It is tough to decide when is the proper time to start exercising after giving birth to a child. However, deciding the best postpartum workout or activity might be harder.
As a certified personal trainer and after conducting 35-hour research, I singled out the best workouts, exercises, or activities you can enjoy after the postpartum period.
After reading the article, you will know all the necessary activities to participate in after pregnancy, the proper time to start a postpartum workout program, and the benefits of postpartum exercises.
Quick Summary
- The best postpartum workout activities and exercises include walking, swimming, core stability exercises, gentle strength training, postpartum group classes, postnatal yoga, baby-and-me exercises, pelvic floor exercises, breathing exercise programs, and jogging.
- There isn’t the exact time counted in days, weeks, or months that conclude the right period to start working out after pregnancy, but you should generally seek advice from a doctor when deciding to start with exercise post-pregnancy.
- The benefits of exercising after pregnancy include generally feeling better, having more energy, increased weight loss, improved cardio fitness, and better sleep.
9 Postpartum Exercise Ideas
Below you can find the best exercise ideas for women after pregnancy.
"I have seen women who used to be able to do effortless strict toes to bar suddenly struggle with even a simple sit-up. Sometimes it’s more mild, and other times it stems from diastasis recti—abdominal muscles that separate during pregnancy due to the uterus putting pressure on the two bands of muscle that run down the middle of your abdomen."
- Emily Beers, Certified Personal Trainer
1. Walking
Walking is an excellent physical activity that is low-impact in nature and will allow you to perform it for a prolonged period.
It is great for physical recovery, such as the period after pregnancy, and it will help you tone and strengthen the muscles, such as the ones of the abdominal and pelvic floor.
These muscles generally become weaker during pregnancy and childbirth. Walking also improves your circulation and weight management [1].
Walking can burn a substantial amount of calories since it is considered a low to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.
Furthermore, walking will also burn fat since aerobic activities mostly use fat as fuel for synthesizing adenosine triphosphate, the main energy currency of your body.
2. Swimming
Swimming is considered to have an even lower impact than walking since it puts minimal stress on your muscles and joints.
In addition, this can become extremely beneficial if you have complications with your delivery or are recovering from a cesarean section.
Swimming is also great for simultaneously activating multiple muscle groups and joints, including your core, arms, back, and legs.
This activity will improve your overall cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance.
Swimming efficiently increases your heart rate, improving circulation and strengthening your lungs and heart [2].
Swimming is also a great chance to relieve stress and enjoy relaxation in the water environment.
It is noticeable that calming and relaxing effects are present while immersing ourselves in water and engaging in swimming.
Read More: Swim Workouts for Beginners: Trainer Approved Plan
3. Core Exercises
It is essential to exercise your core musculature in some form after childbirth. This is because your abdominal muscles get stretched during pregnancy and may separate, resulting in diastasis recti.
Diastasis recti is a separation of the rectus abdominis muscle during pregnancy, which occurs from being excessively stretched [3].
Core exercises will also improve your pelvic floor recovery as the pelvic floor muscles undergo significant strains during childbirth and pregnancy.
In addition, you may experience lower back pain after pregnancy, and that's perfectly normal.
However, the pain will likely disappear quickly if you keep exercising your abdominal and core musculature.
Core workouts will also improve your overall fitness, increase your heart rate, and burn a decent amount of calories.
You can enhance and contribute to weight management and improve your energy levels.
4. Gentle Strength Training
The primary function of gentle strength training after pregnancy is restoring muscle tone and strength [4].
Pregnancy and childbirth often lead to significant weakness and loss of muscle tone, especially in areas like the legs, arms, and core.
Bodyweight and gentle strength exercises with weights can help rebuild and strengthen these muscles.
In addition, gentle strength training is also beneficial for boosting your metabolism, which is the sum of all anabolic and catabolic processes.
You will also successfully enhance your bone density, which gets neglected due to lactation and hormonal changes during pregnancy.
Specifically, gentle weight-bearing exercises stimulate bone remodeling and improve bone density.
Lastly, you will improve your functional fitness, essential for kneeling, bending, lifting groceries from the floor, and playing with your child.
5. Postpartum Group Classes
Postpartum group classes' main purpose is to provide sufficient social support.
These classes will allow you to connect with other women, just like you, going through the same or at least similar things.
These things include common postpartum challenges and necessary life adjustments. You will enjoy the supportive community where you can share your concerns and positive and negative experiences and get advice from others.
In addition, postpartum group classes will often include relaxation and mindfulness techniques that are excellent for mental health and clarity. You can freely explore and address the emotional changes of the postpartum period.
Many postpartum group classes include education, new information, and fitness and exercise programs tailored to the needs of new mothers.
These classes primarily focus on postpartum-specific exercises, such as core training, gentle strength training, and pelvic floor exercises.
"A weakened pelvic floor leads women to become quad or hip flexor dominant postpartum to compensate for the weakness. If the pelvic floor isn’t strengthened, it can lead to urinary incontinence, and in extreme cases, eventual organ prolapse."
- Celia Balf, Certified Personal Trainer
6. Postnatal Yoga
Postnatal yoga is an excellent form of physical recovery that incorporates strengthening, gentle stretching, toning exercises, and workouts.
These exercises are specially designed for the postpartum period and postpartum body requirements and will help restore your muscle tone.
This is especially useful for restoring your pelvic floor abdominal muscles. You will also improve your posture and relieve the tension in your back and shoulders.
Postnatal yoga is great for targeting core muscles necessary to keep your back fixed and stable, avoiding lower back pain and unnecessary injuries.
Yoga, as a form of exercise, is also quite good at lowering stress and inducing relaxation, which is necessary after a stressful period such as pregnancy.
Many postnatal yoga exercises and poses are great for improving the overall interaction with your baby.
These special yoga classes often include gentle but effective poses and movements that allow you to connect, hold, and play with your newborn child.
Also Read: Yoga Before Or After a Workout: Which is Better
7. Pelvic Floor Exercises
As mentioned above, childbirth and pregnancy strain and stress the pelvic floor muscles significantly.
This inevitably leads to their stretching, which as a consequence, has the weakening of the muscles.
Pelvic floor exercises are extremely important to help rehabilitate and recover these muscles.
In addition, many women experience urinary incontinence when laughing, sneezing, or coughing after giving birth to a child.
This is where pelvic floor exercises become effective at reducing, but also managing, urinary incontinence.
In addition, weak pelvic floor muscles can also lead to a condition called pelvic organ prolapse. You can effectively avoid this condition by regularly performing pelvic floor exercises.
Lastly, these exercises will also enhance your sexual health and satisfaction by increasing the blood flow to genital areas, enhancing arousal, and improving orgasm intensity.
8. Baby-And-Me Exercises
Baby-and-me exercises will improve the bonding with your baby and provide an opportunity to further interact with your baby while engaging in physical activity.
This is generally done through holding, carrying, or playing with your child during the workouts. These exercises are effective at strengthening your parent-child bond, which will seamlessly foster a sense of connection.
In addition, baby-and-me exercises are specifically designed for the needs of postpartum women, and they typically include exercises targeting areas affected by childbirth or pregnancy.
You will also sense an improvement in social support when you decide to participate in baby-and-me exercise classes since that will be a great opportunity to connect with other new moms.
Lastly, these exercises will improve your body mechanics, which is necessary for healthy posture and ergonomics when interacting with your baby.
9. Jogging
Jogging is a great cardiovascular activity that will force you to work in an aerobic zone, primarily using oxygen to form energy (ATP).
Jogging is excellent at elevating your heart rate and promoting better cardiorespiratory fitness. It will improve your lung capacity, overall endurance, and stamina.
If you participate in regular jogging sessions, you will likely experience better overall fitness and increased energy levels.
In addition, jogging is excellent for weight management since it will burn fat to form energy and excessive calories, allowing you to lose extra kilograms seamlessly.
Jogging will improve your mood and mental well-being by supporting the release of endorphins, natural mood enhancers.
Low to moderate-impact activities such as jogging are also excellent for increasing bone strength and density, which is particularly important for postpartum women.
When Can You Start Exercising After Childbirth?
There is no exact date when you are supposed to start exercising after childbirth.
However, suppose you have given birth vaginally, and your doctor or healthcare provider has given you permission and the all-clear.
In that case, you should probably start exercising immediately as soon as you feel better.
For some baby mammas, this could be within a few days of giving birth to their child, but for others might also be different.
In addition, if you gave birth to a child by a cesarean section or other similar complications, it may take a little longer before you feel and are ready to start exercising.
Many doctors say that after giving birth with a cesarean section, you can start with light workouts and exercises for about four to six weeks.
However, it is always best to seek advice from your healthcare provider for personal guidance.
FAQs
What Workouts Are Best for Postpartum?
The best workouts for postpartum are walking, swimming, gentle strength training, postnatal yoga, jogging, and similar activities. Participating in just about any activity that will activate your major muscle groups, abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor muscles will boost your mood and increase your energy level.
Which Exercise Is Best for Postpartum Belly?
There isn’t such a thing as the best exercise for the postpartum belly. Furthermore, you should consider enjoying any postnatal exercise program that will raise your energy levels, boost your mood, and decrease anxiety.
How Can I Reduce My Tummy After Delivery?
You can reduce your tummy after delivery by participating in a high-quality postpartum exercise program, regularly performing breathing exercises, and following a healthy diet and supplementation plan. It is always best to indulge in a regular fitness routine that will activate both your lower and upper body muscles and your core.
What Supplement Should I Take for Postpartum Workouts?
You should take a high-quality multivitamin supplement for postpartum workouts.
There are two essential things your body needs to function normally: macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients include proteins, fat, and carbs, and with a proper diet, you will likely get all the necessary things you need.
However, ingesting the diverse and proper amounts of micronutrients may be tricky after giving birth to a child, so I highly suggest reading our guide on the best multivitamins for women to pick the one that will suit your needs the best.
Let me know what your favorite postpartum workout or exercise is and why.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4453623/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7730683/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9498119/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377696/
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