Hi Ladies,

Before we begin, it is very important to consult your doctor before starting a workout routine in your quest to getting abs after a c section, just to be safe.  I’m not a doctor and will not be responsible for conflicting information given to you by your healthcare professional.  That said…

There are two issues here, as in most cases.  The excess belly fat gained during pregnancy, and the job it did to your abs in those months.  Your doctor may have had to cut through your abdominal muscles, too.

First for the belly fat.  It took several months to gain the belly fat, so don’t think you are going to lose it over night.  You can be aggressive in your approach, but don’t be unreasonable.  You are going to lose the flab with a healthy approach.

Make sure you are drinking a lot of water.  It may have been a long time since you’ve drank alcoholic beverages, but now isn’t the time to start again.  Don’t drink your calories!  That goes for diet soda, too.  You need to drink between .5 to .67 ounces of water for each pound you weigh.  If you weigh 160 pounds, you need to drink between 80 and 107 ounces of water a day.  Yes, that is a lot if you haven’t been doing it.  You will get used to it, I promise you.

Eat 5 to 6 portioned size meals per day.  Each meal should consist of lean protein, quality carbs, and healthy fats.  A portion will consist of something that is either the size of your clenched fist, or flat hand.  There are many resources online for menu planning.  Planning ahead of each day will ensure your success and guarantee results in the least amount of time.  You don’t need a fad diet, like a high protein or low fat diet.  Just eat healthy stuff.  You’ll feel better, too.

Cardio is a great place to start with exercise while your abs are healing from the surgery.  If you weren’t able to workout during the latter stages of your pregnancy, start off slow.  Try walking 10 to 20 minutes a day, three days a week.  The eliptical trainer is great, too.  Non-jarring exercises will feel best.  Be sure to monitor your heart rate to make sure you are not working too hard.  Remember, 220 – Your Age x .60 is a good cardio heart rate to start off with.  If that’s too easy, multiply by a factor of .70.  You can gradually add more cardio as you are comfortable.

For the first couple weeks, I suggest not doing any strenuous ab exercises.  What you can do are stomach vacuums – suck in your stomach as far as possible for 20 seconds at a time.  Focus on pulling each area of your abs in tight.  Lower, mid, and upper.  Repeat throughout the day.

As you are able to gradually incorporate ab exercises into your routine, make sure to pull your tummy in when performing each movement.  Don’t let you tummy stick out as you do your exercise – this should be the case always in doing abs.  Remember not to force anything and if you are feeling uncomfortable, give it a rest fot the day and try again in a couple days.

Exercises to start off with are: Plank, Leg tucks or Roman Chair, sit ups from the halway position (anchor your feet under a sofa or chair, start in the up position and lean back halfway with your arms crossed in front of your chest).

Many women are able to reclaim their abs after c section. You can, too!  Be reasonable.  Stay the course.  Make the other moms jealous!  And most of all, enjoy your baby.

To you Health and Success!

David

Hi Friend,

Are there really Easy Ways to Get Great Abs?  Well…  That depends on what you mean by easy, and your current fitness level.

There are many gadgets and fads.  Stimulators, crunch machines, etc…  Most of these things come and go.  Simply put, what works – works.

Let’s look at it this way.  How about ways that are effective and do what they are supposed to do, and won’t waste your time.  Here a few:

• Using a stability ball to do chest and arm exercises.
• Engaging (flexing) your abs during cardio exercises.
• Standing up straight and flexing your abs during the day.
• Sitting with good posture at work and tightening your abs.
• Resistance ab workouts.
• Working upper, lower, and obliques – varying routines.
• The Plank (looks a lot easier than it is!)

For a lot of you, you may already have a nice six pack buried beneath layers of fat.  No amount of crunches will be able to make them show through and inch or two of flab.  Here’s what you can do to go in the right direction:

• Eat 5 to 6 smaller meals instead of 3 large meals (turbo charge your metabolism)
• Don’t drink your calories!  Beer, soda, even juice can add unnecessary calories to your diet.
• Artificial sweeteners will cause you to gain weight.  No diet pop.  No Nutrasweet.  Enough said.
• Add spices to your meals.  Another metabolic booster.
• If you have to go to a drive through, get the items that aren’t deep fried.
• Plan your meals ahead of time.  Weekly planning is great.
• Don’t eat 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.
• Don’t eat before your workout and wait and hour after.  You will burn more calories this way.

Look for ways you can burn calories that won’t pose much of an inconvenience.  Such as:

• Park further from the door everywhere you go.  (The store, work, church, etc…)
• Take a walk during your lunch break even if it’s just for 10 minutes, 3 times a week.
• Skip the elevator and take the stairs.
• Chose the family chores that require more energy – vacuum, mow the lawn, etc.

Are there easy ways to get great abs?  Sure.  Maybe even easier than these things I’ve told you about.  Heck, I’ve always told people if you have enough time and money you can do anything!  You could get liposuction and hire a personal trainer.  So if you have $15k burning a hole in your pocket and it’s really that important – go for it!  If you’re like the rest of us, do something!  Anything.  Stop thinking about it.  Stop analyzing it.  Do one thing today.  Keep doing that.  Add something to it later.  Keep going.  You will get the results you’re after in no time, Easy.

To your Health and Success!

David