Michelle Bridges hits back at critics

Michelle Bridges has responded to the backlash she has received over her post-birth exercise regime, saying she was given the OK by her doctors to train.

Michelle Bridges, 45, welcomed her son Axel last month, and has recently hit the head lines after posting details of her postnatal workout regime on Instagram. Labelled “irresponsible” by some health experts

“If an individual decides to jog soon after giving birth, this is their choice,” the Women In Focus Physiotherapy group posted to their Facebook page on Friday. “However as a public figure encouraging women who’s [sic] body types, birth and fitness histories are unknown, to start jogging is quite frankly concerning. It could potentially cause a woman more harm than good in these early stages, especially to the pelvic floor and the ligaments that support the bladder, uterus and bowel.”

Speaking exclusively to The Weekly, Michelle says she felt it was the right time to resume her training after consulting her doctors.

“I’m back into things a little faster than most, simply because it feels right for my body,” she says. “I have moved my whole life (a lot!), trained safely all the way through my pregnancy, and so I felt perfectly fit to get back into it (after the docs ok of course).”

“Be patient with your body, give it time to recover,” she advises. “It’s just undergone a maternal marathon and needs time for muscles, ligaments and tissue to return to normal. The recommended guidelines advise waiting six weeks before commencing a fitness regime; however this can vary from person to person.

“As soon as your doctor gives you the all clear, start making it part of your daily routine. And do your pelvic floor exercise every day.”

Bridges says she is following her 12WBT post-baby meal plan to get back into shape.

“There’s definitely no dieting involved,” she tells The Weekly. “I’m eating a broad range of good quality whole foods, focussing on my iron and calcium intake.”

Share your thoughts below.

16 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 21 Oct 2021
    12:38 pm
Oh look why do we have to bitch about people. If she wants to run marathons, climb mountains or just sit on the couch then for goodness sake leave her alone to do it. Why should we care?

- - curlytops said
  - 07 Mar 2016
    9:44 am
everyone is different and everyone does things differently. She is doing whats right for her.

- - coastalkaryn said
  - 09 Feb 2016
    9:29 pm
oh Michelle, you are uber fit, good on you. most are not as strong as you, so good on you for advising people to listen to gp

- - ella12 said
  - 25 Jan 2016
    4:35 pm
Yes, I guess at the end of the day you have to do what feels right for you.

- - rovermum said
  - 25 Jan 2016
    9:28 am
I wouldn’t say she hits back. Michelle will have already provided this interview to the AWW and it’s not in response to the furore that erupted when she advised some women to not copy her workout, but reduce it to 15-20 minutes. This is merely excerpts from her interview. I’d love to hear her reply to what the experts say in response to her comments.

- - mom134803 said
  - 23 Jan 2016
    2:15 am
Great that she is so fit that she can pick up her exercises so soon after birth. Glad she played it safe and got the ok from her Doctor – something we all should seek.

- - tessie said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    3:57 pm
Everybody is different and Michelle states that herself. She got the doctors’ okay to continue. I don’t see what the problem is when she was just letting people know what she did. If she told us to jump over a cliff I’m sure we all would have worked out if we could do it safely first.

- - mom94125 said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    2:55 pm
yeah i am sure that she has her doctor’s backing on whatever she is wanting to do

- - aprilb1 said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    1:07 pm
oh well in the end its her body, her choice

- - Astrogirl said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    7:30 am
I’m glad you cleared this up Michelle as a lot of people follow your example in fitness. I guess this depends on the person and how fit they were during pregnancy etc. Consult doctor first.
- mom94125 replied
  
  22 Jan 2016 , 6:04 pm
  yeaht that is right, she has this extensive background in exactly this so she is fit as!
- - risshabear said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    12:44 am
I’m glad she got the chance to defend her statement. She got so much backlash for people taking things out of proportion.

- - youngoldlady said
  - 22 Jan 2016
    12:03 am
As stated she had advise from her Doctor and that is all that is need plus the woman to feel comfortable to do. Fitness is her life and so Michele knows her body very well. Each of my post births was different and so were treated that way.

- - mom101628 said
  - 21 Jan 2016
    10:19 pm
Over 40 years since the birth of my last child and I still do the pelvic floor exercises I learnt when I had no. 1 of the 4. It has made sure that I haven’t had a prolapse or many of the other troubles that ladies have in their later years. I was sure that Michelle was doing what she was capable of with her doctors approval – I have known mothers who got back onto their horses very quickly after the birth of their children because they had been riding right up until just before the birth. It all depends on what you did prior to the birth as to how quickly you get back to doing it.

- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 21 Jan 2016
    8:36 pm
I always did my pelvic floor exercises as soon as I had the babies. That was within a few hours after birth except for baby no 3 and I had a very difficult delivery. I did them for at least 13 weeks after each birth and still do some of them today.

- - mom74640 said
  - 21 Jan 2016
    11:42 am
Lke gf