Leg Slide

At about 4 to 6 weeks postpartum — or earlier if you're physically able — add exercise to your day. To make this exercise more effective, you'll need a pair of 3-pound dumbbells, a pair of 5- or 10-pound dumbbells (available at sporting goods stores), and a resistance band (an oversized rubberband that you can use to create resistance, also available at sporting goods stores). To increase difficulty, add repetitions, sets of repetitions, and/or more weight.

Begin each workout with a warm-up: Try five minutes of marching in place or fast walking. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds. Cool down afterward with some light stretching

Leg Slide
• Lie with your back on the floor and your knees bent.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles and press the small of your back against the floor as you breathe out.
• Slide both legs away from your body slowly, using your abdominal muscles to keep your back flat on the floor.
• When your back starts to arch, bring your legs back to the start position — keep your stomach tight. Repeat eight to 10 times.Pay attention to your breathing throughout this exercise. Remember to tighten your abdominal muscles and flatten your back before you start sliding your legs away from you. As your stomach muscles strengthen, you'll find you can push out your legs farther.

Why do I still look pregnant?

You may be very surprised by the way your tummy looks after birth. Your baby is out, but there it is, right around the navel: a big, round, squishy puffball that makes you look like you're still six months pregnant. Many women also have a dark line down their abdomen called a linea nigra and a web of stretch marks, which are actually little scars caused by the extensive stretching of skin. Those who had a c-section have surgical scars to contend with as well.It takes time for your body — and especially your belly — to fully recover from pregnancy. Imagine your abdomen as a balloon, slowly inflating as your baby grows. Childbirth doesn't pop the balloon, it just starts a slow leak. But don't worry — it's a steady one.From the moment your baby is born, hormonal changes cause your midsection to deflate, shrinking it back to something closer to its pre-pregnancy state. It takes about four weeks for your uterus to contract to its normal size. All the cells in your body that swelled during pregnancy will begin releasing their fluids in the form of urine, vaginal secretions, and sweat. And the extra fat you put on to nourish the baby will start burning off (especially if you're nursing and exercising). But it takes at least a few weeks to see noticeable results.Stretch marks and the linea nigra, however, endure longer. The good news is that stretch marks usually become considerably less noticeable six to 12 months following childbirth. Their pigmentation fades and they typically become lighter than the surrounding skin (the color will vary depending on your skin color), but their texture will remain the same. The dark color of the linea nigra will gradually fade over a year, but that too may not completely disappear.

source- babycenter.com

Day One

Postpartum Exercise Routine

Day One
You can do this routine with two pound ankle weights or without.
Leg Extensions 2 sets of 40Lay on your back, bend legs and extend them to vertical. You should feel this in your quad/front of thigh/around knee.
Leg Curl 2 sets of 40Stand next to a wall (on a phone book for a bit of height. Hold the wall, but don't lean). Bend leg to your butt and extend it all the way, with foot flexed. You should feel this burn the hamstring/back of thigh, butt.
Adductors 2 sets of 40Lay on back, legs extended vertically and together. Open legs to straddle and close. (you don't have to straddle wide, just as much as you can and so that you feel it working your inner thigh muscles)
Abductors 2 sets of 20Lay on side, both legs bent slightly. Lift top leg slightly above horizontal and back down. Make sure the foot of the leg you are lifting is straight, vs. turned out or in. You should feel this on the outside of your thigh.
Calves 2 sets of 40Stand with feet together (you can hold the wall if you like) and go to tip toe (or as high as you can). Make sure when you raise your heels that your ankles stay in line (don't let ankles collapse in or out). You should feel this in your calves.
Toe Taps 2 sets of 50Standing, just tap one foot at a time, lifting toes. You can do these quick. You should feel this in your shin.
Lunges 2 sets of 20Standing, step back with each leg, once at a time. Make sure you don't turn out the foot of the leg that is in front and make sure you touch the knee to the floor of the leg you step behind. Alternate each leg. Left, right, so on. You'll feel this in your thighs.
Crunches 50Lay on back, bend knees, arms on your stomach. Lift your head and shoulders enough to clear the floor. Try not to use your neck/head to help you lift. You'll feel it burn those muscles!

Are you really in good shape?

You consider yourself to be in better than average shape. You run several times a week for health and fitness and maybe do an occasional fun run on the weekend. Some friends come into town for the holidays and you decide to go skiing. "No problem", you think, "I'm in great shape." After a day on the slopes, however, you feel like you've been run over by Santa's sleigh and all his reindeer. What's going on?
You may think you're in great shape, but if you focus solely on one activity, you may not be in as great of shape as you think. You may, in fact, be setting yourself up for injuries, overuse syndromes, or worse still - staleness and drop out. What to do? Simple. Cross train.
Cross training is a great way to condition different muscle groups, develop a new set of skills, and reduce boredom that creeps in after months of the same exercise routines.
Cross training as allows you the freedom to vary the stress placed on specific muscles or your cardiovascular system. After months of the same movements your body becomes extremely efficient performing those movements, and while that is great for competition, it limits the amount of overall fitness you possess and reduces the actual conditioning you get while training. Rather than continuing to improve, you simply maintain a certain level of fitness. Additionally, cross training is extremely helpful at reducing the risk of injury from repetitive strain or overuse.
The term cross training refers to a training routine that involves several different forms of exercise. While it is quite necessary for an athlete to train specifically for their sport if they want to excel, for most sports enthusiasts, cross-training is a beneficial training method for maintaining a high level of overall fitness. For example, you may use both biking and swimming each week to improve your overall aerobic capacity, build overall muscle strength and reduce the chance of an overuse injury. Cross-training limits the stress that occurs on a specific muscle group because different activities use muscles in slightly different ways.
Benefits of Cross Training
Reduces exercise boredom
Allows you to be flexible about you training needs and plans (if the pool is closed, you can go for a run instead).
Produces a higher level of all around conditioning
Conditions the entire body, not just specific muscle groups
Reduces the risk of injury
Work some muscles while others rest and recover
Can continue to train while injured
Improves your skill, agility and balance
What exercises should make up a good cross training routine?
Cardiovascular Exercise (Think about adding three different exercises from the list below):
Running
Swimming
Cycling
Rowing
Stair Climbing
Rope jumping
Skating (inline or ice)
Skiing
Racketball / basketball / other court sports
Strength Training
Calisthenics (push ups and crunches and pull ups)
Free Weights
Machines
Tubing and Bands
Flexibility (stretching, yoga)
Speed, agility, and balance drills
Circuit training, sprinting, plyometrics and other forms of skill conditioning
With cross training, you can do one form of exercise each day, or more than one in a day. If you do both on the same day, you can change the order in which you do them. You can easily tailor cross-training to your needs and interests; mix and match you sports and change your routine on a regular basis.
Exercise can strengthen the cardiovascular system, bones, muscles, joints, reduce body fat and improve flexibility, balance and coordination. But if you want to see all of these benefits, you'll need to start cross training. What better time to start than this Winter. Hurry, I hear your friends have taken up snowboarding.
source- about.com

Listening to your body

Warning Signs of Serious Injuries
There are some common tip-offs you should recognize as warning signs that you have an injury that needs your attention. While some sports injuries are immediately evident, others can creep up slowly and progressively get worse. If you don't pay attention to both types of injuries, chronic problems can develop.
For detailed information on specific injuries, check out the sports injury by body part reference page.
Joint PainJoint pain, particularly in the joints of the knee, ankle, elbow and wrist, should never be ignored. Because these joints are not covered by muscle, there is rarely a muscular origin. Joint pain that lasts more than 48 hours requires a physician's diagnosis.
Tenderness at a Specific PointIf you can elicit pain at a specific point in a bone, muscle or joint, by pressing your finger into it, you may have a significant injury. If the same spot on the other side of the body does not produce the same pain, you should probably see a physician.
SwellingSwelling is usually quite obvious, and can be seen, but occasionally you may feel swollen without outward signs. Almost all sports injuries cause swelling and should never be ignored. Often, swelling within a joint will cause pain, stiffness, or may produce a clicking sound as the tendons snap over one another because they have been pushed into a new position due to swelling.
Reduced Range Of MotionIf swelling isn't obvious, you can usually find it by checking for a reduced range of motion in a joint. If there is significant swelling within a joint, you will lose range of motion -- the limb will only go so far in each direction. Again, compare one side of the body with the other to identify major differences. If there are any, you have an injury that needs attention.
Comparative WeaknessComparing one side to the other for weakness is often hard to do, but can be a good clue to identify significant injury. One way to tell is to lift the same weight with the right and left side and look at the result. Often therapists will test comparative weakness manually or with special equipment.
Numbness and TinglingNever ignore numbness or tingling. Often related to nerve compression, these warning signs may indicate serious injury and should always be seen by a physician.
Immediate TreatmentIf you recognize any of the above warning signs, the goal is to prevent further damage. Don't let the problem get any worse and don't let the swelling continue. Look for an obvious cause of the injury such as poorly fitting equipment or a missed step while sprinting. If you can locate the source of the injury, you can begin to remedy the situation. If you have any of the above warning signs, do not continue your activity. Begin treatment immediately.
The first treatment indicated for any acute injury is reducing any swelling. Swelling causes pain and loss of motion, which in turn will limit use of the muscles. If you don't use the muscles, they will weaken, and shorten and resist repair.
Use the R.I.C.E. treatment method. (Rest, ice, compression and elevation).
Do not apply heat to an injury. Heat will increase circulation and increases swelling.
Steps to Follow
Stop the activity immediately.
Wrap the injured part in a compression bandage.
Apply ice to the injured part (use a bag of crushed ice or a bag of frozen vegetables) for no more than 15 minutes at a time. Let the area warm completely before applying ice again, in order to prevent frostbite.
Elevate the injured part to reduce swelling.
Get to a physician for a proper diagnosis of any serious injury.
Source: Anybody's Sports Medicine Book, James Garrick, M.D. and Peter Radetsky, Ph.D.

Typical Warm up exercises include:

· Gradually increasing the intensity of your specific sport. This uses the specific skills of a sport and is sometimes called a related warm-up. For runners, the idea is to jog a while and add a few sprints into the routine to engage all the muscle fibers.
· Adding movements not related to your sport in a slow steady manner: calisthenics or flexibility exercises for example. Ball players often use unrelated exercise for their warm up.
· Which to choose? The best time to stretch a muscle is after it has an increased blood flow and has increased temperature to avoid injury. Stretching a cold muscle can increase the risk of injury from pulls and tears. So you are better off doing gradual aerobic exercise before stretching. Keep in mind that the best time to stretch is after exercise because your muscles are warm and pliable with the increase of blood in them.Make sure your warm up begins gradually, and uses the muscles that will be stressed during exercise.
· Keep in mind that the perfect warm up is a very individual process that can only come with practice, experimentation and experience. Try warming up in various way, at various intensities until you find what works best for you.

Why warm up?

· Blood Vessels Dilate - This reduces the resistance to blood flow and lower stress on the heart.
· Improve Efficient Cooling - By activating the heat-dissipation mechanisms in the body (efficient sweating) an athlete can cool efficiently and help prevent overheating early in the event or race.
· Increased Blood Temperature - The temperature of blood increases as it travels through the muscles, and as blood temperature rises, the amount of oxygen it can hold becomes reduced. This means a slightly greater volume of oxygen is made available to the working muscles, enhancing endurance and performance.
· Improved Range of Motion - The range of motion around a joint is increased.
· Hormonal Changes - Your body increases its production of various hormones responsible for regulating energy production. During warm-up this balance of hormones makes more carbohydrates and fatty acids available for energy production.
· Mental Preparation - The warm-up is also a good time to mentally prepare for an event by clearing the mind, increasing focus, reviewing skills and strategy. Positive imagery can also relax the athlete and build concentration.