Fitness after Baby

Congratulations, you just had a baby and now you are wondering what the hell happened to your body. I hope this article will introduce you back into fitness and how it can be so beneficial for you and baby.

Most importantly, you need to get your doctor's approval before beginning any type of postnatal exercise program. If you exercised regularly throughout your pregnancy, you are already a step ahead of the curve. Start out slowly, your inner body is still in shambles (your inner abdominals were just shredded giving birth either naturally or through c-section). Kegel exercises are great to help start your pelvic floor rebuild. A brief kegel exercise description can be found here:
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Doing sit ups with your newborn can be fun too. If you have your baby in a seat, start off by doing some sit ups where you are eye to eye with your baby at the top position. Again, go slow with these, there is no need to do 100s of them right away. Start out with 2 sets of 6-8 for a week or two and increase to 10-12/set after. Your body will tell you when to increase the volume. If you do these with your hands across your chest, make sure to tuck your chin into your chest as you contract your abdominals on your way up.

Aerobically, going for walks with your baby is great for both of you. Beyond more bonding time, you are both getting fresh air and you are working your legs and lungs. If you have some hills around, find them and go up them. If at any point you are getting tired, rest for a couple minutes before continuing. Pushing the carriage also works your upper body as well. When you can, start slow jogging with the carriage increasing to a full jog/run. Remember to drink plenty of water before, during, and after your walks. Make sure you are wearing a well supported sports bra, exercise after breastfeeding if you are breastfeeding. Your breasts will be lighter. Light cycling, swimming, pilates, yoga (w/baby), and lightweight resistance training with freeweights or bands are other great forms of exercise.

Other things to keep in mind while doing some aerobic work:

• Be careful with change of direction activities such as high impact aerobics or running
• Start out with 5-15 minutes of exercise gradually increasing to 30-45 minutes over time
• If you feel out of breath or are in pain, slow down or stop completely
• Stop exercising and see your doctor if vaginal flow changes to a pink or red color

Finding time to workout is hard with a new baby. All you need are a few minutes a day, 10 minutes is 10 minutes no matter how you slice it. I mentioned earlier about yoga with baby, there are videos out there for this type of exercise as well as classes offered. If you can not walk outside with your child, take them to the mall and walk around. Turning on music in the house is also a way for you to dance your heart out without anybody watching except your baby in the swing. Dancing burns calories. If your area has one, a baby boot camp is fantastic. Make sure the instructor is nationally certified and has experience with pre/post natal fitness. They should be able to provide you with references.

The key thing to remember is go slowly at first with any exercise you are performing. There is no need to come flying out of the gate.

If you are breastfeeding, congratulations on working off anywhere between 500-800 calories a day without going to the gym. There are numerous other benefits for you and baby, but this is a great one as you seek out your old body. Don't forget to eat too. Without enough nutrition, your breast milk production will decrease leading to a very unhappy baby. Consult with your doctor about nutritional guidelines especially if your baby has food allergies.

As always, please leave any comments or questions and I will get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.