This article shares some information about postnatal exercises that will help you reduce gained weight, once you deliver the baby.
One experience that changes most women both mentally and physically is pregnancy. After the dramatic experience of pregnancy for nine months, many women find it difficult to come back to their original shape. A woman's body is subject to biological changes that also causes many physical changes in her body. Knowing very little about postnatal exercises, many women start exercising and call for more trouble which can lead to further damage to their health. This article tells you some things that you must know about postnatal workouts, to reduce post pregnancy weight in a healthy manner.

Postnatal Exercise Plan

Before you go in for any type of exercise it is important that you consult your doctor or midwife about when can you start exercising. Generally, women who have normal delivery and are healthy during delivery and pregnancy can start with mild exercises soon, say a second week after the childbirth. But, it is important that you listen to your body and do not over stress it. If you do not find comfortable to exercise so soon, then you can start the next week. You need to slow down the postnatal exercise if you observe the following signs:

• Feeling of exertion
• Feeling tired immediately
• Constant or severe back pain
• Pelvic pain and leakage
• Muscle pains or discomfort
• Darker and heavy post natal vaginal flow

The above signs indicate that your body is still not healed and is not ready for postnatal exercise. To avoid the above problems it is better to start with simple exercises, such as, walking exercises, yoga, mild stretching, aqua aerobics, swimming, and light weight training. You can do it for ten minutes and can gradually increase the duration to half an hour over few weeks at your own pace. Keep your postnatal program simple and perform only light exercises.

Effective and Safe Postnatal Exercises

Given below are some of the simple and safe postnatal exercises that a woman can perform post delivery after consulting the doctor and under the guidance of an expert.

Pelvic Floor Exercise
It is important for you to first strengthen your pelvic floor muscles (the ones that you contract to hold urination), which are generally are tightly placed between the pubic and tail bone. These muscles support the uterus, bowel, bladder, and vagina. During pregnancy they can become weak resulting in incontinence. Follow the simple steps given below to strengthen pelvic floor muscles:

• Relax your abdominal muscles.
• Squeeze pelvic floor muscles for five to ten seconds.
• Concentrate on the muscles and then release slowly.
• Repeat it for 10 times.
• Gradually increase the set of 10 repetitions at your own pace.
• You can do this exercise in sitting, standing, or sleeping position.

Lower Abdomen Exercise
Before you perform lower abdomen exercise, make sure that your abdomen is healed completely if you had a C-section. Given below is one of the best abdominal exercises after delivery.

Lie on your back.
Bent your knees and place the feet flat on the floor.
Place the hands on your stomach.
Now tighten the stomach muscles by squeezing the stomach inside.
Now push the arch of the back against the floor.
Squeeze the lower stomach tight and hold the position for the count of 10.
Now release the muscles slowly.
Repeat for 10 times and gradually increase the repetitions.

Stomach Tightener Exercise
After pregnancy the overall stomach muscles become loose, which needs to be tightened to bring back the original shape. Given below is one of the best stomach exercises after pregnancy.

• Lie on the floor.
• Bent your knees and rest arms on your thighs.
• Now try to lift up slowly by sliding your hands on thighs towards the knees.
• Breath out as you lift up and the hold position for five seconds.
• Now, slowly go down while breathing in.
• Repeat this for 10 times and gradually increase the repetitions.

Whatever exercise you perform, it is important that you do not push yourself too hard. Always perform warm up exercises before you start an actual postnatal exercise program. Drink plenty of water before and during a postnatal workout. Also make sure you follow a nutritious diet that is required to heal the damage caused to the body muscles. Before you perform postnatal exercise with the baby, it is important to ensure the safety of the baby. Remember that losing post pregnancy fat and coming back to normal shape will take some time. So go slow and enjoy this phase of life.
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Everyone advises you to exercise, but very few can tell you how to exercise. Is exercising on an empty stomach good? Does it help in burning the fat? Or is it bad? I'll try to answer your questions.
There are many books out there which tell you that working out on an empty stomach will help you lose weight, and then there are books which disagree with them. Some say that it is a never ending debate. There are also people who believe that it is a matter of personal choice. Few say that, it depends on your body type. I say, working out on an empty stomach is bad.

What Happens During Exercise?

Does exercising on an empty stomach burn more fat? Before I answer this, I would tell you what happens in your body during exercise. When you exercise, you make your muscles active. These muscles need constant supply of energy. This energy is provided by adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The main source of ATP is glucose, which is generally obtained from carbohydrates. In the absence of the primary source, ATP is generated from protein and fat. If you do not have enough energy, you will be exhausted in no time.

Does Exercising on an Empty Stomach Maximize Fat Burning?

Now, that you know what happens internally during exercise, you might be able to guess the answer to the above question. Yes, exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat. This is due to the fact that, during exercise, your muscles search a source of ATP. When it does not find enough sources of ATP, it starts utilizing the protein and fat from your body as a source of ATP, thereby burning them.

Is Exercising on an Empty Stomach Good or is it Bad?

The problem in exercising on an empty stomach is that, the protein which is utilized to generate ATP is taken from the muscles, which leads to the loss of muscle mass. You cannot restrict protein from your muscles from getting utilized, in the absence of carbohydrates. Thus, you cannot subject your body to just burning your fat. People who exercise generally focus on preservation and growth of muscles but working out on an empty stomach will lead to the loss of muscle mass. Those who exercise in the morning on an empty stomach are most prone to the loss of muscle mass. This is due to the fact that during the morning hours, the catabolic conditions are higher. Catabolic activity leads to the breakdown of complex molecules like proteins into simpler ones. This leads to muscle wasting, which is bad for the overall health.

So Finally What Should I Do?

Exercising on an empty stomach is not bad, if your prime focus is to lose weight, regardless of the muscle loss. If you want to lose weight by preserving your muscles, I suggest you to eat something before you exercise. Be careful that you do not eat so much that it makes you feel lethargic. If you are planning to foray into body building, then you should never think about exercising on an empty stomach.

So, the books that say that you will lose weight if you workout on an empty stomach are right, but these books often do not tell you that you will also end up losing your muscle mass. Getting instant and sufficient energy during your workout is essential. You do not want to drop down on the floor while working out, right? Carbohydrates can provide ATP at a relatively faster rate when compared to proteins or fats, since carbohydrates are simpler molecules. Some of the people who had started working out on an empty stomach to lose weight faster, despite having a habit of not exercising on an empty stomach, have complained that they are facing the problem of acidity. So, be aware of the after effects of working out on an empty stomach.

On a personal note, I would like to say that, do not follow any weight loss or body building tips blindly, you should research on the side effects that these tips might have. It is your body, do the best for it.
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Do you know there are both physical and mental benefits of exercises? Read on to know how exercising every day positively impacts our mind and body...
If you look at the kind of lives most of us lead today, with long office hours, trying to find a balance between our personal and professional life, it is no wonder that incidences of lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, depression, etc. are widespread. In order to keep these diseases at bay and to beat the stresses off life, most health experts recommend making a regular workout routine and eating a well-balanced diet. Exercising is a must these days, as it not only improves one's physical health, but has many psychological benefits as well.

Exercising burns the unwanted fat accumulated in the body. It strengthens the important organs of the body such as heart and lungs. It improves the supply of oxygen to the various organs of the body and also aids in building the muscles. It boosts one's immunity and improves endurance. By exercising every day, a person lowers his chances of injuries, diseases and infections. Now let's look at the mental health benefits of exercise.

Feel-good Factor: One of the important psychological benefits is that it releases a number of feel good hormones such as endorphines in the body which elevate the mood of a person. Thus, a person who exercises everyday feels happy and remains in a positive mood. People suffering from stress, anxiety and depression are especially known to benefit a lot from exercising.

Alertness: Making a regular routine increases the alertness of a person. This means that he is able to be more productive than people who do not exercise. This alertness of mind can be achieved with a routine of thirty minutes of cardiovascular exercises such as running, aerobics, walking or swimming every day. So you can choose from any activity of your choice, or better, alternate between these, and make your own workout routine.

High Energy Levels: Due to the release of hormones, which are natural painkillers, by the body during exercising, a person feels very high and full of energy, post performing them. High energy again translates into high productivity, which is very advantageous for a person's sense of overall well-being.

Confidence-booster: When a person exercises every day, his body gets into the best of shape. A fit body and good looks boosts the confidence of a person and hence he is able to achieve a lot more, both in his personal and professional life. Researches have shown that people with fit bodies tend to make a much better first impression on the interviewers compared to the ordinary looking ones.

Sleep Inducer: People who suffer from sleep problems such as insomnia can benefit a lot if they exercise every day. It is known to improve the quality of sleep in a person. Researches show that it is during one's sleep that many repairing functions of the body are carried out, which help it to work properly. So exercising in a way is beneficial for restoring and repairing the body.

Relaxation: Certain exercises are known to have a calming and relaxing effect on the mind. Yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, focus on the mind and hence make a person feel very calm, even if undertaken for just ten minutes in a day. So make a habit of performing these first thing in the morning and you will soon see the difference they make to the way you handle things throughout the day!

Looking at these benefits, one can conclude that including some sort of physical activity in one's daily routine is very necessary for one's physical as well as mental well-being. So, instead of looking for excuses of having no time to exercise, make a routine right away. You can exercise any time of the day you can, be it morning, afternoons during your office lunch break or even in the evening after coming back from work. Researches have shown that it has a positive effect on the mind and body, irrespective of the time they are carried out at. So, without delaying any further and to enjoy its benefits, start exercising today!
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