Coach Zoe Get your body back after having kids with this fitness trick to fix mom bod for instant and long lasting results.
What is “mom bod”
It isn’t the female equivalent of a dad bod. It goes deeper than carrying extra weight or getting out of shape. Deeper than stretch marks and a soft belly. Mom bod is a collection of muscular imbalances that takes form from pregnancy and postpartum habits. The most common characteristics of mom bod is rounded shoulers, a tucked or even flattened butt, and a tummy that just won’t seem to hold it’s old shape.
All of these occur from the way we held our weight for months during pregnancy. Then spent a lot of time sitting postpartum. And eventually, the posture we quickly adopted caring for our babies. And for those of us that tried to be proactive postpartum but are unsatisfied with the results, often suffer from mom bod.
The muscular imbalances you see come from weakened abdominals and/or core (often from Diastasis Recti). A posterior pelvic tilt which is that tucked butt figure where the hips sit too far forward in front of the shoulders. Caused from long bouts of sitting in a slouched position. Even while standing and holding baby against our chest while thrusting the hips forward to carry the weight. And Upper Crossed Syndrome where the head sits too far forward and a tight chest with a weak back cause the shoulders to round.
How do I embrace my mom bod?
With fitness! C’mon what did you expect your Coach to say? LOL. But who says that you only exercise because of negative feelings toward your body? You can love your body for what is it, what it has accomplished (like growing and delivering your peanut!) , and what it has the potential to do. The best way to love is to respect. And what shows your body love and respect more than by taking care and gratitude for it? Your body LOVES exercise. It may feel like it doesn’t during your workout, but your health responds so positively to exercise. Just like I said earlier, with the right approach, you can boost your confidence and relieve discomfort. All by attacking one goal… exercising to correct your posture.
Exercising and eating clean are two simple ways that you can set your body free of aches, pains, and extra weight that may be holding your back. Embrace your body with movement and nourishment that it needs to perform and feel at its best.
How do I stop my “mom bod”?
Fix your posture! Just by immediately assessing and adjusting your alignment is the instant fix to your mom bod. Draw your belly in, roll your shoulders back and down, and draw your hips to position just below the shoulders. Do this right now in the mirror and you will notice a more confident mama. I have a post where I talk all about the benefits of better posture to improve comfort and boost confidence after having your baby. Now that will instantly give you a different shape, but to fix your posture for good you need to address your imbalances.
Start by assessing yourself for Diastasis Recti. Check out my post here on how to correct it. That is the first place to begin because you may have DR and not know it and have never even healed properly from it!
After you tackle DR, if you have it, you need to strengthen your core. I know we think core only refers to the six-pack abs we like to show off in the summer, but it’s the entire trunk of your body. I have a whole post all about the best core strength exercises to tighten your tummy. Keep in mind that incorporating balance and stabilization into your core workouts is a key to building strength that supports and aligns the spine. Plus, you may find that improving your core strength can relieve any postpartum back pain you are experiencing.
Finally, to take care of your posterior tilt (if you have it) you will want to relax and stretch your Hamstrings and Glute Minimus that are overactive. This can be done with stretches like pigeon and a kickstand hinge.
Then take time to strengthen your Glute Medius and Glute Maximus. Strengthening these guys are going to build your “upper butt.” We are targeting this area for more than just aesthetics. These muscles will fight your posterior tilt by drawing your hips back and also provide support for your lumbar. All to improve alignment of your posture.
At home workout for a bangin’ mom body
Lucky for you I created the perfect workout that targets your core and glutes in every exercise. By using a mini loop resitance band, I add a stabilization element to basic movements that will activate and strengthen the weakened muscle groups of mom bod. You know that I like to keep it simple. And when you are a busy mama, you don’t have time to mess around. This Core and Glute At-Home Workout wastes no time, after our warm up we get right to work and transition smoothly between each exercise. You could say that we use core exercises that target the glutes or vice versa. The mini loop is a nice touch to really draw your attention and focus to proper mechanics and motor control of the stabilizer muscles that provide support. Are you ready? Let’s sweat!
