How to get your figure back post-pregnancy and turn yourself into a yummy mummy
Getting back into shape post-pregnancy is an ultimate task of a health conscious mother. Free Pic by xenia, via morguefile.com
As if it wasn’t enough to have to go through the pregnancy and birth. Now you’ve got the figure you never wanted complete with a tummy that actually wobbles when you laugh. Someone remind you why you did it all again? Oh, right, to have a baby. Yes of course it’s worth it but there’s no denying every mother wants to get back to her pre-pregnancy shape as soon as possible. Preferably by doing as little as possible.Unfortunately, it will take work, and time, to regain your shape. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your body has gone through a lot and will take months to fully recover. Don’t be disheartened either, though. Your body can recover if you are prepared to give it what it needs.
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Besides losing weight, exercise has other, very important health benefits. During the last six months of your pregnancy when you were probably fairly immobile, you may have lost up to 25% of your bone density. Weight bearing exercises such as walking or running will help your bones become dense again, warding off osteoporosis. Good doses of calcium (found in milk, dark green vegetables and tinned fish) and vitamin D (found in oily fish and sunshine) are also essential to prevent brittle bones so make sure you include these in your diet in addition to doing weight bearing exercise. Exhaustion and depression can also be helped by exercise as it causes levels of feel good endorphins to rise and gives you more energy. It speeds up the excretion of stress by-products and even helps digestion. So, aside from helping you to lose weight and tone up, there are plenty of other reasons to get back to the gyms in London.
What exercises should you aim to be doing and when? Other than making sure you get exercising those pelvic floor muscles, it is advised that you don’t start exercising the rest of your body until six weeks after the birth, and only then once your stomach muscles have knitted back together. You can check this by making sure that the gap between the two vertical abdominal muscles just above your tummy button has reduced to two finger widths. Once you are ready to get moving, you should be aiming to do some form of aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Aerobic exercise is anything that gets your heart pumping and can be as simple as brisk walking, although you should aim to step up your session time to at least 30 minutes if walking is your exercise of choice. Remember that your ligaments remain soft for several months, so take care not to put too much pressure on your joints. In fact, you would be well advised to avoid high impact aerobic exercises such as running, skipping or aerobic classes for six months after the birth. Swimming and walking are safer options.
Two or three times a week, you should also concentrate on toning your muscles. Stomach muscles are probably the key area that most new mums want to focus on, but don’t forget the rest of you. Any arm toning exercises you can muster will help for the future – that baby isn’t going to get any lighter! Here are some exercises to get you started at home if you don’t feel up to braving the gyms in London yet:
1. Biceps curl. Hold your weights down by your sides, fingers facing forwards. Keeping your elbows pressed in to your waist, lift the weights slowly to your shoulders as you breathe out. Bring them down again slowly, breathing in. Aim for 20 reps.This will improve your arm strength.
2. Triceps extension. Hold the weights between your shoulder blades, elbows pointing upwards withyour arms are by your ears. Keeping your upper arms still, extend your arms to the ceiling slowly, breathing out. Slowly lower your arms, breathing in. Aim for 20 reps again. Keep your elbows soft as you raise the weights. This will keep those batwings in check!
3. Chest flye. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your tummy pulled in so your
lower back is pressed into the floor. Hold the weights out to your side with your arms outstretched and flat on the floor, palms facing up. Keeping your arms straight but elbows soft, lift the weights up until they touch directly above your chest. Breathe out as you lift. Breathing in, slowly lower the weights. Aim for 20 reps. This will keep your chest and shoulders toned and help firm your bust after breastfeeding!
4. Leg lifts. Hold on to the back of a chair and, keeping your hips still and your tummy pulled in, raise one directly leg behind you just a few centimetres as you breathe out, and lower it as you breathe in. Keep movements slow and precise. Repeat as many times as you can manage on both legs. This will help your bottom and that troublesome area, the back of your thigh. Toning your bottom will not only help it look better but also help any lower back pain.
5. Tummy tightener. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Tilt your pelvis up slightly as if you were balancing a tray of marbles on your groin. Suck your tummy in as far as you can and hold it, all the while breathing in and out. Do not hold your breath. Release when ready and repeat. Aim to do this 20 times. This will help to flatten that stomach!
Keep weights light and work up to doing the recommended repetitions as you feel ready. You don’t need to buy any special weights, just fill up two small bottles with water instead. Once you are ready to hit the gyms in London, go to www.payasugym.com where you can find gyms that offer pay as you go visits.
