Coming back to exercise after having a baby can feel so overwhelming. What should I do? What's safe? Where on earth do I start?!?!?!
This is exactly how I felt after having my daughter, I had no idea where to begin. I can't be the only one and would love to help you get back into it too.
When starting back there are some important things to keep in mind, which are what I'm going to take you through now 🙂.
First things first, before you attempt ANY exercise programme please ensure that you have had sign off from your doctor, this usually happens 6 - 8 weeks post birth, sometimes 12 weeks if you had a c section.
In my experience however, during the final sign off they tend to focus more on your mindset than your physical recovery. If you're thinking of starting to exercise again I would strongly recommend having a "mummy MOT". This is with a specialist physio and they will check important things such as your alignment and for diastasis recti, (this is the separation of the muscles in your tummy. It happens naturally to allow space for the baby to grow, however some separations are bigger than others).
When you have had sign off and are ready to get back to it, it's important to start slowly. Your body has been through a lot and needs time to ramp back up, please don't be too hard on yourself and expect to pick up where you left off before you became pregnant.
The one thing you can usually do straight away is kegels, also known as pelvic floor exercises. Hopefully someone (either midwife or during an NCT class) will have taken you through this during your pregnancy but if you're not familiar then here's how to find your pelvic floor and give it it's own little workout:
Finding your pelvic floor: sit tall on chair and think about lifting the middle of you up, you should feel it contracting. To check that you aren’t using your glutes, place your hand on your bottom as you contract. It’s OK if you’re tensing your lower abs a little however.
How to exercise it: start by holding for 5 seconds, followed by pulsing for 5 seconds at a time, as it becomes easier you can increase the time to 10 seconds, then 20 and so on 🙂. Try to do them a few times a day - whilst brushing your teeth is a good time, or just whenever you remember.
Your pelvic floor is a crucial part of your core, so not only will exercising it help with the more well known side effects such as 'leaks' but it'll also help rebuild your core strength.
Next, I want to talk about Relaxin:
It's very important you understand the impact this has on your training. If you find yourself all of a sudden more flexible and able to do things you weren't before you became pregnant that will be the effect of relaxin.
From the moment you become pregnant your body releases the hormone relaxin, which loosens your joints in order to allow your body to adapt to your growing baby. The really interesting thing (and something that I did not know before specialising!) is that it stays in your body the whole time you're breast feeding and a further 6 months after that! If you are unable or have decided not to breastfeed, it will still be in your body for up to 6 months post birth.
This is significant because it makes your joints unstable and more susceptible to injury. Be extra mindful to not push your joints beyond where they would normally go, avoid locking them and when stretching, hold the stretch for no more than 15 seconds. I would also caution doing any high impact exercises straight away.
Rebuilding your core:
Focus on gently strengthening your deep tummy muscles, this does not mean sit ups! It means things like slow glute bridges or leg lowers (laying on your back, with lower spine pressed into the floor, bring your knees up to table top, so they're above your hips, then keeping your legs bent slowly lower one at a time and tap your toes to the floor).
Exercising the top layer (rectus abdominis) before your tummy muscles have closed back together (the gap needs to be smaller than 2cm) means you could do more harm than good, so things like sit ups and mountain climbers at this stage are not appropriate.
If you're doing some gentle core exercises and you are unable to keep your tummy sucked in and engaged so that it keeps 'doming', then I suggest visiting your doctor or a specialist physio just to get it checked out and make sure you're healing well.
Last thing, just try to get out and move. If the baby will sleep in the pushchair, it is totally ok for them to have a nap in there each day so you can go and have a decent walk. Post natal yoga & pilates are also great but it can be very hard to carve the time out when you have a young child, so focus on things you can do which involve the baby or small, quick workouts you can squeeze in during a nap, or even while they watch!
Do things that make you feel good and please be kind to yourself, if all you've managed to do one day is take a shower or get the baby to sleep then allow yourself to celebrate those little wins 💖.
For any advice or support, I am always here, just ping me a message and I will help however I can.
You've got this 🙂.
C xx
Comentarios