UK gymnast Alice Kinsella is on a mission to become the first British artistic gymnast to return to elite competition after giving birth. The 24-year-old, who won Olympic bronze and two European championships, sat down with BBC Sport to discuss her progress and how she has managed it.
Kinsella had "about three or four weeks off" after having her son Parker in the summer, but stopped training on bars, floor and vault "straight away" due to the risk of falling on her stomach. Instead, she focused on core strength and conditioning exercises, which target muscles weakened during pregnancy. British Gymnastics senior conditioning coach Ben Young said they used this time to address some limitations Kinsella had, such as ankle stability and shoulder strength.
Kinsella believes her gymnastics background has helped her regain strength quickly after childbirth, but acknowledged that it may not have been possible if she had a caesarean section. She is currently training three days a week with help from childcare providers, including partner Will and mum. The team hopes Kinsella can be a pioneer for other gymnasts to return to elite sports after childbirth.
The University of Kent is leading research on returning to sport postpartum, with Alice Kinsella's progress being tracked by Dr Julie Gooderick and her team. They will monitor physical testing data, hormonal profiles, sleep patterns, and psychological factors as Kinsella builds back towards returning to competition.
Kinsella had "about three or four weeks off" after having her son Parker in the summer, but stopped training on bars, floor and vault "straight away" due to the risk of falling on her stomach. Instead, she focused on core strength and conditioning exercises, which target muscles weakened during pregnancy. British Gymnastics senior conditioning coach Ben Young said they used this time to address some limitations Kinsella had, such as ankle stability and shoulder strength.
Kinsella believes her gymnastics background has helped her regain strength quickly after childbirth, but acknowledged that it may not have been possible if she had a caesarean section. She is currently training three days a week with help from childcare providers, including partner Will and mum. The team hopes Kinsella can be a pioneer for other gymnasts to return to elite sports after childbirth.
The University of Kent is leading research on returning to sport postpartum, with Alice Kinsella's progress being tracked by Dr Julie Gooderick and her team. They will monitor physical testing data, hormonal profiles, sleep patterns, and psychological factors as Kinsella builds back towards returning to competition.
! I mean, who wouldn't want to get back out there on the beam after having a kid? 
It's amazing she's been able to pick up her training again and is working with a team to make sure everything goes smoothly. I can only imagine it's not easy balancing parenting and gymnastics - I feel for her! 
As an oldie like me, I remember when we used to just wing it and hope for the best, whereas now there's all this research and whatnot being done to help women come back from maternity leave. It's all good vibes here, mate 
I mean, can we talk about how hard it is for people to get back into sports after having kids? Like, Alice Kinsella's progress is super inspiring, but also kinda worrying that she's putting herself through this again without even thinking about the potential risks. And what's with the childcare providers just showing up out of nowhere? I'm sure they're nice and all, but shouldn't there be some kind of support system in place for gymnasts returning to elite competition after childbirth? 
. I mean, she's been through a lot after having her son, but she's not letting anything hold her back 
. And I love how they're studying this phenomenon too - it could totally change the way we approach sports postpartum 
. Kinsella's a total rockstar, and I'm rooting for her all the way 
!
it's crazy how our bodies can change so much in such a short time, right? I mean, after I had my wedding cake, I could barely climb two flights of stairs without getting winded 
so they're saying she went from having a baby to competing again in like 3-4 weeks? that's crazy! I need some sources on how her body just magically recovered from childbirth to be training like normal... and what about the whole caesarean section thing? wouldn't that change things? 
i mean, she was out for like a few weeks after havin her kid and now shes back on the training grind 3 days a wk! that's amazing 
but also kinda scary thinkin bout all the ppl who might be worried about fallin on their stomach or whatnot... anyways, it's def cool to see gymnasts pushin themselves like this 
. It shows they're invested in helping their athletes succeed, even after having kids. Let's hope Kinsella can return to elite competition soon and inspire others to do the same 
!
. It's amazing that she's only training three days a week and still managing to make progress 
studying how athletes recover from childbirth and getting back into elite competition could be game-changing for a lot of people 