The Rise of the Active Mom Movement

If you're reading this, chances are you're part of the powerful movement of moms committed to exercising through pregnancy and beyond. You should feel empowered and proud to be part of this growing revolution. I recently presented at a global conference for the fitness industry and shared information on trends, challenges, and opportunities. I thought you might be interested to see what’s happening in Mom Fitness too!

A Glimpse at Mom Fitness Today

I’ve been fortunate to witness just how many moms are prioritizing physical activity and fitness during and after pregnancy. At Active Mom Fitness in Philadelphia, PA we use functional strength and core training as a tool so that moms can comfortably adapt to the body’s changes during pregnancy and safely return to physical activity after having a baby. It’s evident with apps like Peloton adding natal options, and the number of elite athlete moms competing during and after pregnancy, that exercise and sport during and after pregnancy is here to stay.

Unfortunately, the fitness industry hasn’t quite caught up with this demand. Maternal exercise researchers are moving us forward, but we’ve gone years without sufficient prenatal or postpartum-specific studies to inform exercise programs, especially when it comes to more vigorous activity and sport. There is a recent study that I hope fitness professionals get their hands on. Researchers show that both the mother and the fetus can tolerate high-intensity exercise (they did 10, 1-minute intervals at 90% or more of their maximum heart rate). Of course, every pregnancy is different, and your individual fitness level, abilities, and pelvic floor muscle tolerance matter. But isn't it motivating to see more evidence backing this up so you can feel safe doing the activities you enjoy?? I hope maternal researchers continue to push this field so that moms have evidence-based exercise programs to follow through motherhood.

A stat that I hope improves is that up to 60% of pregnant mamas aren't getting adequate exercise guidance from their doctors. Although doctors are not trained in exercise prescription, with collaboration between obstetricians and qualified pre/postnatal exercise specialists this gap can be closed. Moms don’t deserve to feel overwhelmed and alone navigating exercise through motherhood, we have enough on our plates! The increased awareness through professional athletes competing and moms like yourself demanding more support will help our cause, but there is still work to be done.

It’s Not Easy

Despite this movement toward more exercise and activity through the stages of motherhood, moms face very real barriers. You may have to deal with mixed messages about exercise. One day it's "put your feet up," and the next it's "slay your bounce-back goals!" You have misguided influencer narratives to contend with and old-school thinking to debate.  

One element that I always educate fitness professionals about in my continuing education courses is the fear factor. If you've ever felt intimidated, anxious, or confused about working out during or after pregnancy, you're not alone. For many a difficult conception journey, traumatic birth experience, or even mom guilt can enhance anxiety and fears around exercise and you may need support to navigate those feelings.

And of course, there are always the obvious challenges like fatigue, aches, nausea, and the whole life-changing experience of new motherhood thing. That is where a community like Active Mom Fitness can be helpful. You’re motivated not just by your personal trainer, but getting practical suggestions and support from moms going through the same experience. Additionally, every exercise class or session is designed with those factors in mind. Trust me, as a mom myself and after working with hundreds of moms, “I get it” and I want to help you get through it so that you can exercise until your due date, and feel confident getting back to physical activity after having your baby!

What Was The Point of This Article

I just wanted to let you know that: 

1. If you’re continuing to set goals, seek support, and keep moving then you’re part of this amazing growing movement of Active Moms and you should be proud. 

2. Based on the research, the field of pre/postnatal exercise and sport is growing, but we’re not where we need to be. However, when it comes to healthcare and fitness, work with people who are seeking updated evidence so they can provide you with the best support

3. There will always be challenges. Know it’s a journey through motherhood and it doesn’t have to look perfect. Find someone who can help you navigate the challenges and sift through the noise.

Let’s keep moving, moms! 

If personal or group training doesn’t work for you, know that the self-paced library is building and I’ve taken the approach that I use in the studio and put it into digital step-by-step programs so moms in or outside of Philadelphia, PA have access to quality programs designed just for moms!

If you’re just getting back to exercise after having a baby (6 weeks to 6 years out!) try this self-paced core progression. If you’ve just finished pelvic floor PT, transition back to exercise with this program (2 coaching sessions included!).

Exercising with Diastasis Recti - Four Tips for Moms

The physical changes to your body during pregnancy don't immediately disappear postpartum. One common change is diastasis recti abdominis (DRA), also known as abdominal separation. While this might sound intimidating, it's essential to recognize that DRA is a natural part of pregnancy in order to make room for your growing baby. It's also important to note that if you have abdominal separation, with the right guidance, you can regain core strength and confidence, and return to physical activity and exercise.

Understanding Diastasis Recti:

Diastasis recti, or abdominal separation, occurs as the linea alba (the connective tissue that runs vertically in the middle of your abs) widens and weakens to accommodate your growing baby. This caused your rectus abdominis (six-pack abs) to separate from each other. For some moms, the linea alba naturally tightens post-birth, bringing your rectus abdominis muscles closer together again. For others, the separation can persist, leaving a gap. The opinion about diastasis recti has shifted to such that rehabilitation is less about closing the gap, and more about being able to create tension so that your core can act as the stabilizer that it is designed to be.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy/Women’s Health PT

Many moms will look toward physical therapists for support. During your treatment, you'll focus on core muscle activation and breathing. This may result in your gap closing, but even if it doesn't you'll learn to have a strong and functional core so that your DRA doesn't impact your quality of life. It’s important to trust the process even if the exercises feel too basic. The basics are what create a strong fitness foundation so that you can progress and reach your postpartum fitness goals.

Exercise After Physical Therapy

After you've focused on core muscle coordination and have regained some strength, you'll be discharged from PT. You may then wonder what's next and still have questions about what exercises are safe. The key here is to realize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It's about personalizing your fitness program and performing exercises that allow you to have core strength and control. I've worked with many postpartum moms returning to exercise while managing abdominal separation, or after pelvic floor physical therapy and I’m happy to share my insight with you.

Tips & Strategies for Exercising with Diastasis Recti

Note, that it is recommended you work with a qualified postnatal fitness professional or see a pelvic floor physical therapist if you're looking for diagnosis or treatment.

1. Gradual Progression: Start with exercises that focus on activating your deepest core muscle the transverse abdominis. Move to coordinate that muscle activation with breath and pelvic floor. Progress to more complex movements gradually, incorporating resistance, repetitions, and different positions.

2. Manage the pressure you create within your abdominal cavity: Be mindful of everyday activities that increase your intra-abdominal pressure, such as sneezing, coughing, or lifting. Use your transverse abdominis activation strategies and breath to help manage the pressure and force on your healing abdominal wall.

3. Exercise Selection: Choose exercises that align with your core strength and function. There isn’t a definitive list of “bad exercises” or “exercises to avoid if you have diastasis recti”. Rather it should be based on your personal ability. If you can lift 20 pounds fairly easily without having to bear down or hold your breath, then that exercise may be appropriate. However if someone else goes to bench press 20 pounds and struggles and grunts and has to create a lot of pressure in the abdomen to perform the movement, then that exercise should be avoided until the core is stronger and the tissue is more healed. Most people will void high-impact or heavy-lifting activities initially. 

4. Muscle Recruitment: Pay attention to recruiting the right muscles at the right time. For example, many people think of the chest, shoulders and arms for a push-up and don’t realize that it is very much a core exercise. To stabilize the spine during a push-up your core muscles should engage. Ensure your deep abs activate for stability before movement.

Avoid back pain and incontinence

Although more research needs to be done when it comes to diastasis recti impacting pain and incontinence, many moms that I work with who are concerned about abdominal separation are also concerned about incontinence and back pain. Both of those conditions are common during and after pregnancy so their concerns are valid. Rather than fearing these conditions, I created a free 5-day program to empower you and educate you on how to have a strong and functional core in order to reduce your risk of pain and leaking when you sneeze or cough. By understanding your body and following a tailored fitness approach, you can confidently navigate your fitness journey with diastasis recti or any other condition resulting from pregnancy. 

Ready for more tips? Download 5 Tips for a Stronger Core After Pregnancy.

Feeling Overwhelmed When You Think About Returning to Fitness?

As we all know exercise has many physical and mental health benefits. We all are also probably somewhat familiar with exercise guidelines and recommendations. So why does beginning an exercise program after having a baby feel so difficult? The answer is that there are many real challenges for new moms. Being a military mom adds another layer of barriers and stressors. Sleep deprivation, lack of time, changed priorities, minimal support from family, fear, birth complications, pain, lack of postpartum exercise and healthcare resources, and pressure to lose weight and perform, are all very real barriers (not excuses!). Although every mom’s journey back to exercise will be different, these three general strategies can make your return to exercise a little less overwhelming.

1) Understanding Changes to Your Body: Having information and knowledge about the anatomical and physiological changes during and after pregnancy will validate why you feel weaker despite exercising during pregnancy, or why you can’t seem to lose the last five pounds, or why you’re experiencing soreness like you never have before. Understanding how the changes to your body impacts fitness is essential, yet most postpartum care doesn’t include such information. Having this understanding will help you make sense of why workouts feel so difficult, why you’re not seeing progress at the rate you’re used to, and hopefully allow yourself some grace during those first few months after having your baby. 

There could be an entire book about this, but hormones play a huge role in muscle development and exercise recovery. Hormones don’t stabilize immediately after giving birth, and even when they begin to “balance out”, other hormones due to lack of sleep and stress can keep your hormones at levels that will impact your ability to lose weight, workout at higher intensities, and recover after a workout. Additionally, hormones can have an impact on your mood, affecting your motivation to exercise and desire to hit the gym like you used to. If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll have an even longer delay of hormones getting back to pre-pregnancy levels, so having the understanding that breastfeeding doesn’t automatically make it easier to change your body composition due to so many other factors, is also really important.

In addition to hormones, you need to have an understanding of tissue healing. You may be feeling stronger and ready for more physical activity, but whether you’ve had a vaginal delivery or c-section, your abdominal wall and pelvic floor tissues can take 9-12 months to fully heal and regain strength. Having this understanding is important so that you’re not choosing exercises that will do more harm than good, hence stunting your progress and inhibiting fitness results. Exercise is important in healing, but not over stressing the tissues is crucial in progressively increasing strength and function. This means if running feels overwhelming, that’s OK. Recent guidelines suggest that running and other high impact activity shouldn’t even happen until at least 12 weeks postpartum, and after proper strength training.

Hormones, tissue healing, and other factors don’t mean that you can’t exercise, in fact you absolutely should. Those factors also don’t mean that you won’t see results. What those changes to your body do mean is that you shouldn’t expect to exercise at your same pre-pregnancy level right away, and that initially, your program will probably need to look different. Having this understanding about the changes to your body means you’ll be able to gradually progress in fitness. As long as you’re moving forward with no setbacks, you’ll get there.

2) Prioritize: Being able to prioritize will help ease some of the pressure and stress around exercising. You’re probably used to thinking of fitness as aerobic, strength, and flexibility. And you’re correct, these are all major components of fitness. However, as a new mom it’s important that you make the most of your time and energy. To set yourself up for success, you should prioritize the type of workouts and exercises you’re choosing. Your first priority should be on healing. This includes any tears, incisions, scarring and any emotional trauma, depression, or anxiety. So if you once prioritized high intensity cardio and heavy weights, you’ll need a mental shift to feel good about the workouts your body needs. Next you should prioritize core strength and function, specifically addressing any concerns for abdominal separation, back pain, or pelvic floor dysfunction (pain or incontinence). Next make sure you’re functional. Functional strength training is somewhat of a trendy term, but for moms it means that you can perform all of your daily movements and demands of caring for a baby without pain. As it relates to exercise, it means you have mastered all of the major movement patterns (squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, rotate/anti rotation) with good technique, and ability to recover. Your last priority is progressing to more vigorous physical activity and your traditional fitness goals. After you have the foundation of core strength and functional movements, you should be able to advance comfortably and with reduced injury risk. This is a simplified progression, but I like to think of Core, Function and Fitness as a pie chart with different percentages. You’ll always be working on all parts, but the percentage of each will change based on your priorities and needs.

3) Mental Shift: This has been touched on a bit already, but the first step in returning to exercise is mental. The fitness requirements of the military are relevant, but this comes secondary to how you view postpartum physical activity, especially now that you have a year to meet your military fitness and body composition goals. Your body has changed so your workouts will and should as well. The goals you once set were for a different body. Exercise should be a tool and if you begin to look at it that way, you will choose and plan your workouts differently, and with less stress. During the first few months, what type of exercise will help you heal? What type of exercise can you do without childcare? What workouts are realistic with the time you have? If you’re not sleeping, when is the best time of day to exercise and the appropriate intensity? Shifting your perspective about fitness and exercise is not a sign of weakness, but rather a helpful and smart tactic.

Now that you have those three general strategies to help you overcome the numerous barriers you face as a mom returning to exercise, I want to make it very clear that being a mom does not have to negatively impact your fitness. Moms actually have an advantage when it comes to fitness. By training in a very specific way and a way that you’ve never trained before, you have the ability to have a stronger core, be more functional, and feel stronger than you’ve ever been. Why? Because now your training will probably include pelvic floor muscles and breathing techniques, making your core function optimally. By caring for a baby, you’ll probably need to address posture, aches, and pains caused by muscle weaknesses/tightness, that you just ignored before. Your workouts as a mom will now have more meaning and serve many more purposes. If you can understand what your body needs, prioritize the proper exercise progression, and change your mindset, you will feel strong and confident in your body again.

Looking for a little more guidance? Take this Free Self-Assessment.

Don’t Make These Postpartum Exercise Mistakes

Pregnancy and childbirth are hard on a mom’s body, and exercise is a powerful tool. After having a baby, you’re going to desire restored core strength, improved your posture, returning to a healthy weight, boosting your mood, more energy, and quality sleep when you can. Exercise can help new moms with all of this! So if you’re ready to become more physically active, keep reading so you don’t fall into the pitfalls of postpartum exercise.

Forgetting the first step is healing: Pregnancy and childbirth put significant physical strain on the body. If you’ve had any tearing or a c-section, you need to allow adequate time to heal. If you didn’t have any complications, you still have to keep in mind that your abdominal wall and pelvic floor muscles have been stressed and also need adequate time to heal. Before exercise comes recovery. Light walking, reconnecting with your pelvic floor and deep abs with breath, and gentle stretching is usually fine for most moms as a first step.

Going back to your pre-pregnancy routine too soon: Your first step in postpartum fitness should be strengthening your core, and addressing any concerns like incontinence or diastasis recti. Before you can resume an old routine it is essential to focus on core strength and function in a progressive way. Just like your exercise goals during pregnancy were different, your postpartum goals will also be unique to this stage of life.

If you were a runner before or during pregnancy, you’re probably ready to get back. But again, I’ll emphasize that the tissues in your abdominal wall, your pelvic floor, and spinal stabilizers need to be able to handle the impact. This means no running until you’ve dedicated time to strengthening your body.

Not factoring in exercise recovery: Exercise has positive benefits, but it is still a source of stress on our body. In a state of sleep deprivation, your body using energy to heal, and probably sporadic and unbalanced nutrition, you have to consider if you have the ability to recover from the workouts you’re doing.

Ignoring aches/pains: You might be so eager to get moving again, take control of your body, feel stronger, and maybe lose weight that you’re ready to push past any aches and pains. It’s normal to feel a bit sore as you return to exercise, but your body is performing new physical tasks, and holding new postures so it’s likely you’ll have to focus on strength and mobility to improve alignment and reduce discomfort. Motherhood is physically demanding, so ignoring your neck pain, back pain, wrist pain, and foot pain is only going to lead to further discomfort. Prioritize function after core strength.

Not using physical activity as a tool for emotional health: Instances of baby blues, hormone crashes, and postpartum depression/anxiety are common. If you’re not yet physically ready to resume structured workouts, then find ways to move your body. Walks outside can be extremely impactful on mental health. Gentle exercises like yoga can help calm your mind and body.

Not seeking professional help: At this stage in life your body is still going through changes. If you have the ability to seek professional guidance from a qualified postpartum fitness professional, I highly recommend it. Someone like me can see when you’re exhausted and adjust the workout to something effective, yet more appropriate. Postpartum exercise professionals can help you prioritize exercises that help address your specific physical needs so you’re not wasting your limited time or energy. You have enough going on as a new mom…exercise is essential, but it should not feel overwhelming. Use someone like me for guidance, motivation, and accountability.

By avoiding the mistakes above, you’ll set yourself up for success. Your return to exercise should be progressive and specific to your needs. Remember: heal first, strengthen the core, focus on your functional needs, improve strength…and then meet all of your fitness goals! I’ve created a self-paced core challenge to help you take your first steps toward fitness. For a more personalized approach, I’d love for you to join an Active Mom Fitness Program.

Ready for more tips? Download 5 Tips for a Stronger Core After Pregnancy.

When Can I Start to Exercise After Having a Baby?

“When can I exercise again after having the baby?”, OR “Do I have to wait until my 6-week postpartum appointment to get back to physical activity?” The answers to these questions are going to vary based on your individual situation and needs. In general, it is safe for most moms to begin connecting with their deep abs and pelvic floor muscles using breath. Low-intensity walking and mobility exercises may be beneficial for you as well. Let comfort and energy level be your guide. Remember movement is good, but you don’t want to interfere with healing, especially if you had tearing or a c-section. You should not return to anything more vigorous before a doctor can tell you that there are no medical contraindications. If bleeding increases following even light activity, that may indicate that you are doing too much and you should contact your physician.

If you are “cleared” for exercise at your postpartum visit, this means that your doctor from a medical perspective thinks you can begin to be more physically active. You should still approach exercise with a gradual and progressive approach. This is not a green light to jump into your old routine. Abdominal and pelvic floor tissues can take up to 9-12 months to heal.

If your doctor approves and you’re ready to exercise, the progression below might help you prioritize your first steps back to fitness.

1. Heal: Whether you’ve had a c-section or vaginal delivery you have tissues that need to heal. Your initial focus should be on promoting healing by getting enough water, and nutrients and resting when you can. You should not begin to exercise until you know that any tears or incisions have healed properly. You’ll also want to address any scar tissue. Part of healing may also mean addressing concerns like incontinence, the feeling of pressure or bulging in your vagina, or abdominal separation. These are all common conditions, but not normal. It may not necessarily mean that you can’t begin an exercise program simultaneously, but you should consult with a pelvic floor therapist and prioritize exercises that will help you improve those symptoms or conditions.

2. Core: Most muscles of your core are impacted by pregnancy and delivery. All moms should strengthen these muscles and ensure that they function optimally by working synergistically. This often means beginning with breath, transverse abdominis, and pelvic floor muscles.

3. Function: Being a mom is physically demanding. Part of your return to fitness should be mastering repetitive movements like hip hinges or getting up off of the floor (think deadlifts and lunges), strengthening muscles that impact posture (think back and glutes, and focusing on mobility (think upper back, ankles, hamstrings and hip flexors).

4. Strength: After you have foundational core strength and have mastered movement patterns, you can begin to think about gradually progressing your program. This could include adding more resistance, moving to moderate to high-impact activity, and performing more demanding abdominal exercises like rotations or exercises in positions against gravity.

Other considerations of when it’s best for you to begin to exercise include sleep (ability to recover), support from family/friends, and mental state. Hopefully, this doesn’t sound overwhelming because there are many positives to postpartum exercise like establishing a healthy lifestyle for your family, and training in a way that you can become stronger than you were before pregnancy. And remember, exercise as a mom is not a luxury, it is essential in meeting the physical and emotional demands of motherhood.

Ready for more tips? Download 5 Tips for a Stronger Core After Pregnancy.

3 Holiday Fit Tips

As if your to-do list wasn’t long enough already, now add maintaining the holiday gathering calendar, planning/prepping more meals, and making sure your kids experience family traditions...phew, it’s no wonder our perspective on fitness changes a bit this time of year. Here are a few reminders as we approach the holiday season.

1. January is not your start date: From November through December life gets busy and fitness might be a lower priority, but do yourself a favor and don’t see these last two months of the year as pointless when it comes to workouts. Sure it’s easier to ramp up fitness in January, but you don’t want to enter 2022 feeling like you’re starting over or that you’re “getting back on track”. If you know the end of 2021 will mean less consistency with exercise, instead look at it as your off-season; a chance to maintain what you’ve built, try different types of exercise, enjoy shorter movement sessions, and prepare your body for a surge in a couple of months.

2. Embrace the dark (and cold): whether you work out early in the morning or in the evening, chances are it’s going to be dark and cold. Acknowledge the challenge, but don’t let it become an excuse. Brighten up your home workout area, enlist an accountability partner, lay out your clothes the night before...whatever it takes to embrace the change of season and not let it sabotage your goal to stay active.

3. Exercise is not an exchange for indulging: During the holidays meals tend to be heavier and alcohol might be more frequent. Indulging a bit more is often part of tradition and good times with friends and family. If you’re choosing to indulge, it’s important to be OK with it and not fill yourself with guilt and stress. Don’t fall into the thinking that exercise is there to make up for eating more than usual. Continue to fuel your workouts with good nutrition and if you’re making the choice to have that extra dessert or glass of wine, accept it and enjoy it, knowing that your healthy habits over long periods of time will help you maintain your baseline.

As you can see, for your fitness routine to survive the holidays, it takes a little bit of a mental shift and recognizing that this is a temporary time period and adjustments should be made. So enjoy the family traditions, acknowledge the challenges, and change your perspective on what fitness means to you during this time. If you’d like some guidance with your holiday fitness plans or want to set yourself up for success in the New Year, schedule your personal exercise consult.

3 Ways to Incorporate Pelvic Floor Training into Your Strength Routine

Your pelvic floor muscles can be considered the basement of your core and play a key role in managing intra-abdominal pressure (pressure within your abdominal cavity that helps stabilize your spine). When your pelvic floor muscles work with the rest of the core to manage the pressure, you'll feel stable and strong. When one area of your core is weak, your ability to manage and create pressure for stability changes. During pregnancy breathing, abdominal muscles/wall, and pelvic floor are impacted by the changes to your body-which is why training each of them properly is so important.

Pelvic floor muscles also play important roles in sexual function, organ support, and sphincteric control (holding urine, gas and poop). During the natal period (pregnancy and postpartum), weakness or overactivity of these muscles can impact your core strength and function, as well as cause conditions such as urinary and fecal incontinence, or pain with intercourse. By now most of us have heard of kegels, and some of you may even manage to fit in a few sets while brushing your teeth or driving. However, like most muscles in our body, pelvic floor muscles need to be functional during movement and not just at rest. The best way to do this is to coordinate the activation of your pelvic floor muscles with other core muscles during movement. Here are some ways to train those muscles with common exercises:

1. During squats: As you descend into a squat this is when your pelvic floor muscles should relax. During this lowering movement, you will inhale. As you ascend up to standing with an exhale, this is when you can contract your pelvic floor muscles (think of trying to tighten your vagina around a tampon). Additionally press through your heels to activate glutes, and draw in your belly button (to hit your transverse muscles).

2. During a front dumbbell raise: As you lift the dumbbell exhale and draw in your belly button (to hit your transverse muscles), while at the same time visualizing your pelvic floor rising along with your arm toward your belly button. As you lower the dumbbell, gently release your abdominal contraction and relax your pelvic floor.

3. Wall sit: While you're holding your wall sit (back against the wall, knees bent at 90 degrees with your knees over your ankles), challenge yourself for endurance pelvic floor contractions-one set of three 8-12 seconds long holds (make sure you’re not holding your breath, just the pelvic floor lift). And then follow that with a wall sit of quick pelvic floor contractions-strong flickers of your muscles for 10-15 reps. Think quick “contract, relax, contract, relax”. (similar to an orgasm)

For most pregnant people, pelvic floor training is recommended and will help you maintain a strong and functional core. Remember to always relax between contractions...you don’t want a tight pelvic floor during delivery.

It can be helpful for everyone to get a pelvic floor assessment postpartum, as many people will need to retrain the muscles, and although common, pelvic floor dysfunction is not normal. Weakness is not the only concern, sometimes birth trauma can lead to overactive or spasmed muscles...so don’t just jump back into kegels.

Happy training!

Ready for more tips? Download 5 Tips for a Stronger Core After Pregnancy.

If you already are experiencing back pain or leaking, consider this FREE 5-day course to gain a better understanding of how to reduce your risk for pain and incontinence.

Exercise for Mental Health: How Much? How often?

To meet the physical demands of pregnancy and caring for a baby exercise is essential. You'll feel stronger, and more confident and be able to keep up with your kids throughout all stages of motherhood. However, the mental health benefits of exercise shouldn't be forgotten. Prenatal anxiety and postpartum depression during are common. Exercise should be considered a useful tool in preventing and coping with depressive symptoms.

In analyzing results of over 800,000 people as it relates to mental health and exercise, researchers found that exercisers reported nearly 43% fewer mental health burdens than non-exercisers.

So what type of exercises seemed to provide the most benefit?

• Popular sports

• Cycling

• Aerobics/Gym exercises

• Yoga/Tai Chi

How Much? Now as a mom, it can be hard to find the time for exercise, but the good news is that the strongest correlation of exercise and mental health was with sessions of 30-60 minutes. I think it’s fair to say that if you’re finding it stressful to find time to exercise then the shorter end of that range is reasonable. There was no added benefit to sessions longer than 60 minutes.

What about intensity? The study found vigorous exercise was linked to better mental health outcomes, but I’d recommend monitoring your intensities and how you feel post-exercise. Often if we are already overwhelmed and stressed, recovering from high-intensity exercise can be more difficult. This is especially important to consider if you’re a new mom and not getting much sleep, or pregnant and feeling more exhausted. You may find that more moderate-intensity exercise feels better both physically and mentally.

Recommended frequency? The study found that working out 3-5 times per week was the most beneficial. If you’re a busy mom, I’d suggest aiming for 2-3 structured strength sessions per week and then filling in the other days with “physical activity” like walking, playing with your kids at the park, or structured aerobic sessions like biking or running if you have the time and energy. Remember the physical activity guidelines suggest at least 150 minutes per week to meet health guidelines.

So Mama, if you’re looking to reap not just the physical, but also the mental benefits start prioritizing fitness. Remember exercise is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Please also remember that exercise is a tool and not the only treatment option. If you’re feeling anxious, depressed or experiencing PTSD after having a baby, you are not alone and should seek a referral from your doctor, or look into a virtual therapy company.

8 Tips For Moms Returning to Exercise Post Birth

(guest contributor)

Whether you’re a new mother who’s taking her first steps into exercise after some months away or you’ve never had a consistent fitness routine, you’ve come to the right place. Exercise for someone post-birth, with new priorities and lack of time can feel impossible. Here are some things to keep in mind and help get you started:

1. Listen to your body

Before you take a step onto a treadmill or pick up those weights, do a self check-in and make sure you’re getting back into working out for the right reasons. How do you feel? Are you exhausted and pushing yourself too far, or are you feeling ready for some movement? After birth, your mental and physical healing and health are the most important.

2. See your doctor 

Before increasing the intensity of your movement, make sure that you are healed and ask specific questions at your postpartum visit regarding pelvic floor and diastasis recti. Keep in mind that your postpartum “clearance” for exercise isn’t a green light to jump back into old routines. Consult with a postnatal expert to return to exercise in a safe and progressive way.

3. Start with walking

When you first get back to exercising, take small steps, literally. Getting out there and taking a walk will boost your ability to carve out time for exercise and identify any post-birth aches and pains that need to be addressed before anything more vigorous. You can incorporate some time with your baby as well by bringing the stroller and enjoying the great outdoors together. Equally, if you’re feeling like you need some time for yourself, it’s a great excuse to pop your headphones in and take a walk, listening to your favorite music or podcast. 

4. Get planning 

Whether your child is 2 months or 12, finding time to exercise can be hard. Finding a spot between naps feeds, and playtime isn’t easy. So, as much as you can, plan exercise into your existing routine. With smaller babies, you can time a walk outside or a yoga class into their nap schedule. With older babies who are in a high chair, consider getting a workout in while they eat a meal and entertain themselves. And if it’s really tricky, incorporate them into the workout by lying them on the yoga mat next to you. By making a plan, you can write it up on a wall planner to remind you throughout the day. 

5. Find the right time for you 

After you’ve started to do a bit of exercise, ask yourself, what time works best for you? Do you enjoy waking up an hour earlier to work out before your child wakes up? Or do you like to do it during lunchtime? When do you feel the most energetic? When are you less likely to be interrupted? Finding a time that works for you means you’re much more likely to actually get up and exercise when that time hits. 

6. Consider your pelvic floor 

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the base of your ‘core’ muscles. Pregnancy and birth can impact these muscles in various ways. You’ll be a better exerciser with a strong core, and weak pelvic floor muscles can make exercise uncomfortable by causing pressure or even incontinence. Be sure to consult with a pelvic health physical therapist if this is a concern for you. They may recommend pelvic floor exercises before exercise, or better yet incorporated into your fitness routine. 

7. Spend time outdoors 

Finding activities and exercises to do outdoors is good for the body, but it’s being increasingly touted as good for the mind. Your physical and mental health is so important. Studies have shown how beneficial it is for good mental health to spend time outdoors. On a sunny day, you also have the added bonus of some free vitamin D! 

8. Find workouts that you enjoy 

They say if you enjoy your job, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, the same applies to exercise. If you find a type of physical activity you enjoy, then you will look forward to moving your body and exercise. Think outside the box and consider tennis, cycling, or even rollerblading - best rollerblades for women. 

Ready for more tips? Download 5 Tips for a Stronger Core After Pregnancy.