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During pregnancy, as the baby is developing and the belly grows, what many pregnant women don’t realize is that, to accommodate that growth, changes are occurring not only in the uterus and skin, but all also in the abdominal muscles.

Toward the later stages of pregnancy, continued expansion of the uterus is possible thanks to the linea alba — a line of connective tissue that runs from under the sternum to the pubic bone, and connects the two sides of the rectus abdominis muscles. The linea alba stretches, allowing the baby to have more room than it would otherwise.

It’s really quite phenomenal that a woman’s body is able to do this! However, this increased length in the linea alba can cause a separation between the abdominal muscles that can stick around long after pregnancy. This common separation is termed diastasis recti abdominis. A 2016 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that about one-third of postpartum women still have diastasis recti 12 months after giving birth.

When the linea alba is lengthened, it can lose it’s ability to generate tension and, therefore, its ability to support the abdomen. The connective tissue stretches loses much of its density and thickness, which leads to a very measurable separation between the two sides of the abdominal muscles.

That gap can extend all of the way from the sternum to the pubic bone, or just somewhere along that line. Typically, the largest gap will be around the belly. In fact, diastasis recti is often the cause of what some women refer to as a “stubborn” post-baby belly. If your client suffers from diastasis recti, she might think that she looks bloated all of the time, or that she looks “four months pregnant” when she’s really two years postpartum, and despite her best efforts, hasn’t been able to slim her midsection.

Beyond aesthetics, it’s important to note that diastasis recti can result in the lower back and pelvis not being as stable and secure as they once were. As the connective tissue of the linea alba becomes stretched, widened, and thinned, it can impair the ability of the abdominal muscles (and entire core system) to do their best work.

With a loss of support for the core, spine, and potentially, abdominal, and pelvic organs, a postpartum woman will definitely feel weaker, and often may not feel that she can’t generate as much force as she used to.

If you or your client are unsure if she has diastasis recti, you might find this article on the signs of diastasis recti helpful for starting a conversation with her. Before you both stress… don’t stress! Diastasis recti is a very common occurrence with pregnancy and it can heal, and in most women it does heal naturally. More important than trying to “heal” it by having the two sides meet back up is to strive to return function to the linea alba.

Here are three things you can do to help your client heal her diastasis recti:

Step 1: Practice Body in Good Alignment

Think of alignment as how the body’s joints and bones “stack up” to create posture. That posture can either be strong, supported, and encourage proper movement patterns, or it can be weak and lead to losses in core strength. For example, if your client is in a chronic “rib thrust” position (in which the bottom of the ribcage is positioned forward and upward, ahead of the torso), the linea alba could be constantly overstretched. With good alignment, the muscles and connective tissues have the right amount of length and tension.

Helping your client get her body into good alignment is like the tale of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” You don’t want her spine too straight or too curved. You want it to be just right. That “just right” alignment is called the “neutral spine position.” This alignment gets the diaphragm stacked over the pelvic floor muscles to allow for the core stability system to work optimally.

To help your client get into a neutral spine position and proper alignment use these cues:

• Stand with the feet positioned directly under the hip bones (not as wide as the pelvis) and pointing straight ahead.
• Position the rib cage over the pelvis.
• Allow a slight arch in the lower back so that the tailbone is not tucked under the torso.
• Focus on maintaining a tall thoracic spine, thinking of growing “up” through the crown of the head. Allow a gentle forward rounding of the top section of the spine.

When your client is healing her diastasis recti, she should use this alignment in all exercises and in daily life where possible, but especially when under load such as when carrying her baby. The photo on the right shows what this alignment looks like when I am standing.

(For guidance on how to teach your client to assess her own diastasis recti, check out this video.)

Step 2: Improve The Core and Floor Connection

For your client to support her core in daily life and when exercising, it is extremely important for her to understand how to gain and release tension (contract and relax) her core and pelvic floor muscles.

When the ribs are positioned over the hips, the diaphragm is stacked over the pelvic floor. This helps the pressure system in the core to function optimally. When she inhales, the diaphragm moves downward slightly and the pelvic floor stretches to allow this change in pressure. When she exhales, both the diaphragm ascends and the pelvic floor contracts upward, too.

To help your client improve her core and floor connection, use these cues:

• Lie on the floor on one side, making sure that the head, hips, and heels are in a straight line.
• Drape the top arm over the front of the rib cage. In the next two steps, have her notice the rise and fall of her arm over her body with the inhale and exhale.
• Take a deep inhale breath, focusing on sending air into the ribs, belly, and pelvis.
• Perform a full exhale, focusing on lifting the pelvic floor muscles up into the body and raising the belly button up toward the breastbone.

Note: The contraction is very gentle. Your client should think of it as only about 30 percent of her maximum ability of contraction.

Step 3: Have Your Client Perform These Exercises to Heal Her Diastasis Recti

Now that you’ve helped your client learn how to do the core and floor connection, it’s important that she use that connection to promote healing of her diastasis recti. We want to encourage exercises in which your client can create good tension in the linea alba but can avoid any bulging, and exercises that are going to challenge her to strengthen her core musculature, but will not cause any harm to her abdominals and pelvic floor. These exercises help to create tension, density, and strength in the linea alba.

For instance, while healing the diastasis, I recommend avoiding exercises that involve facing the belly to the floor (front-loaded positions) such as the push-up, front plank, and bear crawl. The core may not be able to properly handle the pressure and intensity created by these exercises. What’s more, sometimes women feel that they can’t control their abdominals during these exercise, since require a high level of core coordination. . Without the requisite core strength and coordination, the belly can easily bulge forward during these front-loaded exercises.Your client may also complain of feeling uncomfortable downward pressure on the pelvic floor.

In addition, exercises such as the crunch, sit-up, v-up, and double-leg raise may also create a bulging belly. The bulging can occur when the core isn’t able to properly control the intra-abdominal pressure. The pressure from the “load” has to go somewhere and it usually goes outward. This can happen to anyone who doesn’t have proper intra-abdominal control, not just women with diastasis recti.

Below are some of my favorite “tummy safe” core exercises for women completing diastasis recti rehab. Remember to emphasize for your clients the core and floor connection in all of these exercises, exhaling through the toughest part of each exercise. Additionally, with the client’s permission to touch her, you can feel the linea alba and monitor for bulging when adding new abdominal exercises to the program.

Heel Slide with Alternate Arms

• Exhale, extend one leg out straight, hovering the leg above the floor.
• Simultaneously, extend the opposite arm towards the floor above the head.
• Ensure the hips stay stable.
• Inhale to return to the start position.

• Glute Bridge

• Exhale, squeeze the glutes, and lift the hips upwards until the body is in a straight line from shoulders to knees.

• Inhale to return back down to the floor.

• Half-Kneeling Pallof Press

• Squeeze the glutes of the back leg tightly.
• Exhale to press the arms straight out in front of the chest.
• Feel tension in the core to resist rotation while pressing outwards.
• Inhale to return back to the start position.

• One-Arm Farmer’s Carry

• Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell slightly away from the body.
• Walk at a normal strolling pace.
• Keep the body tall and centred (avoid slumping to one side).

• Side-Lying Knee Abduction

• Get into a side-lying position on the floor with the hips and knees bent to 90-degree angles. Make sure the head, shoulders, and hips are aligned (not rotated forward or backward).
• Keeping the 90-degree bend at the hip and knee, raise the top leg, opening up the hips, and then lower the leg back down to bring the knees together.
• Place a hand on the top hip to feel the hips staying stable.

For more examples of effective core exercises your client can do to heal diastasis recti, see these two articles on diastasis recti and no-crunch core exercises.

Start Healing!

Remember, you don’t need her to close the gap to be functional. Emphasis is on tension not on the width of the gap. If your client can generate good tension and maintain it through the exercise, then that is fine. However, if your client has a wide or deep gap, it is wise to work with a physical therapist. Support your client and be patient with her — and remind her to be patient with herself and stay consistent! By prioritizing proper alignment as well as the core and floor connection in all of her exercises and in daily life, she’ll go a long way toward healing her diastasis recti and improving her core health.

The post How to Help Your Postpartum Clients Heal Diastasis Recti appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

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Word to the wise: Think twice before airing your dirty food confessions on social media. Specifically, keep your off-beat food pairings off Twitter if you don’t want to provoke the wrath of food traditionalists.

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So pork chops are on the menu for dinner tonight, but you still need some inspiration for what to serve with them. Look no further than one of these 15 delicious side dishes, all chosen for how well they pair with pork. With plenty of options you can make in the microwave, and a few classic favorites thrown into the mix, these dishes aren’t too complicated or time-consuming. Most of them can be prepared while your pork chops cook. And speaking of pork chops, if you need to brush up on the different preparation methods, check out our complete guide to cooking pork chops.

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European supermarket giant Lidl, who just recently launched in the United States, is already tugging at our heart strings: The grocery store is collaborating with a nonprofit on a project to rescue puppies. The partnership is with Operation Paws for Homes, also called OPH, and the collective goal is to benefit adoptable dog shelters across the nation. Called the “Retail to the Rescue Project,” the initiative will take place this week, reports Progressive Grocer.

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Today’s awesome guest post is offered up by a good friend to MDA—Ryan Hurst, Co-founder and Head Coach at GMB Fitness. I hope it helps you during your work week. Enjoy, everyone!

Our shoulders carry a lot of our stress. We hunch forward at our desks trying to get work done, tensing up over issues we thought we’d fixed already. And it doesn’t help that we often have to stay in the same position, even if we are lucky enough to have standing desks, typing or doing some other repetitive tasks.

As a result, a lot of us have issues with tight shoulders, and we know we really should move and stretch them, but stiffness and aches can make this even more difficult and uncomfortable. And that dreaded vicious cycle sets in. Your shoulders are tight because you don’t move like you should, but when you start moving it starts to hurt. And that stops you from moving….

The solution isn’t to quit working and do yoga all day. Instead, I’ll show you some simple movements to add to your daily routine. These exercises can be done in very little space and don’t take very long at all.

Below, I’ll share a simple and effective shoulder mobility routine that will help you get your shoulders back in gear. But before you start putting these movements into action, it’s a good idea to understand why you’re having these issues and why it’s so important to get your shoulders moving well.

What’s Tightening You Up?

There are a lot of different things that could be going on in your shoulders. For many people, sitting hunched over a computer or phone all day is the culprit, but for others, it could be something entirely different.

The way you exercise might be a factor. If you spend a lot of time in the gym doing bench presses or working your chest fly, that could encourage the shoulders to rotate forward.

I won’t go into too much detail here about how the shoulders work, but what I will say is this: the shoulder girdle is a complex area made up of at least 16 major muscles.

The innate complexity of this region means there’s a lot that can potentially go wrong, but there’s also a lot of tissue to support the shoulders through some pretty rough episodes.

Of course, our shoulders aren’t sealed off from the rest of our bodies. Shoulder issues very often come with neck and upper back issues, and vice versa.

The good news is the following routine will help you address your shoulder restrictions, which will often do a good job of clearing up some of those related issues as well.

Efficient and Effective Work is the Name of the Game

Before I get into the routine, I want to address the elephant in the room: stretching sucks.

…or, at least it can the way most people do it and teach it.

A lot of trainers or fitness companies will throw a bunch of random stretches at you, and when you don’t arbitrarily get “more flexible,” they tell you to just “stretch more.” That’s not very useful, and if that’s the way you’ve always stretched, then yeah, it’s probably sucked. No one likes to put in effort without any payoff.

What makes this routine different is that it’s not random at all.

While there can be so many different things going on in the shoulders, the exercises in this routine were carefully chosen to target the most common motion restrictions.

When your shoulders are tight, they keep you from moving freely throughout your daily life, as well as in your training. For people with particularly bad levels of tightness, something as simple as reaching to grab something from a high shelf can feel impossible.

Even if your issues aren’t quite that severe, you’re here reading this article, which probably means you are dealing with some level of restriction in your shoulders.

So let’s get into it!

Daily Shoulder Mobility Routine — Six Stretches to Help You Loosen Your Tight Shoulders

The following routine is made up of six shoulder stretches, some of which you may have seen before, but all of which work together to address the most common issues we’ve seen in clients.

Work through these slowly and do not move into any painful positions. Stay within a range that is comfortable for you.

Quadruped Shoulder Circles

You’ve probably done standard shoulder circles before from a standing position. The benefit of doing these on your hands and knees is the floor gives you some feedback so you can adjust the pressure easily.

Start on your hands and knees with your knees just beneath your hips and your hands just beneath your shoulders.

Press into the ground and keep your elbows straight as you shrug your shoulders up toward your ears, back toward your hips, down away from your ears, and then forward toward your head, creating a nice circle.

Do these circles in both directions, and then you can try doing the circles with alternating shoulders.

Do 5 circles in each direction with both shoulders, then do 5 in each direction with one shoulder at a time.

L-Arm Stretch

This is one of my favorite stretches because it’s very effective at stretching the rotator cuff and the back of the shoulder. It can feel a bit awkward at first, but just play around with finding a position that feels relatively comfortable for you.

Start by lying on your stomach with one arm by your side. Stretch your other arm across your chest with your palm facing up and without letting your shoulder shrug up toward your ear too much.

Use your shoulder muscles to pull your chest down toward the floor, creating a nice stretch in the shoulder capsule. Move in and out of the stretched position, and then hold the stretch.

Once you find a comfortable position, move in and out of the stretch 10 times, then hold for 30 seconds. Repeat this sequence a total of three times.

Prone Bent Arm Chest Stretch

Here’s a stretch that targets the chest and front of the shoulder. You’ll work on one side at a time with this one.

Start in a prone position (on your stomach) with one hand on the floor and your elbow bent.
Shift your weight toward your hand to feel a stretch in your chest. Move in and out of the stretched position, and then hold the stretch.

Once you find a comfortable position, move in and out of the stretch 10 times, then hold for 30 seconds. Repeat this sequence a total of three times.

Tall Kneeling Arm Raises

This one engages the hips as well as the shoulders, and will really help with opening up your tight shoulder muscles.

Start in a kneeling position, sitting with your feet under your butt.
Lift your hips as you raise your arms straight up overhead.
At the top, you will be in a “tall kneeling” position with your arms straight up. Make sure to really open up the shoulders in that top position, but don’t arch the back.

Move in and out of the stretch 5 times and then hold for 15-30 seconds.

Tall Kneeling Arm Raise to the Side

This stretch starts in the same position as the last one, but you’ll feel this one more in the lats and the back of the shoulder.

Begin in the same tall kneeling position, where you have your feet under your butt, and then drive your hips forward until you are kneeling on your shins.

Now, instead of reaching straight up overhead, keep one arm down by your side and reach the other arm up and over to the opposite side.
Really focus on reaching through the shoulder, so you feel a nice stretch through your lats and back of the shoulder.

Move in and out of the stretch 5 times and then hold for 15-30 seconds. Repeat on the opposite side.

Clasped Hands Extension

The last stretch in this sequence will help you work on shoulder extension, combating that rounded posture so many of us find ourselves in.

Start in a seated position. In the video, you’ll see that Jeff is sitting cross-legged, but sit however feels comfortable for you. If sitting on the floor is uncomfortable, you can sit on a chair or bench as long as it does not have a back.

Clasp your hands behind your back and straighten your elbows. Sit up with a tall posture as you pull your arms up and back. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together as you move into the stretch.

Move in and out of the stretch 5 times and then hold for 15-30 seconds.

Take Some Time to Take Care of Your Shoulders, and Your Physical and Mental Health Will Be Better off…

Don’t let tension and stress build up so much in your shoulders that it stops you from doing what you want to do. Whether you are dealing with shoulder problems now or if you want to know how to prevent that from happening, the movements I’ve shared above are a great investment of your time. A few minutes now can save months of trouble later on if you let things go too far.

Shoulders are definitely not the only areas that can stand more of your attention. If you find yourself moving more stiffly than you’d like, have a look at our head-to-toes body maintenance guide and get moving better today!

After a training accident ended his competitive gymnastics career, Ryan moved to Japan and competed in various martial arts until another injury made him reevaluate his priorities in life. As Head Coach at GMB Fitness, his mission is to show everyone that you can define your own fitness as a sustainable and enjoyable part of your life. You can follow him and GMB Fitness on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing this awesome routine today. I highly recommend his head-to-toes body maintenance guide for overall mobility and fitness. Do you have questions or comments regarding shoulder mobility or other related issues? Share them on the comment board below. Thanks for reading, everyone.

The post How to Take the Weight of the World off Your Shoulders (One Move at a Time) appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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The abundance of produce summer brings is something that’s celebrated all season long. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been eating as much corn, tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini as you possibly can these past couple of months. So as summer winds down, look to this collection of recipes to ensure you continue to get your fill until our attention shifts to fall.

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Today is the best Tuesday we’ve had in a while, for one specific reason: The MoMa Design Store announced Hay Kitchen Market. What’s Hay Kitchen Market? Oh, just the cutest collection of plates, glasses, and kitchen tools that we’ve ever seen.

You see, Hay is a Danish brand that hit the States a few years ago and, while the company has had kitchen stuff in the past (think: pepper grinders, tea towels, trivets, and more), the new line more than doubles the cooking- and dining-related offerings.

The stuff will be online at the MoMa Design Store soon, but in the meantime, here’s a peak at what we saw this morning.

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(Image credit: Coco Lapine Design)

Taking out the garbage is such a pain in the butt. If you do it before the bag is totally full, it feels like a waste, but if you wait until you’ve packed it down a few times and it’s full to the brim, it’s an even harder job. For one, it’s stinky. Also, it’s heavy! And then there’s this pesky thing called suction, which sucks the bag into the can and requires superhuman strength to slowly yank it out.

Dan Marshall, author of Tidy Hacks: Handy Hints to Make Life Easier, had this problem. And now he has a solution, which he features in the book.

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Hey, everybody. There’s a regular post coming this morning, but I wanted to remind everyone about the Interpreting Your Genetics Summit. I’ve talked about various genetic tests on the blog before and the ways I’ve used them to understand my own health. That said, this field is exploding these days, and I’m excited to hear from the 31 experts offering the latest in genetic/genomic information.

The Interpreting Your Genetics Summit is online and free from August 21-28. You’ll learn:

• Your predisposition for diseases and how to minimize manifestation.
• Genetic health traits your children are likely to inherit.
• Whether your medications and supplements are right for you.
• How to unlock previously unsolved health challenges.

This event is totally free to anyone who signs up. You can listen live or catch the talks later the same day, since each day is available for the full 24-hour period.

Just so you know, today’s talks include Genetics and Autoimmune Diseases, Understanding Methylation, and Epigenetic Mastery for Everyone among others.

Whether you’ve taken a genetic test or plan to, these experts will teach you the best practices for using this information to alter your lifestyle, guide treatment and create better health! Your genes can unlock a new era of personalized medicine that will help you evolve into a healthier, happier life. Register for FREE now!

Would you rather purchase the talks and watch on your own time? The organizers of the event have extended the pre-event price of $59 for full online access to all talks. They’ll be yours to own and enjoy whenever you want. But hurry, because this pre-event price ends today and will go up to $79! And, yup, I’m happy to disclose that I’m an affiliate and receive compensation from the event, but what I love about these summits is the chance for anyone to take advantage—for free. Don’t miss out!

More to come this morning. Catch you soon, everyone.

The post Just a Reminder about the FREE Interpreting Your Genetics Summit appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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A simple roast chicken is just about the easiest, most delicious thing you can make for dinner. All you need is a whole chicken, some butter, fresh herbs, and maybe a lemon. Once you can do that with your eyes closed, it’s time to get creative with the sides. A vegetable-forward slaw will make any dinner feel a little more special, and it couldn’t be quicker to make — especially if you have a food processor. Here are 10 great slaw recipes to get you started.

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