Three tips for postpartum movement
Those newborn days truly are the most beautiful whirlwind. There’s SO much to do and to think about after birth, but during those first few weeks, resting and cuddling with your little one is what’s most important.
Movement shouldn’t be the priority during the first stage of postpartum life and if you have a great support system, you may have family and friends to cook and clean for you so you can stay in your little newborn bubble and figure this whole parenting thing out. But if you’ve got bigger kids, fury friends or live away from your loved ones, you may find that you’re moving a little more than you may have expected in those early days
Regardless of how active you’ve been during those initial weeks, when you finally feel ready to introduce more formal movement back into your life post-birth (and once your healthcare provider has cleared you), here’s my top tips for ensuring you do get back into exercise safely:
PRIORITISE PELVIC FLOOR STRENGTH
No matter whether you had a vaginal or abdominal birth, throughout pregnancy and birth your pelvic floor experiences a lot of pressure which can weaken the muscles that make up the pelvic floor. This means that before you even think about running, jumping or even burpee-ing, you want to start strengthening those pelvic floor muscles again. Kegel exercises are great for this as you can perform them alongside your day to day life. For example, when you’re preparing your baby’s bottle or doing the washing up, you can squeeze your pelvic floor muscles (as though you’re holding in a pee and a poop). Hold the squeeze for about five seconds whilst controlling your breath, and then release. You can repeat this around five times and do it multiple times per day.
You can also incorporate some functional pelvic floor exercises such as supine toe taps, supine heel slides and leg lowers into your initial workouts to ensure that you’re strengthening your pelvic floor.
SLOW AND STEADY
You’ll likely find that in the beginning, movements that may have been a breeze before, may not quite feel right at first. And that’s totally okay. BUT it doesn’t mean that those movements are right for you or that you should push through discomfort or pain. Anything that feels sore is likely your body telling you that it’s too much right now. You might find that movements such as sumo squats and lateral lunges (which involve hip abduction) don’t feel comfortable, so you may want to save those for a few months down the line. If you start with gentle mobility, it’ll give you time to assess how your body is feeling, any areas of discomfort and what your body needs. From there, bodyweight movements at a slow tempo (for a squat you could control yourself to the bottom of the squat for four seconds, pause for one second and rise up for one) will allow you to reintroduce the fundamental movements in a safe and kind way for your body
MINDSET IS KEY
If you’re keen to get back to fitness after having your baby and you’re dreaming of sweaty savage workouts, you might want to lower your expectations. In the beginning, your workouts may be shorter than you’d like because your baby wakes unexpectedly, or you might have found yourself nap trapped all day so your only chance to workout is at 10pm. You may not have had breakfast, or an awful sleep, or a million other factors that make optimal training unlikely. Knowing that returning to postpartum fitness can sometimes feel like one step forwards and two steps back will allow you to manage the emotions of that when it comes. You may experience discomfort where you didn’t expect it, or complications with stitches, or leakage, or lack of motivation, or something else entirely. The journey isn’t linear and it’s absolutely not something to beat yourself up about. The cliche says it’s the journey not the destination, but it really is. See your postpartum movement journey as just that, a journey to a strong version of you. Fall in love with all the twists and turns of the process and give your body kindness in the way it looks and feels. It’s brought you into motherhood and your baby into the world. It deserves so much praise and gratitude.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to get back into postpartum fitness, stay tuned for my weekly blog posts and engage with my social platforms. Happy moving!
