Today, I am a very proud husband.
Here’s why:
Jess took her first workout after giving birth to our youngest daughter Lily a mere 11 days ago as of this writing.
It was not an easy workout.
Ten exercises, mostly barbell compound lifts (squats, presses, etc.) supplemented by a little work for arms, abs, and calves, completed in a shade under one hour (we are both very hot on keeping rest periods to a minimum for best results and because we have three kids under five so time to train is limited).
Obviously she didn’t go “heavy” because my wife is not an idiot, but nor did she take the Michael and use weights that provided no meaningful challenge.
And yes, she has already copped for her share of criticism from the fat and lazy mums on Peanut (I am told this is a pregnancy/mums app), not to mention passive-aggressive comments aplenty from fat and lazy mums at the school gates (like, for example, when she and I walked our eldest daughter to school five hours after giving birth to Lily).
You may think me harsh for saying this, and if so I suppose you are right in a way.
But here’s the thing:
Jess would be the first to admit she’s not “super fit”.
The weights she lifts aren’t head-turning by any stretch of the imagination, her run times are below average for those who take this sort of thing seriously.
Moreover, her relationship with training can be spotty. She trains week in, week out (planned rest weeks aside), yet there are periods (sometimes lengthy periods) when she just goes through the motions because it’s all she can manage due to stresses on the work and family fronts.
But what she does has allowed her to bounce back from what is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most demanding physiological events the human body can go through.
In other words, Jess is reaping the rewards of making consistently (but not always) good choices over a great many months and years. And, grave medical malady aside, there really is no excuse to not at least try and get what Jess has got.
(On a tangentially related note, she was also back at work within three days, cold calling the directors of successful estate agencies to see if any of them wanted to buy her service. It has been most amusing listening to the handful of blokes who get stressed out by an unexpected telephone call lose their rag while Jess sits there smiling sweetly with baby Lily on her lap.)
Anyway.
You won’t be at all surprised to learn that Jess trains using my methods, and if you would like to learn them and have me support you as you put them into practice I recommend subscribing to “The Phil Tyreman Letter”.
Learn all about what you’ll get here:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/information/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman
P.S. I am not for a moment suggesting women do anything other than follow the advice of their midwives and/or doctors when it comes to training postpartum. Nor will I train a woman who is in this situation under any circumstances.
I am simply telling you about what Jess is doing because I am beyond proud of her and to make the point that if she can do it, people who have not just given birth are, frankly, without excuse.