9 months postpartum and still focused.  Back in NY there was a park I would run to that had an adult workout area. The park included pull up bars, monkey bars, benches for plyometrics, parallel bars, and various other equipment that one could push, pull, and swing upon.  I would run about 1.5 miles to the park, do various drills for 20-40 minutes then run home.  I loved that routine.  It was there that I mastered my pull-ups and also my plyometric jumps.  I stopped much of this routine by the time I was about 4 months pregnant.  Since then I have moved, had my baby, and set up my own fitness studio.

Two of the first pieces of equipment that I purchased for my new studio space included the plyometric box and the pull-up bar.  Soon after I got the plyo box I started back into my plyo routines.  But I am just now getting back into doing pull-ups.  I had not done them for over a year (pregnancy plus postpartum).  I was sad to find that I no longer could do full pulls-ups.  Pre-pregnancy I was able to do 3-5 sets of 6-8 pull-ups at a time.  And now I can do NONE!  So I am back to the beginning again.  I am now back to doing assisted pull-ups (using resistance bands) and jump pull-ups.  In this video you will see me jumping off the bosu in order to get momentum to complete my pull-ups.

It is frustrating to not be able to do what I once was able to do.  But as I have said before, instead of dwelling on what we can’t do, we have to focus on what we can do and our new goals.  I hope to be sharing videos of me doing my full pull-ups one day in the near future.  But for now, here is what I CAN do…

The plyometric box (plyo box) is a great piece of equipment.  It’s intended use is for plyometric exercises.  Plyometric exercises or plyometrics uses explosive movements such as jumping  intended to increase speed, agility, and power.  In addition to improving muscle tone and the cardiovascular system, plyometrics also has shown to improve bone density. In my workout here, I am using the plyo box to do high stepping exercises, upper body exercises, and core exercises.  I am not ready to do my full plyometric routine yet as I stopped doing plyometrics when I was pregnant. I am working my way back into it.  Therefore, in this video you will see I am doing minimal jumping/plyometric exercises.

*Please be advised that plyometric exercises such as box jumping is advanced.  Do not attempt box jumps without supervision and instruction by a certified instructor.  If these movements are preformed incorrectly, it WILL cause injury.