Your Belly, Back In Action

Whether you’re newly post-baby or it’s been awhile since you exercised, these strategies will help you rebound with a core that’s as strong and flat as you need it to be.

- Mary Anderson

There are some things you miss after having kids. “But fit abs are definitely not something you need to say goodbye to,” says Michele Olson, an adjunct professor of sport science at Huntingdon College in Alabama, who has done tons of research on training those key core muscles

Will your abs be weak when you initially emerge from 40 weeks of pregnancy? “Yes,” Michele says, “because they’ve been overly elongated.” But they won’t be irretrievably stretched out like last year’s Spanx. It’s really the connective tissue, or fascia, of the abdominal wall—and not the muscles—that becomes more elastic to accommodate your growing bump. For your abs to tighten up, they actually need to regain their muscle memory, so to speak. “After pregnancy, your abdominals have to relearn working in their normal range,” says Carrie Pagliano, a doctor of physical therapy at Georgetown University Medical Hospital, who has worked on rehabbing abs with postnatal women for 18 years. “The good news is that you can achieve great ab conditioning at all stages—whether it’s three weeks after delivery or after you’ve had your third child.”

FIRST, FIND YOUR FAT-BURNING PACE