In this 10‑minute postpartum core workout, Lindsey Baumgren (Nourish Move Love) guides viewers through a sequence of ten exercises designed to strengthen the deep transverse abdominal muscles, pelvic floor, and surrounding core stabilizers, with a focus on diastasis recti recovery. Using a sponge ball (or a substitute pillow), she demonstrates each movement, providing detailed cues on posture, breathing, navel engagement, and ball placement. The routine includes seated low‑back tilts, supine leg lifts with toe taps, ball squeezes between the knees, side‑plank variations, tabletop hip lifts, modified plank roll‑outs, Superman extensions, and glute bridges. Throughout, she emphasizes slow, controlled motions, progressive intensity adjustments, and safety reminders to consult a healthcare provider before beginning. The video ends with encouragement to repeat challenging exercises, maintain consistency, and listen to one’s body during the postpartum recovery journey.
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Hi, I'm Lindsey Baumgren of Nourish Move Love, and today I have a 10 minute postpartum core strengthening workout for you. I'm going to be using a sponge ball, but if you don't have one, don't worry about it. You can use a throw pillow off your couch or your kid's got some balls at home. Use those. I use them all the time at home. Ok, so we're going to jump in. You're going to perform each exercise. There's 10 total. You have a goal of performing them for 45 to 60 seconds. I'm going to walk you through this entire 10 minutes so you can stay with me, take break as you need them. And because every postpartum journey is different, I have to say that you should check with your doctor or midwife to make sure you're cleared to perform these exercises before you begin. If you're cleared, let's go. All right, we're going to start. You're going to be on your mat for the majority of the workout. So we're going to start sitting here. Legs are bent at 90 degrees. I'm going to take my sponge ball. You have a throw pillow. Whatever you have, you're going to place it behind the small of your back right here. Ok? So it's nice and tight to the low back. You're going to sit back. This is what we call a C shape. Shoulders are slightly forward, navels drawn nice and tight back into the ball right here. From here, it's a small movement. You can hardly even tell I'm doing it. I'm going to push my low back into the ball. So I push my low back. 1, 2, 3, 4. And hold. Now release, 2, 3, 4. You can hardly see this. It's a tiny tilt. Push my low back into the ball. Hold my navel nice and tight to my spine and release. Because we are targeting the deep transverse abdominal muscles. So tuck again. Tuck, two, three, four. Nice. And release, two, three, four. Awesome. You're going to give me one more just like that. Tuck, two, three, four. Push, push, push. We're gonna hold this one. You're gonna hold it for an eight count. Hold for eight. Seven. You're doing awesome. You can keep breathing through this. Make sure that navel's drawn nice and tight. Push as tight as you can into that throw pillow into that ball. You have four, three, two and one. Gently release. Okay, you're gonna take your blue ball out and we're gonna lower our back to the mat as slow as you can. So roll down on an eight count for me. Give me eight. Seven, six. The slower you go, the harder this is. Come on. Four, three, two, and one. You're laying on your back now so you can position yourself as you need to. You can stay right here, lying flat on your back. If you want a challenge, you're going to take the sponge ball, the throw pillow, whatever you have, place it under the small of your back. You're going to arms at your sides. Legs come up to a 90 degree bend. Now, the closer my knees are to my chest, the easier it is. The farther they are, the harder it is. Wrap your abs in nice and tight. Take out the wobbles. Find stillness. Toe taps. Just tap center. Tap center. Pulling your abs in nice and tight. Now you talk about that lower belly pooch. This right here, this is for that lower belly pooch. Tap and tap. So now, like any of these exercises, the first one we did, you can certainly perform those longer. Hold them on your own. It's so good for core recovery, especially postpartum, targeting both your pelvic floor as well as your abdominals. Give me eight more. Eight. Seven. Six. You got it. Five. Five, four. Those abs should be getting nice and fiery now. Two more right here. Tap and tap. You're gonna hold right here. From here, you're gonna give me a leg extension. So leg goes long. Come center. Push it out, pull it in, push out, pull in. Nice work. If you're like, this is child's play. I got this. You're maybe a little farther along on your postpartum journey. Maybe you kick both legs out, hold here, and then bring in both legs. Meet. Woo. That's gonna up the intensity. Yes. You should be feeling this. Meanwhile, my low back is driving into the ball or into the mat the entire time. Give me four more right here. You got it. Come on. Four. Yes, you can. Three. Stay with it. Two and one. Nice work. Replant your feet on the ground. Take that ball out from your back. Place the ball between your knees, squeezing the ball, engaging your pelvic floor as you squeeze the ball. Inhale. Just give me a couple side to side. So you're just going to lower side, center. You're going to get a little bit of abdominal work here. Yes. Side and center. Side again. With all these moves, the slower you go, it tends to be harder. Okay, so this is not a speed game. We're working on core strength. Make sure you're keeping constant tension on the blue ball the entire time, whether it's behind the small of your Back or whether it's between your knees. You got it. Right here. Four more, we go. Four. Awesome job. Three. Bring it back to center in two. Nice. And one. Back to center. Alright, we're gonna roll over. So I'm gonna face you. Now I'm gonna side plank. This ball stays between my knees. Nice and tight. Forearm on the ground. Shoulder is firm, but I'm lifted up away from it. Right here. I'm gonna lift my hips up off the ground. Tap. Down. Lift, squeeze. Yes. There we go. So you tap, lift, squeeze the ball between your legs. Right here. Core. Inner thighs. Inner thighs. Targets. Our pelvic floor. Squeeze. It's like a kegel. Yeah. Up squeeze. Everything gets nice and tight. Tap, lift, squeeze. You got it. Lift, squeeze. Stay with it. Nice. You're doing so good. Squeeze that ball. Yes, you can. Up, squeeze. All right. Right here. Come on. You got four. We're going to the other side in three. Nice work. L. Lift. Squeeze. Nice. Last one. Right there. Up and over. Rotate to the other side. Forearm goes on the ground. Squeezing my ball. Nice and tight. Lift my hips. Squeeze that ball. Tap the hip. Lift, squeeze. Tap, lift, squeeze. So as you progress in your postpartum journey, you can maybe even take this up to your toes. You just progress. As you can see, I try to remind myself, clearly, you look at my stomach. I am not postpartum. I am postpartum. But I am 18, 19 months postpartum. I did not look like this in my first year. Okay. It took me about like 13 months to feel like I do now. So that said, slow and steady, consistently chipping away. I did these exercises for weeks postpartum, and they were so great for the pelvic floor and the core. You got it. Two more right here. Lift, squeeze. Last one. We lift. We squeeze. Awesome job. Okay, now we're gonna go into tabletop position. You're gonna keep that ball between your legs. Finding tabletop. So it's shoulders over wrists. You're gonna tuck your toes under and you're gonna find an elevated tabletop. Yes. Everything should fire up right here. You're gonna squeeze. 2, 3, 4. Release and tap back up. Lift. Squeeze. 2, 3, 4. Drop it down. Lift and elevate. Squeeze. 2, three, four. Nice work, you guys. This one gets really challenging. Yes. You feel your quads turn on. Your abs are turned on. Everything is turned on. Drop it down. That simple lift up to that hover tabletop is so powerful. Nice. Drop it down. Lift, squeeze. Two, three, four. You're going to give me two more just like it lift, squeeze. 2, 3, 4. This last one. Lift. Hold your squeeze. Just squeeze everything as tight as you can. Just hold it here. Hold, hold. Keep breathing. You got it. You're holding for 8, 7, 6. Stay with me. 5, 4. I'm shaking. You should be 2 for 3, 2, and 1. Gently release it down. Yeah, you can take a quick stretch if you need. You're gonna transition the ball from between your legs and take it out onto your forearms. So you can start in a tabletop position right here. Forearms right here. And you're just going to roll out and roll in. So start really small. Roll out, roll in. If you're like, I got this, you're going to move to that modified plank position, which I'm going to show you right here. So I walk my knees away from me a little bit further, and now I roll out. I roll in. It's a tiny roll out, tiny rollout. Feel the wobbles in the ball. Roll in, tiny roll out, roll in. Your core should be so fired up right now. Everything is shaking. Core is engaged, shoulders engaged. I even feel my hamstrings turning on right here. Yes. I hope you do, too. Remember, take this at your pace. Maybe you just decide this becomes too much for you. You take the ball, set it off to the side, and just find a modified plank right here. Holding. Modified plank. Other option, just bring it up to a standard plank in the forearms. All right, Drop it down. One more rollout if you want, and then meet me right here. We're gonna go back to that tabletop position. And actually, nope, we're gonna go right into. We're right into Superman. We're gonna go Superman. Okay. Man, this workout's going fast, you guys, we're running out of time. Take your hands, place them on top of the ball right here. Superman. If you've done Superman before, you're trying to lift your quads up off the mat. Engage your back extensors. So core also consists of our back and our glutes and our hamstrings. So as I lift and squeeze, I push my hands into that sponge ball as hard as I can. Push, push, push for 4. 3, 2. Release. That feels good, right? Lift and squeeze. Squeeze. Push into the ball. Push for 4, 3, 2, and 1. Neck stays in line with the spine the entire time. You're gonna lift and squeeze. Lift and squeeze for 4, 3, 2, and 1. You're gonna choose your intensity. The harder you push into the ball, the harder it is. Lift and squeeze. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Lift for 4, 3, 2, and 1. Awesome job. Give me two more just like it right here. Lift and squeeze. Push, push, push for four. Three, two. Last one. Right here. You're gonna hold it for an eight count. Lift and squeeze for eight. Seven. You're doing so good. Yes, you can. Come on. Five, four. Can you push a little harder for the last three, two, and one? Awesome job. Again, you can sit it up and back. You can take a quick child pose, stretch, and then roll back to your back. And we're gonna do a couple glute bridges to finish this out. Ball goes between my knees, lying flat on my back, heels are planted, legs are bent at 90 degrees. Lift the glutes, squeeze the ball, drop it down. Lift, squeeze, drop. Glutes, hamstrings, core, all part of your pelvic floor. Lift, squeeze the ball lower down. Lift, squeeze. Two more just like it. Lift, squeeze. Last one. Right here. You lift, squeeze. Hold your squeeze. Squeeze for eight. Seven, Six. Hold here. Five, four, three, two. Now hold the squeeze. Hold it as tight as you can. Lift your hips as high as you can. If I told you this was the last eight seconds of this workout, could you squeeze that body just a little harder for eight? Seven. This is it. Six. All you got for five, four, Three, two, and one. Lower down. Roll yourself up. Awesome job, you guys. If you were with me this entire time, nice work. If there's any exercises that felt particularly challenging for you, I encourage you to keep working on those ones. Come back, you can hold them for longer than 30 or 40 or 60 seconds. Keep working at this chip away. You got it, mamas. Keep up the good work.
