Exercise for Weight Loss After a Twin Pregnancy

Having twins means double the joy and happiness, double the love, and unfortunately in many cases, double the weight. The statistics are there, women who were pregnant with multiples do in fact gain more weight, but this doesn't mean you have to be miserable until the twins are off to kindergarten, blaming the pregnancy for the excess weight years later.

For successful weight loss after a twin pregnancy, not only do you have the task of losing the pounds, but also trying to get your muscles and skin toned and back into shape. While eating the right foods is extremely important for getting rid of that extra pregnancy weight, so is exercise as it's possible to lose weight, but still have a lack of muscle tone, which usually gives the appearance of extra pounds.

Easy Exercises for Weight Loss After a Twin Pregnancy

Before beginning any type of exercise or weight loss program, particularly after a physically stressful event such as giving birth to twins, it's always a good idea to consult with your doctor first. This is especially true because in the months following pregnancy, muscles and joints may be more prone to injury than normal due to the increase of the hormone relaxin. The influx of this hormone remains in the blood for several weeks to as long as two months following childbirth, leaving women susceptible to injuring their joints.

Also, with any type of exercise, be watchful of signs and symptoms such as excessive bleeding, fatigue, shortness of breath, and painful muscle aches that don't feel any better within a day or two.

In addition to doing side lunges, or lunges while walking, crunches can be helpful for tightening the abdominal muscles, if you didn't have a caesarean section, of course. Lying on your back with your knees bent and feet completely flat on the floor, place just your fingertips behind the head, without touching the hands together, and keep your elbows wide and open. Contract your abdominal muscles, causing the center of your back to touch the floor, while lifting your head and neck as well as the shoulder blades off the floor, as your chest reaches toward your hip area.

Lower back to the floor, and repeat the process 10 times, increasing the number of repetitions as your strength and endurance grow.

Strength training and cardio workouts can involve many different exercises, including abdominal crunches, lunges, and working out with dumbbells and ankle weights. Add yoga, tai chi, or Pilates to the mix and you'll not only keep yourself from getting bored, but also be sure you're working different muscle groups as well as increasing your lung function and improving your heart rate at the same time.

While exercising, breathe in deeply through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. Remember to stay well hydrated throughout the day, not only while you're working out, to avoid becoming dehydrated, which, of course, is imperative if you're breastfeeding. Also, always warm up first before exercising, doing stretches for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then complete your workout with a "cool down" period, also stretching the muscles to protect them from injury.

Since you now have not one, but two beautiful babies to look after, exercising regularly will help to keep both your energy level and your mental capacity where they'll need to be, on high alert.

Shedding pregnancy pounds doesn't have to be a challenge. Visit http://www.pregnancyweightloss.net and discover what other moms already know, you can easily lose your baby weight without unhealthy fad diets and starvation techniques.