Ab Workout Video for Pelvic Floor Safe Core Strength | Intermediate & Advanced

This ab workout video guides you through pelvic floor safe abdominal core exercises that tone your tummy and waist.

Physiotherapist Michelle guides you through this ab workout that helps you safely progress beginners to more advanced abdominal exercises.

These ab workout exercises help you strengthen your core abdominal muscles while minimizing the risk of pelvic floor strain and injury.

Ab Workout Video Suitability

This ab workout video is suitable for:

• Women with prolapse or after hysterectomy recovery
• Men after prostate surgery recovery
• Progressing from beginners abdominal core exercises
• Intermediate and advanced core abdominal strengthening

This ab workout video is NOT suitable for beginners or women with pelvic floor problems who have not completed pelvic floor training.

Read on below video for:

• Benefits of core ab workout exercises
• Ab workout exercises video content
• How to progress your ab workout at home
• Core ab workouts and Kegel exercises

Strength and Core Workout at Home

With Physiotherapist Michelle Kenway

Benefits of Core Ab Workout Exercises

There are numerous benefits to be gained from doing regular core ab workout exercises. Strengthening and toning the deep abdominal core muscles that surround your trunk can:

• Tone and flatten your tummy
• Trim and firm your waist
• Improve standing and sitting posture¹
• Strengthen spinal and pelvic control²

 

Ab Workout Exercises Video Content

1. Core Ab Muscles Warm Up Exercises

Deep core abdominal muscle activation exercise

• Start lying down flat on your back with both knees bent and feet flat on the supporting surface
• Gently engage your deep abdominal muscles
• Slowly raise and then lower one foot off the ground maintaining your abdominal contraction
• Lower your foot back to the ground and relax your abdominal muscles
• Repeat this exercise with the other leg

Gluteal activation exercise (buttocks)

• Start lying down flat on your back with both knees bent and feet flat on the supporting surface
• Press down though your heels to activate your buttock muscles
• Slowly raise your buttocks away from the mat
• Raise one foot off the ground while elevated
• Lower the foot back to the mat
• Slowly lower your buttocks back down to the mat and relax
• Repeat this exercise with the other leg

2. Side Plank Core Strength Ab Exercises 

Side plank core strength and waist trimming exercise

• Start lying on one side with both knees bent
• Position your elbow directly below your shoulder
• Raise your body into the modified side plank position supporting your bodyweight through your knee
• Engage your shoulder blade muscles by raising your chest forwards
• Maintain this side raised position breathing normally
• Slowly lower your body back to the ground

Advanced Side Plank Progression Exercises

Progress side plank for a more advanced ab workout by:

• Raising the uppermost knee away from the weightbearing knee
• Weight bearing through both feet 
• Reaching through the underside waist to rotate the trunk in the raised position (thread the needle abdominal core exercise)

 3. Prone Plank Core Abdominal Exercise

• Start lying prone on the mat
• Position your elbows directly below your shoulders to raise your upper body
• Raise your belly off the mat by weight bearing through your knees and forearms
• Breathe normally and avoid over tensing your abdominal muscles
• Keep your hips raised and avoid sagging through the hips
• Lower your body back to the mat

Advanced Prone Plank Progression Exercises

• Reach alternate arms forwards whilst in the modified kneeling plank position
• Raising alternate legs whilst in the modified kneeling plank position
• Weight bearing through the balls of the feet and the forearms
• Raised plank position weight bearing through the hands and the feet

How to Progress your Ab Workout at Home

Progressing your ab workout increases the challenge to the core abdominal muscles making them stronger and improving abdominal endurance.

Progress your ab workout by:

• Increasing the number of abdominal exercises you perform
• Progressing the intensity of your abdominal exercises with the intermediate and advanced exercises demonstrated in this ab workout video

Core Ab Workouts and Kegel Exercises

When progressing your core ab workout, please ensure that you are also progressing your pelvic floor training with regular daily Kegel exercises, especially if you are at increased risk of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles should work together in a controlled and coordinated manner³. Overtraining the abdominal muscles can cause muscle imbalance⁴ and potentially overload the pelvic floor making pelvic floor problems worse.

References

1. Sapsford, R. & Hodges, P. (2001) Contraction of the pelvic floor muscles during abdominal maneuvers, Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation,Vol 82, (8), 1081-1088.

2. Standaert C. et.al. (2008) Evidence-informed management of chronic low back pain with lumbar stabilisation exercises. Spine J. 2008;8:114–120.

3. Suresh, R. and Einstein, J. (2015) Effects of Core Stabilization Program & Conventional Exercises in the Management of Patients with Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain. International Journal of Physiotherapy, VOL 2, ISSUE 2.

4. Vesentini, G. et al (2019). Pelvic floor and abdominal muscle cocontraction in women with and without pelvic floor dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 74, e1319.