Well, we got a happy message last night that a welcomed addition to our family has arrived! My cousin's new little baby Autumn Gray took center stage at Marin General Hospital and now she's got got me thinking about how postpartum fitness can begin to be reintegrated into a new mama's routine! Undoubtedly, getting back into the fitness groove has countless hurdles as well as benefits. Let's focus on the benefits shall we, including raising your metabolism, shedding those extra pounds, and keeping your energy up to fight stress, post-preggers blues, and fatigue. Not to mention its invaluable effects on your mood and overall well being -- plus you're setting a good example for the little tike :)
But the questions still linger - When? How much? Can I wear my white lulu lemon pants after labor day??
Firstly,you probably should not wear white yoga pants. But more importantly, you should get the a-ok from your doc before you start up anything new or strenuous, particularly if you tapered off your fitness routine during pregnancy or had a c-section. For those of you lucky ladies that had an uncomplicated delivery, the days of waiting to strap on some tennies a strict 6 weeks after giving birth a disappearing along the horizon.
If you feel strong after your first week after birth, you can start incorporating some light exercises:
- Walking: start slow, making sure you have a good sense of balance and pacing. Your body has just pushed a ton of relaxin through your joints so you'll be a little more limber and less steady -- watch your step!
- Light stretching - Stretching should always feel good, pushing to the point of heat and tension, never pain. Be gentle here - side stretches, child's pose, and roll ups are a nice way to ease in.
- Modified pushups - try a few standing up, leaning into a counter or wall. Keep your shoulder blades flat on the back of your rib cage, your sternum and chin lifted and tighten your abdominals from all four sides of your waistline. Keep the movement slow and controlled.
- Abdominals - Be gentle in your incorporation of abdominal work- I mean honestly, all those muscles just spread to kingdom come. Incidentally, babies take up quite some space between those sturdy obleques, so your abs will need anywhere from 4-8 weeks to come back together. The catch is, doing a bazillion crunches is not necessarily the way to zipper back up -- in fact crunches can sometimes do more harm if your not careful. Depending on your delivery, you will have a varying width of separation. Try lying on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Place your palm on your belly, near your belly button and begin to curl up slowly. If the soft space right in the middle of your belly is more than 3 finger widths, avoid curls all together and stick with very controlled pelvic tilts and leg slides (keeping low back on the floor the whole time, sliding one leg along the floor away from you at a time)... Beautiful shot below - hot mama!
When you do start curling again, alway imagine pulling your tummy down to the floor rather than pushing out. I like to think of my belly button as a button on a mattress (I mean who doesn't?!). That inward contraction will help fire into the deepest layer of abdominals and avoid pushing out into the linea alba, thus causing worse separation between your abdominals. Take a look below at these fabulous photos below-- notice the first picture her tummy is pouching out (boo) and the second its sinking down towards the floor. Nicely done Esmerelda!
- Kegels: Oh yeah, we can't forget these little gems. Strengthening your pelvic muscles are important for many reasons. Peeing when you laugh is one of them. Practice by tightening your pelvic floor (like you're stoping yourself from peeing -- don't laugh!) Try tightening the muscles for five seconds then release. Repeat a few times in a row, working up to holding the contraction for 10 seconds.
Fun weird fact: Lots of exercise can cause a build up of lactic acid in breast milk which tends to give milk a more sour taste and babies may not like it as much (clearly no bueno when screaming baby doesn't like their dinner)... so docs say to continue drinking lots of water during and after physical activities.
Remember fellow fitness fellas, take it easy, most important thing is that you're allowing your body to heal first. No matter when you begin to incorporate your fitness goals and routine back into your life, always remember to listen to your body, what feels good and comfortable. Be patient and you'll see and feel results before you know it!
Rock on mama!
Lydia
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-after-pregnancy/MY00477
http://www.babycenter.com/0_postpartum-exercise-is-your-body-ready_196.bc
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/postpartumexer.htm
http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_reconditioning.html
