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Mothers of New Babies and Toddlers
Physical Activity
Find Your Physical Activity Level
Are you a Healthy inactive woman?
If physical activity is a NEW thing for you, or you haven't been successful sticking to a physical activity program or maintaining an active lifestyle in the past, meet with a fitness professional to get the incentive and motivation to stick with a FUN and safe physical activity program.
Are you a Healthy active woman?
If you are a healthy active woman whose physical activities have been well established as part of your lifestyle you can continue to progress back up to your pre-pregnancy active lifestyle using the common sense guidelines provided here. Good examples are women that walk, jog, swim, in-line skate, cycle, or cross country ski regularly (a few times a week).
Are you a Recreational athlete?
If you are active every day of the week and maintained some of your individual/team sports during pregnancy you can also continue to progress up to your pre-pregnancy physically active lifestyle using the common sense guidelines provided here. You may benefit from meeting with a fitness professional to help guide you through your first 6 months of training - the cardinal rule here is to avoid overtraining - careful monitoring and a progressive increase in training volume and intensities are essential!
Are you a Competitive athlete?
If you are a competitive athlete trying to get back to your pre-pregnancy training schedule you should have a maximal aerobic capacity (oxygen consumption) test as soon as you feel ready to begin more intensive training. The reasons for this are two fold: to establish the heart rate zones for your different types of aerobic and anaerobic training, and to be sure that your aerobic capacity, anaerobic threshold as well as your performance are improving. This should probably be repeated at three-month intervals throughout your first year post partum.
Finding a qualified fitness professional
If you decide to seek advice about starting a personalized physical activity program, look for fitness professionals who have a degree in one of the health sciences such as exercise science or human kinetics. Many hospitals, fitness clubs, community health centers, colleges and universities hold special exercise classes for people with risk factors for heart disease. The fitness professionals hired by these organizations are probably well screened and suitably qualified to teach you. Try calling these types of organizations to find fitness professionals in your area.