Wondering if Britsbarre workouts are safe before and after pregnancy? Here’s the scoop!
When you first find out you’re pregnant — it’s one of the most exciting moments you’ll ever experience, but if we’re being honest, it’s also one of the most confusing moments too. Finding out you’re pregnant leaves you with lots of unanswered questions, and if you’re active, you’ve most certainly worried about what you can and can’t do for the next 9 months. Likewise, the minute you first meet your baby you’ll be flooded with feelings of unconditional love, but also feelings of uncertainty regarding the do’s and don’t’s for the foreseeable future.
The good news is, if you’re wondering about the safety of doing Britsbarre during and after pregnancy, we are happy to tell you it’s safe and can be done from anywhere in the world.
The key here is consistency. Over the next 40 weeks and beyond, you’ll want to treat your body to a quality workout that is both safe and effective to help build better joints and support bone health throughout your entire pregnancy, while you’re breastfeeding, and postpartum. Moreover, Britsbarre is your one-stop pre-and post-pregnancy shop for improving posture and flexibility while maintaining and building endurance and strength — which also helps improve your balance and stability.
Is Britsbarre Safe During Pregnancy?
Yes! In fact, Britsbarre is an expectant and postpartum mom’s dream solution to remain active and energized. Since barre is such a low-impact form of exercise that can be easily modified and requires you to hold on to a bar, chair, or counter for additional balance and stability, it’s safe for pregnant women and new mothers.
One of the best reasons to incorporate Britsbarre into your pre and post-pregnancy workout routines is because it gives you both the chance to build some serious strength and endurance — which happen to be the two things you’ll need the most after your baby arrives. On second thought, throughout your pregnancy, you’ll also need to be able to rely on your body to be able to support and stabilize a changing body so you can breeze through pregnancy with fewer instances of aches, pains, and complications. Nevertheless, you should always consult your doctor before beginning Britsbarre or any activity while pregnant.
Benefits of Britsbarre During Pregnancy
The benefits of exercise including barre during the pregnancy and postpartum stages of motherhood is truly an exhaustive list, but a few of the most important reasons include:
Is Britsbarre Safe While Pregnant?
Like any new workout while pregnant, you’ll need to make some important considerations before getting started with Britsbarre — but first and foremost we ask that you get your doctor’s blessing before beginning. Assuming you’re good to go, you’ll definitely want to keep in mind that when you’re pregnant and going through hormonal changes, you’ll get a surge in relaxin (pregnancy hormone) that causes joints to be more flexible but also less stable. This is known as hypermobility. When increased body weight is applied to hypermobile joints, it can make some forms of exercise uncomfortable and difficult to perform. This is why it’s so important to make sure you’re sticking to workouts appropriate for pregnant women, and is precisely the reason Britsbarre emphasizes the importance of following a first-rate barre program with detailed modifications before and after the baby arrives.
Britsbarre Pregnancy Modifications
It’s important to not lose sight of the fact that a modification doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “easier”, but instead “safer”. You’ll still need to put the work in and it will still be challenging, but instead of pushing your body to the brink, you’ll want to meet your body where it is if this makes sense. Trust your instincts and listen to the signals your body gives you; if it feels painful or uncomfortable in any way, especially around your back, hips, or baby bump — don’t do it! And while everyone’s pregnancy is different, there are some modifications all expectant mothers should make, including:
- Refraining from doing any deep twisting of your abdomen throughout your entire pregnancy. Deep twists can place too much stress on your knees and lower back, and your growing baby alters your center of gravity a little bit each day; making it harder to keep your balance.
- Avoid crunches starting in your second trimester. The linea alba is fascia that connects your abdominal muscles at the front of your body. Crunches create too much strain on this tissue which can lead to disastasis.
- Be sure to always have your barre, wall, or chair within reach at all times! Although it’s perfectly safe to work on improving or maintaining balance and posture during your pregnancy, your center of gravity is expanding — therefore it’s extremely important to have a fixed object that can keep you stable.
Is Britsbarre Safe After Pregnancy?
If you’ve just recently joined the Moms Club, you’ve more than likely realized your body feels different than it did pre-pregnancy, which can be quite shocking, unnerving, and overwhelming! Not only that, but there doesn’t seem to be very much time, energy, or care put into what happens to women’s bodies after pregnancy in the same way as there is during the pregnancy. Once you have the baby, it’s like you’re on your own. If you’re lucky enough to have friends and family nearby to help you adapt to life with a newborn — take advantage of it!
In spite of that, right around the 6-week mark, you’ll be cleared for some exercise. But don’t be fooled! Post-natal workouts are not easy, but they are specifically targeted to safely exercise a post-natal body. When you think about it, all workouts should be targeted. If you broke your leg, you would want targeted physical therapy to help rehab it. And while pregnancy isn’t a technical “injury”, a woman’s body goes through a ton of stress and trauma after carrying and delivering a small human.
Secondly, working out incorrectly influences your post-baby muscles to stretch and separate more, even if they weren’t stretched or separated to begin with. This is why barre is such an effective pre and post-natal workout; it focuses on the intrinsic stabilizer muscles and your posture — which supports the spine and core without placing any stress on the abdomen.
Benefits of Britsbarre Postpartum
Britsbarre is a great tool to help improve posture, flexibility, muscular endurance, and definition while decreasing stress. It’s also a magnificent way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles — which is essential after pregnancy because it prevents pelvic floor dysfunctions that can commonly occur after having a baby. Plus, barre focuses on strengthening both large and intrinsic muscle groups at once so that all your functional muscles can work synergistically. In addition to this, barre is a physical practice that encourages honing and developing a strong mind-body connection. This not only helps with physical hurdles you’ll surely face postnatally but it also helps to manage the emotional obstacles as well.
Britsbarre Postnatal Modifications
As your baby grows during pregnancy, your mid-section has to stretch and expand in order to make room for your baby, so some abdominal separation is inevitable. The fallout of your abs separating will leave your core weakened and you’ll be more vulnerable to injuries like pelvic organ prolapse or urinary incontinence, and it can lead to other long-term issues like poor posture and lower back pain. Diastasis recti can happen when both the right and left outermost abdominal muscles separate, and even though it isn’t a condition exclusive to pregnant women, it does occur in about two-thirds of expectant mothers.
Here’s the good news: the britsbarre postpartum modifications support you while you heal your separation by regaining the strength and muscle that was lost. When you realign, strengthen, and stabilize your core, it can inhibit or in some cases correct the separation.
Conclusion
The Britsbarre On-Demand Virtual Studio is a 100% remote and judgment-free zone that gives new moms the freedom and peace of mind to participate in a safe and effective workout program. If you’re looking for a community of other new moms that have found the joy of barre — we welcome you to join our Instagram family @britsbarre where we share the good, the bad, and the unknown of motherhood.
That being said, we do ask that all pregnant and postnatal members get cleared by their physician or doctor before beginning any Britsbarre workouts. For postnatal women who have been cleared for physical activity, we’ve learned that strength-based and aerobic exercise is incredibly beneficial for healing the body.
If you don’t feel you’re quite up to snuff, and you need a bit more time before diving, just know that simply meeting up with a friend at the park, zoo, or museum are great ways to help you get started on the right path. Remember every pregnancy and every “body” is different. Don’t be hard on yourself or feel inadequate if you’re personally not ready physically, mentally, or emotionally to start an exercise series after having a baby. Check-in with yourself and your baby, and remember finding a new normal will take some time and adjustment — but you will get there!
As always please check with your physician prior to starting any new workout pre and post-pregnancy.
