QuestionI purchased the Exercise After Pregnancy Book. I have been practicing the hollow pelvic tilts with success. My issue is when doing heel slides and definitely while doing the small toe taps, my middle back tenses. I am not going to other exercises until I conquer these. I am pulling down hard on my middle, my lower back is pressed into the floor and glutes relaxed and shoulders relaxed, but middle back tenses when I move my leg. Is this normal or do you have further tips on how I can correct this. My abdominal wall is definitely staying down (no bulge). I am ashamed I am 2 years postpartum and just realized I may have diastasis recti. I have been doing a physique 57 (pilates) type workout for 3 months and my abs have improved, but with some research I found they were not strong in the proper way. I'm desperate to conquer this and fear that with my 2nd pregnancy (hopefully on the way soon) any damage will be irreversible. I found a lot of benefit in visualizing my lower back pushing into the sand. Hoping a similar visual can assist with this. Thank you so much for a great book.
AnswerI can offer a few suggestions:
First, if your pelvis is not moving at all when you do a small toe-tap, then is is possible that your back muscles are contracting and to trying to "help out" with stabilization. To get around this, shorten your range of motion (even if your knee only moves an inch or two that's OK) until you feel you back muscles are about to engage. Work VERY slowly as you do these. You aim here is to work on better neuromuscular patterning.
You can also go to a point of control, and then hold that position for 30 seconds, turning the exercise into an isometric. Play around with positioning of you legs too. Toe-taps are done with the lower leg hanging, but your body might function better if the working limb was partially extended. So try a 90 degree angle and see if that helps.
From the supine position, with your pelvis and belly in the hollow pelvic tilt position, you can work on just lifting one foot off the floor and bringing you knee up toward your chest, then carefully placing it back down. This variation offers more stability as one foot is always on the ground.
Always make sure that you start each training session with several sets of belly lacing to get your Transverse Abdominis functioning.
When doing the exercises that require you to use the hollow pelvic tilt position, think of pulling your pubic bone as close to your ribs as possible. A great image for this is to imagine that you are a marionette, and that you are pulling up on the string that attaches to your pubic bone.
In general, it sounds like you need to build more strength in your Transverse Abdominis, so try to do a set or two of belly lacing every day. You can also work this muscle in your car at red lights. Here's how:
Sitting tall, in neutral, with you head touching you car's head rest, pull you lower belly inward (while you exhale) as much as you can. Pull the lap portion of your seat belt tighter. Hold the contract for several seconds as tightly as you can. Then repeat, pulling your belly in, and away from the lower part of your seat belt. Hold the contraction and repeat the sequence a third time.
Lots of women get diastasis, it's nothing to feel bad about, it's simply how our bodies respond to the hormonal and mechanical stresses of pregnancy. And if you get your Transverse Abdominis really strong, and keep it strong in you next pregnancy, then you can prevent or lessen the severity of the separation.
