When can I return to exercise postpartum?
So you’ve had your baby (congratulations!) and settled into a new routine (sort of!) and now you’ve started thinking about your health and fitness.
Returning to exercise postpartum may seem quite daunting but there are so many benefits and very few negatives. Benefits include:
Enhanced postpartum recovery (particularly of the core and pelvic floor)
Improved self-esteem and sense of wellbeing
Improved strength, endurance and stamina for daily living
Increased energy
The opportunity to establish wider social support networks
Reduced likelihood of experiencing stress incontinence
Potential prevention of postpartum depression
Improved weight management
One of the most common questions I get asked is when you can start training again after birth. The answer short answer is “as soon as you feel up to it”.
The longer answer is that every pregnancy is different, every birth story is different and so every woman’s return to exercise varies.
Let us not forget the incredible journey your body is on. Like antenatal exercise, the goals for training postpartum shouldn’t necessarily be about aesthetics. Now is the time to bond with your baby and practise self-care, to work with your body to help it recover, to strengthen the areas that have been weakened and to regain your fitness, stamina and confidence.
Your body has been through dramatic change both inside and out, which is why it’s important to focus on the basics and take your time before returning to your pre-pregnancy gym routines.
As soon as you feel ready - which can be as soon as a few days after labour - get cracking with your pelvic floor exercises! For the first couple of weeks these, plus some gentle walks, are all you need. After 2-3 weeks you can start to introduce deep core exercises. Think deadbugs, supine marches, and bridges – NO crunches!
Once you’ve received sign off from your doctor or medical practitioner (usually 6-8 weeks after a vaginal birth and 12 weeks after a C-section delivery) you can start to incorporate more bigger exercises into your routine but again, please remember to take it steady! Start with bodyweight routines, keep up your pelvic floor and deep core exercises and most important of all, continue to listen to your body.
After another couple of weeks, if you’re feeling strong and ready, and you have some experience in the gym, then feel free to reintroduce weighted workouts. Focus here should be on form, breathing techniques and and maintaining pelvic floor and deep core engagement.
If you’re a runner…
After 2-3 months of consistent pelvic floor and core work, then you can test the waters with a gentle jog. Go steady and if it doesn’t feel right, or you experience incontinence, then that’s a clear sign that whilst your mind may be ready to get back to it, your body isn’t quite there yet. Leave it a couple more weeks, continue with your pelvic floor exercises and trust that you’ll get there soon enough.
The takeaway: little and often is best to begin your return to exercise. Be kind to your body by taking the pressure off and progressing slowly.
If you’re nervous about returning to exercise, or feel like something isn’t quite right, then work with the experts around you. Postnatal trainers and women’s health specialists study and understand the physical changes your body has experienced through pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period so let them guide you and put your mind at ease where necessary.