Exercising with diastasis recti

[Poniesandgin]

Really frustrated right now!

I’m roughly around 8kgs overweight following the birth of DC2. I’m normally pretty active and slim but DC2 was a big baby.

I feel disgusting. I have lots of saggy skin, love handles and a real belly. I would like to get back to my pre pregnancy weight ASAP.

The problem is I have diastasis and a mild prolapse thanks to hours of pushing out a stuck DD. I know I need to do the (boring as hell) exercises to heal it but progress is slow and I still have a gap/weakness.

The problem is how can I get any cardio for weight loss if I can’t do anything strenuous? I can’t run, squat, jump etc so how can I burn anything? All of the workouts focus on jumping around/lunging. The ab safe ones are too slow to work up a sweat

I do walk daily for around 30mins but it’s not enough to loose any weight at all and I’m getting fed up now!

I hate swimming so that’s out but is there anything else?

I'm in a similar position as you, further complicated by a long term knee injury that means I can't do high impact cardio. I'm also peri-menopausal so I worry about not doing high impact exercise. The problem is that so much advice contradicts eachother so I end up not doing anything in case I do more damage.

I'd love to be able to go private and get the right advice to help ALL my bodily issues.

One thing I did read (re menopause but should still be relevant for you) is to look into resistance training and if you at least get started on arm, leg and spine strengthening work then that shouldn't do any harm to the stomach but will help to burn calories.

It’s really frustrating isn’t it! I had diastasis recti after my second and I think I still have a bit of a gap

I still do the diastasis recti exercises as part of a normal workout, but I avoid crunches and sit ups just in case.

Have you seen Justin Agustin videos? He does low impact cardio and “gentle” exercise which is aimed at beginners but I find I can work up a sweat without putting any stress on the dodgy part of my stomach. They aren’t officially designed for this though so proceed with caution just in case they don’t work for you. His “Low impact home cardio” might be a good place to start, or “beginner no running indoor cardio” and just don’t do anything that stresses that part of your stomach.

I wonder if skipping might also be a good one for losing weight, or is that too much jumping? I can’t do it as I would die but dh did it for a while and lost weight. (Probably his fat cells running away from the torture!)

I don’t know anything faster I’m afraid, but I used to do two sets of the gentle workouts a day, one before and one after work, as well as walking, and it did help, but only alongside eating smaller portions and having less cake…

Walking is great op!! Get a decent off road buggy and some headphones!!

Sorry there’s others in the same boat!

It’s so difficult going from being fairly active, running and doing regular hiit type workouts to literally walking around like a snail incase my organs fall out of my abdomen

After DC1 I was off as soon as the 6 week check was cleared but this time my stomach feels weak and if I try and sit up I get the coning type thing so I know I need to fix this first! I’ve found an 8min diastasis workout which I’m planning to do alongside the walking but it’s so boring

I do need to eat less rubbish admittedly but I think that’s being stuck in with a baby unable to do anything at all. There’s been many biscuits.

I’ll have a look at all of the suggestions- thanks!!

Weights is how I fixed mine after delivering 17lb worth of twins via c-section @ 38wk (4th/5th, 3 vb's before them). Mostly compound lifts using a lifting belt, before I added the belt squats 60kg+ made me feel like I could snap in half. I continued lifting until 35+2wk pregnant with our youngest too (she was 10lb 15oz @ 38+6) and abs recovered really quickly. I was back lifting at 10wk post c-section.

Weights are easy to adapt to all strength levels or you can try resistance bands 1st. You can get a PT or watch YouTube videos to get form right, best to video yourself doing lifts if you lift solo to check form.

Poniesandgin Oh my gosh, I really remember the snail walking/organs falling out feeling and my youngest is 10!

Since I did everything I wrote above, I developed a chronic pain problem so I’ve now put on enough weight that I can’t see the cone but I think it might still be there! This has motivated me to get back on it, so thank you.

I also just bought a c-section belt from Amazon, it kind of holds your stomach in place/stops your organs falling out . I used it after I had my first and it really helped, and I’m using it now when I exercise so I don’t over-damage any more muscles. I’m not sure that’s what they’re for, but it helps everything feel more comfortable.

Chely That sounds like an amazing achievement! I do some physio with resistance bands but had never thought about weights as I’m a weakling!