Postpartum exercise buddies

[WolfMother326]

Hello all,

Would anyone like a thread for postpartum exercise support?

I'm training for a half marathon in summer but unusure if I'll be ready, trying to focus on enjoying the running not the goal.

I've got an almost 6 month old and a 3.5 year old. I started trying to get back to running in January and keep starting and stopping again when kids get colds or I get the flu or whatever, but been managing to go between 2 - 5 x a week, aiming for 5k each time. Getting someone to take the baby is obviously the biggest challenge right now!

Would love to hear from others new mums.

Did you do physio before starting? I'm only 36 weeks, but wondering what to plan in the next year or so.

Hey @StamppotAndGravy hope you're feeling good at the end of your pregnancy. I did kegels and pelvic floor exercises with both pregnancies. I actually had two c sections (the first emergency, the second because of placenta problems) so my recovery was a little slow, but I was able to start running at about 4 months both times with no pain. Lots of walking before that. This time around I'm also going to postnatal pilates and I do have a little bit of separation so working on deep core exercises I'm learning from pilates. I'd love to do physio but haven't/can't afford it on maternity leave (the pilates is a very good deal!)
Have you stayed active?

I'm not uk, so physio is included in my maternity package. It looks like they encourage you to ease into running very slowly. They might throw me out of the clinic in disgust if I say I'm doing a marathon in the first year!

I kept up swimming and pilates and I'm hoping to go back to competing in my (actually genuinely outing!) niche team watersport next season. I'm not naturally fast though, so rely on being massively fitter than the competition. I think I'll be back down into the B team especially without sleep. I stopped running almost straight away because I was so out of breath so that's going to be a painful restart after nearly a year.

@StamppotAndGravy it sounds like you're in great shape. I wouldn't worry. Take the first however long you need to rest and recover - it's also just so hard to get into a routine to exercise with a newborn, unless you have a lot of family support or paid childcare. But you will definitely get there! I found the running to be really good as my first step because I can just slip outside for 30 minutes when the chance arises, but with my first child I lived next door to a pool and loved swimming. Just do whatever feels accessible and possible. Do you play professional sports?