*** The sweat post pregnancy program ***
Generally speaking I think postpartum women tend to approach exercise in one of two ways:
1. Way too ambitiously, which can result in rushing into exercise you’re not quite ready for and causing injury
2. With a lot of fear and very little confidence in one’s ability
Neither are ideal are they? I personally fell more into the second camp than the first. I was eager to start moving, but really terrified to do anything too soon and risk injury or long term physical health issues, like damaging my pelvic floor!
I’ve now completed eight weeks of kayla_itsines post pregnancy program on the sweat app, including three “foundational” weeks (i.e. beginner weeks)
and the first five of the full program.
I think the program is great for postpartum mamas who fall into either of the categories I mentioned. For the overly ambitious, it will slow you down, have you focus on rebuilding core strength and engaging your pelvic floor, while gently building you up to more challenging exercises. You can always add on more exercise if you want to (recently I’ve been incorporating HIIT routines on the days I’m not doing sweat) for a little extra challenge 🙌
And for the Moms that are nervous about starting, the program is a really gentle, but effective reintroduction to exercise. Nothing is timed so you can go at your own pace, and in the early weeks it’s really focussed on breath work (you can do you kegels while you’re at it!), and slowly rebuilding your strength.
Most importantly, the program will rebuild your confidence, and that’s so critical for postpartum moms. There’s nothing more discouraging than finally finding the time/courage/motivation to begin exercising again after having a baby, only to feel totally defeated by a program that you weren’t ready to take on (and probably isn’t safe for you either). This program made me feel safe. It made me feel confident. And ultimately it made me stronger, inside and out.
I feel ready and so excited to start the sweat challenge tomorrow with BBG! Are you joining the challenge too?!