Training Too Soon After Pregnancy…
Helloooo! Happy Wednesday!
I had one of the best lunches yesterday!
This tasted like a deconstructed guacamole sandwich! All I did was smash a perfectly ripe avocado on a slice of whole grain bread, topped with my last garden tomato, sliced red onion, and a homemade jalapeno.
The salty vinegary cumin taste of the jalapeno made the sandwich. The only thing I think would’ve made it any better was if I had some queso fresco to sprinkle on top. Other than that… this was a stellar lunch! I had some Trader Joe’s Soy Flax Tortilla chips and ice cold grapes on the side 🙂
Training Too Soon After Pregnancy…
I know I have a lot of mommies-to-be who read my blog, so I wanted to touch on this topic.
My husband subscribes to Triathlete Magazine. I was minding my own beeswax and he plopped this article on my lap and said “You need to read this.”
It was an article about running to soon after pregnancy. Its important to know that while I was anxious to get my fitness routine up and running, I knew how important it was to let my body heal. After M was born, I slowly started with some walking. Nothing too hard, just easy walking. At my six week check-up my doc said I was all healed up and I could run my little heart out. I was so excited!! I started out very slow. It was more like a shuffle than a jog 😉 It also involved lots of walk breaks. By three months post-pregnancy I was up to five miles and feeling great… then something happened. My lower back started to hurt. It hurt to the point where I was walking with a limp.
I knew this wasn’t normal… but I never went to the doctor…. whoops. Instead, I just took a step back and slowed my running down. I incorporated more yoga, but even with that, by back was killing me. In time, my back pain went away and my body felt normal again. This was around five months post-pregnancy.
According to this article, the reason I was having so much back pain was due to the hormone relaxin. Relaxin creates ligamentous laxity throughout the body (loose ligaments to have room for baby). This is important because it allows the pubic bones to widen during delivery. After delivery, relaxin stays high for several months, leaving joints susceptible to injury.
Here’s the million dollar question…
When’s the right time to come back after having a baby?
Unfortunately, there’s no straight answer. Some can come back quickly, other more slowly. The best rule is to use caution. Start back gradually and slowly. And most important… listen to your body!
So there you have it my future mommies-to-be. Take your time with your exercise comeback and listen to your body.
Question for you…
Have you ever experienced back pain after having a baby? What are your thoughts on exercise post-pregnancy?
Can’t relate to post-preg workouts (yet!) but your sandwich sure does sound delicious!
I agree with listening to your body. I am hoping I will be able to stay very active up until birth, so that I can feel ok with giving myself some time off once the baby is born. I think walking is a great way to start, and light yoga. I dont think I will be rushing to the soccer field until about 2 months after if all goes as planned though
Definitely had back pain after my second was born! I would definitely say take it slow. Walking was the best for me to start with and then I just added a little more in baby steps!
Trained a ran a marathon 3 months after having Ella. Sounds like it wasn’t the smartest decision. Luckily no injuries but I will certainly be more careful. Thanks for the info!
Liz – You ran a marathon 3 months after Ella was born?!?!! You are a ROCK STAR!!!
Well I am not exactly at this point and probably won’t be for awhile ha, but I am glad I took the time to read this. Thanks for the info. PS I love the yellow paint in your office from the post before. So pretty!
haven’t had a baby yet, but you can be sure when i do i’ll be asking your advice 🙂
No baby for me yet, but my goodness does that sandwich look good (minus the onion for me).
Your sandwich looks so yummy! I keep forgetting to tell you that you won the Terra Chip giveaway on my blog a couple of weeks ago. Email me your address so that I can get your goodies sent out to you. 🙂
Loving all the colors in that lunch! A deconstructed guac sandwich is a fabulous idea :).
I have a perfectly ripe avocado at home that is begging for that sandwich!!
Great post about post preg training. I did like you and started walking until my 6 week checkup. Then I did light workouts with at home DVDs up until 3 months. After that I began hitting the gym, but still took my time working back up to where I was with things. Plus, I think not going too hard too fast helped with losing the weight. I always had room to make things tougher and spark the body changes again.
I’m still young…so I’ve never even THOUGHT about this topic. I just assumed that all new mothers would want to rest, and the babies crying at night would keep them too exhausted to exercise right away. I always love how you bring such essential and interesting and useful topics to the table.
i knew those were tj’s flax chips just by seeing them even before i read your description LOL
ok the whole exercise post pregnancy. you know i am a workout MANIAC and I walked after preg but due to nursing and my very huge breasts and the pain involved, running didnt start til maybe 1 year. I nursed for 3 yrs but the super huge fullness went down at about a year. I could not run til then no matter what I wanted to do, my body had another story.
Women push themselves too hard after a baby. We have our whole lives to get buff, get in shape, etc..take your time ladies!
I was the relaxin hormone queen. Everything looosened and relaxed on me…too much so almost…I could literally FEEL my back and pelvis spreading on a daily basis during my pregnancy.
Sorry to ramble this is a great post!
I have NEVER heard of this hormone before. Of course, I haven’t been pregnant either, but still. The human body is just so amazing.