Bearing a child and his birth, although they are natural physiological processes, do not pass without a trace for the body. After childbirth, the body definitely needs to be restored, because the increased load weakens the tone of the muscles of the abdominal press, perineum, and the problems with veins that began during pregnancy can progress. Gymnastics after childbirth is necessary for a complete and effective recovery of the body. The sooner it is started, the faster and better the recovery effect will be.
If during childbirth there were no perineal tears or an incision, you can start classes very soon, practical the day after the baby appears, if, of course, your well-being allows this. If stitches have been placed, then you need to wait until they heal, this takes about 2 months.
Five minutes a day for belly recovery
Reconstructive gymnastics after childbirth involves different sets of exercises. Perhaps the most problematic place is the stomach. Stretched abdominal muscles entail a number of inconveniences that you want to eliminate as soon as possible. This is mainly the absence of the urge to urinate and defecate, which is fraught with various problems and even embarrassment.
Gymnastics for the abdomen also helps in restoring the figure. Moreover, it is very important to perform the exercises, not limited to wearing a bandage. The bandage only fixes the muscles, but does not force them to contract, which means it does not lead to recovery.
To restore the abdominal muscles, it is enough to perform a couple of very simple exercises, but they must be performed regularly. Such gymnastics will not take longer than 5 minutes, but with conscientious and constant performance, it will give a noticeable effect.
Exercise 1. Draw in the stomach
We lay on our back, bend our legs at the knees, press our feet thoroughly to the floor, palms on our stomach.
On exhalation, we strongly draw in the stomach and fix this position for 4-5 seconds. Then we take a deep, slow breath and repeat the exercise. In one approach, you can do 8-10 repetitions.
Exercise 2. Making a "bridge"
We accept the same position as during the first exercise. After exhaling, lift the pelvis, straining the buttocks and pulling in the stomach. At the same time, raise your head and press your chin to your chest.
This exercise is not easy, so it may be difficult at first. There is nothing wrong with that, over time the muscles will acquire tone and strength, and the number of repetitions can be increased.
A complex approach
There are very few women whose only problem area after childbirth is the stomach. In most cases, the entire body needs to recover and tone the muscles. This means that you need to deal with postpartum problems in a comprehensive manner, that is, perform a variety of exercises and use all parts of the body.
If you are breastfeeding, exercise is best after breastfeeding. To practice, you will need comfortable clothes, a small pillow, and a cheerful mood. All movements during gymnastics must be performed smoothly and carefully.
Exercises to prevent the effects of varicose veins
Exercise # 3
We take a lying position, face up. The legs need to be bent at the knees, the feet should be brought together and firmly pressed to the floor. We stretch our arms along the body, palms turned down. We straighten our legs without dividing the knees, and squeeze the toes 10 times with force (as if we were pulling in the claws). Then we return the legs to their previous position.
Exercise 4
Without changing the position, we raise one leg up, fully straightening it at the knee, and pull the sock towards ourselves and away from ourselves. Foot movements must be performed 10 times and with a large amplitude. Then we do the same actions with the other leg.
Exercises for training abdominal muscles
Exercise 5
We lie on our back, bend our knees, slightly spread our feet, put our hands, palms down, on our stomach. We breathe in slowly, then breathe out just as calmly, as if uttering the sound "haaaaaa". As you exhale, we pull the stomach into ourselves, helping a little with our hands. You do not need to press with your hands, it should be stroking in the direction from the pubis to the navel. The exercise must be repeated 10 times. (Picture from exercise 1)
Exercise 6
Now we lie on our side. In order not to waste your attention on discomfort and inconvenience, you can put a small pillow under your neck. In addition to the starting position, this exercise is no different from the previous one: we also draw in the stomach as we exhale with the sound "haaaaa" and help with our hands. We do the exercise on each side, performing 10 repetitions.
Exercise 7
We turn over on our stomach, put a small pillow under the lower abdomen, support the body on the elbows. We inhale, and as we exhale, we move the pelvis forward. On inhalation, we take the original position. The exercise is performed 10-12 times. During the exercise, it is important not to put pressure on the chest so that the chest itself is not overfilled.
We watch a video on how to restore the stomach after childbirth
Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the perineum
Exercise 8
Starting position - sitting or lying down. We try in turn to strain the muscles of the vagina and anus. This exercise requires training, because every time the same muscles seem to contract. When the separation is clear, you can try to conduct a "wave" of contractions from the anus to the pubis. Relaxation of the lips and mouth muscles and control of breathing will help to perform this exercise correctly.
This exercise is very similar to the well-known Kegel exercises, which consist precisely in the contraction of the muscles of the perineum at different rates. Such gymnastics will be useful both before childbirth and after.
Video: Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles
Exercise 9
We lie on our side. The head, shoulders and pelvis are in a straight line, the legs are bent at the knees. The lower hand should be placed under the head, the upper arm is bent and rests against the surface with a fist or palm near the navel. Being in this position, as you exhale, we raise the pelvis (support on the upper hand), while inhaling, we lower it. We repeat 8-10 times on both sides.
Exercise 10
We take a recumbent position face up, bend our knees, feet rest on the floor, hands lie along the body. As we exhale, we pull the socks towards ourselves and try to reach our left foot with our left hand, inhale - we return to the starting position, exhale - we repeat the exercise, but already we reach with our right hand to the right foot. We do 5-6 repetitions on the right and left sides.
Exercise 11
We get on all fours. The head, shoulders and pelvis are at the same height, the knees are spaced about shoulder width apart. We exhale, draw in our stomach and tear off the left palm and right leg from the surface, inhale - return to the starting position, exhale - repeat the exercise, changing the "diagonal". We carry out 10-12 times.
Exercise 12
We continue to study, standing on all fours. This time rest on the palms and raises of the feet. As you exhale, we raise the pelvis, straightening the knees and distributing the weight on the palms and raising the feet. We perform 10-12 repetitions.
Exercise 13
We lay on our side again. The lower arm is straight and at right angles to the body, palm rest. The upper arm is extended along the body. On exhalation, we tear off the pelvis from the surface and slightly rise. On inhalation, we take the original pose. We perform 8-10 repetitions on each side.
Exercise for the muscles of the back and abdomen
Exercise # 14
We stand facing the wall. With our palms and forearms we rest against the wall, our legs are slightly bent and spaced across the width of our shoulders. We contract the abdominal muscles, as if we are trying to bring the right elbow closer to the opposite knee, and then, on the contrary, the left elbow to the right knee. In fact, this movement is not performed, only the abdominal muscles are strained.
Saying goodbye to extra pounds
Alas, the weight of a pregnant woman increases not only due to the growth of the fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid and an increased volume of circulating blood. Their own extra pounds, which have appeared during pregnancy, "stick" to the new mother and remain with her after childbirth. Since it is impossible to strongly limit oneself in nutrition after childbirth, the best option is gymnastics for weight loss.
We read on the topic:
- How to lose weight quickly after childbirth?
- Stretch marks on the stomach after childbirth: how to remove them at home and using hardware cosmetology
- Losing weight after childbirth - basic advice
- Weight loss technique - online course "Mom + baby"
Cindy Crawford Method
Cindy Crawford's postpartum exercises are very popular for this purpose. This set of exercises was developed based on personal experience and includes three groups of exercises: A - basic exercises that can be performed anywhere and at any time, B - exercises aimed specifically at strengthening muscles, C - intense exercises for burning fat. Video training can be found in the public domain, they are also known as a set of exercises "New Dimension". It is very convenient to study with a virtual trainer. With regular exercise, the results are visible after 2 weeks.
