Reclaiming Your Prepregnancy Body: Toning Your Chest, Thighs, and Tummy

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If you've discovered that in addition to a new baby, delivery has awarded you a new body, here's an array of exercises that offer a gentle beginning on the road to reclaiming your prepregnancy figure.

Pregnancy can create a very particular physical stance: a big belly, rounded shoulders, and a curved back. And despite your best efforts, you too may develop just such a stance. But you're not alone. Many women find it difficult to escape the strain of a belly's added weight and suffer from that recognizable pregnancy posture. These changes, along with internal changes, don't allow the body to just snap back after giving birth. So after delivery, in addition to having a new baby—you'll have a new body. One that you'll need to retrain to breathe, stand, and sit. However, with some work, you may be able to bring your body back to its prepregnancy shape—or even surpass it.

BabyZone talked with some of the leading Body Sculpting, Pilates, and the Tupler Technique fitness experts to find a variety of exercise options safe enough to begin shortly after delivery. The following exercises will help to retrain and gently rebuild your body, especially those trouble spots that suffer during pregnancy—the chest, thighs, and tummy.

Each of these exercise routines is specifically designed for target spots and should be done in conjunction with cardiovascular work—something as simple as going on a long walk.

As with any exercise routine, you should get your doctor's approval before beginning these exercises, especially if you have had a C-section or complications with childbirth.

Body Sculpting with Weights

Brad Schoenfeld, author of Sculpting Her Body Perfect and the best-selling book Look Great Naked, believes that many women short-change the benefits of weight training, thinking that it will leave them looking bulky and masculine. "First of all, it's virtually impossible for a woman to bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger," says Schoenfeld. Instead, he contends that weight training helps a woman be in charge of how she wants to sculpt her body. Weight exercises not only define muscles, but they also increase a woman's metabolism, meaning that you'll be burning fat and shedding pounds long after your workout.

When to begin: With a doctor's permission, beginners can start weight training with three- to five-pound weights, four to six weeks after delivery.

How Often: Weight train three days a week with a rest day in between and two recuperation days. For each of these exercises, strive for three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions and take a 30-second to one-minute rest period between each set. Complete this group of sets before moving on to the next exercise.