One of the best feelings as a mother is holding your newborn baby after 36-42 weeks of growing them in your body. For most mums, nothing beats this feeling and they embrace all the physical changes that come with having a baby. However, some mums want to quickly get back in shape and quickly lose the mommy pouch and baby weight. While lower belly pouch exercises can help lose the mommy pouch and strengthen your core, I strongly recommend allowing your body to heal before getting started.
First, let me set the record straight that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having fat in the lower abdomen area and that early postpartum shouldn’t be about getting rid of the mommy pooch, but about; recovery, healing, and purposely rehabbing. BUT the reality is that a lot of moms walk through my doors and they don’t like the way their abdomen looks. Your posture can create compensations in your body that can lead to pain, pelvic floor issues, core weakness, and yes, the famous #mommypooch.
If you’re a mom, chances are you’ve dealt with a lower belly pouch at some point. No matter how many crunches or Pilates classes you take, that pesky little pouch always seems to stick around. But don’t worry – there are some exercises that can help strengthen your core and get rid of that pouch for good!
Here are three exercises that are specifically designed to help target the belly pouch. Give them a try and see how you feel afterwards!
1. Supine Pull Over
Note my feet placement to achieve a bit more length. Set your ribs down by first exhaling all your air out (do not crunch down here!). Exhale as you lower the weight.
2. Wall Knee Plank Walk
Feet on wall. Avoid arching your low back and think “long body”. Exhale as you “walk” slightly forward maintaining a stacked position.
3.Wall Bird Dog
Same here. Avoid arching low back, exhale as you reach. Think “long body”.
While the above exercises can help strengthen your core, there are a few things to keep in mind;
- Allow your body to recover and heal from birth
- Check your postural habits and see if that could be contributing to your discomfort (for example, gripping of upper abs, anterior pelvic tilt)
- Learn how to breathe better and how to engage your deep core properly
- Start rehabbing and strengthening your deep core system based on your own compensation
- Learn different strategies to use so you can genuinely fire up your abdominal wall
While there are endless exercises you can do to help strengthen your core and flatten your stomach, these three lower belly pouch exercises are a great place to start. If you’re looking for more ideas, be sure to check out our other blog posts on 3 Core Postpartum Core Rehab Exercises to Feel your Abs.
And as always, if you have any questions or need help getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help! Are you ready to start exercising postpartum? Read more about Why Postpartum Fitness is About More than Losing Weight.
Be sure to check out my FREE Postpartum Guide: 4 Exercises Every Woman Needs to Know to Heal her Body After Birth.
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This post was inspired by @katie.st.clair.fitness and I trying to think outside the box ;).
