Ab Rehab

‘Washboard’ (as in laundry), ‘six-pack’ (as in Diet Coke), ‘ripped’ (as in T-shirt), ‘buff’ (as in the silver)…it’s all common terminology in the world of motherhood. But if you were to search for related phrases, you might also find ‘Abs of Steel’. Not so common in that same world, sadly. But why?

Apparently the issue with our abs is not that we’re sitting on the sofa eating chocolates instead of doing crunches, but rather…we’re doing the wrong kind of crunches. And at the risk of getting too technical, that’s not helping your diastasis recti.

In layman’s terms, ‘diastasis recti’ refers to what happens to most women’s abdominal muscles during pregnancy—they separate or split from the weight of the baby. Many women are not able to build these muscles back to where they were before, resulting in what we refer to so lovingly as ‘mummy tummy’.

The latest in mummy tummy research, as uncovered by our local abs expert, Samantha Montpetit-Huynh, indicates that the secret to helping moms find that flat tummy again is called the Tupler Technique. Samantha is a savvy mom herself, certified personal trainer and the owner of Core Expectations, a personal training company (specializing in exercises for moms from pre-natal, to post-natal and beyond).

Samantha is one of very few experts trained in the Tupler Technique, which focuses on rebuilding the transverse muscles (the innermost abdominal muscle that wraps around your abdomen and back like a corset). These are the muscles you want to know about because they can give you a flat stomach as well as support your back and body. That’s where the Tupler Technique comes in—it’s a series of seemingly simple but highly effective exercises that helps bring the transverse abdominal muscles back together.

Core Expectations offers diastasis assessments to determine the size of any separation and in-home personal training for moms wishing to undertake their own ab rehab. Samantha is fun and vivacious, very encouraging, and truly dedicated to helping moms at all stages maintain strength and energy through exercise and nutrition.

Whether you’re prenatal, postnatal or have teenagers, it’s never too late for some ab rehab, so get on that transverse abdominus bus now.