Janna’s Story:

Janna’s problem was a common one. A mother of two children, aged 4.5 years and almost 22 months, she was at the point of desperation. Even though she was fit, had gotten back down to her ideal body weight, exercised regularly, she STILL LOOKED PREGNANT! (Not surprisingly, she had been trying to rehab her abs with the wrong exercises.)

She learned the BeFit-Mom system, strengthened her TvA, trained the muscle to function properly as a stabilizer, and you can see the terrific results from these before and after photos. As you can see, Janna lost inches from her waist and tummy and now takes pride in her hour glass figure. Both images are unaltered.

Janna Before

Janna After

In Janna’s Own Words:

Thanks to you Helene, nobody asks me if I’m pregnant anymore. For folks who are in the same boat…I’m 4’11”, and after two pregnancies, my ab Tone was shot, despite my being extremely fit, otherwise. I looked 3 months pregnant. This formal 2 piece dress was tailored for me in June, I met with (Helene) in Aug/Sep/Oct three times, and by December, the skirt was falling off me, and had to be pinned on. I lost not one pound of weight, it was ALL muscle Tone, thanks to your help Helene…I got my body back!!!! Thank you so much!!!

Exercise After Pregnancy/Postpartum Exercise Fitness: Muscular Imbalances in the Torso

Pregnancy creates system wide changes in your body. As a result of the postural changes of pregnancy, (increased curves in both the lower back and upper back) specific muscle groups have become too tight, while other muscle groups have weakened. To fully rebound from pregnancy, and develop a body that not only looks good, but feel great and functions well, you need to address all of these changes.

Muscle groups that become too tight as a result of pregnancy:

  • Hip flexors
  • Lower back
  • Thighs
  • Chest
  • Shoulders, (particularly muscles that elevate the shoulder blades)
  • Back of the Neck

Muscle groups that weaken as a result of pregnancy:

  • pelvic floor
  • Upper Back Muscles
  • External rotators of the shoulder
  • Buttocks
  • Front of the neck
  • Abdominal Wall*

*The abdominal wall is not just weak after pregnancy, it’s also too long, a condition called laxity. This is why the abdomen feels mushy and droops directly after childbirth. This extreme lack of Tone (remember it is temporary) often shocks many first time moms.

Exercise After Pregnancy/Postpartum Fitness: The BeFit-Mom Functional Approach to Postnatal Exercise Programming

The BeFit-Mom program is far and away the best way to recondition after pregnancy. Why? Because it is the only postnatal reconditioning program that applies proven methods of exercise science to all of the unique physiological problems that new mothers face.

The exercises are designed to systematically remedy all of the changes that pregnancy has created in your body. Each exercise has been carefully selected, so that you achieve several different goals in each, making the system incredibly efficient, so that your get the most out of each exercise session.

The exercises are progressive, both within each workout, and from workout to workout, so that the skills you learn in the beginning, provide the technical foundation for what comes next, further speeding results.

 You’ll also learn a series of unique and powerful postpartum fitness techniques that I created after my son was born, and then went on to refine in my many years of teaching postnatal fitness classes. Techniques that you’ll only find in BeFit-Mom programming. Here’s an example of one of my special postpartum exercises.

The model (six weeks postpartum) is performing a Heel Slide with Belly Scoop. Belly Scooping is a postnatal exercise technique that combines a pelvic tilt—done solely by working the abs, no squeezing of the buttocks, as is taught in most fitness regimes—with a strong co-contraction of the TvA. This double move causes the abdomen to move closer to the spine, and become concave in shape. (I’d like to claim that I invented this move, but it is a variation of the Martha Graham modern dance contraction.) As the heel pushes away, the abdominals must work harder to maintain the proper positioning.

This one exercise improves pelvic alignment, Tones the abs, flattens the abdominal wall, shortens muscle fibers, develops dynamic stability , and trains synergistic functioning between the external and internal layers of the abdominal wall.

In contrast, the vast majority of other postpartum fitness programs offer new moms generic, beginner level, standard gym exercises. Why? Your postpartum body is anything but generic. Specific changes in alignment have taken place. Specific muscular imbalances have occurred in your torso. And your connective tissues, particularly at the body’s midline, as well as all of your ligaments (which hold your joints in proper alignment) are too long.

Compare my postnatal fitness program with any other and you’ll see the difference. Find a postpartum workout that uses crunches, mini-crunches, or head lifts? Push-ups? Or how about Tricep dips? It’s not that these exercises are bad per se, (though there is growing consensus among core fitness specialists that crunches are at best over-rated) but they certainly don’t belong in a postnatal program. And clearly, advocates of these types of exercises for new moms do not understand the basic principles of postpartum exercise physiology.

As we have seen, crunches flex the upper spine, increase the upper back curve, don’t flatten the abdominal wall, and can make abdominal separation (diastasis recti) worse. Push-ups strengthen and tighten the chest muscles. Hello – the chest muscles are already too tight and need to be stretched after pregnancy. And Tricep dips? They cause inward rotation and elevation of the shoulders, exactly what we don’t want, especially considering the amount off lifting and carrying that new moms do. These are just a few of the common errors found in most other postnatal exercise programming

Thousands of women, from the newly postpartum, to significantly post-postpartum, have gotten remarkable results from my program. Why not you?

So what are you waiting for? Download either our Standard or Diastasis Recti Rehab Program now!