abdominal muscle separation

[leafy]

Only recently I have started working on a lot of elbow to knee type exercises, bridging work, broomstick twists, medicine ball twists etc and these are definetely helping.

I'm going to need to google these to see exactly what you mean because I'm intrigued now!

Thank you for all the responses. :D

[gymbunny87]

Yeah I was told by a PT that its the lower body exercises like squats, lunges, high knees and forward kicks that really get your abs working - so these exercises you mention leafy, i have no doubt they are working great for u!

Alot of people get hung up on how many situps they do but never see results - they dont realise that u need to brace your abs all the time - not just during the "ab-specific" moves.

[Rusha]

All your compounds (and others) work your abs.

[leafy]

Excellent, thanks for the suggestions! :D

[leafy]

Guess what??!!!!!!! The gap in my muscles is down to 1-2 fingerwidths now!!!!!

I've been doing some reading using the suggestions in this thread and am making progress already. Isn't that great!

Thanks for all your help, I'll keep working at it. :D :D The suggestion by mandym about bridging was extra helpful because it will help my back and side muscles too.

[mandym]

I found quite a few online videos with exercises, some of which I'm going to start doing as well.

Pre baby, I just that these ideas in my head that I was going to be in better shape then before baby as I would have all this time now to go to the gym, since I didn't have to work. Hahahahahahahaha! My little man had other ideas for me lol.

I know there are a lot of mums who have gotten into shape very quickly after the birth, and congrats to them. I just found it much harder than I had expected, even with the knowledge that I had.

I think in the early months post baby I worried too much about losing weight, when what I should have been concentrating on was regaining my strength. You can't get stronger when you are not consuming enough calories. So next time, if I am blessed enough to have another baby, I will do things differently. And maybe not put on so much weight during pregnancy!

[gymbunny87]

What do you think made u put on so much weight during pregnancy MandyM?
Was it over indulging with the whole "eating for two" moniker, or is your body just predisposed to gaining gestational fat?

What tips could you give to young women like myself who want to have children in the future? Did u do any gentle exercise during your pregnancy such as yoga, walking, aqua aerobics.....?

[mandym]

What do you think made u put on so much weight during pregnancy MandyM?
Was it over indulging with the whole "eating for two" moniker, or is your body just predisposed to gaining gestational fat?

What tips could you give to young women like myself who want to have children in the future? Did u do any gentle exercise during your pregnancy such as yoga, walking, aqua aerobics.....?

I had always thought that since I was pretty fit and knew all about diet and exercising, that I wouldn't be one of "those women" who let themselves go during pregnancy. I had morning sickness that just made me want to eat. If I didn't eat, then I would get sick. I ate a lot more carbs than I normally consume, as this seemed to help settle my stomach. No vomiting, just a constant queasy feeling that would only settle when I had food in my stomach. Had cravings for watermelon and icecream!

I did put on more than the recommended weight (which is between 10 - 15 kg). I think that my body needed it. I started at 60 kgs and below 15% bodyfat, so I think my body was craving the food so I could have a healthy baby. A good 10 kgs of the weight was also fluid which I lost the day after having my baby boy, so that was a little easier to step on the scales after that initial 10 kg loss.

I wouldn't say that I was eating for two, although I was a lot less strict than my exercise days. Just that damn morning sickness, not much fun.

I exercised during my pregnancy and I taught Bodypump up until I was 7 months pregnant. I walked the dog every day and at the end of my pregnancy I started swimming. Exercising was very beneficial for me as I had Restless Legs, and a lot of swelling in the ankles with the extra fluid (swimming was great to help this).

Probably the biggest tip I have is to ensure your body is ready for a baby. It is very demanding to go through pregnancy and labour is difficult, even with drugs to help. It was a workout like nothing I have ever done before. I think that being in shape helped me have a quick, straightforward labour with little intervention. And I was also able to start exercising soon after the delivery, and was back into my workouts 2 weeks after birth (just gentle walking and light weights).

Although I wish I hadn't put on so much weight, I do know that I did the right things to have a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby which is what mattered most to me.

[Dollfinn]

Oh so glad I am not the only one who has had this issue.

My stomach is pretty bad, my second baby had nothing left to stretch or damage because my first did it all, he was backwards the entire pregnancy, including the birth, spent most of his time doing laps and boxing madly, even mid birthing, the midwife closest to my head says "oh wow, whats that", I looked to where she was pointing (where my liver should have been) and said "A FOOT!".

It is very nice to read posts by women like MandyM because its proof you can get past the added babyweight, damaged abs, etc.

I am pretty sure I will need surgery to fix the skin after I lose the weight and strengthen the muscles, but I can cope with that later, need to get properly committed to a consistent routine and build the muscle back up and lose the weight (god I hate it when my other half refers to my poor damaged saggy belly as "my pouch"!!!).

Anyway, am about to head to the gym while I can (kids at school, bf at work, my last weekday free until christmas).

Cheers,

Doll!

[leafy]

it's a loooong road isn't it! Mine is still improving but boy it's taking its time!

[mandym]

My little boy is 3 in January!!!! They are only just getting back to where I would like them now! (Given I have had added stresses of my husband's health, so exercise and diet have not been my #1 priority).

The loose skin has improved, and is only really a problem for me now when I bend over. Then the pouch sags...... I joke with the participants to some of my group fitness classes that I used to have abs but gave them up for the best gift of all, a baby!

[jojoamethyst]

can happen to blokes who get obese stomachs too
have a colleague with the worse stomach separation i have ever seen
he thought it was a hernia but apparently not

[Agent 00D]

I spend a bit of time trying to consciously 'suck in my gut', haha. :D

Story of my life. lol

[Dollfinn]

I dont have the spare concious mental space or energy to remember to suck in my gut, I am just going to have to get a bit of barbed wire and have it at a certain tightness, so everytime i let it all relax, the barbs dig in and remind me to suck it back in. Maybe a girdle with some "burrs" inside it, that way I cant injure anyone near me accidentally.

[mandym]

Maybe a girdle

Have you seen the belly supports that are supposed to help with this? You can wear them during pregnancy to support your pelvic floor and then after birth, again to help your pelvic floor and to assist in the recovery. Something I will be trying out if I ever go down the baby road again.