tone my cone! after babies blah

peacheshka

My twins are almost two and my tummy still cones horribly I know that I need to tone so anyone have some good routine ideas or best toning options to strengthen my core?

Ebbykins

Cones? As in diastasis recti?

sunnyzephyr

I would start with a good cardio work out, to burn the fat, then finish off with core toning (abs, hips, lower back, etc.)

wbgolden

Cones? As in diastasis recti?

Smart girl alert!

Futurefitnessinstructor

Cones? As in diastasis recti?

Smart girl alert!

I was going to ask the same question!

With a diastasis recti the belly is known to make a cone shape or look like a "mountain ridge" when you flex your stomach muscles.

If so, regular exercise, like sit ups and some pilates moves can make the condition/ abdominal separation worse...so be careful.

peacheshka

THANK YOU so much everyone! I knew the muscles were stretched but had no idea I could make it so much worse! And I now know why my lower back hurts so much! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! You guys rock!

Ebbykins

LOL, That's great, and I asked because I actually have diastasis recti, and LOTS of the stuff I was doing before I got educated in it was making it worse. Once I stopped doing them, started replacing them with some diastasis recti friendly exercises instead, it's slowly started to get much much better. I have a epigastric and an umbilical hernia that get in the way of me fully healing the diastasis recti right now, but after my hernia surgery and some time off off to heal I hope to be a diastasis recti success story, with NO tummy tucks. Time patience and avoid anything and everything that makes it cone out! Twisting planks/leg lifting type ab exercises for me were the worst and I was doing JM's DVDs post partum... no wonder, lol.

BeFitMom

To repair diastasis recti after pregnancy, you need to start by building a lot of strength back into your deepest abdominal muscle, your Transverse Abdominis, or TvA. When contracted, the TvA compresses the abdomen. (The TvA does not move bone.) Then after this muscle has regained adequate strength, you need to do specialized postnatal rehab exercises that train the muscle to function properly as a stabilizer. All of these exercises should be done with lower spine flexion, with you upper body and head on the floor.
If your mid line is very wide, more than 3 finger-widths, you can also add manual splinting of your mid line with your hands to assist your TvA.
In the mean time, do not perform ANY abdominal exercises that lift/flex the upper body off the floor or against the force of gravity, as these moves will make the condition worse. No crunches, oblique pulses, roll-ups, roll-downs, most Pilates mat work, and yoga moves like “boat pose.”
All women with diastasis should use the “log roll” technique when rising from the floor, or getting out of bed to protect their mid lines.
BeFit-Mom

Futurefitnessinstructor

There is a good book on self repairing diastisis recti called " Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by Janine Tupler. She coined the "Tupler Technique", which is really just a series of exercises for the transverse abdominus muscles.

Another word of wisdom: some doctors and fitness instructors, even those that specialize in postnatal care are not familiar with this condition or the exercises that should be avoided by women with it....so I found you have to educate yourself.

I was instructed by my pilates coach that roll ups, crunches and obliques would tone me up in no time! My doctor said to do a lot of sit ups! Researching on my own made me realize they were both wrong.

Good luck!

sarahstolberg

Oh my goodness, I am so glad I found this! I have been doing JM's 30DS, and I could not figure out why my belly is pooching out more now than it did before I started working out. I need to look more into this issue & exercises.