Written by: Jen Landry, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Often one of the most overlooked components in fitness is the other 23 hours. In other words, a workout may only be 30 minutes ‒ 1 hour of your day and it is not necessarily every day. If you are not spending time at home paying attention to the way you move, the way you fuel your body, and even what you wear, then what you do in the gym no longer matters.
Hold on, I know you are thinking that you still get cardiovascular benefits, endorphins, getting stronger, and other good things that come with the workout. You are not wrong. However, when it comes to Postpartum, most women are dealing with things like leaking (when you cough, run, sneeze, squat), Diastasis Recti, prolapse, or even pains (like back, hips, etc). So when it comes to healing and getting stronger after having a baby, those 23 hours matter more than you realize.
Probably one of the most common mom sins after having a baby are leggings. Yep! The wonderful, magical, pants you can work out or lounge in. More specifically, the high-waisted compression leggings. I am talking about the ones that take a little effort to put on, the ones that leave a mark on your waist after you pull them off, and the ones that help you look thinner. At first, it seems unbelievable, but they can really have an effect and counter the work you do in the gym or following a program. So why? When you have pants that create compression and pressure on your abdomen (your core canister). This pressure can lead to difficulty moving your abs, diaphragm, and pelvic floor through a full range of motion. A full range of motion for muscles is an important component for strengthening and creating effective movements. This pressure can also lead to a larger “pooch” or a worse prolapse. The organs and body parts and the air/internal pressure have to go somewhere and they cannot go where the waistband is, so instead, they push up or down. The downward push leads to a pooch that appears larger than it is or increases the pressure down on your prolapse. These are just some of the reasons that “sucking in” and waist trimmers/trainers are no good either.
Another one of the most common mom sins after having a baby is the Kegel. I don’t know a single female who doesn’t know what a Kegel is or how to execute one. It is probably the most “prescribed” way to “bounce back” postpartum. However, this could be making a lot of problems worse for a lot of women. Without a proper pelvic floor evaluation, you don’t know if your pelvic floor is tight, weak, overactive, or imbalanced. A Kegel is a movement of the pelvic floor that contracts it as tight as you can and then try to relax. Some ways this movement can be cued include stopping your stream mid-pee or sitting on a marble and trying to lift it up. Let’s take a small step back. Imagine you are doing a bicep curl, you have curled the dumbbell up and now I ask you to contract even harder. What is being accomplished? Not a whole lot. However, if you lower the dumbbell and then squeeze the bicep up hard to curl and repeat this process, then you will affect change in the bicep. But first, you must lengthen your arm or relax the bicep. Now back to your pelvic floor. If you think about the Pelvic Floor being lifted already due to tightness or overactivity, and you do not yet know how to relax or lengthen it, then you are not accomplishing much by doing more contraction work (ie. Kegels).
The last really common sin for mothers to commit postpartum is posture. The way you hold your children, baby-wearing, how you sit while feeding (especially breastfeeding), how you push the stroller, remove/insert the car carrier, or even how you hold the carrier can be massively detrimental. Some of the things that can really lead to problems with healing include slumped shoulders, tense neck, ribs “flaring” (or lifted away from core and hips), a tilt in the pelvis (anteriorly or posteriorly), and hanging on joints (or using them for support instead of your musculature). A lot of the activities I mention above where posture matters are done on repeat for days, weeks, and months at a time. So sitting poorly once, or lifting the carrier incorrectly a few times won’t do any damage. However, continuous, repetitive poor behaviors and postures will.
Some lesser committed sins by moms, but ones that are still harmful to do daily include vacuuming, loading and unloading dishwashers or laundry machines, doing things like crunches, and improper breathing.
So, avoid high-waisted compression leggings, only do Kegel if a professional pelvic floor therapist assigned them to you, and pay attention to proper posture in order to complement and manage the work you do in the gym. Working with the right certified trainer can really help you learn, understand, and make better choices while doing daily activities outside of the gym. Make sure you are practicing carrying your baby, or their carrier with your trainer and work on moves in the gym that you can use to unload the dishwasher in a safe controlled manner. Communication with your trainer, your OBGYN, and a pelvic floor therapist can be the key to an extra healthy postpartum life.
Jen Landry, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jen Landry is a leader in functional fitness. She specializes in pregnant, postpartum, and everyday women. As a mother of two little girls and two pregnancies that left Jen feeling weak, broken, and in need of answers, she discovered the Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Certification. Obtaining this certification changed the way Jen looked at pregnancy and postpartum fitness as well as female health in general. It ignited a fire to help as many women as possible, so they could avoid what Jen experienced. She is the CEO and Owner of Moms Fit Life. Her Mission: Teach Moms they can trust their bodies again and rock mom life with confidence!
