Exercising After Pregnancy - 9 Week Update for the Mother

Having a baby, especially through a c-section/cesarean, obviously affects a mother's body. How has this affected her exercise/workout routine?

To start with, because of the c-section, she took six weeks off from all potentially strenuous activity (aside from lifting the baby) so that she could heal. Everything went well, so she started working out again in her seventh week. She still didn't want to risk heavy weights (relative of course...she's only ~100 lbs) or things that were high-intensity (so no sprinting), so her workout consists of low-stress, low-weight exercises for now. Finally, there's a baby in the house that likes attention, so the workouts have to be short and have to take place at home. The basic routine is below:

Summary: Workout consists of three workouts a week plus light cardio.The workouts are circuits that consist of a mix of dumbbell exercises and yoga. If you aren't familiar with circuit training, there's an abundance of information on it online. She does three sets of each circuit for that day and rests as needed between sets. The only equipment she uses are dumbbells and a yoga mat (a treadmill also for cardio but you can do it without one). Note that she is consciously avoiding standard ab exercises (e.g., crunches) and things that put extreme stress on her core (e.g., weighted squats) to ensure that her stomach heals.

Equipment Needed: yoga mat and dumbbells; see picture (note that not all items in the picture are required)

Week 7:

Day 1:

• bicep curl (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• bent over row (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• front lateral raise (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• side lateral raise (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• reverse fly (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• hammer curl (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• inside & outside leg lifts (10 reps per leg)
• bird dogs (5 reps per side - 5 second hold per rep)
• stretch

Day 2:

Rest

Day 3:

• standing shoulder press (10 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• chest/bench press (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• chest fly (10 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• internal & external leg rotations (15 reps each for a total of 30 reps)
• leg circles (20 reps each for a total of 40 reps)
• heel slides (10 reps per leg)
• pelvic tilts (10 reps)
• calf raises (10 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• stretch

Day 4:

Rest

Day 5:

• forward bend (10 reps)
• plank (10 seconds)
• cobra (10 reps - 5 second hold per rep)
• bridge (10 reps)
• kegel (10 reps - 2 second hold per rep)
• clamshell (10 reps per leg for a total of 20 reps)
• stretch

Day 6:

Rest 

Day 7:

Rest

Cardio - 3.5 mph on a flat treadmill for 10 minutes with a light warmup and cooldown; once per week

Week 8:

Day 1:

• bicep curl (12 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• bent over row (12 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• front lateral raise (12 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• side lateral raise (12 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• reverse fly (12 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• hammer curl (12 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• inside & outside leg lifts (12 reps per leg)
• bird dogs (5 reps per side - 5 second hold per rep)
• stretch

Day 2:

Rest

Day 3:

• standing shoulder press (12 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• chest/bench press (12 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• chest fly (12 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• internal & external leg rotations (20 reps each for a total of 40 reps)
• leg circles (20 reps each for a total of 40 reps)
• heel slides (20 reps per leg)
• pelvic tilts (15 reps)
• calf raises (20 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• stretch

Day 4: 

Rest

Day 5:

• forward bend (15 reps)
• plank (40 seconds)
• cobra (12 reps - 5 second hold per rep)
• bridge (15 reps)
• kegel (15 reps - 2 second hold per rep)
• clamshell (15 reps per leg for a total of 30 reps)
• stretch

Day 6:

Rest

Day 7:

Rest

Cardio - 3.5 mph on a 5% incline for 10 minutes with a light warmup and cooldown; twice per week

Week 9:

Day 1:

• bicep curl (15 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• bent over row (15 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• front lateral raise (15 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• side lateral raise (15 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• reverse fly (15 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• hammer curl (15 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• inside & outside leg lifts (15 reps per leg)
• bird dogs (5 reps per side - 7 second hold per rep)
• body-weight squats (15 reps)
• stretch

Day 2: 

Rest

Day 3:

• standing shoulder press (15 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• chest/bench press (15 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• chest fly (15 reps - 5 lbs per arm)
• internal & external leg rotations (25 reps each for a total of 50 reps)
• leg circles (25 reps each for a total of 50 reps)
• heel slides (25 reps per leg)
• pelvic tilts (25 reps)
• calf raises (25 reps - 8 lbs per arm)
• stretch

Day 4: 

Rest

Day 5:

• forward bend (20 reps)
• plank (40 seconds)
• cobra (15 reps - 5 second hold per rep)
• bridge (25 reps)
• kegel (25 reps - 2 second hold per rep)
• clamshell (25 reps per leg for a total of 50 reps)
• stretch

Day 6: 

Rest

Day 7: 

Rest

Cardio - 4.5 mph on a 5% incline for 15 minutes with a light warmup and cooldown; twice per week

The pregnancy didn't affect my body quite as much as the mother's so my workout hasn't changed significantly which means I might not post it for a while.