I’ll never forget the day my core vanished overnight.
If you’ve ever been pregnant, you probably know exactly what I mean.
One day you go to bed with a big, firm belly…
The next, it’s like you’ve got an empty potato sack where your torso used to be.
It’s probably the most extreme shift we can experience; going from having core stability to having none.
During pregnancy, even though your abs are stretched, the increased pressure in your abdomen actually gives your spine some support.
But once the baby’s out, that pressure drops. There’s no tension in the front of your abdominal wall.
That wobbly, disconnected feeling is real.
I remember trying to sit up in bed… and being shocked that I couldn’t do it.
Then a few weeks later came the upper back ache, the kind that creeps up behind your neck, along with a brand new little hump 😬. Suddenly, I felt like I’d aged a decade in just a few months.
In that season, it was obvious my core was weak.
It was a full-body, full-blown shift.
But here’s the thing: for most women, in other seasons of life, the signs are way more subtle, and they tend to sneak up slowly over time.
So what are the signs of a weak core?
I asked this exact question on Instagram this week, and here’s what women told me:
🟡 40% said they thought back pain or incontinence were signs
🟡 27% said poor posture
🟡 20% said not being able to see their abs
🟡 Only 13% said it was because they couldn’t do a specific core strength test
The truth is, all of these things can be signs that your core isn’t functioning in a way that supports your day-to-day life.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean your core is weak.
Instead, it could be:
— Over-bracing
— Poor coordination
— Dominance in one area over another
— A shallow breathing pattern or chronic breath holding
All of these can affect how your core functions.
And here’s the problem I see in clinic:
When women think their core is weak, they often respond by bracing and tightening more.
But that’s not always helpful, especially if the tension doesn’t match the task.
Sometimes it just creates more dysfunction, not less.
So if you’re dealing with posture issues, back pain, leakage, or a general feeling of disconnection, your core might be involved…
But it’s rarely the whole story.