This is the second part of my postpartum return to fitness series. See the other parts here.
Week 2-5: Breath Coordination + Mobility
After the first two weeks, I began to progress from stationary breathing to coordinating that breathing to gentle movement. This involved floor-based core exercises that were synced to my breath. This begins the process of coordinating movement with breath, which aids in stability and is the foundation for functional movement.
This core sequence was based on the Functional Progression developed by Dr. Erica Boland, which was based on DNS movement principles. We have developed regressions and progressions of each core movement, and you will find this core stability routine weaved throughout our postpartum fitness programming. I did a few rounds sporadically of these exercises throughout the day, and some days didn’t do any at all.
I also started to add in short walks, but still spent most of my day in a reclined or seated position. I monitored my bleeding with all increased activity; if I noticed an increase, I would decrease my overall activity. If I noticed it stayed the same or decreased, I slowly increased my activity.
Deadbug
The first movement is the deadbug. We focus on arm and leg extension in a supine position, and resist thrusting in the ribs or arching in the back. During this time, I am only focusing on my arm movement, while supporting my feet on a bench or couch. As I extend my arm overhead, I exhale to keep my ribs and pelvis connected on the front. Option to add a small ball or block between the thighs.
As I extend overhead, I think exhale, squeeze the ball, lift in the pelvic floor, engage the core.
Then as I lift my arm back up, I think: inhale, expand my back into the ground, feel my pelvic floor load and lengthen, release tension in the ball.
Side Lying Hip Abduction
In the side lying hip abduction, start with your elbow, hip, and ankle in a generally straight line. Then exhale to push your hips up and out, finding extension in both hips. There may be a tendency to come straight up, but you will find both hips are still bent in this position. After finding extension, inhale to sit back to bring the hips back towards the ground. Focus on ensuring the ribs stay aligned with the pelvis, as there may be a tendency to sag in the side body when you touch the floor.
Bird Dog
In the bird dog, we are focusing on maintaining our torso position as the arms and legs extend, similar to dead bug. But in this position, we are also resisting gravity in an anti-extension movement (trying to keep the belly from falling closer to the floor).
Start in an all-fours position with the ball between the thighs. Slightly hover one hand and the opposite knee. Then exhale to extend the arm and squeeze the ball between the thighs. Inhale to lower, then shift to the opposite side.
Then, we can focus on the leg movement. Place the ball under your hand, around the rib cage area. Exhale to press down into the ball as you extend the opposite leg. Think more of a drag back of the foot as opposed to a lift, as we want the back to stay in a neutral position as opposed to arching. Hips should stay level and fairly still as you extend the legs. If you placed an object on your back, it should not fall off during the movement.
Mobility
In addition to some gentle core exercises, I started to incorporate mobility routines since I was spending a lot of my time in stationary positions nursing or resting. I focused primarily on thoracic and chest mobility.