Calorie Burn Challenge Workout of the Week—Amelia Baker

10 September 2021
Amelia Baker, Chief Marketing Officer for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, working out in the fitness center

Meet Amelia Baker, Chief Marketing Officer, and do her weekly workout for the Calorie Burn Challenge!

Hi! I’m Amelia Baker, the Chief Marketing Officer for the YMCA of South Hampton Roads. But, I am more than that...I am a new mom, I love to travel and see new places (I even went to Nicaragua with the Y to help kids learn how to swim...such a great experience), and I actually love to workout. However, that love for working out is something that I have had to recently fight my way back to. There are a few factors for me that made my love for exercise fade; first, bringing a child into the world is the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced, but, as you can imagine and as some of you have experienced, it changes everything. 

Mack, my son, is a year and a half old, and if you do the math, and count backwards to his birthday (March 12, 2020) you may recognize that month—the birth of my first child fell during the beginning stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic. So, the birth of my son and a global pandemic...things were a little challenging for me as a new mom. I was balancing being a new mom, being a professional and reclaiming my routines and health, all while dealing with changes that come from childbirth AND the scary reality of quarantine. Through it all, the biggest hurdle was the weight-gain from my pregnancy—I had 70 pounds to lose. 

When my son was a year old, I decided it was about time to lose what was left of that 70 pounds. I began my workout routine and for three months I got nowhere. That is not an exaggeration—no movement on the scale, but more importantly I was not feeling better physically. Then I realized that I changed the way I was moving but I didn’t change the way I ate. And for me, it was all psychological. Having a closet full of clothes that do not fit you, wanting to turn to food for comfort, stuck at home, isolated. It was really hard. 

My final breaking point? When the COVID-19 vaccine became available, I went to check my availability based on my job and physical health. When I entered my weight and saw that I qualified based on the simple fact that I was considered obese, that was it. I had to get healthier. I had given myself too long of a break from taking care of myself and I had to do better for myself and my new family. 

I retrained myself to eat healthy. I found time that worked for me where I could be alone with myself, uninterrupted. That time happened to be 5am everyday, and the place happened to be my basement and my front street (I am sure my neighbors look out their window before the sun comes up and think “why is that lady running back and forth so early?!), but it is perfect for me. It took a lot to get me here, but I am so happy I took those steps. 

Now for my favorite workout—this routine is right for me as I continue to work on losing the baby weight and get back to how good I felt when I was at my physical best. I will preface this with saying I LOVE to run, and I focus on body-weight workouts and whole-body. I do this routine at least four times a week (yes, from my basement). 

Today, I’m only 9 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, some of my clothes are beginning to fit again, I feel physically better and I feel more like myself every day. 

Warm up 
Treadmill—5 mins
Bridges—20 reps, 2 sets
Planks—60 secs, 2 sets

Workout (4 rounds)
30 second sprint 
double crunches—20 reps
Kettlebell Thrusters—10 reps
Push-ups—10 reps
TRX rows—20 reps
Resistance band curls—10 reps
Resistance band tricep extensions— 10 reps
Reverse lunges—20 reps