4 Tips to Find a Stacked Body Position While Strength Training
A stacked body position is key to heal your core and pelvic floor.
First up, what is a stacked body position?
A stacked position looks like ribs over pelvis, diaphragm over the pelvic floor, and overall a more “neutral” posture.
Many mamas will notice a shift in their standing posture during pregnancy, which often persists postpartum. I generally find the posture takes on one of two shapes:
Swayback: pelvis tucks under and shifts forward. You’ll see the ribcage (thorax) pushed behind the pelvis, often accompanied with a dropped chest.
Anterior tilt: an exaggerated curve in the low back with the pelvis tipped forward and a rib flare.
While there is no need to become hyper-focused on your posture all day, bringing awareness to where you are in space can be incredibly helpful. The goal shouldn’t be striving for a “perfect” posture, but rather more variability in our movement patterns. Our “best” posture is our next posture and being able to move freely and with ease.
Why a “stacked” body position?
One of the most important parts of returning to exercise postpartum is learning how to manage intra-abdominal pressure and finding a stacked body position (ribs over pelvis), particularly under load (lifting weight).
Your core system is a pressure system. You can think of it as a canister with a top (diaphragm), bottom (pelvic floor), front (deep abdominals), and back (back muscles/multifidus).
The goal of a “stack” is to allow the diaphragm and pelvic floor to sit in an optimal position. This then allows the diaphragm and pelvic floor to function as a team and better manage pressure inside our abdomen (intra-abdominal pressure or IAP).
When we are in one of the two postural positions mentioned above, it can be difficult to optimize the communication between the two diaphragms (diaphragm + pelvic floor) and we will have to work much harder to stand upright against gravity and breathe with ease.
How can we train a stacked body position in our strength work?
Tip 1: Master the breath and exhale
I know we talk about breathing a lot, but that’s because it is SO important. One of the very first things I work with postpartum moms on is breathing.
Front to back expansion and building a more 360 degree breathing pattern.
Understanding what belly breathing is vs diaphragmatic breathing
Connect with the pelvic floor and understand it’s role in pressure management as part of the deep core system. Can you inhale ALL the way down and exhale from the bottom up?
Since moms are often in an extended posture, one thing we can work on is exhaling the lower ribs down and back in space, but without the chest dumping forward and clenching the glutes.
A few tips:
I like to envision the shoulder blades spreading wide on the floor below me, with the sternum lifted.
Elevate the neck/head on a towel or small pillow. This will allow the neck muscles to chill
Elevate the feet on a foam pad: this helps bring you into a passive posterior tilt so you’re not fighting so hard from down below
Place a band underneath your bra line area for feedback. As you inhale, feel gentle pressing into the band, which would indicate some posterior expansion. Watch that as you inhale you do not pull away from the band with your back.
Tip 2: Pelvis movement
Can you move the pelvic forward and back (anterior to posterior) while keeping the glutes relaxed? This is why pelvic tilt exercises can be so helpful. Not only to build awareness around “neutral,” but find movement at the pelvis without flaring the ribs. Extra bonus: usually frees up the sacrum a bit too.
This is one of the BIG things I work with moms on to help master a hinge.
1. Set up in an all fours position. Here we want to avoid being overly arched / extended or overly tucked at the pelvis. This is what may happen in a hinge that gets us in trouble. We want to find a position where the sit bones can spread.
2. Pull with balls of the feet “dragging” up the wall for hamstrings and tension on the backside. No glute clenching or overtucking! Sit bones stay nice and open. Push through your hands and keep your gaze forward to avoid dropping your chest.
3. Hold that position for 3-5 FULL inhales and exhales.
Inhale: imagine pushing pressure into your posterior pelvic floor. Breathe into your butth@le.
Exhale: lift - feeling more of a contraction on the front side of the pelvic floor. A great position to connect with your deep abdominals.
Tip 3: Constraints / props to your strength training
One of the great ways I love to help moms find a stacked body position within strength training is via constraints and props. The goal is to position our bodies in a better position to facilitate muscles that may be hard to sense and get our diaphragms in a better position to coordinate together!
1. Play with set up near a wall: this can be helpful for a vertical up and down movement like a lunge. There to build some awareness for where we are in space. It’s also a fun way to creep out your kids. I love integrating the wall for single leg hinges, split squats, and when in an all fours position/bear (as noted above).
2. Hold a dumbbell out front: This works great for more vertical movements, like split squats and squats. If I hold this weight, this helps shift my body back in space, and naturally my abdominals will come up. I love to cue an exhale at the top to set the position, then inhale down into my squat. You can also use wedges here to maintain a more upright position.
- Using a TRX or Zercher hold with band can also be helpful if you do not want to add load. They are still spicey!
3. Train it as an isometric: Mastering a stack with isometric exercises is an important part in progressing the pelvic floor to more dynamic activities too. Learn to relax the pelvic floor on your inhale and exhale from the bottom up to initiate a contraction while holding the position.
4. Add a foam roller: great for helping you sense where you are in space and added stability. The foam roller can also be great to “push down” into to fire up the abdominals / help ground you.
Check out the Instagram post here.
Tip 4: Continue building awareness for your body in space/add references
1. Play with pelvis position: go back and forth, arching into a slight anterior tilt, then posterior tilt. Try to find your middle ground. I love to set up near a wall here to use the hamstrings to help me rock forward and back. Remember, this isn’t a cat cow :) Early postpartum, pelvis tilts are a great way to drive awareness around pelvis position. Small movement, but a super important building block. My early postpartum guide dives into this too ;)
2. Use a band or dumbbell overhead: I love using this for core work, particularly deadbug variations. Reaching up in an effort to bring the ribcage back towards the floor below. Keep the sternum lifted - watch for crunching down with the chest.
3. Add a soft knee bend: this is one of the biggest things you can remember in your strength training. Mamas have a tendency to hyperextend/lock out at the knees. Remember to keep them soft. This applies for upper body movements like a push up too!
There is so much we can do to build awareness around a stacked body position. Ultimately, our goal is breathe better, move with ease, and minimize pressure leaks in the system (e.g. leaking, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Diastasis). There are so many cues and props we can add to the mix around breathing, foot pressure, and more to explore movement.
Curious to implement these strategies in your own postpartum strength program? I’d love to chat!
Feel good mama!
xoxo,
Erica