Protecting Your Abs When You’re Coughing & Sneezing

A few weeks ago I jumped on a trampoline for the first time in a long while, and right after I came down with a colossal 3-day head cold. HooWee! Let me tell you! Even though I’m certain that I’ve laid a good foundation in my core and pelvic floor (PF) with great exercises like walking, proper kegels, mula bandha, plus lots of hamstring and calf stretches (yes those things all help our lady bits to be stronger and more supple) and even though I’m proud to report that I didn’t experience any leaking after bouncing around like a crazy woman, I still didn’t take my core for granted in the face of multiple stressors.

A stressor is anything that puts extra force or pressure on something else. Even strong muscles get tired when they face back-to-back stressors, and when muscles get tired and don’t have time to rest and rebuild, more fatigue happens, and too much fatigue can lead to “failure.” Coughing up a lung for 3 days straight is a stressor. Nose blowing, sneezing, sit jumps, flips, running around in circles… those are ALL stressors to your core.Coughing and Your Abs By the way, have you seen my recipe for making homemade elderberry syrup? I swear it prevents and shortens colds and coughs in our house big time! Okay, now back to your core…

Stressors can make you stronger, or they can weaken you further. It depends on how you face them, prepare for them, and recover from them. Hold on, some of you may be wondering why I would even be worried. After all, I’m so buff and perfect in all my ways, right? Ha! Not! I’m on this journey with you, my friend! And head colds and trampolining are not in my usual repertoire of activities. I hadn’t jumped on a trampoline in years! Nor had I experienced an awful sick bug in over a year! Any relatively new stressor – particularly such a high impact and massively repetitive stimulus (like sneezing) that differs from my typical training methods – would be read as a “new move” by my body.

We must always be aware of new stimuli after there has been an injury to any area in our body, even if that injury has healed. I’ve had diastasis recti and an episiotomy and a 3rd degree tear. I’ve done rehab with The Tummy Team to fix all that, and I’m not eager to undo my hard work and investment by throwing caution to the wind. So therefore, knowing I could be facing a potential “fatigue to failure” situation, I didn’t just sit back and wait for my deepest core muscles to do their job and assume some type of muscle failure wouldn’t happen.

I nourished my nether region. I babied my belly. I protected my pelvic floor. I aligned my a– ALRIGHT enough with the alliterations! Let me spell it out for you… Preventing an epic fail and further damage such as prolapse or a widened diastasis recti is all about planning ahead and preparing your muscles to work right in the first place.

Here's one thing you can do to protect your abs and private parts when you feel a cough or sneeze coming, or when you’re about to go jumping or running?

Get into good alignment: When we’re sick or just not ready for a certain physical activity, we tend to begin with poor form. However, sneezing and jumping are both very strenuous activities. The more aligned you are, the better your muscles will be positioned to function with optimal strength. Whether you’re standing or sitting, getting ready to blow your nose or leap into the air, line your body up: ears over shoulders over ribs over hips over knees over ankles. Then have at it!