The gymnastic wall bar is an element that many women associate, if not with the school gym, then certainly with the delivery room. It is one of the best tools for natural childbirth, as it significantly relieves pain and speeds up the entire labor process. However, more and more mothers are realizing that it is also worth having a gymnastic wall bar in your home. Thanks to it, a number of effective and safe exercises can be performed that will facilitate quick recovery after pregnancy and childbirth. Why is it so important and what exercises can be performed after childbirth on gymnastic wall bars? Learn more about it in this article.
Return to physical activity after pregnancy and childbirth – what is worth knowing?
There is a lot of talk about physical activity during pregnancy and it is of course right, because proper exercise brings many benefits, both influencing the well-being at this difficult time for a woman’s body, and facilitating the delivery itself. However, it is also important to be active when the child arrives in the world. And although it is natural to push everything aside to focus on satisfying the needs of this tiny creature that depends only on us, the sooner we realize that we have to take care of ourselves, the better. Because a healthy and happy mother is a happy child.
Regardless of whether you did some dedicated pre-natal exercises during pregnancy, or your only activity were household chores and possibly a short walk, it is certain that the body will not be the same after childbirth – we may have several or even several dozen unwanted kilograms left, sagging skin on the abdomen, stretch marks or cellulite on the thighs. It is mainly the fault of hormones, namely the decrease in estrogen levels. In addition, there is back pain, and pain in the spine and joints. The problem of urinary incontinence or excessive tension in the muscles of the perineum and pelvis, i.e. the Kegel muscles, also causes considerable discomfort. However, a quick return to physical activity can alleviate or completely eliminate ailments and also have a positive effect on our appearance.
Can you exercise during the puerperium?
The answer is yes. Exercise in the period after childbirth is even recommended for women, of course, if there are no medical contraindications, the puerperium is normal and the woman feels able to do the exercise. We are not talking about intense workouts, but about simple, dedicated exercises for body parts that have been overloaded and strained during pregnancy and childbirth, in particular the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. Thanks to exercise during the puerperium, we will accelerate the contraction of the uterus and restore muscle tone, reduce the risk of complications, get rid of back pain, improve our well-being and speed up the return to previous form. Importantly, while giving birth naturally and without any complications, exercise can be started as early as 6 hours after delivery, and in the case of caesarean section it is 12 hours. Of course, these should be mainly breathing, anticoagulant and slight stretching exercises.
Home exercise on gymnastic wall bars
At the very beginning, we mentioned the gymnastic wall bar as an excellent tool for exercising at home during the puerperium. The main advantage of such exercise is the ease and the ability to adjust the level of difficulty to the abilities and predispositions of each woman. In addition, the range of exercise on gymnastic wall bars is so wide that everyone will certainly choose something suitable for themselves at the very beginning of returning to physical activity after pregnancy and childbirth. When talking about gymnastic wall bars, it is worth adding that it is equipment that does not take up much space and the whole family can exercise on it. In addition, BenchK gymnastic wall bars are characterized by a designer look, thanks to which they will perfectly fit into the decor of any apartment. Nevertheless, they are so multifunctional that they will successfully replace not only the gym, but also thanks to additional equipment, they will easily and quickly become a corner for play or work. But let’s get back to the exercising – what to do to make it both effective and safe?
Kegel training after childbirth
These are the muscles of the pelvic floor that we need to take care of after giving birth – even after the first day. The best exercise will be to tighten your muscles. Initially, it is recommended to do them lying down, so lie on your back with your legs towards the ladder so that when your feet are hooked on the lowest rung of the ladder, your legs are slightly bent at the knee. Then you should gradually tighten the muscles, and it will be easier to gently raise the head towards the knees while relaxing, and return to the starting position when relaxing. Exercising the Kegel muscles to engage the pelvic muscles to work – while slightly stretching, we stand with our back to the ladder and with our hands grasp the rungs at the level of the head. Then, by tightening the Kegel muscles, do a squat until the arms are completely straightened at the elbows, stay in this position for a moment, then, by relaxing the muscles, return to the starting position. The most important thing here is the quality of performance, and less important the number of repetitions.
Exercise of the abdominal muscles in the puerperium
First of all, it is about activating the transverse muscle, thanks to which the correct tone of the abdominal muscles can be restored. In the initial phase, there is no question of crunches, but moderate stretching and strengthening exercises. One of them is free hanging on a gymnastic wall bar. Stand with your back to the ladder and grab the rung with both hands at such a height that your feet do not touch the ground while freely hanging. Stay in this position for some time, remembering to tighten the abdominal muscles and keep the spine straight. An extended version of this exercise will be the lifting of the legs in the air, the so-called sit in the air – while hanging freely, raise the straightened legs at the knees in such a way that they are parallel to the ground, and then stay in this position for a while – the abdominal muscles are then maximally tense. If we do not feel up to this, we can raise our legs slightly so that we only feel a slight tension in the abdomen.
Any, even the smallest, activity performed on a regular basis will quickly bring beneficial results. The most important thing is to start quickly and not to be discouraged by difficult beginnings, because puerperium is the time when the changes that occurred during pregnancy and childbirth regress the fastest. The gymnastic wall bar is certainly the best tool that will make it easier to return to your dream form.