Is Long-Distance Running Really A Good Strategy for Postpartum Weight Loss and Reaching Your Fitness Goals as a New Mom?
Hey mama —
Do you think that you have to run to get in shape, that running is the best weight loss strategy, or that it’s a necessary requirement to reach your fitness and body goals?
The statement I’m about to make will undoubtedly trigger some of the running moms in the room: you’re probably not ready to be running yet and running is not the sport you should actually be training for.
I’m serious. Running long distances as a mother who hasn’t properly rehabbed her core is not a dependable health, fitness, or weight loss strategy, in fact — it exacerbates injury, worsens postural imbalances, and can even worsen the appearance of the lower belly “mom pouch.”
You might be wondering why I’m stating that running is suboptimal if everywhere you look seemingly fit moms are posting their runs, jogging with their strollers, and talking about their race plans.
Here’s the thing: running may be the norm but it doesn’t mean it’s optimal. The level of health that mothers everywhere are accepting as normal is low: chronic injury, inflammation, hormonal problems, thyroid issues, unrepaired cores, and unhealthy dieting cycles.
Mothers everywhere are visiting their chiropractors every week, they’re taxing their nervous systems, worsening their postural issues, exacerbating injuries, and for what?
Running long-distance isn’t the most efficient way to get the body results you’re looking for anyway!
It’s far better for mothers to sprint on and off than it is for them to jog or run long distances, and no I’m not talking about a brand new mama who just entered postpartum — you have to train to sprint.
I’ll explain it all in sections.
CORE REHAB + MOVEMENT:
Training the inner core unit should be the first priority during a postpartum rehabilitation plan. When a woman runs, the inner core unit needs to activate!
The inner core unit consists of the transverse abdominis (TVA), the pelvic floor muscles, the multifidus, and the diaphragm. These muscles all work together to stabilize the lumbar spine. These stabilizers are the foundation for all movement.
When this unit is untrained or turned off (as it often is in new mothers) the core is unable to activate properly so all the impact falls onto the low back, the knees, and the rest of the body. Before ANY running as a mother ask yourself: has my inner core been properly rehabilitated?
The inner core works off the same electrical circuit as the heart and the breath. It should be activating automatically when movement is initiated, however, due to pregnancy, labor, epidurals, poor diet, and stress, a mother's inner core circuit is often turned off and isn't activating (Chek 120).
A turned-off, deconditioned, and inhibited inner core unit won’t sustain your runs.
As someone who understands this information (info that I wish more women had access to), I choose to sprint-walk-sprint-walk instead of jogging.
Sprinting > jogging is my advice for mothers because you can teach a mother to brace her untrained core unit (by drawing the belly button in toward the spine, and holding, for 20 seconds) to help protect the body from the impact of the run.
Sprinting for around 20 seconds, full out, with your core turned on is far better for a woman than jogging for 40 minutes with a deactivated inner core unit.
Short burst sprints are less likely to contribute to muscle imbalances and chronic injuries because the core is on for that time, and now the muscles can do their job (to sprint) rather than stabilize the spine.
This intentional activation of the core is so important for new mothers who need to navigate:
+ Lifting the heavy car seat
+ removing their baby or their toddler from their stationary car seat at a weird angle
+ unloading groceries
+ a short burst sprint to chase after a child in play or in a child in danger
+ You know — mom life.
YOUR HORMONES + YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM:
There are also other negative impacts of jogging/long-distance running in terms of your nervous system and your hormones.
Most mothers are walking around living their day-to-day life with their nervous systems tapped out from modern-day stresses, sleepless nights, poor nutrition, financial stress, and living too fast-paced of a lifestyle.
Without getting too technical, I want you to know that adding a long jog into the mix might just be the tipping point for a mother’s descent into a downward spiral of hormonal problems.
Running a half-marathon has become a status symbol of the fit mom. And women who see other women doing it? They want their medal too. They want to plant their flag in the ground and say “I’m a fit mom” and they want to feel like they championed their comeback!
As a culture, we don’t recognize, promote, or praise the true health of mothers. You never hear a mother praised for looking so rested, for walking peacefully, for being so relaxed, and for nourishing herself well.
Instead, our culture pushes these high-impact hormonally taxing exercises on mothers and makes them seem like what they have to do to lose weight and be fit.
When in reality a mother needs to take WAY MORE INTO CONSIDERATION THAN SHE ONCE DID. What worked for you in your early 20s is over.
Prioritize rest, eat high-quality whole foods, opt for low-impact movements, and focus on muscle-building and strength training exercises. Reject the cultural trends instinctually you know are not good for you as a mother.
Training for the sport of motherhood itself is the smarter long-term goal for your body and your health.
GET THE FAT-BURNING RESULTS YOU WANT:
Lastly, I want to touch on becoming a fat-burning machine and how you’re turning your body into one when you ditch all the jogging and commit to sprinting and strength training, instead.
Often when women think about "losing weight" they think they should diet and cardio. They think they should restrict calories and hit the elliptical. What a woman should consider is whether or not her strategy is putting her body under stress.
When running increases your cortisol to beyond healthy levels, and you maintain this stressed-out state, your body may tip into increasing fat production because this is what your body is designed to do under periods of prolonged stress.
The more effective weight-loss approach for women is to build muscle, get your body out of fight-or-flight, and nourish yourself properly, through sleep, rest, and honoring your natural hormonal rhythms.
Alright, this was a lot of info so let’s wrap up with some key takeaways:
+ Long-distance running is not an indicator of your fitness level.
+ Jogging is not the most effective way to lose weight and get the physique you want, anyway.
+ Your inner core needs to be properly rehabilitated, integrated, and firing properly to sustain longer periods of running.
+ You’ll burn more fat when you build muscle through sprinting and strength training.
+ Drop the mainstream messaging on fitness and lean into taking care of yourself in the feminine.
+ Work out smarter (you don’t have time not to).
+ Celebrate yourself for not giving in to harmful trends, societal pressure, and for desiring to truly and deeply take care of yourself as a woman and mother.
+ Training for the sport of motherhood itself is a smarter long-term goal for your body and your health!
I hope this information helps you reassess your fitness strategy, mama. Stay tuned for more helpful info that will help you find your optimal path in fitness and motherhood.
— Cynthia
Chek, Paul. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy. C.H.E.K Institute, 2018.
Cynthia Spenla
is a Chek Certified Holistic Lifestyle and Exercise Coach who Specializes in Health and Performance for Women.
She designs fitness programs that centralize both the female hormonal cycle and the complexities of motherhood while supporting her clients to create the sculpted, strong, and attractive bodies they desire without destroying their health, increasing their risk of injury, or disrupting their hormones in the process.
Her prior experience serving women who’ve struggled with eating disorders, exercise addiction, and body image issues, in addition to her transition into motherhood, has helped her adopt an approach that addresses the mental, emotional, physical, and nutritional components of a woman’s life.
Cynthia accompanies the women who’re ready to go off the beaten path — women who’re beginning to recognize that mainstream health + fitness advice isn’t working for them. She lights up an alternative pathway for new mothers — a pathway that leads to restoration, vitality, and healing after the life-altering Rite of Passage that is pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
