Introducing The Post-Partum Tummy Exercise Routine
Birthing a baby is a glorious and exciting thing. What is less beautiful and exciting, however, is the extra weight that lallygags the midsection after the baby has been born. The best way to go about dropping this baby paunch is proper diet and an exercise routine, which might not always be easy to do for a new stay-at-home mum still reeling from a pregnancy. The good news is that exercising and getting rid of the extra belly fat will give you more energy, so you will be able to spend more quality time playing with and caring for your new rugrat. Here are a a couple of simple exercises to set you on your way toward baby belly freedom. As with any workout routine, make sure to consult a pro before beginning and always loosen up properly to avoid injury.
Progressive Crunchless Crunch
This stomach exercise works your abs as well as a crunch does, but without the strain to your neck and back. Start out by sitting in a chair, placing one hand above and below your navel in order to feel the contraction of your abdominals. Take one big deep breath, so your middle expands entirely. Then let the breath out as you pull your stomach in, imagining your belly button being pulled inward toward your backbone. Finally, briefly contract your abdominal muscles 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 ab muscles better.
Contractions
This exercise starts off very much the same way as the last one, but necessitates quicker steps and more repetitions. Begin by sitting in the same position as in the progressive crunchless crunch, and taking the same big breath. This time, rather than bringing your belly all the way back, exhale and bring it just about midway. Then pull your belly button back toward your back. 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 stomach exercise is very similar to the 1st. Instead of making a few stops as you exhale a deep breath, however, this drill consists of just one move. To begin, either lie on your stomach or kneel. You may want to try both ways and check which one helps you feel the exercise better. Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominal muscle to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for 10 seconds. If holding for 10 seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either can’t feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.
If you begin doing these stomach exercises at home in your spare few (very few) minutes, you’ll be able to lose your baby belly and be fit and trim in just a few months– just in time to start chasing after Junior once he learns to crawl!
