New Moms – Five Powerful Tips to Getting Back in Shape After Your Baby Arrives
By Salena Kulkarni
Pregnancy and child birth puts an enormous strain on a woman’s body. Healing is of the utmost importance naturally, but for many getting back the body they once had is also important. Luckily, there are a number of ways that you can not only help your body heal but also help shed the extra weight that is left after the baby has arrived. Light exercise can give your body a kick start in the healing process and help you get back to the body you miss.
It is important that you give your body some time to rest and heal after giving birth. I don’t recommend that you come home from the hospital and start a vigorous exercise regimen. Generally it is recommended that new moms don’t really start doing any high impact exercise for at least 6 weeks after giving birth and even then some moms may not be ready for it. After this time though, most new mothers can progressive begin to think about being active. Here we are going to recommend five powerful tips you can have after giving birth so that you can get your body back.
Researchers have found that women that address the weight gained during pregnancy within the first few months have significant health benefits. Women who wait six months or more are more likely to carry that weight with them for 10 to 15 years.
Tip One:
Walk as much as you can. Contrary to popular belief, complex, difficult and expensive programs have not been shown to be any more effective than a simple walking program for general conditioning. This is one of the few exercises that can be done from day one. But start with small distances and build gradually.
One of the reasons for this is that walking is a simple exercise that moves all the ligaments, tendons and muscles of the spine. This is vitally important, as the spine is one of the areas that suffers the most during and after pregnancy.
Walking is one of the simplest, cheapest and most effective ways of doing this. You can do 10 minutes or 30, you can go fast or slow, you can walk on the flat or on hills – it can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. Just a word of caution- the twisting motion that occurs in the pelvis on steep hills can cause injury for many women in the months after labor.
Tip Two:
Do Kegel Exercises. This may seem silly and you may be wondering how this will help you loose weight. Well, it will help strengthen and tighten those pelvic muscles which helps in the intimacy department, and sex burns a lot of calories.
Especially if you have had any issues with your back, uterus, or pelvis, these exercises are essential. In addition, if you are considering returning to more intensive exercises then these exercises are a must. There are many moms who try to hit the gyms and do hard core workouts with weak pelvis’ and sore backs and do themselves serious harm.
Tip Three:
Exercise with your baby. There are plenty of activities that are specifically good for doing with your baby. For example more and more moms are getting involved into postnatal yoga classes, gym classes, dance classes, and fitness boot camps for moms, walking with the pram… these are all designed especially for moms and bubs.
The idea of being active with your baby really eliminates any excuses you may have about putting off exercise.
Tip Four:
Do cardio! Cardio exercises help burn fat and they help burn fat fast. So walk with your baby in a front carrier. Pop in an exercise video at home while baby is sleeping. Ask a friend to care for you little tot long enough for you to get to the gym. Get into cardio for 45 minutes a day and they weight will start to fall off.
While low impact activities like yoga and Pilates are fabulous for building core strength, cardio activity takes getting in shape to a much more intensive level.
Tip Five:
The ever dreaded crunches, do them! You need them so that you can tighten those stomach muscles. Start with a set of ten and work your way to a set of twenty. A really beneficial crunch for the abdominal section is the bicycle crunch this will not only help the upper and lower abdomen, but it will take care of the sides as well.
In summary, the brilliant side affect of being active is that it has been shown to help combat common postnatal problems like labor can positively affect a range of problems from depression and anxiety, to diabetes and constipation.
Remember make sure you are getting rest and drinking plenty of water. A tired and dehydrated lady is no good to anyone especially herself. Start slow, stay consistent and get your body back.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Salena_Kulkarni/133195
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