Congratulations on your little bundle of joy! Take your time to enjoy your baby after your pregnancy, then start planning your 'get back in shape' routine!
Once again, you need to ask your doctor when you can start your exercise programme and what sort of regime you could begin with.
If you've had a normal delivery, a month after is generally okay, but with a C-section, it might be wise to wait for about three months. You can however, start gentle walks once you are up and about. Remember not to strain yourself since your body is still healing and energy needs to be used for that process first.
Going full throttle into a pre-pregnancy type routine might do more harm than good. Your body has gone through a lot of physical changes, including de-training effects (caused due to stopping a regular workout regime for the pregnancy period). The body’s resistance is low and doing a regular workout might lead you to catch colds, infections or cause undue body ache. Also, with breast feeding, changing diapers and your life undergoing a drastic change, you will get tired often. Begin your postnatal exercises at an easy pace.
Your postnatal workout
Walk five to six days a week for about 30 minutes at a medium pace. It's a great idea to take your baby along in a pram. You get your walk and the little one gets an outing!
Outlined in the following pages are exercises that you can do in the park. Perform them four days a week. Start off with one set of each and gradually add another half set, then a full one.
Most of the exercises are the same as prior to and during pregnancy, modified to make them easy and to include your tiny tot!
Check with your doctor before doing any of these exercises. Stop if you feel pain.
Brinda Sapat is head of the Group Exercise Department at Gold's Gym, Napean Sea Road, Mumbai. Certified with Training Zone & Progressive Fitness (USA), she has been a fitness instructor for over a decade.
(While the fitness routines described in this feature are created by a professional fitness trainer, Rediff.com does not make any representations about its suitability or reliability in connection with individual readers. It is best to consult one's gynaecologist and fitness trainer before proceeding.)
Text: Brinda Sapat
Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh
Also read: A fitness routine for when you're pregnant!
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