My workouts in the first 12 weeks postpartum
I post a lot of exercise and breathing tutorials on my Instagram, but since I had Izzy I have been recording a weekly postpartum workout and posting it there. I’m using this blog post to put them all in one place for you.
The important thing to remember is that EVERY postpartum journey looks different. You don’t need to follow my exact progression week by week, but this should give you some ideas for how to progress your workouts as you are ready.
Remember: it ALWAYS starts with breathing.
Weeks 1 - 6
You don’t want to be doing anything extravagant in weeks 1-6. Prioritize rest, breathing, and gentle movement. You have a wound the size of a dinner plate in your uterus that is healing..
Week 1 is about getting horizontal, resting, bonding with your new baby, and healing. If you do anything, let it be breathing practice. Week 1 post.
Week 2, start to focus more intentionally on breathing and gentle movement to get the blood flowing and counter some of those baby feeding aches & pains. Week 2 post.
Week 3, you’ll continue to work on and progress breathing exercises, and you might start incorporating breathing and core control into gentle strength exercises. Week 3 post.
Week 4 looks pretty similar to week 3. Week 4 post.
Week 5 includes (you guessed it) more breathing exercises, but also some advancement in core & strength exercises. This advancement will depend entirely on YOU and your own journey. Week 5 post.
Week 6 looks like more of the same. More breathing exercises and more core / strength exercises. Your progress will always be dependent on your own journey. Week 6 post.
Weeks 7-10
During weeks 7-10, you will hopefully be cleared by your physician. This does NOT mean you’re cleared to for pre-pregnancy exercises. This clearance is where your doctor will check that your uterus has shrunk back down, your postpartum bleeding is under control, and any scars are healing well. Unless you have a very good doctor, they will not look at your core or pelvic floor health.
So in weeks 7-10, you are going to continue to progress strength exercises. How fast you move through this phase is going to look different on anyone. But here are some ideas what each week could look like.
(Notice what is missing from this time frame is any impact exercises. We’re not there yet on our healing journey, no matter who you are..)
Week 7 post (is actually the same as week 6 post)
Weeks 11 & 12
Weeks 11 and 12 were some of the hardest weeks for me. I was physically feeling great, but I knew there was still so much healing going on that I couldn’t see. It’s hard to continue to go slow, but it’s important.
At around 10 weeks, I got clearance from my pelvic PT to add some very simple impact exercises in weeks 11 and 12. You’ll see them in these workouts in the form of step-downs and some more explosive movement. Nothing under load.
Other than the addition of simple impact exercises, this really was just more progression of strength training. I finally felt like I was getting back to some fun stuff and loading up! It’s been a long three months.
If you need more guidance..
I hope you found these posts helpful and get some good workouts in. But if you want more specific guidance on return to exercise that is appropriate for you, you should check out my Functional Empowered Fitness Membership, which has an 8 week postpartum return to strength program AND a 6 week return to impact program! Check out more info at the link below.
You can also always message me at @postpartumstrength on instagram or e-mail me at ellen@functionalempoweredfitness.com
