Rebuilding the body after pregnancy Part 2
In Part One I described the changes and effects of pregnancy on the body. Now, I will go over a small tool kit of exercises to combat these, that you can do in 10 minutes, at home with equipment costing no more than 5 pounds.
Firstly Stretching, “although relaxin levels return to normal within one week, the effects can still be persistent for the following three months” Ringdahl (2002) . We must remember this more with weight bearing exercise, but for now we need to loosen some of the muscles to improve posture and bring symmetry back to the body. This is especially important in 4 areas, the chest, Neck, Hip flexors and Calves.
The following four exercises will address these areas and can be performed as many times as possible during the day. Try to work them into other activities. E.g. standing watching your child, move into a calf stretch. Stretches (hold each for 30 seconds)
Chest Muscle Stretch: Stand tall with good spine alignment, Place forearm on the wall or doorway, turn chest away from arm Chin Tuck- Tuck in chin, lengthen back of neck, Sit tall (move head back)
Front hip: Start in a half kneeling position, front foot well forward, lean hips forward, Calf stretch: Standing upright with the supporting leg forward and leg to be stretched behind, lean forward and push heel down
Second Strengthen (Upper back, Hamstrings), Due to your posture during pregnancy the balance between muscle groups has changed and needs to be readjusted. We are going to use the following two exercises to strengthen these muscle areas, (complete twice, 10-15 times)
1 Arm Standing Row (with Dynabands), tie band to a secure hold, a fraction under chest height, facing forward and keeping good posture (standing) hold the end of band with arm extended, draw towards the body keeping elbow in, slowly return Reverse Plank (table top) Start with hands and feet on the ground, facing upward, extend arms and legs to form a table top position.
The last thing is strengthening the Abdominals. This is important for three good reasons, firstly to protect against incontinence, keep the lower back safe and lastly to get back into the bikini. Transverse abdominals, internal and external oblique abdominals, multifidus, and the lumbar erector spine are the most important of the dynamic stabilizing muscles.
Finding the pelvic floor, A lot of woman initially have problems finding the pelvic floor. The best way to get around this is with the Kegel Exercise. Basically when urinating, stop and start the flow of urine. This should be done smoothly and not in the morning on a full bladder. Once you can locate the pelvic floor stop it.
Pelvic floor exercise 1: while sitting in a comfortable chair slowly tighten your pelvic floor muscles. Hold for a count of 5 and then slowly release. Repeat about 5 times Swan Dive, Lying face down, keep your hips flat, without tensing the shoulder, try to pull the lower stomach off the mat. Hold for 10 secs then repeat 4 times Swan Dive with legs, this is the same as a normal swan dive except while holding the stomach up. You push one leg away let it rise and then lower and repeat with the other leg. Complete 2 groups of ten These exercises are building our foundations back and are an important part of getting back to where you want to be. It may only be 10 minutes but it adds up and will make sure other further exercise will be built off these strong foundations. - Adam