Recommended Exercise:

Below are recommended exercises and timelines for when to progress. The most important exercise you can do is to stay consistent! I often tell my patients to pick 2–4 exercises and focus on them 3–5 days a week. In the early postpartum period, exercise may look different as we focus on activating the trunk and pelvic muscles, improving flexibility, and enhancing motor control.

Many women tell me that exercise helps with their mental health—great! Let’s find something that doesn’t cause pain or discomfort. I recommend walking as a great starting point, especially if you can get outside.

My recommended guidelines for knowing if you’re ready to progress with exercise are based on the '3 P’s':

  1. No Peeing: This means no leakage when standing, lifting your baby, transitioning between positions, or during exercise.

  2. No Pain: If you experience back pain, pelvic pain, or any sharp, achy, or dull pains, the exercise may not be right for you, or your body may be signaling that something is off.

  3. No Pressure: This refers to no pressure at the vaginal opening or in the abdominal wall.

Recommended Exercises: 2-6 weeks

  • Sequence of three images showing a woman lying on her back on a surface, performing a shoulder mobility exercise by slowly raising her arm and sweeping it across her chest, then lowering it back down.

    Piston Breathing

    Set up: Begin lying on your back with your hands resting your belly, knees can be bent

    Movement: Inhale gentle through your nose expanding your belly; Exhale like you are blowing through a skinny straw

    Tip: Use this technique each time you get out of bed, picking up or putting your baby down or picking up a car seat.

  • A woman performing a glute bridge exercise on a gray workout mat, lying on her back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

    Bridge with Kegel

    Set up: Begin lying on your back with your knees bent and feet hip width apart.

    Movement: Slightly tuck your tailbone (like a dog in trouble) and lift your butt muscle to up towards the ceiling. Exhale out, blowing through a skinny straw and contract your kegel muscle. Return to the starting position and repeat.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your feet (toes and heels) planted into the ground when you lift.

  • A woman performing a leg lift exercise on a gray yoga mat, shown from side angles in two different positions.

    Modified Bird Dog

    Setup: Begin on all fours with your arms under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

    Movement: Extend your leg straight back so that it is parallel with the ground and your toes are pointing toward the floor. Exhale out while moving your leg and pull your stomach away from the ground. Hold briefly, then return to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg.

    Tip: Avoid rotating your trunk (abdominal wall) while moving your leg

  • A woman demonstrating proper squat form with dumbbells, standing upright in the first pose and squatting in the second pose.

    Squat

    Setup: Begin standing upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

    Movement: Bending at your knees and hips, squat down; exhale with pushing feet into the ground while straighten your legs and repeat.

    Tip: You can hold your baby in a front carrier or in your arms when performing. You can also add weight that equates to the weight of your baby.

  • Woman demonstrating yoga poses on a gray mat, seen from different angles, on a white background.

    Child's Pose with Side-bending

    Setup: Begin on all hands and knees.

    Movement: Sit your hips back as you reach your hands forward and to the side, then continue to sink further into the stretch. Hold, then repeat to the other side.

    Tip: Relax tailbone as your sit back into the pose to help open up pelvic floor

  • A man in a yellow shirt and gray pants lying on his side on a bed with a white pillow and gray bedsheet, stretching his arms out wide both upward and downward in two different positions.

    Open Book

    Setup: Begin lying on your side with your legs bent and your arms together straight in front of you, palms facing each other.

    Movement: Slide your top hand over your bottom rotating your shoulders. Then, lift your top arm straight up and over to the floor on your other side.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your knees together and only rotate your back and upper arm. Your hips should stay facing forward.

  • A man lying on his back on a yoga mat, holding one knee to his chest with both hands, performing a stretching exercise.

    Figure Four Stretch

    Setup: Begin lying on your back with one leg bent and your other ankle resting on your knee.

    Movement: Grab underneath one leg, pushing your elbow into the lower thigh of the opposite leg. Gently pull your leg toward your body until you feel a stretch in your buttock and hold.

    Tip: Try to keep low back on the ground and make sure this doesn’t pinch on the front of the hip.

  • Back view of a shirtless man with black arrows pointing to his shoulder blades.

    Shoulder Blade Squeeze

    Setup: Begin in an upright position.

    Movement: Gently squeeze your shoulder blades together, relax, and then repeat.

    Tip: Perform this each time you place your baby down or change your baby.

Recommended Exercises: 6 -12 weeks

  • A woman is lying on her back on a padded surface, performing a leg raise exercise. She is wearing a green T-shirt, gray pants, and gray athletic shoes. The image illustrates a modification of the exercise, with her legs bent at the knees in the lower position and extended straight in the upper position, indicated by an arrow.

    Core Marching

    Setup: Begin lying on your back with your arms resting at your sides, or on your lower abdominal wall; Keep your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground.

    Movement: Exhale out through a skinny straw to engage abdominal wall and slowly raise one of your legs off the floor, keeping your knee bent. Then return to the starting position and repeat with your other leg.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your trunk steady during the exercise and do not let your low back arch.

  • A man performs glute bridges on a gray exercise mat, lying on his back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, using a resistance band around his thighs for added resistance.

    Bridge with Resistance Band

    Set up: Begin lying on your back with your knees bent and feet hip width apart with a resistance band secured around your legs.

    Movement: Maintaining tension in the resistance band, slightly tuck your tailbone (like a dog in trouble) and lift your butt muscle to up towards the ceiling. Exhale out, blowing through a skinny straw and contract your kegel muscle. Return to the starting position and repeat.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your feet (toes and heels) planted into the ground when you lift.

  • A woman demonstrates a yoga exercise on a yoga mat, with one photo showing her in a modified pose with her body straight and her hands and knees on the mat, and the other with her arm extended forward and her leg lifted backward.

    Bird Dog

    Setup: Begin on all fours with your arms under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

    Movement: Exhale out and contract your pelvic floor muscles, lift one arm and your opposite leg, keeping both parallel with the ground. Bring them ack to the ground and repeat with opposite arm and leg.

    Tip: Avoid rotating your trunk (abdominal wall) while moving your arm and leg

  • Two men lying on blue exercise mats, using resistance bands for stretching or strength training.

    Core with Shoulder Pull with Band

    Setup: Begin lying on your back; you can placed a ball or yoga block in between your knees; Hold the ends of a resistance band that is anchored overhead.

    Movement: Exhale out to engage your abdominal wall as you pull down your arms toward your hips, pulling against the resistance band.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your back flat from your mid back to low back when pulling on the band.

  • A woman demonstrating a squat exercise with dumbbells, starting in an upright standing position and then squatting down.

    Squat

    Setup: Begin standing upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

    Movement: Bending at your knees and hips, squat down; exhale with pushing feet into the ground while straighten your legs and repeat.

    Tip: You can hold your baby in a front carrier or in your arms when performing. You can also add weight that equates to the weight of your baby.

  • A man performing a kettlebell exercise in two different positions, lifting the kettlebell while standing and bending down.

    Deadlift

    Setup: Begin standing upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and a kettlebell or weight in front of you.

    Movement: Bend at your hips to reach down and grasp the kettlebell or weight. Lift it off the floor, with pushing your heels into the ground to engage the back side of your legs. Exhale out when lifting.

    Tip: Make sure to breathe throughout the exercise and keep your pelvic floor muscles engaged. Do not let your knees bend forward as you lower the kettlebell.

  • Woman performing a shoulder workout with a blue dumbbell, standing on one leg with the other knee bent.

    Half Kneeling Shoulder Press

    Setup: Begin in a half kneeling position holding a Kettlebell.

    Movement: With your elbow bent, hold the Kettlebell so the bottom is up close to your shoulder, then press your arm straight up overhead.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your trunk upright. Do not side bend or shrug your shoulder as you lift the Kettlebell overhead. Avoid pushing your hip out to one side when lifting.

  • A woman is performing lunges in a home gym, kneeling on one knee on the left and standing on one leg on the right, using a 5-pound weight and a treadmill in the background.

    Half Kneel to March

    Setup: Begin in a half kneeling position holding a Kettlebell in front of your chest.

    Movement: Exhale out and press your front heel into the ground as you lift up. Bring your back leg up to a 90 deg and pause before repeating.

    Tip: You can tap your toe of your back foot down as your stand for balance before lifting to 90 degrees.

Recommended Exercises: 12 weeks and beyond

  • A person demonstrates two different lying exercises on a black mat, with arms raised and extended in one, and arms out to the sides in the other.

    Dead Bug

    Setup: Begin lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

    Movement: Exhale out lifting one leg at a time to a 90 deg angle and your arms up toward the ceiling. Slowly lower one arm overhead and you straighten your opposite leg at the same time. Return to the starting position and repeat with your other arm and leg.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your mid and low back flat to the floor and exhale out to help engage your abdominal wall.

  • Woman demonstrating a two-step exercise on a gray yoga mat, lying on her back, lifting one leg straight up while keeping the other flat, in a minimalist indoor setting.

    Bridge with Alt Leg Extension

    Setup: Begin lying on your back with your knees bent, feet on the floor, and your elbows resting on the ground with your hands in fists on your hips

    Movement: Tighten your abdominals and slowly lift your hips off the floor into a bridge position. Hold this position and straighten one leg, then bring it back down and repeat with your other leg.

    Tip: Make sure to maintain your balance during the exercise and do not let your hips rotate to either side as you lift your legs. Use your thumbs to monitor the movement of your hips.

  • Woman doing a plank exercise on a yoga mat with a white background.

    Plank

    Setup: Begin lying on your front, propped up on your elbows.

    Movement: Exhale out and move into a plank position with keeping your elbow under your shoulder.

    Tip: Breath through this exercise, look about 6” in front of you with keeping a gentle chin tuck; You can start on your knees and build up to a full plank.

  • A woman lying on her back on an exercise mat while performing a resistance band exercise with her arms extended upward and a resistance band held in her hands.

    Core with Shoulder Pull with Band

    Setup: Begin lying on your back and bring your knees up to 90 degrees. Hold the ends of a resistance band that is anchored overhead.

    Movement: Exhale out to engage your abdominal wall as you extend one leg out, return and repeat on opposite side.

    Tip: Make sure to keep your back flat from your mid back to low back when kicking your leg out. You can pull the band or weights towards your hips as you kick a leg out to make the exercise more challenging.

  • A man demonstrates a shoulder exercise with dumbbells, showing different positions of lifting, lowering, and overhead pressing.

    Squat with Overhead Press

    Setup: Begin standing with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart; Hold weights just above your shoulders.

    Movement: Squat down with weights in the starting position; As you stand up, press the weights above your head. Repeat.

    Tip: Exhale out as you press the weight above your head; Make sure you do not arch your upper back as you lift above your head.

  • Woman in gray shirt and black shorts holding a red kettlebell with her right hand while balancing on her left leg, performing a strength exercise.

    Single Leg Deadlift

    Setup: Start in a standing upright position with holding a weight in one hand.

    Movement: Lift one leg off the ground and bend forward at your hips, lowering the kettlebell toward the ground. Then return to an upright position and repeat.

    Tip: If unsteady, you can keep the back leg down with a toe touch until you improve on your balance.

  • Two women exercising with medicine balls, one lifting a ball overhead, the other holding a ball near her legs.

    Diagonal Chops with Weight

    Setup: Begin in a standing upright position, holding a weight in both hands up to one side of your body.

    Movement: Slowly pull the weight down and across your body in a diagonal movement, rotating your trunk, then return to starting position and repeat.

    Tip: At the top of the movement, make sure to have your arms straight, and activate your trunk muscles as you rotate.

  • Two men exercising with medicine balls in a studio with a white background. One man stands holding a medicine ball, while the other kneels on one knee, throwing a medicine ball.

    Lunge with Rotation

    Setup: Begin in a standing upright position holding a weight in front of your chest.

    Movement: Take a long step forward into a lunge position with your knees bent at 90 degree angles, then rotate your trunk toward your forward leg. Rotate back to forward position and move back into the starting position.

    Tip: Avoid moving your knee over your front toes and do not let the knee fall inward. You can perform this as a reverse lunge vs. forward if this feels easier on your knees.

Things that are “not normal”

…but can happen – if you experience any of these, please consider seeing a pelvic physical therapist sooner rather than later.  It is easier to fix these problems now!

Pain

Pain with intercourse, bowel movements, urination, sitting, walking, moving in bed, picking up your baby, etc.

Abdominal pain, hip pain, low back pain, pubic pain, pelvic pain, tailbone pain, thoracic pain, shoulder pain, neck pain.

Anything falling out of your vagina or a feeling of heaviness in your vagina.

Burning or itching around your vaginal opening or in your pelvis.

Sensitive scars.

Urine leakage – even a little bit! – Should return to normal within 6 weeks.

Fecal leaking/Constipation.

A split in your rectus muscles, or a pooch when you move.

Something just doesn’t “feel right”.

Schedule your 20 -min Free Compatibility Check here
Vaginal Recovery Guidelines
Cesarean Recovery Guidelines
Changes that Occur During Postpartum