If you've recently had a baby and you're wondering when, how, or even whether to start exercising again, take a breath. There is no deadline. Nobody is grading you. Your body has just done something extraordinary, and the way back to strength is slower, gentler and far more forgiving than social media suggests.
I'm Hannah, a qualified personal trainer and a mum of two, and postpartum coaching is one of the things I specialise in at my studio in Collingwood Park. I've been through this return twice myself: once feeling reasonably prepared, once running on no sleep and pure stubbornness. This guide is what I wish someone had handed me both times.
First things first: there is no deadline
The pressure to “bounce back” is loud, and it is nonsense. Your body spent nine months changing to grow a human, and it takes at least that long, often longer, to fully recover. Some mums feel ready to move at six weeks; others need six months, especially after a difficult birth, a caesarean, or with a baby who doesn't sleep.
Neither timeline is wrong. Postpartum return to exercise is not a race back to your old body; it's a gradual rebuild of a new one. The mums I've coached who accepted that early made steadier progress, with fewer setbacks, than the ones who rushed. Consistency over perfection, always.
The six-week check: what it is and what it isn't
In Australia, most mums have a postnatal check with their GP or obstetrician around six weeks. It's an important milestone, but it's often misunderstood. Being “cleared” at six weeks means nothing significant has been flagged; it does not mean your core, pelvic floor and connective tissue are ready for running, jumping or heavy lifting on day one.
My strong recommendation, and one I give every postpartum client, is to also see a women's health physiotherapist. They can assess your pelvic floor and check for abdominal separation (diastasis recti) properly, which a standard GP check usually doesn't cover in detail. It's one appointment that can save you months of frustration, and many clinics across the Ipswich and Brisbane area offer it. If you had a caesarean, tearing, or any prolapse symptoms, consider it essential rather than optional.
Where to actually start: breath, core and pelvic floor
Long before barbells, your first “training program” is quiet and unglamorous: breathing, gentle core reconnection and pelvic floor work. In those early weeks (once your care provider is happy for you to begin), the foundations look like this:
- Diaphragmatic breathing: slow breaths that let your ribs expand and your belly soften, reconnecting your breath with your deep core.
- Gentle pelvic floor work: soft lifts and, just as importantly, full relaxation. A pelvic floor that can't let go causes as many problems as one that's weak.
- Easy core reconnection: think heel slides, bent-knee fallouts and gentle tummy tension, not crunches or planks.
- Posture resets: feeding, carrying and settling a baby rounds you forward for hours a day. Simple shoulder and upper-back mobility pays off fast.
None of this looks like “exercise” on Instagram. All of it is the difference between a smooth return and a frustrating one.
Walking: the most underrated postpartum exercise
While your body rebuilds from the inside, walking does an enormous amount of work on the outside: circulation, mood, energy, gentle conditioning, and daylight (which helps with the sleep chaos, a little). Start with short, flat walks at a pace where you can chat comfortably, and build duration before you build speed.
The pram is your training partner here. A 20-minute lap of the neighbourhood counts. So does a slow loop of the park while the baby finally naps. If anything feels heavy, draggy or uncomfortable through your pelvis, that's your body asking you to shorten the walk and mention it to your physio, not push through.
Rebuilding strength: your first weeks of training
Once you've been cleared and your foundations feel steady, structured strength work can begin, and this is where the rebuild gets genuinely exciting. Early postpartum strength training should be simple, controlled and core-aware:
- Start with bodyweight and light resistance: squats to a bench, supported hinges, band rows, incline push-ups.
- Progress load slowly: small, steady jumps, with your breath and pelvic floor leading the way. If you have to hold your breath and brace hard to lift it, it's too heavy for now.
- Watch for symptoms, not just soreness: heaviness in the pelvis, leaking, doming through your midline, or pain are signals to scale back and check in with your physio.
- Two short sessions a week is plenty: twenty to thirty focused minutes beats an exhausting hour you can't recover from on broken sleep.
Strength training postpartum isn't about punishing your body back into shape. It's about rebuilding the strength that motherhood actually demands: lifting capsules and toddlers, carrying everything at once, and getting off the floor gracefully for the fortieth time today.
Signs to slow down, and when to seek help
Your body will give you feedback. Please listen to it. Slow down and speak to your GP or a women's health physio if you notice any of the following: leaking urine when you exercise, cough or sneeze; a feeling of heaviness, bulging or dragging in your vagina or pelvis; a visible gap or doming down the middle of your tummy during effort; pain during or after exercise; or bleeding that returns or gets heavier after activity.
None of these mean you've failed or broken something permanently. They're common, they're treatable, and they respond best when addressed early. The worst thing you can do is push through in silence; the best thing is to adjust, ask for help, and keep gently moving.
And a quiet word on the other kind of struggle: exhaustion, anxiety and low mood are also part of many postpartum journeys. Movement helps, but it isn't a substitute for support. Your GP is a good first port of call, and PANDA (1300 726 306) is there for perinatal mental health support across Australia.
You don't have to do this alone
Everything above is doable on your own, but it's easier, safer and honestly nicer with someone in your corner. Postpartum coaching is one of the things I specialise in: gradual, core-aware programming built around where your body is now, in a private home studio where the only person watching is me, and where a baby coming along to sessions is completely fine.
If that sounds like the kind of support you've been missing, have a look at in-home personal training, or see what training looks like at my Collingwood Park studio. No pressure, no deadlines. Just a steady way back to feeling strong.