The Ying Yang theory

As in anything in life, balance is the key. We hear this addressed with health, work, family and relationships, and yes even exercise- particularly while pregnant! One question I often hear is "how safe is it to strengthen the abdominals while pregnant?" The answer is finding an even balance of strength and stretch for the abdominal muscles should be your focus. Unfortunately, we are so used to our typical "abs of steel" mentality that the average person associates strengthening the abdominals is only done by doing a classic crunch lying on your back. The best approach to abdominal strengthening while pregnant is to eliminate doing ANY crunches on your back and using breathing techniques, along with seated or quadruped positions to activate the stomach muscles. For those who are scratching your head wondering what a quadruped position is, it's the all fours position on hands and knees. The reasoning behind this is prevent a separation of the rectus abdominal muscles that are already being stretched as the uterus grows forward and up toward the rib cage. It can be noticed in the mid line of the abdominals while the head, neck, and shoulders are off the floor looking toward the belly button. To know if you have one in this position you will see a definite cone shape in the mid line of the stomach. The degree of a diastasis can vary. This is very important to remember after the baby is born, as mom is now in her "4th trimester," breast feeding while hormones are still present. If a diastasis-recti did occur, the muscles have split, thus considering the muscle dis-functional causing back pain and imbalances throughout the body.

How can one prevent this? Eliminate crunches from your pre-pregnancy programs all the way up until mommy is finished breast feeding!!! If there is a diastasis present, be very careful with body mechanics getting out of bed or any time you may be lying down. Take your time, roll to your side, and find your Pregnancy Pilates specialist or a physical therapist to find out how to begin to rehab this problem.

Interesting enough, pregnant women are not the only ones vulnerable to this issue. Men can also have this problem with larger bellies, or better known as a beer gut, when the muscles are too weak to sustain heavy lifting with poor body mechanics. Other factors that can influence this issue is C-section, tummy tucks, and women expecting multiples. Men, women, older or younger, pregnant or not, this issue often goes over looked and unrecognized.