Many new moms have trouble finding time to work out regularly. But there’s nothing to stop you from training with your baby! What do you need to know about planning a workout and what should it look like?
The duration of confinement after natural childbirth is about 6 weeks. In the case of a caesarean section it is up to 12 weeks. However, for each young mother it looks a little different. The puerperium is an extremely important period – both for the woman and her newborn baby. Regeneration plays a key role. Consequently, the body must be allowed to freely return to balance. However, nothing prevents you from doing gentle breathing, circulatory, stretching and muscle-stimulating exercises during the postpartum period.
Before you start training after pregnancy, make sure that your pelvic floor muscles and rectus abdominis are ready for it. See a physiotherapist for this. Your physiotherapist will tell you how to activate them and how to engage them with your breathing.
What is important to know about training with a small child? Only those exercises should be performed in which the child can maintain a position suited to his/her developmental stage. If it’s too early for a particular sequence while the mother is exercising, the baby can play on a blanket. Training is best done about 30 minutes after the child has eaten a meal.
It is also worth making sure that it is also fun for the child. When a particular exercise does not suit a toddler, it should be stopped or modified. Before training with a child, it is advisable to practice the various positions in front of a mirror and make sure that they are completely safe. To avoid soreness, first perform a short warm-up of about 10 minutes. This can include running in place or doing jumping jacks.
After the warm-up, you can move on to the actual training. To be effective, it is recommended to perform 3 series, 15 repetitions each. Here are some suggestions of exercises that can be successfully done with a small child:
– Stand with all your weight on one leg so that the knee is slightly bent. Hold your baby in front of you. Inhale, and as you exhale, pull the other side to the side. The body should be in one line at all times. Inhale, and your foot returns to the starting position,
– Stand with your legs apart, your abdomen slightly tense, your back straight, your shoulders lowered and your feet pointing outward. Hold the baby in front of you, with your back to yourself. Inhale and lower the buttocks down. The shoulders must be back and the back tight. On the exhalation, go up, tense the buttocks, but do not straighten the knees,
– Keep your feet hip-width apart. Move one leg back in such a way as to obtain a right angle between the trunk, thigh and shin. We reach up and plant the child on the thigh with the front or back facing us. We keep the knee in front over the foot. The abdomen should be gently tightened and the back should be straight. We take an inhale and come down. The knees must be in the same line at all times. With an exhalation, return to the starting position,
– Raise your hands over your shoulders and your knees under your hips. The head should be the extension of the spine. Raise your right leg and left arm toward the ceiling so that the whole body forms a single line. The abdomen should be active all the time. As you inhale, slowly return to the starting position and change sides,
– Sit on your heels with your back straight and your abdomen active. Hold the child in front of you. As you exhale, lift your buttocks up and tighten them. Then slowly return to the heels.
Featured photo: Freepik
