3 Things You Should Do Before Starting Postpartum Exercise

Hello. This is Onosaki.

I love exercise and played tennis in my school club every day until I was in high school.
I continued playing tennis on and off even after I started working.

Since I loved exercise, I was confident in my physical strength!

I can't say this too loudly, but I even went to personal training during my pregnancy.
Up until my ninth month of pregnancy.

Of course, without telling my obstetrician.

Because of that background, I started exercising a little while after giving birth, but...

It turned into an unexpected... disaster!!

Troubles with postpartum exercise

I gradually started exercising six months after giving birth.

【What I did before exercising】
・Went for pelvic correction 6 times within the first six months postpartum
・Did squats, walking, and stretching (self-guided) at home starting two months postpartum

The pelvic correction specialist recommended exercise because I had lost muscle mass.


【Exercise flow】
Yoga (temporarily suspended due to COVID)
⇒ Personal training (continued even during COVID)
⇒ Tennis (currently)

【Troubles】
1. When I started personal training, I developed lower back and hip pain, which hindered my housework

2. After exercising, my body would hurt when I tried to get up from bed

3. I thought it was muscle soreness, but I had actually injured my muscles

4. I hurt my lower back even more playing tennis and couldn't carry my child

3 things I recommend before starting postpartum exercise

Since this is based on my own experience, it might differ slightly depending on your age and physical strength!

1. Tighten your pelvis and correct distortions

1.Tighten your pelvis firmly within six months.
According to my judo therapist, it's recommended to do it within six months because it's too late after a year has passed!

2.Correct pelvic distortion frequently
Childcare continues even after six months. Furthermore, since everyone has their own natural physical habits, there are many causes for distortion.

I was doing tasks while carrying my child, so I was even more distorted.
I exercised while still distorted, which put too much load on one side or the other, and that's how I got injured.

2. Always be conscious of tightening your buttocks

During pregnancy, it's hard to engage your core. I also exercised with dumbbells while pregnant, but I couldn't do abdominal exercises.
So, the muscles around my abdomen and pelvis were loose!


Even if you tighten your pelvis, if you can't use the supporting muscles, it will spread again!
Therefore, to maintain your pelvis, please try to be conscious of tightening your buttocks (as if tightening your anus) at all times.

Especially when standing, be conscious of tightening your buttocks inward!

3. Do stretches

It is said that giving birth is like having surgery, and I truly found that after childbirth, I couldn't use my muscles, and even when I tried to use them, I couldn't.

When you don't use them, your muscles are in a contracted state.
Therefore, it is important to extend (stretch) your muscles and make them flexible.

I recommend
lying on a stretch pole and rolling around.

Stretch pole ⇒ here
The image below was borrowed from the link!

In the image above, the person is lying vertically, but I lie horizontally and put it under my back, stomach, or legs and roll around on it (^^♪

After childbirth, there is childcare to take care of, and mothers cannot afford to break their bodies!
I hope that you who read this will build muscle without breaking your body and enjoy exercising (^^♪

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Thank you for reading until the end!

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I hope you have a wonderful day today too!

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