"I want to start weight lifting after baby, but I don't know where to start"

As a pelvic floor expert, this is a common question that I am asked, and it is one of my #alltimefavoritethings to teach moms (and other people who have made babies!): how to start weight lifting after baby, or how to get back into weight lifting, after baby!

A week ago, I collaborated on this topic, with one of my favorite humans, Dr. Chrissy Clark. Dr. Chrissy is a Level 2 CrossFit Coach, but the recommendations are also good for any type of functional weight lifting!!  She also happens to be a board-certified specialist in Women's Health--we studied together for our specialist exams, and (spoiler alert), we both passed!!

We talked about many things, and the result was a (gulp!) 34-minute video about how to get started in CrossFit postpartum!   If you don't have the full 34-minutes though, don't fret (and remember, you can click the cogwheel on the video and replay it at 1.25 or 1.5 speed), you can read the 5-minute "in-words summary" below :) I got you :) 

How to Return to CrossFit, or Other Functional Weight Lifting, Postpartum

In general, people who are postpartum have different barriers that "regular" people who have not just had a baby. Let's check them out:

Unique Barriers to Weight Lifting After Baby

1. Energy availability #1: This person who just had a baby...they literally just created a human inside their body.  That's a superpower. They also are healing from either a Cesarean Incision (check out this Instagram post for what happens in a C-section) OR 'just' the placental detachment', which is a wound that is about the size of a dinner plate, on the inside of the uterus.

   That's A LOT OF HEALING GOING ON...which practically means that your body is spending A LOT of energy on healing FOR A LONG TIME postpartum...like your sweet body is going to be "60% healed" at 6-weeks postpartum (if there were no complications)...and honestly only 80% healed at 12 weeks postpartum...or longer if you're not sleeping well, if you had complications, or if you had or have a nutritional deficit.  And that's just the "passive" structures healing...not including the muscles that you need to reconnect to and rebuild!!

2. Energy availability #2: This person who is postpartum and "wanting to strengthen"...who is still healing, is also likely sleep deprived. More on injury risks from sleep deprivation another time, but for now, suffice it to say that if you're not sleeping well, you might not 'feel like you have the energy' to workout.  So that's an additional extra strike against you during this time period.  So please be KIND to yourself, my friend.  Or be kind to your partner, my sweet supporter of a postpartum person :) 

3. Time Management: All of a sudden, this healing, sleep deprived person, is trying to manage new people in the household...and it's not just the new baby...it's the mom and the dad (or other raisers of the child). There's more laundry, more cleaning, more complexity in general. And a person who has had a baby might feel that they 'don't have time' to workout, in a WAY. different way than someone who has never had a baby.  

   "Maybe" they can get out of the house for an hour workout 3x/wk.  And that is AWESOME if they can.  But also...it might be 5-15 minute chunks, 3x/wk....or 3x/day.  And that's awesome, as well.  The definition of "what is exercise" might DRASTICALLY CHANGE during this first year postpartum, and it's up to YOU to decide what your definition means to you, and if you "want it to be something REALLY different", then you NEED to talk to your support network about making it happen.  If you don't speak up and make it happen, it won't change.  

Common Physical Limitations to Weight Lifting After Baby

In addition to the non-physical barriers to starting weight lifting after baby, there are also some common physical barriers.

1. Pain in the abdomen or pelvic region: From direct wounds, incisions or tears, to indirect pain from nerve damage during pregnancy or delivery, postpartum people might have real, new, pain complaints than their non-postpartum counterparts.

   These will NOT GENERALLY "just get better with rest" BUT THEY WILL GET BETTER WITH PT!!   Go to a Pelvic PT (here's a link to find one near you!), to help with this pain, so that you can participate in class, or do physical activity, including play with your baby, like you want to!!

2. Weakness and incoordination of the core abdomen, pelvic region and back muscles. This can lead to pain, leakage, and 'just feeling weak' or 'not confident' in yourself, thereby limiting your participation. Check out this amazing IG Post about how to train your brain to figure out what is diaphragm (for breathing) vs abdomen (for supporting lumbar spine) vs pelvic floor.

3. Stiffness in SPINE, hip flexor (and pelvic) muscles. This happens as a result of #1 and #2...and as a result of the fact that during your 3rd trimester, your low back (lumbar spine) couldn't move at all...and now that you are in your 4th trimester, your abs area ll stretched out...and your back is literally stiff...but you brain senses that you don't have the muscles to 'protect' the back, so it asks the muscles it can find (the pelvic floor and the hip flexors) to 'tighten up' to stabilize the back. :(. This is not cool.  Try this basic spine foam roll sequence and try not to drool in happiness :). And if you need a foam roller, you can get one here, but be sure to select the 36-inch one, as you'll use it for SO MUCH MORE than just mobility :) 

So should I avoid weight lifting after baby until I address those things?

Not necessarily. While I am clearly a huge advocate of EVERYONE receiving Pelvic PT AT LEAST once a trimester during pregnancy, and as a standard of care, AT LEAST 4-6 visits postpartum, if this really isn't possible for you, then know that those are likely physical limitations that you 'will have', but discuss them with your strength coach, and work on them in a group fitness setting.

From my experience, which is 20+ years as a Doctor of Physical Therapy in the Pelvic Health Field, and the past 10 years as a Board Certified Specialist (and the past year as one of only 72 DOUBLE Board Certified Specialists), a key to focus on is "active core, relaxed pelvic floor", or "active core, and breathe..."

For those of you that don't know what this means...an active core is a 'deep "zipping up" of your core muscles, GENTLY pulling your belly button back towards your spine...like you are "lifting your sweet bladder up towards your spine with JUST your deepest lowest ab muscles....but NOT your pelvic floor.  Can you maintain this stabilization and NOT also clench your butthole or vag???? What about can you maintain this stabilization and still breathe?

This is vital to your recovery, as the ab muscles need to find their "new-old normal" resting place. Their old resting tone has been thrown out the window after being stretched out for 10 months. Now, you need to 'do the work' and up train those muscles for a period of 6-12 weeks.

Pelvic Floored is THE LEADING Pelvic Floor Rehab Network IN THE WORLD to teach this differentiation between the Pelvic Floor Muscles and the deep abs (because, Dr. Kelly is Dr. Kelly, obvi).  Check out this video on how to find pelvic muscles Dr. Kelly's "Big 3" Foundational Exercises, and remember that while her blog and Insta have loads of free, entertaining and valuable information, her monthly subscription to the "Treasure Chest" includes access to a much greater depth of information and exercises, all for a SUPER affordable monthly fee.  

"Do I have to think 'active abs, relaxed pelvic floor forever?"

Probably not. After an appropriate period of retraining (usually 6-12 weeks), your "active tone" now...will eventually become your resting tone later, and THEN you can do exercises without focusing extra attention on your core.  It's just like after an ACL surgery, there is a finite period of time when you have to "be aware of your quad muscles" and "think about your butt and quad" while doing certain things...but the goal is that you don't have to do that forever.  Same, same for the pelvic floor.  We're ACTUALLY rehabbing you, so you can have NORMAL use of your deep core forever after.  Cool, huh?  we think so :) 

Stay Fit, Don't Stay Still

So what are good exercises to start with for return to functional weight lifting???

Both Dr. Chrissy and I have our favorites, mainly because they are easy to do, without extra equipment, and work a lot of muscle groups!

1. Body Weight Squats to Chair/Bench (or with baby, or weight of baby)

2. Bent Over Rows, or Hinge

3. Standing Row with Theraband, or Kneeling Dumbbell Row in Neutral or Pronated Grip

4. Push Ups, or Plank, or Similar (perhaps on counter height to start)

The amount of variations on the above 3 activities are limitless. I'll have other posts that go over variations in detail, but for now, know that these are the exercises that will work the biggest muscle groups, in combination, in a way to most effectively boost your metabolism and function strength!

In my online programs, and with clients, I generally begin programming with squat to hinge; push to pull variations, focusing on body positions, building up to 2 sets of 15-20 with good form, then begin to add weight and resistance (focusing on first adding weight to simulate baby and car seat for optimal function, then additional weight from there), then later can advance to 3 sets of 8-10 to build strength.  

Future visits introduce concepts of counterrotation (which honestly we already likely introduced in "pull training" by teaching some type of unilateral row), lunge (when appropriate depending on delivery type) and rotation (again when appropriate); deepending ranges; progressing depth of plank, introducing hangs, load transfer, AND even introducing POWER for appropriate return to function for return to full independence.  

The last part is ESPECIALLY important for runners, and return to plyometrics, jumping without leaking and prolapse, and especially important to remember to train and rehabilitate our body to match the tasks that we expect it to do.  So if I want to return to double unders...is training me at a double leg calf raise, at a slow speed adequate?  NO!  I need fast activation!  

So what do I need to get there?  What other groups besides calves need that fast twitch training?  And what groups need transition to single limb training?  I spy a future blog in the making, how about you?? 

I hope this helps you understand how to get into weight lifting after baby!

We sincerely appreciate you being here. If this post has helped you understand weight lifting after baby, please consider sharing it with one to two people.  The more good information we share, the more people we help!  Thank you SO MUCH!  

Thanks for reading!

XOXO

Dr. Kelly 

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