Have you ever tried to ride a bicycle while wearing roller blades? (Bear with us – it’s relevant, we promise ).
The answer is easy, right? Of course not!
(Well, we’re assuming – but who knows what shenanigans you were getting up to when you were 19?)
But now that you’ve glowed up into your fabulous adult self, you know you’ve got to have the right equipment for the job, er, bike ride.
We’re gonna set that metaphor aside for now (it’s thanking us already) and focus on YOU and your incredible postpartum bod.
She’s been through a lot. We’re sure we don’t need to remind you of the details, but your hardworking, tough as nails, flexible-as-a-trampoline body went through the wringer during childbirth.
And – it’s no shame on her – but she needs some TLC, especially when it comes to exercise.
Trying to pick up your old exercise routine with your newly transformed postpartum body is as disastrous as the ill-fated roller blade bike ride we just talked about.
Things to consider before postnatal exercises
It can be a tough pill to swallow when you’re longing for everything to “just go back to normal”, but trust us, beautiful: you can’t go hard and expect the same results you got before pregnancy.
At least, not until you’ve healed your abdominal core muscles.
And that’s our cue! Body Beyond Birth is the ideal postpartum exercise program because we’ve thought of all the core abs and mama-wellness details so you don’t have to.
Things like:
Your mental fitness
Sleep is fuel, and when you’re learning how to keep an infant alive and (mostly, hopefully, kinda sorta) happy, dealing with feeding and napping schedules, and trying desperately not to spill coffee everywhere, you’re running on fumes.
And when you lose that source of energy, you know you’re not quite at home in your body – and proper exercise gets that much harder.
The leaky faucet in your yoga pants
Urinary incontinence is common after birth – but that doesn’t mean it’s normal.
Draw on that fierce mama bear energy and insist your doctor help you find relief from this completely fixable problem.
And don’t exercise hard until you’ve been declared “set to jet”, ‘cause straining weakened pelvic floor muscles only springs worse leaks.
Diastasis recti abdominis
That’s a big science-y phrase for “my abs are literally splitting apart down the middle and it feels like I might have an alien about to explode from my stomach”.
And yeah, it ain’t great!
Putting excess pressure on your abs, as happens in planks or sit-ups, before they’re ready is sure to worsen any separation.
Wait, there’s more?
Carpal tunnel syndrome in wrists, pubic symphysis bone separation, low back injuries, and more are all exacerbated by unsafe exercise programs postpartum.
And some of these sneaky buggers hide until exercise unleashes them in force. That’s right: you might feel fine, but you could have an underlying musculoskeletal injury waiting to knock you down if you give it the chance.
That’s where BBB comes in.
We’ve already thought about all of these issues and more when we designed our postpartum fitness plans.
We know how to keep you safe, glowing, and injury-free while you regain all the strength you lost, and more!
Psst! Want to know our secrets? Slide on over to our program page and we’ll fill you in.