The Best Pilates Exercises to Tighten Your Mom Bum!
After having a child, sometimes the bum decides to take on a different shape. It’s a sad phenomenon, but we can change that and tighten that mom’s bum. I have put together my favourite exercises that are guaranteed to lift, tighten, and tone your tush. During childbirth, a plethora of things happen and the body naturally changes. And, as mom’s, we get discouraged feeling as if there is no hope. I am here to tell you, there is hope. When I had my child, I had fractured my tailbone and things were just not the same. I was discouraged that I would never get my body back because it hurt so much to just sit on it. Then I realized if I could do some of the exercises I would be strengthening around the injury and that is where the benefits really come in.
Work towards gaining strength and control first.
Maintaining control is the key to success and also the key to a quick workout with real results. If you just get on the floor and do these movements mindlessly you will be wasting your time so I urge you to focus on the details of the exercise instead of “get through” the exercises.
So let’s get started, here are the exercises I did to heal and lift my butt.
Bridge
Put your feet on the floor right under your knees. Arms on the floor with shoulders back and relaxed not forced. Activate your inner thighs and lift your hips. Try to make a long line from your shoulders to your knees. Gently press into your heels. Your targeting glutes, hamstrings and abs. 
Do this 8 times. Then try one leg at a time, alternating after 8 reps each leg.
Elevated Donkey kicks
Place your body in a quadruped position, hands and knees on the floor. Gently lift your hips elevating your knees about 2 Inches off the floor. Once knees are lifted raise your right heel to the sky. Hold the position or pulse the heel 8 times. Then switch legs. This is a whole body exercise. You should feel shoulder girdle, and, pelvic region, quads, glues, and hamstrings.
Do this 8 to 10 times
Side Leg Series
This is just one of the exercises in the side leg series. However, I like this one because it targets the gluteus maximus an area that gets rid of “saddlebags” Either lay down on your side or prop one arm up onto the forearm. Align the body so the spine is long and neutral. The knees are softly bent ant the chest is broad. Lift the top leg hip high to start. Without crashing in the abs, lift the leg 3 to 4 inches higher and back to a hovered position. This emulates a pendulum to keep the knees aligned. 
Do this 10 to 12 times each leg. Up and Down then forward and Backword. Remember, try not to sink in the lower rib cage.
Wall Squats With a Ball
This exercise rocks for many reasons, but the main reason is that it allows you to take the pressure off the body and use the wall to slide down gently into your squat. It is safer on the knees and joints and gets the bum in perfect alignment so you feel it in the hamstrings and glutes instead of quads. Place the ball behind your back and lean against the wall. Align the feet up against the wall and walk out about 2 of your feet lengths away from the wall. Gently lower into a squat trying to get the top of the legs parallel to the floor. This will look like you are sitting in a chair. Here is the difference though, gently press the back into the ball as you come down and keep the spine as long as you can, keep the abs pulled in and bring the sit bones to the baseboard. This will help to feel it quicker.
Do these 5 to 8 times
Thes exercises shouldn’t take you longer than 10 minutes to complete and you can do them while the kids are distracted. Try to do them every day for the first 2 weeks so you get them perfected. Then sprinkle them in with other exercises and wah-lah you’ll have a new bum in no time. These exercises are safe on the joints and super targeted. The strength you will gain is amazing.
Have fun!
Stephanie
