The Post-Partum Tummy Routine
The Post-Partum Tummy Routine
By: Li Ming Wong
Having a baby is a beautiful and exciting
thing. What is less beautiful and exciting, however, is the extra weight that
hangs around the midsection after the baby has been born. The best way to go
about shedding this baby belly is proper diet and an exercise routine, which may
not always be easy to do for a new stay-at-home mom still reeling from a
pregnancy. The good news is that working out and eliminating the extra belly fat
will give you more energy, so you can spend more quality time playing with and
caring for your new rugrat. Here are a few simple exercises to set your on your
way toward baby belly freedom. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a
professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.
Progressive Crunchless Crunch
This abdominal exercise works your abdominals as well as a crunch does, but
without the strain to your neck and back. Begin by sitting in a chair, placing
one hand above and below your belly button in order to feel the contraction of
your abdominals. Take one big deep breath, so your midsection expands
completely. Then let the breath out as you pull your belly in, imagining your
belly button being pulled inward toward your spine. Finally, briefly contract
your abs five times. Do a full set of repetitions of all three parts. You can
also try this exercise lying on your back. Try both to see which one helps you
feel the contractions of your abdominal muscles better.
Contractions
This exercise starts off very much the same way as the last one, but involves
quicker steps and more repetitions. Begin by sitting in the same position as in
the progressive crunchless crunch, and taking the same deep breath. This time,
instead of bringing your belly all the way back, exhale and bring it just about
halfway. Then pull your belly button back toward your spine. Contract and hold
for a count of one. Repeat from the half-exhalation point. Do the whole thing
one hundred times.
Crunchless Crunch
As you can tell from the name, this abdominal exercise is very similar to the
first. Instead of making a few stops as you exhale a deep breath, however, this
exercise consists of just one move. To start, either lie or on your abdominal or
kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise
better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower
abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If
holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to
hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles
working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the
contraction out.
If you start doing these abdominal exercises at home in your spare few (very
few) minutes, you can lose your baby belly and be fit and trim and just a few
months-- just in time to start chasing after Junior once he learns to crawl!
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