This very important message is worth repeating. When you are recovering from a pregnancy you should avoid stomach exercises like sit ups and crunches. In fact, if you have had a baby there is actually no need to ever do them again. Wanna hear something else? Sit ups and crunches should basically be avoided by everyone. Why? First, when doing these exercises it's the outer abdominals that do the work and doing them will cause outward pressure on the abdominal wall, so if you have an abdominal separation ( diastasis recti) doing sit ups and crunches can make it worse. Did you know that you can actually cause yourself diastasis recti from doing sit ups and crunches and even men can get it! Also, it's very common that people do these exercises wrong. They can't control their abdominals - especially their inner abdominals - and their bellies get pushed out, also causing a pressure on their pelvic floor, and you all know what that can do to you... Moreover, these exercises put heavy pressure on your spine, which can cause you back problems. As I said, it's the outer abdominals doing most of the work, when performing a crunch or a sit up, but the hip flexors get to work as well. So the hip flexors shorten and tighten with each repetition. This is not something we want considering that these muscles are already short and tight because of all the sitting we do in our daily lives.
So how will I get back in shape? How will I recover my core strength and tighten those abs?
Keeping a STRONG and PROUD posture in your everyday life will get you far! Learning how to control and activate your inner abdominals will take you even further. Eventually when you are fully recovered from pregnancy, when you are strong enough and don't suffer from diastasis recti you can do different kinds of planks, starting with really gentle ones. BUT REMEMBER, planks are VERY CHALLENGING to your body - your stomach and pelvic floor in particular - so you need to be really cautious when doing them and make sure that you are ready!!
Get started today with my Post-Pregnancy Belly Guide which is a program designed to rehabilitate the postpartum stomach and pelvic floor before beginning regular exercise.
//Nicole Hellgren
