The old saying is that
everyone's body is different. It might be an old saying, but it's true. You
might find after giving birth that you've immediately got a flat stomach (but
still with overall weight gain) or you might still look like you are six months
pregnant, or anything in between. Most women feel they need to do tummy tuck exercises post pregnancy – in this article we look at the pros and cons of exercising
after giving birth.
How soon after giving
birth you can start exercising depends on how active you were during your
pregnancy and whether or not you had a natural birth. If you had a natural
birth and exercised throughout your pregnancy, you may be able to start light
exercises within days of your labour. If you weren't active, or stopped exercising
towards the end of your pregnancy, it is best to wait until your six week check
and then tell your doctor you plan to start. If you had a cesarean, you should
wait until you are fully healed from the operation.
Some women develop a
gap in their abdominal muscles during pregnancy. This gap will usually close
naturally after about eight weeks. If you exercise before this gap closes, you
risk permanent damage to these muscles. It is easy to check for a gap. Simply
lie on your back with your knees bent. Place the fingers of your left hand just
below your belly button, and the fingers of your right hand on your right
thigh. Slide your right hand up towards your knee. If there's a gap, you'll
feel it with your left hand. If you think you can feel a gap, you can ask your
doctor to examine you. Only exercise if your doctor says it is safe.
When it is time to
exercise, most people will be tempted to do sit ups. However, these are not the
best tummy tuck exercises post pregnancy. Not only can sit ups hurt your
back, which may already be tender after your pregnancy, but they will not
flatten your stomach. This is because it is the transverse muscles, which lie
horizontally across the stomach, which flatten it when tightened. The best
exercises are those which exercise these transverse muscles.
The transverse muscles
connect the rectus abdominals, the vertical stomach muscles that sit ups do
target, to your back muscles. By concentrating on these, you simultaneously
strengthen your back muscles, which reduce post pregnancy back pain.
It’s easy to find out
how weak your transverse abs are, and thus how much work you have to do on
them. Simply suck in your stomach as if you wish to touch your belly button to
your spine. You'll feel a strain around your gut. The worse the strain, the
weaker your muscles are. Start off doing this for 5 – 10 seconds. As your
muscles strengthen, increase this to 30 seconds. When you can comfortably do
thirty seconds, it is time to move onto other exercises.
If you want an
all-round workout that will strengthen these muscles, Pilates is recommended.
If you are looking for specific exercises, scissor kicks, planks, and pelvic
tilts will all work well.
In some cases, exercise
alone is not enough to get rid of a flabby belly, and women decide to have a
tummy tuck procedure to regain their pre-pregnancy figure. However, it is best
to wait until you have finished having all the children you are likely to want
before going this route.
