Award winning personal trainer and co-founder of Absolute Fitness Kathryn Freeland shares with StyleNest her top tips on how to get back into shape post pregnancy. 

Kathryn has been a personal trainer for over 15 years and is one of London’s top Personal Trainers & the Managing Director of Absolute Fitness, London’s leading mobile personal training company www.absolutefitness.co.uk which she set up in 1997. She believes in a long term approach to fitness and nutrition, ignoring fads and focusing on attention to detail, being fit for life and making exercise enjoyable.

She has been credited with The Times ‘A-List trainer’ 2010, Evening Standard ‘Top Trainer List’ 2009 & 2007, London Magazine ‘Ultimate Personal Trainer’ 2008 and inclusion in the World’s Top A-List Trainers, training celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Samantha Morton and royalty. If anyone can help you get back into shape, Kathryn can.

When is the right time to start exercising after giving birth?

You need to have your 6 week post natal check up or approximately 10 weeks with a C-section, then if you are given the all clear you can start exercising gently and building up gradually. Prior to this you can do some walking (with your buggy) making sure you are lightly holding in your tummy and your pelvic floor muscles.

Are there any particular exercises to avoid?

Avoiding high impact exercise, such as running, and over stretching as the hormone Relaxin (which relaxes the ligaments to allow for child growth and birth) will have an effect on every joint in your body and will still be present in your body and can be for up to 5 months after giving birth. You may also want to avoid high impact exercise as your PFM will be weakened. Great exercises to do are Abdominal isolations, PFM (detailed below) and walking with good posture.

Can you recommend any simple exercises that aren’t time consuming and would be good to do daily? 

To strengthen your Pelvic floor muscles (PFM) try the Pelvic Elevator – standing, sitting or lying imagine your PFM is an elevator with 4 floors, so start gently squeezing and stop at the first floor for a few seconds, squeeze a bit harder and higher for the second floor and so on and come down floor by floor as well. Try not to let any part of your body move so no one should know you are doing them and keep breathing.

Abdominal Isolations – standing or sitting lightly pull your tummy off your waistband and towards the spine and release without moving your back and body or holding your breath.

Any top tips for those who aren’t overly enthusiastic about exercise. Any tips on how I can keep it interesting and fun? 

List honestly why you have stopped exercise in the past and then avoid those things ie: if you hate the gym try outdoors, you hate mornings then exercise at lunch or in the evening, get bored then try something new.

Also list what you personally really enjoy, what time suits you, whether you like to be alone with a friend or in a group and realistically how often per week you can do this. Remember something is always better than nothing.

Don’t be afraid to change with the seasons or when you get bored but try not to have gaps between.

Is there an eating plan or diet you particularly recommend?

I would recommend a balanced diet of low glycaemic carbs, lean protein and fruit and veg, avoiding processed and ready-made foods and trying to eat a variety of foods so that you get the maximum update of vitamins.

To save time cook double portions and freeze half, often too you get a discount at the supermarket when buying 2 for 1.

It is exhausting being a new mum and reaching for a chocolate bar can seem like the easiest way to get energy levels back up. Can you recommend any alternatives?

You need to eat low glycaemic carbs such as: jumbo porridge oats, brown basmati rice, wholemeal pasta and wholegrain bread with seeds. Low glycaemic carbs release their energy more slowly than sugary (high glycaemic carbs) foods so you will avoid highs and lows and the urgent need for refined sugar.

To book a class or read more about Kathryn please visit Absolutefitness.co.uk.

Absolute Fitness also run weekend bootcamps at Green Farm Fitness. Read about it here.