Getting Back on the Bike After Baby
Since I’m no longer training to be a competitive athlete, I didn’t force myself to stick to any kind of fitness routine when I was pregnant. I listened to my body day-to-day and exercised accordingly. For the most part, that meant I went on leisurely walks in my neighborhood, practiced some prenatal yoga, and did my pelvic floor work a few times a week.
Despite filming a workout series with iFit in Cappadocia, Turkey when I was eight-weeks pregnant, riding my bike while pregnant was no easy feat. I stopped riding before you could really even had a bump! Those pregnancy hormones are no joke - they took the wind right out of my sails.
After Hudson arrived, I wasn’t sure how it would feel to get back on the bike. I was apprehensive, to say the least. Concerned that my lack of fitness would make climbs miserable, that my skills may have deteriorated into nothing, and my aggressive style would have faded away. But ultimately, getting back on the bike was like putting a giant piece back into the puzzle of who I am.
So, here are my top tips for getting back on your bike post-baby:
Have zero expectations. 2. Take things slowly & listen to your body. 3. Don't compare.
First, sometimes no plan is the best plan, and that's coming from someone who is an inherent planner! But so much happens during childbirth and the way your body responds is often outside of your control. No matter how well you prepare for your birth it is a physical undertaking that leaves a LASTING toll. You can make a plan for when & how you'll get back on your bike, but don’t be too rigid with it. Otherwise, you run the risk of feeling disappointed if things don't go accordingly.
Secondly, if possible, try to ride indoors on a trainer or stationary bike before you ride outside, so yo can ease into the intensity. There are no mandatory hills or technical rocks on a spin bike. I got on a stationary bike around 5 weeks postpartum and just pedaled for 5 minutes and built up from there. I was relieved to know that I could sit on the seat and I could stop any time if I wasn't feeling great. This also gave me an opportunity to see how I would recover so that I would be less likely to overdue it once I got outside.
Finally, make sure you don't compare yourself to anyone else. I had a 31 hour labor and pushed for 5 hours (yes, you read that right). Ultimately, my baby was delivered with assistance from vacuum suction and an episiotomy (I was one contraction away from a c-section). I have no idea how my body healed as quickly as it did. Prior to getting back on the bike I was eating a very high-carb diet, drinking shit tons of water, resting as much as I could, walking about 3-5 times a week and doing occasional (not religious) pelvic floor exercises. That formula worked for me, but it might not for you.
Listen to what other women have gone through, but take everything with a grain of salt. Let the good outcomes give you hope for what's possible and the bad one's prepare you to have patience. Your journey is yours alone & you will get there in time.
Surprises:
I had to lower my seat on both my indoor bike and mountain bike. No idea why, but it felt more comfortable.
My butt hurt SOOOOOO bad after my first outdoor ride. Granted, it was on technical slickrock, but sheesh! I'm fairly convinced that my sitbones are wider now, so I may need to get a wider saddle. (Did you know saddles come in different widths?!) You can learn how to measure your sitbones for proper fit here.
I felt better than I expected on day 1 and worse than expected on day 2. Even though I tried not to have expectations... (Read about managing expectations here).
My riding clothes were really uncomfortable. I guess this shouldn't be that much of a surprise... I was almost back to my pre-baby weight by the time I was riding, but weight is distributed differently now. I invested in a few core items like the high-waisted chammy from Wild-Rye to support my post-baby body while biking.
Breastmilk & sweat don’t mix well. If you’re breastfeeding, get some disposable nursing pads for riding or working out. I have reusable nursing pads for my leaky boobs that I wear during the day, but we really don't need to be mixing sweat & breastmilk now do we?
I am so grateful to be back on the bike. At first, I was okay with being slow, after all, I just had a baby. However, as I’ve been riding more, I’ve found that I’m starting to be harder on myself. It’s as if the grace window for being slow has closed. When I notice myself getting critical, I just remind myself that it took my 9 months to grow this small human and my body is incredible. Also, maybe slowing down isn’t such a bad thing…
To hear from other women about getting back on the bike after having a baby, head on over to Wild Rye’s blog to read An Ode to the Fifth Trimester & Beyond!