I trained abs for 10 mins every day

Here’s how my body changed

I’ve just passed a big milestone: on New Year’s Day 2023 I decided my New Year’s Resolution would be to do 10 minutes of core exercises every day….. And 600 days later, I’m still going!

But, I have a confession: despite being a personal trainer, abs were never really my strong point 😬

I had diastasis recti after having children (a big gap in my tummy muscles) and even though this eventually healed, I was left with a pretty weak core. A fair few years of lugging small children and all their paraphernalia about (!) led to some herniated discs in my lower back which would sometimes result in excruciating bouts sciatica (if you know, you know 🥴).

When I hit perimenopause, my body shape totally changed and I put on weight around my tummy. It was so odd - I didn’t seem to have put on weight anywhere else, but I was suddenly spilling out over the top of my leggings and everything felt tight and uncomfy. However, the extra weight didn’t shift, despite me training super-hard, trying to eating smaller portions and cutting out the “treats”. In fact, if anything the problem was getting worse and I lost a lot of confidence as a result.

Nothing which would previously have made a difference to my body in my 20s and 30s helped. I couldn’t really understand where I’d gone wrong. I resorted to buying a size up in my leggings and wore floaty tops to teach my classes in the hope that no-one noticed, but I just felt rubbish in myself.

When New Year 2023 rolled around, the idea popped into my head to do 10 mins of ab work every day for my New Year’s resolution. I thought it might help my back pain, strengthen my core to help me with teaching my classes and, although as a PT I know it’s not possible to “spot reduce” a specific area, I also hoped that building some more muscle would help my body confidence.

Here’s what I’ve learned from over 600 days of training abs:

👉 You can really see and feel a difference from training abs consistently in 4-6 weeks (it is not an accident that my Perimenopause Reboot course runs for 6 weeks, just saying 😉). You don’t need to train your core every day for years, this is my personal choice, but I am continuing to get stronger and love this feeling - it’s the best.

👉 Weight gain around the tummy in our 40s and beyond is really, really common. It doesn’t mean you’ve done anything “wrong”. There are physiological reasons why this happens when we hit perimenopause and post-menopause, which I’ll cover in more depth in the Reboot, but for now, know it’s not just you!

👉 There are many, many ways to train your core. It is not just sit ups and planks, I have learned many different exercises (which work all of the core muscles (and I enjoy inflicting these on my Online Class Members every week #sorrynotsorry 😂) and I’m still learning! I rotate these regularly so I don’t overwork my muscles and I don’t get bored.

👉 This is absolutely key: having a strong core is worth SO much more than having a flat tummy. I feel far stronger than I did pre-kids nowadays and I don’t get any back pain, even if I do things which used to trigger me previously, like sitting for long periods. I can lift heavier in my strength sessions and my running technique has vastly improved.

👉 There is a saying in the fitness industry you may have heard: “abs are made in the kitchen”, implying that a flat tummy comes from what we eat, rather than how we exercise. I would agree that nutrition plays a huge part here, along with other lifestyle factors which may surprise you, such as how we manage stress. In fact, just doing ab work alone will not give you a flat tummy - it needs a holistic approach (and yep, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, we’ll absolutely be covering this on the Reboot, too!).

👉 Over time, you can make a healthy habit like this one just a part of your life, just like, say, brushing your teeth. I’ve learnt loads about how this process happens and the potential pitfalls, which has made me a better coach when it comes to habit change (and means I can help you with this, too!).

SO - did I get a six pack? Well, yes and no! 10 mins of core per day, plus making holistic changes to my nutrition and lifestyle have made a pretty big difference to my appearance.

More than this, I now feel super strong and comfortable in my own skin. There was a time when I thought my days of wearing a crop top with confidence were behind me, but I’m happy to say this is NOT the case (hurrah!). Like all women, my body shape fluctuates throughout the month with my hormones and even throughout the day depending on what I’ve eaten and how hydrated I am - this is totally normal and it really doesn’t matter as I have confidence from within!

Also, and this is a really important point - to be super-ripped, with a six-pack to rival Peter Andre, I would need to have a very low body fat %, which would not be the best for my health as I head into the menopause years.

Of course, we’ll cover all of this on the Reboot 😉 but there is a very fine balance to be struck at this time of life. Being our fit, strong and healthy best in our 40s and beyond needs to respect our hormones and long term health - I really want to be bounding up those stairs in my 80s!