You’ve had your amazing little bean and while you are emotionally, mentally, and a fair amount physically exhausted you’re ready to get back to training. Or at least I was…. As someone who trained (or worked out) up until basically the moment I went into labor riding my bike for 75 minutes the day I went into active labor as a way to distract myself from the constant discomfort of really horrible pre-labor contractions by the time two to three weeks postpartum rolled through I was very much starting to get antsy to get back to training. Now please note I was cleared fully by my doctor to do so, if you are not cleared by your doctor do not start anything always listen to your doctor when returning to any form of exercise after having a baby.
I found that during those first few weeks of returning to training the bike was one of the best choices because it was so low impact. With great structure (and a good pair of cycling shorts) you could really begin to push yourself without risking any physical injury specifically to your pelvic floor. While it was great to get back to training it was very different, here are a few things I learned during those first few weeks of getting back into training after having my first baby.
Photo Credit @ Justin Luau
Table of Contents
Get Back to Training After Having a Baby with These Tips
1. Be patient with yourself
This patience with yourself comes in more forms than just understanding that your body just went through a huge form of trauma and needs time to get back into the swing of things. It really comes from knowing that your schedule at that time frame may be a bit messy and on top of that you may feel some pretty serious guilt for taking the time to do so. No longer do you only have to worry about yourself but that 30-60 minutes you set aside for yourself may get totally sideways when your baby starts crying, needed food before you thought they would, or just wants all the snuggles.
You also have to be patient with yourself and have a little bit of grace for the fact that your body just went through a huge trauma and did something while amazing took a toll on your body. It needs the time to get back into the swing of things. Start slow, start simple, and start easy focus more on form and function than going out there and pushing the limit.
2. Don’t give up
It gets easier. Your body is very resilient, and it is very amazing. It will bounce back and most likely it will bounce back faster than you think it will. Give it some time and don’t get frustrated when it isn’t perfect to start with. The more you keep showing up and keep coming back to it the sooner it will feel as though you are more yourself.
Photo Credit @ Justin Luau
3. Take the time to do it
At the beginning, and in reality it seems like forever moving forward, there is often a large amount of guilt surrounding the act of taking time for yourself to do something that seems so selfish such as getting some exercise or getting your bike workout done. You have to remember that not only is the exercise good for your physical health it is really good for your mental and emotional self as well. In order for you to be the best version of yourself for your little one you have to take care of yourself too and if that means you need time to get your bike workout done then it is important; you will be more attentive, more present, and in a better state of mind and that means you will be better for your little one. So take the time, do the workout and then when you are done give everything you’ve got to your little one!
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