The dream of almost every new mom: lose weight and get back in dream shape after birth in a snap. But is it realistic or is it just a dream? And how can you burn off the extra baby pounds in a short time? Most people believe that you should focus on pure cardio training to burn fat faster – but that’s only half the truth. Today we explain what’s behind it…
What is important to keep in mind about postnatal cardio training?
During cardio training you burn a lot of calories, not for nothing is this training called “calorie killer”. In addition, you train the performance of the cardiovascular system. Important for new moms: After giving birth, increase the intensity of your workout step by step so as not to overload your body immediately.
This is how muscle training helps to get rid of the postnatal mommy pounds:
Muscle cells burn more calories than other cells. In addition, strength training stimulates your metabolism, which leads to more fat loss at rest. Even though you don’t burn as many calories during training as you do during endurance training, the “afterburner effect” is significantly higher with strength training.
As a new mom, what's the best way to combine strength and cardio training?
We’ll take care of that for you! As a new mom, you have to be especially careful when getting back into sports. To alleviate your worries and doubts, we at MOVE IT MAMA have developed a customized mommy workout plan for you that includes strength and cardio workouts. The workout is precisely tailored to your postnatal phases and offers you the perfect combination of the most important mommy workouts. In addition, there are different modifications within the phases that cover every mommy training level.
The ultimate mom calorie killer
Endurance training is especially good if you want to burn a lot of calories in a short time. Jogging, hiit workouts, swimming, power walking, etc. are all part of this workout. It is a workout that trains your endurance and cardiovascular system.
How many calories you burn depends on your weight and the intensity of the workout. Attention moms! You must not directly overload your body during the postnatal phase. The rule here is to increase the intensity of the workout step by step. Even if you feel really fit again, experts recommend choosing a load level that allows you to still talk without getting out of breath.
Our MAMA’S CARDIO BURN series is exactly tailored to your postnatal phases. The intensity of the workout increases starting at phase 1. to phase 3. postnatal. This way you can slowly but specifically lead your body back to its highest effectiveness without overloading it. In addition, we offer you different modifications of the exercises within the phase workouts, so that every training level is covered.
What are the benefits of cardio training for moms?
Cardio training not only helps you burn fat, but it also helps you counteract postnatal depression (because your body releases so-called “happy hormones” during the workout) and really let off steam! In one of our blog articles on the subject, we’ll show you more benefits of cardio workouts for moms. Important to know: if you focus only on cardio, it will also lead to muscle loss. You may look lean, but your body is not strengthened or defined. What helps? A good balance between cardio and strength training, the benefits of which I’ll show you below.
A cardio workout is great to do outdoors, like I do in the MOVE IT MAMA workouts, or just from the comfort of your home! Time saving and effective. In addition, you can also walk with your baby in the stroller or go jogging again from the 7th month. It is best to choose a jogging stroller with thicker tires and better suspension.
What you should keep in mind…
Make sure that you don’t start gentle cardio training until about 6 weeks after the birth. Here, LOW-IMPACT exercises are on the program, while hopping, jumping and similar exercises are added later, when your pelvic floor is already strengthened again.
My tip: Listen to your body and as soon as you have the official “go” from your doctor, start slowly with the easier modifications and increase week by week. So low impact cardio is the magic word here! DO NOT try to go back to jogging or workouts as soon as possible after giving birth, they are so strenuous that you are completely wiped out and demotivated to boot. #stepbystep
How muscle training helps to get rid of extra mom pounds
Muscles burn calories
Strength training promotes muscle growth and muscle cells in turn burn more calories. It also boosts your metabolism, so your body burns more calories even when you’re at rest. This means that without you even thinking about it, you’ll burn more extra pounds in your typical everyday mommy life, whether it’s carrying your baby around, cleaning up or just doing “nothing” .
The calorie burn during the workout session may not be as high as a cardio workout but by building muscle mass you increase your “basal metabolic rate”. Muscle not only helps you burn fat, but it also gives your mommy bod a nicer shape and makes it look firmer. Research has also shown that the “afterburner effect” after strength training is higher than after endurance training.
Want to learn more benefits of muscle training for pregnant women and new moms? Then click here.
Fat becomes muscle
Strength training in general helps you convert your body fat into muscle mass. That’s why the term “Shape Up” is used in our full body workout series MAMA’S WHOLE BODY SHAPE UP. Even if your scale doesn’t read much less right away, your body will be more defined. Women with little butt (like me, for example) can shape the buttocks more and look sexier. Women with angled arms can make their arms look tighter with a good triceps workout!
My tip: Set realistic goals for postnatal weight loss. If you enjoy it and feel fit, you will be more motivated. 🙂
Support muscle growth with the right diet
What must not be missing in the targeted muscle growth? Correct, sufficient protein supply! On the one hand, proteins protect the muscles from degradation, on the other hand, they support healing and regeneration of your body after birth! The basic building blocks of collagen and elastin fibers are, in addition to water, amino acids (obtained from protein sources) These are essential for cell renewal!
At best, you should be eating protein with every meal. The great thing about muscle training is that it allows you to eat well without having to count calories! For all food lovers (like me) an absolute plus point. More about the right nutrition after birth you can find here.
Mama’s cardio and strength training: It’s all about the mix!
Try not to schedule your workouts one right after the other. Our MOVE IT MAMA app provides you with a coordinated weekly schedule, which you can of course modify according to your preferences. In general, I would recommend doing a full body strengthening workout and a cardio workout at least 1x per week. Additionally, feel free to tone specific areas of your body on 1-2 additional days, such as your butt (with our MAMA’S BOOTY BOOSTER – series) and abdomen (MAMA’S LITTLE MIDDLE – series). Basically, they say that you should train a body region at least once a week to really get effects. On the other hand, be sure to give your body enough time to recover between workouts, i.e. at least 24 hours rest.
My experience: I have achieved the fastest results postnatally by combining cardio training and muscle training. It’s the perfect calorie burner combo and will help you lose weight after birth and get back to being a #superfitmom in no time! During the postpartum period, you can already start with daily walks after a normal birth. At MOVE IT MAMA we also give you a weekly Workout-Of-The-Week, which helps you to get in shape gently and so you are ready for cardio and toning after the official okay from your doctor.
When can I start actively losing weight?
Please do not try to lose the extra pounds in the first few months. Especially when you are breastfeeding you need a lot of energy. The lack of sleep does the rest. But with a normal diet and our training program, the pounds will fall off. And when you are ready after a few months, it will be even easier for you to lose those last stubborn pounds.
A package of cardio and strength training is therefore not only useful and effective, but also varied. If you want to get back to your dream body in no time at all, you should definitely follow this killer workout combo. Go for the flab mama! Get more tips on how to get rid of baby fat here.
Keep it Moving,
Your Birte
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