Okay new moms, are you ready to sweat? That was me doing my best aerobics instructor voice. But it's true,
post-natal exercise can be helpful for all the reasons this nice personal trainer Tracey Mallett hits us with:
- Helps to reduce post-natal depression known as the “baby blues”
- Quicker recovery back to your pre-pregnancy body
- Increased much-needed energy
- Stress release (time to focus on yourself)
She also shares a good exercise for diastasis recti, a.k.a. "what the hell happened to my abs?" Sorry, but when baby needs room to expand, sometimes there's a little eminent domain involved. Overall the tips here are fabulous, though I'll add one to the ways to find time to exercise: if you have a partner or neighbor or relative who will watch the baby, go forth and exercise. I never had the discipline to get up early and go running until I was a new mom, and jogging was my alone time. All of the sudden panting, lumbering, and perspiring looked so much more appealing.
While Tracey urges patience with your post-natal body, I'm going to be the bearer of some possibly bad news: be more patient than that even. When she says it may take a few months or possibly longer to get your pre-pregnancy body back, she's being optimistic. I like nine months on, nine months off, minimum. Oh, I know there's some of you who were back in pre-preg jeans at like two weeks post-partum, but you probably had good genes too and some of us resent you a little for even sharing that tidbit. And to go one step further: "Be patient and your body will be back to normal in no time." Normal is a funny thing. If you ignore the fanny pack of extra skin around your middle and the fact that your boobs crave some time with your shoes, then sure, I'll buy it. But my pre-pregnancy body is like my twenty-year-old skin: not coming back. It's okay though, cuz there's plenty of moms who will commiserate with you.
