Exercise after pregnancy: How and when to get started

(Laura Riley/ Parents) –– No matter your fitness level before childbirth, your postpartum workout plan requires special consideration. Follow these tips to safely return to your pre-baby exercise habits.

After childbirth, some parents itch to get back into a regular exercise routine. But it’s not as easy as hopping on the treadmill or rejoining your pre-baby pilates classes. New parents should be realistic and patient when it comes to postpartum workout plans—after all, it took around 40 weeks to grow your pregnant body, and it can take nearly as long to feel like you’re somewhere closer to your pre-pregnancy self.

No matter whether your labor was quick, long, or surgical, the body undergoes a huge transformation to grow and birth a baby, and you must honor that with everything you do, including exercise. (…)