SIMONE DOULAVERAS

Nothing compares to cuddles with your newborn. But after a while, and with all the other moving around you’re doing as a new mum, those beautiful little cuddles turn into a tight chest, tight hip flexors, sore shoulders and sore necks. This is not quite as cute and can play a huge role in how you feel physically and mentally.

As a new mum myself, I get it. And I want to help.

I want to share with you 5 moves to prepare your body to train safely. These exercises do this by mobilising the joints that tend to tighten from all of your parenting duties, as well as reversing the not-so-great posture we end up with from cuddling our little ones.

POSTURE AFFECTS YOU PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY

​

PHYSICALLY

As a new mum, you're seated and cuddling, a lot, which tightens the front of your body. Here is how your body reacts:

• Creating rounded shoulders and a forward head posture

• Tight hip flexors

• Mid-back pain

All of this tightens the connective tissue around those areas, leaving you 'stuck' in that dodgy position. If you then go and train in this 'stuck' position, the load or resistance you add to your workout tells your brain to press 'save' to this position.

Wait, what?

Yep! Adding load to exercises is how we train the movement and aim to ‘save’ that movement pattern, so the body remembers it and continues moving through that pattern. So if we're doing a move really well, adding resistance or weight to it helps our body remember it for the next workout. But if that move is done poorly, it also saves that in the body. 

If you start training with good posture and an open chest, your muscle memory will be saving movement in that proud chest and aligned position. 

MENTALLY

Your posture can also affect your mood and mental state. It affects your brain by sending you into the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight mode). Basically, poor posture sends your body into a stress response, meaning it is responding as though you are in danger, when in fact there is no danger around. 

Not being able to absorb as much oxygen per breath results in feeling tired or lethargic. Neck and shoulder tension is another result of poor posture-related breathing difficulty which can lead to headaches and neck pain.

Good posture allows you to get more oxygen with each breath, which effectively reduces your stress. When your shoulders are down away from the ears, you’re looking and feeling more relaxed. 

​

5 MOVES FOR NEW MUMS

Now you understand how posture can affect you physically and mentally, it’s time to see the exercises that you need as a new mum:

1. Supine twist - Laying on your back, stretch your arms out wide to release the front of the chest as well as down your back and top hip. This action is also great for detoxifying your system and aiding digestion.

2. Hip flexor release - With 90 degrees at each knee joint, tuck your pelvis under and feel the front of the underneath hip stretch. Add the top arm and feel the stretch track right from your thigh, hip flexors, through the stomach and side body as you arc over. Ensure to tuck pelvis throughout.

3. Cat stretch - Shoulders over wrists, knees under hips. Lower the head and the tail as you round your back up, then slowly lower the tummy to mat while shining collar bones forward. Continuous movement is recommended here, avoid shrugging and sinking into the shoulders. 5-8 reps recommended.

4. Moving cat/shell to half plank - Avoid sinking through the back and shoulders, feel your core be engaged and challenged as well as your shoulder stabilisers. As you move forward and back focus on keeping the shoulders down and stable and really rounding through the spine as much as possible.

5. Thread the needle - Designed to mobilise the thoracic spine, so in this one, aim to keep your pelvis nice and still. Inhale as you open twist, exhale as you dive through. 5-6 rounds on each side.

​

Unless a specific number is mentioned in the description above, 60 seconds per drill is recommended.

It can be really tough being a new mum, and sometimes in between all the chaos, we forget to take care of ourselves. These exercises are designed to make sure you safely ease yourself back into training. And remember, The Loft is always here to help if you have any questions about your training.