24- Strengthening Your Core Postpartum A Safe and Sustainable Approach

Episode Title: Postpartum Core Recovery: Mindful Progression for Strength and Function

Episode Summary: This episode focuses on postpartum core recovery, emphasizing a gradual and mindful approach. Kat, the host, discusses the importance of rebuilding core strength from the inside out, prioritizing function over aesthetics. She covers common postpartum issues like diastasis recti and offers practical advice on safely and effectively re-engaging your core muscles.

Key Topics Covered:

• The importance of core strength for overall health and well-being.
• Understanding diastasis recti and common misconceptions.
• The role of breathwork in core connection and engagement.
• Safe exercises and progressions for postpartum core recovery.
• Exercise should be avoided in the early stages of postpartum recovery.
• Setting realistic goals and honoring your individual recovery timeline.
• The ongoing nature of core strength and its importance throughout motherhood.

Key Takeaways:

• Postpartum core recovery is about rebuilding strength and function, not just achieving a flat stomach.
• Diastasis recti is a common and treatable condition.
• Breathwork is a foundational element of core recovery.
• Gradual progression and listening to your body are essential for safe and effective recovery.
• Core strength is an ongoing journey that extends beyond the initial postpartum period.

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Transcript

Kat: 0:00

This is episode 24 of the miles from review podcast. Today we're going to be talking about postpartum core recovery, emphasizing gradual mindful progression while focusing on rebuilding the function and strength over aesthetic goals. Before we dive in, I want to mention this podcast is for informational purposes only. It's not meant to diagnose or treat any conditions. If you're experiencing any issues or have specific concerns about your postpartum recovery, contact your healthcare provider or a certified postpartum specialist for personalized advice. Welcome to Miles From Her View. The podcast, where we dive deep into the unfiltered reality of fitness, strength, training, and nutrition within womanhood and motherhood. I am your host, Kat, founder of Kat Fit Strength. I'm a career strength and conditioning coach, entrepreneur, lifelong athlete, and a mom of two active boys. In each episode, we explore the unique challenges and triumphs faced by women navigating the complexities of life. From juggling family and career to prioritizing self care, we dissect the systems of life. The habits that shape our health and wellness join us for real stories, authentic advice, and genuine conversations. As we empower each other to embrace our journeys and find strength and vulnerability. Welcome back to miles from review. I'm Kat, your host. And whether you're a brand new mama or deep into the motherhood journey, today's episode is all about one of the most important areas to focus on post baby. And we're talking re strengthening your core. Now I'm not talking about getting a six pack or snatched waist or whatever else you want to call it. Now we're talking about rebuilding the strength of the core from the inside out to help you feel your best self every day. Whether that's picking up your baby, carrying groceries, or even moving on to bigger demands on your body. Now, after giving birth, many women experience core weakness or separation in the abdominal muscles, and that is known as diesis recti. Diasis recti is a completely normal adaptation your body goes through to accommodate a growing baby. It can lead to challenges later on if it's not addressed properly. I'm not talking that as soon as you have that baby you have to address it, but what I'm talking about is We need to pay attention to our core to rebuild, reconnect those muscles postpartum. This is something I strongly work with with my postpartum clients in Catholic strength or in person. I focus on rebuilding that foundation, starting with the breath. Let's dive into what this might look like. So during pregnancy, your body is going to undergo a lot of change. And this is especially true for the core muscles. Your abdominal muscles have to stretch and then they have to separate to accommodate for that growing baby. And many women, this results in diastasis recti. This is the separation of the abdominal muscles. So the rectus abdominal muscles, those are the six pack muscles, those muscles split and they separate. So there is two sides of them. So think about like three on one side in terms of a six pack and three on the other. And they. separate. They don't like split, like rip apart and they separate. And research shows it's very common for this to happen. About 60 percent of pregnancies, this occurs. I want to go into some misconceptions and I'm going to keep this a little, I'm not going to go super deep into the anatomy, but I'm going to give you a pretty good idea of what is happening there with that diases recti and clearing up some of those misconceptions. The width of the abdominal gap. isn't the only thing to focus on. I know a lot of people are like, Oh, I have a, this, how many fingers cause it's measured in fingers separation. Yes, that is important. But the real goal is we want to focus on the tension and the function of this soft tissue. It's called the linea alba. It's the connective tissue that is between those rectus abdominis. Okay. So thinking, you know, Using that six pack mindset, there's three abdominal packs on one side and then three on the other side and in the center is that linea alba. When you're pregnant, the baby's growing and those rectus abdominal muscles separate. The linea alba is the connective tissue that is between those abs. When there is a gap there, we want to test the tension and function of that tissue because if there is a lot of give and there's, you know, the, the pressure is often there and the, the function of that tissue isn't happening, your gap isn't going to come back together. So that is part of a core breakdown in that core column. Hang with me here. It's going to get a little technical. That core column is at the base of your ribs, your diaphragm, okay? Where you breathe into, then that diaphragm, your lungs, your diaphragm muscle, and then all the way down to your pelvic floor. The rectus abdominis as well as, and I'm not going to go into all the muscle names, but all of The muscles in your abdomen and in your back are the ones that help keep, you know, your guts in and strengthen and help you stay upright and also helps with the stability of your pelvis. Again, that is a very quick overview of the core. Diving back into the core connection, one of the areas that I Start to focus with clients and it can seem really boring, but it is so important is connection, bright breathing. Now, what that is, is it's a deep coordinated breath that helps your diaphragm to your pelvic floor and core muscles start to work together. So when you inhale, you allow your belly to expand or. at the top because your diaphragm is kind of at the top of the belly. So we're not directly breathing into the belly, but we're breathing deep down into that diaphragm. And when you breathe in, Your belly is going to expand. And as you exhale, you engage your core muscles drawing inwards and up from the bottom. So up from your pelvic floor in without holding your breath. So this creates that foundational movement. Okay. This is where I like to start with clients. That doesn't mean the whole workout is just, we're going to sit here and breathe. But the best thing you can do is start to connect with your breath and those muscles in the abdomen. So, it's also crucial for everyday activities. Think about when you're picking something up. Your first instinct is to bear it down and hold your breath. Well, that puts a lot of load on your pelvic floor. Think about the times we hear sneeze pee, laughing pee, or leaking when you pick something up. It's too much pressure on that pelvic floor and something's got to give and that's when leaking happens. I have a future episode coming up where I do a deep dive in with an incredible pelvic floor therapist on leaking. So stay tuned for that. When we're working on that breath function, it helps ensure that the right muscles are engaging at the right time, because after we have that baby, I called it when I was going through it. I felt like I was connected from like my chest up and from my hips down. And then in between after it was like this squishy, weird, empty space because it felt really weak and uncoordinated. So you have to retrain The body and mind to reconnect to those muscles there so that they feel better and you are protecting yourself. Are you curious about KatFit Strength? Well, KatFit Strength is designed to help you achieve your fitness goals with confidence and clarity. Whether you're a busy mom juggling multiple responsibilities, a woman navigating unique challenges of prenatal, postpartum, or perimenopause, or an athlete looking to enhance your performance. KatFit Strength has you covered. Let's get down to it. KatFit Strength offers personalized programs tailored to your unique needs, goals, ensuring you get the most out of every workout. Expert guidance provided for you with the understanding of the importance of balancing strength training, cardio, and mobility. Flexible workouts designed to fit into your busy schedule, whether you're at home or at the gym or on the go. So why choose Catholic strength? I believe in creating sustainable fitness habits that adapt to your lifestyle. I focus on helping you lift effectively, move better, and feel stronger every day. Plus, emphasis is on realistic goal setting, celebrating every win, and helping you stay motivated and inspired. So diving into, how do we get back to exercise? You hear that six to eight week appointment, you're cleared for exercise, but that doesn't mean you're genuinely clear for exercise. But what can you do? You're itching to And I'm going to say it, I hate this phrase, get your body back, but you're itching to establish that normal exercise routine. You want to connect with your body. You want to give back to yourself here. I'm going to break it down into stages. So the first six weeks of postpartum. So from the time you have your baby to the time you have that. um, appointment where you're cleared by your OB is all about rehab. So if you're working with me with a client, I like to still stay in contact with my clients during this time to offer support, to help troubleshoot things. And even in the later stages of their pregnancy, I'm working with them on how to safeguard their body, how they're going to be picking up the bucket seat, the infant carrier help. They're going to function in everyday life. We're also working on strengthening exercises, prepping for the baby, maintaining the strength throughout the body, and helping for, you know, hopefully this is out of our control and easy delivery. In those first six weeks, the thing that I want them to focus on is their breath. So in zero to two weeks is, Hey, let's just start breathing. Let's start to say, Hey, you know, abdominal muscles. Hey, you know, diaphragm, where are you at? Let's connect with our core. Let's get the ribs that are surrounding the diaphragm starting to function, starting to move. Okay. And it's not a 30 minute workout. It's. When you have a moment, you're on the couch, your breasts are bottle feeding. Um, take the time to start to breathe, breathe in through the nose, feeling that diaphragm expand and out through the mouth or any other time that you have one to two minutes to focus on yourself. And if you could do that a couple of times a day, that's awesome. Now, moving on to like stage two is weeks three to four, you're starting to feel a little bit stronger. You're starting to feel Somewhat recovered. I'm going to say somewhat. I do understand it is different for every person and I want to differentiate that. Um, this is a general overview. It is not precise to a vaginal delivery or a C section. It can be different for both sides. So this is why I want to stress is it's it's a general overview of what a recovery can look like. Um, and if you have any questions, Message me. You can message me right on the podcast or at cat at cat dot fit, but three to four weeks you are going to feel a little bit stronger in here. If a client has been working with me, and I want to stress, this is not something if you are in that three to four weeks postpartum that I want you to do. If you have not been working with a professional or if you're not currently working with a pelvic floor therapist, because if you are working with a, uh, or a trainer who is, um, experienced and certified in, um, postpartum corrective exercises, uh, pre and postnatal certified, um, you know, wait and till that clearance appointment and find someone who is certified in those areas. I strongly recommend seeing a doctor. seeing a public floor therapist, not to get off topic. It is something that is definitely worthwhile. And I encourage my clients who are in the prenatal postpartum area to see a public floor therapist. And I work alongside with what they are recommending to in this time, but getting back to the three to four weeks, that's where we can start to introduce some restorative movements like glute bridges, clamshells, and these are to help engage the core and the breath. Now, again. It's something very small. We're not trying to rep out. We're not like, Oh, let's load it on four times 25. No, it's just maybe a set of two or three, um, once a week or twice a week. We're not trying to rep out. sitting here and trying to force the body to do much. There's so much recovery at this point. You may not even feel like moving your body in these ways. You're just trying to keep your head above water, stay on top of the feedings, the changes. And if you have older children, there's a lot to get done. So. This is not something that you need to be doing around the clock at all. So when we ended the five to six week at this point theory, you're starting to settle in a routine. I will say in theory, I had a child where I don't think there was ever a routine. Um, and then I had a kid who was super routine. It was the second one. And the first one was, there was no routine. I kept hearing about these mythical, um, times where the baby would nap. My child never slept. So. I don't want you to think you're doing it wrong when I say this, because it is a very generalized breakdown in five to six weeks, you may have a little bit more energy and you want to walk more having that breath alignment and that core posture and focusing on the, um, postural alignment is going to help with increasing your walking distance. Now, when I say increase walking distances, this does not mean that we are out walking for 45 minutes, an hour, et cetera. It could be a walk around the block, a 10 minute walk, a 15 minute walk, still keeping it small because your body is going through a lot of changes, not only hormonally, but your tissues, um, your tendons, your ligaments, your muscles, um, even your organs are all still going through changes. Week 7 through 18, where you get that amazing clearance, um, from your doctor, okay, to return to exercise. This is oftentimes when I get clients who call me. So I will go over things. if they are willing to speak about it. I want to stress that if they are willing to go into how was your birth, how have you been feeling? Where are you feeling here? Some clients, and I fully respect this, don't want to go into all of their birth details. I get it. It is personal. But the things that are important to me is like, are you experiencing heaviness in the pelvic floor? Are you experiencing leaking? How is your back feeling, your neck, your shoulders? Are there areas where you're more achy? Um, or how are you feeling in that core? If you're feeling overly weak, et cetera. Um, these things help me put together a plan so that I am putting in. exercises that are going to help them and help elevate their body from where it is now to where they want to go. So we're going to Start to introduce a structured strength training. Again, strength training does not mean we are loading that bar with tons of weight. We're looking at getting the body to remember how to move. And if you are new to strength training, then we're going to look at introducing these movement patterns in the body so that it feels strong and confident. Some safe exercises for core recovery. Okay. are glute bridges, um, step ups, one arm rows, kneeling presses. Not every client is going to do those, nor will I start every client there. Not because there's any great discrepancies, but again, it's looking at what is best for this client and what is going to get them to the next step. Things that aren't recommended at this time, are crunches and sit ups and front planks and running. I get it. Running, we all want to jump back into running, who were runners prior, previous to delivery. And so now, I'm a big runner. And it is hard to delay that, because you just want to get out for that run. With the crunches and sit ups and front planks, it does not mean that they're horrible work exercises and you should never do them. Especially if you've had diastasis recti. No, the whole point is we want to build that core and strengthen that linea alba so that we can do some of these exercises when our body is ready to handle that load. So these exercises, the crunches, sit ups, front planks, and running, it puts a lot of stress on the abdomen and pelvic floor. And when you jump back into those. Super quickly, it could delay your recovery and it could also cause setbacks or other injuries. You could wind up with pelvic floor issues and potentially back pain. If you do jump back into some of these exercises and you find yourself having some of these challenges, a, Great public floor therapist and physical therapist will be able to help address these concerns. Now, moving on to like that 90 to 42 weeks is when we can start to introduce as long as we've been working these. the core, incorporating the breathing, slowly building up and that tension on the linear alba is starting to build. Um, and the pressure within the abdomen, which is called intra abdominal pressure. So the, um, core canister, like I said, from the diaphragm all the way down to the pelvic floor, is able to stabilize the pressure when you breathe in or when you add a load onto the body. So what that would look like is you're not super rigid, but think about, um, if you've ever seen coning at the front of the, um, abdomen, if there's not, Atomic coning or pressure when you bear down when you're lifting something and causing leaking Um, those are just a couple examples. We want the core um to Maintain the ability to hold pressure when it's put when extra loads are put onto the body at around weeks 19 through 42 is when you can really return to more higher impact activities like running, jumping. But again, you want to listen to that body. You want to listen to what does it say? Are you getting pelvic pain leaking or bulging your abdomen? Those are things to scale back. That does not mean you can never do those exercises again. However, your body is telling you, Hey, I'm not quite there yet. And that's where we want to add in modifications. We want to listen to that body and address those concerns because the one thing that the body is good at, regardless of being prenatal or postpartum, it will whisper before it screams. And we want to address that. the whispers before it even starts shouting. And we definitely don't want to start saying, Ooh, I should probably check this out when it's screaming. Cause if it is screaming, it could take longer to get back to doing the things that you love. It is really important that you focus on your own pace. There is general recommendations, but there's no timeline as to if you are six months postpartum, you should be here. No, it looks different for every person and it looks different with each pregnancy. I've had clients where I've been with them through multiple pregnancies and each postpartum return to exercise has looked different. That's not a bad thing. Just like every pregnancy is going to be a little bit unique in itself. Okay. That's how your postpartum journey is going to be. If we force the body to do things that it's not ready to do too soon, it will kick back. It will scream at us and say, it is not happening. I also want to stress that your core recovery doesn't end at 42 weeks. I know I loosely talked up to that. That is, huge that it's not okay. I have addressed my core. I no longer have to think about it. No, your body went through an incredible transformation and maintaining strength is key to stay pain free in an active motherhood. I remind myself just as I remind my clients is it's an ongoing journey. Whether it's incorporating core exercises into daily life or continuing to build strength through structured workouts, it is an ongoing thing. It's not a one time and we're done. So final takeaways. Remember the journey is about you. It's listening to your body and taking things one step at a time. I know you are truly incredible. of greatness. Your body is amazing regardless of how many pregnancies has gone through. If it has diastasis recti or not, it holds incredible strength. And with the right guidance, someone who is skilled in understanding how to get you from where you are now and elevating you to where you want to be and doing all the things to live in an action ready body. It takes patience and support and trust me, you will feel stronger than ever. One more guidance on your postpartum recovery. Visit www. kat. fit to learn more about our prenatal and postpartum programs that are designed to help you regain strength safely and sustainably. As always, I am much appreciative of your support in the podcast. And if you have not already, take a couple seconds, rate the podcast, leave a review. 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