3 Ways for New Moms to Get Back in Shape

Hannah Belger - 2 May 19

There used to be a time when women mostly had to part with strong muscle build and skin elasticity after the pregnancy begins. However, the world of powerhouse celebrities has shown, over the last fifty-odd years, that this sort of resignation is not warranted and that nothing is etched in stone – especially when it comes to female metabolism. If stellar examples from prominent household names give you a glimmer of motivation to do something about your muscle tonus after pregnancy, you should look into these 3 nifty ways for new moms to get back into shape.

1. Start working out as soon as possible

It took me about three weeks after delivery to finally hit the gym, but many doctors rightfully claim that even this is too early for most women. You should probably wait at least a week more, just to be safe, and if you’ve been through a C-section, two months of downtime is more prudent. You can use some of the free time during this interval to ‘work yourself up’ to regular exercise since it can be really hard to find motivation, especially with a life-altering element in shape of a baby added to the mix. Motivate yourself by purchasing new equipment, find the perfect workout shoes that will maximize your comfort and choose the outfit that will not constrain you in any way. Begin your sessions with easygoing cardio exercises in short bouts. Mix them up with some stretching sessions, or simply enroll in the closest yoga club. Working your way up to harder exercises will be difficult, but it is well worth the result and you should just stay consistent throughout. Maintain a casual rhythm of 3 gym-sessions a week, never let up and you should feel significantly stronger by the end of the second month.

2. Workout during pregnancy

There is a great chance you are reading these lines with the bun in the oven. Understandably, many women will be highly interested in ‘muscle maintenance’ during their pregnancy or, at the very least, it will cross their mind as the stomach grows and certain stuff gets rearranged. It is only natural to have such questions in mind – I had them too. What I discovered is that regular workout during pregnancy can do wonders. It cuts the downtime weakness shorter, it makes you feel better and it renders the entire process of getting back into shape so much easier.

3. Work on your posture-correction

If there is a singular tip that many women underestimate postpartum, it is to work on their posture-correction. It will not only improve their metabolic rhythm and ameliorate issues with chronic pain, but it also contributes to muscle-building. Believe it or not, just staying in the proper position for a few minutes straight can be quite a challenge if your body’s posture is already degraded. In fact, sitting in an upright position on the yoga ball made me sweat quite a lot. It’s all about learning how to ‘hold your muscles in’ properly and all of the posture exercises pay off beautifully in the long run.

Women of all shapes and sizes need to have one goal in mind – to feel comfortable and healthy in their own body. You owe that to yourself and, more importantly, to your baby, since you need to operate at peak performance in order to satiate your child’s needs and get some deserved time for yourself. Now, jumping into your gym attire after pregnancy comes with its own set of challenges that requires absolute patience. Personally, I have a fairly fast metabolism and it was still quite a challenge to achieve my muscle-strength goal.  However, with the proper dietary regime and at least a few of the tips mentioned above put into practice, there is nothing you cannot achieve. You are a super-mom, after all.

Hannah Belger

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