Returning to running postpartum checklist

You’ve been cleared by your doc to return to exercise at your 6 week check up and you ‘re ready to lace up your running shoes and hit the pavement.. Before you do that, read on!

Here at TLM we encourage our clients to wait at least 12 weeks, but ideally we’d love for you to wait to run until upwards of 6 months postpartum. Running adds a lot of excess pressure onto your pelvic floor muscles, so we really want to ensure that your pelvic floor is healed prior to beginning.

If this makes you want to pull your hair out, we get it! We know running can be such a mental escape for so many mamas. So today we’re talking about how & when to start running again. We’ve created a checklist to go through so you check in with your body to see if you are ready to run again.

Am I ready to run again? 

1. Can your pelvic floor withstand impact without pressure, heaviness or leakage? 

• Not sure? – start with pelvic floor and core activation exercises, then glute work, then single leg work, and finally try some light impact

2. Are you pain free?

• Pelvic pain, groin pain, hip pain, c-section scar pain – all are signs that you need to stop and listen

3. Have you worked back up to single leg work, stability, and impact without any of the above?

• You should be able to do single leg bridges, kickstand deadlifts, step ups symptom and pain free

4. Add in some impact movements before you hit the pavement. 

• Check out this reel made by our trainer Tenae. Try adding in 1 or 2 of these exercises and see how you feel. These are progressive, so don’t add them all at once, work your way up to it.

5. Have you worked up your endurance?

• Before busting out 5 miles – try 2 mins of jogging, then 1 min of walking for 10 mins and build up from there! You don’t want to be miles away from home before finding out you did too much.

6. Take your time

• We want you to run for the rest of your life if that is your thing! So take it slow, take the time to thoughtfully progress, listen to the warning signs. You have the rest of your life to run, take the time to heal!

If you’ve gone through this checklist and you’re ready to hit the pavement, try this warm up prior to beginning your run. And remember it’s okay to start slow and ease into it.

Running warm up:

Here’s a full 35 minute workout specifically to help you build running strength and endurance.

1. Reverse lunge rotation

2. Offset Squat + Single Leg balance

3. Single leg deadlift + back row

4. Side plank + clam