Are you ready to start exercising after having your baby?

Do you think of exercise and immediately picture a fitness centre with complicated machines and impossibly hard, high tempo exercise classes?   This can be scary for anyone, let alone a new parent who is isn’t sleeping well and adjusting to life with a new baby.

Exercise doesn’t have to be difficult, it can be built into everyday routines.  Every little bit counts.

Ideas to add physical activity to your daily routine:

• take the stairs instead of the elevator
• go for walks with your baby, increasing the speed over time
• play actively with the children
• walk instead of driving for short trips
• work in the garden
• use your baby as a weight and do lunges and squats at home

Take some time to write down reasons why you haven’t started exercising, then come up with solutions to overcome these barriers.

Physical activity can help with depression by:

• releasing “feel good” chemicals