Important Mommy Muscles
EducationImportant Mommy Muscles
If you are a mother, you know how many mommy muscles it takes to nurse, carry or chase a child. Motherhood is amazing, but it is also stressful on our bodies. Thousands of hours of nursing and hauling babies around wreaks havoc on our posture. Buckling babies into the center car seat kills our backs. And none of us will ever forget what pregnancy and birth did to our bellies, breasts and bums.
A new mother spends an average of 10 to 11 hours a day nursing her newborn. She is exhausted from labor, short on sleep, desperate to nourish her baby, and the last things on her mind are posture and future back problems. However, she will start thinking about her aches and pains a lot in the next few months if she isn't positioned properly or has weak mommy muscles.
Specific muscles for mommies to target include the trapezius, rhomboids, subscapularis, and posterior deltoids (big words for upper back and rear shoulders). For lifting baby in and out of the car, leaning into the crib, and picking him up and setting him down umpteen times a day, she also needs to strengthen her latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, biceps, and gluteals (more big words for lower back and butt). Take that list to a knowledgeable fitness trainer, and get set up on a program immediately.
If you are recovering from a recent birth - recent meaning within the last three years, because that is how long the area "down there" takes to fully heal and be ready to birth again - you are probably still trying to regain your ability to laugh or sneeze without peeing your pants. Kegels are will really help, but they are hard to remember. Think of kegels as one more thing you can multitask. You and your kegels will be very close friends for the rest of your life, so here are some fun ways to kegel and exercise your thighs at the same time.
You can counteract the protective hunch and poor posture that all moms tend to develop with a few simple spine exercises that can be done during and after pregnancy. Keeping your back strong will prevent pain now and intervertebral disk deterioration later, when the "pillow" between each vertebrae gets smashed and corroded from poor alignment.
So whip out that boppy, girls! Sit up straight while you feed your baby, and balance your weight in both feet while you carry your child, diaper bag, groceries, toys, and everything else but the kitchen sink. Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes, doing cardio for your heart by walking, jogging, or biking and lifting weights to get those mommy muscles in shape. Here are my top five thigh and tush toners you might want to try.
In his hit song "Hot Mama," Trace Adkins sings a few lines that every mother prays to be true: "You want that body back that you had at seventeen ... But, Baby, don't get down, don't you worry about a thing 'cause the way you fill 'em out, hey that's all right with me ... you're one hot mama!" We may never be firm and tight again like we were as teenagers. We are more beautiful than ever now through the eyes of our children, and we need to keep our mommy muscles strong for them ... and our grandchildren!
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