How to get More Exercise when you're a New Parent...
10 Ways to Make Movement Part of your Day!
It can be hard to find the time to train the way you would like to, or have in the past when you are a parent. The demands of caring for children are tremendous and there is never any down-time or scheduled time off. Which makes moving your body daily feel unachievable and unrealistic.
If you’ve just had a baby (0-3 months), we highly encourage you to focus on some rehabilitation work. Learning how to improve breathing mechanics, connecting to your pelvic floor and finding those lower abs to invite them to start working again is best for this stage of recovery. We also highly encourage you to be assessed by a pelvic floor physiotherapist, regardless of your mode of delivery.
If you feel ready to move again post birth, check out our free guide to moving your body in the first 12 weeks after birth for some simple movements to prepare you for returning to exercise. Most people are ready to start our programs anywhere from about 6 - 12 weeks postpartum, some may be ready to start earlier but that is less common (in fact, about 10 weeks postpartum is most common). Focusing on rest, recovery and rehab in the first few weeks postpartum will help the experience back into regular exercise be a smoother transition. If you need more help and guidance on how to navigate those early weeks, please reach out!
Top 10 Tips
1. Register for a class that is designed for postpartum bodies and one that includes your baby. Our Babywearing Fitness classes are perfect for that. Your little one is involved in the entire workout. Wearing your baby reduces fussiness and minimizes crying. Being hands free allows you to include free weights to build upper and lower body strength. Fun fact: Babywearing actually uses less energy than carrying your little one in arms.
2. Embrace shorter workouts. Lots of science and research supports the benefits of shorter workouts. You don’t need to spend hours in a traditional gym to get great results! Our Live Online Classes are only 30 minutes and require no travel time. They are a great way to get additional workouts and are always included with our Babywearing Fitness or Stroller Strong series passes! BONUS: All of your family members can join in if they want to! We often see partners and older kiddos taking advantage of our workouts.
3. Walk, walk, walk. Build up to 30 minutes of walking most days, if not every day. Those of you who have a dog have an advantage! This is harder to do in the winter months, but there are indoor tracks throughout the region and the local mall is a great option too, just leave your credit card at home! Pro Tip: When you run your errands, park further away, take the stairs and take your next phone call standing and walking around (some great suggestion for those who are back to work!).
4. Adjust your expectations and enjoy a “good enough” workout. If you’ve had a baby, you’re not likely in the season of heavy lifts and personal bests in the first year postpartum. However, if you start now, you will be ready for more challenging workouts later! Also if you have little kids underfoot, you can expect a lot of interruptions. That is totally normal. Pro Tip: Have snacks, water and other high request items ready before you workout. Create a separate workout space for your kiddo to follow along. Our littlest members love connecting with their Fitmama Strong Coaches and showing us how strong they are!
“Remember prioritizing your needs doesn’t mean “me first” it just means “me too”.”
5. Find a trainer that not only specializes in postpartum fitness, but also has in depth knowledge in pelvic floor health and supporting people with diastasis recti. This is highly specialized training that goes beyond “do a kegel”. You’ll want someone who understands body mechanics, pressure management and how to adjust each workout to meet your needs (even in a group environment).
6. Make yourself a priority and add your workouts to the family calendar. You are allowed to be on the list of priorities and put yourself first! Schedule each workout and treat it like you would a meeting with your boss or a date with your partner. If it's important to you, it will get done. Remember prioritizing your needs doesn’t mean “me first” it just means “me too”.
7. Plan to fail… and have a back up plan in place. What will you do if your baby sleeps late, or is sick, or you have a workout scheduled but a personal appointment conflicts with your class time? How will you get your workout in?? Having a good back-up plan is key. When my boys were little my back up was a home workout vs a visit to the gym. Even today, I continue to reap the benefits of my home workouts!
8. Find a buddy. Maybe that's your partner (we often have partners join us at our live, online classes - it makes for a fun date night!). And, you will always meet a new friend at our in-person Babywearing Fitness or Stroller Strong classes! Familiar faces are looking forward to seeing you every week and getting to know you and your coaches look for your reservation each week! We track attendance for each class, which can be helpful knowing we’re keeping tabs on you!
9. Know your WHY. When my boys were little my commitment to exercise was super high on the list (even more than it is now) because it was necessary to help manage my moods, reduce my stress and boost my energy. Parenting is super hard and a lot of days I was a card carrying member on the struggle bus. Workouts were often the ONLY way to a better mood, less frustration and more enjoyment of my boys. Because I knew how essential my workouts were to my mental health I ALWAYS found a way. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect and they looked pretty different from my workouts today, but they still counted and they were essential for me.
10. Invest in your health. Put a little skin in the game to help give you incentive to move more. There is no value in free. Its too easy to quit, pass it off and skip it. Remember, people are more likely to use the things they pay for. Bonus: We offer challenges to our members to help them win small prizes and provide a little addition incentive to get to their workouts! Ask us about them!
Finally, remember, a little bit of movement is better than nothing at all! We highly encourage you to ditch the “all or nothing” mindset that is so prevalent in our thoughts around what success looks like, especially around exercise. Be kind and gentle to yourself and do your best. Our goal at Fitmama Strong is to help support you as you cultivate the art of showing up! Remember, consistency is the most important muscle we want to see you flex!
Interested in joining us? Our community is a great way to meet other new parents. Fitmama Strong Durham has been operating in-person classes in the Durham Region since 2010 and we’ve been offering Online classes online from our virtual studio since 2020. Our community is a thriving and welcoming space for you and your littles.
We offer Prenatal Fitness and Prenatal Yoga classes, on-demand from our virtual studio through a special series. Our 30 minute live, online Express classes include a Prenatal friendly Yoga class.
If you’re new to Fitmama Strong Online, try one of our 3 Class Passes! You can use them at any of our Express classes on our live, online schedule. It doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant, your baby was born 6 weeks ago or 6 years ago, we have something for all of our members! Already been to Fitmama Strong classes? Attend and in-person series or grab a monthly membership and keep moving with us. Please note that our New to Fitmama Strong 3 Class Pass cannot be used at our in-person series of classes.
Finally, we offer in-person Stroller Fitness and Babywearing Fitness in the Durham Region and Ottawa locations. We can’t wait to have you join us!
Join us Online or at one of our in-person classes! #startwithus and #growwithus by purchasing one of our class passes.