Do you want to know the best pelvic floor exercises?

When it comes to pelvic floor exercises, we are all told that the ‘lift and squeeze’ or kegel is the best thing we can do. I often use the analogy that only using kegels to strengthen your pelvic floor is like trying to strengthen your bicep without using any weight or movement and simply contracting your bicep muscle. We would never do that! So why do we think this will work for the pelvic floor??

We want to create balance in our muscles and so the best thing we can do is to USE them. If we want to get a muscle working better, we need to move it and to add weight and movement to gain strength.

In 2016, Crawford et al did a study to find out the pelvic floor response in a list of exercises compared to kegels. Here is what they found:

Percent Greater Than Isolated Kegel

1. Lunge: 42%
2. Squat: 30%
3. Side Lying Bent Knee Lift: 25%

4. Side Lying Straight Leg Circle: 25%
6. Bridge: 56%

7. Hovering : 49%
8. All 4s Bent Knee Lift: 30%
9. Cat Into Cow: 41%

I made this video to talk you through my versions of these exercises which I really believe are the best exercises for pelvic floor health.

My 30 Day Challenge is a great way to get yourself into this work and create a regular practice on your own or if you would like more feedback and to create a regular practice to improve your pelvic floor, join the waiting lists for my in person classes or check out my online membership.

 

 

So many new (and not so new) mums are shocked by how much pregnancy changes their body – both in how it looks and how it feels. 

Regardless of your fitness levels, it’s impossible to not notice how our bodies have changed once a baby has arrived. Over 60% of women in the UK have diastasis recti at 6 weeks following pregnancy although this reduces over time postnatally and by 12 months postnatal is just over 30%. Although a fairly common condition, it can cause a lot of distress and discomfort. 

Diastasis recti happens during pregnancy as a result of the rectus abdominal muscles (or six pack) separating to accommodate the growing baby. This is a totally normal process and not something to worry about but sometimes the connective tissue around the muscles can overstretch and leave a dysfunctional abdominal wall and a gap between the rectus muscles. 

This can result in a bulge or dome around the belly and can leave people feeling that they are still a few months pregnant. 

 

How do you know if you have an abdominal separation?

• Lift your upper body slightly, as if you are doing a crunch. 
• Gently use your index and middle finger to push down in the centre of your tummy (near your belly button). 
• If you feel more than two fingers width of space then you may have diastasis recti
• Now feel for the depth of the tissues – hopefully, you will find some resistance under your fingers but if you find that it is really deep this is another potential flag of some dysfunction. 

Here is a useful video that can help you identify if you have diastasis recti. 

 

Can weight loss heal abdominal separation?

In a word, no! This isn’t about your weight – it is a fascial issue that is all about getting the abdominals to function more efficiently. Your belly size may decrease with weight loss but if you have abdominal separation, the best way to close it is to get the abdominals functioning better. 

I want to make one thing clear – you aren’t broken. Instead, we just need to help things to function better in a way that helps to heal the separation. 

Diastasis recti is a core function issue problem. It’s about healing and creating more balance in the tissues. This can be helped by gaining strength but for many people it is also about stopping other areas (such as the ribcage and obliques) from gripping. 

For the majority of women, it can be effectively treated with a good exercise programme and the right nutrition. Some really great exercises include:

• Diaphragmatic Breathing (when you breathe too much into your belly you increase the pressure and this can contribute to diastasis)
• Side Bends (this will help to mobilise your rib cage and reduce the pressure described above)
• Knee floats (one of my favourites for deep core strength – but make sure you aren’t gripping and are engaging your abdominals correctly – you might need some help with this) 
• Heel Slides (see knee floats!) 

I have a whole blog post detailing some simple exercises you can do to help heal your abdominal separation.

I do also want to stress that it is important to be kind to yourself and your body – especially if you have recently given birth (it has just done an incredible thing!). There is plenty of time to get this sorted – I have helped mums to rehab their abdominals with kids in their teens so (although if you have the time and energy to get it sorted sooner that is great) there is no rush. 

If you haven’t already seen a Women’s Health Physio, make sure you go and get some advice from someone in person. Get your pelvic floor checked for as much support as possible. You can look for a local physio here.

 

Join The Pelvic Floor Project

The Pelvic Floor Project online membership will help you to get you to a place where you can stop worrying about your core function, live your life as you want to, exercise as you want to and understand what works for your body and what doesn’t.

Pelvic floor and abdominal dysfunction needs to be treated as a full body issue. It’s not just about strengthening your core, it’s about how your body works as a whole – how your posture, your breathing and your daily movement patterns impact your pelvic floor function.

I have created this holistic approach to improve your abdominal function and long-term pelvic floor health with pelvic floor and diastasis recti-friendly Pilates, support and accountability.

Whether your baby is 6 months old or about to turn 16, you need to gift yourself a proper rehab programme for your pelvic floor and core. Make a commitment to your wellbeing and pelvic floor freedom and rediscover the joy of movement!

Join the Pelvic Floor Programme today.

Diastasis recti is the separation of the abdomen muscles (aka our six pack), It’s totally normal to occur during pregnancy as our bodies have to make space for the growing baby. 

The trouble is that this separation can weaken our core and, left unchecked, this can lead to back pain and contribute to poor posture and alignment. Whether you are a new mum or seasoned parent, dealing with back pain is difficult and can cause all sorts of disruptions to life. 

 

How can I reduce my back pain?

The first step to alleviating the pain is to get to the core of the problem…our core! By ‘closing the gap’ and addressing our abdominal function, we can relieve the pressure on our spinal muscles and ensure that our back is not doing all the work. 

 

Exercises To Help Diastasis Recti

For anyone who DOES have time to exercise, here are some useful exercises to kick start your movement practice but in an ideal world I would find a local pregnancy and postnatal specialist trained by Carolyne Anthony or Jenny Burrell as there is no substitute for good teaching! Or come and work with me in my online membership! 

These exercises should only be performed after you have had clearance from your GP to exercise again. I would recommend that you also see a Women’s Health Physio before starting any exercise postnatally.

 

 

Sidelying Ribcage Rock

• Lie on your side with both arms extended forwards at chest level with the palms together
• Inhale to rock the ribcage forward while at the same time rocking the pelvis back
• Exhale to rock the ribcage back as you rock the pelvis forward
• Repeat then change sides

This is really helpful as it will mobilise the tissues around your ribcage and torso that could be causing tension that is preventing good function in your abdominals.

 

Double Knee Openings

• Lie in neutral spine with your feet together. 
• Exhale to allow your abdominals to flatten
• Draw your hip bones towards each other and open both knees out to the side – focus on keeping the pelvis still as the legs move
• Inhale to hold the legs there, exhale to connect to your abdominals again and pull the legs back together again. 
• Think of the legs being heavy and using your abdominals to pull them back to the middle.

When working in neutral spine many postnatal women benefit from a higher head position (cushion/ block) to allow the back of the ribcage to stay released into the mat whilst the lower back can maintain its neutral curve. If neutral spine is uncomfortable for you, look at the positioning of the head.

This exercise will help to connect you to your deep core muscles. 

 

Single Knee Openings

• Lie in semi-supine
• Exhale to allow your abdominals to relax then draw your sit bones, hip bones and rib cage together
• Open one leg out to the side
• Inhale and hold it
• Exhale to bring it back to parallel
• Repeat with the other leg. 

Focus on keeping the pelvis and especially the supporting leg still and releasing as the other leg moves.

 

Pelvic Tilts

• Lie on your back with your knees bent up and feet flat on the floor
• Make sure that the feet are parallel to each other and be aware of the big toe joint connecting into the floor. 
• Exhale to gently flatten your lower back so that your lower spine softens into the floor (rolling your pelvis under and thinking of bringing your pubic bone and your rib cage towards each other). 
• Inhale and release back into neutral, allowing your hip flexors to release, the pelvic floor to open. 

 

As a variation:

• Hold the pelvis in the tilt (if you can, try not to fully release on the in breath, keeping some connection)
• Exhale to connect again
• Visualising the abdominals drawing back into the middle
• Have an awareness of your pelvic floor connecting as your ribcage is softening and the pelvic floor connecting the sit bones into the inner thighs and big toe joints with every out breath. 
• Repeat the breathing 5 times.
• Release the pelvis back to the floor.

 

Postnatal Classes with Centred Mums

All of our postnatal classes can help with your abdominal separation. We have designed each class to ensure it only contains exercises that will assist your recovery, and we will always encourage you to work at your own pace and listen to your body.

When it comes to dysfunctions like Diastasis Recti, you are often warned against exercises such as sit-ups, but we will teach you that it isn’t about the exercise but about the level of control you have. If your abdominals ‘dome’ and push out when you do a sit-up, then this isn’t a good exercise for you. But plenty of people who don’t have a diastasis also dome, and it’s not a good exercise for them either.

We’re here to assure you that you don’t be scared to move and to use your body, you simply need to learn how to use it better.

With a better understanding of what your postnatal body needs, you can avoid pushing yourself into exercises and movements that won’t serve you well in the long term. And, as experts in this, we can confidently support you through making these important changes and bring you great results with our postnatal classes or our online membership!