Ab separation

[kimmarqy]

Can anyone recommend an ab/core workout specific for diastasis recti/ab separation reduction or prevention?

I’m 16+1 and already huge. Its all belly, i’m super active and have gained minimal scale weight but i’ve been in maternity pants since 8 weeks because although i could (and still can) get my normal pants on, i had no hope of doing them up. I literally look 6+ months.

I was visiting family last week and my cousin, who works as a pt and pilates instructor for pregnancy assessed me and said my abs are already separating. She said i need to consider myself to be further along in the pregnancy in regards to my body because i am already bigger. Instinctually i’d been doing this anyway simply because my belly is kinda in the way!

I do the Brianna Battles pregnant athlete program, down dog prenatal yoga for flexibility 2 x a week, and a 15 min deep core and pelvic floor workout 3-4 x a week. I’ll sometimes add a modified barre core or glute workout. I walk a lot.

I’m really into premade programs because i have a rabbit of getting lost down the rabbit hole when left to my own devices.

Anyone have any good recommendations? I’d like to minimise the separation or prevent extra damage as i continue to grow!

 

[mrsbi]

@kimmarqy First off: as your belly grows your abs need to separate to make enough room for your baby. Ab separation is absolutely normal during pregnancy and everything will go back to normal in most cases, so don't freak out. You likely don't have any "damage" that isn't normal and won't go away on its own.

Diastasis recti happens when too much strain is put on the linea alba that runs between your abs. This can cause it to be stretched out too much so it can't go back to normal easily after you give birth. It is an injury and you being pregnant makes you more likely to get that injury.

From what I read, strengthening and regularly engaging your transverse abdominal muscles is the best thing you can do. It's when you pull your belly inward and up. This relieves tension from the linea alba and prevents strain especially when you engage your core. So practice lifting your baby up and into your pelvis and do that while you do core exercises. NourishMoveLove has some nice workout videos that incorporate this. During any exercise watch for coming on your belly and if you notice any, you need to engage your transverse abdominal muscles more or switch to an easier modification.

 

[kingdomconsul]

@mrsbi Important to add here, the issue with diastasis recti comes after pregnancy. It is hard to tell now what will go back to normal* after giving birth. You might have a huge spearation that with the right exercises is easily treatable or a small separation that causes issues in the long run.

*When I say "normal" here, I do not mean necessarily "back to where it was". I mean normal function without issues. For some people that can mean a small separation that is completely functional. This can be determined by a PT after you had the baby.

 

[kimmarqy]

@mrsbi Yeah, to be honest i’m aware of all this. I guess i’m asking for program recommendations for ab and tva strength to prevent excessive separation and the risk of diastasis recti post pregnancy given that if i keep growing the way i am i’m likely to be enormous i’m not worries that i am separating, although its earlier than expected, or that i am so big for that matter. It took a long time and a lot of help to get here and i’m loving every minute of it. I’ll have a look at Nourish Move Love, thank you!!

 

[catieb]

@kimmarqy I think what people are trying to say is that you can’t really do exercises to prevent Diastasis recti, other than to really avoid too much pressure on the linea alba, such as avoiding exercises that create coning (like abdominal crunches). It’s more avoidance of certain exercises versus doing specific exercises, if that makes sense. The best program is to see a pelvic floor PT who can show you which exercises to avoid and how to modify your posture and give you exercises to prepare for childbirth. Then seeing that PT again after birth to assess for DR and repair your muscles from there.

 

[kimmarqy]

@catieb Ah ok, i get that, thanks!

 

[cahlil]

@kimmarqy Not sure if it's helpful. But my physio recommended exercises which are not core focused but involve the core.
She said I could continue most of my exercises as long as I made sure my stomach wasn't doing during the exercise. I'm 24 weeks and have booked a session sort of once a month to go over my gym routine and make sure I am not worsening the separation

 

[dpoblete]

@cahlil As a follow up- what exercises did they suggest?

 

[mariab97]

@kimmarqy I was huge, all belly, and had a 9.5lb baby five years ago. I did the EveryMother program and I’m doing it again. It’s not the most exciting, but I think the movement focus has really helped me adjust to a different kind of strength that doesn’t hurt my abs.

 

[mariab97]

My abs and core strength bounced back super well after my first despite her size!

 

[theone111]

@mariab97 I’m also doing EveryMother and optimistic about it helping me bounce back! Did you do the exercises daily? I keep forgetting them and maybe get in 2-3 a week

 

[mariab97]

@theone111 I was probably about 3-5x a week during pregnancy and I took 6 weeks off after birth until I was cleared.

 

[onelostsoul]

@kimmarqy So others have covered the question well, but a good resource for core stability and TVA activation in pregnancy are the pregnancy and postpartum TV workouts on YouTube. I loved her PP content for my significant DR after my daughter, too, and saw a bigger improvement in the month starting her videos than I did in the previous six months of post partum workouts I’d been doing, and this was all already 2 years PP. I’ve been really impressed with her stuff. And no chatting and excessive direction, she just gets down to the workouts which I love.

ETA my first was 9lb10oz and I had a 4 finger wide, more than knuckle deep DR with my first. Hoping for better this time!

 

[jesuslover07]

@kimmarqy Nancy Anderson and Studio Bloom are two programs I’ve used both pre and post-partum to make sure I heal a much as possible after birth. Hope this helps!

 

[nol]

@kimmarqy Fitness instructor here, had a prolapse with my first, 7 weeks with my second. I’ve been doing a video on YouTube from a channel called Nourish Move Love. She has one specific DR video that I love. She also has a series! I highly recommend her. Just google it and it will come up

 

[nrg23]

@kimmarqy I use a PT before/during/after pregnancy for this. We use certain weighted exercises in addition to others, like lying down with knees bent and squeezing a ball between them (3s each, up to 30x on the light end) and things like that. You really need someone to provide feedback on your form and engagement though. You could probably get away with a session or two just to learn those for at-home options

 

[katrina2017]

@kimmarqy Everyone gets ab separation. I didn’t start coning until later in the pregnancy and once I did it was alarming to see how many workouts were actually causing the coning. Watch pregnancy safe ab videos and do them at the end of all your workouts but make sure you have a mirror and you have visuals on your body throughout your workout- some back stuff I was doing, lots of stuff was giving me that coning on my stomach (meaning stop immediately it’s unsafe it’s causing your ab separation) use your body as your indicator.