Help target exercises needed for post c-section tummy

elastigirl

I really need help I lost 2 stone last summer ( prob put some back on) but i can not get rid of ( i hate saying this) my overhang.
I was slightly over weight before i got pg but nothing major however since having 2 sections i now have a huge over hang!!!
I am desperate to get rid of it as i keep getting superficial skin infections to the section scar even 19 months down the line.

I went to my gp and said i just need to put on the cream when it looks/ feels sore that's all! But it really hurts and gets me down at times so I have even thought about going back to my gp to ask if anything surgical can be done, but hubby says they won't do anything as it isn't just loose skin that needs removing it's fat and i need to work on it.

I swim and walk lots. i can bearly do sit up's which i know would help but is there anything else i could try?

Barneysmom

Not always the case with this problem, we call it an apron.
No matter how much work you put into it you might not lose it with diet and exercise.
If it's making your life a misery go and see your GP or the practise nurse.
They'll advise you on what you need to do.
They might say you could have it done on the NHS, it's worth a try.
This explains it better than I can xxx

http://www.cosmetichealth.net/Tummy-Tuck-NHS-Surgery.html

Do 10 sits ups a day for a week, increase by 5 every week. I used to do about 60-80 every night and will have to start all over again as I stopped doing them.

jenniewb

I'd suggest getting a personal trainer or at the very least visiting a gym to speak to a gym instructor (comes free with the membership at most gyms bar the 24-hour-bare bones type I've seen).

I'd say don't waste your time on sit ups or any version of sit ups. They are designed to build muscle and so show muscle tone. If you have any body fat what so ever these muscles will not show and at worse (if you do many many many and take muscle building drugs) you could add bulk in that area as building muscle would be building bulk (though women have a finate amount of the hormone which builds muscles the same way as men so unless your upping your hormone and protein and suppliment intake, I'd not worry about this!

What I would suggest is working on your transverse abs. These are the muscles that help you draw in your stomach, I'd also suggest working on the muscles which wrap all the way around your torso so that your working on your posture, these muscles combined will help you gain a better posture and so look less pot-bellied (if this is your concern) then otherwise. Pilataes is almost designed for these sorts of muscles, that and core stability exercises.

If you want to do abs, go ahead, I used to be hooked on them, would literally do hours a week (and I'm not joking- I had a very strong eating disorder at the time) but they did nothing for my waistline in terms of making it smaller and infact it is so so easy to do them badly: poor form can result in you not realising but poking your belly out when you do them: if you do not hold yourself in you can actually train the muscles to pout outwards and this is what I did. On a daily basis I'd have 2-3 people ask me if I wanted a seat...how far gone I was...if it was a girl or a boy (it was that bad!) I stopped, over time I lost the bulk and I now can't actually remember the last time I did a sit-up. My neck and waistline is all the better for it!

I would suggest any Pilataes or core stability type exercises you do, make sure you get about 20 or more lessons with an instructor in a class under your belt before you go at it alone (and you don't have to go it alone if you don't want to). This will help you see where your going wrong and also learn from other people, see where they are making mistakes and learn not to make them yourself. It also tends to be more of a motivational way of working out.

The reason I'd suggest seeing a gym instructor or personal trainer though is because with pregnancy and any further surgery it can mess with the muscle structure on your stomach and what you may want may not be possible or may take a lot longer or require specially given sorts of exercises to get you to a level where you can get what you want.