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4 fitness challenges for post-partum women – ideas to get moving after baby

By 
Corey Loehr
 / 
January 29, 2023
 / 
postpartum fitness challenges

Giving birth can be extremely taxing on a woman's body, especially after nine months of growing a human being and then giving birth. As a result, postpartum women often feel like their bodies went through a rollercoaster ride and crashed straight into a wall. To help with postpartum recovery, many women turn to postpartum fitness challenges to get moving and get back in shape.

Postpartum exercising can help them breathe energy into their body and bring them back to feeling healthy and active. That being said, everything has to be gradual. A good fitness challenge can help them get their strength back step by step.

As the owner of a fitness studio, here are a couple of ideas you may want to try offering for postpartum women.

1.    The walking challenge

After giving birth, there is not much that women can do. Their entire body is probably still hurting, they are recovering from the effects of their 9-month pregnancy, and they may not have time for exercising when the baby is crying and needs all of their attention.

With that in mind, why not make a 30-day walking challenge they can complete at home? They can choose how much they want to walk. For example, they aim to walk 850-900 minutes per month, gradually increasing daily. The first day of the challenge can start with a 30-minute walk; each day, they add 10-15 more minutes to it.

The great thing about this challenge is that they can incorporate this with their daily tasks and calculate their steps on a pedometer connected to a gym app. They might make it a routine to take their baby to the park as they walk. They also don't need to walk the standard 10,000 steps daily; they can start at 1,000-2,000 on the first day.

The goal should be for them to be able to walk a total of 10,000 steps daily.

2.   The strength challenge

Walking is good, but if women want to tone and strengthen their bodies postpartum, they must do low-intensity strength exercises. 

As part of a postpartum fitness challenge, consider focusing on bodyweight exercises, including lunges, squats, pushups, and many more. The challenge can start with a straightforward activity on the first day – for example, 15 squats. Then, as the days go by, you can incorporate other exercises. For example, the second day can have 30 squats, and the third might add five pushups to help postpartum women get back in shape.

Studios can set up a specialized class for the ladies that can take some time off from home (i.e., hire a nanny or leave the child with their spouse), and for ladies that cannot leave their homes, you could set up a calendar through your gym app that they can follow from home.

3.   The yoga challenge

Yoga is very often a pregnancy-safe exercise that doctors recommend during and after pregnancy. It's effective for flexibility yet less strenuous on the body than strength exercises. 

Many ladies feel more comfortable doing yoga after giving birth, so that a fitness studio may set this up. Bonus points, a yoga challenge can also help to balance their stress levels and overall well-being.

A yoga challenge can include a series of gentler and safe exercises such as the cat pose, cow pose, corpse pose, child's pose, downward facing dog pose, or cobra pose. Start with more straightforward moves and add more activities as the days pass. For example, the first day can feature two-three exercises, whereas the second can have four-five moves.

Like the strength challenge, ensure a calendar can be accessed even if the women can't attend the gym. This will increase their loyalty and lead them to return to the gym.

4.   The nutrition challenge

Moms need to take care of their bodies not only for themselves but also for their children. A nutrition challenge may help new moms breastfeed or give them the energy they need to care for the baby. 

This challenge includes meal preparation that focuses on healthy, filling, balanced foods while taking out unnecessary fillers. Consider including advice on eating consciously and listening to the body's hunger cues instead of restricting them.

A calendar with daily meals can be a good idea here – you can make it available through the gym app. You may also set up weekly workshops or webinars where they can learn more about healthy eating.

The goal of this challenge should be that, by the time 30 days come to pass, they should feel a  significant improvement in their well-being and quality of life.

The bottom line: postpartum fitness challenges

Getting back to an active lifestyle after giving birth is not easy, but it's something many women will want to do. You can help them with the challenges above and the associated resources. This can significantly improve loyalty and retention at your fitness studio.

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