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Fitness just felt different for the V.P.
Photo provided by Robin Arzón / Amanda K Bailey
of fitness programming and head instructor at Pelotonher pace slower and hercoreweaker.
The whole experience, as she tells SELF, felt demoralizing.
I felt like such a fraud.
It was like, How could I do this for a profession?
says Arzon, who also ran ultramarathons pre-pregnancy.
And I was thinking, I don’t even know what I’m capable ofdoing.
That was really scary.
I had to have a growth mindset and a beginners curiosity, she says.
Because starting over feels like starting over.
Heres some of her big takeaways on what helped her thrive during this period.
When I was pregnant, I felt there was such an obsession over the bump, she says.
Why arent we pouring that same energy into the fourth trimester and beyond?
Because that is actually when we need the most support, not the least.
So raising awareness of the emotional and physical realities of this stage has become a huge focus of Arzons.
We would never do that.
I truly focused on what my body could do rather than how it looked, she says.
Carve out small chunks of time that are just for you.
While adjusting to her new role, Arzon set aside small pockets of time forself-care.
During this time, she says, it was all about consistency over intensity.
It was earmarking 10 minutes a day for myself, she says.
Some days that meant literally doingbreathing exerciseswhile I was breastfeeding my daughter for the 17th time in 24 hours.
That might mean doing awalkor a 10-minute low-impact ride, she says.
And that was enough.
Ask for the support you need.
I had zero desire to be a martyr, she says.
I told the people around me what I needed and how they could help me.
Directly asking for what she needed helped them provide as much support as they could.
Prune your social space.
This was simply because I needed to create this cocoon of strength around me, she says.
Creating intentional boundaries around her social media use is nothing new for Arzon.
Life is the meal; social media is the snack, she wrote.
Acknowledge that its not all joy.
There is a really beautiful surrender to parenthood for birthing folks.
That is very real.
But its okay to feel your most joyful and grateful and also acknowledge when things arent going right.
We can be bothand, she says.
I was so joyful, so hopeful, and also truly mourning and grieving.
When you feel up to it, schedule workouts that make you feel good.
I still don’t know what I weigh, she says.
I re-defined hustle, she says.
Every little bit helps, shewroteon Instagram.
Bring yourself back to the basics to rediscover your why.
Theres no getting around the fact that progress just feels good.
And the answer is yes.
I still would move because I like who I am when I do.
