Returning To Exercise After Baby

* Appreciate what your body has actually been through

* You can do it, but should you do it

* After having a baby you body is vulnerable

* You need time to heal

* There are many great options for you

Postpartum exercise is extremely beneficial to mother if done in the correct way. Not only are you supporting the body physically in recovery but it also helps support our mental and emotional wellbeing. 

There is a lack of information available for pregnant and post natal mothers about how to exercise safely during pregnancy and recovery after birth. Social Media can be very informative and supportive to new mums, but doesn't always represent the safe and a realist message for many of us who are wanting to return/ or start to exercise after the birth of baby. There are many examples of athletes or cross fit mums doing extreme workouts, challenging their bodies in ways they did before their pregnancy. But does that mean it is right? In the real world it can actually be the local class at the gym or church hall that can be detrimental to mums returning to exercise. Big franchises using marketing strategies like bring your child, get fit quick and loose weight fast lure new mums into a false sense of security.

'WE HAVE TO REMEMBER NO MATTER HOW FIT AND ACTIVE WE WERE BEFORE AND THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY. WE ALL NEED TO REGRESS AND LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FIRST. '

First 6 months mothers main focus is to rehabilitate, strengthen and get their cores and pelvic floors functioning well through  gentle resistance work.  This involves regaining strength and having good function in the core, glutes and back. Workouts need to be designed for the postpartum body, especially up to the first year you need to listen and observe your body and be aware of the signs your pushing yourself too soon.

After having a baby you are vulnerable to incontinence, prolapses, back pain and diastasis (present or future) due the weakening in the pelvic floor, pelvis and core from pregnancy and child birth.  Many of these symptoms will not correct themselves and can possibly get worse if you are doing the wrong type of exercise after baby. Choosing the right path can be confusing with influences from social media, other mums or family members, diet clubs, TV adverts, the list goes on. This is your journey and it has to be right for your body and your recovery. This is why it is good to get assessed by a qualified post natal instructor or a women’s health physio after your 6-8 week check. Also following a diet full of REAL food full of good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and moving correctly can make a BIG difference on your pregnancy and post natal recovery.

After my first daughter I was one of those mums who relied on social media a source of information and inspiration to get me back to where I was before pregnancy. I wish someone had stopped me and told me to wake up and realise the harm I was doing my body. Yes I did end up with incontinence and I was very lucky not to have diastasis and a prolapsed. I ended up taking medication for my incontinence. The kegels you are taught in ante-natal classes or by the doctor had very little or no effect on reversing this. Neither did it show no benefit to how I moved daily in my life as a mother. This is why a good core and pelvic floor rehab program is SO beneficial to mums after having children. Lucky for me I qualified as a post natal instructor and specialises in pelvic and abdominal reconnection and functional core and pelvic floor strength. I no longer need medication and can now do everything I did before, safely and with good control.  This has opened doors for me to run and lift weights etc.

I wanted to show you a facebook status I put up many moons ago. It flagged up on my timeline a few weeks ago and I was shocked. I was 12 weeks post birth and it was my first week back to exercise. I had trained up to 38 weeks in my pregnancy.

" GETTING BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS AFTER 12 WEEKS. MANAGED TO DO A KETTLEBELL CLASS, THAI BOXING, METAFIT THIS WEEK AND HOPING BOXING ON SUNDAY. I WILL GET RID OF MY MUMMY TUMMY...I'VE GOT HALF A WARDROBE TO GET BACK INTO".

Being a specialist trainer now, I do NOT advise this activity or mindset. It can be so detrimental to your body. Firstly the focus of trying to loose weight and trying to get back into old clothes should not the top of a new mums priority. To be honest I have never did fit back into many of my clothes even when I was back down to pre pregnancy weight. Your body shape changes after having children and embracing some changes is important and taking time to feel good will pay off.

I wanted to briefly go over a couple of the classes that we as instructors hear from some mums returning to after being signed of my the GP  as fit to exercise! I regretfully did some of these after my first born. 

Kettle bells

·        * Movements like Swings, halos, snatches add very high pressure throughout the core

·        * Having to use a non functional weak core to control a moving load with poor breathing strategy.

If you have diastasis or a pelvic floor dysfunction the chances are you are not managing the abdominal pressure forced through the core when using a Kettlebell. Abdominal pressure will press against the weakest areas which is usually the pelvic floor and linea alba.  Using the kettle bells as a moving load is likely to enhance these symptoms.  If you do not come out of the pregnancy with these symptoms using Kettlebells could lead to high risk of diastasis and incontinence. A weak core and lack of functional breath can also put unnecessary pressure and in back also.

Metafit

·         *Front load bearing  positions like planks, pummel jumps , press ups

·         * High impact and ballistic movement- jumping, bouncing, leaping, high knees

·         *Joint laxity

Front lying positions a lot of load through shoulder girdle; enhance back pain with poor core function.  Plus pushing all the abdominal muscle and organs already onto a weakened linea alba. Creating or even prolonging the healing of diastasis.

Many people say ‘It is ok I am doing low impact options’ but not all of these are deemed safe. Doing body weight exercises can force a 50kg load  through the body  all the force has to go through via your core unit.  Breathing correctly using the diaghram and pelvic floor integrated into each movement, strengthens and protects the pelvic floor, back and abdominals.

With low impact options we need to take range of motion into account while the body has relaxin still present. Ensuring we are not hyper extending any joints or overstretching ligaments while doing certain movements. Especially for those mums who are still breast feeding.

Maintaining good alignment and posture is essential through movement and this can be missed if doing Metafit type work exasperating back pain, pelvic and knee pain. Throughout pregnancy our bodies come out of alignment and we need to rectify this before challenging our bodies with unnatural movements. In these high intensity environments it is hard for instructor to assess and correct your technique subjecting you to a risk of injury.

You need to be able to control your core and pelvic floor ensuring it reacts through simultaneously with movement. All movement relies on the core and pelvic floor providing stability

If you’re coming to one of our post natal restorative classes with symptoms such as incontinence and diastasis and doing Kettlebells,  Metafit or even weight training. The exercise prescription we give to helps you heal this may be conflicting with these types of classes and not give you the results you want. Our aim is to avoid anything that can be detrimental to healing your core and pelvic floor. We aim to educate and provide you the tools and a platform for you to progress to the classes you enjoy safely.

All of us are here to provide you with the most up to date knowledge and give you the information enable YOU the best recovery for now and your future.

Postpartum Planks

Planks are probably one of the best core exercises there is and also strengthen your glutes, back, shoulders and arms meaning it can firm you all over. The plank can come in so many different variations, equally all effective and focusing on different elements of the core.

Many new mums ask me when it is safe to return to doing full plank? It is advised not to do full planks after having a baby, but postpartum recovery will vary from mother to mother. Fours months maybe ok for one mum, whilst nine months could still be too soon for another. Aspects that need to be taken into consideration are:

• Type of childbirth
• Prenatal fitness level
• Abdominal conditioning (diastasis Recti)
• Incontinence and other pelvic floor weaknesses
• Postpartum pain
• Prolapse issues

There are lots of plank variations you can do for some of the points above, so not all is ruled out. Also there are plank progressions for mums who are ready to slowly gain the strength to gradually perform a full plank.

If you answer yes to any of the following, you should avoid planks at present and seek professional advice on an exercise programme right for you.

• Have you had any back or hip pain?
• Do you leak?
• Do you have diastasis recti?
• Do you see conning in your belly?

If you answer yes to all or most of these, then your plank journey to inner core strength may begin.

• Has your Diastasis closed/ healed?
• Has your postpartum posture improved?
• Is your core system working as it should? Can you connect your deep core muscles?
• Have you been following a post birth recovery program?

When you are physically ready to start  incorporating planks into your routine, see the image of plank progressions below. Each progression should be done for approx 2 weeks 3-4 times for 30 secs ( build time up to 1 min) and then move onto the next phase. (Please note you can initially do planks standing against the wall vertically for a gentle start)

Breast-feeding and Exercise

Each mother may vary in the responses with exercising in the breast-feeding period. Health and fitness levels prior and during pregnancy can effect how your body reacts in the post-partum period. Lower intensity exercise helps aid the postpartum healing process mentally and physically. It is fantastic  for improving bone density, weight management and mental health of mother.

Research shows that moderate exercise doesn't affect the milk supply, milk composition, or baby's growth. Lactic acid levels have been shown to increase somewhat when a mother exercises to maximum intensity but there are no known harmful effects to the baby. If baby does find the taste less appealing then leaving it 30 mins to 1 hour after exercise should be sufficient for acid levels to reduce back to normal. . Breast-feeding before exercise will satisfy baby whilst mother is away and empty the breasts make exercise more comfortable. Some babies may object to being breast fed after mum has been exercising due to sweating leaving the taste of salt on the skin. Ensure you drink plenty of water to keep hydration levels up before and after exercise.

Relaxin hormone may still be present throughout the duration of breast feeding, ligaments may not be as strong leading to instability of the joints. When exercising keep plyometric work low impact and avoid too much high impact exercise. For example exercises high impact exercises can be when both feet leave the ground at the same time such as skipping, running, jumping jacks, squat jumps and split squat jumps.

Prone lying exercises will be uncomfortable for a breast-feeding mother. Also vigorous/ repetitive arm work including lifting weights which may stimulate breast-milk or cause plugged ducts. Ensure a good supportive sports bra is worn to protect overstretching during exercise.

Our bodies and metabolism may change with pregnancy, childbirth and lactation. Go slow and listen to your body and ease into a healthy program.

1st Trimester fitness

There are many websites and articles on exercise throughout pregnancy, which I did look over for personal information and gain more knowledge. But I can only speak through my experiences through both pregnancies and how I was previously active before, which does make a different how you can train.
For me in the first trimester the biggest challenge was fighting off fatigue in my first pregnancy and headaches and morning sickness in my second. There would be days or even weeks I couldn't face the gym, but it did pass. Incorporate a walk within your daily routine would substitute the days

*The occasions I did manage to exercise I felt a million times better and it did  help increase my energy levels and minimize many pregnancy discomforts.

*A tip I discovered to ease the nauseous I ate a small snack within the hour before I started any form of exercise.

My main focus was to keep my strength, stability and overall fitness. Continue with what you had been previously doing and amend where necessary. 

If you are at a gym or looking for the support of a personal trainer, I would advise you seek a professional who has pre and post natal experience.

Most important thing to remember when your exercising for two, is especially important to warm up. When working out, going from zero to 100 is never a good idea. It's especially not a good idea when you're pregnant. "The ability for your vascular system to react quickly is not the same as it normally is," says Geralyn Coopersmith, Director of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute. Therefore, you need to give your body at least 10-15 minutes to warm up before performing any exercise. If you are still comfortable running then a gentle jog is great. I preferred the cross trainer as I found running uncomfortable. Mobility exercise are a great way of warming the body up too.

Plan a simple workout: If you are a non-exerciser start with brisk walking or take up a prenatal yoga class under supervision of a certified instructor. If you have previously been active, continue with adaptations. Seek professional advice

Be regular with workouts: Always make it a point to spend at least 30 minutes working out during the initial months, do something you feel comfortable doing. Intensity can be gradually built up. You can still challenge yourself with exercise.

Warm-up: Always warm-up before you start to exercise, either walk on treadmill at a slow pace if you are doing weights at gym or go for a stroll in the park to prepare your body for exercise. Remember to wind down and stretch too post exercise.

In another Blog I will talk about my training schedule and the exercise that are do's and donts.

Surviving

I am now 9 weeks pregnant and it's only now I am starting to feel human again. Between week 5 and 8 I felt so nauseous. I couldn't function it was so overwhelming. My heathy eating went out the window and was gorging on carbs.

I couldn't go to the gym, cook or even clean. Now I understand why they describe morning sickness like having a constant hang over. Luckily my partner was so supportive and did the cooking for me. 

Eventually I started actually being sick and that was when the constant nausea feeling disappeared. My eating is more under control and I can actually eat fruit and veg again. 

I'm back at the gym and have fantastic support from the personal trainers that are specifically trained in pre and post natal excercise. They are producing programs for me for each trimester which I will list up on here. I'm still doing classes with adaptations throughout. The main thing is to keep heart rate down and not to over heat. First trimester you can still do many of the exercises you were doing before but cardio is the biggest change, I cannot do to hiit training!! 

I really don't know how women manage to survive having morning sickness up to and past 12 weeks..