stomach tightening exercises after c-sections?

[joeswife112099]

Hey everyone! Does anyone have any good suggestions for tightening up you stomach after a c-section? my doctor said it won't ever be normal again, but I don't believe her. my last surgery was in 2000. I have been using a balance ball.
thanks
wendy

[skizbees]

Hey everyone! Does anyone have any good suggestions for tightening up you stomach after a c-section? my doctor said it won't ever be normal again, but I don't believe her. my last surgery was in 2000. I have been using a balance ball.
thanks
wendy

I think you mean your abdominal wall, not your stomach. Proper clean diet, moderate cardio,weight lifting, enough restful sleep.

[BBjunkie]

You can't spot reduce. The last place most people "tighten up", even after stict diets and hard work is the abdominal area. Seriously clean, balanced nutrition plan as well as a cardio regimen of 5-6 times a week about 30 mins and moderate weights of compound movements 3-4 times a week are the only way to alter your body and that's just a start. To target the abs, I love decline crunches,, hanging leg raises and weighted ball crunches,, but there are tons of abd exercises if you look on the front page of the home page under the training tab on the left of the page. I can't imagine why your doctor would say such a thing. I'm a nurse and have always heard of health professionals encouraging abd/core strengthening after a 6 week post par tum. Consistency and dedication are key.

[runnermama]

I had a c-section in Oct. of '05. In terms of your abs never being the same, to some degree I believe it is true. While I am currently in the best shape of my life and have less fat around my abs than I did pre-preg., my abs are not the same. Hell, my bellybutton isn?t even the same!

The good news is, when you achieve top condition, you are probably the only one who is going to be able to tell a difference. For those who have had severe skin stretching, I have heard that you can build up your ab muscles to fill out the loose skin. And as always, the diet must be in check to keep that bodyfat % down. If you want definition, it's in the kitchen

[joeswife112099]

runnermama, after seeing you, I feel so much better! I was sure I would never have a flat stomach again. I am by no means fat right now, just a little poochy belly. which you can't even tell unless I am completely naked. I do crunches but I hate them because it hurts my lower back so much. I had a really bad 2nd c-section and my new dr. said I would need plastic surgery or another c-section to fix the damage. it looks like the dr. who did the surgery rolled my stomach under before he sewed me up. I do side stretches/bends that sort of thing, and I can feel the muscles pulling. are those effective? thanks!

[terracotta]

Side bends and twisting ab exercises can widen the waist, which is why I do not do them.

I got most of my ab definition from doing heavy squats and deadlifts. Those give you the basis for a strong core. I do very little direct ab work.

You might find this thread helpful http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3569911

[joeswife112099]

that's what I wanted to know. I checked out your site by the way. lots of great info thats what I need!
thanks so much!

[MissThing]

Side bends and twisting ab exercises can widen the waist, which is why I do not do them.

I got most of my ab definition from doing heavy squats and deadlifts. Those give you the basis for a strong core. I do very little direct ab work.

You might find this thread helpful http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3569911

Thanks for this post, I've often wondered whether oblique work was *that* necessary.