Welcome to the Postpartum Rebuild Program! This program is designed to help bridge the gap between someone’s postpartum journey and their journey back into strength training. 

Our goal is to help you feel more connected to this new version of your body. This will allow you to ease & rebuild into your other activities, exercise routines, and adventures that you love in a safe & supported way.

This program is made up of 4 phases and will take you approximately 4-5 weeks to complete. The timeline is an approximation because it is based on the assumption that there are no complications that arise. These complications could be physical ones and/or the fact that settling into your postpartum lifestyle is HARD and comes with limited time, sleep, band-width, etc. Here is your reminder to be kind to yourself throughout this process!

WHO IS THIS PROGRAM FOR: This program is designed for someone in their postpartum stage who has been cleared to return to exercise after their 6-8 week postpartum check-in from their OBGYN, Midwife, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist and/or other health care professional.

Ideally this is for someone who is feeling excited at the thought about gradually returning to strength training. The feeling of excitement typically ensures that the person is also feeling confident with their state of healing and ability. 

On the contrary, we do not recommend starting this program if one feels like they “have to” or “should”. These thoughts and feelings are usually due to societal pressures and not because your body is adequately prepared. 

This program can work from someone who is 6-weeks up to 6+months postpartum. We are not setting an upper limit on this program as people will be ready to bridge their gap between postpartum and returning to strength training at different times.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE: This program is made up of 4 phases and will take you approximately 4-5 weeks to complete. Each of the 4 phases are made up of 3 weekly sessions, each ranging between 10-30 minutes long. Two sessions per week will be focused on strength training and one session per week will be focused on mobility. Each session has a fully guided video format. You simply need to show up, press play, and follow along!

SESSION STRUCTURE: The strength sessions will focus on reconnecting to your core musculature while gradually easing back into functional training exercises such as squats, deadlifts, planks, presses, rows, etc. The mobility sessions will be focused on full body dynamic stretching, including targeted self myofascial release (foam rolling). 

Here is what an ideal week of following the program would look like:

Day 1: Strength Focus
Day 2: Mobility Focus
Day 3: Other
Day 4: Strength Focus
Day 5: *option to repeat Mobility*
Day 6: Other
Day 7: *option to repeat Mobility*

Ideally you do not perform the strength sessions on consecutive days. 
Feel free to repeat the mobility sessions more than once per week but this is not mandatory for success. 

The days labeled “other” can be filled with other activities you are enjoying (ex: walking, hiking, EverAthlete YogaFlow, EverAthlete Active Recovery sessions, EverAthlete Quick Stretch sessions, etc.). Or simply enjoy a complete day off - listen to your body! You can find some of these mentioned by scrolling down to “what’s next” and you will see an “additional resources” tab.

WHY WE CREATED THIS PROGRAM: We created this program because there is a void in high quality guidance for someone who is postpartum while simultaneously wanting to return and rebuild back into strength training.

We know that a pregnant person will experience a normal and unavoidable period of detraining as they progress closer to their due date. Simultaneously, the supportive core & pelvic structures go through an increase in demand and stress from the developing baby. Then the birth occurs which causes a significant amount of trauma to these same tissues and structures. All of this is followed by a continued period of detraining as the person settles into their new lifestyle and while the tissues & structures go through their healing process. 

In knowing this and saying this, there continues to be an expectation for the postpartum person to simply bounce back to one’s previous exercise & fitness routine(s). Furthermore, this is typically done without a progressive “rebuilding plan” set in place. We know that this message or expectation would not be the same if someone was going through a traumatic knee injury or shoulder injury. This void in guidance and resources is exactly why we created this program.

EQUIPMENT:

• Dumbbells (light, medium, heavy)

• Miniband

• Long exercise band

• Bench (or chair, couch, ottoman…)

• Foam roller

• Lacrosse ball (or other mobility ball)

This program is for educational purposes only. You should consult your physician prior to engaging in this program.

Phase 1 - Reconnecting:

Welcome to phase 1! This phase is focused on reconnecting to your body and its foundation through breathwork and light core exercises. This is a crucial phase because having a strong and stable foundation is the best way to rebuild one's strength effectively and efficiently.

In this phase we will have you repeat the same strength session 2x within 7 days. You also have the mobility session to work through at least 1x within the same 7 days. The mobility session can be repeated multiple times if wanted.

Please know that it is perfectly normal and acceptable to feel the need to repeat this first phase. We highly encourage you to do this if you felt very rushed, confused with the movements, or considerably sore afterwards. Now is the time to focus on properly reconnecting to your body and its foundation.

Progression Criteria For The Next Phase:

1. You felt no discomfort in your pelvis or lower back, sensations of pressure in your vagina, or leaking (urinary incontinence) during any of the sessions. 

• We strongly advise you to seek consultation & care with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist if any of these symptoms arise. These symptoms should NOT be ignored or “pushed through”. 

2. You are feeling comfortable and confident with the difficulty & complexity level of the strength session(s)

• We highly encourage you to repeat this phase if you felt rushed, confused with the movements or considerably sore afterwards.

Phase 2 - Re-engage:

Welcome to phase 2! It is now time to re-engage certain movement patterns and muscle groups. We will do this in a very mindful and intentional way. We continue to focus on the quality of each movement rather than the quantity. Great job showing up and setting yourself up for success!

In this phase we will have you repeat the same strength session 2x within 7 days. You also have the mobility session to work through at least 1x within the same 7 days. The mobility session can be repeated multiple times if wanted.

Progression Criteria

1. You felt no discomfort in your pelvis or lower back, sensations of pressure in your vagina, or leaking (urinary incontinence) during any of the sessions. 

• We strongly advise you to seek consultation & care with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist if any of these symptoms arise. These symptoms should NOT be ignored or “pushed through”. 

2. You completed the 2 strength sessions and at least 1 mobility session in 1 week (7 days).

3. You are feeling comfortable and confident with the difficulty & complexity level of the strength session(s)

• We highly encourage you to repeat this phase if this is not the case.

Phase 3 - Progress:

Welcome to phase 3! We are now focused on progressing our ability to reconnect and re-engage by working through more advanced and dynamic movement patterns. Continue to listen to your body and trust the process.

In this phase you will complete both the Strength A and Strength B sessions. You will perform each session 1x within the same week. You also have the mobility session to work through at least 1x during the same week. Remember, the mobility session can be repeated multiple times if wanted. Lastly, don’t be surprised if you feel like you need to or want to repeat this phase.

Progression Criteria

1. You felt no discomfort in your pelvis or lower back, sensations of pressure in your vagina, or leaking (urinary incontinence) during any of the sessions. 

• We strongly advise you to seek consultation & care with a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist if any of these symptoms arise. These symptoms should NOT be ignored or “pushed through”. 

2. You completed the 2 strength sessions and at least 1 mobility session in 1 week (7 days).

3. You are feeling comfortable and confident with the difficulty & complexity level of the strength session(s)

• We highly encourage you to repeat this phase if this is not the case.

Phase 4 - Confidence:

Welcome to phase 4! This final phase is all about building up confidence in your body and its current abilities. The movement patterns will be the most advanced and the most dynamic. Trust yourself, you’ve got this!

In this phase you will complete both the Strength A and Strength B sessions. Ideally these are completed within the same week. You also have the mobility session to work through at least 1x during the same week. Remember, the mobility session can be repeated multiple times if wanted. As always, you have the option to repeat this phase if you feel that will serve you best.

Congratulations!

Congratulations on completing this program! You started off by working on reconnecting then re-engaging muscle groups & important movement patterns. You then safely progressed through more dynamic movements which should have left you feeling more confident in this new version of your body and its abilities. 

We would love for you to continue training with EverAthlete and the next best thing to do is fill out our Training Questionnaire. From here we can provide you with even more detailed and tailored guidance:

Here is a list of other EverAthlete resources that can support you through & beyond this rebuild journey:

• Pelvic Floor Series: highly recommended! 

• Active Recovery: fully guided videos going through a mix of foam rolling & targeted mobility drills, 40-60min long

• Quick Stretch: short & sweet fully guided videos with focused mobility drills to a specific body area, only 5-6min long

• YogaFlow: fully guided yoga videos, 40-60min long