Bulging lower belly

Hi ladies! When I had my daughter, over that course of 2 years I was down to 96 lbs at 4’11” tall. I looked sick, felt horrible (it was due to breastfeeding and just not eating enough in general). She’s now 3 and I worked extra hard to put on some muscle and gain weight back, and I’m now 122:) I do a lot of glute work (by a lot, I mean as much as someone can do in their living room at home with dumbbells and resistance bands, and a 40 lb kettlebell). I am happy having a mix of fat/muscle and I don’t want to be too lean, but no matter what I do, my lower belly always looks kind of pregnant…. I almost feel like when I do ab exercises it protrudes more. It’s never been completely flat, but I had a c section and now it’s definitely not flat or even close. Any tips would be helpful!) also, throw in those bigger butt exercises you’ve found that work! I’ve noticed more of a lift right after I workout but it goes flat quick. I need more advice from someone who actually knows what they’re doing lol

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Sounds like it could be diastasis recti, Google it. If it is, there are lots of youtube videos to help you fix it.

@Debby yeah my thoughts exactly, sounds like it could be. You might need physio in some cases, certain exercises can exacerbate diastasis as well, so I would do some research and adjust your workouts accordingly 🤗

It's a process better suited in physical therapy. But when you do any exercise you breathe out when working again gravity, and breathe in when your not. As for great core. If you have ur birth ball, lay on your back and get into dead bug with ur knees and hands holding the ball up. Cue is keeping core engaged, pressing lower back into the floor, imagine zipping yourself up from ur fupa area up to the top of belly button. While continuing to hold the ball, drop your opposite arm/leg with an inhale, bring it up with an exhale. Repeat with other arm/leg. Using thr ball ensures you are in correct form the entire time. If you notice your stomach coning or doming down the center, stop. Modifications: heel slids -> toe taps-> double toe taps-> dead bug position but just alternating dropping legs-> full dead bug. Another great one is bird-dog. Progression would be bear crawl holds.

You need to target pelvic floor and strengthen core muscles with low impact exercises eg glute bridges, table top, dead bug etc. I did these and noticed a difference within 3 to 4 weeks. My diastasis recti gap closed significantly. Ab exercises will casue too much pressure on an already weak core so you won't get the results ur after. I'm pre and postnatal trained and tried all the above ob myself, dm if u need more info

@Chaniqua thank you so much!! I’ll def DM you. Because I do notice it being worse after I do ab workouts.

@Jade thank you for the recommendations! I tried the dead bug exercise and could definitely feel some muscle being worked that hasn’t been in a while

Glad it helped. YouTube some videos on transverse abdominal muscles. And look up bellystrong on YouTube. She has great videos. Her postpartum videos are more targeted for the newly postpartum, but some of those workouts are still good. She has some for "trying to conceive" that I liked. Good luck on your journey

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