Lessening the pain of post-pregnancy workout sessions

Endurance was only the beginning of the physical challenges women as new moms experience. Pregnancy and childbirth can also weaken abdominal muscles, loosen ligaments and cause structural changes in the rib cage and pelvis. All of this makes a woman prone to injury if she pursues a bikini body too quickly.

Pregnancy hormones stay in the body for about three months postpartum, continuing to loosen joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments as they did in preparation for delivery. For those breast-feeding, hormones can have a loosening effect even a few months after nursing stops.

Marianne Ryan, owner of Marianne Ryan Physical Therapy and author of Baby Bod: Turn Flab to Fab in 12 Weeks Flat, urges new and especially breast-feeding mothers to exercise carefully.

“Don’t do too much too soon,” she says.

Women’s health experts emphasize rehabilitation before fitness. Here’s what specialists recommend for new mothers:

REHABILITATE WITH DAILY ACTIVITIES

Everyday movements such as picking up a baby, loading a stroller into a car and walking are opportunities to engage the core muscles, which refer collectively to multiple muscle groups including the transverse abdominis (deep corset-like muscle), six-pack, obliques, diaphragm, lower back and pelvic floor.

Ryan recommends getting up from a chair by bending forward, pressing the heels of your hands into your thighs to take the weight off the belly and exhaling. To get out of bed, roll onto your side, shoulders and hips moving together with knees bent, drop your legs down off the bed and push up with your arms. Avoid jackknife movements.

SIT ON YOUR SIT BONES, NOT YOUR TAILBONE

Kelly Dean, a physical therapist and founder of the clinic and online program Tummy Team, says: “Visualize a cable from the crown of your head drawing you up. Keep arms in line with your torso and eyes on the horizon.”

This gets the spine into a neutral position with the rib cage stacked directly above the pelvis and perpendicular to the ground, and shoulder blades resting back and down.

BREATHE

Diaphragm or “belly” breathing is another simple way to engage and strengthen the abdominals. “When you inhale, fill your rib cage up with air. When you exhale, bring your belly to the spine,” says Cheryl Bjornson, a certified personal trainer who specializes in core and diastasis recti rehabilitation.

Ryan recommends exhaling to match the level of effort during daily tasks. “If they lift up the baby, it might be a little exhale. If they lift up a pot of pasta, it must be a big exhale,” she says.

GET CHECKED

Because physicians generally don’t check for diastasis recti, ask your doctor to do so at your postnatal appointment.

GET MOVING

As soon as you feel well enough to leave the house, start walking — first around the block, then slowly increasing to three to five miles daily, if possible, Bjornson says. Remember during any activity to have the spine in a neutral position, engage the core and belly, breathe.

After walking for a few weeks and feeling strong, consider adding activities that boost the heart rate: light jogging, using the elliptical machine, strengthening/toning and group workouts with other moms. “Do these same activities for a couple of weeks, see how your tummy feels, then try something more challenging like cycling, swimming or yoga,” Bjornson says.

DITCH THE CRUNCH

Avoid movements that put pressure on the abdominals, including push-ups, mountain climbers, planks, Pilates 100s and, especially, crunches, which focus on the outer abdominals but don’t develop the entire core and can worsen the separation for women with diastasis recti. Replace burpees with squats or squat jumps. Opt for modified push-ups and planks. Instead of crunches, try heel slides, bridges and head lifts. Avoid positions where the belly is parallel to the ground until you can engage your deep corset muscle throughout the exercise, Bjornson says.

DON’T DO IT ALONE

More resources are available to new mothers, such as physical therapists specializing in prenatal, postnatal and pelvic floor health, as well as books and online programs.