Question 9 weeks post partum
QUESTION: Helene, I just had my third child and am in my mid 40's. After my second
child I noticed that my belly stuck out quite a bit. I did some body building
classes etc for a couple of years but nothing to really focus on my abs, so
they never returned to their pre pregnancy state. Now that I have had my
third child, my belly sticks out and I look pregnant. I am worried that
because I did not focus on my belly with the last baby, that I am too
stretched out beyond repair. I do only have a 2 finger gap in my outer
muscles, but it is the deeper ones I think that have been stretched to
capacity. I have attached a photo of my belly! Hopefully it is not too late for
me to get into shape. Thank you for your time!
ANSWER: Right now you have a typical postpartum body, with abs that are both weak and too long, a condition called laxity.
Since you are an experienced exerciser, you should have no trouble flattening and toning up your abs with proper post natal exercises. Don't start with exercises like crunches, which flex the upper body off the floor or against the force of gravity, as these types of exercises can prevent flattening the abdominal wall after pregnancy.
For more information on how to rebuild the abs after pregnancy go to:
http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_reconditioning.html
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for your response. I do have your ab workout video that I just got
and am looking forward to working out with it every day. You mentioned that
I should not be doing crunches as an exercise. In your video you are
demonstrating crunches, is it a different method of crunches? What would be
the best exercise for me since I have laxity? I am 44 years old and hope that
my muscles will not stay weak and long. Please let me know what section of
your video would be best for me to focus on. The only other exercise that I
do is light cardio on the precore. With 3 kids I do not have time to work out
like I used to. I really hope that there is still hope for me to get back to a flat
stomach. Thank you again so much for your time, I really respect your feed
back.
AnswerHere's a short cut for athletic women:
Start doing lots of Belly Lacing to strengthen your Transverse Abdominis, or TvA. Try to fit in several sets of this exercise daily.
When you have block of time where you can really focus, train you body how to do the Belly Scooping technique. Then start working these two exercises back to back.
After you get good at the belly scooping technique, not only will your tummy make a deep concave shape, but you'll also feel your abdominal muscles working strongly to make it happen, learn all of the exercises that require you to maintain the belly scooped position.
Then practice all of these as a set, always starting with the Belly Lacing, Belly Scooping and then going into the others. Do just this series for about three weeks.
Then add the upper body flexion exercises one at a time. As you do this transition, make sure that your NEVER let you abs bulge outward. When this happens, it means that your external abs have overpowered your TvA.
My program is a general one for postpartum women, and the first series of exercises does not include upper body flexion. So women who start with the first series of exercises develop enough functional strength in their cores before being challenged by the three that flex the upper body.
