Essential Mom Movement Circuit
Are you looking for a way to safely and effectively load your core and integrate your pelvic floor subconsciously?
Have you had a baby or babies and are still feeling disconnected from your core?
Well, there is an answer beyond planks and Kegels! Ladies, I am here to tell you that you can recover your pelvic floor and core after pregnancy! The key is to remember that we are all interconnected. Your core is not just your abdominal wall. Cool, huh?!
I have a diastasis and in this circuit, you can see through my white t-shirt how my core is affected by my chosen exercises…
Exercise One: ViPR half kneeling chop up to posterior lunge with two hand reach up the over head
Here I am using a 6kg ViPR and a half-kneeling long stride lunge as a base. Driving the ViPR along different angulations loads my whole core. The half-kneeling position decouples my hips, which allows for better movement through my spine. The long stride lunge position loads my pelvic floor.
When I first started recovering from my diastasis…do you think I used this pattern? YES! But, I regressed it. I used my hands and breath. Slowly, little by little my safe range increased. There was less and less doming thing in my abdominal wall and I could feel the springiness coming back to my core.
Complete 5-10 reps per side. Remember to exhale on exertion!
Exercise Two: ViPR squat to lift with cylinder hold to alternating step forward with shift forward to anterior lunge with posterior ViPR tilt
Here again, I am using a 6kg ViPR. Lifting a stroller or car and seat in and out of the car, lifting and shifting a child into bed is all movements that stress your abdominal wall and put pressure on your pelvic floor.
As moms, these movements are part of our everyday! Let’s train them in these movements in a controlled, intentional environment so we can be resilient when in our everyday.
Exercise Three: Pelvicore ground to standing pattern
Are you looking for a perfect sequence to safely load your pelvic floor?
Here is the reality of it ladies… I am a mom of two sets of twins. My belly has been stretched to limits I did not think was possible. I had a 10-fwereinger were diastasis after my second set. I was told it had to be surgically corrected.
Guess what!! Safely and progressively loading my whole body and eating to support collagen synthesis works wonders!
Here I am using a Pelvicore ball and a ground to a standing matrix to safely load my core.
Notice here I don’t have any doming of my abdominal wall throughout. This is because although I have a 2-3 finger gap, there is good tension. If you have a diastasis this is what is important! It is about managing pressure.
Make sure you breathe rhythmically throughout.
Exercise 4: Hang with monkey bar hands
Did you know that the positioning of your rib cage greatly affects your diastasis?
Here I am performing a variable hang. I am using a light, supportive toe touch between changes in hand position
You can see some doming of my diastasis mostly when I move from a parallel hand grip. This is NOT ideal. But then you see it change when I move to an offset grip.
My goal with all of my core exercises is to use the matrix concept and create global stability and resiliency. Changing the handgrip will stress a different part of my core through my arm lines. . That overused dominant tight right shoulder (my chopping 🍅 🥕🥒hand) tends to pull on my ribs and negatively affect my diastasis). Variable hangs are a great way to challenge underused tissue.
TIP: avoid hanging leg raises and work on basic hanging moving from bottom-up support on a box to light toe touch to no-touch. Then add some different hand positions, like a switch grip.)
If you have a diastasis, work towards building resilience through your core, good tension. That is the goal!
Exercise 5: Powerplate dumbbell rotational press
Ladies, after growing another human or more than one human it takes a while for your body, it takes extra effort to recover your function.
🤗First improving your core synergy with a proper diaphragmatic breathing pattern creates a safe load to the pelvic floor and minimizes intrabdominal pressure which is SUPER important for diastasis recovery.
🤗Next, consider tensile strength or your body’s ability to resist breaking under tension. This is huge and does not improve overnight! You must stay consistent with your input from nutrition to exercise...
Here I am standing on a Power Plate and using a light Dab load. To perform a rotational reach at overhead...
I strongly exhale on exertion and maintain a tall spine. Here is an example of a very functional exercise for my core. You do not have to use a power plate, it simply enhances the movement!
The message ladies, is it takes a global approach to recover from the monumental feat of growing another human. Great nutrition with a collagen-rich... Diet and training smart and training like a girl is important!
Look to be the strong mom that you are and believe in yourself and good things will come!
Exercise 6: Power plate and ViPR squat with an upward chop to posterior lunge with diagonal reach up at the overhead
Ladies, do you feel like your hips are always tight?
Do you have a nagging back pain that keeps coming back?
Consider this…what if your hips are “feeling” tight because they lack the strength to control the motion you are working to achieve with stretching. Rebuilding your core after pregnancy also requires you to rebuild your hips. This is a HUGE rock! When you have good mobility that you can control through stability in your hips your core function will improve also!
Here I am using a 6kg ViPR and a personal Power Plate to load my hips from both the bottom up and top-down. Propositioning the hips in an extended position with a diagonal reach up at overhead enhances the extension is enhanced the hip via flexion in the shoulder.
Then the opposite…flexion at the hip is enhanced with the tech-forward the bottom-up at the chest. The core is reaping the benefit in the middle. All with the breath! Here we are working on tensile strength and achieving a safe load the hips and core can gain and MAINTAIN!
Exercise 7: ViPR Needle with a variable step
Let’s talk about the truth of core function…many core exercises focus on trunk flexion to engage the core. Think, crunches.
Ladies, crunches are not our friend in the postpartum period, especially with a diastasis. Speaking from a pressure perspective, there is too much on the abdominal wall!
Gary Gray said it best, “are your muscles singing or screaming.” We want our muscles to sing together as a team to create a nice tension across the abdominal wall.
Here I am working my core via a bottom-up ⬆ multiplanar initial range lunge and a top top-downdown ⬇ rotational “needle” with the ViPR . Here my core is “singing” with the hips and thoracic spine...
So, when I bend down to pick up my three-year-old and put her on the potty 🚽…my core works together to create tension across my diastasis minimizing pressure on my pelvic floor. I don’t have to stop, contract and then act. It does it on its own! 🤗 (Jaz hands!! 🙌)!!
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The reality of my function is I have to consistently input these motions to maintain good function. That’s ok because ViPR is a tool that makes them fun and safely challenging. ❤
Exercise 8: ViPR opposite side, rotational squat with the reach at knees to squat with internal rotation with the reach at the knees
Retraining the hips in the postpartum period is very important.
Considering you will spend the next 3-5 years, reaching down and forward, relearning a proper hip drive is a priority. Right along with making sure your butt is working properly!!
You want to pick up those babies with some strong hips, not your back! 🤗
Here I am using a 6kg ViPR during this warm-up circuit. You could also use a heavier ViPR, dumbbells, medicine balls, Kettlebells…
Internally rotating your hips helps to put tension in your posterior chain which tends to go to sleep during pregnancy.
The reach forward and down at knee height pushes your hips further back, adding to the glut load! Don’t forget the exhale on the way up.
Give this simple pattern a try before your squats or lunges! It’s a great way to wake everything up!
Alright, that’s it for this circuit! I hope you enjoyed all 8 exercises! The purpose is to encourage safe and effective movement during the postpartum recovery period. All of these exercises are coming from a mom who has had 2 sets of twins. Your body may have a higher level of performance or you might be starting a bit lower… all is ok! Start where you are and keep going!! ❤🤗