What do you want to do this year? Do you have your goals made our for 2011? I know – blah, blah, blah – new year’s resolutions. I heard today as I worked out on the eliptical, that most people’s resolutions last only 11 days. Well, we can do better than that!!
So checklist for the new year:
Smaller wasitline this year?
Seated Tuplers are AWESOME for this!! The minimum that you should do is 5 sets a day of 100. Each sets takes 2 1/2 minutes – and its VERY intrinsic, so even though that sounds like a lot, its not. You want to work up to 10 sets of 100. After I have my babies – I do 10 sets of 100 per day until I get to the waist size I want. In my case that is 25 inch waist. I start out after my babies at a 32 inch waist.
I have been asked what is the timeline for that. For ME PERSONALLY (and I have seen other clients go faster, and others go slower) It takes me 11 weeks to get to a 27 inch waist again. That is also with keeping good nutrition and avoiding the 5 whites (white flour, white pasta, white rice, white potatoes and the big one….WHITE SUGAR) as much as possible, and eating lots of veggies (fruits more sparingly), and good sources of protein (lean chicken, fish, red meat once in a while, quinoa, soy, chia seeds). The last 2 inches (from 27 to 25 inches) are more long term. It takes me about 5 more months to fight for those last 2 inches. BUT it could be done after 3 kids, and (for me) it will be done after 4 kids 🙂
Better looking abs?
After your pregnancy, even if its been awhile, the muscles are lenghtened considerably because of the expanding belly. So when your done (with your pregnancy)- the muscles are NOT SO CUTE because they are still long, but now unsightly looking ….like a deflated balloon. They are also much weaker. So – they NEED to be shortened!!! HOW? Crunches are NOT the answer!! Those shorten from the bottom of the abs and the top of the abs, but it SHOOTS out the middle with a foreward forceful movmement. Watch anyone that does crunches and you will notice the abs coming forward forcefully!! So AGAIN – SEATED TUPLERS, and HEADLIFTS – and all their variations, and advanced positions, and isolating all 3 areas of your abs and diastasis (at the belly button, 3 inches above, and 3 inches below). This will BRING your diastasis together if you have one, smooth out the midsection, SHORTEN the recti from the botton, top and middle, and bring the waistline in.
No Diastasis?
If you have one – and you can MEASURE if you are not sure (its estimated up to 98% of women have one…and I have found that number to be ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in the thousands of women I have measured!!) – you can do several things:
- SEATED TUPLERS and HEADLIFTS – of course
- AVOID JACKNIFING IN AND OUT OF BED – one of the sole culprits for women who do seated tuplers but still have trouble getting it back together. You must TURN TO THE SIDE!!!!
- SPLINTING – if you are a 2, 3 or greater with your diastasis – you NEED to splint. It will be SOOO much quicker, approximate the recti, and establish a better mind body connection with the muscle. And YES – to those of you that have purchased the splint – it DOES wear out after wearing it day in and day out!! It will need to be adjusted – you are not a statue – your midsection bends countless times a day. Adjust when you use the bathroom. It will also get sweaty when you work out and will need to be hand washed. But it puts things together (the gap in your recti – the diastasis) about 3 times quicker in my experience.
Eating Healthy? Do your best to avoid the 5 whites – white SUGAR, white FLOUR, white RICE, white POTATOES, and white PASTA!! Eat the whole grain versions, in the case of potatoes – sweet potatoes but without the added sugar! I love sweet potatoes fries- a savory version.
What are your goals this year??????
i don’t want to say that i’m skeptical, because obviously you do these tuplers and have incredible abs, so the evidence speaks for itself…..but i can’t help but just wonder if these intrinsic exercises are really totally sufficient. i feel like i’m going to have to double and redouble my ab exercises to get back to normal…is that necessarily true? and I’m planning on doing tuplers as described here on your website but how will i know if i’m doing them correctly?
so once you get back to your goal waistline, are you able to eat some of the whites again? i just can’t imagine giving them up forever. i love my sweets!
my friends Beth at Red and Honey and Erin at The Humbled Homemaker have sattred their own fitness challenges to heal their diastasis after recently having their third
Wonderful 🙂
Bethany, I will have a separate post on your question – as its frequently asked and a good question – but lengthy and detailed to answer 🙂
Heather – yes you can add them back IN MODERATION!! However, I find once they are added back in too much, its hard to STOP because the body does not have the natural sensors to signal the body to stop eating refined things like it does fruit for example, your body can only eat so much fruit and its done. The more you stay to the natural state of the things, the better your body will react, and the easier it will be to maintain your body. So for me it helps to eat what is “WORTH IT” – for example – birthday cake doesn’t excite me too much, or twinkies…but once in while I will indulge in a cheesecake or something I know I will savor. Good luck!
I have a open surgery scheduled to, basically, fix my “Rectus Diastasis” and to patch the umbilical hernia at the same time… Are the Tupler techniques worth while to strengthen my core if the surgery is done? Would it be pointless to fix the hernia and do the Tupler technique exercises after? I am just worried the surgery will not fix the contouring issue this problem has caused and I would have gotten this scar for nothing….
Hi Jessie – I would strongly advise NOT to do surgery to correct this issue. Most of my clients have been recklessly referred to a surgeon. Some without even being checked for the condition of their diastasis or even if they have one! Drives me crazy! Also with hernia surgery there is a 50 to 100% chance of reoccurance. Its not worth the intrusiveness, the ineffectiveness or the cost.
As far as hernias go – my niche within the specialty is helping people reverse their hernias. 65% of my clients currently have hernias. I see a 80 to 100% reduction just in the 4 week workshop time period which is stunning. I also see 80 to 100% reduction in the size of the DR just within the 4 week period.
Of course, some people will take longer than that depending on the severity, the gap, how long they have had it, how many pregnancies, body mechanics, technique, etc. But I would suggest if you are not in the chicagoland area – check at http://www.diastasisrehab.com and click on licensed pros to find someone in your area to work with. If there is no one, I do take Skype clients, so you can email me about that 🙂
To close my diastasis I am doing the excersise, splinting, trying hard to avoid hack knifing even though i find it extremely difficult to do when feed and hold my baby. I am trying to breathe correctly and always go to 5th when doing all activities but I keep catching myself not going to 5th. Often I hold at 2 or 3 and sometimes hold my breath. I am trying to be more conscious but it is so hard. Will this effect me closing my 4-6-4 gap? Also is there anything that can be done about the loose skin that seems to be appearing now that I’m shrinking? Thanks
If you can fix the jacknifing – tweak that movement alone, that will help your progress 100 fold. It is the worse movement to do, and you will be doing it every single day. Not keeping the transverse at 5th when you do the work part of any movement will always affect your progress. Here are some other questions to ask yourself:
Getting baby in and out of crib correctly? pack n play? Jacknifing? Picking up things that are too heavy? A heavy backpack? Laundry basket too unweildly? Baby carrier too heavy? Stroller too heavy or unweildly? Wearing a baby carrier? Coughing/sneezing correctly? A Cold or vomiting sickness? Carrying too many bags of groceries? Picking ANYTHING up correctly – flat back, transverse to the spine at 5th floor? Getting in and out of bed correctly? UP and down from couch correctly? Bowel movement correctly – (transverse to the spine, open up pelvic floor)? Staying at 5th floor with ALL other exercises? Lifting weights? Crossfit movements? Any side to side movements or twisting? headlifts? How many sets a day of tupler contractions? Doing headlifts?
Skin tautness is age and genetics. I do find the skin will often tighten but it will do so at a slower pace often than the closing of the D.R. I find raw organic cold pressed coconut oil on the skin will help (I like tropical traditions brand).