Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best, 2nd edition (Paperback)

by Helene Byrne (Author)
Key Phrases: postpartum exercises, release all muscular effort, flattens the abdominal wall, Exercise After Pregnancy, Advanced Core Strength, Knitting Back Together (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
All new moms will want to pick up Helene Byrne's book Exercise After Pregnancy. Thanks to Byrne, I discovered I have split abdominal muscles and have learned some exercises to rectify the situation. (For more tips and advice read her informative website, BeFitMom.com) The book also helps moms battle lower back pain and build core strength necessary to take care of ourselves and our babies. Or as Bryne says is "Reestablish the fundamentals of good neuromuscular technique." No quick fixes here. Just a sound exercise program to get you strong and flexible. --Momtrends

We reviewed the BeFit-Mom DVD a few months back, and now, Perinatal Exercise Specialist Helene Byrne has just released the 2nd printing of her book Exercise After Pregnancy - How to Look and Feel Your Best . If you recently had a baby, chances are you ve realized that your body doesn t look exactly the same as it did pre-pregnancy. Helene s book offers safe, effective exercises that you can do post-partum and are targeted to the problem areas that new moms have. I love Helene s approach to exercise - she spends a lot of time explaining how your body changes during pregnancy, discusses the separation of stomach muscles (diastasis), and explains when it is safe to do each exercise. The book is also set up in sequential order with some more advanced exercises towards the back. The pictures are very helpful in demonstrating the exercises, and use real post partum moms! Another thing I love about this book is the last chapters, which explain how to carry your body in everyday activities such as carrying your car seat carrier and holding your baby, in a manner that won t hurt your body. --Mom's Favorite Stuff

Product Description
Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best (BeFit-Mom, 2007) offers new mothers the definitive guide to reconditioning after pregnancy. Featuring a safe, easy to follow, and amazingly effective 3-step program that systematically rebuilds the postpartum body and prepares you for the almost nonstop physical demands of motherhood. Helene s unique postnatal core system, which integrates the mind/body methods of Pilates and yoga with cutting-edge fitness techniques, can be started just days after giving birth, requires no specialized exercise equipment, and is suitable for all fitness levels. The program: Strengthens all four layer of the abdominal wall, flattens the abs and quickly improves body contours, lengthens and realigns the spine, develops deep core strength and stability, improves flexibility, creates muscular balance throughout the body, builds upper body strength for lifting and carrying, improves neuromuscular coordination, repairs abdominal separation and develops good body usage. The first workout, Postpartum Exercises provides safe, gentle, restorative exercises that can be started just days after giving birth that are designed to speed healing from labor and delivery, relieve discomfort, and start firming up weakened abdominal muscles. The second workout, Knitting Back Together offers a special series of exercises that flatten, shorten and strengthen the abdominals, and develops functional core strength and stability. The third workout, Advanced Core Strength offers a more challenging total-body core program for women who want to build athletic strength. Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best explains how the pregnancy alters posture and alignment, functional muscular balance and connective tissue, and how to effectively cope with these, and other postnatal changes and challenges. In-depth information and advice on important postnatal concerns regarding the pelvic floor, abdominal separation, and special postpartum abdominal reconditioning techniques help new mothers bounce back as quickly as possible. The book also provides a comprehensive review of good body usage in everyday activities to help women avoid back pain and injury by demonstrating proper lifting and carrying techniques, ergonomic breast feeding, and how to safely manage heavy baby equipment like car seats and strollers as well as front packs and slings. Acclaimed by new mothers everywhere, the book has also become a must have reference for fitness professionals such as group fitness instructors, personal trainers, Pilates and yoga teachers and other professionals who work with prenatal and postpartum women including physical therapists, massage therapists, doulas, and midwifes.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 134 pages
• Publisher: BeFit-Mom; 2nd edition (June 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977091716
• ISBN-13: 978-0977091713
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,798 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Loose your Mummy Tummy, April 10, 2008

By	Catie L (Wakefield, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I bought this book when I was 22 months post partum. I still have abdominal separation, and have been afraid to do ab exercises for fear of increasing it as I know doing ab exercises incorrectly can make a separation worse. I first bought Loose your Mummy tummy, but sucking in my stomach 100x at a time, up to 10x a day wasn't for me. The exercises in this book are challenging, but completely do-able, and I'm noticing that my ab separation is closing after only 3-4 weeks of doing the exercises, not even doing them every day. Great book!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Agree, Better than the Mummy Tummy book, June 21, 2008

By	Santa Clarita Mom (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews

This book has helped my stomach within weeks. I previously purchase the Lose Your Mummy Tummy book and there was not any significant change in my stomach with that book. With the Exercise After Pregnancy book by Ms. Byrne, you get varied exercises that not only help your stomach, but your lower back and posture. It has enough varied exercises at different experience levels that you won't get bored compared to the Mummy Tummy book. After doing a few sets of the exercises in the Exercise after Pregnancy book, you can feel a difference. For anyone with diastasis recti, I highly recommend this book over the Mummy Tummy book. My lower back has felt better and is beginning to straighten out more after my 2 children were born as well as my stomach muscles are tightening up and my stomach is becoming smaller. I still have a small ponch on me, but no one has asked if I'm pregnant for the past few months.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professionally written with excellent real-life advice, January 28, 2008

By	Lee-Ann Niazi "All In A Child's Mind" (Salt Spring Island, BC CANADA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Helene has done an amazing job with this book and has included actual postpartum women as well. The exercises are integral for any new mother wanting to get her body back into shape the right way. In society today, it is all too easy to get caught up in the new diet or exercise fads but Helene creates several easy to follow programs that focus on the core muscles that are so often overlooked. I've noticed a difference already after just a couple of weeks. Thanks Helene.