I was looking at your web page and was very pleased to see your section
on "Moms", you mom must be proud of you. Anyway, I am a mom of 3. I have had
3 c-sections with cuts in 2 different directions and ignored all of my doctor's
advice about exercising right away after their births to regain my abdominal
muscles. I have been working out at a gym doing both cardio and weight training
for about a 1 year or a little longer and have had some success. I have had
a trainer work with my program, however he neglects my stomach which is obviously
my biggest "problem area" as a mother. You say in your article that getting
rid of this is easy, would you be so kind to share the "how" in that equation
for all us c-section moms?
Hey "MOM", its hard to tell you what to do from a distance but I will definitely
do my best for you! Do you happen to know your body fat levels? Its good to
know as I give advice to moms because it tells me where you are in terms of
fat levels and fitness. This way I know if the problem is excess fat, a stretched
stomach or a combination of the two.
I will assume that you are around 20% and that it is more of a problem of
stretched tissue in the stomach. But feel free to get it checked and get back
to me. Most times the problem is in the lower stomach region. So thats
what you want to hit the hardest. Of course you dont want to ignore any aspect
of the stomach if quick progress is your goal after a C-Section. So here is
the routine I would put my moms on if the doctor has already given the o.k.
to exercise the stomach after a C-Section.
Exercise 1 Reverse hip roles for the lower abs 3x20 immediately
into crunches and then bridges. All three exercises are done in a row and
then a minute rest.
Exercise 2 Reverse hip roles are a reverse crunch where you
bring the hip and pelvis off the floor towards your head and squeeze for a
count. You can hold onto a solid object behind your head on put your hands
out to the sides for balance. The important thing is to get the tail bone
and hips off the floor to engage the lower stomach (thats the little "mom
paunch" your talking about".
Crunches are pretty standard. Lie on your back and lift the shoulder blades
of the floor and breath out as your do so to get the squeeze in the stomach.
Dont crane your neck.
Exercise 3 Bridges are where you support yourself face down
off the floor a couple of inches on your forearms and toes...nothing touches
in between. Like a pushup position but lower and not on your hands. You should
increase the time of your holds as you get stronger. Start at 20 seconds and
aim for 60 in time. This "flattens" the whole mom stomach by creating a sort
of stomach gridle of muscle.
NOW YOU CAN REST A MINUTE MOM!
This will work your lower, upper stomach as well as your stabilizer muscles
after a C-Section. This will pull them back in if you combine it with holding
your stomach in when you think about it through the day. The other thing I
would recommend to complete the "girdle" of your midsection after a C-Section
is to do hyperextensions for the lower back. All these are important areas
for fitness moms. Do as many as you can for three sets. If you add this exercise
in with the others and go through the whole thing without a rest you'll get
an awesome cardio session too!
If the exercise isn't the problem after your C-Section then it's a matter
of cardio or diet...I would like to know to help you out more.
For more information and help with the particular ab exercises and routine mentioned here,
take a look at Flatten
Your Abs. Hope this helps.
-Ray Burton