I hurt my back while exercising recently. I was in the middle of a deadlift and then I felt a pain in my lower back. For someone who exercises frequently and loves deadlifts, it seems strange but it happened. I can’t explain how, but I didn’t focus on form and therefore hurt my back. It’s so easy to get comfortable doing something and in the process forget about form. I was lifting heavy and should really have been paying attention to this.

With exercises like deadlift, the core is super important. I still have a 1.5 finger wide diastasis recti gap and so my core is still not super strong. I have worked on closing the gap over the years and I was able to get it down from 6 fingers. That for me is a great achievement, but it’s not enough. I will keep pushing till it closes even more. Some say only surgery can do the rest, and I must confess that I sometimes think about the surgery option (it’s not easy walking around with a mummy tummy). Surgery isn’t on the table now, so I will keep working on building my core.

I typically mix my exercises, still avoiding exercises like sit ups, mountain climbers, regular planks or push ups and burpees. I simply modify exercises that stress my core. On ab day, I either do standing ab exercises, modify or avoid some floor exercises or stick to diastasis recti exercises. I enjoy variety, it keeps things interesting as exercise is supposed to enjoyed.

Hurting my back reminded me that I need to focus on form when doing all exercises, especially those that involve weight lifting. In order to ease off things, exercise routines last week were about stretching and sculpting – a mix of barre and yoga.

Diastasis recti and form go hand in hand and I’ve been reminded to focus on this. If you are also affected by diastasis recti, I encourage you to choose form over everything. Leave the exercises that strain your core for when your core is stronger. Diet and form are the key to closing the gap. I’m here to help if you need someone to guide you on your DR closure journey. Simply comment or send me an email. I’m here to help.