The Tummy Team Journey

The Tummy Team Journey
  • 4.8 (20)
  • Fitness
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Join Physical Therapist, Kelly Dean, in her quest to help you restore and rebuild your pelvic floor and core lreated challenges.

  1. 1d ago

    Real Life Rehab: From CrossFit to Core Connection — Rethinking What It Means to Be Strong

    Nate had always thought of himself as a pretty fit guy. He spent years in the CrossFit and functional fitness world, measuring progress by how much he could squat, press, and lift. But looking back, he realized something important: He trained the top. He trained the bottom. But he had largely ignored the middle. After marriage, fatherhood, divorce, changes in activity, and years of less-than-ideal posture and movement habits, Nate decided he was ready to reconnect with fitness. As he lost weight and began seeing more definition in his abdomen, he also noticed something he hadn't expected—coning through the center of his abs. At first, he wondered if something was seriously wrong. Then he discovered diastasis recti. His search for answers eventually brought him to Kelly's videos about diastasis recti in men and then to The Tummy Team. What began as a desire to “fix” his abs has become a much bigger shift in how Nate understands strength, fitness, and his body. In this episode, Kelly and Nate talk about why core rehab is about so much more than a series of exercises. They explore how posture, breathing, parenting, fitness habits, major life changes, and even the way we respond to stress can influence how we use our bodies. Nate also shares what surprised him most: some of the simplest strategies—slowing down, breathing, connecting to his transverse abdominis, improving his posture, and consistently practicing what he's learning—have made a noticeable difference in how his entire body feels during exercise. And because Nate is still in the middle of his rehab, Kelly helps him think through what comes next. They discuss: Why diastasis recti isn't just a postpartum issue—and men can experience it tooHow being fit or muscular doesn't necessarily mean your core is functioning wellThe difference between bracing your core and creating functional core connectionWhy breathing and transverse abdominal activation can feel deceptively simple—but be foundationalHow to incorporate core connection into squats, push-ups, lunges, lifting, chores, and everyday movementWhy “slow is strong” when you're retraining coordinationHow to know when you're ready to progress back toward more challenging exerciseWhy the goal isn't a permanent list of exercises you “can't” doHow awareness can help you recognize compensation patterns and make adjustments soonerWhy your goals for fitness may change as you get older—and why being strong for your actual life may matter more than hitting an impressive number in the gymHow online rehab can give you tools to better understand and take ownership of your own body One of the biggest mindset shifts for Nate has been realizing that he doesn't have to return to the exact version of himself he was before. He's building something different. As Kelly explains, sometimes we set a goal based on where we think we want to end up—and then discover that healing gives us something deeper: confidence, connection, awareness, and a kind of strength we weren't measuring before. Nate is still on that journey. He's still working through Core Foundations, still experimenting, still learning, and still rebuilding. But this time, he's not just asking: “How much can I lift?” He's learning to ask: “How can I build a body that supports the life I want to live?” And that may be a much better definition of strength.

  2. Sep 29

    Real Life Rehab: Stop Chasing the Pain — Building Strength Before Your Body Has to Shout

    What happens when you know how to connect to your core, you've been practicing functional movement for years, and you're still dealing with recurring back pain? In this Real Life Rehab episode of The Tummy Team Journey Podcast, Kelly reconnects with longtime client Hannah Yackley, whose Tummy Team journey has spanned nearly 14 years, four children, pregnancy losses, different seasons of motherhood, teaching Pilates, homeschooling, and a whole lot of life. Hannah first discovered she had a significant diastasis after having her first two children just a year apart. Despite entering motherhood in some of the best shape of her life as a Pilates instructor, she found herself with a deep abdominal separation, a body that felt completely different, and back pain that showed up even while doing something as ordinary as holding her babies. She eventually found The Tummy Team and began learning something that would change the way she approached her core: Core rehab has to go beyond exercises. It has to become part of how you live. Over the years, Hannah has learned how to connect to her transverse abdominis, adjust her alignment, incorporate movement throughout her day, and recognize many of her body's signals. But now she's in a different season. Her youngest is almost two. She's homeschooling four children, teaching Pilates, carrying a very big toddler, and noticing that mid-back tension is increasingly affecting everyday moments—including sitting through church, driving, working at the kitchen table, and even enjoying a date with her husband. Instead of continuing to spend the end of every day trying to release an aching back, Hannah came back to Kelly with a new goal: What would it look like to become proactive instead of reactive? What follows is a real eSession-style conversation as Kelly and Hannah work together to identify what's actually happening. In this episode: Why your rehab needs can change as your life and body changeHow pregnancy, loss, postpartum seasons, and aging can influence your relationship with your coreWhy being fit—or even teaching Pilates—doesn't eliminate the need for functional core supportHow compensation patterns can show up as recurring mid-back tensionWhy Hannah does better when she begins her day by intentionally connecting to her bodyHow just 3–5 minutes of intentional movement can change the way the rest of the day feelsWhy “all or nothing” thinking can sabotage consistencyHow visual feedback helped Hannah recognize when she was truly engaging her coreThe difference between hinging and hunching while working at a tableHow something as simple as the wrong chair can keep irritating an existing compensation patternWhy changing positions and taking postural breaks can matterHow Kelly uses rest, release, replace, reset when Hannah's muscles are already overworkingWhy meaningful movement doesn't have to mean adding another workout to your scheduleHow to listen when your body is whispering instead of waiting until it has to shoutOne of the most important parts of Hannah's story is that she isn't starting over. The work she's done over the past 14 years still matters. But her body, responsibilities, capacity, and season of life have changed—and now she's learning how to apply what she knows in a new way. Sometimes progress isn't about finding another complicated exercise. It might be buying a better chair. Taking a postural break before your back starts aching. Slowing down an exercise so your core can actually engage. Spending three minutes connecting to your body in the morning. Or recognizing that the strategies that supported you five years ago may need to evolve with you today. Your body isn't a project you finish. It's a relationship you continue to learn. And sometimes the biggest shift is learning to give your body what it needs before you're in pain and desperately trying to fix it.

  3. Sep 22

    “Pelvic floor PT didn’t work for me” doesn’t necessarily mean pelvic floor rehab won’t work for you

    Have you ever tried pelvic floor physical therapy—or an online core or pelvic floor program—and walked away thinking, “That just didn’t work for me”? That doesn’t necessarily mean pelvic floor rehab won’t work for you. It may mean you haven’t found the right kind of support for you yet. In this episode of The Tummy Team Journey Podcast, Kelly sits down with her friend and colleague Megan Miller, a physical therapist with nearly three decades of experience and 27 years specializing in pelvic health, to talk about the growing number of options available for core and pelvic floor rehabilitation. Pelvic floor PT has changed tremendously over the years. Today, you might receive care through a large outpatient clinic, a hospital system, a private pelvic health practice, an online program, one-on-one virtual sessions—or a combination of several approaches. And those experiences can look very different. Kelly and Megan discuss how insurance requirements can influence the frequency, length, and structure of traditional physical therapy visits, while private-pay practices may have greater flexibility to individualize treatment and space appointments according to a client's needs. They also explore the benefits and limitations of online programs and why not all online core and pelvic floor programs are created the same way. Most importantly, they explain why effective rehab is about more than simply following a list of exercises. Your symptoms happen in your real life—while you're lifting your kids, sitting at your desk, getting out of bed, exercising, using the bathroom, working, having sex, or navigating pregnancy and postpartum. Understanding those patterns and learning how to support your body within your life can be an important part of making meaningful progress. Why one experience with pelvic floor PT doesn't represent every type of pelvic floor careThe differences between insurance-based clinics, private practices, and online rehabilitationHow insurance requirements can affect the structure and frequency of physical therapyWhy individualized care can be especially valuable for core and pelvic floor symptomsHow online education can help you understand what's happening in your own bodyWhy a generic exercise program may not address the whole pictureHow in-person and online care can complement each otherWhy Kelly's online programs focus on education and integration—not simply following along with exercisesHow eSessions can provide personalized guidance when you need help applying what you've learnedWhy your therapist or provider should understand your goals, lifestyle, and individual needsHow to recognize when it may be time to explore another approach if you're no longer making progressIf you've tried pelvic floor rehab before and felt discouraged, this conversation is an invitation to stay curious rather than give up. As Megan explains, the path forward won't look exactly the same for everyone. Your needs, resources, history, schedule, comfort level, and season of life all matter. There isn't only one way to do pelvic floor rehab—and there may still be a path forward that works for you. In this episode, you'll hear:

  4. Sep 15

    From the Archives: The Secret to a Strong Core Isn’t More Exercise — Dr. Hilary Frescoln’s Story

    What if the missing piece in your core rehab isn’t another exercise—but learning how to use your core during the other 23 hours of your day? In this From the Archives episode of The Tummy Team Journey Podcast, Kelly sits down with longtime client and family medicine physician Dr. Hilary Frescoln to talk about her journey from collegiate athlete and chronic back pain to motherhood, diastasis recti, and ultimately discovering what functional core strength really means. Hilary had always been active. She played collegiate volleyball, lifted weights, ran, and did plenty of traditional ab exercises. But despite being in great physical shape, she struggled with recurring back pain and SI joint instability. Looking back, she realized she had become very good at using her strongest muscles to compensate—without ever really learning how to connect to and use her core for stability. After having children and developing diastasis recti, Hilary tried multiple core programs before finding The Tummy Team. What made the difference wasn’t simply a new collection of exercises. It was learning how to connect to the right muscles and then integrate that connection into everyday life—while cooking, unloading the dishwasher, caring for children, working, lifting, sitting, and moving. Years later, that approach has become part of how Hilary lives, parents, exercises, and even cares for her own patients. Kelly and Hilary also talk about why sustainable change often starts much smaller than we think. A one-minute “fitness minute,” stretching while brushing your teeth, doing squats while helping a child practice piano, or taking a few moments to reset between patients may not look like a traditional workout—but those small choices can build consistency. As Hilary puts it, consistency wins. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why being physically fit doesn’t always mean you have a functional coreHow compensation can contribute to recurring pain even when you’re doing “core exercises”The two pieces Kelly calls the “secret sauce”: connection + integrationWhy one workout can’t compensate for the way you use your body throughout the rest of your dayHow Hilary incorporated The Tummy Team through seven children, including a twin pregnancyWhy tiny habits can be more sustainable than committing to another big workoutHow to “habit stack” movement onto things you already do every dayWhy awareness of posture, alignment, breathing, and everyday movement can be so valuableHow Hilary uses what she has learned through The Tummy Team with her own patientsWhy the best exercise may simply be the exercise you’ll actually doThis conversation is a great reminder that building a stronger body doesn’t have to mean adding another overwhelming task to your schedule. Sometimes the most powerful changes happen when you learn to use the body you already have, in the life you’re already living—one small, consistent choice at a time.

  5. Sep 8

    The Athlete Mindset: When Pushing Through Stops Working

    If you've ever been a competitive athlete, there's a good chance you learned how to push through discomfort, work harder when things got difficult, and keep going when your body wanted to stop. Those qualities can become incredible superpowers—but what happens when the same mindset that made you successful in your sport starts working against your recovery? In this episode of The Tummy Team Journey Podcast, Kelly sits down with fellow physical therapist Dr. Christina Trautman, owner of The Pelvic Floor Place, for a conversation about athletes, core and pelvic floor rehabilitation, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, and the complicated relationship athletes often have with pain, rest, and slowing down. As two physical therapists who are also athletes and coaches, Kelly and Christina understand how difficult it can be to hear “you need to back off” when movement is part of your identity. Their goal isn't to take away the activities you love. Instead, they discuss how learning to recognize symptoms, modify intensity, build a stronger foundation, and prioritize recovery can actually help you keep doing those activities longer. They also take a deeper look at the unique challenges female athletes may encounter during pregnancy and postpartum. Building a baby, giving birth, producing milk, changing hormones, disrupted sleep, and the physical demands of caring for a newborn are all significant demands on the body—even when they don't look like a workout. Returning to sport isn't simply about trying harder. It's about understanding what your body is doing now and giving it the tools it needs for this season. And this conversation isn't just for women. Kelly and Christina discuss how both male and female athletes can get stuck doing the exercises they've always done without asking an important question: Is this actually helping me do what I want my body to do? In this episode, you'll learn: Why the ability to push through pain can be both an athlete's superpower and their “kryptonite”How to distinguish between productive effort and symptoms that deserve attentionWhy rest and recovery are part of training—not a failure to trainHow pregnancy, postpartum, hormones, and parenting postures change the demands on an athlete's bodyWhy prenatal core and pelvic floor preparation can support postpartum recoveryWhat “cleared at six weeks” does—and doesn't—tell you about returning to exerciseWhy a tight pelvic floor isn't necessarily a functional pelvic floorHow functional core training differs from simply adding “core exercises” to the end of a workoutWhy your old workouts may not be what your body needs in its current seasonHow to shift from an all-or-nothing mindset toward training for strength, performance, and longevityYour perseverance, discipline, work ethic, and ability to do hard things don't need to disappear during rehabilitation. The goal is to pair those strengths with something athletes aren't always taught: how to recognize what your body is communicating and respond before a symptom becomes an injury. Because the goal isn't to settle for less—and it isn't to power through everything. It's to build a body that can keep doing what you love for as long as possible.

  6. Sep 1

    Strong from the Start: A Pediatric PT's Approach to Core, Movement & Body Confidence

    What if building a strong core in childhood isn't about exercises at all—but about helping kids move, play, breathe, and trust their bodies? In this episode of The Tummy Team Journey Podcast, Kelly sits down with pediatric physical therapist Dr. Lizzie Conrath, owner of Little Light Pediatric Therapies, to talk about what functional core rehabilitation looks like for children—and why so many of these principles matter at every age. Lizzie discovered The Tummy Team after a mother of two young patients with diastasis recti encouraged her to explore Kelly's professional training. What began as an opportunity to learn more about treating diastasis quickly became a much broader understanding of how breathing, alignment, muscle balance, constipation, trauma, and everyday movement can influence the developing body. Kelly and Lizzie also tackle an important question for parents: How do we support a child's body without making them afraid to move? Kids climb monkey bars, wrestle, tumble, run, jump, and sometimes do movements adults with diastasis are told to avoid. Rather than creating a long list of "don'ts," Kelly and Lizzie discuss how dynamic childhood movement can actually help develop a strong, coordinated body—and how therapists and parents can identify the patterns that may need additional support. The conversation goes far beyond pediatrics, exploring the connection between breathing and strength, how emotional and physical experiences can show up in the body, body confidence, and why learning to view your body as a capable tool can change your relationship with movement for life. In this episode, you'll learn: Why core and pelvic floor health matters even in childhoodHow to support kids with diastasis without making them afraid to moveWhy breathing is foundational to strength and coordinated movementHow constipation and respiratory patterns can affect core functionWhy dynamic movement is different from repetitive, isolated exerciseHow trauma, pain, and medical experiences can influence the way we connect with our bodiesWhy body confidence should focus on what our bodies can do, not simply how they lookHow The Tummy Team's professional training is helping therapists incorporate functional core principles into their own specialties Whether you're a parent, therapist, healthcare professional, or simply someone who wants to better understand how the body was designed to move, this conversation offers a refreshing perspective: strength isn't about perfect movement or avoiding everything that could go wrong. It's about understanding your body, building confidence, and giving yourself—and your kids—the freedom to move.

  7. Aug 25

    From the Archives: When More Isn’t Better — Todd’s Journey Back to Functional Strength

    Todd was no stranger to pushing his body. A longtime runner, ultra-marathoner, volunteer firefighter, farmer, and former soldier, he was used to approaching fitness with an all-in mentality. But after a season of reduced activity followed by an aggressive return to exercise, a weighted abdominal exercise left him with a painful diastasis recti—and suddenly, pushing harder wasn’t working anymore. In this From the Archives episode, Kelly sits down with Todd to talk about his journey from injury and frustration to a completely different understanding of strength. After trying to push through the pain and later committing to an intensive rehab approach, Todd discovered that doing more exercises wasn’t necessarily the answer. What finally changed things was learning to look beyond the diastasis itself and understand how posture, alignment, daily movement, and functional core strength work together. Todd and Kelly also dig into something that applies far beyond diastasis recti: the temptation to believe that more is always better. For driven, active people, slowing down can sometimes require more discipline than pushing through. Todd shares how shifting his focus from performance and isolated exercises to long-term function allowed him to return to the demanding activities of his real life—from farm work and splitting wood to firefighting—with greater awareness and confidence. This conversation is especially valuable for anyone who tends toward an all-or-nothing approach to fitness or rehab. Healing doesn’t have to mean doing nothing, and strength doesn’t have to mean doing more. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is build a better foundation, listen to your body, and focus on being strong for the life you want to live—not just the next workout, race, or goal. More isn’t always better. Better is better.

  8. Aug 18

    Real Life Rehab: Learning to Trust Her Body Again | Amanda's Journey, Part 1

    Amanda remembers what it felt like to be strong. She grew up as an athlete, ran cross country and track, and was always ready to be active. But after two pregnancies, abdominal separation, disconnected core muscles, and years of unpredictable aches and pains, that confidence slowly disappeared. Eventually, Amanda realized she had spent nearly a decade being afraid to run and protecting her body from activities that might leave her hurting the next day. Now, with two active boys entering the same stage of life when Amanda used to run with her own dad, she's ready for something different. In this Real Life Rehab episode, Kelly invites us into the beginning of Amanda's rehab journey. After their first eSession together, they talk honestly about what's working, what's getting in the way, and what it really looks like to rebuild functional core strength in the middle of a busy life. Amanda shares her struggles with perfectionism and the temptation to push through workouts, while Kelly explains why slowing down now can ultimately help her do more later. They work through practical strategies for reconnecting with the transverse abdominis, using breath during strength training, improving sitting posture, releasing tension around the pelvis, and learning to recognize the difference between healthy core engagement and bracing. Most importantly, they're working toward something Amanda deeply misses: trusting her body enough to say yes again. In this episode: How pregnancy and diastasis can affect your sense of connection to your body Why fear of pain can slowly make your world smaller The emotional side of missing the strong body you remember How perfectionism and an "all or nothing" mindset can interfere with rehab Why your core needs to keep pace as the rest of your body gets stronger How to use breathing and transverse activation during strength training The difference between functional core engagement and bracing Simple ways to reconnect with abdominal muscles throughout the day Why neutral pelvis stretches can help release accumulated tension How "pit stops" can help you stay active without continually pushing past your body's limits Practical ways to make rehab habits fit into real life Amanda isn't at the end of her story yet—and that's exactly why we're sharing it. This is Real Life Rehab: not a dramatic before-and-after, but an honest look at what happens in the middle. We'll follow Amanda as she learns to listen to her body, rebuild her foundation, and work toward the strength and confidence to say, "Yes, let's do it."

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About

Join Physical Therapist, Kelly Dean, in her quest to help you restore and rebuild your pelvic floor and core lreated challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    The Tummy Team Journey
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Tummy Team Journey
  • Show Website
    The Tummy Team Journey