As a mother or mother to be, being pregnant can be one of the most joyous moments in one’s life. Of course, there are the cliché challenges that comes along with it, but overall, I think most mothers wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. I could be wrong and just completely out of touch with reality, not being a woman myself.
A common worry that many pregnant women have is getting back in shape post pregnancy. This can stem from:
- Not knowing where or when to start
- Not knowing the safest exercises to do
- Afraid of being hurt in the process
Prescribing an exercise program to a post-partum woman is or at least should be obviously different compared to those who aren’t. The emotional, physical and mental component should be approached cautiously and thoughtfully. Getting pregnant is hard enough, going through pregnancy is another battle altogether and you throw that with getting back in shape post-pregnancy can be a lot for anyone to handle.
This articles intention is to provide you with a comprehensive toolkit that you can use without feeling overwhelmed, worried, anxious or any other ill feeling you may or could potentially have.
Where and When to Start
It’s important to not overly complicate this part. I would recommend consulting with your physician first and foremost before doing any form of exercise. Your safety is my number one priority and any coach that tells you otherwise should be fired or the very least met with extreme caution.
Where and when to start is going to vary from women to women. A mom who had a smooth delivery with minimal complications may have an easier time resuming to physical activities compared to someone who hadn’t. One simple thing you can start with is walking. It’s a low impact exercise that is safe enough to still evoke great benefits.
Regardless of where you were or currently are in your fitness journey, it’s important to start slow. I don’t care if you used to be a marathon runner or a body builder prior to being pregnant, trying to do too much too soon post-pregnancy can do more harm than good. Pelvic discomfort, joint pain, back pain, improper tissue healing and urinary incontinence are a few that comes to mind.
An increasing number of women stay active throughout their pregnancy, but often struggle on what to do post-pregnancy due to either misinformation or lack of information on what the best and safest approach is. There are guidelines out there such as the one done by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, I just personally think there too general and lack any practical beginners guide that can help a post-partum women get fit from start to finish. I have no doubt this comprehensive guide will do just that.
Getting Back in Shape
The common phrase spoken at nauseum is to “take it easy” or my favorite one “listen to your body.” By the way, my intention isn’t deliberate mockery or sarcasm, I am merely pointing out the common thread that is well intended, but often taken a bit too far. Of course, you should take it easy and listen to your body, but it doesn’t negate the need to get fit and strong to meet the physical and mental demands that comes along for a postpartum woman. With information at our finger-tips, comes along misinformation, coupled with non-easily digestible exercise guidelines for a post-partum woman to follow, it’s no surprise why prioritizing their own health and fitness may not be at the forefront.
“Over 75% of women post-partum want more information on at least one topic, with the highest percentage wanting more information on exercise, diet and nutrition.” Getting fit is as important to a post-partum woman as anyone else. One study, indicated a possible ‘barrier to entry” included parenting duties, lack of time and energy, lack of childcare and others. It’s clear that prior to prescribing an exercise program, factoring time efficiently can be a prime determinant of you adhering to the program or not. In lieu of that it’s imperative for me to encourage and reassure you the importance of doing something as oppose to nothing despite limited time.
Safety is of course the number one priority, but shouldn’t be used as a crippling stick to avoid challenging you. It’s all about giving the necessary tools you can use to improve and not normalize this idea to “take it easy”. You’re coming to us fitness professionals for help not to necessarily appease what you may want, but to challenge the status quo and push the boundaries in a safe manner. Getting you the results, you want is the ultimate end goal and it’s our job to get you there, whether it’s:
- To get your core strong again
- Reduce any form of pain that stemmed from pregnancy
- Get you lifting and running again
Results
Results
Results
Period
End of story
It’s important not to get frustrated with yourself during the post-partum stage of trying to get back in shape. Your body is still recovering and it will take time to get back in the groove of things and guess what, that’s perfectly normal. Remember to look at the overall picture. We aren’t aiming for abs, tone arms or a bigger butt initially. The goal is to build a sense of routine, habit, adherence, mental, emotional and physical confidence, improving endurance, getting you stronger, and a slew of other things. After all, you just brought another human being in this world.
Beginners Exercise Program
I don’t want you to look at this stage of your exercise program as an insult, but rather as a necessary safe gradual progression to get you in the best possible shape post-partum. It isn’t going to be sexy or exciting, but it will be necessary. Will there be cases for some of you breezing past this program, of course, however, for the majority of you, a beginner’s program will be your best start.
Exercise Program Take-Aways
This exercise program is a progression from start to finish that frankly any post-partum woman can follow with ease without feeling overwhelmed. Each stage is one month long and if you find yourself breezing through the program, that’s perfectly fine. The goal of the program is to help you get back in shape in a safe but semi aggressive manner. My job is to paint a picture on how you should progress, but it doesn’t mean you should hold yourself back, just be thoughtful in the process. Remember your body is still recovering from the pregnancy, doing too much too soon can do more harm than good.
Beginners Exercises (Strengthen Core/ Pelvic Muscles)
This stage of the program is core and pelvic dominant. Strengthening your core and pelvic floor can prevent incontinence and improve stability. It’s an important initial start to an exercise program because of how much stress it was under during the entire pregnancy.
Retraining your core isn’t exactly what you may have in mind. It isn’t doing crunches or sit-ups; it’s simply reteaching your abdominal muscles to work properly again. From deep breathing to a cat cow pose exercise. They may appear easy initially, but they’re necessary. By strengthening your core and pelvic muscle you allow your body to heal and recover a lot faster whether it be diastasis recti or preventing pelvic dysfunction. In addition, it also allows you to progress through exercises effectively and efficiently.
Intermediate Exercises (Body Weight Focused)
From starting with core and pelvic strengthening, you then move to a body weight focused exercise routine. This section of the program is a way to start applying resistance training to the body. It’s a way to place it under tension in a safe but yet effective way. The intent is to challenge you, but not cause you to quit or hurt yourself in the process.
You’re probably thinking, why not just prescribe you a weight training program as opposed to a body weight one. That’s a fair question. You see, the body is still healing, and it can take anywhere between six months to a year to fully recover post-pregnancy. A gradual progression from core and pelvic strengthening to body weight exercises is an efficient way to allow the healing process to happen without overly extending yourself.
As much as you may want to get back in shape quickly, it will take time. That’s the truth.
Advance Exercises (Lifting Weights)
After two long months of getting back to the groove of things, this final stage of the program is the muscle building phase. We start incorporating weights, intensity, repetitions and tempo. The program is compound and isolated base for both upper and lower body. If you find yourself fatiguing easily when performing compound exercises then the isolated exercises, don’t feel bad. That’s how you’re supposed to feel, I would be more concerned if you weren’t.
Compound exercises takes a greater toll to the body because you’re working on multiple muscle groups at the same time. Signs of fatigue while performing the exercises with proper form shows a great deal of intensity in your workout, which are all great signs of your body progressing from a strength and endurance component.
All three facets of this exercise program are designed to also correct any postural imbalance you may have developed along your pregnancy. Carrying a baby for that amount of time creates tightness, a rounded back, weak glutes, pelvis and a slew of other things.
Don’t be scared of the weights, believe me you’re more than ready to start lifting them. Don’t forget, getting stronger is also part of your overall goal.
You Got This!!!
Signs to Stop Exercising/Slow Down
It would be foolish of me as a coach if I didn’t include this section of the program. It’s an important part of the process. You see, some of you might end up getting ahead of yourself and it’s my job to reel you back in a bit.
Pushing yourself isn’t a bad thing, just be thoughtful in the process. Having just delivered a baby not too long ago, doing too much too soon can do more harm than good. I rather you be cautiously conservative in the process as opposed to being too aggressive.
I know with Instagram and you following your favorite celebrity’s post-pregnancy photos, it can look like their body just transformed overnight. First and foremost, it didn’t and secondly some women will recover faster than others, but that is the exception not the rule. Try not to get caught up with what is outside of your control.
Whether you had a vaginal or c-section delivery be mindful how your body responds to each exercise. I know I gave a little jab earlier in the article on “listening to your body,” it was joke in case some of you didn’t get it. You most certainly need to listen to your body, it’s the difference between getting injured or not.
Here are a few signs to either slow down or stop exercising until your checked and cleared by your doctor:
- Vaginal bleeding
- Vaginal discharge
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Pelvic pain
- Back pain
- Etc.
Do not persist if any of the following symptoms occurs when exercising. You should stop immediately and either lower the intensity of the workout or completely end the session. Listen to your body. Seriously. This isn’t the time to continue to push yourself. Trust me. You will still make progress, I promise.
Conclusion
I hope you realize that by taking that initial step post-pregnancy is a tremendous accomplishment in of itself. The fact that you are willing to get back in shape after delivering your baby is so admirable, at least to me.
It’s stressful enough to take care of your child and you couple that with trying to figure out how to bounce back post-pregnancy can be a difficult task to handle. Luckily you stumbled on this article to help you get where you want to be. From start to finish.
You got this
I’ll be with you every step of the way
Take care