Buggy
Guest
Hiya, well you'll have to talk to your doc about how soon you can exercise after the baby, but here's two exercises that will get your tummy back to shape.
First, the most obvious, crunchies. This works the muscle that runs from your rib cage down to your groin (the sick pack). You don't need to do full sit ups to work this muscle, just do crunchies (where you just lift your shoulder blades off the floor which is much safer for your back). Concentrate on using your tummy muscles to lift you up, rather than jerking up from your head/neck. Put your fingertips next to your ears, don't put your hands behind your head so you don't pull your head up and possibly hurt yourself. Don't set a target of 100 a day but rather set a time limit (say 2 mins) and do as many as you can in that time. The reason for this is if you do 100 a day, your body will gain enuf strength to do it, and then stop developing. If you do as many as you can in 2 mins instead, your repetitions will increase as you become stronger and faster, and your muscle will carry on developing. When you have reached the stage where you can't fit any more repetitions in no matter how hard your trying and it becomes easy, increase the time to 3 mins and so on. If you're really weak after the baby it doesn't matter if you take a break during the 2 mins as long as you carry on as soon as you can, you will get stronger as time goes on as long as you push yourself.
Breath OUT on the way UP, or your tummy muscles will develop outwards, which is not what you want
The next exercise is the Plank. This exercises the lower half of the tummy, where you get your pot belly and where most women complain about their tummy. Crunchies do not work on this muscle, as this muscle wraps around the body, rather than runs down. It's quite hard to grasp so bear with me while i explain. Lie on the floor face down. Lift yourself up on your elbows (elbows beneath the shoulder line). Now pull in your tummy and pelvic floor muscles as tight as you can (as if you need a really big wee) and lift yourself up on your your knees (elbows still on floor). Your body needs to be in a straight line, to ensure this keep your tummy/pelvic muscles pulled in but thrust your hips slightly forward (bottom down) (towards the floor) to give your body the perfect straight line [if you were standing up imagine Brad Pitt (or whoever) in front of you and your slightly pushing your groin towards him! while holding yourself in because your going to pee in excitement... that's the line your going for]. If you are doing it correctly you should feel a shaky feeling inside after a few seconds. It's quite hard to hold when your a beginner but don't forget it only works if you are pulling those muscles in to the max! repeat it for as long as you can 3 or 4 times. Once you can do it for about a 1 or 2 mins non stop, try the next stage which is on your feet instead of your knees (elbows still on floor keeping that straight line). Don't forget to keep breathing, its quite important as this is essential to live.
First, the most obvious, crunchies. This works the muscle that runs from your rib cage down to your groin (the sick pack). You don't need to do full sit ups to work this muscle, just do crunchies (where you just lift your shoulder blades off the floor which is much safer for your back). Concentrate on using your tummy muscles to lift you up, rather than jerking up from your head/neck. Put your fingertips next to your ears, don't put your hands behind your head so you don't pull your head up and possibly hurt yourself. Don't set a target of 100 a day but rather set a time limit (say 2 mins) and do as many as you can in that time. The reason for this is if you do 100 a day, your body will gain enuf strength to do it, and then stop developing. If you do as many as you can in 2 mins instead, your repetitions will increase as you become stronger and faster, and your muscle will carry on developing. When you have reached the stage where you can't fit any more repetitions in no matter how hard your trying and it becomes easy, increase the time to 3 mins and so on. If you're really weak after the baby it doesn't matter if you take a break during the 2 mins as long as you carry on as soon as you can, you will get stronger as time goes on as long as you push yourself.
Breath OUT on the way UP, or your tummy muscles will develop outwards, which is not what you want
The next exercise is the Plank. This exercises the lower half of the tummy, where you get your pot belly and where most women complain about their tummy. Crunchies do not work on this muscle, as this muscle wraps around the body, rather than runs down. It's quite hard to grasp so bear with me while i explain. Lie on the floor face down. Lift yourself up on your elbows (elbows beneath the shoulder line). Now pull in your tummy and pelvic floor muscles as tight as you can (as if you need a really big wee) and lift yourself up on your your knees (elbows still on floor). Your body needs to be in a straight line, to ensure this keep your tummy/pelvic muscles pulled in but thrust your hips slightly forward (bottom down) (towards the floor) to give your body the perfect straight line [if you were standing up imagine Brad Pitt (or whoever) in front of you and your slightly pushing your groin towards him! while holding yourself in because your going to pee in excitement... that's the line your going for]. If you are doing it correctly you should feel a shaky feeling inside after a few seconds. It's quite hard to hold when your a beginner but don't forget it only works if you are pulling those muscles in to the max! repeat it for as long as you can 3 or 4 times. Once you can do it for about a 1 or 2 mins non stop, try the next stage which is on your feet instead of your knees (elbows still on floor keeping that straight line). Don't forget to keep breathing, its quite important as this is essential to live.
