From people.com
 Courtesy Jennifer Cohen |
With so many celeb moms bouncing back so quickly after having a baby, it’s hard not to feel a little envious.
But after bringing a new life into the world, the last thing you need to stress about is trying to get your old body back right away.
According to celebrity trainer and body image expert Jennifer Cohen (left), it can take at least 6 weeks to get back to your pre-baby workout levels and 3 to 9 months to lose the baby weight.
“The key to post-natal workouts is to start slow and listen to your doctor and your body so that you can become a healthy, fit mom,” she says.
To help you kick off your post-baby workouts, Cohen also shares a few simple exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime. Check them out below:
Walk! Not only is it cardio you can easily fit into your daily schedule, but you can turn it into a social time for you and other new moms in your neighborhood. Get more out of your walks by counting steps taken, calories burned and your heart rate with a heart rate monitor.
Baby Supermans. This is great way to target your arms and back. Hold your baby so you face each other, and lift your baby into the air, extending your arms. You’ll work on your tank-top arms, and your baby will love it.
Isometrics. Sit up straight, breath in and contract your abs to help ease your body back into ab work. Breath out, wait 7 seconds while keeping your abs tight. Repeat 10 times before you relax. Note: If you’ve had separation in the abs, talk to your doctor before doing ANY ab work.
Circuit Training. Set the clock for 10 minutes and do 10 push-ups, 10 squats, 10 jumping jacks and 10 crunches in that sequence. Repeating that sequence at your own pace for 10 minutes will give you a full-body workout.
Keep it short. For new moms, a shorter exercise routine can have even better results then the typical 45 minute workout. Just remember to maintain about 70-80% of your target heart rate to get the best results. Wearing a heart rate monitor will help you be more efficient because it eliminates the guess work and gives you an accurate read of your results.
Sleep. This is something that is very important and usually overlooked by new moms. Sleeping when the baby sleeps instead of catching up on work or housework or even a workout can be the missing key in weight loss. Hormones that control appetite and help the body reduce stress (thus reducing cortisol, which is a weight gaining hormone) are only activated when we sleep.
