7 Moves to Strengthen Your Abs After Baby. (no crunches needed)

There is so much misinformation out there as to how to strengthen your abs after baby and lose postpartum weight.

I remember after the birth of my first baby I followed A LOT of bad advice and wondered why I couldn’t see any of the progress I felt I was working so hard for.

It was so discouraging to put in so much time and effort to get back in shape but not see any results.

A year after the birth of my second baby I decided to try to get in shape again.

I started following at home workouts and trying to eat well, but again my progress was very slow.

I came across several postpartum fitness experts that were warning women traditional workouts and core moves were hurting them instead of helping.

Suddenly it started to make sense why I wasn’t seeing the physical progress I wanted to see. I was doing it all wrong.

Moves I thought were sure to flatten my abs and help me not look like I was still pregnant were making my postpartum pooch worse, like crunches, bicycles, planks.

There was actually a much easier way to strengthen my abs after baby. (no crunches required)

By the time I was pregnant with number # 3 I invested in a prenatal/postnatal fitness program to help stay in shape safely and guided me through moves designed to protect and heal my core.

I’m excited to share with you the launch of Dr. Jena Bradley’s new book Postpartum Ab Rehab: A Simple 12 Week Program To Safely Restore Your Core. She’s a physical therapist and an expert when it comes to postpartum core exercises.

Snag your copy of the book Postpartum Ab Rehab!!

No matter what you do there is some degree of ab separation during pregnancy so your baby can grow and thrive.

Typically the separation will lessen or resolve within 6-8 weeks postpartum.

However sometimes, we are left with severe abdominal separation called diastasis recti. That’s when the abdominal wall stays separated after your baby is born leaving you with a mommy “pooch”.

Do you have diastasis recti? Find out with this simple test!

Moves to Avoid if You Are Postpartum.

any variation of sit ups or crunches
double leg raises
traditional planks
bicycle legs
abdominal twists
full push ups
any movement that causes a visible coning, or doming, in your ab muscles

Performing these traditional core exercises can lead to increased abdominal separation, lower back pain, difficulty lifting heavy objects and difficulty performing everyday tasks.

7 Moves to Strengthen Your Abs After Baby.

Transverse Abdominal Breathing (aka Belly Pumping)

This is the foundation of all the other moves. You must know how to properly engage your core before you perform any other movement.

At first I thought, how is this supposed to help me not look pregnant?

I can honestly say, this breathing exercise has made the biggest difference in how my core has healed this time postpartum!

Try to practice this move daily.
3 sets of 5 breaths.
Practice this move during everyday functional movements that require your core to be activated, like lifting a heavy object above your head or carrying groceries.

Pelvic Tilts

Lie on the ground with your legs bent and feet firmly planted on the ground
Activate your core with TVA breathing.
Gently lift your pelvis toward your chest.
Do not lift you pelvis or buttocks off the floor.
Gently return to the starting position.

Heel Slide

Lie on the ground with your legs bent, feet planted on the ground.
Activate your core with TVA breathing.
Slowly straighten one leg while maintaining the connection with your core. return to start. Repeat on the opposite side.

Heel Drop

Lie on your back with your knees over your hips.
Activate your core with TVA breathing.
Drop one foot to the floor and tap your toes. The other leg should remain stable.
Immediately lift up and return the first leg to the starting position.
Repeat with the other leg.
Keep your core activated the entire time and your back should be flat against the floor.

My legs are too high in this picture. they should be parallel to the floor.

Side Plank

Lie on your side with your elbow under your shoulder.
Activate your core with TVA breathing.
Lift up until your body is in a straight line. Try to hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
**If you have trouble lifting up with both legs, try leaving the leg closest to the ground bent at a 90 degree angle under you for support for a modified side plank.

Bent Knee Fall Out

Lie on your back with bent knees and feet flat on the floor.
Activate the core with TVA breathing.
Slowly lower one knee towards the floor. Make sure your core is activated the entire time. Return your knee to the starting position and repeat on the other other side.
If you feel yourself loose control of your core at any time return to starting position.
This is a slow and controlled movement do not rush through it.

Bridges

Lie on your back with knees bent.
Activate your your with TVA breathing.
Lift your hips to create a straight line from shoulder to hips.
Squeeze glutes as you come to the top.
Return to starting position.

Best Tips to Strengthen Your Abs After Baby

Always activate your core before you engage in any exercise.
Keep your core engaged the entire time.
You will get the most results out of these moves if you perform them slowly and controlled. If your core isn’t properly engaged it won’t matter how many you can do in what amount of time. You will not see results.

Simple Abs After Baby Workout

TVA Breathing

Practice 10 full TVA breaths and focus on your mind/body connection during this move.
It helped me in the beginning to close my eyes and place my fingertips 1-2″ on the inside of my hipbones to feel the muscles engaging to know that I was performing this move correctly.

Pelvic Tilt x 10

Heel Drop x 10

Heel Slides x 10

Side Plank x 10

Bent Knee Fallout x 10

Bridges x 10

Perform this circuit 2-3 times.

You can practice this workout alone or combine with another postpartum program.

If you need a detailed plan to help you get back into shape after the birth of your baby check out Postpartum Ab Rehab.

Dr. Jena Bradley has created a step by step guide to help you heal your core after pregnancy. There is no guessing what moves will be most helpful or how often you should do them to see the best results. It’s all in one place!

If you want to learn more about postpartum fitness and how to feel your best after pregnancy this is the program for you!