rowing after childbirth
rowing after childbirth
I am due to have a baby in September and am anxious to get back working out. I have done some rowing in the past but my major activities have been judo and running. Since neither of those are appropriate for at least 6-8 weeks I would like to focus on rowing. How soon can I get started assuming everything goes normally for the delivery?
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Krysta Coleman
- 500m Poster
- Posts: 76
- Joined: March 17th, 2006, 4:25 pm
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: rowing after childbirth
Your doc could probably give you the best advice on that, but I think we can start training again a lot sooner than a person might have thought in the past. My grandma tells me stories about how women of her generation used to have to go on full bedrest (like bedpan and all) for 2 weeks after delivery, even if there weren't any complications!daeuber wrote:I am due to have a baby in September and am anxious to get back working out. I have done some rowing in the past but my major activities have been judo and running. Since neither of those are appropriate for at least 6-8 weeks I would like to focus on rowing. How soon can I get started assuming everything goes normally for the delivery?
Luckily for us, the medical profession seems to have recognized now that getting active soon actually helps recovery. With my first, I tore quite a bit but still got active very soon after. I don't think that you have to wait that 6-8 weeks before rowing or even running, which is much more jarring. (I don't know much about Judo, so I can't really comment). That was my doctor's take, but he might be more liberal than yours.
Is this your first? Good luck with everything, and keep us posted! I am expecting mine in early November. Darn ultrasounds keep putting my due date farther away! Grr!
- Krysta
5'7", 35 years old, trying to regain fitness. Old PBs:
Well, I didn't have my erg yet when I had my sons, but I would think you would want to wait a month anyway. Of course, it depends on the delivery. A c-section really takes a toll on those muscles.
IMHO, I would start with walking for a while. Most importantly, listen to your body, and don't get too tired.
IMHO, I would start with walking for a while. Most importantly, listen to your body, and don't get too tired.
Schenley
Wife of Jeff
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/momofjbn/dudes_small.jpg[/img] Mom of Jonathan (12), Benjamin (10), and Nicholas (8)
Wife of Jeff
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/momofjbn/dudes_small.jpg[/img] Mom of Jonathan (12), Benjamin (10), and Nicholas (8)
daeuber,
After my first child, last December (via C-section), I waited 6 weeks until my OB gave me the go-ahead to do anything that I was doing before I got pregnant. With the C-sec recovery, sleep deprivation, breastfeeding, and caring for a newborn --- believe me, I didn't have the energy to do anything extra prior to 6 weeks.
After the doctor's approval, I forced myself back but moved rather slowly for a while. I think that your body will tell you what is best to do at what level of exertion. For instance, they say that you shouldn't go up or down the stairs for several weeks after a C-sec, and I did as soon as I got home from the hospital. It was as much out of necessity as it was out of practicality; and I'm certain that it helped my overall recovery.
Please keep in mind that it takes a while to get back to the body that you remember and, in some cases, you never quite get back there. Also, I found it hard to cut back on the food I ate due to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding keeps you both hungry and thirsty and you want to be careful not to starve yourself or the baby during this important time.
My lovely daughter is 7.5 months old and I am just now starting to look like my old self -- though slightly re-arranged. For reference, I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight 3 months post-delivery but I was still flabby because I had lost muscle mass and gained fat. It takes time. And your child will benefit from watching you make the changes and progress!
I am proud to say that in the last couple of months I crossed the two million meter mark and added another 100,000 meters to boot and my daughter got to watch me do most of that. I like to think that I will continue to influence healthy behaviors in her because of it.
Take your time. Listen to your body. And *congratulations* and the very BEST to you and Krysta and your families!
Terri
After my first child, last December (via C-section), I waited 6 weeks until my OB gave me the go-ahead to do anything that I was doing before I got pregnant. With the C-sec recovery, sleep deprivation, breastfeeding, and caring for a newborn --- believe me, I didn't have the energy to do anything extra prior to 6 weeks.
After the doctor's approval, I forced myself back but moved rather slowly for a while. I think that your body will tell you what is best to do at what level of exertion. For instance, they say that you shouldn't go up or down the stairs for several weeks after a C-sec, and I did as soon as I got home from the hospital. It was as much out of necessity as it was out of practicality; and I'm certain that it helped my overall recovery.
Please keep in mind that it takes a while to get back to the body that you remember and, in some cases, you never quite get back there. Also, I found it hard to cut back on the food I ate due to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding keeps you both hungry and thirsty and you want to be careful not to starve yourself or the baby during this important time.
My lovely daughter is 7.5 months old and I am just now starting to look like my old self -- though slightly re-arranged. For reference, I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight 3 months post-delivery but I was still flabby because I had lost muscle mass and gained fat. It takes time. And your child will benefit from watching you make the changes and progress!
I am proud to say that in the last couple of months I crossed the two million meter mark and added another 100,000 meters to boot and my daughter got to watch me do most of that. I like to think that I will continue to influence healthy behaviors in her because of it.
Take your time. Listen to your body. And *congratulations* and the very BEST to you and Krysta and your families!
Terri
[color=red][i]"how much have i invested in what i don't have?"[/i][/color]
[color=blue][b]TLC[/b][/color]
[color=blue][b]TLC[/b][/color]
Daeuber,
I hope you get this message although it's been posted a while after you posted your question and I hope all has gone well with the pregnancy and birth if that has happened already!
I gave birth 10 weeks ago to my first baby and was erging (slowly
) up until 2 days before that - I started back rowing 2 weeks afterwards and all has gone well. The advice I followed was to start back when I felt up to it physically and mentally and start slowly and not expect too much at first - I had a forceps delivery with a fair bit of cutting but after 2 weeks felt ready. Also, to wait if exercising causes increased bleeding or pain (which I didn't get).
After my 6 week check up I started adding in some intervals, and by then I was rowing about 5 times a week for around 45 minutes. I think exercising has helped in my recovery and keeping sanity with a newborn around but I echo previous posts saying to listen to your body - it's known what to do for the last 9 months so I reckon it probably knows when to start exercising too!
If you have a C-sec I think you'll need to wait longer and if you're breastfeeding make sure you keep the fluid intake up.
All the best,
Millie
I hope you get this message although it's been posted a while after you posted your question and I hope all has gone well with the pregnancy and birth if that has happened already!
I gave birth 10 weeks ago to my first baby and was erging (slowly
) up until 2 days before that - I started back rowing 2 weeks afterwards and all has gone well. The advice I followed was to start back when I felt up to it physically and mentally and start slowly and not expect too much at first - I had a forceps delivery with a fair bit of cutting but after 2 weeks felt ready. Also, to wait if exercising causes increased bleeding or pain (which I didn't get). After my 6 week check up I started adding in some intervals, and by then I was rowing about 5 times a week for around 45 minutes. I think exercising has helped in my recovery and keeping sanity with a newborn around
but I echo previous posts saying to listen to your body - it's known what to do for the last 9 months so I reckon it probably knows when to start exercising too!If you have a C-sec I think you'll need to wait longer and if you're breastfeeding make sure you keep the fluid intake up.
All the best,
Millie
postpartum rowing
Thanks for all of the input. We got the rower ordered last weekend a it should arrive soon. My beautiful daughter arrived on the 5th of September. A wee bit early but every thing went splendidly. I feel great and expect to be rowing slowly in a few weeks.
Jana
Jana