Fit tips for postpartum mums

Postpartum exercise empowers you – body, mind and soul. Fitness expert Jane Gibson explains how you can make it a core part of your life.

While pregnant with my first son, I felt an overwhelming pressure from social media to attend ‘preggy-yoga’ classes, especially leading up to the birth. In fact, I almost felt bullied into thinking that I couldn’t give birth unless I attended one of these classes! So, I did. It wasn’t bad – but it also wasn’t for me.

WHERE TO START?
When you’re pregnant, you’ll likely be overwhelmed by the amount of advice and recommendations (some helpful, some not) about exercising with a baby on board. While having my three little lads (all within four years!) I found there was a real lack of useful postpartum exercise advice, so I’m sharing some tips and insights of my own. The state of your core or stomach will likely be your main focus once the family estate has been vacated. This was true in my case, but I was surprised to discover that, at first, I would prioritise my posterior chain (a fancy name for the back of the body, as opposed to the front) over my core, particularly my upper back, shoulders and neck. However, once these areas were strengthened, my core became more active.

NOSE-TO-TOES
Consider, if you will, oversized breasts, raw nipples and all those tasks that have you leaning forward, such as changing nappies, dressing and undressing your baby, bathing him and breastfeeding. Add the overwhelming desire to stare at your baby (or boob) while breastfeeding for those first few weeks and you’ll have a pretty good picture of the state of your post-baby posture. It’s ‘nose-to-toes’, as I like to refer to it, and not entirely out of place in a retirement village! Each time I returned to exercise post-baby, I focused on recovering my midline and regaining strength in my back muscles, and as a result reminded myself of what correct posture felt like. I would ensure that the exercise sessions I attended had a section focused on shoulder retraction and back muscle loading exercises. I then tried to carry this out in my everyday living, using the mantra ‘shoulders away from the ears and get the ‘ladies’ out’. Since I usually had a small cup size, I took particular pride in this one.

EXERCISING WITH BABY
When I had one child, I loved exercising with him and found it easy to just pop him into the pram or front pack and go for a walk or run when it suited my schedule. With two, I could still manage, there was just a little more pressure on getting the timing right. Also, both boys were young enough to go in a twin- stacked pram and be bribed with raisins (they still didn’t know about real lollies at this stage). Add a third child to the mix and I can probably count on one hand how many times he’s been for an ‘exercise-focused’ walk or run with me.

Exercising with a baby is sometimes the only option. While it’s a novelty to begin with, it can become an even bigger pain than the lunges themselves! However, it’s also okay to exercise without your baby (or babies!) and just use that time for yourself.

MUMMY TIME
Having time away each day for exercise became very important to me. I come from a competitive sporting background, so exercise has always been a vital part of my life. I use it as a tool to keep fit and keep a sound mind. It’s integral to my mental health and this became more important than ever postpartum. There were days where it didn’t work out, but it was still a priority and something I made clear internally and externally (to my husband) from the get-go. I also noticed that it made my husband very capable from day one. If I was on my way out to exercise and the baby was fed but crying, it was his responsibility – and it’s still like that to this day. In those early days it’s easy to think that only you are responsible, but that’s the best time to set the routines and expectations for you, your partner and your baby. Some of those standards have to be lowered at times – for example, the more kids you have, the lower the standards go – and that’s okay.

FEELING GOOD
Post-baby, your attitude to your body changes; feeling good and being strong becomes a priority. The ‘feeling good’ component is a personal measure that women really need to identify for themselves during this phase. Once you’ve established this – and it can take some time – the key is to work backwards to determine how you’re going to achieve it, and most importantly, sustain it. This might mean three walks on the beach each week, it might mean going for a run three times a week – once alone, once with the pram and once with a friend. It could be a twice-weekly exercise class – and on that note, here’s a great tip: by booking an exercise class in advance, your partner or babysitter can be pre-arranged and therefore locked in. No excuses!

Jane Gibson is mum to three boys and the co-founder/director of Reform Fitness and Dynamic Reformer Pilate Studios in Mount Maunganui, Parnell and Newmarket. Find her at reformfitness.co.nz