How to strengthen and tighten your core even after giving birth

Hello Fitness friends! It's been longer than I would have liked since my last post but life has been crazy and I've been going hard in the gym the past week~I started a new routine and I feel A-MAZING :) Yesterday, I had a friend ask me for tips on how to strengthen, tighten and tone the abdominal muscles-specifically, after giving birth. Not all women are lucky enough to dodge separated muscles of the abdominal wall during pregnancy or loose skin post birth so, I've decided to dedicate this entry to helping my friend as well as all of you do just that! These exercises will help everyone...you don't have to be a woman who's recently given birth to try them out! :)

The formula for transforming your abdominal section or CORE is a combination of:

1. CLEAN EATING
2. CARDIO. Getting your heart rate pumping! This is how we improve heart health, oxygen distribution in the body and of course, weight loss. Burning energy-calories!! In order to lose weight, we need to burn calories out of the body. It's also an awesome stress reliever :) I'm going to get into cardio execution a little later because there's something vital I want to explain to you guys but for now, I'm gonna leave it at this.
3. MUSCLE GROWTH Engaging the muscles EFFECTIVELY!!!! I see people all the time "trying" to attain that six pack but they're wasting their time by doing crunches. Look, crunches alone do not work. Lying on the floor doing crunches only hits one area of the abdominal muscles, the upper part of the rectus abdominis which is the largest muscle of the abdomen. It runs from the bottom of your ribs down the center of your stomach all the way to the groin. this group is referred to as the "6 pack". Down right above the pubic bone lies the iliopsoa. This muscle is underneath the bottom part of the rectus abdominis. (the area that seems to give women the most problems post pregnancy.) You also have the internal and external oblique muscles which run down both sides of your stomach and waist. There are two layers-internal and external. Collectively, the muscles of the abdomen in conjunction with your gluteal muscles and lower back muscles work as a corset for the abdominal region. working just one area of your stomach like doing standard crunches isn't going to get you that perfect, strong, sexy, tight core. You need to hit all of them.

        

I'm going to first stress the importance of NUTRITION  won't be stopping any time soon because it's the TRUTH! Attaining optimal health and the perfect body is 90% DIET or, what you put into it, and 10% WORKING OUT. You must commit to both ingredients or the recipe will not work! You can't train like a beast and then eat garbage, it just WILL NOT WORK. Wanna know something? Working out and building muscle is the easy part. Nutrition is the hard part. Anyone can get strong muscles...a six pack, even...but do you want it hidden under a layer of FAT? You need dedication and more importantly, SELF DISCIPLINE! You need to commit yourself to working out-YES, but, you need to understand that you absolutely MUST, MUST, MUST, eat CLEAN and stick to it day, after day, after day!! We're replacing bad habits with good ones right? Girls/guys lets face it--Fitness, weight loss, working out-whatever you wanna call it-is not just that. It's a life change. It's a commitment to yourself. It's about getting healthy MIND, BODY AND SOUL. Your body will change, yes...but your MIND will grow and mature along with it. You will change in more ways than just physical. Overall health is what we are striving towards and during this process you're going to grow-I promise you this. You will see that you ARE capable of self control, discipline and CHANGE! You will love not only how you look when this is achieved but you will love the person you are as well! You will have gained a whole new perception of self because you will do things you once deemed the impossible.

Are you ready for the exercises?

1. The Plank to execute this move get down to the ground prop yourself up onto your forearms and toes. With this move, it is crucial to keep your back in straight alignment from your head, down your back, all the way to the heels of your feet. Your back should be straight like a table top. Do not poke your tush up in the air, as this takes the strain off of your abdominal muscles causing this exercise to be ineffective. The traditional plank works the long rectus abdominis muscle (6 pack muscle). You should do this at least 3 times per session holding for a minimum of 15-30 seconds depending on your fitness level and working your way up to a full minute as you get stronger. 
2. Side Plank Variation on this exercise is the side plank in the second figure. This variation works the oblique muscles and again, should be done 3 times each side. As you advance you will get stronger and more comfortable with this exercise. When I am training my core and doing this exercise, I will go from the traditional plank position, hold for 30 seconds and then go right into a side plank by slowly shifting my weight onto the side of my foot and placing the other on top as shown above. If you need to (to help with balance) instead of putting your hand on your hip as shown, you may do as I do and point your arm up in the air towards the ceiling. Hold side plank for as long as you can and then return to traditional plank, hold for time and then shift to other side. Doing it this way will allow for minimal resting period between positions and increase cardio effect of exercise. Make sure to do each variation x 3 to complete the set of exercises before moving on to another exercise.
3. Twisting Plank While in traditional plank position, twist your left hip down to the floor, then to the right and go back and forth 20 times (left to right is 1 time). This works the internal and external obliques. Shown above in the third image.
4. Lateral toe touches This exercise is awesome for hitting the internal obliques and so easy to do. Lay on your back, knees bent with feet flat on the floor as if you were going to do traditional crunches, arms by your sides. Lift both shoulders off of the ground and bend to the left side and touch the back of your shoe, then bend to the right and touch the right heel. Go back and forth 25 times (left to right is 1 time). You should feel your sides burn instantly! This is an awesome exercise to do any time, even while watching T.V so no excuses.
5. Side shoulder crunches I never do traditional crunches because I hate the strain on my neck but what I will do is side shoulder crunches. Again, get into position on the floor as if you were going to do regular crunches with arms by your sides. Start with the left shoulder and crunch up towards the right. Your back should not left off of the ground-ONLY SHOULDERS. Left then right for 15-20 times depending on your fitness level. If its easy, DO MORE. You should always be challenging yourself!! That is key with any exercise.
6. Reverse crunches These are for working the lower region of the rectus abdominus as well as the iliopsoas (the deep muscles located beneath the lower region of the rectus abdominis) you may want to refer to this link for a video of how to execute these properly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76FH447nGjc Lay flat on the floor, hands under your butt to stabilize as you kick up. First roll your knees towards your chest and then kick up to the ceiling causing your butt to lift off of the ground, come back down and roll your legs back into straight position without letting them hit the ground. Your abdomen's should be engaged the whole way through this exercise. Use your hands to help stabilize and guide yourself through the movement without bending your lower back. It is very important. You want to push your lower back into the ground at all times, do not allow it to curve-KEEP THOSE ABS TIGHT! You don't want to injure your back with this move. Do this as many times as you can-SAFELY. You will get stronger so if you can only do 5 of these then that's great. Next time try for 6.
7. Alternating kick ups This move can be challenging because it gets right down to business. If I had to give you just ONE exercise for helping to eliminate that lower pooch caused by pregnancy, this would be it. Lay flat on your back, glutes propped up on the back of your hands for support, legs and feet towards the ceiling in a 90 degree angle. Alternate sides and lift your hip off of the ground by kicking each foot towards the ceiling individually. Kick the left side up followed by the right. These are quick and momentous so as to keep the movement fluid. You will feel the burn immediately. Use your hands to assist if you need it in the beginning because this is a very challenging exercise. This hits the deep lower muscles which most of us don't use often enough to be strong enough to do this move with ease. I PROMISE YOU THIS MOVE IS EFFECTIVE!!!! If you need to see this move click here for a demonstration. This video will also show modified Kick ups, alternating kick ups and side shoulder crunches. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzlHASbXwQI
8. V-Ups (also called a jack knife sit-up) shown below. This exercise is for those who are in pretty good shape as it takes a lot of balance and abdominal strength. To do these, lay flat on your back, arms at your sides. Simultaneously, bring your upper body and lower body up to form the shape of a V by balancing on your bottom and then return without letting either region touch the ground and pull up into V form again. Do this as many times as you can, 3 sets. Intermediate variation for this exercise would be to instead on bringing your legs up straight, bend them into your chest. You may or may not need to use your hands on the ground for balance. If this is still difficult for you to do with proper form, you may isolate your lower half by propping up onto your forearms and bringing your knees into your chest and slowly straightening them towards the ground for 15-20 reps. If your need a demonstration there are video's on YouTube. I am working on getting some video's of my own done for the future.

1. Oblique V Ups Same as the V Ups but on each side. Balance yourself on alternating glutes as shown below.

Abdominal exercises should be done DAILY!! Your abdominals need to be strong...they are at the center of your body which means that they are vital for balance and overall strength. The Core in particular should be strong and trained DAILY. You are only as strong as your Core so be sure to do some time of training for it every day in addition to some form of cardio.

Cardio/fat burning advice: Keep in mind that the term "cardio" refers to the heart-heart health. Fat burn and cardio ARE related however, they don't necessarily need to be the same thing. Let me show you what I mean...Most people think that in order to lose weight you need to run, run as fast as you can, get your heart rate up as high as you can without feeling like you're about to die. This is NOT TRUE! To lose weight, you need to get the blood flowing and increase your heart rate to about 60% of your max heart rate. For me, that means I need to get my heart rate up around 127-135 beats per minute. Have you ever looked on a treadmill, elliptical or any other piece of cardio equipment? I'm sure you're familiar with the colors displayed on the machines dashboard...green or yellow is fat burn and red is cardio? There IS a difference. When you are in the "fat burn" stage, you're burning fat. When you're in the red stage, you ARE burning fat, HOWEVER...you're risking burning muscle too and you do NOT want to do that. Have you ever watched the Olympics and seen Cross Country runners? How about sprinters? Can you tell me the differences in their body shapes? Cross country runners tend to be longer, lankier...very skinny with minimal muscle definition. Sprinters have muscle...a lot of it. Meatier thighs and awesome muscle definition. See what I mean? Long distance runners do just that...RUN. For long periods of time. They for the most part, keep their heartrate constant...HIGH. Sprinters, on the other hand, run in INTERVALS. Their heart rates go up in spurts. High, then come down during a break until they sprint again and it shoots back up. INTERVAL TRAINING--This is very effective for burning fat in order to uncover those shredded abs you're gonna have once you get into your routine with the exercises I've shown you! See? You don't need to kill yourself running on a treadmill like a hamster or any other form of over the top cardio to burn fat. Be smart about it.

 Remember in my first entry I told you that I recommend getting a heart monitor watch? The one I use is very inexpensive and absolutely awesome in my opinion. Less than $30 dollars and I got it at Walmart. Here it is....GO GET ONE!!! It also tells you how many calories you've burned and works as a stop watch...it keeps me MOTIVATED AND ON TRACK!!! Go get one!! http://www.walmart.com/ip/S7-HR-Monitor/10719753

FIT TIPS:

1. Drink half of your body weight in water daily!! This is very important.
2. Make sure to get enough sleep every night. That is the time your body repairs itself. We cannot function properly without sleep nor can we give 100% in the gym without it.
3. Stress affects the abdominal area!!! Especially in WOMEN. Stress causes the release of cortisol which prohibits fat from leaving the area!!! Stress management is crucial.

I hope you find this helpful! Please leave comments or questions and spread the word about my blog! Feel free to post my link on your personal sites! Before you leave please click where it says "subscribe to all posts".

Stay positive and remember that you can never fail as long as you don't give up :) XOXOXO