exercises for getting rid of twin belly

I remember reading once (here) about certain exercises that WEREN'T good for getting rid of the twin belly. Anyone recall which ones those were? And which exercises are good?

Are pilates good/not good/maybe?

Thanks for any help!

 

I remember reading once (here) about certain exercises that WEREN'T good for getting rid of the twin belly. Anyone recall which ones those were? And which exercises are good?

Are pilates good/not good/maybe?

Thanks for any help!

 

i just saw "bob the trainer" on ellen, and he was talking about post-pregnancy workouts and said this was the order of importance:
1. diet
2. cardio
3. abdominal work
it is just so hard to work exercise into such a hectic schedule with 2 infants, you know?!??!? i'm back to pre-pregnancy weight, but TOTALLY Proportioned differently! ugh. gotta tone up- i can't even get up off the couch without using my arms because my abs are so weak!
as for your pilates question- i think yoga and pilates would both be great choices. i saw somewhere they have some post-pregnancy dvds for yoga that are supposed to be good, but forget the name (helpful, aren't I!?!??)

 

HI,

I've done some research on diastasis recti (abs split) and there is definitely stuff you should know before you do any ab work. Essentially if you don't cinch in your stomach muscles before you do crunces, pilates or lifts, etc. you'll just push the muscles out further and make matters worse.

I bought a video be fit mom that talks about this and offers exercises to help. Ihaven't had time to do it but hope to soon.

Cheers.

Teri

 

I think the exercises you need to do depend on whether you have diastasis recti or not. My OB said that if you do it looks like your abs are split down the middle. Luckily I don't have it, but have a little pouch from my c-section I need to get rid of.

If you don't have diastasis recti then any ab work should be fine.

 

quote:
Luckily I don't have it, but have a little pouch from my c-section I need to get rid of.


Hmm, I never heard of this diastis recti. I'm wondering if I have it? I do have this funny shaped stomach, I just thought it was either from the c-section or the twin pregnancy. How do you know if you have or don't have it? I tried this self-test that I found somewhere on google, but I still can't figure it out! Anyone?

Thanks all so far for your help!

 

I couldn't figure it out either by myself, so when I went to my gyn appt. in Dec. I asked. She had me sit up and said that usually if you have it your stomach kind of splits down the middle and goes to the sides, if that makes any sense.

 

This was explained to me at the hospital. You lie flat on your back, then try to sit up (just lift your shoulders off the floor like you were going to do situps), while you hold that position feel of your stomach. You will be able to feel a split in the abdominal muscles right down the middle of your stomach. Mine, right after birth, were what the nurse called a four finger separation (she could fit all four fingers in there). Now, I'm down to about two. Until they close together, you have to be careful what kind of ab work you do. The nurse recommended a modified situp, where you cross your arms across your stomach and grab your sides. As you sit up, you pull toward the center of your stomach, encouraging those muscles to pull back together. She recommended doing this 10 times 8-10 times per day! HA! HA! Who has time for that???!!!