Strength and endurance training can help you through all the changes that occur in your body and life after childbirth. Training can help us feel confident, strong and energetic in our bodies.
New moms tend to jump right into exercising after their six-week checkup with the doctor, without giving much thought to the changes their bodies have undergone, the healing process they need to go through, or how the exercises will benefit them long term. Postpartum fitness and health must be a lifelong commitment, not a quick fix.
In this list, we’ll break down 10 Exercise Mistakes New Moms Make and how to avoid them for a smoother, safer recovery. It can be overwhelming to get back into exercising after having a child. And it’s very easy to make mistakes along the way. Unknowingly, many new moms fall into the same traps.
You may have done some of the things on this list, but don’t worry. Instead, focus on what you can do to improve.
Avoiding Workout Mistakes After Making a Baby
Returning to physical activity or training after childbirth is a great way to improve overall stability and restore core and pelvic function. This can only be achieved with a gradual (gradually increasing intensity and demands over time) approach, which respects the healing process.
Healing process? The fourth trimester should be devoted to this. We invest a lot of energy and money in our health during pregnancy. But we mustn’t neglect our bodies after the baby has arrived.
1. Concentrating Only on Body Fat Loss
I understand that there’s a lot to be said about losing “baby fat” and regaining your confidence by wearing your favourite jeans. With proper nutrition and training, the body fat will start to drop.
When this is our primary focus, however, we forget to get our body into the proper alignment, restore our energy, and build the strength and resilience we will need for our new job as mothers. Set some goals that are not based on your dress size or the number on the scale.
2. Reducing food/ calorie intake
Mums are often tempted to restrict their food intake after giving birth to lose weight faster.
But cutting back on food will directly impact our energy and milk supply. Did you know we need to consume more food to feed and produce milk when we are breastfeeding than when we are pregnant?
You can improve your health by reducing the amount of food you eat, but you will not feel any better.
3. Exercise makes you feel guilty
How many of you think that “I should not be exercising at home because there are dishes to do, laundry to do, vacuuming to do, and errands I need to run?”
Exercise is not selfish. You shouldn’t feel guilty for taking time to exercise – it is something you do for yourself!
Exercise makes us happier, more positive, and more capable of coping with our home life – we are more energetic, have more patience, and are more relaxed. All that makes you a more effective mum.
4. Feeling and acting the same way as before pregnancy
After pregnancy, we tend to believe that our bodies will recover. No one likes to discuss the things that do not “bounce back”, but reality can be very different.
You are still in the “red area” if you’re pregnant or giving birth. The hormone relaxin remains in the body for three months following childbirth or breastfeeding. Your body will need time to adjust.
It’s important to start a relationship with our new mother body. It’s not wrong or broken to have a different body. We must test what the body can and cannot do. I think we should do this after every pregnancy and delivery.
5. The Basics of Breathing
After childbirth, the first thing you should do is start breathing. You can begin focusing on your breathing almost immediately. This will help you expand your ribcage and get oxygen to the tissues in need of healing.
If you don’t train your breath, you run a higher risk of developing pelvic and core problems. . . Higher cortisol levels cause your body to hold onto fat.
6. Starting with crunches, sit-ups, and double-leg throws
After having a child, many mums immediately start doing core exercises such as sit-ups, crunches or planks. They mistakenly believe that these exercises will help them achieve a flatter stomach.
You are more likely to develop a diastasis recti if you perform these exercises without engaging your deep core, your pelvic floor muscles and your transverse muscle. You can increase the size of a split by making it longer, wider and deeper. These core exercises may also weaken the pelvic floor.
7. Forgetting about your Posture and Form
Your body may not be arranged the same way as it was before childbirth. We stoop to pick up kids, carry a baby carrier on our arms and then wrap our shoulders as we feed the child.
It’s important to maintain good posture and form in everyday life. But it is even more crucial when you return to your training. You can ensure that you’re doing this correctly by starting an exercise program under the guidance of a postnatal specialist.
8. Neglecting the Pelvic Floor
Some of the training is geared towards having stronger legs, a flatter stomach, or toned arm muscles, but we forget to train our pelvic floors. You can’t expect your pelvic floor to be unaffected by the stresses and adaptations that were required for a pregnancy, even if you did kegels as your friends told you.
It is not advisable to return to pre-pregnancy training without first regaining the ability in this area. This can be done by following a core and pelvic restoration program, which includes body alignment education, breathing techniques and exercises to relax and strengthen the pelvic and core muscles. Kegels alone are not enough, ladies!
9. Ignoring Current Life Stresses
Even if your pregnancy was “easy”, it was still stressful for you. Then you’re thrown into the most challenging season of your life.
It can be stressful to become a new mother. It can be very stressful to take care of another human being, possibly on top of other children at home. You have to adjust to new routines and a lack of sleep.
When choosing your training intensity and type, it’s important to consider these stressors. Exercise, although it is beneficial to the body, can also be a strain.
10. Listen to your body when you feel something is not right
We stop listening to our body during pregnancy, labour and birth. We ignore the pain, fatigue, and sickness we feel and keep on going.
If we ignore our bodies’ signals, we may experience pain, discomfort or a general feeling of unwell-being. Injuries can occur suddenly, overnight or gradually. Exercise should be fun, and you can always adapt the exercises to suit your needs. So please listen to your body!
You might think your body is in normal condition
This is not the end of your body.
You don’t have to suffer from symptoms or issues like heaviness or pulling. Women’s health physiotherapists are trained to help. 80% of prolapses can be treated with the right exercises – only 20% require surgery.
Are you feeling overwhelmed by all these “rules?” Do not give up on your training. It is the next best thing to sleeping for your health, healing, and mental well-being as a mother.
