How Soon Can You Exercise After a Pregnancy?
After you have your baby you will probably be anxious to lose weight and get back into shape. Exercising after your baby is born can give you a needed physical and mental boost. It can also tire you out, so finding just the right time and type of exercise will be important.
When
Check with your doctor on how soon you should start an exercise program. If you had a difficult pregnancy or delivery or have health complications your recovery time will be longer. Generally, for a normal pregnancy and delivery, your doctor will tell you to wait for about six weeks after delivery before you start an exercise program. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist states, "It will take a while to regain your strength after the strain of pregnancy and birth. You should allow your body time to recover. But, as soon as you feel up to it, talk to your doctor about when you can start an exercise program." If you had a cesarean section it may take a bit longer to gain your strength back, but if you feel ready and your doctor gives the okay, then you can start exercising.
Walking
During that six-week waiting period, it is generally fine to take short walks. Bundle the baby up and put him in a stroller and take a walk around the neighborhood. Start small and build up to maybe 20 or 30 minutes. You will probably be walking very slowly and this is fine. Work up slowly to a brisk pace.
Safety
During these walks you will probably notice that your hips and pelvic region might feel loose or out of shape. This is due to the hormones, which relaxed your ligaments, and joints for delivery might still be in your body. You may also discover that your breasts are heavy and need additional support. This is a good time to buy a good sports bra. Some women wear two sports bras for the extra support needed.
Types of Exercises
After the six to eight week recovery period, you can start a regular exercise routine. You should still start slowly and work your way up. You do not want to injure yourself or tire yourself out so you can't take care of your baby. Yoga and low impact aerobics are a good place to start.
Kegel Exercises
Your abdominal muscles will be out of shape after pregnancy. Most women develop a gap in the center of their abdominal muscles while they are pregnant. This gap can take up to eight weeks to close. Your abdominal muscles will gradually get stronger and grow back together. If you start to exercise strenuously too early, you may pull a muscle or injure your abdominal muscles.
Doing Kegel exercises can strengthen your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles safely and gently. There are several different ways you can do Kegel exercises. Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor. Tilt your pelvis upward and pull your belly button down. As you do this squeeze the muscles you use to stop urination. Hold for about 10 to 15 seconds. Release and repeat. If you are not able to feel the muscles that shut off the flow of urine you can do Kegels sitting on the toilet a couple of times until you know what it feels like. Basically while you are urinating, just stop your flow of urine for about five seconds and then start it again. Do that a few times until you are familiar with the deep pelvic floor muscles that shut off urination. Now you can do Kegels lying on your back, sitting down or even standing up.
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