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GETTING FIT AFTER
PREGNANCY: The First Six Weeks
by: Nancy C. Karabaic, C.C.S.
The first six weeks after your child is born is a
time of constant change in your life. You are
recovering from giving birth, bonding with your new
family member and trying to get enough sleep! You’d
like to start exercising again but you’re not sure
of when you can start and what you can and can’t do.
Below is a timetable for exercise the first six
weeks after birth.
You can start your exercise program just a few hours
after giving birth, even if you’ve had a C-section!
The first exercise you will do is deep belly
breathing. Start by thinking of your lungs and belly
as a bellows. Fill them up with air. Slowly let it
out. Repeat. This is a good way to start to tighten
up your abdominal area. You can also continue to do
your kegel exercises. The kegels and deep belly
breathing will help recondition your pelvic and
abdominal muscles.
Continue the deep belly breathing and kegel
exercises for the first two weeks after giving
birth. After the second week, you can start taking
short and easy walks. The walks can be anywhere from
5-15 minutes in length. Keep them gentle and do what
you feel you can do.
As you develop your exercise program, please keep
the following rule in mind: if you experience any
pain, dizziness, fatigue or an increase in bleeding,
stop the exercise and check with your doctor or
mid-wife.
Weeks 4 through 6 you’ll want to maintain your
routine of short and gentle walks. Stretching can be
added. It is a gentle exercise that feels good. If
you aren’t sure what stretches to do, there is an
excellent book by Bob Anderson called Stretching. It
will give you lots of different stretches to try.
Gentle exercise will aid in healing and improve your
mood. Your goal for the first six weeks after birth
is to use exercise as a way to relieve stress, not
add to it!
You can start weight training as early as week 4 if
you haven’t had a C section and the other exercises
you are doing aren’t causing you any of the problems
listed above. Squats and lunges should be avoided
for at least another few weeks. If you have never
done strength training before, there are several
ways you can start. One is to try exercise videos.
Any of the “Firm” videos are good – just don’t do as
many exercises as they have you do! Start your
weight training with just 6 to 8 repetitions of each
exercise. If you were able to do your strength
training and not have any soreness afterwards, you
can add 1 or 2 repetitions each time you lift
weights. If you are sore afterwards, do a little bit
less the next time you exercise. You probably did a
bit too much.
Another way to start using weights is to look at any
of the books by Dr. Joyce Vedral. Her illustrations
make it easy to start. There is also the option of
going to the gym and making an appointment with a
personal trainer. A trainer will give you a program
and show you how to use various machines and free
weights.
Weight training is done every other day and no more
than 3 times per week. You want to eventually work
up to one set of 12-15 repetitions for each
exercise. Strength training will give you results
more quickly than other types of exercise. Pregnancy
has a tendency to make us flabby and weight training
will take care of that!
Don’t rush yourself to lose your pregnancy weight.
Give yourself the time you need to slowly see
progress, especially if you’ve had a C-section. If
possible, find another mom to exercise with you. You
are more likely to get your exercise in and you have
the added benefit of a buddy to keep you going!
Nancy C. Karabaic is a mom and a certified personal
trainer. For more information about losing your
pregnancy weight or to find out about her mom’s
fitness classes, visit her website at
www.nancykarabaic.com
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