On average pregnant women put on between 17 and 30lb in total. You may have been witnessing these changes in amazement or you may be worrying how you’re going to lose all that extra weight once the baby is born.
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The good news is that if you’ve managed to keep active throughout pregnancy and were fit and well beforehand it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, as long as you’re realistic about what you want to achieve.
Here are 5 tips from kiddicare.com to get you on track to achieving your pre-baby body:
Exercise for fitness first
Remember that your shape has changed, so measuring yourself against your previously toned physique may not be a fair comparison. Trainer Margarita Bennet explains: “After birth, everything has stretched out like a balloon so there is nothing holding you up. Poor core stability impacts everything and can make everything ache and many women suffer lower back pain.”
Strengthening these muscles will come in handy when it comes to lifting up your growing baby and will improve the health of your spine. Make sure you begin gently as the hormone relaxin, which is built up during pregnancy, can mean that you may still be a bit wobbly for a few weeks (or even months) afterwards. It goes without saying that you should wait until your six-week check-up before undertaking any strenuous exercise.
Work it into your routine
You may find yourself pushed for time but you can achieve great results by exercising in short sharp bursts. Why not inject a little more energy into whatever you find yourself doing? Pushing a buggy can be a great cardiovascular workout, and there are a few things you can do to make it work harder for you. Simply increasing the speed you are walking at will get the blood pumping and after a while you can graduate to a jog.
If you haven’t bought your buggy yet and are planning to spend time jogging ‘off road,’ a more robust model will better suit your needs. Try the Baby Summit XC which is designed for exercise and will give your baby a smooth ride over all terrain.
Use equipment you have around the house
If you used a birthing ball during pregnancy or to assist you during labour, there’s no reason to deflate it now. A birthing ball is practically the same as an ordinary gym ball so you’ll be able to use it during your workout at home.
To start off with, just sitting on the ball as you did during pregnancy is a great way to strengthen your core muscles. Once you feel you’ve regained some strength in this area you can use your ball to support yourself during half push-ups and squats against the wall.
Join a class
As postnatal fitness is such a big issue for new mums, you should be able to find a mum-friendly fitness class wherever you live. Some even make special provision for you to take baby along, so you won’t have to miss out on any feeds or arrange for childcare.
Kelly Basset who runs BuggyFit, a postnatal class in Brighton, suggests: “Working with someone qualified can help as they can look at your posture. It’s all about pulling it all back together. Pilates is fantastic for getting your belly back.”
‘Workout’ with baby
Even without making a special effort to incorporate workout time, lifting baby in and out of his or her crib, bouncing to soothe them, lugging around a car seat and changing bag and going for long walks (not drives) to get them off to sleep will help tone muscles that you may not have used for a while.
While this may not give you the sort of definition and strength you’re hoping for, if you find yourself too tired, or overwhelmed by motherhood to put a proper routine in place, rest assured that your body is working harder than you think. As Margarita explains: “Try not to turn fitness into a big deal. Remember that life has changed and enjoy your baby.”
For a range of fitness friendly prams plus more advice on everything you need for a new baby visit: www.kiddicare.com/
Share your post-baby fitness tips with us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
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