#91: You Don’t Need More Crunches. You Need More Stability.
“You can’t strengthen dysfunction. First, you must restore function.”
After a C-section, many mums are told to "take it slow," "do Pilates," or "build your core back with gentle movement."
The intention is good, but the advice is incomplete.
Despite faithfully following the standard postnatal recovery path — stretching, breathing drills, Kegels, Pilates — many mums are still left feeling unstable, tight, or weak. Not to mention tired. As someone who went through it all and still felt "off," I started asking deeper questions.
What I learned through Paul Chek's model and deeper study of neuromuscular rehab changed everything. Let me walk you through it, because mums deserve better than vague reassurance and generic advice.
What Crunches and Planks Miss Entirely
Crunches target the rectus abdominis (RA) — the "six-pack" muscle. Planks, when not properly coached, often engage global muscles like the obliques and RA, but bypass the deep stabilisers.
Neither of these address the inner unit: the transverse abdominis (TVA), pelvic floor, multifidus, and diaphragm. These muscles don't just create movement. They orchestrate stability, controlling intra-abdominal pressure and the dynamic interplay between spine, pelvis, and breath.
After a C-section, this system is deeply compromised. Not just cut and sewn, but neurologically disrupted. The brain loses efficient signalling to these stabilisers, especially the TVA and pelvic floor, which rely on subtle, reflexive activation. Scar tissue, fascial restriction, pain, and trauma alter this reflex loop. You cannot plank your way back to integration.
Yet nearly all postnatal programmes skip to strength and endurance — not stability. Even "deep core" exercises often don't rebuild the sequencing and timing required to re-establish functional spinal control.
Why the Standard Postnatal Progression Falls Short
Most postnatal frameworks (including NHS leaflets and many Pilates-based courses) loosely follow a mobility → core activation → strength model. That seems logical, but there's a critical missing layer: neuromuscular re-coordination.
Let me illustrate:
After abdominal surgery, there is a significant delay in deep abdominal muscle activation. Electromyography (EMG) studies show that the TVA, which normally fires before limb movement to stabilise the spine, fails to pre-activate post-surgery. This means the spine and pelvis lack proper support during even basic movements like walking, bending, or lifting your baby.
Add sleep deprivation, hormonal shifts (especially low oestrogen and cortisol dysregulation), and you have a body that’s not just weak — it’s uncoordinated. That’s a recipe for compensation, pain, and energy drain.
Pilates may improve awareness and breath, but without retraining the timing and coordination of stabiliser activation — especially under load or during transitional movements — it's like painting a house with unstable foundations.
What Does Science-Backed Recovery Actually Look Like?
To rebuild a truly functional core after a C-section, we need more than a linear checklist. We need a framework that respects the overlapping nature of recovery layers — and acknowledges that neurological re-coordination must be prioritised from day one.
Paul Chek’s model provides a helpful map: Flexibility → Stability → Strength → Power. But it's not a rigid ladder — it's a fluid, integrated cycle.
In real life, here’s how this looks:
Flexibility: This involves more than stretching. It includes myofascial release, scar tissue mobilisation, and reducing overactivity in dominant muscles like the obliques and hip flexors that may be "bracing" for missing core stability. Softening overused tissues gives the nervous system space to restore more balanced activation.
Neurological Re-Patterning: This is the piece most systems ignore. From the first stages of healing, mums can and should begin retraining the sequence and timing of deep core muscle activation. This includes re-establishing the natural synergy between breath, TVA, pelvic floor, and diaphragm — even before full mobility returns. It’s not about strength; it’s about wiring.
Stability Development: As the nervous system reconnects with the inner unit, we gently increase the demand on this system with more dynamic stability tasks. Think of this as layering control into real movement: leg lifts, rolling, transitional postures — all done with breath-guided activation and precision.
Strength and Power: Only when the nervous system is reliably coordinating the deep core can we safely add resistance, speed, or complexity. This is where traditional fitness training finally fits — not before.
The key is this: your recovery isn’t about ticking off stages. It’s about restoring systems that were disrupted. Flexibility, motor control, and stability must evolve together — starting from the inside out.
Why "Just Move Gently" Can Still Be Harmful
Movement is medicine. But the wrong medicine at the wrong time can backfire.
If the inner unit is not functioning, the outer unit takes over. Glutes, lats, and obliques start to dominate. This creates tension around the pelvis, restricts diaphragm function, and ironically decreases core stability.
It also leads to common symptoms:
Lower back tightness
Pelvic floor dysfunction
Hip pain
Fatigue despite rest
These aren’t just signs of "being unfit." They are signs of poor motor control and compensation. The nervous system is working overtime to stabilise you in the absence of deep core integrity. That’s exhausting.
So What Should You Do Instead?
Start with a precision approach:
Release what’s tight – Begin with daily stretching and self-massage using a foam roller or massage ball. Focus on the areas you already know are holding tension. You don’t need to do everything at once — start small and build gradually.
👉 Download The Ultimate Stretching Guide for Tired Mums — a gentle, effective way to release tension and improve mobility.
Retrain the system – Layer in simple, foundational neuromuscular exercises. This isn’t about doing more — it’s about reconnecting the pathways that support your spine, pelvic floor, and breath.
👉 Download C-Section Core Recovery: Your Gentle Start to Rebuilding Strength — it includes LA1 and LA2, which guide you step-by-step through reactivating your deep core.
Together, these two resources give you the tools to soften, stabilise, and support your healing in a way that feels good — not overwhelming.
You Are Not Broken. You Are Rebuilding.
This isn’t about fixing you. It’s about rebuilding a system that’s been through something major.
The truth is, fitness culture has failed mums. It has taught us to push through, tighten up, and bounce back. But what your body needs is not pressure. It needs precision.
Forget the crunches. Come back to your centre. Rebuild from the inside out.
You're not starting over. You're starting wiser.
You Can Do This — One Step at a Time
If this feels like a lot, know this: you don’t have to overhaul everything today. You already have the most important ingredient — awareness. Now that you understand what's been missing, you can begin to rebuild with clarity and intention.
Healing doesn't demand hours of your day. It asks for consistency, compassion, and a smarter plan. Five minutes of stretching. Two minutes of breath-guided core activation. That’s enough to start shifting patterns and regaining your strength from the inside out.
You don’t need to “bounce back.” You deserve to move forward — stronger, wiser, and deeply supported.
You’ve got this, mum. And I’m here to guide you every step of the way.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Trust your body.
It knows how to heal.
With Love,
Karo