Exercises after childbirth: gymnastics for a young mother

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Any girl always strives to look stunning, following various diets and performing many exercises to keep her body in good shape. After all, everyone wants to have a beautiful and fit body, they want to please men, and even themselves, looking at the reflection in the mirror. But all worries about being slim disappear in the postpartum period, when it would seem that the body needs adjustments more than ever. But at this time the young mother devotes all her strength and care to her newly born baby, because there is nothing more important in a girl’s life than her long-awaited child, who requires a certain amount of care, protection and responsibility.

After a short adaptation period, mothers realize that their figure is far from ideal and needs to get rid of excess weight. But during the lactation stage, any diets are strictly prohibited, so you need to build your figure with the help of exercises that will quickly bring you back to your former shape.

Losing weight after childbirth is, of course, good, but you will have to try to look your best, and PNB cosmetics on the website pnb-shop.ru will help you with this.

• How to make your body perfect again after childbirth
• Training program

  Video - How to quickly lose weight after childbirth

• Tips for exercising after childbirth

When is it permissible to start classes?

All classes and exercises after the birth of the child can be started no earlier than a month and a half later. This period may increase if the birth took place by caesarean section, otherwise the sutures that were placed after childbirth are at risk of coming apart.

When can you start losing weight after giving birth?

As a rule, in the first couple of weeks of the postpartum period, a woman has no time for herself - she is entirely occupied with the child, caring for him and establishing feeding. But the moment comes when she assesses the state of her figure and strives to begin correcting it as quickly as possible. Exercising for weight loss while breastfeeding in this case not only helps you lose weight, but also perfectly improves depressed mood and self-esteem.

In general, the start of classes depends on the characteristics of the woman. Those who have been involved in sports throughout their pregnancy and have undergone childbirth without any complications are able to begin continuing their exercise even after a couple of days.

If you follow the general recommendations of doctors, then a nursing mother should start physical activity within the following periods:

• with normal health, it is possible to start sports activities one and a half months after birth;
• If you have undergone a caesarean section or have tears of varying complexity, you should not put any strain on yourself for at least 2 months.

If exercise after childbirth is too intense and it starts earlier than prescribed by doctors, there is a chance of complications in the form of bleeding and inflammation of the appendages. That is why you should first of all listen to your body and its reaction to physical activity.

After the birth of a child, a woman’s weight on average increases by 1-2 kilograms.

Garudasana

Eagle Pose improves joint mobility and strengthens the knees and ankles. Like all balance poses, it improves balance. Relieves tension from the shoulder girdle. Increases the space between the shoulder blades.

Stand straight, raise your arms at shoulder level. Now place your left hand over your right so that one elbow is on top of the other, wrap your forearms around each other and keep your fingers straight and palms together. Bend your knees and place your right leg on top of your left, just above the knee. Attach your right leg to your left ankle. Direct your gaze towards the ceiling. Keep your back straight. Stay in the pose for 60 seconds, then switch legs.

Repeat this pose 5-6 times in a row on both legs.

Exercises for weight loss at home

It is worth starting any gymnastics with minimal load - this way the body can quickly get used to the new type of activity. Gymnastics after childbirth should include warm-up stages to avoid severe muscle pain later.

For classes, you can use additional equipment, which is listed below, or do without it.

• elastic band (belt)
• gymnastic ball (fitball)
• jump rope
• dumbbells

Fitness with a child

Many mothers complain that losing weight after childbirth at home is complicated by the fact that the child constantly distracts them and requires attention. In such cases, you can do fitness directly with the baby, which will please both the mother and him.

When doing exercises while lying down, you can put the child next to you, and if you are performing complexes for lifting the arms, you can use the weight of the child rather than dumbbells as a load.

Let's look at the most necessary exercises that you can and should do with your baby. All the exercises described below can be combined and varied depending on which of them suits you best.

Press

The abdomen is the most problematic area, which requires rapid skin tightening and elimination of fat deposits. Also, stretching during pregnancy leads to weakening of muscles, so if you can’t decide which of the suggested exercises to choose, be sure to include abdominal exercises.

You should start by doing these simple activities:

1. Take a lying position and then bend your knees.
2. Raise your legs and leave them at an angle of 90 degrees, place your baby with his tummy on his feet and hold him by the hands.
3. Smoothly pull your knees towards your chest as low as possible.
4. Also smoothly and slowly return to the starting position, repeat everything 5 times.

In addition to tightening, exercises will saturate all internal organs with oxygen and promote contraction of the uterus.

It is important to hold the child with your hands, do not move your legs too far away from the body and do not jerk the exercise.

Back

Excessive load on the lower back during the entire pregnancy and the first months after it makes itself felt by pain. A set of exercises for losing weight should contain approaches that are aimed at stretching the spine and straightening it, for example:

1. Take a position on all fours on the floor, and put the baby in front of you, placing something soft under it.
2. Arch your back upward, as if arching into a bridge, and hold for at least 5 seconds.
3. Bend your back in the opposite direction and also hold for a few seconds.
4. Perform 5-7 times for weight loss at home.

For reference: You can understand how to correctly perform this complex by looking at your cat. By stretching after sleep, the animal sets an excellent example of exercise for the back.

Do not try to suddenly lose extra pounds: 400-600 grams per week is a safe rate of weight loss for a woman who has recently given birth.

Hips

An equally important area that requires tightening and almost always has excess fat deposits. The most effective lunges are considered to be performed in this way:

1. Take the child with his back to you and press him to his stomach, his back should be straight.
2. Take a wide step back, try to lower your knee all the way to the floor, but do not put it on the floor.
3. Go back and complete the approach to the other side.

The minimum load is to perform such exercises for weight loss after childbirth a total of 10 times on both legs.

Buttocks

A common problem after childbirth is the appearance of “orange peel” on soft tissues in the postpartum period. If you tighten your skin in time, you can completely get rid of this problem.

The following is considered a very effective activity:

1. In a lying position, place the child on his stomach.
2. As you exhale, you need to lift your pelvis up as much as possible and strain your buttocks with all your might.
3. As you inhale, you can lower yourself and rest for a few seconds.

It is necessary to repeat these workouts at least 5 times.

Meditation

It calms emotions well and relieves excessive nervous tension. Meditation is based on the principle that all thoughts are material and creates the right mood for mom. To carry out it is necessary:

• determine the desired dimensions or weight figure you want to achieve;
• choose a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed;
• It is better to do this before going to bed and put on clothes that will not interfere or hinder your movements;
• cannot be performed on a full stomach;
• tune in and relax.

It is worth conducting such classes at least twice a week. The following types of meditation are considered the most effective:

1. Breathing - breathe relaxed, as you inhale, imagine yourself fit and slim, as you exhale, imagine that all the bad things are leaving your body.
2. Perfection - breathing should be relaxed and smooth, you just need to breathe for 10 minutes and not think about anything;
3. Visualization - close your eyes and imagine your image exactly the way you want to see it, while it is important to consider all the smallest details.

Yoga

There are many special yoga classes that differ in complexity and focus, but in all cases they help:

• quickly gain lightness and flexibility;
• speed up metabolic processes, reduce appetite;
• get rid of back pain;
• stabilize the psychological state.

Make yourself a set of different exercises that you like. A combination of asanas to tone the birth muscles, back, buttocks and abs would be ideal. In addition, if you try, you can remove stretch marks on the abdomen (striae).

The main reason for excess weight is the lack of necessary physical activity or, as experts say, physical inactivity.

Pilates

This type of training is liked by many women; it contains a bit of fitness, yoga and breathing practices, which allows you to lose weight without straining and for your own benefit.

After childbirth and during breastfeeding (lactation), Pilates will help:

• re-establish metabolic processes;
• significantly reduce the feeling of hunger;
• reduce fatigue and swelling;
• tighten loose skin and muscles.

There are popular complexes for the back, waist, abs, thighs and buttocks, and in combination with an abdominal band, this part of the body will recover much faster. All the exercises are not difficult and are well suited for a beginner in sports, and they also improve your mood.

Breathing exercises

Breathing exercises are suitable for everyone. It is useful at any time and at any age. If you want to always keep yourself in good shape, put your emotional and physical health in order without putting a significant burden on the body, breathing exercises are suitable for you.

Each exercise has a specific name - “palms”, “pump”, “shoulder straps”, etc. When performing the exercise, you need to concentrate only on inhaling. The inhalation should be deep, sharp and noisy. It's like a loud "sniffing" sound. Inhale through the nose, and exhale after each inhalation voluntarily and imperceptibly through the mouth. As you inhale sharply, perform the exercise so that your chest contracts. The most interesting thing is that this gymnastics does not require a large room. It’s enough to retire, turn on calm music and create a pleasant atmosphere for yourself.

You can familiarize yourself with the technique by watching the video tutorial.

Breathing exercises by Strelnikova

Proper physical activity after childbirth

During sports and physical activity after childbirth, it is important to follow these recommendations:

• you should not try to lose fat too quickly, a value of minus 400 grams per week is considered normal; if this figure increases, the amount of milk may decrease sharply;
• For lactation it is important to drink enough fluid, so you need to drink a lot during training;
• During classes, it is better to wear a bra to avoid stretch marks and support the body;
• all actions must bring joy, otherwise they will be of little use.

In addition to the exercises discussed, there are other types of exercise that are necessary and useful for the postpartum period.

Fitball

Buying such a ball will be a useful purchase not only for the mother, but also for the baby to do joint exercises on it. For mom, this will help quickly strengthen the muscles of the buttocks, abdomen and increase flexibility. When studying while sitting, it is convenient to hold the child on your lap.

An example of an exercise for the buttocks would be:

1. Lie on your back and hold the ball with your heels, and fix your arms on the floor along your body.
2. As you exhale, try to lift your buttocks up as high as possible and stay at the peak for at least 5 seconds.
3. Perform 5-7 times.

There are many other exercises for a variety of muscle groups.

Exercises with dumbbells

These devices can tighten the muscles of the arms and chest, as well as the abdomen, in a short period of time. If you prefer exercising with dumbbells, follow these recommendations:

• collapsible equipment would be the right option, since over time the load will be much greater;
• for the first time, you should take such a weight that you can freely hold it at arm’s length;
• you should start from 2 kg, and after 2-3 weeks increase to 5 kg.

To engage other muscles (hips, abs), you can bend over or squat with dumbbells.

Water aerobics

Suitable for those mothers who can leave their baby for a while and visit the pool. This sport is the easiest and most enjoyable, as it is easier to perform the activity and feel your body in water.

One of the positive effects of water on our body is relieving stress from the spine and joints, which is especially important during pregnancy, when a woman’s weight is constantly growing.

It tightens the arms, shoulders, and gluteal muscles. You need to start with a half-hour workout, gradually adding 10-15 minutes to this time.

Examples of the most popular exercises in water aerobics are:

• swings using legs;
• skier steps;
• underwater running.

There are entire complexes that have been tested by many mothers and bring stunning results.

Increases stamina

After childbirth, women become physically weak. Lack of sleep and lack of extra time for yourself reduces the body's endurance. New mothers often complain of chronic fatigue, pain in the back, muscles and joints.

Yoga relieves muscle tension, increases endurance and endorphin levels. After practice, women feel relaxed, ready to perform feats in their new role - mothers.

It is better to start all exercises with joint gymnastics, or with a warm-up.

Let's consider a set of the most effective exercises for proper and effective abdominal weight loss after childbirth.

Exercises to avoid while breastfeeding

During breastfeeding, the quality and quantity of nutrition for the baby will always be a priority over excess weight. Therefore, it is worth choosing those loads that will not harm lactation.

The following types of sports can lead to unpleasant consequences and contribute to the cessation of milk production:

• intensive training in the gym;
• wrestling, boxing and similar exhausting training;
• long run, too many jumps;
• baseball, bicycle or basketball.

All these loads are applied six months or a year after childbirth (if stitches were applied, it is better to abstain for 12 months).

Puppy pose

This asana is easy to perform and effective. It helps open the chest and shoulders. Stretches the upper back.

Start in head down dog position. Then lower your knees to the mat and lift your hips up, then place your chin and chest on the floor. Stretch your arms forward, bending at the waist. Hold the position for 5-10 seconds. Then push off with your hands and return to head down dog.

Repeat the asana 5 times.

Proper nutrition

An excellent method for losing weight after childbirth is to use physical activity together with proper nutrition. It should be distinguished from a diet, since a lack of nutrients can easily interfere with lactation.

To lose weight as quickly as possible, you should consider the following advice from doctors:

• eat small portions, but more often (6 times a day);
• drink at least 2 liters of clean water (tea and other drinks do not count);
• Don’t overeat a couple of hours before bedtime;
• do not indulge in sweet, starchy, spicy or fried foods;
• For a snack, choose diet bread, kefir or oatmeal cookies.

By adhering to this regime, you can lose everything unnecessary in just a couple of weeks, the main thing is to eat enough calories per day so that you are not tormented by the feeling of hunger.

In conclusion, we can say that it is possible to achieve good results and acquire the desired figure after childbirth easily and quickly. To do this, the main thing is to always go forward and not pay attention to minor failures, and also take care of yourself only in a good mood.

Pigeon pose

Pigeon pose tones the lower parts of the body - thighs and leg muscles. It increases the mobility of the hip joints. It also relieves stress and anxiety.

Place your right knee on the mat and extend your left leg back. Keep the basin closed. The right foot should lie near the pelvic bone. Lean forward and place your hands in front of you for balance. Hold the position for 10 seconds, then switch legs.

Repeat the pose 4-5 times in a row.

Child's Pose

Child's pose, one of the relaxing asanas. It stretches the lower back muscles and spine. Improves mobility of shoulder blades and shoulders. This asana improves digestion and helps the body relax.

Sit on your knees, place your buttocks on your heels. Raise your arms up, and as you exhale, bring your palms together and lean forward until your forehead hits the floor. Stay in this position for about 30 seconds. Return to the starting position with your hands on your knees.

Repeat the asana 4-6 times in a row.

Benefits of shower and bath

A contrast shower after training will help maintain high tone and elasticity of the skin. This is especially true when losing weight, because... prevents the threat of sagging skin. But after class, especially in the first half of the day, it is not recommended to stay in the shower for a long time, because... Instead of vigor, the opposite effect may occur - lethargy and drowsiness.

— It is also preferable to use purified water in which we take a shower or bath. Rust from old pipelines, excessive chlorination, various mechanical impurities - all this, when it gets into the pores enlarged after exercise, can lead to skin irritation or an allergic reaction, says Leonid Ostapenko.

If these simple conditions are met, the positive effect of fitness will be noticeable within a couple of months!

Ardha Matsyendrasana

Back Twist Pose. It is extremely beneficial for increasing spinal flexibility and relieving back pain after pregnancy. This asana improves blood flow in the spine and tones the muscles of the back, hips, abdomen and shoulders. It also helps in the treatment of nervous disorders.

Sit on the mat. Place your right leg behind your left. The right foot should be at the left hip. Turn right. Extend your right hand far behind you, and grab your right leg with your left hand. Keep your spine straight. Look over your left shoulder. Hold the asana for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Perform the exercise 4-5 times in a row.

You need to start losing weight after giving birth gradually, without rushing. Trying to maintain my health. First, set yourself a realistic goal. Let it be 2 kg per month, without stress for the body. Be sure to wait until your doctor's postpartum checkup before you start losing weight and exercising.

Some contraindications

Before starting gymnastic exercises, you should pay attention to contraindications, since in some cases their implementation is strictly prohibited due to various circumstances.

These include:

• the birth of a child by caesarean section - in this situation, the complex can be started no earlier than in a month;
• the occurrence of ruptures in the perineal area - their complete healing is necessary to exclude the possibility of their divergence and the occurrence of an inflammatory process;
• the presence of injuries of various etymologies received during the birth of a child;
• diagnosing chronic diseases;
• severe depletion of the body as a result of childbirth.

No matter how strong the desire to return yourself to normal is, you should definitely take into account all possible prohibitions so as not to harm your body. Before performing exercises, it is better to consult a specialist.