Moving your body after giving birth has a wide range of benefits from supporting your mood, promoting better sleep and strengthening muscles strained during pregnancy. However, which postpartum exercise you choose and when you’re ready to work out again is highly personal. Guidelines can help you know where to start, but it's vital to pay attention to your body and free yourself from the pressure to ‘bounce back’.

Before beginning any exercise, consult your doctor and midwife for an expert opinion based on your own personal recovery journey.

Take it slowly

While it can be tempting to jump back to your workouts, it’s important not to rush your body and risk injury. Your postpartum body has been through huge changes, so remember to be gentle with yourself! From blood loss to muscle strain and abdominal separation, your body is already in a healing period so it's important not to place undue stress that could delay it. You might notice that you become fatigued much more quickly, require longer rest periods and shorter workouts overall. Be kind to yourself, and remember that it can take as long as 1-2 years to get back into your standard workout routine after giving birth.

Low impact workouts

Resuming HIIT workouts with jumps and high impact movements is a no-go when you’re postpartum. In the early weeks & months after pregnancy, focus on light walks, pelvic floor exercises and deep belly breathing to help your body heal. When your strength starts to return, build up to postnatal yoga workouts and bodyweight exercises. Just remember that slow and steady wins the race when it comes to movement after pregnancy.

Strengthen your core gradually

During pregnancy, the muscles and tissue around your core stretch to accommodate your growing baby, and can sometimes result in diastasis recti (when the muscles along your abdomen separate). It’s important to avoid training your core with exercises like sit-ups, crunches and planks before your muscles re-stabilize. If you’re struggling with diastasis recti, then you’ll want to consult a qualified professional, such as a physiotherapist, to help during healing.

Breastfeed or pump before you workout

There’s a common misconception that your breastmilk will be affected by working out, but this myth has been debunked. However, exercising with full breasts can cause discomfort, so bear this in mind before you get started.

Say no to diets

Many new moms struggle with the changes their body has undergone over pregnancy, but this is not a time for restriction. The healthiest thing you can do is ensure that you’re fully nourished with a wide variety of foods to help your body recover, build resilience, fight fatigue and breastfeed if you choose to do so.

When you’ve had a c-section

After having a cesarean delivery, you’ll need to pay even more attention to the workouts you do during recovery. Like all major surgeries, pushing your body too hard too soon could risk further injury, infection and delay your recovery time. The best place to start is with gentle walking and pelvic floor exercises, avoiding placing stress on your core while it heals.