Post Natal Exercise

Here's a few things you aren't told about what happens after having a baby... 

A woman’s metabolism after having a baby is reduced by 10-20%.
A woman’s physiology is designed to store fat during pregnancy and shortly after child birth in order to protect her baby. It is a mechanism that evolved in case of famine. After giving birth, because of this, a woman’s metabolism is up to 20% slower than before falling pregnant. A slower metabolism means an increased likelihood of putting on weight.

Some studies say that half of all women will have back problems after having a baby (Breen TW, Ransil BJ, Groves PA, Oriol NE, 1994).
The deep abdominal muscles (as well as a few others) make up your “core” which acts to protect your spine. The process of pregnancy and childbirth stretches the abdominal muscles and this will change the function of these muscles. Having a cesarean involves cutting through these muscles, which almost guarantees poor muscle function. This increases the likelihood of a back injury as the spine is now “unprotected”.

Add to this the increased activity and demands of parenthood, like lifting the baby, putting them in the car, carrying, pushing a pram etc, then there is even more reason for back pain.

Dieting immediately after having a baby can make you PUT ON weight.
In addition to the earlier mentioned point regarding metabolism, the protective mechanism against famine also makes you store more fat if you go on a diet. Quite simply, if the body detects a shortage of fat it will act to store more of it. When you lose weight through dieting, much of it isn’t fat, but lean mass, like muscle. In the long term, if you put weight back on, it will all be fat. Remember, good nutrition is important, but "dieting" is bad.

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The best way to lose weight properly after having a baby is by exercising.
Exercise allows the body to expend more energy while maintaining lean mass. This allows for “fat loss” not just “weight loss”. That’s not to say that your diet is irrelevant, but a fad or crash diet to lose the weight will work against you in the long run.

But what is the best form of exercise to lose weight?...

Weight training can be more effective at weight loss than cardio.
Weight training is actually more effective at weight loss than cardio. In short, weights allow for more muscle mass to be used. If there is more muscle being used, there is more muscle that needs energy delivered to it. The more body receiving energy the more energy being used. Fat = energy, so, the more energy being used, the more weight you can lose. This increase in muscle mass being used also helps to increase the reduced metabolism as well. Click here to find out more…

That an effective weight training program can help to strengthen your pelvic floor, but a poor program can weaken it?
When using free weights with functional movements, mostly performed while standing, holding the weights creates pressure on all of the bones in the body. This includes the spine. As a means of protecting the spine, there is an increase in “intra-abdominal pressure” – or an increase in pressure in the abdominal cavity. In order for this to happen, the pelvic floor switches on. This strengthens the pelvic floor, which helps you NOT become one of the 50% of women who have some degree of incontinence.

Using machine weights, or even benches, doesn’t create that abdominal pressure and therefore doesn’t strengthen the pelvic floor. In fact, it then teaches the body to NOT use the pelvic floor which essentially makes it WEAKER. Click here to find out more...

Losing weight after having a baby is hard enough for many women. Don’t make the situation worse by doing exercises that can create the chance of further injury. At Sydney Exercise Physiology we run training groups specifically for new mothers. These classes take all of these points into account and help you achieve all the results that you strive for.

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