If you’re looking for a quick workout to help give your core and pelvic floor a boost after baby, you’ve come to the right place.
I’m sharing 4 of my fave core stability ball exercises with you today.
All you need is a ball, some comfy clothes, and 10(ish) minutes.
Just remember to check in with your doctor, midwife or physiotherapist to make sure that these exercises are right for your body (especially if you’re working on healing a diastasis or managing pelvic organ prolapse).
And, of course, we want to make sure that you aren’t getting any coning or doming in your abs, and that any symptoms you’re dealing with (like leaking) aren’t creeping up while you’re doing these exercises.
So make sure your alignment looks awesome and your breathing and core engagement is where it needs to be.
Now that all that serious legal mumbo jumbo 😉 is outta the way, let’s do this!
If you like these moves, please share them with your friends (you can use the social share buttons above or below this post).
Thank you so much for checking the video out and let me know if you have any questions about any of the exercises. You can pop your Q in the comments below.
I’ll see you there!
Hugs,
Jen
P.S. Looking for more workout videos? I’ve got you covered here. Over here. And right here.
Hi There
These look fab, thanks for sending them over. I am half way through the 21 day strength regime and really like it. I seem to have a problem with tucking my bottom, I think it’s from years of training myself to do this when lifting heavy in the squat wrack. I seem to be able to go down from a squat ok but coming back up, there it is all tucked in. I guess I am just going to have unlearn this. Any tips welcomed!
Thanks again
Gina (5 months PP, desperate to run, be stronger but mildly prolapsed)
Hey Gina!
Thank you for the fantastic comment/compliment. I’m so glad you’re enjoying the 21 one day program 🙂
You, my friend, are not alone. I used to tuck my booty all the time too and see it often in my new clients/random strangers. A couple tips to help with the butt tuck as you’re coming out of a squat:
1. Don’t go as low right now. Find that place where you’re able to come up without tucking. This may not feel very deep right now. That’s okay. Start there and – with practice – you’ll likely develop the strength/flexibility to get lower without tucking.
Remember it’s only for right now until you get stronger/more flexible in that untucked position and you can progressively get lower and lower over time. Like anything with postpartum fitness, it can feel slow and frustrating but if we have patience and trust the system, it’ll happen 🙂
2. Pretend that you have a string on the top of your butt and it’s gently pulling you up to standing. This can be a powerful visualization strategy.
3. If you train with a friend/trainer ask them to gently hold onto your hips/top of your glutes as you come back up to help support your glutes to stay untucked (this is more of a mental reminder than anything – they’re not actually putting a lot of force on your body to keep things aligned).
Like you said, it’s just something that needs to be unlearned. A big part of this is muscle memory. You’ve done thousands of tucked squats so it’ll take some time to get that muscle memory to switch over into an untucked position – but it’ll happen.
Hope that helps!
Also – have you seen my post on prolapse? http://jennadalton.com/but-really-is-prolapse-that-bad-what-you-need-to-know/
And another on getting back into running? http://jennadalton.com/7-steps-to-safely-get-back-into-running-postpartum/
Hi Jenna,
Thanks so much for the tips!! Awesome help. I did indeed read the 7 steps to to getting back into running, I am desperate run again – I have put all thoughts of ever doing a marathon again out of my mind, but focusing on one day maybe being able to run a speedy 5K again (and then we’ll see!). And I read the Prolapse article too – I’ve been trawling the internet looking for the answer I want to find! Great articles and both have given me hope. I saw a Women’s Health physio at 9 weeks PP – after I tried a couple of runs at 4 weeks PP (silly I know, but I didn’t know then) and things started to go wrong down there! The physio was amazing and I so pleased I went sooner rather later – my pelvic floor is getting stronger everyday after their examination and advice, but I am still not really sure what total damage has been done. I only wish I knew about the weakened pelvic floor and exercise before I attempted to exercise, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Thanks again, loving and appreciate what you are doing 🙂 x
I’m so glad you’ve seen a pelvic floor PT, Gina. Figured you must have gone given your diagnosis ☺️ I think it’s smart you’re thinking small right now. Who knows, one day you could get back to that marathon and you should keep seeking help and getting the support you need to make that happen. It’s obviously something you really love and no one should live without something they love if it’s possible.
Try not to beat yourself up too much. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard “I wish I knew then what I know now.” We just do the best we can until we know better. It’s okay. Now you know and you’re taking the right steps to get stronger and get back into running.
Have you checked out Haley Shevener? She’s a fitness trainer with POP and runs a Facebook group that’s a wealth of information. I think you’d really appreciate it.
Don’t hesitate to reach out again if you have anymore questions and enjoy the journey back into running. I’m positive you’ll find the right strategies and tools to help you make it happen ❤️