Having a strong core is *so* important for maintaining a good quality of life as you age. It helps protect your spine, improves balance and stability (one systematic review and meta-analysis found that core training significantly improved older adults’ balance performance), supports pelvic floor health, improves posture and reduces overall risk of injury.

And someone who is keen to spread this message is none other than model and activist Gisele Bündchen, whose approach to building strength and fitness shifted after having her third baby last year.

‘After my last baby, I started these five slow, intentional movements around eight weeks postpartum. No traditional crunches, just gentle, conscious work that helped me reconnect with my core and they have been a game changer for me,’ Gisele, 46, recently wrote on Instagram. ‘I took almost a full year to return to my regular workouts, and I truly believe slowing down made all the difference for me. It helped me rebuild my deeper core and protect my back.’

‘I truly believe slowing down made all the difference for me’

‘I’m not a doctor or physical therapist,’ she adds. ‘This is simply me sharing my personal postpartum experience and what worked for my body. Everyone is different, so please listen to your body and check with your healthcare provider before trying anything new.’

Gisele said that she promised the women in her Pilates class that she’d share the moves online, but then ‘thought other women might benefit too’.

‘I really feel these exercises have been amazing and have helped me get my core strength back after my third pregnancy – I wish I’d known them before because I didn’t do them [with] my other pregnancies, and I feel my core is much stronger now,’ she said.

The exercises

Gisele says she began with sets of 5 reps, before moving on to sets of 10 – and she now does sets of 20. But as she mentioned, make sure you check in with a healthcare professional if you are currently postpartum.

Tip: Think about moving with your breath. ‘Every time I’m exhaling, I think about squeezing everything together,’ says Gisele.

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  • Start on all fours, with your wrists and shoulders aligned and your knees at 90 degrees. Keep your back flat and push your palms into the floor
  • Tuck your toes under, engage your core and inhale
  • As you exhale, come onto your toes so your knees hover a few centimetres above the floor
  • On the inhale breath, bring your knees back down to the floor

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  • Maintain the same ‘bear plank’ position, keeping your knees hovering a few centimetres off the floor and core engaged
  • On the inhale breath, bring your knees inward to lightly tap together before moving them back out to the starting position on the exhale breath. Lower your knees slightly (without touching the floor) in each position

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  • Still in the same bear plank position, engaging your core and keeping your shoulders steady, rotate your hips to one side on the exhale breath and slightly lower your knees towards the floor
  • Inhale as you move your hips back through centre before rotating to the other side on the exhale breath and repeating the movement
  • Keep the movement controlled and avoid letting your chest collapse

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  • Remaining in the bear plank, engage your core and keep your hips as level as possible
  • Keeping the bend in your knees, on the exhale breath move one of your feet out to the side away from your body and lightly tap your toe on the floor before bringing it back to the starting position on the inhale
  • Repeat on the other side

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  • Still in the bear plank, keeping your core engaged, draw one knee forward towards your chest on the exhale breath, lightly tapping your toe on the floor before returning it to the starting position on the inhale
  • Repeat with the other leg

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women's health magazine cover with fitness content about body composition.Headshot of Hannah Bradfield

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis.  She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity.  A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.