Keep a Strong Core During and After Pregnancy

Keeping a Strong CORE During Pregnancy & After Delivery

During pregnancy

many women are very nervous to exercise, however, this is one of the best things you can do for your body and your baby! I highly recommend that you get a program designed by a certified and knowledgeable personal trainer once you find out that you are pregnant because there are modifications that need to be made the further along a woman gets into her pregnancy. As far as the Core goes, the best exercises for a pregnant woman are stability ball exercises and planks. With the stability ball you should modify the crunch to an incline position because once you pass approximately16-20 weeks you should not be doing anything lying flat on your back. The planks can be modified from toes down to knees (with traditional & side planks) as well. Planking is AMAZING for keeping the core muscles intact, holding the belly tight, supporting the low back, and recovering after you have a baby!

       

Post-baby

I'm sure many of you noticed that after you had your baby the core muscles that you had seem almost non-existent. Each pregnancy is different and each woman's belly expands differently. There are some women who are able to keep their core intact throughout their pregnancy and there are others whose belly grows at a very fast rate and their core just lets go, and then some women have abdominal muscles that literally separate. Every woman can still do core work but depending on the amount of separation (if any), your results can vary.

After you delivered your baby, your nurse/midwife most likely told you to start doing kegel exercises. I remember trying to do these exercises and physically not being able to contract those pelvic floor muscles! It was like the message wasn't getting from my brain to my muscles!! Eventually, the message does get there. Your pelvic floor muscles are just as important as the outer abdominal muscles that people tend to work on for ‘looks.’ The best exercise to start with, after you are able to do kegel exercises and have gotten the ‘okay’ from your doctor, is the plank. A plank is a full core exercise so it’s not just the rectus abdominal (your 6-pack muscles), internal & external oblique muscles or the transverse abdominal; which means the muscles down the centre of your stomach, the sides & around your truck. The plank encompasses all of those muscles! It is key to work all these deep abdominal muscles (transverse abdominals) and not just to focus on the superficial muscles. Your spine needs to be supported, especially when you are feeding, changing diapers, lifting car seats and more! All these activities require your body to be in a bent forward position or they require you to twist and turn while holding quite a bit of weight. Planking will help you save your lower back and keep your tummy pulled in tight.

As you see in the picture above of the plank, you are on your forearms and either knees or toes. Keep tailbone tucked under (pelvic tilt) then hold that position as long as you can. Side plank is shown above as well but you can come up onto feet if core is strong enough.

Now for those superficial muscles -- the flat, toned, defined abs that we all want. The most effective way to get those is to use a stability ball. If you don’t have a stability ball one can be purchased for approximately $25 and it is worth every penny. Using a stability ball makes every core exercise you do even more effective than on the floor because you are using an unstable surface. As soon as you lay back on the ball you’ll feel your core contract, without even doing an exercise! Imagine the benefit once you actually do crunches or crossovers. A bonus about the stability ball is your child will LOVE to sit on your lap while you bounce on it! It’s always a hit with the little ones.

When positioning yourself on the bal to do a crunch, ly back on the ball so it is in your lower back and just your head and shoulders are hanging off the top. Keep your hips up in a pelvic tilt then crunch the upper body up trying to get your ribs as close to your hip bones as possible without dropping your hips. Go back till flat then crunch up again.

If you incorporate these exercises into your daily routine 4-5 times a week you will feel stronger and tighter very quickly. The key to 'seeing' the results is incorporating cardiovascular and strength training with the core exercises to burn off any extra calories. Look for more information on this in a future article.

If you have any questions about core exercises or are already doing these exercises and want some new ones to try please feel free to contact me at paula.performancefitness@gmail.com.

Don't EVER feel like you cannot workout or be active. If you have injuries or limitations that hinder you from doing these exercises there are ALWAYS modifications to fit every person.

Paula Man

Owner- Performance Fitness
CPTN certified personal trainer
Fitness & Health Promotion Diploma
Sport Movement Specialist