My mother's day gift to myself? Starting to exercise again.
Even though there are many people who exercise before hitting the six-week mark, it's my nature to have a sense of fearful respect towards any process that involves cutting my body open and rearranging my organs. So I was really careful to toe the line before I got my doctor's ok: I didn't lift heavy things, I didn't exert myself too much -- at least not two days in a row -- and I did absolutely no exercise. Not even the lightest movements. None.
But man, was I ever dying to. So to ease into it again, I decided to start with my review copy of Helene Byrne's Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning. There are two workouts. "Gentle First Moves" can be done early in the
postpartum period, and is all I've worked with so far. Then there is
"Bounce Back Fast!", with an "Abdominal Separation Program."
Bounce Back Fast! begins with a series of informational segments on beginning postpartum exercise, using kegels to recondition the pelvic floor, dealing with Diastasis Recti (I didn't have this so I skipped watching this segment), and ways to work the abdominals so as to pull in the stomach. I think it's really worth watching through these at least once for two reasons. First, Helene introduces the postures she later calls on in the workout. And second, the tips on keeping the abs engaged during movement have made me much more aware of how I hold myself when walking, holding the baby, breastfeeding, and so on.
Now, let's be frank here. This is not an exciting video. It's filmed in a very plain studio, though the shots are very clear and professional. Helene enunciates everything slowly, explains in detail what the postpartum body needs, and doesn't use cutesy words for body parts the way exercise video instructors sometimes do. There's no "tushy" here. When Helene means "anus," she says "anus."
Nor is the workout exciting. If you were simply to watch it, you would probably think nothing is happening. And this, my dear readers, is why I always insist on doing the videos I review. Because this plain 30-minute workout, with no music and no flashing lights, is ridiculously effective.
I've done it three times so far, and each time I was suffering from upper and lower back pain before I began it. The first time I worked with the program, I felt pain relief the following day. The second and third times, I had no more back pain immediately after finishing the program. I am serious. One moment I was in lots of pain, and exactly half an hour later, I felt good.
How did this happen? The exercises themselves are fundamentally basic stretches, the kind I know from physiotherapy and from pilates/yoga type workouts. They remind me quite a bit of the Viniyoga back therapy videos I love so much. However, Helene cues them with precise attention to which muscles should be tensed and which relaxed. And each of the exercises has something just a little bit different about them. One focused on pulling in the abdominal muscles uses breath work and hand spotting to get those loose muscles working again. (Incidentally, this particular exercise would be great for belly dancers looking to isolate lower from upper abs!) A hamstring stretch uses the included elastic band to do a gentle but powerful variation. These are just a few examples.
The other thing I want to note is that while these exercises seem like nothing from the outside, doing them correctly is very difficult, especially postpartum. While my strength and flexibility have improved with each repetition of the workout, I've also come to see more and more how much concentration they need to be done according to Helene's instructions.
I'm looking forward to working with the second part of the workout. But I'm also looking forward to returning to dance and yoga instructionals, to say nothing of other postpartum exercise programs, with the increased awareness of my abdominal muscles taught in
Bounce Back Fast!
Bounce Back Fast! is also available on www.befitmom.com.
Labels: abs, back, pilates, postnatal, shoulders, therapy
