PostPartum stomach toning

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CjEm7985
CjEm7985 Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey, I have a question to throw out there. The answer I want might not exist, but you never know if you don't ask. :)

So, I'm 5 months postpartum on baby two. I've lost the lbs, but my belly is like pudding.
Because I also have a toddler/preschooler, I can't spend long stretches of time during the day exercising.

My question: is there a good ab toning exercise plan that I could do a minute of two at a time, spread out through the day?

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • ElizabethAN2017
    ElizabethAN2017 Posts: 565 Member
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    Doing as many sit ups that you can do in a minute or two (and do this a number of times during the day - or, for example, during commercials of a TV program) will help strengthen your abdominal muscles, which helps with toning.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    Doing ab exercises won't help you lose fat around the stomach. Diet does that. Set a reasonable deficit and lose fat. You can't spot reduce-fat comes off all over. Ab exercises work the muscles so when you lose the fat you might have some ab definition. But you are better off doing full body, compound lifts like deadlifts and squats. Do some cardio like walking with the baby in the stroller or running, if you have a jogging stroller.
    Even if your weight is where you want it that is just numbers in a scale. Your fat-muscle ratio could have changed. After I had my baby I lost the weight back to pre-preg range. Was wearing my old jeans. My stomach did not look the same. I had more fat and less muscle than before. Deficit+hitting protein macro+weight lifting lost the fat. Also, some of the jiggle is loose skin. No cure for that except time.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Sumiblue wrote: »
    Doing ab exercises won't help you lose fat around the stomach. Diet does that. Set a reasonable deficit and lose fat. You can't spot reduce-fat comes off all over. Ab exercises work the muscles so when you lose the fat you might have some ab definition. But you are better off doing full body, compound lifts like deadlifts and squats. Do some cardio like walking with the baby in the stroller or running, if you have a jogging stroller.
    Even if your weight is where you want it that is just numbers in a scale. Your fat-muscle ratio could have changed. After I had my baby I lost the weight back to pre-preg range. Was wearing my old jeans. My stomach did not look the same. I had more fat and less muscle than before. Deficit+hitting protein macro+weight lifting lost the fat. Also, some of the jiggle is loose skin. No cure for that except time.

    ^^^--this. Abs are made in the kitchen. You can't spot tone a body part, you have to lose the underlying fat for it to get to where you want it to be. Sorry to tell you. Having children or age can make this a difficult task but not unachievable. The stomach area has always been my weak spot too so I feel you. I can get really defined everywhere else but my body sometimes refuses to let go of the love handles until I seriously get caloric restrictive. Good luck.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    My stomach is flat again and I'm leaner than I've ever been in my life, so it's not impossible. But I did it the way I outlined above. I did a solid lifting program for beginners; Stronglifts 5x5. When I got my deficit going and upped protein the fat came off. Down inches & a pants size or two. I'm 5'2" & 47 (had my baby at 42!), 116 lbs now, down from 137 to give you background.
  • CjEm7985
    CjEm7985 Posts: 15 Member
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    I do well diet wise, keeping near or under recommended sugar and fat, and averaging 95-100g protein daily. Keep my vitamins right with a multivitamin also.

    I started here between babies, being 5'6" and 185lbs. I'm down to 143 (or near) but honestly finding time to exercise with a three year old and 5 month-old is tough.

    We live in an area where jogging isn't feasible. I don't have a gym I can go to, nor reliable enough internet to YouTube videos (our library selection is horrible too)

    Would doing a few minutes at a time throughout the day of, say, bodyweight workout and calisthenics be the best idea do you think? At least to get me going until my girls get older and need less constant focused time?
  • CjEm7985
    CjEm7985 Posts: 15 Member
    edited March 2016
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    My calories are in a deficit average also weekly, but as I exclusively breastfeed I can't currently cut more without also cutting supply for baby. :(
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    You kinda have to make time, I used to get up and jog at 5-5:30 before anybody needs me, we didn't live in a great neighborhood or anything but that early there just isn't a lot going on. I have kept up the habit now my youngest is 9. I have 4 (plus 5 stepkids but got those when they were older).
    Dance around with your kids, put music on. Don't watch TV at all, move around more, get a double stroller and walk to the park or somewhere.
    Yes little bursts of exercise will help.
    Good posture and holding your stomach in as a daily practice goes a long way too.
  • mountainponies
    mountainponies Posts: 13 Member
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    I'm in a similar boat--13 weeks postpartum and a huge stomach which I am currently working on, but if it's any help I can suggest a great book called, "Fit Mama: A real-life fitness guide for the new mom" that has incremental exercises you can do here and there when you have the time, as well as exercises you can do with your baby as you progress. In my case, anything I can do while carrying my baby is a bonus and I am more likely to do it whereas the dust is gathering on my postpartum fitness dvd's since I rarely have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to myself. This kind of approach--integrating exercise with my regular routine--works well once you get used to it so it might be a good option for you. I also learned that my ab muscles separated (diastasis recti) so if there's any chance you have this (this can sometimes be the cause of excess postpartum pooch) it's a good idea to take your time to bring those muscles back together before trying anything more strenuous. I hope this helps. Bon courage, Mama!
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    mountainponies wrote: »
    I'm in a similar boat--13 weeks postpartum and a huge stomach which I am currently working on, but if it's any help I can suggest a great book called, "Fit Mama: A real-life fitness guide for the new mom" that has incremental exercises you can do here and there when you have the time, as well as exercises you can do with your baby as you progress. In my case, anything I can do while carrying my baby is a bonus and I am more likely to do it whereas the dust is gathering on my postpartum fitness dvd's since I rarely have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to myself. This kind of approach--integrating exercise with my regular routine--works well once you get used to it so it might be a good option for you. I also learned that my ab muscles separated (diastasis recti) so if there's any chance you have this (this can sometimes be the cause of excess postpartum pooch) it's a good idea to take your time to bring those muscles back together before trying anything more strenuous. I hope this helps. Bon courage, Mama!
    ^^this lady has excellent feedback:-)

    OP, I'm in the same type of situation as you. I'm doing Jamie Eason's Post Pregnancy plan on Bodybuilding.com. This plan has a bunch of body weight circuits for the first few weeks of the program. I have broken those circuits up on days where I need to:-) She has one day that is easily a 30 min workout with 4 different circuits. On days where my little guy is really high need, I have stretched that workout through the whole day fitting in individual circuits when I can.

    I had diastasis recti post pregnancy. Once I did the work to close the gap, I lost a pant size.
  • KDar1988
    KDar1988 Posts: 650 Member
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    CjEm7985 wrote: »
    I do well diet wise, keeping near or under recommended sugar and fat, and averaging 95-100g protein daily. Keep my vitamins right with a multivitamin also.

    I started here between babies, being 5'6" and 185lbs. I'm down to 143 (or near) but honestly finding time to exercise with a three year old and 5 month-old is tough.

    We live in an area where jogging isn't feasible. I don't have a gym I can go to, nor reliable enough internet to YouTube videos (our library selection is horrible too)

    Would doing a few minutes at a time throughout the day of, say, bodyweight workout and calisthenics be the best idea do you think? At least to get me going until my girls get older and need less constant focused time?

    When my kids were little I would do the Leslie Sansone in-home walking videos. I worked up a pretty good sweat. If you have the room maybe your toddler would like to join in!
  • CjEm7985
    CjEm7985 Posts: 15 Member
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    mountainponies wrote: »
    I'm in a similar boat--13 weeks postpartum and a huge stomach which I am currently working on, but if it's any help I can suggest a great book called, "Fit Mama: A real-life fitness guide for the new mom" that has incremental exercises you can do here and there when you have the time, as well as exercises you can do with your baby as you progress. In my case, anything I can do while carrying my baby is a bonus and I am more likely to do it whereas the dust is gathering on my postpartum fitness dvd's since I rarely have 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to myself. This kind of approach--integrating exercise with my regular routine--works well once you get used to it so it might be a good option for you. I also learned that my ab muscles separated (diastasis recti) so if there's any chance you have this (this can sometimes be the cause of excess postpartum pooch) it's a good idea to take your time to bring those muscles back together before trying anything more strenuous. I hope this helps. Bon courage, Mama!

    I've checked for diastasis rectified and am clear (though thanks for pointing it out just in case)

    I'll have to check out that book. Maybe they have it at our library...
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-post-pregnancy-trainer.html

    I've heard some good things about this program, plus it's free.
  • CjEm7985
    CjEm7985 Posts: 15 Member
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    julie_broadhead wrote: »

    OP, I'm in the same type of situation as you. I'm doing Jamie Eason's Post Pregnancy plan on Bodybuilding.com. This plan has a bunch of body weight circuits for the first few weeks of the program. I have broken those circuits up on days where I need to:-) She has one day that is easily a 30 min workout with 4 different circuits. On days where my little guy is really high need, I have stretched that workout through the whole day fitting in individual circuits when I can.

    I've seen that site mentioned a few places here... Have it bookmarked so I can hopefully check it out soon.
    My internet connection isn't that great, unfortunately, but we shall see.
    Thanks
  • Sa1979kb
    Sa1979kb Posts: 7 Member
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    I got my abs back by using Lindsay Brin's Moms into Fitness DVDs. I started with Postnatal Slimdown, and am now doing Pretty Fierce Weightloss. I lost all my baby weight and am stronger than before! Workouts are short and sweet! She also has a 30 Day Core program.

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