Alright friends, I am ready to share this simple yet effective ab routine I have been doing! Are ya ready?!

Let me just say I was scared out of my mind to start doing ab exercises postpartum. I knew I had done my best to maintain some strength during pregnancy but I had (still have) a long road to recovery. It was somewhat inevitable that I would experience, Diastasis Recti. For those that do not know, Diastasis Recti is the separation of your abdominal muscles- very common during pregnancy- especially when you are pregnant with more than one baby! Now, I am a personal trainer, not a physical therapist. In my personal trainer’s course, we barely touched base on Diastasis Recti. By no means am I an expert on this condition! In fact, I reached out to a few of my friends who are physical therapists before beginning any ab plans to get their opinions! It’s important to take it slow on abdominal exercises after having a baby(ies) because some exercises can actually make your separation worse!

I was waiting forever to post this because I wanted a nice backdrop and for the photos to be crisp and nicely edited. Then, yesterday I was like screw it! I’m taking these photos myself while the babies are napping and I don’t care if they are perfect! This is my real life and the real me.

I’ll stop babbling- let’s get into these ab exercises!

Exercise 1: Heel Slides

 

  • Lie down on the floor with your leg flat.
  • Slowly begin to slide your heel towards your glutes as your knee begins to bend.
  • Slide your heel back down until your leg is straight on the floor.

I started off doing 5 reps x 3 sets on my right leg and then 5 on my left! That was around 2 months postpartum. I now do 15 reps x 3 sets per leg at 7 months postpartum. Take your time with these and give your muscles a chance to build back up!

Exercise 2: Bridges

  • Make sure your feet are under your knees.
  • Tighten your core and your glutes.
  • Raise your hips up to create a straight line from your knees to shoulders.
  • Squeeze that core of yours! Try to pull your belly button back towards your spine!

I started off doing 10 reps x 2 sets at 2 months postpartum. I now do 15 reps x 3 sets!

Exercise 3: Bird Dogs

  • Start off on all fours. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders, knees under your hips.
  • Pull your abs in towards your spine. Pull your right arm forward and your left leg back.
  • Focus on not letting your pelvis rock side to side as you move your leg behind you!
  • Return to starting position with your hand and knee on the floor.

I started off doing 5 reps x 2 sets each side! I know do 15 reps x 3 sets! 

Exercise 4: Cat/Cow

  • Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulder, knees under hips.
  • Your knees and shins should be hip-width apart.
  • Start off by moving into Cow Pose. Drop your belly towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest and gaze up at the ceiling.
  • Draw your shoulders away from your ears.

Now, time to move into Cat Pose!

  • Draw your belly to your spine and round your back towards the ceiling. Release the crown of your head towards the floor- but do not force your chin to your chest!

Come back to Cow Pose!

Now, this pose is actually super awkward for me because my back is fused from my spinal fusion surgery (which I had to correct my Scoliosis). I am not as flexible when it comes to this pose so if it looks like I am not bending very well…that is why! This does not just help my core but my back! I do not have much trouble with my spinal fusion except for the fact that I can get very stiff. Cat and Cow pose helps promote flexibility in my back!

Exercises that I have been avoiding:

  • Sit-ups
  • Crunches
  • Scissor kicks
  • Any deep twisting positions!

Pretty much, I avoided exercises that placed any strain on my midline or caused my belly to bulge outward! Repeating exercises that do this to your abdomen can make the separation worse!

For me, the hardest part about starting this routine initially was that I use to do some very intense ab exercises! If you have followed my page since the very beginning (three years ago) abs were by far the muscle group I worked the most! To go from articulate grueling ab work back to the basics was hard for me but necessary! There is nothing wrong with going back to the basics, my friends! I give these four exercises a lot of credit because they have really helped my abdominals recover post babies! What is funny is that I think people thought I had some crazy ab plan I’ve been following. The basics are where I started. These particular ab exercises I’ve listed above tend to get poo poo’d because they are simple. We need to realize that simplicity is not always bad…sometimes its exactly what our body NEEDS!

Oh, and before I forget to mention, I started off doing these four exercises two days out of the week! I never pushed myself or kept going if I felt any pain or strain. I took it very slowly. I now do these every other day (at most) while the babies are wiggling around the floor next to me or napping!

Happy Thursday my friends! Stay lively!