Exercises for Right After Delivery
Oh baby! I know this is what every mom wants to know and I’m excited to share my expertise with you, but I need you to know that it is not to be understood as medical advice or a medical recommendation. Always check with your healthcare team before proceeding with any exercise. Got it? Ok :)
Most of the time, women wait to begin exercising after giving birth until they are cleared by their doctor at their six-week post-partum check up. This is wise because there is so much of the tissue healing that can only happen when our bodies rest, so I definitely recommend waiting the full six weeks before beginning a workout. However, there are exercises that are helpful to do before that 6 week mark because they activate the core muscles that help stabilize our body during movement. Stabilization is important first step to preventing injury, reducing pain and discomfort and getting the most out of your workouts and even everyday activities.
So let’s take a look shall we? Remember, listen to your body and ask questions! With all of these moves you will use and connect your breath to movement. This breath work is a powerful healing tool you can do anytime but is especially helpful post-partum.
Exercise 1: Pelvic Tucks
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor. Take a nice expanding inhale, letting your belly rise. As you slowly exhale, curl your tailbone, tucking your hips and hold until you’re ready to inhale again. As you inhale, untuck your pelvis returning to the starting position. Repeat with an exhale.
What you should feel: With practice, you should feel tension in your abdominals below your belly button as they draw in with the tucking motion. Your low back may feel a nice stretch too, but it should not be painful.
Tip: You can place your hands over this area to help guide the muscles into action or imagine your hip bones moving closer together. If you had a C-section, use caution with how tightly you let yourself squeeze here! Go easy at the beginning here.
Exercise 2: Arm Circles
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, arms straight and by your sides. Inhale and raise your arms over your head drawing a rainbow. Exhale while you open your arms out the side and “snow-angel” them back to start.
TIP: In the lowering part of the rainbow- if you start to feel your upper back lifting from the floor or arching, lessen how far your lower your arms. Lower just before your back starts to peel off of the floor. Also if you see a ridge appearing down your midline- adjust your posture and stop lowering your arms just before the ridge appears.
WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL: In the exhale phase, imagine your abdominals folding together like clasped hands as your exhale brings your arms back by your sides- you may have moved like this in a swimming pool if you know elementary backstroke! In the inhale phase, you should feel tension building in your abdominal as they “fight” to keep your back flat on the floor.
Exercise 3: Quadruped Belly Breaths
Begin on all fours, with wrists under shoulders, knees under hips and back flat. Inhale and release the belly, let it relax and hang low. Exhale and starting with the lowest part of your abs below your belly button and moving up, lift those muscles back up towards your spine and work to hold as long as your exhale. Inhale relax and exhale repeat.
TIP: The better you can relax the muscles, the better you can control build their strength. Keep your back flat throughout the movement- this is not cat-cow but abdominal isolation.
Exercise 4: Foot Raises
Lie on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, back flat (slightly tuck your pelvis). Inhale. As you exhale, lift your right foot 1-inch off the floor -that’s not a lot! Hold until your ready to inhale, then lower while inhaling.
TIP: Whenever you exhale, your abdominals should draw in, especially during this movement. Keep your back flat on the floor and go slow, don’t try to lift your foot more than 1” off the floor- just enough to slide your hand underneath.
WHAT YOU SHOULD FEEL: You should feel like one side of your abdominals is working harder than the other to raise and keep that foot lifted. Also, your lower abdominals should be pulling in- not pushing out. A little shaking is okay ;)
Don’t be alarmed if these moves take more mental energy than physical energy at the beginning. They aren’t complicated moves but anything new takes time to master. These early post-partum exercises are the foundation we build on in my corrective exercise post-partum fitness program called The First 6. Through the program, moms learn how to use their abdominals in everyday activities like holding baby to carrying the carseat as well as during traditional exercises to help build strength, reduce incontinence, improve posture, and feel confident in their body.