11 Diastasis Recti Core Exercises For Your Postpartum Belly | VIDEO
Safely strengthen your core and tighten your belly muscles after pregnancy with these 11 Physical Therapy Recommended Diastasis Recti Core Exercises For Postpartum Recovery To Reduce abdominal separation and bulge.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Have you been diagnosed with Diastasis Recti core exercises(DR) post-baby? Or maybe you think you have DR but you’re not quite sure. All you know is that you just had a baby and your belly does not look the same as you remembered it pre-pregnancy.
You now have this separation between the left and the right side of your belly and a bulge that sticks up when you strain or when you simply sit up. The postpartum pooch lingers long after having your baby and you’re thinking to yourself “When am I ever going to NOT look pregnant anymore?”
The answer is NOW!!!
By doing these 11 physical therapy recommended Diastasis Recti core exercises postpartum, you can fully restore your core in a safe way and have amazing results.
When you are done reading this article you will have a physical therapy designed program to repair your ab separation plus have access to a video that demonstrates how to properly perform these exercises (you can find the video at the bottom of this post).
Medical Clearance At The 6 Week Postpartum Check-Up
Have you been approved by your doctor to begin exercising? If yes, then you can continue reading on. If not, please wait until your doctor has given you full clearance to begin postpartum exercises. (See bottom for disclaimer).
So you have been cleared at your 6 week postpartum check-up and you’re eager to get started. Great!! But you might be thinking, “I have no idea which exercises I should be doing to repair my DR. Which exercises are safe and which ones are not?”
If you are looking for guidance on how to begin working out postpartum to treat your DR, then perfect!!! You came to the right place.
Related: 10 Easy & Safe Core Exercises For Your Postpartum Workout | VIDEO
I’m a physical therapist who had 4 babies, and I know A LOT about postpartum workouts, especially when it comes to rehabbing the core muscles properly after being diagnosed with Diastasis Recti core exercises.
There are definitely wrong exercises floating around there on the internet so please be cautious when performing exercises that non-medical professionals recommended. A lot of core exercises can make Diastasis Recti worse by increasing intra-abdominal pressure and thus straining the linea alba.
The exercises included in this article are specifically designed to protect your core yet still restore the musculature surrounding the linea alba. This will help decrease the separation between the right and left side of your belly and improve your overall core strength in addition to improving the appearance of postpartum belly.
If you are not sure if your separation is considered Diastasis Recti, then do this Diastasis Recti self-exam to test for Diastasis Recti in the comfort of your home. It only take a couple minutes and it’s rather simple.
Postpartum Changes To Your Belly
Congratulations by the way on your new baby! It’s been quite a ride getting to this point. You are truly blessed, and your baby thanks you for the sacrifices you have made.
Over the past 9 months, your body had been stretched out so much to the point that you probably weren’t sure if it would ever go back. I’ll tell you right now, if you work hard at it, you can get your body back.
Related: The Best Beginner Core Exercise Recommended For Moms | VIDEO
I want to help you regain strength in your mid section so that you can continue to do the things you enjoy doing in life with confidence and without pain or risk of injury
First, I would advise you to take a look at this video to determine if you have Diastasis Recti. It’s a quick, simple test that you can perform on yourself in the comfort of your bed. Testing for DR will help you determine the severity of the separation in your belly.
11 Physical Therapy Recommended Diastasis Recti Core Exercises For The Postpartum Belly
Some important things to note before beginning:
- Perform all exercises slowly, and in a pain-free manner
- Keep your low back flat on the floor when performing all exercise lying down
- Your goal is to perform exercises without seeing the separation bulge; if you see the bulge, then you are doing it wrong or you should not continue performing that exercise until your core muscles are stronger.
- Only progress to the next exercise after you have successfully completed the previous one without difficulty.
- Each exercise is listed in order of progression (easiest to hardest)
Jena’s Tip: When I say do an exercise “Until Fatigue“, what I mean is mild fatigue without pain. I am not there to monitor you in person, so you must be the judge of when you feel an appropriate amount of fatigue. Use your common sense as to how hard to push yourself. You should never try to strain yourself at any point during an exercise routine, postpartum or not.
1. Abdominal Bracing (Supine=On Back)
Lie on your back with knees bent (Starting Position). To perform this exercise properly, you want to tighten your belly by drawing your belly button down to the floor and flattening your back all at the same time.
Hold this position for 10 seconds and work up to 30 second holds. Perform 3-5 repetitions or until fatigue. Remember to breathe throughout this exercise (rather than holding your breath).
2. Abdominal Bracing Cross Arm Squeeze (or Towel Assisted)
Perform the same abdominal bracing exercise as described in the previous exercise; however, the cross arm squeeze is a way to assist your abdominals to contract properly.
Cross your arms over you stomach and pull each side towards the midsection all while performing abdominal bracing. Hold for 10 seconds and work up to a 30 second hold. Perform 3-5 repetitions or until fatigue.
A modified version of the cross arm assisted abdominal bracing is to perform it with a towel. Place the towel under your back and cross it over your belly.
Pull each end so that the towel is criss-crossing over your stomach and assisting the right and left side to come together as you perform abdominal bracing. Hold for 10 seconds and work up to a 30 second hold. Perform 3-5 repetitions or until fatigue.
A modified version of the cross arm assisted abdominal bracing is to perform it with a towel. Place the towel under your back and cross it over your belly.
Pull each end so that the towel is criss-crossing over your stomach and assisting the right and left side to come together as you perform abdominal bracing. Hold for 10 seconds and work up to a 30 second hold. Perform 3-5 repetitions or until fatigue.
4. Abdominal Bracing with Heel Slides
Starting Position, perform AB and maintain AB while you slide your Left heel up towards your buttocks, thus bending your knee. Then return back to starting position by slowly sliding your heel back down.
Perform in a slow, controlled manner. Once you complete a full set on the Left, repeat on the Right. Perform 2-3 sets until fatigued on each side.
5. Abdominal Bracing with Ball Squeeze
Starting Position, perform AB and maintain AB while you squeeze a medium size ball between your knees. Hold the squeeze for 5-10 seconds and only relax to the point where you are gently holding the ball between the knees (don’t let the ball drop down).
Repeat ball squeezes and perform in a slow, controlled manner while maintaining AB the entire time. Perform 2-3 sets until fatigued.
6. Abdominal Bracing with Marching
Starting Position, perform AB and maintain AB while you lift Right knee towards chest and keep Left foot on floor. Now switch leg positions (Left leg up and Right foot on floor) and keep alternating legs in a marching motion while maintaining AB.
Perform in a slow, controlled manner. Perfect 2-3 sets until fatigued.
7. Quadruped Abdominal Bracing
In a quadruped position (on your hands and knees), draw your belly button in (like you are lifting it to the ceiling), tighten your abdominal muscles and hold for 5-10 seconds, continue to breath and count out loud. Then relax. Repeat and perform 2-3 sets until fatigued.
8. Abdominal Bracing Seated Marches
While sitting on a physioball (or if you don’t have a physioball, any comfortable chair will do) draw in your belly button like you do for the AB exercise and maintain an erect spine (sit up straight with your shoulders pulled back for good posture).
Hold the AB contraction of your belly for 10-20 seconds and then relax. Repeat and perform 3-5 repetitions.
9. Wall Push-Ups
Find a blank wall and position your hands at shoulder height level on the wall and with a fairly wide separation between them. Walk your feet away from the wall so that your body is at an angle. Perform a push-up against the wall while maintaining AB throughout the movement.
Don’t allow your back to arch during the movement but rather stabilize your core by drawing your belly button in. Bend your elbow as you get closer to the wall and then push away from the wall to go back to starting position. Repeat and perform 2-3 sets until fatigue.
10. Wall Squats
Stand with your back up against a blank wall. Position your legs about shoulder width apart and about 2 feet away from the wall. Contract to perform AB and hold AB throughout the entire squatting motion.
Slowly and gradually squat down while your back glides along the wall. Allow your knees to bend as you lower. Only go as far down as your body is comfortable. Push through your heels and return to the starting position. Repeat and perform 2-3 sets until fatigue.
11. Abdominal Bracing Supine Single Leg Lift
Starting Position but place your Left leg straight and flat on the floor, perform AB and maintain AB while you lift your Left heel up towards the ceiling, keeping your knee STRAIGHT and only lift to the same level as your Right thigh (Right leg remains in starting position/knee bent), then slowly lower Left leg down to starting position. Complete a full set until fatigued on the Left side, then repeat with the Right leg. Perform 2-3 sets.
Please take a moment to watch this short video in order to make sure you are perofrming these exercises the correct way. Proper form is very important so be sure to follow the video’s instructions.
If you have questions in regards to these Diastasis Recti core exercises please comment below or contact me by sending me a direct message on my contacts page. I answer every question as I want to be sure my readers are performing these exercises properly and safely.
Sign up for my newsletter where you can become a VIP member and get exclusive updates on when I post videos and more exercises similar to these on the blog.
Keep Smiling,
Dr. Jena Bradley, DPT
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
*It is important to always consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program and get medical clearance. Perform exercises at your own risk.
About Dr. Jena Bradley
Jena is a mom of 4 darling little girls, a physical therapist and founder of Live Core Strong, a blog focusing on motivating moms to live a life that incorporates fitness and fun throughout their motherhood journey. She aims to be the friend you always wanted to have who could guide you through the “fog” when faced with an “I don’t know what to do” mommy moment. At the most inconvenient time of her life, she embarked on a journey of sharing her story and expertise to inspire the next generation of healthy moms. You can learn more about Jena by visitng her ABOUT page.
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-Jena
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I keep coming back to these, Jena – great post!
Any thoughts on core strengthening during pregnancy to prevent/lessen inevitable DR? I’m guessing you could write a whole post on that. 😉
Laura, it puts such a big smile on my face knowing I am able to help you. I’m so glad you like these exercises. And, yes, I will definitely be planning on writing a whole post on the question “preventing DR exercises during pregnancy”!! For now, my quick answer is, avoid any exercise where your belly is face down (like plank positions). Gravity can really strain your linea alba when you are face down. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Thank you for this post. The exercises are very clear as you not only included photographs but also a video. Good luck with further posts and blog in general. Take care
Thanks, Victoria! I’m glad this was helpful for you. Please let me know if you have any further questions or other topics you are interested in.
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Glad to help!
Thank you so much for your help! I had a pendulous abdomen and being my third pregnancy I struggled with huge separation. I’ve been doing your exercises and can feel my body getting stronger. Thank you so much
Afia, that’s wonderful news that you are getting such great results. Keep hard at work and it will only get better. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Has anyone here experienced constipation as a side effect of DR? I’ve noticed the two seem to coincide for me.
This post is so helpful. I am going to begin the exercises today. I’m almost 7 years out from my last baby and I think I induced DR after doing very intense interval workouts that really challenged my core. After I lost my drive, stopped the intense workouts, I noticed what appears to be a worsening case of DR.
Thank you for providing excellent free advice:)
Rabs, I’m so glad you were able to find this post helpful. I recommend definitely working on these D.R. exercises and improving your core strength gradually before moving into more intense ab routines. When it comes to constipation and straining during a bowel movement, try focusing on engaging your core muscles to prevent the worsening of your DR. The straining that takes place from constipation can definitely worsen your D.R.
How many times a day/week are these exercises recommended?
Also, once an exercise is completed do you ONLY move on to the next one if you feel you can do it successfully?
Hi Tania, I recommend you perform these 1-2x/day for 3-6 days a week. If you are feeling good going through the exercises than do 2x/day and lean more towards 6 days a week. But if the exercises are hard to do, start slow with 1x/day and 3 days a week. And to answer you second question, I recommend you master the first exercise before moving on to the second, but continue to combine the exercises. So for example, if you already are doing exercise 1 and 2 and are ready to add in exercise 3, than perform exercise 1, then 2, then 3 in your workout routine for that day (and so on). Hope that helps. Let me know if you have more questions.
How many reps of each exercise do you recommend?
Kim, great question. I usually say 5-10 to start. Be sure to pay attention to how your body tolerates everything. If after a couple of days you are doing well with the exercises, progress to 2 sets. Let me know how you do after a week or so.
Hi! How long dose it take typically to actually repair the Diastasis recti? And how long should I wait to do full body workouts ?
Thanks
Hi Amy, unfortunately I don’t have an exact answer for you. Everyone heals at a different rate. The best thing to do is keep doing a self test to see if your abdominal separation is getting smaller and if the tension is tighter in the separation. Do you know how to do a self exam? If not, read this: https://livecorestrong.com/how-to-test-for-diastasis-recti-after-pregnancy-video/ Once you have found that your D.R. is healed, start slowly adding full body exercises (one at a time) only if you find that you abdominals can withstand the resistance. Back off from any exercise that is causing straining on your D.R. Please let me know if you have more questions pertaining to this topic.
My baby is 22 years old and i’m just discovering the reason i’ve been having a hump in my belly. Is it possible to fix DR after this long? Im 52 and in awesome shape. I walk and exercise daily. Id love to wear a bikini again, is there hope?
Sam, It’s hard to say for sure how much your DR will recover, but you can definitely strengthen your transverse abdominis no matter what. The benefits are good for anyone at any age.
Hi Jena…this was very insightful.thank you. can i wear my postpartum girdle while doing these exercises?
Hi Zoe, So glad you were able to find a lot of helpful information in this post. If you ever have any questions in the future pertaining to these exercises let me know. When it comes to the belly wraps and girdles, I advise women to never wear it during any type of exercise. You can get more helpful tips on proper use of postpartum belly wraps and girdles in this article: https://livecorestrong.com/9-things-you-should-never-do-with-a-postpartum-belly-wrap/
So after an exercise has become easy, say I’ve been doing #1 for awhile and it’s become easy for me now, and I move on to #2, should I then do just #2 as it is more advanced/intense, or should I work out longer and do both #1 & #2 as part of my daily routine so I would eventually be doing all 11 exercises 6 days a week?
If I’m supposed to do all 11 eventually, if that feels like too much time – and I want to say limit the amount of time I spend on this (idk how long it would take to do all 11 every day?) should I then just do the most advanced 3 or something or what would you recommend?
Also, after the 11th one becomes easy, what should I move on to next?
Thx for all your help! I had twins 7 years ago and had originally planned to do belly recovery exercises, but am just now getting around to it HAHA! I’m already seeing some improvement after doing just #1 for about 2 wks now and can’t want to keep going! I guess that belly is not going to fox itself but looks like I can fix it w your help 🙂
Anah, You always want to add to your workout program, so you would be adding #2 with #1, and then add #3 with #2 and #1, and so on. Eventually you will do all 11 exercises 3-6 days a week depending on how you feel. If you feel like the exercises are taking a lot of time, I would eventually graduate from the easier exercises and focus on only the harder exercises. These are all great questions. If you were in physical therapy right now, the PT would help you progress these exercises and eliminate the exercises that you no longer need. For now, just progress at a slow pace and try you best to do what you can. I’m so excited for you progress, even years after having your twins. You are doing great. After you finish all 11 exercises from this program, I would suggest you start with a regular ab routine on my website. I have a beginner 30-day ab challenge that you may love to do.
I started doing these exercises a couple weeks ago. I found the first 4 easy. However my right hip is now bothering me a lot. For instance if I step sideways to the right the pain catches me by surprise and I can hardly walk.
Did I do an exercise incorrectly?
Hi Kirsten, I suspect you are having irritation from the exercise “Abdominal Bracing with Hip Abduction” (#3 exercise). That is the outer hip exercise that is similar to stepping sideways. Eliminate that exercise from your routine and see if your pain improves over the next week. If it doesn’t, let me know. You may have an underlying hip issue that got flared up since this exercise is rather on the gentle side. I always suggest doing pain free activity/exercise so while exercising avoid any movement that causes pain. Please let me know how you’re doing. Also be sure to see if there are any other activities you are doing during the day that cause pain, if so, stop doing those as well.
I’ve been skipping the hip abduction exercise and have noticed improvement in my hip all week.
I realized today that sitting on the floor or crouching too long affects the hip along with the knee. So I need to avoid that which can be hard with little ones!
Kirsten, that’s so great you are feeling better already! Proud of you for making the change.
Thank you so much for the simple video and the super excercises.
Anizha, you’re so very welcome. I’m glad you found these exercises helpful!
Thank you for such clear exercises and descriptions! After doing the self-exam, I definitely have DR, and recently have been experiencing some very mild pain when lifting and holding my 2 y/o, bloating, and sometimes mild period-like cramps even when not during my cycle. Would you call those normal side affects of DR? Appreciate your input.
Hi Marisa, The symptoms of pain with lifting is definitely related to DR. I wouldn’t say the period-like cramps and bloating is as related but it’s always best to consult with your doctor for a full exam on these symptoms.
I love this post! I have been struggling with postpartum diastasis recti and these exercises are perfect for me!
So glad to help you!