Oooh, exciting (or maybe not if this stuff bores you!) — I’m back to posting workouts!! Or at least A workout. Let’s not get carried away here.
While I’m not cleared to run yet, I CAN do some exercising to restore my body. It was actually recommended to me during discharge to start doing pelvic tilts (and kegels – which really DO help).
I don’t do these religiously, but every few days I’ll lay day and tilt it out.
Another workout that’s highly recommend to me are planks.
You remember my stellar plank tutorial, right?
Kinda miss that belly. Kinda.
So that’s what I’ve been doing the last week or so. I am actually very surprised at how fast my muscles bounce back. I started with a few 30 second planks – and now I’m up to a minute and 30 seconds! There is still a lot of work to be done though. Here’s me at 4 weeks postpartum (how has it already been a month??):
That linea nigra is so attractive, right? It will be there for at least another 4-5 months.
The key to getting my core back into shape is focusing on CRUNCHLESS core work. Crunches can actually jack your abs up when you are in postpartum recovery. Most women have a touch of diastasis recti after having a baby (basically when your abs separate to make room for the baby – and they don’t move back into position) and doing crunches can actually make that situation WORSE. Instead, it’s key to do exercises that pull your abs IN towards your spine. It also helps your back muscles and gives you better posture (which I know I can definitely use!), so even if you aren’t recovering from popping a baby out they are great exercises to strengthen your core.
I know that once I start running my abs will also get whipped into shape (it’s amazing how much you use your core to run), but starting this week here are a few more exercises that I am going to start adding into my daily routine (if you want to call it that).
*Core Contractions/Lower Back Flatten*
So my “workout” ends up looking something like this…
*You can repeat this workout 2-4 times to make it a more challenging workout. Right now, once is challenging for me!*
I’m varying it depending on how I feel and how easily my muscles tire. I haven’t used most of these muscles in MONTHS, so it’s really important I don’t rush into ANYTHING. Yes, even a simple ab workout. It’s also important for me to remember that it took 9 months for my belly to look like a beast, so it’s going to take some time for it get back to “normal.” Plus, it was worth it because look how cute this chunker is?
Yes, I had to squeeze some Evan pictures in somehow.
What’s your favorite core exercise??
PS – Countdown to my first run back? 16 days (Nope, I’m not excited/terrified AT ALL!)