Written by Latascha Ferreira

After a pregnancy, women want to get back to their pre-pregnancy shape and weight as soon as possible, but many women experience difficulties in losing their post pregnancy weight. Finding time to burn extra calories when you have a newborn is quite challenging.

By using your baby as resistance—whether you’re pushing a pram up a hill or lifting your baby during strength training moves—you’re sure to get your heart pumping and burn ‘baby-fat’ fast. Therefore exercising with your baby not only gives you the opportunity to speedily recuperate, it also allows you to bond with your baby while taking care of yourself. And the best news is that you don’t have to worry about finding a babysitter! You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to do this and what a wonderful, fun workout partner your little one can make.

For optimal weight loss, pelvic floor and abdominal recovery, one needs to start with a reconditioning programme soon after birth.

They key is to be patient! Remember – progress slowly and gently with all exercises, and don’t continue to do any exercises that cause pain or discomfort. Be patient with your body; remember that it took 40 weeks to get to the end of your pregnancy; it will take nearly that long to return to pre-pregnancy shape.

Rest, good nutrition, and exercise are equally important during your postnatal recovery and they work together to help you meet the challenges ‘mommy-hood’ now throws at you!

How soon after giving birth should you start exercising?

If you are a first-time mother, you may be a little shocked at how your body looks immediately after birth; what was previously a flat, maybe six-pack abdomen, now resembles something more like a deflated bundle of skin with no muscle or tone in sight. Your waistline won’t return to its normal state so soon after birth. However if your overall workout routine includes core exercises the ‘belly-fat’ will soon start disappearing and your core muscles will strengthen a lot quicker than someone who is not exercising at all!

So how soon after giving birth should you start to exercise? It is important to remember that you should consult with your doctor or midwife before you start any exercise programme as you may need more time than you think to heal; especially if you have had a caesarean birth. However you can start to exercise your pelvic floor and abdominals (with gentle exercises) as soon as you feel ready.

Generally speaking, you may be asked by your doctor to wait until your six week examination before beginning any exercise programme; however this will depend on individual factors as well as how you feel and if you were exercising before and during your pregnancy.

It is not uncommon for women who exercise during their pregnancy and have an uncomplicated birth to return to exercise within the first week or two.

Which body parts should I focus on and how do I strengthen them?

The most important muscle groups to focus on are the pelvic floor muscles as well as the abdominals.

Pelvic Floor Muscles

Your pelvic floor muscles play an important role during pregnancy and throughout your life in maintaining proper alignment of the spine and support of the pelvic organs.

Pelvic Floor Strengthening

For some women, the pregnancy and the birthing process causes trauma to the pelvic floor, resulting in short term urinary incontinence. If you haven’t already been performing pelvic floor exercises—also called Kegels—during your pregnancy, now is a great time to start.

Pelvic Floor Exercises

Pelvic floor exercises are easy:
1) Contract the pelvic floor muscles (as if you are stopping the flow of urine) quickly and hold for five to 10 seconds—squeeze as tightly as possible as you hold.
2) Contract your muscles progressively tighter to a count of five and relax to a count of five.
Build up to 50 to 75 repetitions of each exercise throughout the day. It is helpful to establish certain times of the day (before you get out of bed each morning) or activities (driving to work, brushing your teeth) that are your “cue” to do your pelvic floor exercises.

Abdominal Strengthening

For some women, a Caesarean delivery may slow the return of their abdominal tone, and for others the skin may remain slack as a result of stretching. Abdominal exercises should be re-introduced only if abdominal separation has been recovered to normal.

They key to overall body shape and weight loss is to combine upper and lower body exercises in conjunction with cardio training.

Some recommended postnatal exercises include:

• Postnatal Classes – Low to controlled high impact aerobic workouts with strength training
• Swimming and Aqua aerobics
• Brisk walking – if you were running previously, you will need to work up to that again
• Cycling
• Stroller Circuits
• Strength training
• Yoga and Pilates

Here are some tips that may help you to plan and stick to your Postnatal recovery exercise routine:

• Be flexible, don’t be hard on yourself if your plans don’t go as planned.
• Try to find a gym, personal training studio or fitness facility that is ‘child friendly’ where you can bring your stroller or baby capsule while you exercise.
• Exercise your tummy and pelvic floor throughout the day – you can do these while sitting, standing and picking and holding baby.
• Take your baby in the stroller wherever and whenever possible, the more ‘incidental’ exercise you can do, the faster you will see results.
• Try to make ‘back up’ plans – if you have planned to go for a 30 minute stroller walk and the weather turns bad, have an exercise video/DVD that you could do instead – have a range of video’s/DVD’s with differing programmes and lengths so that you can do a quick 10 minute workout if you are pressed for time or a 45 minute to an hour workout if your baby is sleeping.
• Don’t rely on the‘breastfeeding for weight loss’ theory to shake off the pregnancy weight.

The major benefits of postnatal exercise include:

• Quicker recovery and healing process after birth.
• Increased metabolism which results in a quicker return to your pre-pregnancy weight and fitness levels.
• Reducing your stress levels and the likelihood of developing postnatal depression.
• More energy to deal with your new role as a mom.

Always remember to seek the help of experts if you are unsure of an exercise programme and most importantly, remember to have FUN!

Good luck with planning your postnatal recovery exercise programme; don’t be too hard on yourself!