I had a thoughtful reader message me a while back asking about my personal journey with diastasis recti. If you had read some of my past blog posts, you saw how I discovered I had it, what I did to prevent it from getting worse and the kinds of activities and exercises I did to help heal it. If you haven’t been following along check out some of my old blog posts here and here!
Where Am I Now?
I am now almost 18 months postpartum. My daughter is no longer a baby, and we have settled into our new normal as a family of three. Since having her, I have made it a personal mission to get in the best shape of my life. There have been ups and downs, but overall I am feeling pretty great! I didn’t let my diastasis hold me back from doing the activities that I love, but I have been much more aware of proper form, posture, and core activation. In the past, this all came without thinking; now it’s constantly on my mind during my workouts (which is a good thing)!
My diastasis is almost gone. I still have a half finger width separation directly above my bellybutton which will probably never go away. Is this a problem? Does this mean I can never go back to weightlifting or jumping or any other sports that require extreme core strength. No. Although some cases can be severe, and should always be evaluated by a healthcare professional, a separation this small rarely causes problems but does remind me to engage my core in all that I do. I continue to notice an improvement in this area when I do my ab exercises, which means I also see it getting slightly worse when I don’t.
Am I back to pre-baby core strength?
There are a still a few things I can’t do well and remind me of how much weaker my core is after baby. Ab exercises such as ab rollouts, double leg lowers, and low scissor exercises are still super challenging and risk me putting a lot of stress into my lower back, so I do these sparingly. But I can now jump rope, run, and do stairs without worrying about leaking! I can also hold my planks for a minute plus, and feel way more comfortable power lifting. As for the kinesiotaping, I don’t usually feel the need for it anymore, but I do use it occasionally if I am doing a heavy workout or am feeling particularly weak.
You can get a 6 pack without crunches!
The biggest thing I learned, you don’t have to do crunches to get a 6 pack! Crazy right!? How many crunches have I done in my life before baby? Probably about 10,000…haha. In the past 18 months, I have maybe done 50 total and yet my abs look better than they did before baby.
My Daily Diastasis Recti Core Routine
Okay, I said daily, I should say three times a week or when I remember. #momlife
Check out instagram @fitmamasb for a video demonstration later this week!
TA Activation
Lying with knees bent or in a wall sit. Start by taking a deep breath and on the exhale pull your belly button into your spine without tilting your hips. Lift your pelvic floor into a kegel for extra activation. Hold for 10 seconds taking a slow breath out and repeat 5x
Then…
Do circuit 3-5 times.
20 Lying Leg Raises (Alternating Legs)
10/side Side Plank Lifts
10 Bird Dog
Have fun, as always, email or comment with any questions!
In fitness and good health,
Natasha
Wondering how long you used K-tape for your DR. I am 7 mo pp and I continually use it just to be on the safe side with workouts and such.
Hey Emili!
I stopped using it around 8 months or so, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to keep using it as long as you like. The extra support and cueing is always helpful during workouts!