Kate Middleton’s baby boy has arrived and after the first few weeks of excitement and getting used to a new baby, sleepless nights, breast feeding I’m sure she will start to think about how she is going to get her body back.
Kate did exactly the right thing during her pregnancy, it was well publicised that she was doing Pilates up to three times per week to strengthen her core, tone up and increase her flexibility for the birth. She combined this with walking her much love dog Lupo, a black cocker spaniel given to her by William for her 30th birthday. She will now be in a fantastic position to regain her pre -pregnancy body quickly, all the work she did before-hand will pay off and help her body to spring back into shape.
Here are my top 5 reasons why doing Pilates after pregnancy will make you feel great and look great!
1.Pilates is a mind/body exercise regime, what could be better than finding an hour just for yourself, to focus on your body, how you are feeling, rather than thinking about baby. One of the reasons my clients find Pilates so relaxing is that they have to focus on the exercise, the movement. the breathing, the control – there is no time for your mind to wander onto your worries.
2. Breathing is the key to not only relaxing and de-stressing, but if you’re not breathing correctly then your pain level is higher, your muscles will be weaker. So, many of us breathe too shallowly, in Pilates we focus on the breath, teaching you how to breathe correctly – its one of the most important things to learn.
3. We teach you how to engage your ‘core’ muscles, to use them correctly to help support your spine, improve your posture and strengthen those very important muscles. Posture is so important in the first few months, its very easy to get into bad habits such as carrying baby on one hip all the time – this can lead to postural scoliosis. A lot of time will be spent forward flexing, when breast feeding, nappy changing, if you’re not careful you could end up with back ache. Pilates will help you to maintain a great posture and lots of the moves we do include back extension (bending backwards), this really helps to counteract all that forward flexion.
4. In my Pilates classes we do many squats and lunges, perfect for a great bottom and legs. Glutes (Bottom muscles) are very large muscles that basically help you stand upright. People that stand and walk on their Glutes, look taller, look far more elegant and have less backache! Working the Glutes is a must after pregnancy.
5. Finally, joining a class commits you to attending once a week. You’ve made a commitment to yourself and that is critical as most of time will now be taken up with thinking about baby. Taking just one hour per week will not only make you feel that you’re still the same person, but its also really sociable, you will get to meet other like minded people. Remember just because you’re a new mum doesn’t mean that you can’t take a little bit of time out for yourself.
So, follow Kate’s example and join your local Pilates class.