Before we begin, I must stress that ab and core workouts for women, especially mums, have to be approached with caution. Numerous changes happen to our body over our lives and several factors must be taken into account. If you suffer from any pelvic floor or diastasis recti issues, I would first focus on building your pelvic floor muscles, before starting any sort of core workout routine. You can find some of my top exercises for building a strong pelvic floor here.

A strong core affects our overall health and helps add stability to our entire body. Women that suffer from a weak core will be more prone to everyday wear and tear from their basic routine. By embedding a consistent core routine into your current exercise regime, you’ll feel, breathe and look better, while also improving your posture and balance. It also makes moving around in general much easier!

A toned midsection is obviously a wonderful perk from performing a regular core workout, but there are so many more overall benefits that are so much more important to us as women.

It’s rare to find anyone with the absolute perfect posture, but people that are close to perfection will have a strong core. You want to place as little compression possible on your back to help support your spine. By performing core exercises and strengthen your midsection, it will aid you to stand tall and help align your spine and limbs.
As humans, we were not made to sit down on a regular day-to-day basis, and the way we do this plays a huge factor in developing bad posture. By being hunched over a desk for long hours, our pelvic will gradually begin to tilt forward over time which then causes our spines to curve. We can correct this by building a strong core. A solid core exercise routine should work all the muscles of the torso which helps with even weight distribution throughout the body.

Adding a resistance band takes things to a whole new level when it comes to REBUILDING YOUR CORE! These are my favourite because they really do challenge you in mind and body! Let’s do these with a light resistance band for 30 seconds and repeat for 3 rounds.

1. Pallof to Knee, (right and left sides)
When you inhale, focus on expanding the chest and ribs while pushing down the diaphragm. Exhale and deflate ribs, bracing core & pelvic floor to perform the exercise.

2. Overhead Band March
This works the upper and lower ups, by keeping your ribs down and resisting the tension from the band pulling you backwards, you’re constantly working your core. Exhale with each “march”. The exhale will help support each march of your legs.

3. Hinge with Pull Overs
Focus on the exhale and bracing your core as you bring the band down towards you. Try to lift from your pelvic floor.

4.Squat With Row
Get into a slight squat position, not too deep, the focus is on our abs still, not our thighs. Inhale as your arms come up, big exhale as you pull the band down. Make sure to relax your stomach as you reach the band up, then as you pull the band down, lift from the pelvic floor on up into your core.

Start slowly with one workout per week, then gradually increase to challenge yourself. Start by doing the above exercises as part of a circuit or break it down in 2/3 sets per exercise. When you start to feel the circuit become much easier, go for another round and incorporate a few more exercises.