Core Exercises After Having a Baby That Actually Work

The best core exercise isn't always a crunch.

I say this to almost every mum I train. Because we've been sold this idea that core work means lying on your back doing endless sit-ups. But your core doesn't work like that in real life.

When you're carrying a toddler on one hip, lifting a car seat, or bending to pick up toys for the fiftieth time, your core isn't crunching. It's stabilising. It's resisting rotation. It's keeping you upright and in control while everything else is chaotic.

That's where anti-rotation exercises come in.

What Anti-Rotation Training Actually Does

Anti-rotation work challenges your core to resist movement rather than create it. Your obliques work hard to keep your hips stable and your body under control.

It builds the kind of strength that shows up when you're twisting to buckle a child into a car seat, reaching across the kitchen counter, or carrying shopping bags in one hand while holding a small person with the other.

It's functional. It's practical. And it doesn't require you to lie on the floor and crunch.

Why This Matters for Core Exercises After Having a Baby

After pregnancy, your core needs to rebuild. Not just the six-pack muscles everyone talks about, but the deep stabilisers that hold everything together.

I'm a trainer, not a doctor. Get the all-clear from your GP at your postnatal check before you start any core work. Once you have it, anti-rotation exercises are one of the safest and most effective ways to begin.

They don't put pressure on your midline the way crunches do. They don't require you to lie flat on your back. And they teach your body to work as a unit again, which is exactly what postnatal recovery needs.

A Simple Anti-Rotation Move to Try

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold something with a bit of weight in both hands at chest height. A water bottle, a tin of beans, a small dumbbell if you have one.

Extend your arms straight out in front of you. Keep your hips square and your core tight. Slowly move your arms to one side, resisting the pull to rotate your hips or twist your torso. Bring your arms back to centre. Repeat on the other side.

Simple. Controlled. Harder than it looks.

Your obliques will feel it. Your deep core will switch on. And you'll start to notice the carry-over into everyday movement within a week or two.

Fitting Core Work Into Real Life

The beauty of anti-rotation exercises is that they fit into small windows. You don't need equipment. You don't need a lot of space. You don't need to get down on the floor and hope no one climbs on you.

You can do them while the kettle boils. During nap time. In the kitchen while dinner cooks.

I've done them holding a baby in one arm, using their weight as resistance. I've done them in the hallway while my kids played in the next room. I've done them at 6am before anyone woke up, and at 9pm after everyone finally went to sleep.

They don't need to be perfect. They just need to happen.

What Core Strength Actually Looks Like

Real core strength isn't about how your stomach looks. It's about how your body feels.

It's bending to lift something without bracing yourself first. It's standing for longer without your lower back aching. It's carrying a wriggly toddler without feeling like your middle might give out.

Anti-rotation training builds that kind of strength. The kind that makes daily life easier, not just your next workout.

And if you've had a baby, it's one of the most effective ways to rebuild without rushing, without pressure, and without doing exercises that don't feel right in your body yet.

Where to Start

If you want more core exercises after having a baby that actually work in real life, I run live sessions twice a week. They're short, they're practical, and they're full of women who get it. Or book a free session and we'll figure out what your body needs right now, not what a generic plan says you should be doing.