Exercise is good for you after giving birth as long as you have approval from your health care professional. It helps fight fatigue, improve your mood and tone the muscles exhausted and stretched-out during your pregnancy and childbirth such as your legs and abs. Your exercise program should include a warm-up and a cool-down period. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers the following tips: wear comfortable clothing, use a bra with plenty of support and drink water often to stay hydrated.
Getting Started
Start exercising after childbirth. If you exercised before or during your pregnancy and you are already in shape, take it easy as you begin to exercise after the birth of your child to avoid injury. If you had a cesarean or complicated birth, you may need to wait longer to begin exercising than women that had a vagina birth without complications.
Gentle Exercises
Gentle exercises help may seem simple, but really help to get your body moving gently after giving birth. Lay down with your arms relaxed by your sides and bend your knees to a comfortable position with your feet are flat on the floor to get into the starting position. Slowly slide one foot along the floor to extend your knee, return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. From the same bent-leg position, exhale and slowly curl your neck off the floor; return to the starting position to complete one repetition. Talk to your health professional about how many repetitions are best for you.
Yoga
Try yoga after giving birth to regain your figure and calm your mind. A postpartum yoga class offers you a full range of exercises that especially target the areas taxed during childbirth such as your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. At home practice up to 10 repetitions of the cat-cow series -- gently arching and curving your back from a quadruped position -- to relax tension in your neck from slouching while bottle or breast-feeding. Gently build your endurance by holding the warrior pose for up to one minute on each side. To fight fatigue, try relaxing in the legs-up-the-wall pose for a couple of minutes.
Walking
Walking is a simple way to get back in shape while spending time with your new baby. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes and approval from your health professional. Start by walking slowly at a leisurely pace. When you feel ready take brisk walks to build cardiovascular endurance and burn more calories. Walking at 2 mph for a 160-lb. woman burns 3 1/2 calories per minute. For the same woman, walking at a pace of 3.5 mph burns about 4.6 calories per minute.
Member Comments