Written by: Jen Landry, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Regaining the strength in your core, which includes more than just your abdominals, can be the difference in a successful postpartum journey and lifelong health.
Often in pregnancy our hormones, our ligaments and joints, and our posture shift and change as we adjust to the growing weight of the baby. These changes often stick around postpartum. These changes occur mostly around your core. The core includes your diaphragm, abdominal wall, back muscles, and your pelvic floor. When one of these parts is out of whack, your whole system is too. Your pelvis changes position to best support your body and the baby, your abs stretch out, your diaphragm and pelvic floor cannot go through full ranges of motion anymore and muscles become weak or tight that were not weak or tight before. The Glute Max is a major muscle in the body and it helps with daily activities like sitting and standing with control, walking and running. You might find that during pregnancy and after the baby arrives, you are squeezing (or clenching)your glutes extra. By doing this you are creating a posterior pelvic tilt (think a bowl spilling out the back), and eliminating the curve in your lower back. This can lead to back pain and make it look like you have a flat butt! Due to the fact that the glute muscles are so large, they can play a huge role in truck stabilization and strength. Often, by tapping into your glutes again postpartum, you gain better access to other areas of the body and immediately free up any postural issues. It is going to be extremely important to learn to lengthen and shorten the glutes through a full range of motion again. If you are someone who is clenching, then you are probably not lengthening all way doing things like loading or unloading the dishwasher, washing your hands, changing a diaper, and other such daily activities. Your glutes can be lazy and let the rest of your body do the work. Take a bicep curl for example, as you bring the weight up you are shortening/contracting and as you lower the weight with control, you are lengthening the bicep. If you never lengthen the bicep, the weight will never lower or if you let the weight just drop rather than controlling it, you could wind up very hurt. If you are not lengthening the glutes when you move and need to, then you are using the hamstrings and lower back too much.
Leading to possible pain and issues in those muscles. If you are someone who had a diastasis recti or maybe just struggling to find the strength in your abs again, then it might be important to find the glutes again first. When you can stop clenching, start lengthening, and really find strength again, then your pelvis can be better positioned. This positioning then allows for more access to your abs. By having support from the glutes and the pelvis in a neutral position, then the abs can find the freedom to do their job and work. When your glutes and abs are stronger and more supportive of the pelvis, then your lower back does not have to work as hard. The muscles that might be tight and lead to back pain can relax and ease up.
Ultimately leading to less back pain. Then all of this success works up the chain. Better glutes, ab, and back muscles lead to great posture and less shoulder or upper back tension.
Ultimately there are going to be many reasons someone might have issues or symptoms after having a baby. However, I have found, that after working with many clients and experiencing my own postpartum back pain, fixing the issues in your glutes is a great first step. Teach those glutes to let go, lengthen, and strengthen again after having a baby and watch the magic happen!
Jen Landry, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jen Landry is a leader in functional fitness. She specializes in pregnant, postpartum, and everyday women. As a mother of two little girls and two pregnancies that left Jen feeling weak, broken, and in need of answers, she discovered the Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Certification. Obtaining this certification changed the way Jen looked at pregnancy and postpartum fitness as well as female health in general. It ignited a fire to help as many women as possible, so they could avoid what Jen experienced. She is the CEO and Owner of Moms Fit Life. Her Mission: Teach Moms they can trust their bodies again and rock mom life with confidence!
