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Fitness – Ab & Core Exercises

Reverse Crunches

Lie on your back with knees bent, and extend arms down your sides with fingers pointing toward your toes.  Gently exhale and stabilize your core muscles.  Cross your legs at the ankles and slowly bring your legs back and up “crunching” your abdominal muscles.  Inhale and slowly lower legs to starting position.  Repeat. Before performing any abdominal exercises, make sure to check your abdominal muscles for separation – How to check…

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Push-Up with Rotation

Perform a push up.  At the top of the push up, rotate your body into a side plank position with one hand on the other ground and the other hand pointed up toward the sky.  Slowly rotate back to push up position and perform another push up.  At the top of the next push up, rotate to the other side.  Make sure your hip doesn’t dip!

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Crunches

Lie on your back with knees bent.  Looking up to the sky, bring your head and shoulders off the ground to contract your abdominal muscles.  Do not pull on your head or strain your neck.  Lower back to the ground and repeat 15 times. Before performing any abdominal exercises, make sure to check your abdominal muscles for separation – How to check for Diastasis

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Checking for Diastasis

Before performing any abdominal exercises, all moms should check for abdominal separation (diastasis recti). Abdominal weakness, hormonal changes, pregnancy, c-sections can all cause this separation.  If you do traditional abdominal exercises (such as crunches) with a separation, those exercises will only make the diastasis worse. To do a self-check, lie on your back with your knees bent.  With your fingers pointing down toward your feet, hold two fingers flat on…

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Plank

From a push up position, rest your weight on your forearms instead of your hands.  Form a straight line with your body from your shoulders to your ankles.  Hold yourself in this position by keeping your core tight and bellybutton drawn in.  Hold for 30 seconds.  Work up to holding the plank for 60 seconds or more.  If your lower back starts hurting, check your form.

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Cat/Camel

From a hands and knees position, bring your bellybutton towards your spine and pull your shoulders down and back.  Exhale and push your spine up using your abdominal muscles.  Hold for 10 seconds.  Inhale and push your spine down towards the floor.  Hold for 10 seconds.  Repeat.

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