Exercise for New Moms and Their Babies!

Exercise for New Moms and Their Babies!

A NEW Mommy and Me small group training class is coming to Elite Sports Clubs – Brookfield! The group will be led by Alex White, an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE Oh Baby! Fitness® Pregnancy and Postpartum Exercise Instructor. This class is a small group training program designed for new moms with babies between ages two months and one year old. The class will focus on helping moms regain pre-pregnancy strength and stability and allow moms to interact and bond with their baby. The first six week session will begin October 28th and there will be sessions every Monday at 5:00 P.M. and every Thursday at 9:00 A.M. Sign up with the link at the bottom of this blog!

postpartum training

Why Mommy and Me Small Group

This class provides a unique opportunity for moms to bond with their babies as well as other moms going through a similar situation, and maybe even find a playmate for the little one! The structure of the small group is beneficial because it is a place where moms can share stories and emotions as they would be able to in larger Mommy and Me classes, but also get more individualized attention similar to what clients get when working with a personal trainer. This one-on-one attention is important because I will be able to ensure that everyone is performing the exercises safely and properly, which is not provided in a larger group setting. I will be able to customize each exercise to your individual level so that each person in the group can benefit as much as possible from this class. Most, or all, exercises will be done while holding or interacting with your baby, attempting to keep babies (and moms) entertained and happy! Please do not hesitate to give your baby any extra care or attention that he/she may need during any given class.

Mom and Baby Squats

Why Exercise Postpartum

There are many benefits to postpartum exercise. In addition to increased strength and weight loss, postpartum exercise promotes faster recovery rates from pregnancy and delivery, elevated mood, lower incidence of postpartum depression, reduced physical discomfort in the muscles and joints, and better sleep quality.

Exercise will also help alleviate the three most common physical concerns of new moms, including compromised abdominals, lower back pain, and incontinence. Compromised abdominals is due to the muscles being overstretched during pregnancy, which causes them to weaken. In many cases, this overstretching leads to diastasis recti, which is the splitting of the transverse abdominis (the innermost layer of the abs). This weakness and/or splitting also contributes to low back pain because women often compensate for the lack of strength in their abdominals by using their lower back muscles when lifting and bending.

Backaches also stem from the effects of lingering relaxin on the spinal column. Relaxin is a hormone that relaxes the muscles and joints in preparation for labor, thus decreasing the stability of the spine. Back pain may also be caused by trauma from labor and poor posture while caring for the baby (nursing, changing, or carrying the baby). In this Mommy and Me class, moms will learn the proper technique for carrying her baby on the hip or in a car seat and strengthen the leg and abdominal muscles to support the back and prevent injury.

Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine while sneezing, coughing, laughing, or jumping. It is very common for new moms and it occurs because the pelvic floor muscles become overstretched and the weight of the baby changes the functional anatomy of the bladder during pregnancy. In Mommy and Me, we will be learning and practicing how to pair Kegels with transverse abdominal work to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, reduce incontinence, and recover from diastasis recti.

After resolving these three common physical ailments, we will work towards increasing strength, stamina, and weight loss through strength and cardio exercises and interval training to get you feeling in tip-top shape!

Sign up for the small group class at the button below or emailing me directly. If you have any questions regarding this class, feel free to email [email protected].

Sign Up for Mommy & Me Small Group Training

Alex White Personal Trainer at Elite Sports Clubs

Written by Alex White, Certified Personal Trainer at Elite Sports Club – Brookfield.

Alex has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an American Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer. She specializes in Functional Training & Mobility, Adapted & Post-Injury Fitness, Strength Training & Weight Loss. Alex lives by the philosophy of “A healthy mind creates a healthy body, and vice versa.”