Post Natal Training Plan – Phase 1

The following exercises are designed to prepare your body to return to exercise in a safe and secure way. They can be done as soon as you feel like you have the energy, even within 24 hours postpartum.

When to safely returning to exercise is one of the things new moms are often confused about. Your body may look relatively normal after a few days or week, but it has been through a lot of changes over the past 9-10 months, and you shouldn’t expect to jump right back into your pre-pregnancy routines or to get your pre-pregnancy body back right away. Your body has performed a miracle, so treat it with love and respect and work on accepting that it will never be exactly the same again. Instead of being focused on what your body used to look like, concentrate on recovery, health, and well-being.

Many would like to return to some type of training as soon as possible to start reducing the “mommy tummy” and feel better in their bodies, but they might have been given conflicting advice. The common recommendation is that you can begin light activities (the below exercises and walking) as soon as you feel up for it. This will help with recovery and increase your feeling of well-being. In general, women are advised to wait until 6 weeks after delivery before returning to actual training. This allows time to heal and avoids additional stress. That being said, when you’re actually ready to begin will depend a lot on how active you were before you fell pregnant and how active you were during your pregnancy, as well as what type of delivery you had (vaginal, cesarian, straight-forward or complicated).

You may find yourself ready to return to training 2 or 3 weeks postpartum or not feel like you should return until a few months later. There’s no right or wrong, it’s about listening to your body.

To guide you in the process I’ve decided to make 3 videos going over what you should be doing in each stage of postpartum training, from the first light activation exercises in Phase 1 where I’ll teach you how to breath and engage your abdominal muscles again, to the more intense workouts in Phase 3, where your body is starting to feel great but you’re still better off avoiding certain exercises causing intense intra-abdominal pressure that will put too much stress on your linea alba if you still have a diastasis recti.

Click here to read more about diastasis recti.

Exercise Descriptions:

Exercise 1: Diaphragmatic breathing

Your abdominal muscles assist the diaphragm when doing a forced exhalation.

Position:
Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the bed.
Place your right hand on your upper chest and your left hand just above your navel.

1: Inhale slowly through your nose for 7 seconds and feel your left hand rising. Your right hand should remain still. Pause for 3 seconds.

2: Exhale forcefully through your mouth for 7 seconds and consciously contract your abdominal muscles, imagining bringing both sides of your lower ribs together towards your navel. Repeat for 10 breathing cycles.

Exercise 2: Supine Pelvic Tilts

This movement is opposite to the anterior pelvic tilt most women develop during pregnancy, to compensate for the changes in their body.

Especially during the last trimester, the rectus abdominis has been stretched (and separated) and gluteal activation has been limited because of the changes in your body. This exercise engages your gluteal muscles and the rectus abdominis, to encourage activation of the muscles and more posterior pelvic tilt.

Position:
Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the bed.

1: Find the bony points on your pelvis (ASIS) and place your fingertips on them. Now slide your fingers about 2 inches towards the midline of your body and slightly down.

2: Contract your glutes as you tuck your pelvis up and back, pulling your tailbone in between your legs. Simultaneously engage your deep core muscles by drawing your navel inwards, towards your spine, while flattening your low back against the bed. Hold the position for 20 seconds.

Relax for 10 seconds, then repeat 10 times.

Exercise 3: Abdominal Contraction

This exercise engages the rectus abdominis and improves its readiness to function and support you in your daily life.

Position:
Start lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the bed. Place your hands behind your head and stack your palms on one another, don’t interlace your fingers.

1: Contract your rectus abdominis like you did for the supine pelvic tilts. Now hold the contraction and elevate your head from the bed or mat, just until the stomach muscles are engaged (it’s a small movement, not a full crunch) Exhale for a count of 10 seconds as you hold the position and contraction. Release and relax for 5 seconds. Repeat for 10 repetitions.

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If you have any doubts about whether you’re ready to get back into training, always consult with your doctor and listen to your body.

Any queries or questions? Please leave a comment!