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Content Gourmet Nutrition: Build a Great Body with Great FoodHow to Get Fit After PregnancyThe Plank
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How to Get Fit & Lose Fat After Your Pregnancy
Stacy Irvine is a Chiropractor and Personal Trainer in Toronto, Ontario. She’s one of Canada’s top female fitness experts, appearing on Balance TV and E-Talk Daily. Stacy is one of the partners in Totum Life Science, Toronto’s premier company for fitness and rehabilitation. Stacy is also a new mom, and given her expertise and experience in all these areas, grrlAthlete.com was excited to ask for her advice to pass along to our readers on how to get back into fitness after having your bundle of joy.
grrlAthlete.com: What are the general and conservative recommendations in terms of returning to exercise after pregnancy?
Stacy Irvine:
This advice tends to be very dependant on the type of delivery a woman
experienced and her fitness level before giving birth. For example, if you have had a c-section delivery, you are recommended to wait at least six weeks before participating in an exercise program. During this time you should not lift anything heavier than the baby.
At the other end of the spectrum I have worked with women who had a very easy delivery, were in great shape prior to giving birth and felt well enough to start back exercising one week after their delivery.
The length of activity and the intensity will be determined by these same
factors. A safe approach is to start out with a few weeks of low intensity
exercise and see how your body responds. Walking with the baby, in a baby carrier, is a great way to get your body back into exercise mode.
Gradually increase your intensity by picking up the pace, adding hills or
stairs to your walking route. If this feels good, after a few weeks, you will probably be in good enough shape to start some light strength training. I would recommend starting with activities that use only your body weight like leg lifts, standing squats and calf raises.
The most important thing to remember is that every pregnancy is different and every recovery is different. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another. The most important aspect to a quick recovery is that you get adequate rest and consume a nutrient rich diet. I would never pressure a new mother that she needs to start an exercise program before she feels well rested, and ready to add something else to her already busy schedule of caring for her newborn.
GA: What challenges from childbirth will women have to address? How are the challenges different between natural child birth and C-section deliveries?
SI:
I found one of the biggest challenges, post delivery, was regaining core
strength. Your abdominal muscles have been stretched to the MAX during the pregnancy. It takes a while for them to regain their pre-pregnancy strength.
If your delivery was by cesarean section the recovery is significantly longer
because you must wait for the tissues to heal before you consider participating in any form of retraining and strengthening. If you had a natural childbirth you will find that the pelvic floor muscles will be in great need of re-training.
GA: For women that were not exercising before pregnancy, where should they start?
SI:
Walking and swimming are probably the best activities to start with. Walking is usually the most convenient. If someone is not familiar with exercise and is trying to get back into shape following child birth they should consult a professional who is familiar with post pregnancy training. There are also classes that are designed for women trying to get back into shape after child birth. This is another great option since you will meet other new mothers in the process.
GA: How long should Fitness-Exercise-Nutritionly-fit women wait before they get back into their workout routines?
SI:
If they had a relatively easy delivery, they may be able to start their
exercise program within a couple of weeks and they will probably be back in great shape by three months.
GA: What muscle groups need the most work after pregnancy?
SI:
Pelvic floor muscles, abdominal muscles and core stabilizers need the most work post pregnancy. It is also helpful to have a strong upper body. You would be amazed at how tired you can get carrying the baby (along with the various baby contraptions like car seats, strollers, and diaper bags) throughout the day.
GA: Is it possible that physical changes from the birthing process can remain for a long time? What are some examples, and what training methods can be used to correct these?
SI:
I always find it amazing how quickly women (especially fit women) recover from their pregnancies. I have witnessed women with four children return to the best shape of their lives. I think that the only reason the physical changes from pregnancy would remain for a long time is if you did not spend some extra energy on re-training, or if you had a serious complication during your pregnancy that injured specific structures beyond repair.
It is important to realize that these muscles will not spontaneously return to
their pre-pregnancy state without some effort put into re-training. Kegel
exercises done both before and after pregnancy, are essential to re-train your pelvic floor muscles. Isometric core stabilization work, like the “plank”
exercise, is a safe, effective way to re-train your core musculature.
GA: Thanks Stacy. In part 2, Stacy will provide lifestyle and nutritional recommendations for new moms looking to lose fat and get fit.
The Plank Exercise
As mentioned by Stacy Irvine, DC, the ‘plank’ exercise is one of many great
‘core’ exercises. This is also one of the abdominal endurance exercises
recommended by the top low-back researchers in the world. And the plank is one of many core training exercises in our new e-book, The Simple Way to Lose Weight (available at www.grrlAthlete.com).
The plank is performed as follows:
- Lie on your stomach on a mat.
- Raise your body in a straight line and support your body with your elbows and toes so that your body hovers over the mat.
- Keep your back straight and your hips up so that your body is in a straight
line. Don’t let your lower back sag down.
- Hold (brace) your abs tight. Contract them as if someone was about to punch you in the stomach, but breath normally.
- Hold this position for 10 to 60 seconds. Beginners should start with 10
seconds.
