After having my 3rd baby, I found myself with a 4 finger separation between my core muscles. I was having back pain for the first time while I was adjusting or just holding my baby and finally decided I needed to do something. I started researching and looking at all sorts of online programs. I tried soooo many! Some I liked, some I didn’t and it was easy to get frustrated because the work that was required was subtle and needed to be done daily or I wouldn’t see progress.
If you don’t know how to measure your diastasis, just mention it next time you’re in and I’ll check with you and show you. It’s quick and easy!
After trying many programs….and giving myself a lot of grace due to having a baby, a 2 1/2 yr old and a 5 yo… I finally found a combination that worked! I quickly closed my 4 finger deep separation ( which was all the way to my rib cage) to a shallow 2 finger separation just near my belly button. In case you don’t know what that means…that’s huge progress!
Here are the programs I tried and what I found to work best for me. (Just to be clear…I think all these programs are great. Some were just a better fit than others for me).
the founder of Alpha Mamma
#1. Alpha Mamma- 4 Week Core Corrective
This is hands down my favorite program on the market! She has an incredible knowledge of a postpartum mom’s body and how to functionally heal your core. It’s very affordable and I love that it’s in her basement and you see her daughter run through the screen from time to time. I recommend this as my #1 to all my postpartum moms, even when they don’t have a separation! What I loved about it was her approach. It was easy to follow and she teaches you when and how to do a plank, sit up, etc…. This is the first program I’ve seen that has done this.
#2. Hiking hills on my treadmill with the Peloton App.
I have a “regular” treadmill and use the Peloton App to do hiking classes. I love it and can see how they have rose above the rest of their competition. Their classes are really impressive and made a boring treadmill into a workout I actually looked forward to. The instructors did a great job of cueing you to use your core when going up the hills. When I combined walking 1-3x/week with the Alpha Mamma program, I saw amazing results…and in only a few weeks!
I love this program as well. It has a good diastasis program and can meet you where you are at with your core. It would work great if you had a 2 fingerish separation but you might struggle if your separation was wider. I love that she has other workout programs you can do while you have a diastasis and she cues you on how to correct your workout for your core so you can continue to strengthen it. If you don’t do this, you will actually more than likely weaken your core instead of strengthen it. It’s very important to know how to work out correctly when you have a separation!
#4 MuTu
This is a very popular program out there and it has a lot of really great things about it. I found however I couldn’t stick with it because it just moved to slow. The program was 12 weeks and I didn’t find myself feeling enough progress to keep with it. It felt too gentle and slow moving. They get great success and have a lot of testimonials but it just wasn’t for me. I have had several mom’s in my practice that have also felt the same way as well. She also asks you to walk everyday and that just isn’t possible for me.
#5 BRB Yoga
Many of you probably know this but I love yoga and highly recommend it so I tried this program. It would do a good job but I just couldn’t stick with it. I got bored with it and didn’t feel as if it would work on my separation enough. I think this would be helpful for someone that has a smaller separation than I had.
#6 Katie Bowman with Nutritious Movement
I have a book by Katie Bowman on how to heal your Diastasis Recti in our lending library. I love so many things about her content but again found it to be to gentle and slow moving. Great to look into and I still pick out somethings from it to do to improve my posture and form but couldn’t use it as a stand alone program.
#7. Our app!
Don’t want to pay for an online program? All my favorite exercises can be found on our web based app, www.myfamilyfirstchiroapp.com. It is a fantastic compilation of very effective exercises that you can do at home. Plus…IT’S ALL FREE!
I’d love to hear your favorite online programs you’ve used to heal your core and what you loved about them! Feel free to drop your comments below!
She’s a Mom, has Doctorate in Chiropractic and loves helping people move from pain back to a healthy and active lifestyle.
Great info, thank you!