Growing and delivering a baby is one of the most incredible experiences, but it also takes a major toll on your body. While rest is extremely important after giving birth, it’s also pivotal to get your body moving again. Exercising after pregnancy may not be easy, but it can work wonders for your mental and physical health, which is so important during this time. Here are 12 tips and workouts to get back to yourself post-pregnancy.
Exercising After Pregnancy: The Basics
1. When to start
If you had an uncomplicated pregnancy and vaginal delivery, it’s generally safe to start gentle exercise a few days after giving birth or when you feel ready. If you had a C section or complicated birth, talk to your health care professional about when you can start exercising. Remember that it’s super important to get enough rest and recover after delivering a baby, but it’s recommended to get your body moving as soon as you can.
2. The benefits
Exercising after pregnancy is extremely beneficial for your overall well being. It keeps your body strong, boosts your mood, and protects against certain chronic medical conditions. It can help prevent postpartum depression, promote better sleep, increase your energy levels, relieve stress, and promote weight management.
3. Avoid lifting and twisting
Avoid lifting and twisting too much in the first few weeks after pregnancy to reduce the risk of hip, back, or pelvic pain. Since your ligaments and joints are more supple and pliable, it’s also easier to injure yourself by stretching, lifting, or twisting too much.
Exercising After Pregnancy: 3 Tips to Get Started
1. Start gradually
When you’re starting a new exercise routine post-pregnancy, it’s important to start slow and not overdo it. Start with low impact activities like walking or gentle pelvic floor and tummy exercises. Begin with a few minutes and gradually work up to 20-30 minutes at a time. Wait until after your 6 week postnatal check to start more moderate impact activities, and note that most people have to wait at least 12 weeks for high effort activity like running and circuit training.
2. Listen to your body
The best thing you can do when it comes to exercising post-pregnancy is pay attention to signs from your body. If you notice any pain, feel a lot of pressure on your bladder, or if bleeding starts to get heavier, it’s a sign the body needs more time to heal before getting more intense with your working routine. Be patient and allow your body to heal. It’s also a good idea to talk to your health care provider about any symptoms, as they can let you know what’s normal and what may require more attention.
3. Look into postnatal classes
Once you get the go ahead from your OB or midwife, consider taking in-studio classes such as postnatal yoga and Pilates. These classes are specifically designed for people who just had a baby, and some even allow you to bring your baby to class. This is also a great way to fill your social cup and connect with others who recently gave birth.
Exercising After Pregnancy: 3 Workouts to Avoid
1. Crunching Exercises
Crunching exercises such as crunches, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches, and sit-ups should be avoided for about 12 weeks after pregnancy. These exercises can exacerbate diastasis recti (abdominal separation), making the separation worse or even causing one in a previously healthy abdomen. Any movement that bulges the abdominal wall forcefully forward can further separate the abdominal muscles.
2. Running
Running is another workout that should be avoided until about 12 weeks after pregnancy. It’s a high impact exercise that puts pressure on your pelvic floor and abdomen, which have been stretched and damaged during pregnancy and birth. High impact exercises like running can increase the risk of injury and pelvic floor dysfunction. Increasing the pressure on your pelvic floor can also lead to urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. It’s really important to strengthen your ab and pelvic floor muscles before you start to run again.
3. Lifting Weights
As we’ve stated, after birth, the pelvic floor and abdominal area is weak, so it’s key to strengthen these muscle groups before you start lifting weights. Heavy lifting can create intra-abdominal pressure that can cause organs to drop from their normal position. It can also take up to 12 weeks for your muscles, vaginal tissues, and ligaments to completely heal. If you start lifting weights before this happens, you’ll be at an increased risk for injury.
Exercising After Pregnancy: 3 Workouts That Are Safe
1. Pelvic Floor Exercises
Your pelvic floor muscles support your bladder, bowel, and uterus. Those organs are affected by pregnancy and delivery, no matter how your baby was born. Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles will improve your bladder and bowel control, prevent prolapse, and stabilize the joints of your pelvis and lower back. Check out the video below for an 8-minute postpartum pelvic floor routine you can do daily to strengthen these muscles.
8-Minute Postpartum Pelvic Floor Exercises To Do Daily (Postnatal Pelvic Floor Recovery) | Pregnancy & Postpartum TV
2. Core Workouts
Your core muscles are especially weak after pregnancy, so when you get the go-ahead from your doctor (typically after your 6 week postnatal check up), it’s important to focus on these muscles to start strengthening them as soon as possible. Your core stabilizes your entire body and also helps prevent back pain and other injuries. Take a look at the 10 minute ab workout below, created for postpartum.
10 Minute “Loose Your Mommy Pooch” Postpartum Ab Workout | Lauren Fitter
3. Yoga
Yoga is an amazing workout to do post-pregnancy, whenever you get the go-ahead from your healthcare provider. It can help strengthen and tone the muscles that were weakened during pregnancy and birth, while also improving your posture and reducing your risk of injury from everyday tasks and activities. Yoga has also been shown to reduce postnatal anxiety and depression, so it’s beneficial for your mental health as well. The workout below is perfect for getting back into yoga and a workout routine post pregnancy.
Feel Good Postnatal Yoga for Core Healing and Flattening | Pregnancy & Postpartum TV
If you’re wondering how to get back into exercising after pregnancy, we hope you found these tips and exercises helpful!
This post contains affiliate links.
Did you enjoy this post on exercising after pregnancy? We’d love it if you shared it on Pinterest!
Looking for more post pregnancy tips? Make sure to follow our Life with New Baby Board on Pinterest!
