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Strength Training for Postpartum Women

The hypothesis that the pregnancy being the form of graduated weight training, in fact enhances the following performance in the females has been considered as the drive by the vital advanced study in the United States that refers both fitness and strength diminish drastically during the pregnancy and does not get thoroughly restored even for six months after the child birth. The study was typically set up for evaluating the pregnancy linked changes in the physical activities, fitness and strength in the females having different body mass indexes-BMIs. The group of 124 moderately active healthy females was directed for the study; of them 76 conceived the pregnancy and 63 were followed up until 27 weeks postpartum. Of them 17 had the lower BMI, 34 had the average BMI and 12 had the high BMI.

The females were judged before pregnancy and at six and twenty seven weeks post partum for their body composition, self reported physical functions, fitness - VO2max as measured by maximal oxygen consumption test on the cycle ergo meter, and strength as measured by the one repetition optimal test on leg press, leg extension, bench press and latissimus pull-down. Important results of which were:

• No change in the total self reported physical activities from baseline to postpartum, in spite of changes in the typical activities reported with the reduction in conditioning and occupational activities as well as the improvement in the walking and the home activities
• Measured VO2max, adjusted for weight, reduced considerably from pre-pregnancy to six weeks postpartum and was yet lower than baseline at 27 week postpartum
• Considerable reduction in strength were noticed from pre-pregnancy to six weeks postpartum and such losses were not totally regained by 27 weeks postpartum

Remarking on the last results, the researchers examine that the strength was vanished from both the legs and arms, with the largest losses in the lower body. This appears to be little contradictory to what would be anticipated, they said, as the maintenance of the leg strength would be expected because of the gestational weight gain. None of the studies had scrutinized changes in the strength in women before and after pregnancy. Their vital findings incorporated reduction in both optimal oxygen consumption and leg strength from pre-pregnancy top six weeks postpartum with certain of such findings reduces recovering by 27 week postpartum. Such changes took place irrespective of the initial BMIs of those mothers.

Until recent past, it was strongly believed that the weight training including weight lifting as well as other resistance exercise regimens are highly stressful and cause various injuries to the females especially during their pregnancy phases. However, the authentic researchers and detailed studies on the subject have revealed that the fitness and the medical communities all over the world have widely recognized that the strength training with necessary proper additions and alterations, offers various remarkable advantages to the lady's overall prenatal and postpartum physical as well as mental well beings. The strength training controls excessive weight gain, diminishes common pregnancy and postpartum discomforts, builds sufficient strength for lifting and carrying the baby and heavy baby equipments etc, enhances the overall state of mind during and after pregnancy and finally helps manage better with stressors of pregnancy and new motherhood.

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