Cari Fit

Fitness Advice, Workout Tips, and Inspiration

postpartum workout

Core Workout For Diastasis Recti

This week we are focusing on core during our Honey We’re Home Fitness Challenge! But, many people have requested a workout if you have diastasis recti (sometimes called “DR”). What is diastasis recti?  It’s most common in women that have had children. It’s when your abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy (or other core trauma) and don’t go back together for awhile. There are varying degrees of this – from barely nothing at all to a pretty wide gap. You can check out Megan’s post here to see if you have it. Some people still have it years after having children and do not realize it. Does this mean your abs will never go back together?? Not always. If you really work on strengthening your entire core (not just abs in the front but also your back and shoulder girdle) you will notice a big improvement. Also, it does just take time. So, if you had a baby in the last year – cut yourself some slack and give your body time to heal.

If you DO have this, be sure to check with your doctor before doing any abdominal exercises – especially anything intense. Also, if you just had a baby less than 2 months ago, you may want to wait even longer before doing any abdominal work, especially if you do have DR. You can end up doing more harm than good if you try to really work your core when your muscles haven’t had a chance to repair themselves.

Tips:

You want to avoid any exercises that make your abdominal muscles pop out or bulge out. This is why crunches aren’t recommended, because when you are crunching you are actually pushing your abdominals out at the top of the move. Planks can also be tricky because many people relax their abs when doing planks. However, if you are at least 6 months post-partum and are cleared by your doctor – some planks are ok. Just be sure to contract your core before you begin. You should actually do that before you begin doing any ab exercises!

 

Diastasis Recti Core Workout

*Warmup walk, jog or march in place for about 3-5 minutes.

Standing Side Bends (Works core – primarily obliques)

Instructions: Start standing tall with feet slightly wider than hips and legs straight – but not locked out. Then, keep your arms at your sides and while keeping your back straight, lean over towards your right side as you slide your hand or weight down your leg, then use your core to bring you back to the top. Just let your arms hang loose and let the core do all the work. Alternate sides. Just don’t arch your back or bend forward. Also, to remember to contract your abdominals while you do this and inhale as you go down and exhale when you come back to the top.

Reps/Sets: Aim for 20-30 reps alternating sides. Rest, then repeat for 2-3 sets.

Modifications: If your DR is minimal and you have been working out regularly – you can hold a weight in each hand while you do this move.

Running V-Sit (Works core, arms and hip-flexors)

Instructions: Sit on the ground with knees bent. Slowly lift feet off the ground while leaning back slightly and engaging your core. Once you have your balance, extend the legs out straight with your arms by your side. Bend elbows at 90 degrees and move your arms back and forth as if you were running.

Reps/Sets: Complete this move for 30-60 seconds. Rest and repeat for 2-3 sets.

Modifications: If it’s too hard, you can keep your knees bent or your feet on the ground. To make it harder – “run” faster and longer.

 

Seated Leg Raises (Works lower abdominals and quadriceps)

Instructions: Start seated in a chair or bench with knees bent. Then, straighten out right leg and place foot on the ground. Contract your abs and lean back slightly then bring your right leg up in the air where your right foot is level with your left knee. Lower back down to the ground (or almost to the ground) and repeat. You will primarily feel this exercise in your quads, but if you tighten your core and lean back slightly you will work your lower abdominals and hip flexors.

Reps/Sets: Do 30-45 reps on each leg (or about 45-60 seconds), aim for 2-3 sets

Modifications: If you are more advanced, you can wear ankle weights or place a loop

band around your ankles or calves. You can also turn your foot outward slightly (like in photo below) to work inner thighs as well.

 

Hip Bridges (Works core, glutes and hamstrings)

Instructions: Start lying on your back with your knees bent and feet hip-width apart. Engage your core and glutes and lift your hips off the mat. Be careful not to thrust yourself up – but rather roll up starting with your hips first and then finally balance on your shoulder blades. You can place your hands out wide (like in photo), by your feet or even place hands on your hips for support. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement and hold for 1-2 seconds, slowly lower down and then repeat.

Reps/Sets: 15-20 reps, aim for 2-3 sets

 

Modifications: To make it harder, you can hold one weight or 2 weights on your hip bones to add extra weight. To make it easier, don’t lift hips as high.

 

 

Plank With Knee Tucks  (Works core, shoulders and legs)

Instructions: Start in “high” plank with arms straight and feet back behind you. Keep back flat and engage core by pulling your belly button up towards your spine. Release your right foot and bring your right knee towards your chest. Pause for 1-2 seconds and contract your core even more. Then, step back and repeat on the opposite side. Try to make a crunch shape with your core and you can even lift your hips up slightly higher when your knee is near your chest.

 

Reps/Sets: Try for 20 reps (10 on each side) and aim for 2-3 sets.

Modifications: For an easier exercise you can do “birddogs” (image below) which are similar but are on your knees. To make it harder – extend your opposite arm out straight and when you bring your knee to your chest, try to touch your elbow to knee.

 

“Birddog” exercise

 

*Remember -please check with your doctor before doing these exercises!

 

 

 

BodyBoss Review

I have been using the BodyBoss Guide at home for the last 6 weeks and wanted to share my thoughts for those of you who have heard of the program and might be interested. First of all, I want to say that I really do like this guide and the workouts. As a mom of 2 small children I don’t have a lot of time to go to the gym or go take classes – so this guide is perfect for me. So, I highly recommend it for anyone (not just moms) who don’t have a lot of time and want to workouts at home. It’s also great if you travel because the workouts can be done pretty much anywhere – even towards the end when it requires a step/box you can find things outside like benches and stairs to use. It might take a little creativity but you can still get it done.

The guide is beginner friendly because it includes a pre-workout for 4 weeks that gets you ready to start the main 12-week program. But, overall I feel that the program is right in the middle…not too hard but not too easy. See my tips below for how to make it harder or easier. I have read a few reviews online who say this guide is too easy or just for beginners and I disagree. I think these people never did week 6 of the program. haha.

Unlike a lot of other popular fitness guides (BBG with Kayla Itsines, FBB with Anna Victoria, TIU, etc) I actually like that it doesn’t have a spokesperson or fitness model as the face of the product. Sometimes it helps for women to not compare themselves to the perfect fitness models that produce these “guides” and instead just trust the team of experts that create the workouts. I know that many women get discouraged and feel bad about themselves if they feel they have to look perfect or lose a ton of weight so they can look like their fitness role model…if she can look like that, then why can’t I? BodyBoss definitely features fit models in their guide pages and there is a ton of inspiration on social media (#bodybossmethod) but no one person is in your face saying that you can (or that you should) look and be just like them if you buy their program.

 

Pros

  • I like having an actual book (the guide) to take with me. I can take it when I travel and it’s right there with me so if I see it I’m more likely to do the workout and check it off in the book.
  • I LOVE that the workouts are broken up into sections. It makes it seem like you only have to do 7 minutes at a time and that’s totally doable. Most of the main workouts are only 21-24 minutes long and are broken up into 3x7min intervals. It makes it seem less intimating than having to go take an hour class.
  • I like that you can do it anywhere. I save time by not driving to the gym and can just do this at home.
  • It doesn’t take much equipment at all. Only towards the end do you need a box for jumps but you can use stairs or something outside like a curb or part of a playground or park.
  • I like that it has a warmup and cool-down for each workout. I always warmup but sometimes don’t save time to cool down. It includes a lot of stretching which at first I kind of rolled my eyes at. But, I really like this part now and feel it has helped my flexibility!
  • You work your entire body. I feel that it’s a good mix of upper body, core and lower body and includes exercises that are targeted for women. They use a lot of the same exercises that I do at my Bombshell Bootcamp – and I know they work and get great results.

Cons

  • I feel that some of the workouts require a little too much balancing on your arms and wrists. So, if you are overweight or have a wrist injury – you may not want to do down dog v-presses, followed by point planks, followed by mountain climbers. So, I would recommend doing some planks on your forearms or just mixing up the order of the exercises to give your wrists a break (see tips below).
  • I feel like some of the exercises should have less reps. Performing 40 plank rotations is a little monotonous but then again doing 40 criss cross squat jumps was just the right amount for me to fee like it was killer.
  • I think overall, they should recommend slightly heavier weights/dumbbell for the upper body. I’m only at week 6 and the most they recommend is 2lbs (but I do see they increase it slightly in the next few weeks). This is probably the right weight to use for 30 reps, but I think women would get better results if they lowered the reps slightly and increased the weight slightly. For instance – instead of doing 30 lateral shoulder raises with 1-2lb weights I used 8-10lb and only do 25 reps.

FAQ

Is it beginner friendly? Yes! They even have a pre-guide that starts before the 12 weeks that you can do to ease into it. I skipped this but recommend it for beginners or new moms.

What if I’m already in shape, will I see results? Yes! I’m already seeing more muscle definition and can tell my strength and endurance has improved by following the guide.

Is it easy to stick with? Yes! Because there is a book you can take with you it’s hard to have excuses to find workouts to do.

How many days do I workout? It’s only 5 days – which I like. I feel like it’s doable to get it in M-F. But, if I have to skip a weekday workout (which has only happened once) I just do it on the weekend so that I get it done. The actual program workouts are on Monday, Wednesday Friday and then they have some cardio and stretching recommendations for you on Tues/Thurs.

Do I need a lot of equipment? No. Most of the workouts are body weight only and you can even do the bench hops and tricep dips (and other things with a bench) on your mat.

 

Modification Tips:

You can make it easer by modifying exercises. You can search online for modifications if you aren’t sure or try this: use less weight (for the dumbbells), omit jumps or make them less steep (ie with box jumps), do pushups and planks with knees on ground.

You can make it harder by doing these: Use heavier weight, do the exercises faster (but still keep good form), Jump higher, add on an extra couple of reps if you think you can handle it. If you feel it’s still too easy for you – do a separate short strength training or cardio workout before as part of your warmup.

Trust the guide and be sure to warmup first. Even if you are short on time – you still need to warmup at least 5 minutes.

 

This post was sponsored by BodyBoss but all opinions are my own.