Returning to Running (part 3)
Part 3:
After you are able to connect to the core again and tap into the breathing, pelvic floor and feel what your body’s doing - then its time to challenge it and help it learn how to control you again!
This is the fun but hard part. Because everyone is different - I cannot just “give” out a set of exercises for everyone to do. BUT, with that said there are a few great exercises that are good at resetting the core and waking up the hips and spine muscles which are what we need for all day function.
As per the guidelines (which are pretty aggressive and geared towards women how have a great base of knowledge or have been to therapy and know how to fire these muscles):
Week 0-2
Pelvic floor muscle exercises targeting strength and endurance functions are initiated
Basic core exercises can be initiated (activation of deep core with pelvic tilts, knee and leg movements and sidling leg lifts)
Walking for cardio
Week 2-4
Progress walking and pelvic floor muscle/core rehab
Consider intro to squats, lunges and bridging in line with functional requirements of day to day life as a new mother.
Week 4-6
Introduce low impact exercises (cycling, elliptical taking into account individual postnatal recovery, mode of delivery, and perineal trauma. Recovery should be such that the mother is comfortable sit-in on a saddle).
Week 8-12
Introduce swimming (if no bleeding and healed)
Spinning (if comfortable to sit on the spinning saddle)
Now - this is assuming you had no complications, and have met the goals (I will cover those in another post) so do not get hard on yourself if you are not within this window.
These guidelines are significantly less conservative and many of us (me included) are on a slower scale and need more graded return.
Most of us are used to the 6 weeks of do nothing then be released by the Doctor to do whatever we want - but that doesn’t cut it! We have kids at home. We have to do some laundry. We have to get up and down off the couch after nursing. We have to bend to put baby in a bassinet or crib. This is just real life!
Generally after you are able to breathe and contract the pelvic floor and deep core (transversus abdominis), you can start to add more. Most of all it is very dependent on the mother and how she is sleeping, eating, moving, healing, lifting, breathing, and feeling.
I am not suggesting doing these exercises aggressively, I am merely suggesting we think about how we have to do life and how we can gently exercise ourselves into a better pattern of movement and prevent future issues.
Here is a video I created with Amanda Howard of Native Pilates to help you with some ideas….