After the transformative, beautiful, and utterly exhausting miracle of giving birth, perhaps the last thing a new mother has on her mind is her exercise regimen. Dramatic changes in a woman’s body, her hormonal balance, sleep schedule, and overall lifestyle can make working out drop low on her priority list, even for the most fitness-conscious female. However, the benefits of regular exercise — weight loss, increased energy, mood elevation/stabilization — all multiply in value for the woman caring for a new baby. Limited research (see: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/551030 even shows exercise’s positive effects in women who suffer from post-partum depression.
High-impact sports are not advised for new moms (not that you’re even thinking about hitting the basketball court), and some low-impact activities are also discouraged, such as swimming. But if you’re a Pilates fan, don’t worry — you won’t find Pilates on that “off-limits” list. In fact, Pilates is one of the best forms of post-natal exercise out there. Here are a few reasons why:
Effective – Pilates targets the abdominal core, or “powerhouse,” where the most dramatic physical change has taken place. Certainly many new mothers feel the most self-conscious about this particular difference in their bodies after giving birth. The abdominal muscles stretch and separate as the belly blossoms during pregnancy, sometimes causing diastasis recti, a gap between the abdominal muscles. Special care must be taken in abdominal exercise to reengage the abs and close the gap. Given that each Pilates exercise draws energetically on the powerhouse, every movement works this area of the body. Women who practice Pilates after giving birth will notice they “bounce back” to their prenatal shape surprisingly fast.
Efficient – As mentioned above, Pilates is known for delivering visible results fast. Thanks to an emphasis on focused, integrated movements in low reps, a Pilates session gives you a terrific workout in under an hour. You finish feeling energized for the rest of your day, not like you got caught in a stampede. For a new mother, time and energy are precious resources; Pilates is friendly to both.
Adaptable – Pilates is renowned for being an ideal workout for people rehabilitating or recovering from an injury. Likewise, the post-natal body is in a period of recovery and requires its own special considerations for exercise. An experienced instructor will know how to modify the method’s 500+ controlled, precise movements to accommodate physical needs while providing a focused, effective workout.
Applicable – Joseph Pilates intended his fitness system to strengthen and condition a body for real-life situations, and Pilates likewise caters directly to a new mom’s lifestyle. Everyday living becomes more demanding with a baby on the hip, or a car seat in hand, or a stroller in tow. Sleep deprivation can also make you less consciously “in your body,” raising the risk of injury when performing even simple tasks such as unloading groceries from the car. With the way Pilates promotes and strengthens the mind-body connection, you will be conditioned to move through the day with grace and strength, even if you feel half-asleep.
Portable – Some studios and trainers offer special “Mommy and Me” Pilates classes. But you don’t need to go to the studio to do mat work — you don’t even have to leave the house! With an abundance of calisthenic moves, Pilates can be practiced in the comfort of the home with no equipment. Here are a few moves from the classic mat routine that are great for new mothers.
The Hundred. Keep legs in a table-top position and either rest head back on the mat or use a pillow to prop head up if it’s too difficult on the neck. Half Roll Down. Sit with legs bent and roll back halfway; scoop and roll back up.
Single Leg Circle. You can either keep both knees bent, or extend one leg long on mat and keep a slight bend in the leg that is circling.
The Ab Series. Keep legs up at a higher angle, and rest head when necessary.
- Single Leg Stretch
- Double Leg Stretch
- Scissors
- Lower Lift
- Criss-Cross
Spine Stretch Forward. Bonus: Do Kegels as you lift up and over to stretch.
These are all exercises with which you will be well familiar if you’ve been taking Pilates. At Dynamic Fitness, we don’t permit expecting or immediately post-natal mothers to begin a Pilates routine if they haven’t practiced Pilates before. As with all forms of exercise, we always recommend our new moms to consult with their healthcare providers before they pursue a Pilates regimen during and right after pregnancy. If you have questions for us regarding fitness after your baby comes into the world, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!
![Hot New Fitness Systems Owe Much to Pilates Since 1995, Dynamic Fitness has focused on delivering the finest training in classical Pilates, the original body conditioning system developed by Joseph Pilates in 1926. Our studio's dedication to the classical method hasn't left much room in our class schedule for new fusion fitness systems, so you won't see us offering "yogalates" any time soon. Should we be worried that we're getting stodgy or set in our ways? We decided to investigate some of the hottest fitness systems out there today. What we discovered: Whether it's the actual exercises, fundamental techniques, or core concepts, these fitness fads borrow directly from classical Pilates. Check out these examples:Pure BarreCreated by dancer and choreographer Carrie Rezabek Dorr, Pure Barre delivers a low-impact workout designed to sculpt areas of the body that most women would identify as "problem spots," such as the stomach, buttocks, hips and arms. Before creating Pure Barre, Dorr trained in and taught Pilates; in Pure Barre, she sought a way to incorporate her favorite fitness systems into one workout. If you're experienced in Pilates, the mat warm-ups in a Pure Barre class will be almost second nature as you move through familiar exercises such as the hundred and the teaser. The Pure Barre abdominal "tuck," which pulls the hips forward in a posterior pelvic tilt, is not unlike the Pilates abdominal "scoop," particularly in its aim to neutralize the spine and prevent stress on the lower back. Pure Barre emphasizes isometric exercises at high reps -- this means moving through a very small range and holding muscular contractions in static positions. In contrast, a Pilates workout offers a full range of movement, including the more dynamic "concentric" and "eccentric" muscle contractions. While Pure Barre definitely incorporates the Pilates principles of concentration, control, and precision into each session, some critics say it's an incomplete workout. P90X®P90X® founder Tony Horton once admitted in an interview that he was "terrible" at Pilates. According to Horton, the original P90X® program "forced you to work on your weaknesses," so that's arguably why Pilates is now prominently featured as a standalone workout in Horton's newest P90X3® package. The "Pilates X" workout comprises 22 exercises from the classical Pilates mat routine, including stretches and instruction on breath control. The 30-minute routine includes moves suitable for beginners, such as the hundred, single leg stretch, and double leg stretch. But as you might expect from a P90X® workout, it's peppered with advanced exercises and challenging modifications in the open-leg rocker, teaser, shoulder bridge, and side kick series. Many people who subscribe to P90X® have never heard of Pilates, and complain that the instructions for breath control in Pilates X are confusing and nearly impossible to follow at first. We just recommend that you don't completely forget to breathe.[Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/tony-horton-p90x-yoga-breakfast_n_3902266.html]CrossFitTake one step into "The Box" (otherwise known as a CrossFit gym), and you'll think there's no fitness system in the world more antithetical to Pilates. CrossFit's ultra-competitive approach is intended to push the body to its breaking point as you race against the clock and pile on weights. If you don't leave gasping and spent, you're not doing it right. What you may not see at first glance is that Pilates and CrossFit share origins in gymnastics. Both Joseph Pilates and CrossFit founder Greg Glassman were trained gymnasts. Both systems rely on integrated motion originating from "midline stability" in CrossFit, or your Pilates "powerhouse" -- whichever method you practice, you're constantly activating a strong core. Glassman defines the exercises of CrossFit as "functional movements" that are "performed in a wave of contraction from core to extremity." Sound familiar? To us, this sounds just like the perfectly integrated motions of a Pilates workout that energetically radiate from the core. CrossFit does come with some drawbacks. Where Pilates helps students return the body to optimal function, CrossFit won't work for anyone who isn't already at this level. This effectively excludes people seeking an exercise regimen that can accommodate special needs due to injury or disability. And if you're not already in good physical condition, the intense demands of CrossFit put you at considerable risk for hurting yourself. In our research, we have encountered several Pilates instructors and adept students who suggest Pilates can lay the foundation for someone to advance into a CrossFit regimen. On the flipside, CrossFit trainers often recommend a Pilates workout for an "active rest day." We've seen CrossFit gyms recruit Pilates experts to teach mat classes and help trainees apply Pilates principles to CrossFit. They confirm that Pilates training helps to reinforce flexibility, mobility, coordination and stability. These aspects of body conditioning are perhaps minimized in the regular CrossFit agenda, but without them, the CrossFit workout can be downright dangerous. [Source: http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/what_is_crossfit.pdf]Have you come across other fitness trends that remind you of Pilates? We'd love to discover more! Share your experiences with us on the Dynamic Fitness Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DynamicFitness](https://www.pilates-sarasota.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/47-150x150.jpg)
