5 Exercises to Try After Baby
You’ve been seriously blessed with your bundle of joy, and love spending time with him. Being a mom can make you realize that being fit and healthy is more important than ever, so you’ve made a new commitment to working out. And, you’re also ready to get your body back.
Let go of the idea that you’ll have a solid hour to exercise and fit in both strength and cardio. National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer Kathy Saporito recommends sneaking 10 minutes of strength moves or 15 minutes of walking when you can.
Do clear any exercise, particularly the ones below, with your doctor before attempting them. If you had pregnancy complications or a c-section, you need to be particularly respectful of your body’s healing process.
Exercise 1: Walking
A woman of any fitness level, and even a mom who’s undergone a c-section, can start with walking. It’s the most accessible way to get moving again in a natural way. “Walking is the best choice for cardio and for fighting fatigue,” says Saporito, who trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
It helps burn calories, keeps swelling in your legs and ankles to a minimum and gets you out in nature. Plus, it’s an exercise you can do with your baby. Don’t worry about form, speed or distance at first. Simply get accustomed to moving again.
Start with 10-minute bouts and work your way up to 20, 30 and even 50 minutes. Get yourself a baby jogger and in a month or two, you can alternate walking and jogging to increase the intensity. “Watch for increased vaginal bleeding or feeling exhausted — both are signs that you over-exerted yourself,” notes Saporito.
Exercise 2: Hip Bridges
A week or two after delivery, as long as your doctor says it’s OK, add in hip bridges. This move strengthens your glutes and spinal support muscles. It also tightens your pelvic floor, which likely needs a little assistance these days.
To do a hip bridge, lie on your back and plant your feet on the floor in front of your buttocks. Place your knees about hip-distance apart. Inhale and lift your hips as you squeeze your glutes and tighten your perineum as if you’re doing a Kegel. Hold your hips up for one count and then lower back to the ground.
After a few weeks of doing two to three sets of 15 to 20 reps of this move, progress to putting your feet on a stability ball as you hike your hips up, suggests Saporito. The instability “recruits more of your core muscles.”
Exercise 3: Plank
“The first inclination of many new moms is to start doing crunches,” says Saporito, “but they don’t help strengthen your transverse abdominus or your pelvic floor, both of which are vital for a strong core.” Planks train these internal abdominal muscles, and when your inner abs are strong, you’ve got a foundation from which to build the outer and side abs with crunches.
Plus, you can perform a plank while on the floor next to junior as he gets his all-important tummy time.
Saporito suggests starting with a pre-plank: Get into all fours, draw your belly to your spine and lift your knees 1 to 2 inches off the floor. When you feel stronger, go into a full plank by extending your legs back so you’re resting on the balls of the feet and your palms or forearms. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds at first, without hiking or sagging your hips. Work your way up to 30, or even 90 seconds.
Exercise 4: Lunges
Walking lunges are a fantastic lower body exercise that slide right into your new baby routine. Lunge down the hallway of your house as baby naps, or weave a few sets into your daily walk.
To lunge, stand with your feet hip distance apart and step forward three to four feet with your right leg. Bend the right knee until your back knee almost touches the ground. Step your left foot up to meet your right and then repeat the move with your left leg leading.
Exercise 5: Squat Thrusts
The squat thrusts combine the benefits of a squat, a plank and cardio in one move. Do a set of 15 between strength exercises to burn extra calories and build lower body stamina.
To do a squat thrust, stand with your feet hip-distance apart and hinge forward from your hips. Place your hands on the floor and jump or step back into a plank. Immediately jump or step forward and stand back up.
With more than 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, Andrea Cespedes coaches cycling and running and teaches various group fitness classes. She’s also an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, ERYT-200 hour yoga instructor/teacher trainer and has degrees from Princeton and Columbia Universities. Andrea is a professionally trained chef, a Precision Nutrition coach and a certified nutrition therapy practitioner, educated at the Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver. She’s also mom to two happy grade-school age kids.
