(And How To Fix Them)

Upper ab gripping is one of the most common compensation patterns I see postpartum. When the deeper core muscles (diaphragm, pelvic floor, obliques, and transverse abdominis) aren’t coordinating efficiently, the upper abs take over to create stability. This bracing strategy can make the upper abdominal wall look flat or tight while the lower abdomen appears more relaxed or protruded — what many describe as a persistent “lower belly pooch.”

The issue isn’t just a lack of strength — it’s a lack of balance. When the upper abs dominate, the system loses access to normal pressure regulation. Instead of breath expanding evenly into the ribs, back, and pelvic floor, pressure gets pushed forward and downward. Over time, this can contribute to:

• Ribs that stay lifted or flared
• Limited mobility through the upper and lower rib cage
• Pelvic floor tension or weakness
• Difficulty generating full-body stability under load

The good news? This pattern is trainable. By improving how you breathe, move through your ribs, connect your ribs and pelvis, and manage load, you can retrain your core to stabilise from the inside out — with strength that’s both functional and integrated.

Breath Resets

Upper ab gripping often begins with altered breathing mechanics most commonly shallow, chest-driven breaths that lift the ribs upward rather than expanding them outward and back. This limits how pressure moves through the torso. When the breath can’t expand 360°, the body loses its ability to regulate pressure evenly, and the upper abs tighten to create a sense of control.

Breath resets are about restoring that full, three dimensional expansion. The goalis to retrain how the rib cage, diaphragm, and pelvic floor move together. When breath fills the back and sides of the rib cage — not just the chest or belly — pressure distributes evenly through the system. This helps:

• Reduce overactivity in the upper abs and neck muscles
• Encourage the diaphragm and pelvic floor to move in sync
• Create a foundation of stability that doesn’t rely on gripping

Think of it as teaching your body to stabilise through pressure control. Once this baseline coordination is restored, every movement that follows (from core work to heavy lifts) becomes more efficient and supported.

Hands & Knees Breathing with Band Feedback
In this position, the elbows press into the floor while the hips stay stacked over the knees. As you inhale, the goal is to expand the ribcage into the sides and back. This drill teaches you to reduce chest-driven breath and instead promote true diaphragmatic expansion. The result is better rib mobility, improved posterior expansion of the diaphragm, and a pelvic floor that can lengthen on inhale.

Child’s Pose One-Sided Rib Smash with Reach off Rack
This variation of child’s pose places one hand against a rack or wall to bias expansion into one side of the ribcage. As you breathe, the stretch creates space for the ribs to expand posteriorly and laterally. It’s especially effective if you feel “stuck” through one side of the ribcage or if breathing feels tight in your upper abs. Over time, this improves asymmetries in rib mobility and reduces the need for gripping as a stability strategy. Adding a block or ball underneath one side of the rib cage can also further improve expansion both to the side and back by restricting forward movement.

Side-Lying 90/90 with Forward Reach
Lying on your side with knees and hips in a 90/90 set up (in some what of a support side plank) and ribs stacked, you reacg the top arm forward as you breathe into your back. The forward reach engages the serratus muscles, which help pull the ribs back into alignment. This position encourages expansion into the posterior ribs and prevents the chest from dominating the breath. For postpartum women, this drill is key in rebuilding rib mobility while re-integrating serratus and oblique function into the core system.

Rib & Thoracic Mobility

When the rib cage or thoracic spine lacks mobility, especially the ability to expand laterally and rotate, the body loses one of its key options for managing pressure. Without that movement, the system can’t easily adapt to changes in load or posture. To compensate, the upper abs can take over, gripping to create the stability that should come from dynamic rib and spinal motion.

Restoring rib and thoracic mobility helps bring back that adaptability. It allows breath to expand through all directions of the rib cage (sides, back, and front) rather than staying compressed in the upper chest or neck muscles. As rotation and expansion improve, the diaphragm, obliques, and lats can once again share the work of stabilising the trunk.

This balance between mobility and control creates a more responsive system where:

• The upper abs no longer need to grip for support
• The obliques can help guide rotation and maintain rib–pelvis alignment
• Breathing and movement become more fluid and efficient

In short: when the ribs and thoracic spine move well, the core can stabilise effectively.

90/90 Arm Bar with Rotation
In this drill, you lie on your side with your knees in 90/90 on top of each other and press a kettlebell toward the ceiling. The key here is to start with it stacked over your shoulder. As you rotate open, the arm stays straight and thoracic spine moves into rotation while the ribs resist flaring forward. The weight overhead forces you to stabilize through the ribcage while accessing mobility. This creates both strength and control.

Side Plank Rotation with Block
Here, the bottom elbow supports you in a side plank while the top arm rotates with a block or weight isometrically contracting the adductors. The lateral core is engaged, but the emphasis is on controlled rib rotation while under a brace. This integrates obliques, serratus, and thoracic rotation in one move. The benefit: your ribs move freely and your core learns to stabilize without collapsing into gripping strategies.

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Anti-Extension / Rib–Pelvis Connection

The relationship between your ribs and pelvis is at the centre of efficient core function. When these two are stacked, your deep core and pelvic floor can manage pressure and load automatically. But when they drift out of alignment. For example, ribs lifted and pelvis tipped forward, the system loses that connection.

In this position, the diaphragm and pelvic floor can’t move in sync, and the body compensates by recruiting the upper abs. Over time, this creates a constant sense of tightness through the upper abdominal wall and reinforces the gripping pattern you’re trying to correct.

Retraining this connection starts with awareness. Learning how to exhale to bring the ribs and pelvis back into alignment (often called a stack) helps restore the pathway for pressure to move evenly through the trunk. Once this foundation is established, strengthening through that alignment teaches the system to hold position under load without defaulting to bracing.

When the rib–pelvis relationship is coordinated, you’ll notice:

• Easier access to both inhalation and exhalation
• Reduced tension through the upper abs and lower back
• More balanced engagement from the obliques, lats, and pelvic floor

90/90 Hip Lift with 1 Arm Pulldown
With feet on the wall or on a bench in the 90/90 position, heels dragging down, the hamstrings are engaged to bring the pelvis into neutral. Pull a cable down helps pulls the ribs down. This reinforces the relationship between the ribs and pelvis, teaching the core to stabilize as well as control rib movement with the overhead reach. It’s one of the most effective resets for rebuilding a true stacked position.

Deadbug with Wall Push
In this variation, the arms press into the wall while the legs move through controlled extension. The wall push engages the anterior core, helping prevent lumbar extension and rib flare. Meanwhile, the deep system learns to stabilize dynamically as the legs move. This trains the body to resist the exact pattern that drives gripping — ribs forward and pelvis tipped. Added a band to hit more hip flexor, too.

90/90 Leg Lowers with Iso Pulldown
Lying on your back, you hold a band anchored behind you in an isometric pulldown while lowering the legs. The band engages the lats and core, preventing the ribs from popping, while the moving legs challenge pelvic stability. Adding a gentle adductor squeeze can help recruit more lower abdominals, too. This exercise ties the entire rib–pelvis connection together and forces the deep system to activate instead of relying on the upper abs.

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 Integrated / Loaded Strategies

Even when breathing and alignment improve, upper ab gripping can return once external load is added — especially if the body hasn’t yet learned how to stabilise dynamically. During lifting, pushing, or even core exercises, many people instinctively brace through the upper abs or suck in their belly button to “hold” their position. Another thing I often see if releasing the brace forward with every rep vs learning to breathe into the brace. While this can feel strong, it often bypasses the deeper support system and reinforces the very tension pattern you’re trying to change.

Start with lighter resistance and focus on maintaining your rib–pelvis connection and breath control under tension. As the movement gets harder, notice where you feel the work: are you pushing your breath forward, or are you maintaining expansion through the ribs and back?

Training load strategy is about teaching your system to share the work. The diaphragm, pelvic floor, obliques, and deep core should all contribute to stability, while the upper abs respond — not lead. When this coordination is in place, you’ll find you can lift heavier, move more efficiently, and feel stronger through your entire trunk rather than tight through the top of your abs.

Short Seated Pulldown with Reach
Sitting tall with knees close to your body, you pull a band or cable down while reaching with the opposite arm. The combination of lat activation, thoracic mobility and rib stacking under load teaches the body how to manage pressure with the deep system instead of defaulting to upper ab tension. This drill directly translates to pressing, pulling, and overhead lifting patterns.

Half Kneeling Cable Chop
In a half-kneeling stance, the arms pull a cable across the body in a diagonal pattern. This integrates rotation with rib stacking and pelvic control. Because the load moves diagonally, it forces the obliques, ribs, and pelvis to stay connected rather than collapsing into extension. This is the final step in training — applying the mechanics of breath and rib control under dynamic, functional load.

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Final Thoughts

Upper ab gripping is a sign that the system isn’t coordinating effectively. Instead of piling on more ab exercises, the fix is retraining breath, rib mobility, rib–pelvis alignment, and load strategy: a full body approach.

By practicing these drills, you free the ribs, restore 360 breathing, and teach your core to stabilize as a unit. The result? A stronger, more connected system where the pelvic floor, core, and breath all work together.

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