Wondering how to safely return to exercise at 6 weeks postpartum? Learn what “cleared for exercise” really means, how to rebuild your core and pelvic floor, and how to strength train without setbacks!
EPISODE 46 | HOLISTICALLY WELL PODCAST: WHEN AND HOW TO START STRENGTH TRAINING POSTPARTUM (WEEKS 5–8)
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Holistically Well Podcast on Apple | Episode 46
Holistically Well Podcast on Spotify | Episode 46
Holistically Well Podcast on YouTube | Episode 46
What Does “Cleared for Exercise” Really Mean Postpartum?
As a holistic orthopedic and pelvic health Doctor of Physical Therapy (and a mama x4!) I often remind women that at your six-week postpartum visit, your provider is typically confirming:
- Incisions or tears have healed
- The uterus has significantly involuted
- Infection risk has decreased
Medical clearance simply means there are no immediate red flags. It is not a comprehensive assessment of how your body is functioning — especially as a whole system. It’s important to note that medical clearance does not mean:
- Your core is fully restored
- Your pelvic floor is strong
- Your connective tissue is done remodeling
- You’re ready for impact, running, or high intensity
The six-week marker exists because true muscle and connective tissue change takes 4–6 weeks. That same physiological healing window is applied postpartum.
Weeks 5–8 Postpartum: The Bridge Phase
I call this stage the bridge phase. You are transitioning from foundational healing into strength rebuilding.
Physiologically, your body is still:
- Remodeling connective tissue (especially diastasis recti)
- Reestablishing pelvic floor coordination
- Fluctuating hormonally (especially if breastfeeding)
- Recovering from sleep deprivation
You may feel better but you are not fully healed!
This is where many women unintentionally overdo it.
How to Rebuild Your Core After Pregnancy (Function Before Intensity)
Around 6 weeks postpartum, it’s really tempting to make “core work” mean getting your abs back.
But in this season, your core isn’t about aesthetics… it’s about pressure management.
Because your “core” isn’t just your stomach. It’s a whole system: your diaphragm up top, your abdominal wall that wraps around you (front and back), and your pelvic floor at the bottom. What we’re rebuilding is coordination. The simplest rule that changes everything is to exhale on effort.
Think of it like this. On your inhale, you’re letting the pelvic floor soften and lengthen a bit. On your exhale, you gently engage — pelvic floor first, then core — and that’s what supports you when you lift, stand, squat, or carry something heavy!
“Heavy” isn’t always a barbell. It’s a baby. A car seat. A laundry basket. Groceries. A toddler asking to be picked up the exact second your coffees ready to be sipped. One thing I want you to watch for is breath holding. If you notice you’re bracing hard, bearing down, or holding your breath to get through a movement, that’s your sign that the load is too much right now. Look at that as information!
Because when pressure is unmanaged, that’s when we tend to see symptoms show up — things like leakage, heaviness/pressure, worsening diastasis recti signs, or even injury patterns over time.
Coning or Doming 6 Weeks Postpartum?
Coning (also called doming) is when the center of your abdomen pushes outward in a ridge or cone shape — usually along the midline — during movement.
You’ll most often see it when someone:
- Sits up in bed
- Does a crunch or plank
- Gets out of a car
- Lifts something heavy
It looks like a little tent or peak forming down the center of the belly. If you see coning or doming when you’re doing core work, don’t panic.
I don’t consider it a “red light, stop everything forever” situation. It’s more of a yellow light — like, “okay, let’s pay attention and tweak this.”
Most of the time, you can improve by making your exhale more intentional, dialing down the intensity, or modifying the position. And if it still happens no matter what you do, that’s your cue to step the exercise back to a more therapeutic level and rebuild from there.
This is exactly why I structured the Holistically Well Postpartum Program to be progressive and self-paced so you’re not guessing what to do when your body gives you feedback!
Pelvic Floor Work After Birth
A reframe I want every postpartum woman to hear is that our pelvic floor does not just need to be “strong.” It needs to be responsive.
I like to describe it like a trampoline. It should be able to soften and lengthen… and then gently recoil. Not clenched. Not stuck in “on” mode all day.
So next time you’re nursing or feeding your baby, do a quick check-in: are you clenching your glutes or pelvic floor without realizing it? A lot of women are. If that’s you, start with softness first — inhale like you’re breathing down into the pelvis, like you’re creating space between the sit bones. Let your body remember what relaxed feels like.
When to Start Strength Training Postpartum (And How It Should Feel)
In this bridge phase (weeks 5–8 postpartum), strength work should feel grounding. Supportive. Restorative. Like you finish and think, “oh wow… I feel better,” not “I need to crawl back into bed.”
Because strength training breaks muscle down so it can rebuild stronger and rebuilding requires resources. Sleep. Food. Time. Recovery.
If you’re not sleeping much, you’re breastfeeding, you’re under stress, and you’re not eating enough… then adding intense workouts on top can push the body into survival mode. That’s when women often feel more depleted, more inflamed, and frustrated that they’re not feeling “back to normal.”
More exercise isn’t always the answer. Better progression is.
That’s why inside the program I give options! Some days it’s one round and that’s perfect. Other days you have the capacity for three rounds. Postpartum isn’t linear, and your workouts shouldn’t be either.
When Can You Run or Do High Impact After Having a Baby?
Weeks 5–8 postpartum is not the time for running or high-impact workouts. Running is my medicine too but as a holistic orthopedic and pelvic health Doctor of Physical Therapy (and a mama x4!) I must remind women that this is your rebuild stage.
Before impact, you want solid signs that your system can handle load:
- you can coordinate breath with movement
- the pelvic floor feels responsive (not heavy, not leaky, not pressured)
- you can strength train without symptoms
- you’re not seeing persistent coning you can’t control
Rushing impact is one of the biggest reasons women end up with setbacks. The goal is not a fast return.. it’s a strong return.
The Nervous System Still Matters (Even When You Feel Better)
Even when you’re moving more again, rest is still part of the plan! Your nervous system is involved in everything postpartum: tissue repair, hormone regulation, milk production, emotional resilience. When you layer movement on top of pure exhaustion, it drains you.
When you layer movement on top of recovery, it builds you.
That’s the difference.
How I’m Doing This at 7 Weeks Postpartum
Right now, I’m fitting movement into nap time!
Sometimes baby is nursing while I do a side-lying series. Sometimes he’s on my chest while I do bridges. Sometimes he’s right in front of me while I’m in hands-and-knees positions doing cat/cow or bird dog and he’s just staring at me the whole time.
If I slept terribly the night before, I scale way back — or I nap first and move later. This isn’t about discipline. It’s about wisdom.
This season doesn’t require separating from motherhood to take care of your body. It’s about bringing your kids into it and showing them that healing matters too.
Ready for Guidance That Takes the Guesswork Out?
If you want a plan that tells you what to do and how to know when you’re ready to progress — with pelvic floor PT cueing built in — the Holistically Well Postpartum Program was made for this exact season.
Start wherever you are postpartum. Move at your pace. Build strength one layer at a time.
If you’re pregnant and want to set yourself up for a smoother recovery later, the Holistically Well Pregnancy Program teaches you exactly how to train in pregnancy with postpartum in mind.
