The #1 Thing You Must Do Before Working Out After Baby
|The #1 Thing You Must Do Before Working Out After Baby|
Do you know if you have Diastasis Recti? If you said yes, no, or I don’t know this is the most important thing you can read right now! Get your healthier starting right now.
So you’ve just had your baby.
That beautiful bundle of joy you nurtured in your womb for the last 10 months is finally here.
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Annnddd now you’re left with a body that you don’t recognize. You have stretched skin, maybe a few (or in my case quite a few…) extra pounds hanging on, wider hips, swollen breasts, and less muscle than before. I’m sure you’re itching to get back into your pre-pregnancy clothes and start working out.
But what if I told you there is an extremely important test you must do before you begin to work out? A test that could change the way you look, the way you feel and the health of your pelvic floor. This test could be the beginning of the end of peeing your pants. This test could be the end of your back pain and the start of a new, healthier you.
BUT. If you fail to do this test and you have this condition, it could take a lot longer to fix. A lot longer to a healthy core and a lot longer to being able to control your bladder.
This test is a very simple test and will determine if you have Diastasis Recti.
What is Diastasis Recti??
Diastasis Recti is the separation of the abdominal wall. It happens during pregnancy in all women and many women will still have a separation a year after giving birth. Symptoms of Diastasis Recti include the “mommy pooch”, lower back pain, constipation, leaking urine and less control over flatulence.
What’s the prognosis Doc??
Most women can heal their separation with time and proper habits. Some women may be left with a small gap for the rest of their life but can still improve their pelvic floor health by utilizing smart abdominal habits. It is not something that requires surgery (although some doctors may say so).
The first thing you must do is check for a separation.
You simply lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Then place your hand/finger tips at your belly button and press down.
Please forgive me for the quality of pictures, I was taking them by myself during nap time. Ha!
Next lift your head just slightly off the ground and notice your abdominals contracting. You should feel them coming together when you lift your head and separating when you relax your head. If you need to do this a couple of times to get a feel for the way your abs work and where they are feel free to do so.
After you have a feel for your abs you will need to do this again and this time measure the amount of fingers width you have and depth. It is important to not lift your head too much as it can give you a false reading. It should only be lifted to the point that your abs are starting to contract.
Now you need to check at your belly button, above the belly button and below the belly button. This is important because you could have just partial separation at any of these points (mine is still about 2 1/2 fingers wide at my belly button but pretty much closed above and below).
Anything over 1-1 1/2 fingers width is considered a separation in need of healing.
If you have less than 1 1/2 fingers width congratulations you don’t need any rehab! But developing smart pelvic floor health is still a good idea 😉
If you have more than 1 1/2 fingers width you’ll need some rehabbing of those muscles! But fear not, it’s fixable.
So how do we fix it??
First of all DON’T do crunches or any sort of direct abdominal exercises. This includes crunches AND planks. I know, I know, planks are all the rage right now. But just wait until you’ve healed to think about incorporating them.
5 Exercises You CAN Do:
Heel Slides– Lying on your back, bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Slowly slide your right heel out so that your leg is straight on the floor. Breathing out and contracting your core pull it back in so that it is bent once again and your foot is flat on the floor. Do 20 reps. Switch to other side and complete 20 reps.
Marches– Lying on your back, bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Slowly raise one knee in the air, keeping the knee bent and bring it towards your head (not all the way, just a little). While breathing out and contracting your core, slowly lower back to start. Do 20 reps and switch sides.
Bridges– Lying on your back, bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Slowly raise your butt off the ground using your leg and glute muscles while contracting your core. Squeeze at the top and slowly lower. Do 15 reps.
Bird Dogs– On hands and knees, slowly extend your right arm and your left leg. Squeeze and contact. Lower back to start. Do 20 reps, each side.
Deep Belly Breaths– Lying on your back, bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Place your hands on your stomach and breathe really deeply so that your stomach rises and pushes your hands out. Exhale and slowly contract your core, deflating your belly and hold for a few seconds. Repeat 10 times and keep aware of your core the whole time.
Use these exercises until you can feel improvement and then keep doing them. Ha. But seriously, I know that I struggle with how slow it is to heal but I have found that if I rush it or slack off it only sets me further back.
These gentle exercises will go a long way to healing but even more important is our habits. It’s the things we do day in and day out that really add up to our health. By simply changing our habits we can compound our efforts over time to heal faster and stronger.
3 Habits To Change For Faster Healing:
Sitting– Sitting in comfy chairs or couches tend to cause us to slouch and slump therefore bulging our core. When we slump and slouch we aren’t engaging our core to hold us erect and actually putting a lot of pressure on our abdominal wall and spine. So to change this habit we can start by sitting on the floor more or sitting on the edges of chairs and couches so that we aren’t leaning and slouching on them.
Leaning While Standing– Have you ever noticed how much you lean in the kitchen? I am notorious for leaning while cutting veggies, while doing the dishes, waiting for the pot to boil etc. But again when we lean we aren’t engaging our muscles and they become slack. To change our leaning we can begin by holding our bodies upright, engaging our deep abdominals and standing tall. Even when those dishes are tedious 😉
Bending To Pick Stuff Up– Ugh. This is another bad one for me. I so often will choose to lean over, rounding my back to pick stuff up off the floor when I really should use the legs that God designed for squatting. Instead of bending over to pick stuff up, we should be squatting and standing back up. Not only will be putting less pressure on our spine and abs we will be building those glutes!
You can begin these habit changes and gentle exercises as soon as you feel ready after baby. (Of course I’m not a doctor and as always consult them first.)
Eventually you will see improvement with urine leaking, the mommy pooch and lower back pain. It is SO worth it to be making a conscious effort to heal those abs and to NOT hurt them further by doing exercises that cause extra abdominal pressure on your already weak muscles.
The following are all recommended reading for learning more about pelvic health:
Diastasis Recti: The Whole Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation by Katy Bowman- This is by far the most recommended book for learning about healing DR and functional fitness. Katy Bowman is an awesome resource for real life movement and healing.
Lose Your Mummy Tummy by Julie Tupler – This one comes in at the second most recommended books. With actionable steps and workouts you can do from home it’s sure to help you conquer the mommy pooch.
Diastasis Rectified– Emily has super helpful pictures (for those visual learners out there 😉 ) of everyday moves and habits with ways to correct them. Plus she has me in stitches when I read her stuff, she’s funny.
The Mutu System– This is a proven workout system to help heal your abdominals and get back in shape. It’s the #1 recommended workout system for postpartum women, those with diastasis and without. This program will help you have that flat tummy, strength, and (best of all) the ability to control your bladder. You definitely want this ladies 😉
Who doesn’t love a good before and after???
So these photos aren’t glamorous by any means. And I’m not in the best shape I’ve ever been in yet but I thought I’d show you just how powerful theses exercises can be.
The photo on the left I was 10 months postpartum and I hadn’t been working out consistently at all. The photo on the right was 3 months later, still not consistently working out BUT actively and consciously trying to heal my diastasis. Do you see how much flatter my belly is on the right??
Ladies, your body will never be “back to pre-baby body” BUT it can be healthy and strong (and not have to pee every time you sneeze!). You CAN rid yourself of lower back pain, weak abdominals, and the mommy pooch. You CAN have great pelvic floor health again.
It just takes time.
And good habits 🙂
Now tell me! Have you been doing anything to help your core? What about hurting it? Did you know planks are a no-no for a diastasis?? Drop a comment and give me all your thoughts!
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