Good exercises for abdominal muscles?

Jill_Nicolette

I had our first son in November of 2016 by c- section. Baby Daniel was in the nicu for over a month. All that stress and hospital food (and fast food) made me gain more weight. Any suggestions?

estherdragonbat

I'm not sure whether the core exercises I do are all suitable for someone who's had a c-section, so you might want to check with your doctor to make sure this is safe. The ones I'm doing are:

Bicycle crunches
Dead bugs
Bird-dogs
I am trying to do 'deep abs jackknifes off of a stability ball'. So far, I can do a modified version with my knees on the ball, instead of my shins. I can manage 2-3 reps of the unmodified. But, hey... two weeks ago, I could barely manage one!
I also plank, which works more than just the abs.

Jill_Nicolette

My doctor says it's alright to do them now. I had to wait 8 weeks to do anything.

estherdragonbat

Understood. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't suggesting anything dangerous.

cs2thecox

Two separate things here... weight and abs.

Running a moderate but sustainable calorie deficit (food in is less than calories burned by generally existing plus exercise) will take care of the weight. Best results though consistency, meticulous logging on here, not running *too* big of a deficit that you can't stick to it, and patience.
You can have the best muscles in the world, but if they're hidden under a layer of excess weight, then they won't be visible. When they say that abs are 80% made in the kitchen, they're 100% right. Getting the diet sussed is vital.

So the muscles are a separate question.
Given you're post C-section, I'd hope they gave you some advice about how much you can do when. You don't want to jeapordise healing through any kind of crazy ab routine. I don't know (no first hand experience) but I guess after 9 months you're probably ok to crack on? If in doubt, do seek more experienced advice!
However, targeted ab exercises are not necessarily the best way to strengthen you ab muscles.

Something like yoga or pilates will strengthen your whole core, which includes your abs. There are SO many benefits from having a strong core in general, that I would always recommend this as the way to go, rather than just a pure abs focus. Although classes are the best, so someone can check your form and physically correct you, there are loads of online resources or DVDs available if you want to have a go at home.
I did reformer pilates for years and adored it, but recently moved far away from my studio and can't find another one where I live now. I'm still upset!
I just started trying different types of yoga though, as there are loads of classes near me. I had a few bad experiences in the past, but went to a Vinyasa Flow class last weekend which I loved! There are so many different kinds of yoga, that you might need to try a few (or just a few different instructors) to find one you like.

If you want something more intense (and this is a big leap), big compound lifts with free weights are great for the core and therefore the abs. I started lifting weights properly maybe a year and a half ago, and was surprised how much I like it - it makes me feel like an absolute BOSS!
It's probably best to be taught by a strength and conditioning qualified trainer, as getting good form is important, but plenty of people do go it alone with good results. There are some good threads on here about which lifting programme might be right depending on goals etc.

Good luck!

Jdismybug1

I had a csection 4 years ago. Just work your way up with exercise and endurance. It takes time and patience and things will start to go back in place.