Your Post-Baby Body : Part 1

Lean Mommy: Bond with Your Baby and Get Fit with the Stroller Strides Program
by Lisa Druxman

Lisa Druxman, a certified personal trainer and fitness professional, knows one of the challenges new moms face: How do I get back into shape after giving birth? After Lisa gave birth to her first child, she developed exercises that she could do with her baby, using power walks, the stroller, and exercise tubing.

Chapter 1

You came out of pregnancy with a different body. Plus, the physical demands of motherhood take a real physical and mental toll. This chapter explains your new needs and how to emerge fitter and stronger than ever.

The New You

During pregnancy, your body was a mixing pot of vastly changing hormones. Virtually every part of you was affected. There were profound changes in your cardiovascular system-including increases in the amount of blood that your heart pumped out and increases in your heart rate. A faster breathing rate helped you take in more oxygen and exhale the extra carbon dioxide that resulted from breathing for two. The amount of blood in your body increased and your body adapted to regulate its core temperature to keep baby in a favorable environment. Hormones like estrogen and progesterone increased. Your thyroid gland enlarged and your metabolism sped up, too.

As your baby grew, your anatomy changed. Your ligaments and cartilage loosened because of the hormone relaxin. Your ribs, pelvis, and other joints expanded to accommodate your growing girth. Postural distortions and subsequent back pain may have occurred. Your balance may have been affected-and it may still be a little off as your body shifts back to being baby- less. Your feet, ankles, and knee alignment also may have altered to adapt to these postural changes.

Many of the hormonal adaptations that occur during pregnancy persist for months afterward. This period-from delivery to the point when the reproductive organs return to a nonpregnant state-is known as the postpartum period. The extra flexibility in your body may linger for up to three months, or even longer if you are breastfeeding. Extra mobility often means less stability. Some of these anatomical changes could last a lifetime if you do not take deliberate action to address them.

The new you is more fragile than you may think. You can't just jump back into the same old exercise routine (if you had one). And you shouldn't dive into a quick- fi x diet. You have special needs now-unique physical, physiological, nutritional, and even emotional considerations that need to be factored into your new- mom life.

10 Common Post-Pregnancy Challenges

Being pregnant and delivering a baby are normal physiological states. But that doesn't mean that they don't wreak havoc on your body! Of course, with time, your body (mostly) reverts back to normal. But it's important to optimize the recovery process. And if you thought that pregnancy was tough on your body, you'll find out that the tasks of motherhood take their own unique tolls, too! But understanding the potential weaknesses in your postpartum body and doing what you can to strengthen them can help you alleviate or even avoid aches and pains. Here are common problems that new moms face-and how Lean Mommy will help you.

Post-pregnancy challenge #1: Poor Posture

Having twenty- five, thirty- five, or more pounds of baby weight in your belly created a shift in the way you held yourself. Your center of gravity moves forward as the baby grows and this often leads to an increased arch in your lower back, a rounded upper back, a forward tilt of your hip bones, and a slight jutting forward of your neck and head. Each woman's body adjusts differently, but everyone's body accommodates for the pregnancy. Worse, your muscles may strengthen to support this new way of holding yourself, and if you don't rebalance them, this distorted posture may stick with you for life.

What you can do about it: Targeting the weaker, overstretched muscles and stretching the tight, over- activated muscles can establish better muscle balance. Your body has become used to this alignment-both when the baby weight in your belly pulled you forward, and now when you hold him or her close or during everyday mommy duties like bending over while picking baby up, or getting the stroller in and out of the car. So, you may find yourself stuck in a constant forward slump all day. The Lean Mommy plan redresses this movement imbalance by integrating pulling motions to strengthen the muscles in the back to help you stand and move straighter and taller. Stretches for the tight pushing muscles in the chest also help keep you feeling upright rather than hunched. See pages 159-160, "Chest Stretch," and pages 132-133, "Tubing Row," for example.

Post-pregnancy challenge #2: Aching Back

It's no surprise that the posture distortion can strain your back. Even when you shed some weight, your back can still feel fatigued or painful because being a mom requires constant leaning forward and carrying extra weight. Bending over can be stressful for the spine because the discs between each spinal vertebra get compressed. When you're sleep- deprived, exhausted, and overwhelmed, you can forget to use the best posture to lift, carry, and hold your little one (and all his paraphernalia).

What you can do about it: Learning how to minimize the load on your back during everyday mommy movements, such as when nursing or picking up baby, is the key to tackling neck, upper back, and shoulder pain. Plus, strengthening your core ab and back muscles to provide support when your spine needs it can help alleviate back discomfort. The Lean Mommy plan will show you how to make motherhood feel better simply by moving in a more effective way. You'll also learn ab and back moves to keep your torso strong and stable. See pages 59-62 and pages 117-118, "Baby Plank," and page 115, "Supermans," for example.

Post-pregnancy challenge #3: Too Much Belly and too Many Pounds

The number one complaint of new moms is their tummy-a combination of lingering body fat, stretched- out skin, and poor muscle tone. Even if you didn't love your stomach before, in retrospect it looked much better than you ever realized! You wonder if it can ever feel fl at or firm again. Some women eat more and become less active in the postpartum period and actually gain weight after they have the baby! Women who are more active while pregnant are more likely to slim down after giving birth. But women who are active in the immediate postpartum period are also likely to drop a few dress sizes. Even though you should wait about six weeks before engaging in vigorous activity, there are things you can do immediately to incorporate exercise back into your life. Even if you've waited longer, it's never too late to start being active and reap the rewards. Although I'm not a proponent of worrying about your weight, it is important to get back down to a healthy weight because not doing so may contribute to staying overweight or even becoming obese in the future.

What you can do about it: Your stomach will naturally recede as you lose your baby weight. The inches and pounds will come off from staying active and making smart eating choices. But doing the right amount of physical activity and performing specific tummy- tightening moves correctly will ensure that you slim down and firm up in a way that's easy, safe for your joints, and more likely to be permanent. See pages 101-104, for example.

© Lisa Druxman, 2007

About the Author

Lisa Druxman, a certified personal trainer and fitness professional, knows one of the challenges new moms face: How do I get back into shape after giving birth? After Lisa gave birth to her first child, she developed exercises that she could do with her baby, using power walks, the stroller, and exercise tubing.