Exerecise Postpartum

momRN2B

I am not up to there yet but I was wondering if anyone had any experiences they could share. I was working out doing ''the 30 day shred'' for 9 months before I got pregnant and then i switched to ''body by trimester'' by Joy southworth once I got pregnant. I hope to continue working out till I give birth. I know that postpartum i have to wait 4-6 weeks till my midwife clears me for exercise, I am just wondering if I will lose my muscle tone and strength during that time. So for those of you who exercised throughout your pregnancies, what was your experience postpartum?

nan199678

I'm looking forward to some responses too! I did plan about a month before I can start exercise but not sure what I'll be doing yet. :-)

Rubyayn

I am still going strong at 34 weeks with lifting, cardio and yoga, so I can report back and let you know. I was not in shape with my daughter, so I have no past experience. I am hoping I don't lose too much, but I am sure it will take a while to get back into the swing of things. I started lifting lightly last year with Jillian Michaels body revolution program and it really reshaped my body. I plan to start with that and build my strength back up before I go back to work and lift the heavier weights. My gym is at work, so it should all work out.

ContraryMaryMary

Giving birth can be brutal. I wanted to get back into exercise right away but could thanks to an episiotomy and sore boobs - running is my thing. Also, you can't do anything high impact for three weeks post partum as you risk uterine prolapse (your uterus can fall out, seriously!) as it turned out I started running again two months after giving birth and it took about two weeks to start feeling fit again. There's no rush - gently does it (and you'll be pretty shattered thanks to those 2-3 hourly feeds).

However, I started walking within a week - started small and built up my distance as my strength returned. With regards to ab exercise you have to wait until your abdominal muscles come back together again as this varies from woman to woman (mine took three months). However I have heard planking is ok (double check this first).

My main focus for the first six weeks was kegels!

kristinc06837

There is a great podcast segment a week or two ago with Andrea Orbeck about Post partum fitness on the Jillian Michaels show. My plan is also to go back to Jillians Body Revolution after having baby but I was considering asking my Dr about if doing videos that are for prenatal fitness would be okay to start at if I am feeling up to it before my 4-6 weeks is up. Just a curiosity thought. My main objective will just be walks each day I feel up to just to keep things Moving and feel energized. I can't wait to get back to my Jillian work outs I've currently been doing elliptical and Andrea Orbecks Pregnancy sculpt dvd and it is a good level but intense which still makes me feel like Im doing something which is nice. A lot of pregnancy fitness dvds I feel very patronized does any one else feel that way?

McFelix57

I am two months post partum, so I will share my experience. I did CrossFit throughout my entire pregnancy. After my delivery, I started walking right away. (Keep in mind I had a pretty smooth delivery - a few minor tears, only one required stitches). I felt perfectly fine, so I started working out on the elliptical after about 3 weeks, and started running (slowly) at about 5 weeks. After my 6 week check up, I was cleared for all exercise, so then I resumed CrossFit. I definitely have lost some strength, but I think it's a combination of reducing my weights through pregnancy and not lifting for 6 weeks.

I will say that I have been a little disappointed about the pregnancy weight loss. I gained 35 lbs, and lost about 13 from delivering. I've since lost another 10, so I still have 12 lbs to get to my pre-pregnancy weight BUT I am two pants sizes up from where I was. I still have a little belly, which is SO annoying. I was hoping that the weight would come off very easily since I worked out my whole pregnancy... But I really can't complain. I still would like to lose another 10-15 after I get to my pre-pregnancy weight to get to where I'd really like to be, so I am back to tracking calories and getting closer to a Paleo eating plan.

Hope this info helps! Feel free to ask me any questions

TheLaser

4.5 months postpartum here. I am an exercise addict and I tried hard to stay active during my pregnancy. But I felt SO absolutely miserable most of the time that I only managed weak swim workouts, kinda lame water running, some slow walking, and lots of prenatal yoga. My delivery left me with a brutal tear and I felt awful for weeks after delivery. Establishing breastfeeding was particularly challenging as my baby had a tongue-tie and thrush, both of which affected my supply and had me basically chained to a chair pumping to bring it back up (happy to report that we are doing awesome now!). Heavy exercise may also affect your supply, so beware mothers who are planning on breasfeeding. My main exercise for weeks was very slow walking. At 3 months postpartum I got back into working out more seriously but it is slow going.

Every woman's experience is unique and my story might sound to some like a worst-case scenario, but I want to share what I learned from it: cut yourself some slack. We all worked hard on MFP to get our bodies where we want them to be, and it's great to stay fit and healthy by exercising postpartum. I would have loved it if I could have just bounced right back into the body and exercise routine I had before, but I think nature slowed my crazy workout self down for a reason: in order to properly care for and nurse this precious baby, my body required a slow recovery. Everything is so different postpartum exercise-wise and food-wise (how many calories does breastfeeding actually use? it's variable and highly individual) that it's also difficult to calculate the right MFP equation for weight loss. I'm working out but I've accepted that I'm just going to be slower for awhile. I know how to get back into shape and I will return to my old self when the time is right.

momRN2B

Thanx McFelix57 and TheLaser for sharing your postpartum experiences, keep em comin ladies!