Before returning to exercise, make sure you get a doctor's clearance. It usually takes five to six weeks to be cleared to exercise after a vaginal birth, six to eight weeks after a C-section. This is to enable the pelvic floor to regain some of its strength and for the internal bleeding to decrease. Don't start out too hard your first time back - maintaining a moderate intensity level is important because you still need ample blood flow going to your core to help the uterus shrink back to pre-pregnancy size. Plus, your hormones are still causing a good amount of joint looseness, putting you at greater risk for injury.

Aerobic Exercise
Even those who exercised throughout their pregnancy are going to find aerobic recovery slowgoing. Your body is tired from childbirth and possibly breastfeeding, and you've lost quite a bit of your cardiovascular capacity. Don't crank up the treadmill to 10 when starting out; work your way up in increments, adding short, high-intensity intervals to boost your threshold. Breastfeeding mothers should note that babies sometimes reject post-exercise milk because your body's lactic acid can alter its taste.

Strength Training
If you did some strength training during pregnancy, you can start pretty much where you left off (strength gains are lost more gradually than aerobic ones). Put special emphasis on the muscles in the lower back (bent-over dumbbell rows will help) and shoulders (pulldowns) to help you lift and carry your baby.

Abdominals
Rather than return to full crunches right away, start with mini-crunches, taking care to tighten the transverse abdominals, the deepest layer of ab muscles (you can feel them tighten just below your ribs when you exhale). Small pulses, rather than big movements, are key. For those who had a C-section, take it even slower - you need to reestablish the nerve connection between your brain and severed muscle fibers. Simply lying on your back and doing isometric contractions of the transverse abdominals may be enough.

These exercise are a great start to getting back into your pre-baby shape - just remember to take it easy and be patient!

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