We pride ourselves on being a very modest and family-friendly workout site here at Fit2B Studio. After all, we want to encourage women, not intimidate them. You will never see breasts or bum-crack hanging out of our clothes, but sometimes we do need to devote some time to discussing those body parts. The pectoral muscles run underneath the fatty tissue and mammary glands of the breasts. Exercising your “pecs” can shift the landscape of your chest area. Lifting weights is a prime example of one way to build your chest and burn some fat stored in that area. Breast tissue also becomes firmer when stimulated by sensory and autonomic nerve fibers. For example, the areola tightens when breastfeeding or chilled by cold. Much has been written about how to strengthen the breast area — both from musculoskeletal and autonomic/automatic standpoints — and I suppose, like most things, the discussion boils down to a “use it or lose it” mantra. The thing is, the way I used my breasts while feeding my kids isn’t the way I “use” them now. Breasts are awesome, serving a wide variety of roles — functional, provisional, and pleasureful. We have to talk about how we keep this area active and healthy for life.

3 Great Chest Exercises

Declined Bench Press — Like the typical bench press where a person lays down on a bench under a bar and proceeds to press that bar (with or without additional weight loaded onto it) up and down, except the head is declined lower than the body. To be more precise, I was taught that a 10% decline recruited 30% more muscle fibers when I was getting my degree in Exercise & Sport Science. If you have diastasis recti, I recommend an incline bench press which is an easier transition. If you have a cooperative infant or toddler, you can also lay on your back and press them up and down — great fun!

Planks & Pushups — You don’t need weights to work your chest. Your body weight will suffice. Again, though, if you have a diastasis ab gap in your belly, you may need to find a different way to work your chest for a while. One simple strategy is elevating your pushup or plank to a wall. Pressing away from a higher surface will work your pectorals while reducing some pressure on your linea alba. If you want to learn how to plank safely and correctly with proper progression, watch this FREE video here. Bands — Okay, I’m being lazy. I don’t want to write it all out. I have filmed over 200 workout videos with all of this, and what you need to know — now that I’ve just told you how awesome 2 exercises are that you can’t do if you have diastasis — is that a stretchy exercise band is such a great tool for working the chest in standing positions that won’t pressure your belly as much. Some of the titles we have filmed that use elastic exercise bands for resistance while working the chest include:

• Bands & Balance
• Circuit Workout
• Kelly’s Big Band Workout
• Big {Little} Band Workout
• Beth’s Big Band Routine {coming soon!}
• Big {Longer} Circle Band Workout

Hmm, I need to get more creative with my band workout names, but I do love me some big band music. Don’t you? One of them does contain a fun background mix along those lines 😉 I have some other things I’d like to bring up concerning exercising and breasts. Again, books have been written, and this blog can only scratch the surface. Still, if I can help a few people with this, I’ll be happy!

Bras & Exercise

Do bras truly support, strengthen, or weaken our breast tissue? In a podcast she titled “The Boob Show,” Katy Bowman makes several good points that left my wheels turning. You should listen to it, because she discusses all the muscles in and around the breasts, how breasts are attached to us, how those attachments can be tested and tried, and she had some interesting theories on over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders. She didn’t make me want to burn my bras, but I now feel free to wear them less when I don’t truly need them. No matter what, when you do choose to wear a bra, it better be a GOOD bra. I believe bad bras can affect your core fitness. If yours doesn’t fit you very well, it may be causing more trouble than it’s worth. Your bouncing breasts shouldn’t be stopping you from exercising. Please read our full article and watch the FREE video here about proper bra fitting.

Hydration & Breasts

Hydration is also quite crucial to breast health. You lose a lot of water through the steam of your breathing and the sweat from your pores. Since the breasts do not have the structure of bones and muscle to keep them in place, it is their fatty tissue and fluid — water or milk — that maintains their shape. Letting yourself get dehydrated before over-hydrating can stress that area and lead to connective tissue issues and stretch marks.

Breastfeeding & Exercise

Ladies, if you are pregnant or nursing, you may require the use of two sports bras to adequately support “the girls.” While lactating, the milk ducts are especially sensitive to bouncing and jarring. You may notice a decrease in supply if you do a strenuous, high-impact workout that involves jogging or jumping and you neglect to provide your breasts and belly with the right supportive gear. Guys wear jock straps for a reason; gals wear sports bras for a reason. It’s pretty much the same reason: protection. Moms who are nursing a child need to consciously replace any lost fluid if they expect to maintain healthy amounts of milk. In fact, lactating women need MORE than the minimum 64 oz of water per day, because they aren’t just hydrating for one, they are hydrating for TWO!!! So drink water before, during, and after your workout.

Bethany’s Breast Milk Beer Bread:

Mamas, if you have noticed a decrease in milk supply, here is my own personal “Breast Milk Beer Bread” recipe that I concocted for myself when I was struggling as a young mother. I shared it with my lactation consultant, and she shared it with others because it worked! Please don’t be too concerned about the alcohol in the beer, because the alcohol is burned off in the baking process. Beer hops are known to increase milk production and put more fat in a mother’s milk, but the focus is really on the spices which are all galactagogues.

One 12-oz bottle/can of beer 2-3/4 cup self-rising flour 1 Tbsp fennel seed 1 Tbsp anise seed 1 Tbsp cumin seed 1 Tbsp dill, dried 1 Tbsp caraway seed 1 tsp ground coriander

Mix the dry ingredients: flour and spices. Make a hollow in the middle, and pour the beer slowly into the center. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. The yeast in the beer will instantly “puff” the dough. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Eat as much as you want with lots of butter or Smart Balance within 24 hours, Mamas! And look out 😉