Most of us would have taken a seat back in terms of the amount of exercise we did during pregnancy, and we all know what happens when we take a bit of a break: it’s really hard to get back into it!
Many of us couldn’t face leaving the door after having a baby never mind going out for a run or hitting the local pool, so we don’t suggest you start thinking about exercising until you feel like you are good and ready.
Here are six tips that will help you get back into the swing of things:
1. Let yourself heal
Make sure you give your body a chance to heal before you start anything. And always talk to your doctor before you undertake any exercise, especially if you had a complicated delivery.
2. Take it slow
Don’t expect yourself to be at the same fitness level as you were prior to getting pregnant because you won’t be. Your body will need to build itself back up to the level you were at slowly so don’t plan on heading out for a 10 km run on your first day back out. For example, start off with 2 km building yourself up over a number of weeks or months to your 10 km.
3. Set up a number of small goals
Set yourself a number of small goals that you will be able to work towards. You will be more inclined to stick with them than a huge one that you will struggle to accomplish.
4. Build up your strength slowly
Don’t push yourself too hard, you should be slightly out of breath but still be able to talk without too much difficulty. If you feel yourself struggling to catch your breath slow down and stop if necessary.
5. Warm up and down
It is vital you warm up before doing any form of exercise, so do two sets of ten of the following: star jumps, knee highs, kickbacks (when you kick your bum as you run) and don't forget to stretch your quads, calves and back (do two sets of ten). When warming down you will need to do a light jog before stretching your quads, calves, arms and back as before.
6. Avoid anything that will hinder your recovery
You will need to be careful about what exercise you do and avoid anything that will put too much pressure on your pelvic floor muscles until they are a lot stronger. So avoid running and weight lifting until you are back to normal.
Why should you work yourself into a sweat:
While caring for your baby is the utmost of importance, you also need to look after your own health and well being. And you don’t need to do anything too strenuous to be able to feel the following benefits:
- Better mood
- Strengthen your core which will help beat back pain
- Restore your muscle strength
What do you think? Any other tips you would like to share with our readers?
