What are the best core exercises for post-partum women?

The best exercises are not planks and sit ups. Focus on rebuilding your pelvic floor and connecting with your core.

How soon postpartum can you do core exercises?

The time can vary for each woman but aim to let your body heal for two weeks, then begin light core and pelvic exercises.

What is the 5-5-5 rule for postpartum?

This means 5 days in bed, 5 days around the bed, and 5 days around the house in order to avoid any strain, and to allow the core and pelvic floor to heal.

Can I do planks postpartum?

You may be able to return to planks later in postpartum recovery, but full planks are not usually the best starting point. If you notice belly doming, leaking, pelvic heaviness, or back pain, scale back to breathing drills, heel slides, dead bugs, or modified planks.

What exercises should I avoid postpartum?

Avoid or modify crunches, sit-ups, Russian twists, full planks, and high-impact exercises if they cause doming, leaking, pain, or pelvic pressure. These signs may mean your core and pelvic floor are not managing pressure well yet.

Postpartum Core Exercises: 5 Phases to Restore Strength Safely

You’re doing everything to strengthen your core postpartum. You couldn’t possibly do more sit ups, planks, or Russian twists if you tried.

So, why does your belly pooch out when you crunch? And shouldn’t your back and pelvic floor be feeling better with time, not worse?

Core training requires a different approach postpartum. In fact, without intentionally rehabbing your core post-baby, traditional core exercises often make things (like ab bulging, ab separation, leaking, or pelvic floor heaviness) worse.

Here’s how to reconnect and rebuild your core postpartum.

How Does Pregnancy and Postpartum Change Your Core?

During pregnancy, your rib cage expands, abs stretch and often separate, and pelvic floor (which is technically a part of your core) stretches to make space for a baby. Even your breathing patterns change. Here’s how these changes may impact how you feel after delivery.

Core weakness and disconnection

As your abs and pelvic floor stretch during pregnancy, they also weaken. You may find this weakness (and potential tearing if you had a vaginal delivery) makes you feel disconnected from your abs and pelvic floor postpartum.

When you try to do a small crunch, your abs dome out or feel squishy. Your pelvic floor feels numb, heavy, or unstable. These are signs that these areas have gone offline and need reconnecting.

Dysfunctional breathing mechanics

During pregnancy, your ribs flare out and the diaphragm elevates. This combo encourages shallow, chest breathing instead of diaphragmatic breathing (also called 360-degree breathing). This shallow breathing habit often unconsciously continues postpartum.

Disrupted breathing mechanics change the way your system manages intra-abdominal pressure. During a full, deep, diaphragmatic breath, your entire core canister (diaphragm, abs, sides, back, pelvic floor) balances the pressure of each breath equally. Dysfunctional breathing can put more pressure on your anterior core or pelvic floor, exacerbating core or pelvic floor dysfunction.

Postpartum compensation patterns

The strain of caring for a newborn baby who is only growing bigger and heavier by the day takes a toll on the body in many ways. Here are a few things to look out for:

Upper ab gripping: To make up for a weak anterior core, the upper abs tighten and pull the ribcage up and out (rib flare). This can send excessive downward pressure to the pelvic floor, and delay ab separation (diastasis recti) healing.
Anterior pelvic tilt: When your weak anterior core allows your lower back to arch and pelvis to tip forward, it shifts extra load to your hips and back to stabilize your spine. Aka mom butt.
Holding your breath: Holding your breath to stiffen your torso bypasses the dynamic stabilization of the anterior core that should be happening while lifting or carrying your baby. This can create pressure management issues.

Core or pelvic floor dysfunction

When weakness, disrupted breathing mechanics, and compensation patterns combine, core or pelvic floor dysfunction often follows.

If you’re dealing with persistent core issues like diastasis recti or doming, or pelvic floor issues like leaking, pain during intercourse, a feeling of pelvic heaviness, or prolapse, it’s time to seek support from a specialized physical therapist.

Why Traditional Ab Exercises Can Make Postpartum Recovery Worse

Standard crunches, sit ups, and planks can make postpartum core dysfunction even worse. These exercises put extra pressure out on weak anterior core muscles (like the transverse abdominis). This pressure can widen diastasis recti, strain your pelvic floor, and reinforce dysfunctional breathing mechanics if done before proper healing and reconnection is established.

Belly doming or bulging during these exercises is a clear sign that your deep core muscles aren’t engaging properly and pressure is pushing outward. Continuing to do these exercises despite warning signs can delay recovery and lead to long-term problems.

How to Recover Your Core Postpartum

Like any fitness journey, recovering your core postpartum requires consistency and gradual progression.

First, focus on your doctor’s clearance to exercise (which usually happens at six weeks). Then progress through the below phases as your body is ready.

Note: We’ve included timeline suggestions, but the true prerequisite for moving to the next phase is the ability to do an exercise without dysfunction, with good form, and feel good while doing it.

Many of the exercises are a progression of an exercise from the previous phase. For example, pelvic tilts to heel slides to deadbugs. This makes it easy to stack skills when you’re ready, and revert to the previous exercise as a modification if it turns out your body isn’t ready for the new challenge.

Phase 1: Healing (1-2 weeks)

Now is the time to prioritize rest. Follow the 5-5-5 rule: 5 days in bed, 5 days around the bed, and 5 days around the house to prevent core strain and allow time for core and pelvic floor healing.

Phase 2: Reconnecting (2-6 weeks)

Feel free to start this phase when you’re feeling ready for something other than light walking. For most women that falls somewhere within 2-4 weeks of a vaginal delivery, and 2-6 weeks of a C-section.

These exercises will help connect and activate the core and pelvic floor, while addressing the muscle tightness that comes with feeding postures and lack of abdominal strength in early postpartum.

In this phase, focus on reconnecting with your anterior core (or your front abs). We’d suggest sidelining specific pelvic floor activation (like kegels) in the first six weeks to allow more time for healing.

Side Lying Breathing: Lay on your side, with your knees stacked and relaxed, and top hand placed flat on the ground in front of you for stability. As you inhale, let your ribs expand, focusing on side and back expansion. Connect with your abs as you exhale.
Pelvic Tilts: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Gently flatten your lower back into the floor by tilting your pelvis, hold for 5 seconds, and release.
Cat Cow: Get on all fours, putting your hands directly below your shoulders, and knees directly below your hips. Look up to the sky and relax your back, breathing in to deepen the stretch. As you breathe out, engage your core and push through your mid-back to arch your back like a cat.
Angel Wings: Start sitting upright with your core engaged. Bring your arms up to a 90-degree goal post position. Slowly extend your arms upward until they’re fully extended above your head. Avoid flaring the ribs as you lift by exhaling and engaging your core. Return to the starting position.
Hip Flexor Stretch: Take a half-kneeling position on the floor. Squeeze the glute of your back leg to tuck your pelvis under and stretch the front of your hip. Deepen the stretch by reaching the same arm as your back leg up and over your head.

Phase 3: Building stability (4-8 weeks)

When you’re ready to advance, these exercises work on building stability, while progressing core and pelvic floor connection. Feel free to continue with the exercises from phase 2 if they feel good, especially the mobility moves.

Good breathing should be incorporated into all exercises, being mindful to exhale as you lift (or the hard part of an exercise) and inhale as you lower (or relax). So slow down and work on connecting your breath to your movement.

At some point, we want this mindful breathing to be automatic—shifting to the background so we can focus on quality movement and lifting heavier loads.

When you’re ready, feel free to start intentionally connecting with your pelvic floor during breathing. This basically adds a kegel (drawing your pelvic floor up and in) at the top of each exhale.

90/90 Breathing: Lie on your back and place your feet on a wall so that your hips and knees are bent at 90-degree angles. Place a yoga block or rolled up towel between your knees to engage your inner thighs. As you inhale let your ribs expand, feeling your sides and belly rise. As you exhale pull your ribcage down and inward and feel your lower back press into the ground.
Heel Slides: Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Gently flatten your lower back into the floor by tilting your pelvis. Slide one heel out along the floor while exhaling, engaging the deep abs as you bring your heel back. Check your abs during this move, are they doming? Slow down, reconnect with your breath and try again. If they continue to dome, modify this move with pelvic tilts.
Bird Dog: Get on all fours, putting your hands directly below your shoulders, and knees directly below your hips. Focus on keeping a neutral spine by keeping your core connected as you extend the opposite arm and leg, then return to center. Repeat on the other side. If you are struggling to find your core or keep it engaged, try one arm at a time, and then one leg at a time.

Phase 4: Progressing core strength (8-12 weeks)

In this phase, continue with 90/90 breathing, or move into a hands and knees position (see below) if you prefer. We want to continue practicing breathing as we begin to integrate more movement.

We’re continuing to progress anterior core strength with deadbugs and modified planks. We’ve also added some glute-specific work with glute bridges to help wake up the glutes that may have become inactive during pregnancy.

Hands/Knees Breathing: Get on all fours, putting your hands directly below your shoulders, and knees directly below your hips. As you inhale let your ribs expand, feeling your sides and mid back expand. As you exhale, engage your core and pelvic floor.
Dead Bugs: Lie on your back with knees directly above hips, and feet up, forming a 90 degree angle. Slowly lower the opposite arm and leg toward the floor while keeping your lower back glued to the ground. If this move is too hard, try an easier variation like one arm or one leg at a time, building up strength until you’re ready for the full thing.
Modified Planks: Get on all fours, putting your hands directly below your shoulders, and knees directly below your hips. Focus on keeping a neutral spine by keeping your core connected as you shift one knee back and then the other to hold a plank on your knees. Keep your core pulled in and avoid back sagging.
Glute Bridges: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat. Squeeze your glutes and lift your hips, exhaling as you lift, and inhaling as you lower. Progress this move with glute bands.

Phase 5: Reintegration (12 weeks+)

Continue to practice breathing with 90/90 breathing or hands/knees breathing. Breathing is a great tool for warm ups to reconnect with that feeling of good, deep breathing before your workout.

In this phase, we’ve included leg lifts as a progression for dead bugs. Leg lifts are also a sneaky challenge for the pelvic floor. Studies suggest they activate the pelvic floor even more than a kegel (1).

We’ve also included side and front planks, as a test of deep ab strength. If you’re doming, scale back to dead bug, leg lift, and modified plank variations, and keep testing periodically.

As you begin the return to full body functional exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, chest press, and rows, keep in mind that every exercise is a “core” exercise. Your core is essential for dynamic stability through any exercise, and being mindful of pressure, breathing, and core engagement during as you move is a good way to continue building connection with your core and protecting against re-injury.

Leg Lifts: Lie on your back, bring bent knees up to a tabletop position. As you breathe, lower one leg down slowly then lift it back up. Make sure your back stays flat on the floor, your pelvis doesn’t move, and your abs don’t dome or bulge. The further away you hold your legs from your chest the harder the challenge will be. You can make it harder by holding one leg extended towards the ceiling and then reaching with the other bent leg for the ground, or straightening both legs and then lowering and lifting.
Front Planks: Get on all fours, putting your hands directly below your shoulders, and knees directly below your hips. Focus on keeping a neutral spine by keeping your core connected as you extend one foot back and then the other to hold a plank on your toes. Keep your core pulled in and avoid back sagging.

The Bottom Line

Pregnancy stretches and weakens your core and changes the way you breathe. These changes may cause you to feel disconnected from your core postpartum, and may cause core dysfunction such as ab separation (diastasis recti) or bulging, doming, or coning during exercise.

Some postpartum core dysfunction is normal and heals with time and intentional breathing and core exercise. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing, connecting core engagement with breathing, and progressive core exercises like cat cow, pelvic tilts, heel slides, bird dog, dead bugs, glute bridges, plank variations, and deadlifts can help you rebuild core connection and strength.

Core dysfunction that persists or worsens, despite efforts to heal your core, is a clear sign to seek help from a specialized physical therapist. Stop exercising immediately and get professional guidance.