Trainers: When Can Clients Workout After Having a Baby?

If you engaged in regular exercise before your pregnancy, you might want to jump back into your workout as soon as possible after giving birth. Or maybe you didn’t consistently exercise beforehand. But now, you want to get rid of your baby weight. Whatever your circumstances, the same question remains. When is it okay to exercise after having a baby?

We will answer this question for you. We’ll also share a few benefits of postpartum exercise—in case you’re on the fence about exercising at all. We’ll also give you factors to consider before doing cardio or strength training after the baby is born. If you determine that you’re ready, following some guidelines can keep your exercise safe. We even provide a postpartum fitness routine to get you started. 

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before we get into all of that, let’s address the real reason you are here. Let’s talk about when it’s okay to start an exercise routine after giving birth.

When Can You Workout After Having a Baby?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reports that exercise can typically begin a few days after the baby is born. However, this does come with some caveats. For instance, it only applies if the pregnancy was healthy. It also assumes a normal vaginal delivery. 

If you experienced any complications during pregnancy, check with your ob-gyn first. This can help you learn when it is safe for you to exercise. They can also tell you when it’s okay to start working on your fitness if you’ve had a cesarean section. 

Keep in mind that this only addresses when it is physically safe to exercise after having a baby. Just because you may be able to do a workout after a few days doesn’t mean that you have to. This simply means that your body needs at least a few days of postpartum recovery before returning to exercise. Starting any sooner than that is not recommended.

Benefits of a Postpartum Workout Routine

Adjusting to a new baby isn’t always easy. As a fitness coach, you can help motivate your postpartum clients. Encourage them to find a balance between taking care of their little ones and getting their workout in. One way to do this is to share the benefits of postpartum exercise. 

Perhaps one of the most common reasons for wanting to exercise after having a baby is to get rid of the weight gained during pregnancy. One review reports that, when combined with a healthy diet, exercise can help promote post baby weight loss. This serves more than just a vanity purpose. Retaining postpartum weight is also associated with increased health risks in future pregnancies.

Some studies have even found that certain types of exercise may help ease the low back pain that often occurs after giving birth. In this case, the workout involved fatiguing trunk flexor muscles. 

Research further indicates that exercise helps ease postpartum depression. In fact, its effects were even superior to therapy-based interventions. This is important because up to one in five will experience depression after giving birth. And if it goes untreated, it can negatively affect both mom and baby.

If the new mom has diastasis recti, exercise can help with this as well. Diastasis recti is a separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This can make the belly stick out years after giving birth. In a study of 40 women with diastasis recti, doing a deep core stability exercise program lessened abdominal separation. 

These benefits are in addition to all the other benefits of exercise, many of which can be even more helpful for a new mother. Increased energy, reduced stress, and better sleep are a few to consider.  

Factors to Consider Before Starting Postpartum Exercise

While the benefits of exercise postpartum are numerous, you don’t want to start until you’re ready. Here are a few factors to consider to help determine when that might be:

• Level of fitness before pregnancy and giving birth. Was physical activity a regular part of your life before having a baby? If so, it may be easier to get back into than if you didn’t work out at all.

• If any complications occurred during the pregnancy or childbirth. In cases such as this, your ob-gyn can help you determine the best time to start postpartum exercise.

• If the birth was vaginal or cesarean. A C-section involves creating an incision in the abdomen and uterus during the birth process. So, your ob-gyn may recommend that you wait longer to exercise than if giving birth vaginally.

• Whether you feel ready. Biology aside, do you feel ready to start an exercise program? If not, permit yourself to take some time to adjust to life with a new baby. You can always get other forms of physical activity in the meantime. Doing household chores and pacing to help the baby sleep can help keep you active until you’re ready to do a dedicated workout.

Safe Exercise Guidelines for the Postpartum Period

If you feel ready to exercise, following a few general guidelines can help keep your workouts safe. For instance, the ACOG recommends staying active for 20 to 30 minutes per day. In other words, don’t try to start with 60-minute sessions. If 20 minutes feels like too much, drop it to 10. The important thing is to work your way into exercise slowly.

Also, stick with light exercise first. Take walks or leisurely bicycle rides. Once this starts to feel less taxing, move up to moderate exercise. This might involve brisk walking, taking a fitness class, or playing a sport such as tennis.

If you had a lot of physical activity before the pregnancy, you can transition to vigorous exercise when you feel ready (and when it is approved by your ob-gyn). Just give yourself time to work up to this. You don’t want to overdo it.

Signs you may be doing too much too quickly include feeling sharp pain anywhere in the body, urine leakage, and pelvic floor pressure or pain. The pelvic floor refers to muscle and connective tissue in the pelvic area. It supports the organs in this region, namely the bladder, bowel, and uterus. 

Related Articles: 5 Essential Postpartum Fitness Tips for New Moms

Example Workout Routine After Giving Birth 

When designing your post pregnancy workout plan, remember that the key is to start light. Here’s an example of what this type of routine might look like:

• Light cardio 20 to 30 minutes each day. Consider leisurely walking, cycling, or doing light housework. Swimming is not recommended until about six weeks after giving birth. The bleeding must have stopped and stitches healed first. 

• Strength training 2 days per week: Include exercises such as lifting light weights or gentle exercise using your bodyweight. Light yoga and Pilates may be options as well.

Include gentle abdominal strengthening exercises in your strength training routine. This can help get this muscle group back in shape. Pelvic tilts and single-leg extensions are two to consider. Stay away from more intense abdominal exercises. This includes crunches or the plank. Save these for after your abdominal muscle has had more time to heal.

Add in a few pelvic floor exercises too. One recommended by the Mayo Clinic is the kegel exercise. To do it, contract your pelvic floor muscles as if you’re trying to keep from urinating. Hold for 10 seconds, relax for 10 seconds, then contract again. Aim for three sets of 10 reps. 

The kegel exercise helps tone your pelvic floor. But if you have pain because yours is tight, you can help it relax with the Happy Baby yoga pose. This involves lying on your back and drawing each knee toward your chest. Place your arms inside your knees and hold your feet or ankles. Hold this position for around 90 seconds.

If there’s anything that we can learn from postpartum exercise it is that our fitness program must change as we change. You can learn how to help clients at various stages in life by becoming a Certified Lifespan Coach. This ISSA course teaches you what fitness looks like for youth and seniors. This enables you to create a workout program designed specifically for each one. 

References

Exercise After Pregnancy. Acog.org. Retrieved 2 August 2022, from https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-after-pregnancy.

McKinley, M., Allen-Walker, V., McGirr, C., Rooney, C., & Woodside, J. (2018). Weight loss after pregnancy: Challenges and opportunities. Nutrition Research Reviews, 31(2), 225-238. doi:10.1017/S0954422418000070

Deering, R., Pashibin, T., Cruz, M., Hunter, S., & Hoeger Bement, M. (2019). Fatiguing Trunk Flexor Exercise Decreases Pain Sensitivity in Postpartum Women. Frontiers In Physiology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00315

Marconcin, P., Peralta, M., Gouveia, É., Ferrari, G., Carraça, E., Ihle, A., & Marques, A. (2021). Effects of Exercise during Pregnancy on Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review of Meta-Analyses. Biology, 10(12), 1331. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10121331

Thabet, A. A., & Alshehri, M. A. (2019). Efficacy of deep core stability exercise program in postpartum women with diastasis recti abdominis: a randomised controlled trial. Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions, 19(1), 62–68.

Postpartum exercise: How to get started. Mayo Clinic. (2021). Retrieved 2 August 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/labor-and-delivery/in-depth/exercise-after-pregnancy/art-20044596.