The Postnatal “return to running” class is aimed at ladies who feel they have made a good postnatal recovery after attending either a Mummy MOT with me of have completed at least 6 weeks in my basic postnatal exercise class. It is suitable from 16 weeks postnatal. The aim is to guide you back to being able to do everything you did before you had a baby, including running, jumping and lifting with confidence.

You must have completed at least a six-week block in the “ postnatal class” or have had a Mummy MOT with me to enable me to fully assess the level of your postnatal recovery. I want you to get the most out of these classes, but I need to ensure that you have reconnected with your diaphragm, deep tummy muscles and pelvic floor. You cannot strengthen what you are not connecting too. I need to know you have good coordination of these muscles, have mastered the basics and are physically prepared for the more strenuous exercises in this class in order to get the most out of these classes and meet your fitness goals.

In the “Postnatal: Return to Running” class we will safely build on core stability, pelvic stability, whole body strength, power and impact to guide you back to running and/high impact exercise. You might not want to get back to any specific exercise, but just want to be able to run in the park and jump on a trampoline with your children in confidence that you will not wet yourself or feel like your insides might fall out!

The recommendation for returning to running postnatally is 6 months. That said, it is not just about time. It is important that you have recovered fully from your pregnancy and birth and that you have built your strength, stability and fitness up appropriately. This takes effort, dedication and training. Running is a high impact sport and if you return to running too soon, you are at risk of injuries, stress incontinence and/or a prolapse, meaning more time out of running later down the line. By making sure you are fit and strong enough to return to running safely, you will minimise these risks, and be a fitter, stronger and faster runner.

We all know that to be our best at any sport (Mum life is considered a sport in my eyes!) we need to strength train- but very few people do. This class would be an ideal pairing for any runner but will only be open to those that have had a baby, or that are recovering from postnatal pelvic floor symptoms or postnatal back/pelvic girdle pain.

I recommend attending the class prior to returning to running and whilst building your running up. The recommendations are to build up to 5k over 9 weeks from 21 weeks (at the earliest) if you are not getting any symptoms. You are also very welcome to continue this class alongside your running to help maintain your strength and fitness to help you achieve your next goal, whether it is increasing your distance, improving your pace or training for a race.

The class is suitable for those with abdominal separation, pelvic floor symptoms and back/hip/pelvic girdle pain BUT the exercises we do in the class MUST be pain/symptom free. IF any of the exercises are increasing your symptoms, this is a sign that the exercise is too advanced for you currently. You must inform me of this so that I can modify any exercises for you. Suffering in silence will not make you improve, and you may be doing more harm than good and prolong your recovery.

If you are pain and symptom free in day to day life, but are more aware of symptoms if you overdo it, or do more than you would usually do, then this class will be suitable for you. If you have pain or symptoms with everyday bending, lifting or movements, then this class is likely to be too strenuous for you at present. You would be better suited to the basic postnatal exercise class at this time and hopefully be able progress onto this class soon.

You will need to be able to coordinate your breath, pelvic floor and abdominal contraction.

You will need to be able to do your pelvic floor contraction in a standing position (can feel a squeeze and let go) and ideally be able to hold this for 10s and repeat 10x

Get on and off the floor without using your arms, squat and lunge symptom free (even if it is a small range).

Balance on 1 leg with control for at least 10s.

Be able to support your body weight on your arms (e.g. hold a press up position).

This exercise class is led by a Specialist Pregnancy, Postnatal and Women’s Health Physiotherapist with a special interest in running and a passion for helping ladies to return to high impact exercise safely and symptom free after childbirth.

You will need to complete a postnatal screening form prior to starting the class.

For the foreseeable future the class is being held in the comfort on your own home on ZOOM! After discussing this at length with my current postnatal class members, the consensus was that Zoom classes worked better for new Mums! There may be an option to switch to the gym at a later date, but for now the Class will be on Zoom.

I appreciate how important the social aspect to classes is. In my classes I always encourage you to keep your mics and cameras ON! The Zoom link will be open 5 mins before and after the class to enable you to get to know your fellow class members and build up relationships/friendships, should you want to. If you want to log in/out straight before/after the class that is totally fine too but the option is there should you want to have a chat/moan/rant (!).

We also have a Class Watsapp group, and ladies from my previous classes have made arrangements to meet up outside of the classes for coffee/chats/walks with babies.