A
s Fitness Professionals
even if we are not
properly trained in
working with pregnant or
postnatal clients, we have
usually picked up some
form of recommended
information along the way.
One of these being ‘don’t do
anymore ‘abs’ work’ – which makes
sense given tighter abdominals
would make it harder for a growing
baby and for those that have heard
of ‘Abdominal Separation’ we
understand that this occurs at the
linea alba and ‘abs work’ could add
extra pressure and potentially cause
or make it worse.
In this article I wanted to give you
a little more insight into why you
may have been told to stop doing
‘abs’ work and also where you can
start and what to add in instead
– because, really you do want to
continue strengthening your
As Fitness
Professionals this
is the perfect time
to begin talking to
our pregnant mums
about seeing a
Women’s Health
Physio who will help
her to learn how to
properly switch on
through PF and TA,
ideally, whilst
keeping her obliques
nice and relaxed.
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - SUMME 2018
pregnant clients abdominals – it’s
just we need to concentrate on the
muscles on the inside rather than her
outer abdominal wall.
So when we tell our pregnant clients
we won’t be doing any more abs
work, do we understand why and do
we know what to do instead?
The longer (but still kinda short)
version is that it’s not all about the
rectus; in fact, in my humble (and
note – not formally researched)
opinion, but based on many years
of working with pregnant and
postnatal mums, I have a particular
interest in her oblique’s and whether
she walks around on a daily basis
with them ‘on’. Many women do – in
an attempt to ‘appear to have a
smaller waist’ we develop patterns
of sucking in or bracing our
obliques.
As Fitness Professionals this is the
perfect time to begin talking to our
pregnant mums about seeing a
Women’s Health Physio who will help
her to learn how to properly switch
on through PF and TA, ideally, whilst
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