After having a baby, regaining core strength can be difficult. What's worse, the stretching and separation of the abdominal muscles during pregnancy makes standard ab exercises like crunches less effective for postpartum moms. Nonetheless, if you're tired of having a bulging belly after nine months of carrying your little one in there, don't despair. Exercises targeting the deep muscles of the abdomen can help tone a postpartum tummy.
Heel Slides with Belly Scoop
According to BeFit-Mom, the transverse abdominis, which runs across the abdomen at the deepest layers of abdominal muscles, is the most important muscle for postpartum moms to work on toning if they want to get their abdominal area back into shape. The site recommends using heel slides with a belly scoop to work those muscles. Perform this exercise by lying flat on your back with arms down at your sides. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor or workout mat. Pull in your abs gently, drawing your belly down into a scoop, or concave, position. Slide one leg down to the floor, pause there for a moment and then bend the knee to return the leg back to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg. Try performing the heel slide a few times at first and gradually build up to 20 slides with each leg.
Bent Leg Raises
Begin this exercise in the same position as the heel slides, lying on the floor with legs bent and feet on the floor. Raise one leg without straightening it, creating a 90-degree angle at both the hips and knees. The calf should be parallel to the floor and the knee bent. Without lowering the leg, straighten it out and pause with the leg extended into the air. Return the leg back to the bent, raised position and then back down to the floor. Repeat for a total of five times on one leg before switching to the other leg and performing the move five times with the new leg.
Plank Core Exercise
Get down on hands and knees or forearms and knees for this exercise. If you want to and feel safe doing so, you can place your new baby on his back between your forearms. Straighten out your legs so that your feet are now supporting the lower half of your body and pull your butt down so that you create a straight line from the neck to the feet, like a long plank. Tighten your abs and hold for 15 seconds while you gaze at your baby's face.
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