You just had a baby, and you're itching to hit the roads again. Which is great--exercise boosts mood, gives you some much-needed "me time," and gets you out of your pajamas. But even if you worked out through your pregnancy, you need to ease back into a running routine. After all, your body has just been through quite an ordeal--if you take on too much, too soon, you could end up hurt. And the last thing you want is to be making bottles while balancing on crutches. So Jeanette Burney, a physical therapist with the Boulder Community Hospital who specializes in pelvic-floor muscle disorders and orthopedics, and Tim Hilden, a physical therapist, athletic trainer, exercise physiologist, and head of the Gait Analysis Lab at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, put together the following recovery plan to help you resume running in a healthy way. Keep in mind that these are just guidelines. The most important thing is to listen to your body. If any activity makes you feel worse the day after you do it, scale back. And consult your ob-gyn or a physical therapist for specific questions about your own body's recovery.
1-2 WEEKS POST-DELIVERY
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Kegels: Visualize the pelvic floor muscles contracting and lifting up and in toward the chin, as if stopping a flow of urine. Start lying on your side or on your back. Start with five repetitions of five-second contractions, with five seconds of rest in between.
Pelvic tilts: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hand resting on your belly below the belly button. Gently rock your pelvis back to press your lower back to the floor. Feel for the stomach muscles to gently pull in--belly button to spine. Hold for 10 seconds. Do one set of 10 repetitions, three times a day.
Cardio Activity
Start with slow, easy walks around the block for roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Listen to your body. If you feel wiped out the next day, scale back the amount of activity.
Strength Training
Don't worry about it yet. You're probably so tired that keeping yourself upright is a strength workout in itself.
