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What does a Postpartum Exercise Program look like?
So your a new mum, Congratulations!
You’ve just had your baby, now what?
When it comes to beginning your exercise journey again after having your baby, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. First things first its important to have your 6 week postnatal appointment with your GP and be given the all clear to exercise again (For phase 2). It’s also advisable to see a pelvic health physio to be properly assessed if possible. A dedicated physio will go more in depth and be able to tell you what areas you need to work on or if you have any issues after pregnancy.
Once you have the green light then its time to think about exercising again. There are a few things I like my clients to think about before starting their first gym sessions.
Do you truly feel ready both mentally and physically to start exercising again?
Are your goals realistic for your situation right now?
Do you have the support you need and knowledge to safely start working out without causing injury or making issues worse.
If the answer is yes, then let’s go through what a 9-12 month Postnatal Exercise Program will entail.
There are three phases, the main thing to remember with these phases is that they are not a time frame that is set in stone. You can take as long as you need through each phase, but I recommend to not rush the phases.
Phase 1: Rehab and recovery (0-6 Weeks)
Phase 2: Return to exercise (7-18 weeks)
Phase 3: Prime & prepare (19-42 Weeks)
Phase 1: Rehab and Recovery (0-6 Weeks)
The first phase begins as soon as your baby is born, this phase is focused on rest mainly with a few possible activities to consider. Once you have had your baby, this is when your body starts to heal naturally while you rest as much as possible at home. Depending on what type of birth you had, in this next 6 weeks you can slowly start to add movement back into your life, such as walking, pelvic floor exercises and gentle stretching. It’s also important to remember that rushing through this phase will not lead to a faster recovery in fact this may hold things back.
You may be thinking well I thought you couldn’t do any exercise before my 6 week check, this is correct in regards to giving your legal permission to a coach for example but it’s mainly a guideline, to avoid mum’s returning to exercise too quickly or before they are ready.
It’s important that your body has the time to heal on a deeper level, you may seem healed on the outside but on the inside, for example your pelvic floor or if you have had a C-Section your much deeper stitches will still be healing.
So why is it a good idea to start building in some movement during this recovery phase?
Doing gentle movement can help:
. Helps reduce aches and pains
. Promotes healing through increased blood flow
. Help start to regain function in your pelvic floor and core
. Prepare you for returning to exercise
. Provides useful functional carryover
. Good for mental health
Here’s what you can include:
Light walking, for example start with ten minutes and build your way back up. You can usually start doing this again around 5-7 days after birth. But you know what is right for you.
Pelvic floor exercises, these can be started as soon as you feel comfortable. It’s a great idea to pair this with the connection breath too. (If your not sure about what the connection breath is e-mail me for a free pdf on how to do this).
Stretches, these can help with the general aches and pains.
What to look out for and if you have any pain or any of these symptoms, then make sure you stop and rest.
Exercises/movement that causes a bulging or doming between your abdominal muscles
Movement that causes pelvic floor symptoms, such as leaking, pain, heaviness
Movement that makes your feel worse when you have done
Phase 2: The Return to Exercise (7-18 Weeks)
Now you have reached your 6 week mark and most likely got the all clear from your doctor. It’s time to start your return to exercise phase. This is such an exciting phase for new mum’s as it allows you the time to reconnect with your self after being a 24-7 feeding machine for your little one. It’s time to start looking after you and claiming back some precious time for your self, even if it’s just 20 minutes.
This phase helps you safely move from recovery to a structured exercise routine, and will help you gain the strength and fitness to be able to go back to the type of training you did before or work towards a more advance training plan.
It’s good to note too that even if you are 6 plus weeks postpartum this is the phase you should start with if you have not exercised since having your baby. For example you are 6 months postpartum but never started your exercise until now. This phase lasts 12 weeks, which will help increase your core and pelvic floor strength, rebuilding strength and possible building muscle mass, and improve aerobic fitness.
An example week for phase two could look something like
2-3 strength sessions
1 -2 moderate intensity cardio (possible hiit from weeks 13)
When it comes to phase two, I want you to remember that you are still recovering from pregnancy and birth, it’s important to consider your energy levels and what amount of time per week you are able to dedicate to training. It’s also important to remember that you may have to frequently change your workout times, move sessions about etc and that’s ok, this is when you learn to be more flexible.
What exercises should I not include in this phase?
High impact exercises such as box jumps & running
Heavily loaded exercises
High intensity (HIIT)
If you experience any of the following then its important to stop and speak to a doctor:
Heaviness in the vagina or perineum
Leaking urine
Back or pelvic pain
Exhaustion after every session
Note: it takes your body (Tissue recovery and remodelling) up to a year to heal
Phase 3: Prime & Prepare (Weeks 19-42)
The goal of this phase is to help you return to any specialised activity you want to, and achieve your goals, for example running a marathon anyone? This phase should only be started if you have finished the 12 weeks return to exercise phase. Consider these things when you are thinking about starting phase 3:
Have I made progress in my workouts through increased load, volume, frequency?
Have I built foundational strength in functional movement?
Have I left most sessions feeling better than when I started?
Was I mostly symptom free during exercise?
If the answer is yes then it’t time to jump on in to phase 3, if no then stay with phase 2 a little longer and reassess each week.
A week in phase 3 may look like:
2-4 Strength sessions
1 - 2 moderate intensity cardio
1 Hiit session
You can also do as much restorative activity as you would like, this looks like walking and general daily movement.
Now is a great time to reflect on how your phase 2 training went, and what you enjoyed and what wasn’t so great. You can then think about adding what you enjoyed into your new phase.
So what can you include in this phase?
High intensity interval training, if you feel like you are ready to increase your level of cardio, you can add on 1 hiit session per week for around 10-15 mins, once you adapt to this style of training you can add another sessions per week on top.
Higher Load, you can now start to add slightly heavier weights or increase the sets and reps
High impact, you can now start adding in high impact exercise such as running
Note: Think about the activities you love to do such as hiking, rowing, tennis etc. What ways do you enjoy moving your body?
Then ask your self:
What are the main type of exercises involved in this activity?
What are some exercises you could do in your program that would help with your hobby?
What muscles are you working in your favourite activity? How could you use these muscles in your strength training plan?
Phase 3 is the longest and lasts all the way up to 42 weeks, this is because it takes up to a year for your body to heal, as this is the natural repair of our bodies tissue. If you still don’t feel fully back to normal after this 42 weeks, don’t stress as this is just a guideline and you can keep going with phase 3 for much longer if you wish. It’s all about listening to your body and looking after her. There is no deadline and no bounce back. So enjoy the time and focus on rebuilding slowly and safely, rushing the phases will not shorten your recovery time and may even prolong it.
I hope this was helpful, this is how I structure mum’s return to exercise through my own coaching, if you would like more information please feel free to reach out.
In the mean time, have a lovely day
Kelly x
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