I used to recommend my postpartum students avoid crunches. I used to recommend my students with diastasis recti avoid crunches. I NEVER taught crunches in my postpartum classes UNTIL...
About 6 months ago.
This past summer, I completed a Pre- and Postnatal Corrective Exercise course with a pelvic floor physical therapist. In that course, I learned that crunches can be really helpful for rebuilding strength in the abdominal muscles postpartum, and can be really helpful in healing diastasis.
The problem isn’t the crunches themselves, the problem is that most people are doing crunches incorrectly. Doing a crunch incorrectly can worsen a diastasis, or reinforce existing imbalances and weaknesses in the core canister.
Here’s a few signs you are doing crunches incorrectly:
Your belly pooches out as you lift your head and shoulders
You notice more doming, coning OR caving in along your midline if you have abdominal separation
You feel the work in your neck
You feel the work in your lower back
Here’s how to do it:
Place a block, a rolled towel or a ball between your knees
Lift your elbows up, so your arms are framing your head. Allow your head to relax into your hands
Start with a good inhale, allowing your ribs to expand 360 degrees
Exhale, squeeze the block, lift your pelvic floor, and try lifting just your head
Keep your sacrum flat. Don’t let it tip or rock
Keep your lower belly pulling in and flat.
Keep your ribs pulling in and down
As you grow stronger, you can try lifting a little higher. Eventually, you can work your way to lifting off your shoulder blades (you don’t need to go any higher than that).
If you can’t control pooching, doming, coning or caving in, OR you feel a lot of pressure in your pelvic floor, STOP.
Work on your breathing, and work on strengthening your core from a neutral spine until you have the strength and control you need to prevent pressure and doming. If possible, work with a teacher who can look at you and help you.
We’ll work on this together during my online, 8-week series - Yoga for Moms with New Babies. It’s for moms who have given birth or added a new baby to the family in the last five years. I limit the class to only 8 students, so I can watch you and check in with how you are feeling.
The next series starts June 8th. The doors will be opening soon. Click here to get your name on the waitlist. You'll be the first to know when a spot opens up!
Warmly,
Mary