One of our female clients wrote in the other day asking what the best way is to return to exercise after child birth. The best answer is slow and steady. You may be chomping at the bit to get back to the gym after months of minimal exercise, but give yourself (and your body) some credit.
Child birth is tough on a woman’s body (so I’m told). Not only will you be sore and recovering, but you’ll have a tiny baby who needs your attention. You’ll probably be getting over the bruising and stretching.
Your uterus is still contracting back to its normal size, and that’s not the time to be crunching abdominals.
Get Cleared by Your Medical Professional
Don’t even think about getting back into exercise until you’ve been cleared by your medical professional first. Be honest about how you’re feeling. You can exercise while breastfeeding, but remember you’ll need to use extremely supportive clothing. This is definitely not the time for intense running on the treadmill either. If you get back into it too quickly, you’ll risk injuring yourself and having to take a break from exercise for even longer.
Try a Course of Pilates
My personal view is that the best way to ease yourself after child birth in is to start with a course of Pilates.
The idea behind that is that you’re going to be targeting those deep, core stabilising muscles that are most impacted by nine months of having a larger stomach and being placed under strain. The key is that you get those muscles:
- Working
- Stronger
- Under Control
Once your core muscles are stronger, you’ll be able to start an exercise and fitness plan like ours again. How long should the course be? That really depends on you. Everyone responds differently after childbirth. It will also depend on how your pregnancy went and whether you exercised or not during that time.
If you exercise frequently during pregnancy, you’re more likely to bounce back quicker after birth.
A Regular Exercise Plan
When you feel ready and you’re cleared by your doctor, you can start a regular exercise plan again. You may be desperate to lose the extra pounds that you piled on during pregnancy, but this isn’t the time for dieting.
If you’re breastfeeding your infant, you’ll need constant fuel. You can still eat healthily (and definitely should), but don’t start to cut back the quantity yet. As we always say, your fitness is a marathon, not a sprint, and this pause from your regular exercise routine is relatively short.
You’ll be back to squats and resistance training before you know it – and as soon as your baby gives you a break in your schedule.
