Fitness for Mums - Vix's Response

Mum Zone's resident Professional Fitness Specialist Vix of Mama Moves is available to answer some of your questions about fitness.

Topics include: Getting back your pre baby body, weight loss, toning and defining, body shaping, improved fitness, general wellbeing, hormonal balancing, increased strength and fitness, improvement or elimination of urinary incontinence, reduction in the size of diastasis recti, making the abdomen more stable, reduction or elimination of lower back pain, improved energy levels, decreased anxiety and stress levels, greater ability to carry out daily activities eg. lifting bub and more.

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Reader's Question

In relation to toning and re strengthening your core, is pilates or cross training more effective? And is it best to tone the stomach muscles on a swiss ball or ding things like the plank? Do pelvic floor exercises have to be done specifically on top of these exercises as well? I delivered a 10 pound 59cm bub.

Vix's Response

Wow! All I can say is well done and congratulations on delivering such a large bundle of joy! After that any exercise must be a breeze!

In relation to core strengthening, pilates is an awesome method to achieve this. It strengthens and lengthens your muscles and uses your core as the initiator for all the movements. Cross training is actually defined as different types of 'training' methods. So yes you can work your core by doing different types of training which will essentially target your core in every possible way... hence giving maximum benefit. I would choose plank over swiss ball crunches, although a combo (cross training) will attack your core in all directions.

Pelvic floor work is definitely essential as it helps you connect to the core at a deeper level and of course helps with any incontinence problems you may have suffered from having a heavy pregnancy.

VIX

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The opinions expressed on these pages are of a general nature and are by no means a substitute for professional advice. Therefore neither Mum Zone or Vix Erber of Mama Moves are liable for any actions pertaining to the use of the supplied information.