is usually done in the form of high intensity interval training, which is probably something that you've heard before, but maybe you didn't know that's what it stood for, which is hit HIIT. So if you see that capital HIIT that stands for high intensity interval training and hit is a great way to burn calories in a short amount of time. It's super effective if your goal is fat loss, right? Heart involves these short bursts of intense activity followed by brief rest periods. So the cool thing about here is that it's very quick and it's very efficient. It can be done in 15 to 20 minutes, which is perfect for those of you who don't have a lot of time, but you still want to see results. And so in a strength focused routine can really complement your muscle building efforts by helping you burn fat while maintaining muscle mass. This can also increase your cardiovascular fitness, so you kind of get the best of both worlds. But the key with here is to not overdo it. Yes, just because it's super beneficial and effective at burning a lot of calories in a short amount of time and it's effective. That fat loss does not mean that you should be doing it daily or that it should be your main source of exercise. And let me kind of explain why. When you perform hit, you're actually pushing your body to its limits. And while this can lead to calorie burning and fat loss, it also puts stress on your body, especially on your endocrine system, which regulates your hormones and too much stress from frequent high intensity workouts. This can cause a spike in cortisol levels, which is your body's primary stress hormone. Chronically elevated cortisol can actually disrupt other hormone levels, especially the hormones that are crucial for women's reproductive and overall health. This hormone imbalance, this can lead to issues like irregular periods, increased PMS symptoms and even metabolic slowdowns, which makes it actually harder to lose fat and easier to hold on to it. Plus, hit is tough on your body's recovery system. So when you're constantly pushing your muscles and cardio vascular system to the max, it actually becomes harder and harder to recover between workouts. And this means without adequate recovery, your muscles don't repair and rebuild as effectively, which can actually lead to overtraining and kind of breakdown overtraining. So overtraining is where your body is under too much physical stress to recover properly. And instead of burning fat, you can actually start to hang on to it. And instead of building muscle, your body actually starts to break down muscles. So essentially the body perceives the stress as a threat. And in response, it stores fat as productive mechanism, slowing down your fat loss and even leading to weight gain in some cases. Lastly, doing hit multiple times a week. This can lead to mental and physical burnout. So when your body is under this constant strain, it can leave you feeling fatigued, drained and very unmotivated. Pushing through without enough rest doesn't make you stronger. It just increases your risk of injury and burnout. And so this is why inside my mom, with Julie community and my workouts, my weekly workouts, I include hit once per week. So the hit session is always on the cardio days, so cardio and core, it's always on the cardio section. Or if you do the 30 minutes, it's kind of a burst of core and cardio together for that 30 minute session. And this is a great way to, you know, have that hit session. So if you want to do hit and you prefer to do dumbbell workouts, the majority, I would say 95% of the time, the cardio section inside the cardio core on a weekly basis utilizes dumbbells. I mean, every once in a while I want to challenge us to a bodyweight only cardio session, which can also be great if you're traveling or you have, you know, don't have access to dumbbells that week. But really think about this once per week is really all that you need to kind of gain the benefits of high intensity cardio without overdoing it. So let me kind of sum up what we talked about today. So how do you fit cardio into a strength focused routine without compromising your muscle building goals? Here's kind of what I recommend. Number one, prioritize strength training. So if changing your body composition to look more lean and toned is your main goal, focus the majority of your workouts on strength training, aiming for 3 to 4 strength workouts per week. That's going to be a solid plan. Of course you can do five, you can do two, but try to hit at least 3 to 4 on average inside my community group. This would I would recommend you hit lower body, upper body and full body if that's what you're doing for three days a week. If you're doing four this week, I recommend doing lower body, upper body shoulders and glutes and full body be. His in full body, you actually focus on core and core is actually utilized a lot as a secondary muscle in pretty much all of the movement. So you're working your core when you're properly performing each movement. So that's what I would recommend. Number to use steady state cardio strategically. So add in a couple of sessions of steady state cardio on your rest days or after your strength workouts or break it up. Right? So maybe you do a walking pad in the morning, your workout at night, or maybe you do your workout in the morning walking pad in the afternoon. This is going to inhale help to improve your cardiovascular health and really aid in recovery without draining your energy for lifting. This is also going to help you honor your body with movement on the days that you don't do your dumbbell workouts. And this is going to provide you with countless health benefits. Like I mentioned earlier in today's episode. If anything, try to just get, you know, 30 minutes of walking a day. Number three, keep hit, which is high, intense interval training, short and sweet. So if you're adding it into your routine, limit it to 1 to 2 sessions per week. This can be the quick, you know, 15 to 20 minute workouts that push you, but don't take away from your strength training gains anything more that's really going to take away from the results that you're looking for. And last but not least, listen to your body. Cardio should enhance your routine, not exhaust you. Let me say that again. Cardio should enhance your routine, not exhaust. You make sure you're balancing cardio with proper recovery so that you can show up fully for your strength workouts. Again, if that is your focus, if you want that strong, lean, toned look, you want to be prioritizing your strength workouts. And last but not least, only do cardio, if you enjoy it, you do not need to force yourself to do cardio if you hate it. The only thing I would recommend you force yourself to do is walk more. But if you hate hit or you hate jogging or you hate the elliptical or the stationary bike, don't do it. Don't lay that guilt on yourself. Do you know 3 to 4 dumbbell workouts a week? Try to get 20 to 30 minutes of walking in a day and you don't really need to do anything more to see the results that you want. Maybe some months you're more motivated to hit cardio sessions and some months you're just not into it. Don't force yourself. And please, please, please do not judge yourself for not doing it. The only thing that really matters is that you're hitting your dumbbell workouts consistently. Remember, everything else is really a bonus. Fitness is personal and it's all about finding the right mix for your body and your life. So whether you're lifting heavy or you're going for a jog, keep showing up and doing what makes you feel your best and realize that it's going to change monthly, weekly, and sometimes even daily. If you love this episode, I know you'll also love Episode 233 Resistance Training versus endurance Training. What your weekly training schedule should look like. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes that you can easily go to and into that, but that is all that I have for today's episode. I hope that you found this helpful. Now, if you, you know, heard me talking about, you know, these dumbbell workouts and you're very intrigued, you're interested, you can go to sale that's as elite dot movement with julie.com I will link that in the show notes below but that is my weekly workout plan where I give you five brand new workouts every single week delivered straight to you inside the app. If you're an active subscriber, all you need to do is click, you know, select your your 60 minute or your 30 minute workout. And there are video demonstrations for every single movement, alternate exercises. If you have no bench or if you need an easier movement or a low impact movement and all you genuinely need is a few pair of dumbbells and a small space, the bench is optional, resistance bands are optional. I always give alternate exercises, so there are really there is not a lot that you need to get these workouts done and dusted. And especially as we head into the colder and darker months. I'm telling you, dumbbell workouts are such a convenient way to get in your workout without having to even leave your house. You can literally do it in your living room. You can do it in your basement. You can do it in your bedroom. There are so many women that do it in all parts of their house and they're consistently getting their workouts in because Garbo workouts are so convenient. So again, go to sale that's. SAGAL E Gottman with julie.com. But that is all that I have for today's episode. I hope that you found this helpful. I love you so much. I mean, I'll take you next one. All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram. Be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's with an eye in the middle for that Daily Post workout rail talk. Healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it. [00:00:00]