Working out PP

I got a physical therapist specialist who is specialist in pelvic floor to check me after 4 weeks and she said I was all fine and could then do any kind of exercise. If you have any issues with muscles and such you need to do special training. So to be safe maybe do special excises. Nourish, move, love lady makes videos with postpartum exercises which is kind to your body. Otherwise do stretches, yoga or walks as a starting point.

@Lina did you do any pelvic floor before then? Like the holding and letting go? Did that help? And 4 weeks sounds good, hopefully i can start around that time - I was v active during pregnancy so hopefully that helps :)

This was me in the gym, 9 days after having my little girl. I think it depends on your level of fitness and how close to birth you were still gyming. I was in the gym up until less than a week before I had her. I’m now 9 weeks pp and lifting the same as I was before/during pregnancy and training 4 days a week. People said I was stupid for going back so soon but for me, I needed it mentally. I’ve been perfectly fine and still recovered fine from birth/pregnancy 😊

@Lorren does your baby sleep? How do you find the time? I just don’t get how some mums are able to train so much. I’d love to but I just can’t

@Zoe she’s quite alert to be honest so a lot of the time she’s awake when we’re at the gym. My partner and I go together so she spends a bit of time in her pram watching then she comes out and we take turns showing her round and playing with her. She loves the music, mirrors and lights in there so it really helps! It helps that our gym are accommodating and let us take little ones in as long as they’re looked after 😊

I definitely recommend seeing a pelvic floor physio. I did deep core work (YouTube) and really chill stuff at home from about 2 weeks and then started back at the gym super low, light weights at 6 weeks. I trained until the day before I gave birth and still needed time to rest and recover. Take your time, going back too soon postpartum can lead to issues/injuries. If you’re up to it, try doing 10k steps a day, this really helped me and my mental health in those early days when i wasn’t ready to go to the gym

@Lorren that is lucky! Sadly mine doesn’t 😔

I went back to the gym 4 weeks PP and took it ‘steady’ (I started breathing work at home 1 week PP, then brought in stretching, then body weight movements then resistance bands). And because I felt great I was just pushing more and ended up with injury after injury. Dont forget, the hormone relaxin is still present for up to 12 months after the baby is born. So obviously that’s why I kept injuring myself. I’m pregnant with my second and most definitely will not be making that mistake again. I think just follow how your body feels and go steady!

@Zoe oh that’s a shame! 😭

I did the basic pelvic floor exercise on the nhs app. The physio therapist said not to start running until I built my pelvic floor up again and could hold it for 30-60 second comfortably. Because there is a lot of impact when running. Light weight training is not as harmful.

I’m a pt and specialise in pre post natal. Pelvic floors, steps and nothing too strenuous until they sign you off. Even then take it easy!

You can start with core breathing and walking before six weeks. I started light bodyweight and weighted workouts again around four weeks PP with my second. I had a very straightforward delivery, my bleeding had stopped, my PP appt with the doc was delayed to 9 weeks due to an admin error, and I felt like I knew my body well enough. I’d say listen to your body. I went for a too long walk about a week PP and really felt it in my pelvic floor so just take it slow! Also check for DR and make appropriate moderations