Post-Pregnancy Workout - 8 Weeks and Beyond!: Part Two

Here are several more exercises that you can add to your regime to help recover your pre-pregnant body. As stated in our previous installment, just because you are 8 weeks post-partum may not necessarily mean you are ready for this workout plan.

Everyone has their own set of circumstances and you may need to stay with the beginning exercises depending on your situation. Remember this is a delicate time, even if you are past the 8-week mark and feeling very strong. You will still need to monitor yourself very closely and listen to your body. There may be days when you'll do more and days when you'll scale down. I’ve selected a few more advance post-pregnancy exercises that you can add to your list.

This first series is side-lying leg exercise work. It tones and sculpts the outer thigh area to create a smoother outer thigh shape along with a stronger more stable outer leg. You want to create a neutral spine and pelvis in a side-lying position. Put a yoga mat on the floor. Lie down on your side and line up your head, shoulders, and hips with the back edge of the mat. Make sure the shoulders and hips are stacked one on top of the other. If the neck or bottom shoulder feels compressed, place a small pillow under the head.

Bring the legs out to the front corner of the mat. Bend the knees so the feet go back and the kneecaps point forward. Reach the top hip toward the feet so the bottom waist lengthens. During the side leg work you want to avoid collapsing into your bottom waist.

1) CLAMMING

• Keep the shoulders and hips stacked and the heels squeezing together.
• Inhale and lift the top knee. Be sure that the top hip does not rotate back as you lift the knee.
• Exhale and slowly lower the knee.
• Do 8-10 reps on each side.

2) CLAM TO PARALLEL

• Again, keep the shoulders and hips stacked.
• Inhale and lift the top knee with the heels squeezing together.
• Exhale and lift the top ankle in line with the top knee.
• Inhale and reattach the ankles.
• Exhale and slowly lower the knee.
• Do 8-10 reps on each side.

3) PUSH OUT

• Keep the same alignment in the shoulders and hips.
• Lift the top leg up so the hip, knee and ankle are in alignment.
• Inhale and press the leg out to a straight position.
• Exhale and bend the back in towards the chest.
• Do 8-10 on each side.
• If straightening the leg puts to much strain on the abdominals or lower back , only press half way out and then back to the starting position.

4) CIRCLES

• Keep the same alignment in the shoulders and the hips.
• Lift the top leg up so the hip, knee and ankle are in alignment.
• Keep the knee bent and imagine you have a crayon at the knee cap and as you circle the leg you are drawing a circle on the wall in front of you.
• Inhale for half the circle and exhale for the other half.
• Do 6-8 in one direction and then change directions.
• This exercise massages the ball of the femur in the hip socket helping to create synovial fluid and lubricate the joint.

This next set of exercises involves three positions—lying on the belly, gentle twists and gentle forward bends—to help restore the uterus and its ligaments back into the proper position after birth.

5) PRONE FLIGHT

• Lie on your belly with the feet hip distance apart, the arms by your body with the palms facing the ceiling and the forehead on the mat.
• Inhale and hold.
• Exhale and float the crown of the head and sternum up. Keep the back of the neck long and the feet pressing into the mat. Hover the arms off the mat and reach back for the feet.
• Inhale and hold at the top.
• Exhale and slowly float down.
• Do 6-8 reps.
• When finished slowly sit back into Child's Pose.

6) GENTLE TWIST

• Lie on your back with the knees bent and the arms extended out by your side in a cross position with the palms up.
• Inhale and drop the knees to the left and look towards the right.
• Hold for 3-4 breath cycles.
• On your exhale slowly bring the knees and eyes back to center.
• Inhale and drop the knees to the right and eyes to the left.
• Hold for 3-4 breath cycles.
• On the next exhale bring the knees and eyes back to center.
• Do 4-6 on each side.

7) GENTLE FORWARD BEND

• Sit on the floor in front of a chair or stool in a straddle position.
• Inhale lengthen the spine as much as you can.
• Exhale and start to hinge forward and then relax onto the chair seat.
• Hold for 2-4 minutes.
• Take very deep inhales and exhales.
• As you advance you can start to deepen your forward bend. First by taking away the chair and adding a stack of blankets or a bolster in front of you that you can fold into. Eventually you can lessen the stack of blankets so you start to bend deeper and deeper.

Join us next time for more post pregnancy exercises.