Exercise in Early Postpartum
Once you have a baby life looks and feels completely different. Those early days can feel like a losing battle with trying to do anything for yourself (shower, eat, get dressed, etc). Your baby is literally an extension of you, and we haven't even mentioned the hormone roller coaster yet.
You have a big important role to play for that newborn!
First things first, when talking about early postpartum exercise we are not talking about "losing the baby weight". Mama please! You have enough to worry about right now. If you feel pressure about this then please understand it’s from society and it is NOT something you need to put your attention on right now. Things like keeping your baby alive, keeping yourself hydrated and fed and finding time to sleep when you can is your main priority! This time is so precious try not to waste it by worrying about the crazy idea's society has tried so hard to market to us about “bouncing back”.
So how do you know you are ready to begin thinking about exercise?
you're starting to get some sleep again
you are feeling less pain and discomfort when standing for longer periods and/or walking
bleeding has stopped
Ok so you are ready to begin exercise again - this is NOT the time to jump into a bootcamp class and go all in. You're body has been through A LOT over the past several months and it is very important to ease into exercise again. Slow and steady wins the race!
Here are some exercises to begin strengthening the body again, preparing you for more of a challenge in a Mom + baby focused class like the MamaFit or StrollerFit class I teach.
Video: Exercises for Early Postpartum
The goals here are to 1) Start feeling less pain/discomfort, 2) Re-gain strength and function of the core, and 3) Start feeling good in your body again!! If you start with 1-2 of the exercises shown and do 10 reps that is a great start! This should feel easy to moderate at the beginning, we are aiming for a 4 or 5 out of 10 in difficulty. Depending on where you are you might want to do all 10 exercises 10 reps each and run through it twice.
For cardio Light + Non-impact, ex) Walking
Start with 10 min bouts 1-2 days a week.
Work up to 30-45mins 5-7 days/wk, always make sure to be able to hold a conversation, about 4-5 out of 10 in difficulty.
As you get stronger and better this can improve with time!
Link to full video: Early Postpartum Exercises
Check it out and let me know if you have any questions!!
Jen xo