MY 6 TIPS TO A HEALTHIER POSTPARTUM BODY
Hey I’m Roxy! I have been a personal fitness trainer for over a decade and specialize in pre and post-natal training. I am also a new mom myself with a baby boy of 9 months called Kyrie Jayden, who is just the best thing that has happened to me . I absolutely love helping mamas feel body beautiful, inside and out, and feel that it is my mission to get more knowledge out there on how to train correctly after pregnancy . This was one of the reasons I developed my own online RoxyFit Postpartum Program which includes a one-to-one consultation, workouts that you can follow at home or in the gym & information on how to do these correctly for your body.
Getting your body back after a baby can be more than a little daunting and confusing. There can be too much information out there (a lot of which is wrong!) which means you don’t end up taking the right path. As well as using my experience, I also took a qualification to cement my knowledge and help mothers become strong and confident. My aim is to get you to a similar or even better place to where you were pre-pregnancy!
These are the first six steps I would recommend to anyone looking to get their way back into fitness. If you are confused or unsure of any of the steps then it is important to seek advice from a professional. All of this is also covered in more detail in my RoxyFit Postpartum Program.
Step 1
* As soon as you feel comfortable after birth, immediately get those pelvic floor and inner core muscles activating. This shouldn’t be anything too strenuous but just starting to work on those little muscles down below to help you recover. As you might know, after having a baby every women has an ab separation (known as diatasis recti) and so it is very important to fix this correctly at the start. In my birth story on my IGTV, I explain how on day two in the hospital bed I was activating my pelvic floor & TVA muscles very gently to recover as best I can.
Step 2
* Find the right postpartum exercise workout, class or program to follow once you have been signed off from the doctor. This way you have done your research and are ready to go once you have the all clear.
Step 3
* Make sure you are providing your body with the correct nutrition. If you are breast feeding, you don’t want to be restricted, but you can still eat a clean and healthy diet. The main part of this is staying away from processed foods. The more natural the food, the better. For example you can easily make your own snacks (raw nut mixes, energy bites, smoothies and hummus). If you can get your eating on track before you start exercising, your body will respond much quicker than if you are feeding it with rubbish.
Step 4
* Before doing any exercise, make sure you have sign off from the doctor. Also try and see a professional to check your abdominal separation. This way you know whether you need to also do special postpartum physiotherapy, as it is may still be too separated. Even if fully signed off, it is important to continue to work on closing the gap and strengthening your inner core.
Step 5
* Ease into the exercise! It’s not a race and best to lay a strong foundation first so that your body won’t break down and suffer any injuries. It can also be difficult juggling all of this whilst looking after a new born so be patient with yourself. At first, I always tell my clients to schedule no more than 3 workouts a week and in between go on lovely walks with your new little bundle. This way you won’t get disheartened and de-motivated from not hitting your goals. Remember each pregnancy is different, so just go at your own pace and don’t rush into anything your body isn’t ready for. I made sure I had rest days and sometimes did stretch sessions over HIIT as that was what my body needed.
Step 6
* Lastly, enjoy this journey and try not to get down on yourself and talk negatively about your body. After all, you have just given somebody life and created a little miracle over the past 9/10 months!! I loved seeing how unique and amazing the female body is. If you are not loving the exercise then keep trying new workouts and methods to improve yourself. It will make it way more rewarding and enjoyable .
I hope you have found this blog helpful and it has given you some good tips to get going again!
If you did want to know more about this, or my RoxyFit Postpartum Program, please contact roxannespt@gmail.com. I will send you all the information you need to get started. You can also follow me on IG where I share daily fitness and mom tips (@roxyfitblog).
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