This was a great question I received from a Yummy Tummies Community Member last week.
Like many others, she thought that to flatten your stomach all she had to do was train your abs.
Well she is mostly right.
However….
There is a big reason they say to do your pelvic floor exercises after giving birth.
Apart from the obvious strengthening of your pelvic floor muscles and restoring their function, they play an important role in flattening your abs.
Unfortunately, in the exercise world there has been a big emphasis on isolating muscles to get them working properly. This has come for the bodybuilding world which has an emphasis on just that ‘bodybuilding’.
When it comes to muscle function you have to realise that the body does not work in isolation.
What you do, or don’t do, will have a direct effect on the rest of the body.
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Time for the techie bit…….
So when talking about the pelvic floor we need to realise that it is on the same reflective loop as the deep abdominal muscles.
What this means in normal English is that when the pelvic floor muscles are activated your deep abdominals will also activate.
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Just do this little thing for me.
It doesn’t matter if you are sitting or standing…
Just place one hand on your stomach and then activate your pelvic floor muscles. In other word, stop yourself from going to the toilet.
What you should feel is your abdominals go in slightly, or ‘flatten’.
Don’t worry if they don’t, it just means that you need to get this reflective loop working more effectively again.
Btw, this is something we cover in more detail in the Yummy Tummies Blueprint. Check it out here….
So in answer to the question why you need to do pelvic floor exercises to flatten your abs, I think you know the answer to this now.
If you have any other questions that are concerning you on your journey back from your pregnancy body, just drop me an email and I can answer them for you.
Take care and good luck,
Lyndon
Ps you can always post your questions here:
