Boutique Fitness For Mums And Bubs
A few months have passed since your bub arrived. You have nurtured and bonded, and even managed to catch more than a few hours of actual sleep in between. As you start getting used to the new shape of your life, it is also time to get re-acquainted with certain elements from your pre-baby life, like fitness.
Returning to a fitness routine after having a baby has a huge positive impact on your physique and mental wellbeing. As you get your cardio levels back up and strengthen your muscles, you are also raising your energy levels, relieving stress and preventing postnatal depression.
And thanks to the rise of mums and bubs fitness programs, your path back to wellness need not take you away from your baby. Here are woman with drive’s top five ways to stay in shape.
Walking
Walking is, without a doubt, the best re-entry into fitness for new mums. It is gentle enough as a daily routine and strengthens your core muscles and pelvic floor. All you need aside from a pair of trainers is a stroller or baby carrier, and off you go!
Bay City Strollers’ innovative outdoor fitness plan involves a group of mums being led by a personal trainer as each one goes through the paces at her own speed. ReaktivKanga, meanwhile, equips mums with special micro-filled hand weights to carry along as they brisk walk with their baby strapped on.
Yoga
One of the more popular options in the mum and baby fitness space, yoga not only returns strength and flexibility to your body but also relaxes the mind and keeps postnatal depression at bay. The bonuses are poses and breathing techniques that can help soothe and calm your baby too.
Yoganic offers yoga, Pilates and yogabarre classes for mums with babies as young as 6 weeks. Move through the poses as your baby either lies next to you, gets involved in the pose or socialises with other babies. At The LifePod, each class begins with a baby massage before moving into a gentle practice that includes breaks for feeding or soothing a cranky baby.
Swimming
The primary benefit of being in water is that it works your upper and lower body and your core. And because swimming is a low-impact exercise, it reduces any stress on your weight-bearing joints. But instead of immediately doing laps, take your baby into the pool for early swimming lessons while your body enjoys the feeling of weightlessness of being in water. (Swimming is not advisable until four to six weeks after delivery, once your postnatal bleeding has stopped, so consult your doctor before getting back into the pool.)
Little Snappers’ Babies & Toddlers program takes babies from 6 months to three-years-old through six different levels that focus on breath control, motor skills, movement and safety. With only four sets of child and parent in a class, the attention is personal and undivided.
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Circuit-Training
Once your fitness level starts increasing, your next step could be a circuit-training workout. A blend of cardio, strength training and mental resilience will set your body back on the right track and steady your mind too.
Soul Train Fitness offers a great circuit based class consisting of exercises that target body parts that have weakened after giving birth. Strap your baby on as you move around the stations on a track.
Dancing
The other key benefit from being in constant motion aside from the obvious fitness aspect is the burst of endorphins that dancing releases. Not only will your strapped on baby enjoy the bouncing and music but their closeness to you will have those feel-good vibes rubbing off on him or her too.
Dance Kix offers a weekly Mums Bounce Back class where mums gather, with their babies strapped in, to groove to the music of a dance workout.
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