Postpartum Fitness Guide for New Moms

We all know that pregnancy comes with some weight gain, as well as other physical and emotional changes. If you're like many other women that gained weight, you might wonder when to start exercise after standard delivery to get your body back.

Pregnancy and giving birth are lovely, on the one hand, but undeniably traumatic on another. The body goes through significant changes that cannot be compared to anything else. You might be impatient to start exercising to get back in shape, especially if everything went well and without any complications.

Nevertheless, you need to respect the fact that delivery isn't a simple thing and that your body needs time to recover before you go back to doing your favorite workout. It is recommended that you wait around six weeks before beginning to work on your postpartum workout plan at home.

Some of us are mothers as well, and we know how important it is to include exercise as part of regular postpartum care; that's why we decided to create this guide.

Remember that it is vital to take things slowly in the first weeks after delivery. When you are creating your post-delivery fitness plan, you have to consider well your goals, think about self-care, postpartum nutrition, and last but not least, physical exercises.

Goals

Of course, your main goal is to get back in shape as quickly as possible, but this shouldn't be the only one. Taking care of a newborn is full time and a very demanding job, and a lot of new mothers often forget about their own needs. You need to take good care of yourself, have enough rest, and make sure you have proper nutrition.

Postpartum Nutrition

Eating the right food is one of the crucial parts of postpartum fitness and self-care. Make sure that you drink plenty of fluids, like water, milk, and fruit juice. You probably know it already, but it cannot hurt to remind you that you should try to avoid soda and any alcoholic beverages, especially if you are breastfeeding. Try to eat food rich in protein, such as milk and dairy, fish, and meat. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can look for other sources of protein like legumes, grains, and nuts.

We understand that you want to lose weight, but make sure that it is happening gradually. The best thing you can do is to consult your doctor on how to lose weight safely.

Quick weight loss can easily lead to even faster weight gain, plus it can impact your breast milk supply.

Diet pills can sound appealing, but keep in mind that you shouldn't take them because they contain harmful substances.

Stage 1: Exercises during the First Weeks

One of the most common questions after giving birth is how soon can you exercise. It is important to emphasize that every woman is different and recovers at a different pace. Moreover, if you are nursing your baby, you need to consider a breastfeeding meal plan when you are thinking about starting with exercises. Nonetheless, use the first week to rest. Here we are talking not only about physical changes but general life changes that arrive with a baby. You will have to deal with a lot of things, not just getting back in shape, so it is great to take as much time as possible to recharge the batteries.

During the second week, you can start going out for short walks with your bundle of joy. Spending short periods of time in the fresh air will do good for both you and your baby. This week you can also begin doing the pelvic floor, known as Kegel exercises.

When you enter the third week, you can begin with light abdominal exercises and continue doing them into the fourth week.

During the fifth and sixth weeks, after bringing a new human into the world, you can begin to include pelvic tilts and neck and back stretching.

Stage 2: Exercises after Sixth Week

By this time, you have probably recovered enough to start engaging in more demanding exercises that will help you get back to your old self, if this is what you want. Nevertheless, we advise you to check with your doctor to make sure everything is alright, so you have a green light to start with more serious workouts.

Keep in mind that, if, at any point during a workout you experience any pain or discomfort, it is a signal that you aren't still fully recovered and you shouldn't continue.

Some of the exercises we recommend you to introduce slowly are:

• Kegel squats that target core, glutes, pelvic muscles and quads
• Crunch beats work your abs, quads, and shoulders
• Hamstring curls work hamstrings, glutes, abdominals, lower back
• Push-ups that will do wonders for your shoulders, abs, arms, and chest

Of course, these are just some of the plenty of other exercises you can choose from, mainly if you are interested in postpartum exercise to reduce tummy.

Conclusion

As much as exercise is essential, it is also necessary to take care of your overall well-being and take things slowly. We hope that you enjoyed our guide and that it will help you create your postpartum exercise plan. If you have some ideas of your own and would like to share with us, feel free to contact us.

See Also: Postpartum Challenges: What New Mothers Need to Know