Accumulated belly fat, post-pregnancy, can be a hard thing to deal with as well as eliminate. Many new mothers are affected by the inability to rid themselves of this kind of fat quickly and effectively, but there are exercises and strategies that are helpful in removing it, without weeks of strenuous exercise and useless diets.
Flattening Abdominal Muscles
Some of the best post-baby exercises that have been proven to help with bab
y belly fat have to do with working the abdominals from the inside out rather than laboring away and attempting to flatten outer abdominal muscles through crunch style exercises.
According to Tracey Mallett, a California fitness expert, the underlying muscles need to be strengthened first in order to flatten the abdominal area.
Mallett has developed an exercise program that concentrates on underlying muscle strengthening that includes a number of different exercise movements that deal with developing deep muscle strength quickly.
Exercise Instruction
As Mallett emphasizes, consult with your doctor before beginning any kind of exercise program. With a C-section delivery, a woman should probably wait for 8 to 10 weeks before starting an exercise routine.
With a regular delivery and a doctor’s permission, the initial move can be started a week after delivery. From there, work up to the other moves at least three to four times a week.
Isolated Exercise Moves
All of the movements deal with the deepest abdominal areas (transverse), which directly facilitate endurance and abdominal strength as well as tightening and strengthening of the lower back and buttocks. Crunch style exercises are not involved.
- pelvic tilts – facilities abdominal strength and endurance
- pelvic bridge – strengthens transverse (deepest abdominal muscle)rear end and lower back
- heel slides – strengthens the transverse and lower back
- towel pulses – strengthens the transverse
- single leg towel stretches – strengthens the transverse (for a longer, leaner body)
Other Post-Baby Exercises
Whole Body Exercise
In addition to baby belly exercises that are isolated in one particular area, such as the transverse, the whole body requires exercise to maintain balance.
Whole body exercise allows a new mother to lose fat all over the body, which, with time, lessens baby belly fat. Whole body exercises include yoga moves, lunges, crosses, rowing, and modified sit-ups.
Weight Bearing, Strengthening Exercise
Weight bearing and strengthening exercises are done while you are on your feet. Your body has to work against gravity to remain in a vertical position. These types of exercises also help in the elimination of belly fat as the body needs to build lean muscle mass.
The more that weight bearing exercises are utilized the more the muscles take energy from any area where fat is stored. With more lean muscle mass availability, calories and fat are burned. Weight bearing exercises include vigorous walking, climbing stairs, hiking, jogging, and dancing.
Larger Muscle Group Exercise
Exercises concentrated on larger muscle groups burn off considerably more calories, which means fat loss. The large muscle groups contain and cover more muscle area and if you are exercising these groups at the same time, you are getting a complete workout. The large muscles groups include the chest, legs, back and abdominals and exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups.
Healthier Eating
Along with the post-baby exercises, healthier eating has to be part of a regimen as exercises that are targeted for baby belly fat alone will not immediately return your body to its pre-pregnancy condition.
There has to be a change in eating habits in order to lose belly fat. If the added work and time spent with a new baby is preventing you from preparing meals, eating right and exercising, then you might want to consider organic meal delivery.
The meals usually provide adequate servings of select foods that contain the nutrients that a new mother needs. A range of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, whole grains and lean protein should be part of anyone’s diet, but particularly for a new mother trying to lose weight and belly fat.
Stubborn baby belly fat doesn’t have to be the end of a normal figure. With an overall and varied exercise program, and a well-balanced diet, there is no reason why a new mother can’t achieve a leaner middle and bring up a baby at the same time.
