How To Return to Exercise Safely In The Postpartum Period?

As an expert in Pre and Postnatal Fitness, I am extremely passionate about empowering women to exercise safely throughout pregnancy and postpartum. There is so much conflicting information out there, there is no wonder many of you mums are left feeling deflated, overwhelmed and really not sure where to start. For many this results in doing nothing. However, in this article, I am going to share my expert top tips for returning to exercise in the postpartum period. As always there is no one rule fits all, if you are ever unsure of anything please do get in contact here.

If you exercised before your pregnancy and throughout I know you may feel in a rush to get back to fitness, however, it is so important you take it steady and allow your body to heal. Take a moment to appreciate everything your body has just been through. I certainly found this challenging following my two children, however, failure to build back the basics could result in further injury later on in your postpartum journey.

1. Organs got squished and moved around

2. Diaphragm got pushed up and probably stopped working properly

3. Ribs spread to make room for the baby

4. The pelvic floor had to handle tremendous pressure from the growing baby. Even with a c-section the pelvic floor has had increased strain

5. Abdominal muscles have stretched, and you may have diastasis recti.

6. Posture changes

Where to start?

Start with breathing. Get the diaphragm working correctly to help move organs back in place, get the deep core working and strengthen the pelvic floor. If you have had a c-section there are further considerations; a possible increase of exercise timeline by a couple of weeks longer than vaginal birth, major abdominal surgery, focus on breathing as a starting point, pelvic floor considerations are often needed due to the postural changes and weight of the baby during pregnancy and start scar massage once initial healing has occurred around 6 weeks post-c-section.

Manage your expectations. It is very important you remain patient with your postpartum body but consistent with the fundamentals; breathing and pelvic floor work.

Postpartum recovery phase 1 (weeks 1-2)

• Very short walks, rest and recovery. The pelvic floor and core is very. vulnerable during this time.

Phase 2 (weeks 2-8)

First 2 weeks:

• Start moving and build up very slowly through walking.

• Start deep breathing exercises

• Activation and mobility exercises (glutes, abs and pelvic floor)

Phase 3 (weeks 6-4 months)

• Try to keep the intensity to around 25-50%

• Keep exercise to 10-30 minutes long

• Start with intervals; for example, cardio (not running) starts with 5-10 minutes and then gradually builds e.g. cross trainer or static bike.

• Focus on breathing and engaging the deep core throughout all movements

Phase 4 (4 months plus)

• Continue to increase, following the rule of no more than 10% each week

• Do not increase intensity and volume in the same week or at the same time, this could lead to injury

• Start with 2 sets and then increase to 3-4, then think about increasing the weight

If you are looking to return back to exercise safely following the birth of your baby, we offer a range of programs from face-to-face postnatal training to the 6-week postnatal program on the FIT MAMA Powered By Mari Carmen Fitness App. As an expert in Pre and Postnatal Fitness, it is very important you access the right support from expert professionals in the women’s health field to support you throughout the whole of motherhood, which is why we created the FIT MAMA App, not only will you find the 6-week program but also tones of information to support you with your postnatal recovery from leading women’s health physios.