Blog, Fit2B Magazine
4 Exercises for a Safe Return to Running After Baby
Straight up, I’m not a runner, but I have trained a lot of clients who thrive better when they can run. It’s a sad day for many women when they try to return to running after having a baby, only to discover it doesn’t feel right: their bladders may leak, their abs may pooch out more, their lower back may ache. Suddenly, they’re grieving the loss of yet another piece of their past life.
The exciting news is that there’s a new evidence-based guide on the block! The 2019 Return to Running Guide is FREE and — best of all — written by three stellar physiotherapists including Tom Goom, Emma Brockwell, and our very own research partner, Grainne Donnelly. The guidelines for making a safe return to running postpartum are technically written for professionals, so I’ve made this free video in which I demonstrate the four exercises they recommend and my main takeaways from the guide.
Want Access to the Return to Running Guide?
If you’re a woman who has had a baby (or several) and you want to make a safe, strategic return to running so you can avoid injuring yourself or making your prolapse, incontinence, or diastasis recti worse, click the button and my colleagues will email the full PDF to you. It’s very robust and PACKED with research, exercises, and strategies.
get the running guideStay Tuned for a Workout Video!
While the video above offers you a few of the exercises recommended in the guidelines to help you return to running safely, l’m also planning to film a full-length workout video for our members. It will flow ALL the recommendations together into one seamless routine that you can utilize alongside our other home workouts.
The Free Guide Includes . . .
- A new recommendation for how long to wait to resume running: 3 months postpartum.
- The research behind the 4 exercise recommendations which can be done prior to 3 months and which can build the foot, knee, and pelvic stability needed for running. I demonstrated these 4 exercises in the video above: single leg calf raise, single leg sit to stand, single leg shoulder bridge, side lying abductors.
- The movements that therapists (or yourself) can utilize to test the coordination and endurance of your pelvic floor: bounding forward 10 times, taking a brisk 30-minute walk, jogging in place for 1 minute without any of the listed symptoms.
- A discussion on Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (RED-S) which Grainne and I agree should be RED-M for moms!
- The role of physical therapy (a.k.a. “physiotherapy” in the UK and Canada) in making a safe return to running when symptoms of core dysfunction are present. Click here to learn how to find and what to ask a good physiotherapist.
Belly or Bum Bulging?
If the midline of your abs pooches into a tent or cone shape when you’re exercising, or you feel downward pressure or a bulge between your sitting bones, like your uterus is falling out of your vagina, please book a session with a PT who specializes in the pelvic floor and Diastasis Recti.
As I say in the video above, diastasis isn’t a death sentence for running. However, if your abdominal separation is dysfunctionally wide and thin, it may impact your long-term running game.
Check your abs for diastasisMore Fit2B Running Resources
Helping you get back to doing the physical activities you enjoy is a huge part of my heart and mission here on Fit2B where we have several resources for runners:
- Members Only: Yoga For Runners video workout
- Free: Audio running interval workout with Coach Chris
- Free: Are you Fit2B running with a Diastasis
What are Your Thoughts on Running Postpartum?
What do you think female runners need when it comes to returning to running once they’ve had children? How can we better support the female running population post-pregnancy? Did you make a successful return to running? What are your tips that might help others? Leave us a comment!
