If you’ve just had a baby, then one of the things you may be juggling on your mental back-burner is how to get your body back into shape. The physical challenges associated with pregnancy and giving birth are like nothing else first-time moms have experienced, as you now know.
While the joy of a child tends to supersede the pain of pregnancy and childbirth, now is a time when most new mothers need to focus on their own lives as well as that of their newborn child. Getting back into shape may seem like an insurmountable challenge, and something that’s going to stay on the back burner for years.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. From facing those hidden hurdles that can sneak up on you, to practical ideas for things to try, this post has you covered.
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Getting Back Into Shape After Baby
Things To Consider:
Visiting a specialist postnatal personal trainer is just one option for mamas seeking a postnatal exercise routine. But exercising postpartum requires a few more considerations than working out pre-pregnancy did. For instance, you might want to look into the best postpartum underwear if you’re thinking of heading to an exercise class!
Emotional hurdles
The most significant challenge you’re likely to face, however, is an emotional one – particularly if you’re used to being super-fit. There’s likely to be gap between where your fitness was prior to pregnancy and where it is today. Some women have a hard time getting over the frustration of not being as fit as they once were.
Physical concerns
Then, there are the physical restrictions to consider. This is especially true if you had any physical difficulties with either pregnancy or the labor/birth process. I have two close friends who both had C-sections after labor stalled. They had their physical recovery from the C-section itself. But they also had to recover from the physical exhaustion of 36-48 hours’ labor before surgery.
I was fortunate to have relatively quick and painless labor/birth experiences, by comparison. But my pregnancy with Kimmie coincided with emergency wrist surgery; I was still recovering from that when Kimmie arrived, five months later. In addition, high blood pressure put me on bedrest for the last six weeks of my pregnancy with her, and kept me on bedrest until she was three months old. All of these situations added extra challenges to keeping in shape both while I was pregnant with her, and for many months afterward. As someone who was used to biking metric and full centuries before becoming pregnant, this was a lot to adjust to.
Therefore, the best advice is to be gentle – both with yourself, on an emotional level, but also physically. Because the last thing you want is to injure yourself by going hard too soon; this will stop you in your tracks for sure. Instead, think of low-key ways to get back into exercise. For example, you might try stroller walks in your neighborhood. Or if you’ve already got other kids, maybe some low-key walks in your nearest state or national parks is a good place to start, as this will be great exercise for the whole family.
The Logistics Of Getting Back Into Shape
Another big challenge for new parents, especially first-time parents, is finding the time to get back into shape. Your entire life as you knew it is gone.
Childcare Issues
For me, the biggest adjustment was that I could no longer pop out to the gym whenever I wanted to, because chances were good my husband was at work (or sleeping), and someone had to be available to tend to Kimmie (and later, both girls).
If you’re used to gym workouts, this may be time to switch gyms to one that includes childcare facilities as part of your membership fees. Or you may need to negotiate with your partner, as I did while pregnant with Kimmie. I made my husband promise that he would help me get out to exercise 3x/week, as soon as I was able. If you have family or friends nearby who can cover an hour of childcare here and there, this is another good bet.
When you can’t get away from Baby:
If you can’t get someone to cover Baby while you workout, then see if you can find any Mommy-And-Me exercise classest. We have many “aqua tot” pool exercise classes in our area. Aqua Tot classes are usually for mamas with little ones between 6 months and 2 or 3 years old. I did some of these with Kimmie while pregnant with Essie, and they were a great form of fun, gentle exercise.
Mommy-and-Me yoga classes are another super bet for mothers with babies or toddlers. Essie and I did several of these, once Kimmie was in preschool, and Essie loves yoga to this day.
You could also look for a new moms’ stroller-exercise class or group near you. Or look for a mommies’ group (such as our local Meetup) where you could organize such an activity. If these won’t work for whatever reason, then consider one of the workout-at-home options listed below.
Things To Try:
Whether you’re new to exercise or just trying to adjust to life post-Baby, these options are perfect for new mamas:
1. Yoga
If you were hard-core before pregnancy, you might be tempted to jump right into high intensity interval training. But starting with something gentler is a much smarter choice. Yoga is ideal for this.
If you’ve never tried yoga, you might be surprised (as I was when I did my first practice) at what a muscle workout it provides! Yoga poses focus on toning key muscle groups and supportive muscles. You’ll be amazed at which muscles you can “rediscover” as you try to wrap your brain (and body) around different poses. The gentle, slow progressions of yoga sequences will give you an underlying foundation of strength. And rebuilding that basic muscle tone is a key first step to resuming any pre-baby cardio routine. With a muscle foundation, you’re much less likely to injure yourself when you do get back in that high intensity state of cardiovascular exercise.
2. Swimming
Swimming is a super option if you have access to a pool. Because there are no sudden jerky movements, swimming is a very supportive form of exercise. In addition, the resistance from moving through water means your joints will experience less stress, which is one of the leading causes of injury when weight-training.
Swimming is also great for fat loss, as you can make swimming a pretty high-intensity workout without risk of injury. But there are lots of ways you can workout in the water without having to swim a stroke. I’ve spent a lot of time doing water workouts after recovering from surgery, and running laps in shoulder-high water is still my favorite form of running. For even more of a challenge, you can add water-friendly ankle and wrist weights. Pushups and leg lifts on the side of the pool will also tone your muscles. So will doing arm moves underwater with wrist weights or resistance paddles.
3. At-Home Exercise
If your confidence has plummeted from all the changes your body has experienced, maybe working out at home is a good place to start. One super-low-stakes option is the Fitdeck Postnatal exercise cards. Fitdeck cards are packs of cards that contain exercises you can do at home, usually without any special equipment. My brother Evan gave me the Mama-To-Be gift set (which included the postnatal pack) when I was pregnant with Kimmie. Even if you have only a couple of minutes, you can grab the deck and do a few exercises. For a long time after Kimmie’s birth, they were all I could manage, and I was so glad I had that set!
And here’s an even better option, now that pretty much everyone has smart devices loaded with their favorite apps: Did you know that you can now do Les Mills classes at home? All you have to do is download the Les Mills app! This means you can do Body Combat or Body Pump (or Flow, my personal favorite!) at your own pace, in your own space. That way, when you’re able to return to the gym, you’ll have a head start on resuming your favorite classes.
What about you? If you’re past this stage, what was your favorite hack for getting back into shape after giving birth? Let us know in the comments!
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With the step by step guide every mom can get back to shape totally.
Yup – just takes some time, patience, & persistence! 🙂
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Getting back into shape after a baby can be such a challenge…as if losing weight wasn’t hard enough…you are so exhausted!!!
YES!!! And exhaustion just wants to make your body eat unhealthy foods and pack on the pounds!!!
I’m almost 5 years post baby & really need to start working on me again.
6.5 years out here, and definitely still have “baby weight” to lose :/…
I always find different ways to stay in shape. Yoga and walking on my treadmill are my favorite.
I absolutely love yoga! (though I prefer cycling/spinning to treadmill time, I must confess…)
These are such wonderful tips! Swimming is such a great workout!
Absolutely! 🙂
Wow, that many months of bed rest would drive me batty! You’re a champion.
Yeah, not the most fun I’ve ever had. Oh, and we moved houses in and around it too. Not how I would have planned it lol…
What a great idea to do swimming and/or yoga. Both are low impact and would not be too hard on the body – post delivery. Just a little each day and you will definitely get there! 🙂
Exactly! 🙂
I have not quit working out since becoming pregnant. Definitely cut back on lifting weights but I keep doing my 90 minutes of cardio every day. It wakes me up and gives me energy for the day! I know when baby is born, sure, time will be spent with him mostly, but I will also be able to carve time for me – to work out and get those 90 minutes and get back to the weight room!!!
You are amazing, GiGi! I totally did what I could w/my first pregnancy, but after my wrist surgery in month 4 (no driving, no sweating allowed while in cast, etc) that was pretty limited, then I got put on bedrest. It was so different with the second – I was in spin classes right up until 7 months, and stopped then partly bc I could no longer fit into my cycling shorts! Back in the saddle 6 weeks postpartum, and everything was so much easier without that long gap of relative inactivity! Trust me, staying active now will put you in such a good place for postpartum recovery! 🙂
I love that you bring up being gentle and remembering that your body is gonna be different. I’m going to a gym now that has 24/7 child care and I think that’s super awesome for people!
After giving birth it’s not easy to back your body figure. but this post gives a lot of tips to achieve your body figure goals. I love this blog!
It is so hard to get back into shape after having a baby. I commend anyone that is really trying.
I’ve done several articles on this as well as I am a personal trainer and a Mom. It can definitely be challenging to get back into shape after a baby but I firmly believe doing appropriate exercises throughout pregnancy makes it easier to bounce back. I think we also have to be very aware of diastasis recti and be sure to correct that or it can cause lifelong issues.
YES on both counts! The fact that I was able to be active right up to the end with my second pregnancy made things SO much easier afterward re: getting back into my exercise routines!
It’s not easy to get back in shape after a baby. I had an emergency cesarean with my second so it took much longer with him than after my first. I did the best when I would start walking with the boys. I would put them in the stroller and take walks around the neighborhood. It was easy on my body but still a cardio and got us outside a lot.
That is such a good idea! I tried the walking thing but just was NOT into it. But yes, it is definitely so much harder when pregnancy/labor/delivery don’t quite go as planned – I was able to be active toward the end with my second, and had a very quick and easy delivery compared to the first, and I was surprised at how much easier it was to get back to exercising afterward, compared to after my first was born!
I know how difficult it could be to get back into shape after a baby. It was easier for me to lose it after my first one. It took me a long time after the second one, maybe it’s because I was much younger for my first one. They are 9 years apart. Thanks for sharing those tips.
Glad you liked them, Marjie! I found it much harder after my second, too, and was wondering how much age was a factor for me as well LOL (I turned 39 around when she was born)…
Best thing you said in this post – we need to be gentle with ourselves….
Aww, thanks Andrea – so true, yet so hard for us to remember when we’re in the moment, sleep-deprived and whatnot…