Taking the Fad Out of Abs for New Moms
Filed Under Fitmom Wellness |
Does any new mom like her post-baby belly? Whether you call it your muffin-top or belly jelly or have some other name for the roll that your new baby has left around your waist, we know you are not happy about it being there.
Almost all women come to Fitmom asking “How (the *&%#@!) do I get my abs back?” Many women weep that they’ve been doing 100 sit-ups a day and nothing is changing. We know it’s frustrating that there is no quick-fix (unless you’ve got incredible genes), but it is possible to nibble away at that muffin-top and bid farewell to it (before baby #2 comes!!).
Here are the key things you need to know on your journey to flat stomach-ville.
1. Use Your Big Engines
Your big engines are large muscles that not only require a lot of energy to be active, but can also burn fat long after your workout is over. When these muscles, like your quads and glutes, are worked to exhaustion, the body must rebuild small tears that occur in the muscle tissue. This work not only requires body energy long after the workout is over, but also makes the muscles require more energy to function and workout the next time. This means that at rest and during work, your muscle is working and burning fat all over more effectively! The more toned the muscle, the more effecient the machine. Do lunges, squats and other exercises that really use these big muscle groups.
2. Know/Reduce the Deterrants to Abdominal Fat Loss
a. Lack of sleep. We know this is NOT good news for new moms. A recent Swiss study has confirmed that sleeplessness and stubborn belly jelly go hand in hand. Do not despair, but take control. There are times when baby will wake you in the night. Know this and go to bed earlier and ask for help when baby does not need to be fed. The average adult needs seven hours of sleep. Make it a priority to get yours, even if it’s interrupted time.
b. Poor diet. Diet is an enormous challenge for a lot of women we work with. Stressed by their new role, at home with access to food more than they are used to, and spending time at mommy groups where brownies abound can make this an uphill battle. In addition, many new moms skip meals and then find themselves desperate for energy and grabbing a sugary muffin instead of a complex meal. An hour later, the sugar is gone and you are hungry again. If this describes you, do some self-intervention and clearly plan meals and snacks to ensure you are ingesting healthy foods regularly throughout the day. Try to eliminate simple sugars from your diet. They provide little benefit and a lot of calories and can lead to sugar addiction, mood swings, and midsection fat retention.
c. Genetic disposition. Your belly may be linked to a family curse (some ethnic groups also have a greater disposition to midsection weight gain). That doesn’t mean you are off the hook. It might actually mean that your best bet is to hire a professional trainer to help guide you through the kind of rigorous and planned workouts that will help you overcome your genes and get back into your jeans.
3. Reduce Excessive Weight Gain During Pregnancy
What’s done is done. Your job now is to try to unring this bell. As soon as you get permission from your caregiver, begin an exercise program with someone trained in postnatal fitness. Dieting if you are breastfeeding is not safe, but you can choose to eat better right away. Your baby will benefit from better milk and you will see a reduction in your midsection weight. The longer the weight sits there, the harder it is to get off. Also, make a mental note for your next pregnancy: choose to exercise. You won’t see an excessive weight gain and won’t have such an uphill battle after baby is born.
4. Cardio—and Not Just Any Cardio
Most women jog at a pace that is about 50-60 per cent of their maximum. They may do this for 30 minutes. They believe that because they are working in the fat-burning zone, this regimen should make them skinny. However, if you are jogging for 90 minutes a week at this rate (10-12 minute miles), your total calorie expenditure (which of course varies with weight) would be somewhere between 750 and 950 calories total. If you take the same amount of time and run at 7.5- or 8-minute miles for 24 of those minutes and power walk for 6 of those minutes, your average number of calories burned a week will be between 1150 and 1350. Add this total up and it amounts to almost six pounds of fat loss over a year. Put the magazine away while you are on the elliptical trainer and work up a sweat. Make it worth your while. As your build your cardiovascular endurance, you will bring more energy and capability to your all-important resistance-training workouts.
5. Build Core Strength
It’s clear that you don’t get flat abs by doing crunches. Burning fat with intense cardiovascular activity and resistance/interval training that uses big muscle groups are your keys to losing the fat. However, core strength is a key component to every exercise program and toning this muscle area can help it appear flatter. The following five exercises are adapted from the American Council on Exercise’s recent study of the most effective abdominal exercises. These can all be done in your home and with your baby.
a. Bicycle: Lie on your back with your feet in the air and place your arms behind your head. Imagining that you have a grapefruit under your chin, lift up your shoulders, and crunch your abs. Slowly lift and twist from side to side as your bring your knees in and out (like riding a bike) and bring your right shoulder to your left knee and left shoulder to right knee.
b. Plank: Put your body in the hands and knees position. Place head in neutral position by looking straight down at the floor. Extend your arms out slightly, shift your weight forward and drop to your elbows. Contracting your abdominal muscles, lift your hips, relax your shoulders slightly and bring your weight forward until it is evenly distributed on your toes and elbows. Hold this contraction for 20-40 seconds.
c. ABC Abdominals: Lie on your back and bend your knees. Carefully place your baby so that her tummy is lying on your shins and her head peeks over your knees and you make eye contact. Slowly (holding on to her), lift your legs so that your chins are parallel to the ground. Sing the ABC song slowly and bring your knees towards your shoulder and your shoulders towards your knees at the same time.
d. Side Plank: Lie on your side with your legs extended and place your elbow under your shoulder. Lift your hips off the ground as pictured and try to extend your top arm into the air. Keep top hip over bottom hip. Can be modified to knees.
e. Kegels: Every time you feed your baby (breast or bottle), focus on contracting your pelvic floor muscles by squeezing you vagina as hard as you can. You need to do 100 of these a day to rehabilitate these muscles and keep them strong and tight.
Remember, ridding your body of the muffin-top takes energy, commitment, and focus. But if you’ve had a baby, we already know you have all of these things in droves.
Cheers,
Andrea Page
