Top 5 Post Pregnancy Exercises
Ever wonder what post pregnancy exercises you should be doing? Well I have picked the 5 best ones to get you started! Before we get into the exercises I want to cover a few general guidelines.
1. You shouldn’t start working out until about 6 weeks post delivery. If you had a natural uncomplicated labor then you may be about to get started before the 6 weeks. And vice versa, if you had a c-section or a more complicated birthing process you may need to wait longer then 6 weeks.
2. Never exercise through pain. If you experience pain stop exercising
3. Above and beyond the 5 strengthening exercises we will go over, you should be getting 150 minutes/week of moderate aerobic exercise.
4. Exercise shouldn’t effect the volume or quality of your breast milk, however if you do a high intensity workout some lactic acid can get into the milk and give it a sour taste that your baby may not like. Therefore feed or pump before any high intensity workout.
Okay lets get into the exercises. First off is KEGELS , kegels are really important to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Your pelvic floor muscles support your uterus, bladder, rectum and small intestine. You should be doing these exercises multiple times per day .
The second exercises is ….PLANKS. I realize this exercise isn’t everyone’s favorite but it is the best exercises to strengthen your intrinsic abdominal muscles. Start on your knees and elbows and gradually work your way up to doing them on your toes. You should eventually be able to hold a plank for 2.5minutes, but start off holding it for 20-30 seconds and taking a 10 second brake before repeating 2 more times.
Next up is SIDE PLANKS, just when you thought you were done with planks. This exercises works on your obliques or “side abdominal”muscles and is awesome because you can keep your back nice and straight while strengthening. Start by holding for 20-30 seconds and repeating so that you do 3 sets . Start on your knee and progress to your toes!
Now that we have worked the core and pelvic floor muscles…..glutes are next! Your glutes get really weak during pregnancy and if you weren’t working out while you were pregnant the will still be weak. So lets do PELVIC TILTS. Starting on your back push your buttock upwards and hold for 5-10 seconds, return to your starting position and repeat 10x to start.
And last but not least SQUATS, strengthen up those glutes and legs with this great exercises. Make sure you are doing them right: chest proud, feet hip width apart, and butt back – like your going to sit in a chair. Watch yourself in a mirror, are your knees going to far forward and passing your toes? Then your not sitting back enough. Try to get as deep as you can in the squat and hold it for a few seconds before returning to a standing position. Repeat 10 x to start.